Your World Within Podcast by Eddie Pinero - RUN V - Motivational Video Compilation

Episode Date: February 1, 2021

"If it doesn't challenge you, it won't change you"  Tracks: 0:00 Uncommon 3:46 This Is War 6:25 I Will Win 10:58 Just Give More 14:33 You vs You 19:33 Your Struggle Becomes Your Strength 26:15 How Quickly Can I Get There? 28:25 The Best Way Out Is Through 30:59 When Others Would Let Go 36:04 Who Do You Want To Be?

A lot of people ask me, why running? Why the 5 a.m. wake-ups, the grueling mileage, why the hours under the summer sun? And while my answer is simple. It reminds me that life becomes what we allow it to be. Because absolutely you can sleep in, but you'd miss that crisp morning air. And sure, you don't have to put in the miles, but then you'd never really know how far your legs can take you. And yeah, you can sit and watch the world from the shade.

Just don't be surprised when it runs right by you. See, to me, it's more than running. It's about inverting the commonly held belief that would otherwise narrate our day-to-day rule over our lives. The belief that showing up is enough. The tendency to slow down when life hurts. The misconception that the crowd's direction is the right direction. See, I can tell you that in my battles with the pavement in my solitude,

one step at a time I've learned a few things. I've learned that anyone can show up, but there's a direct correlation between the work I put in in that time on the clock. And I've learned that what separates the few from the many is not an ability to avoid pain, but to be your best when that pain inevitably shows up. And as far as the crowd, well, that's just the last place you want to be. Common is antithetical to greatness. And well, when I get home and I put my feet up, I want to know one thing. I want to know that when most would have stopped, I kept going.

When most would have doubted, I was certain that in a world of crowds and rules and conformity, I was uncommon. And so it goes that each step is about training the mind to see that alone is not incorrect. alone is going where most won't see the word exceptional carries with it and understanding you're paying a price most would refuse to pay and pushing through is about carving into your soul the truth that discomfort is not a reason to stop or hide it's a gateway to the good stuff it's why you're here and each breath is about carving out a place for yourself in a world that that needs what you have to give it.

It's making a mark, leaving a legacy. It's not the road or the trail or the feet on the pavement. It's about taking what's in front of you and converting it into something more, something greater. That's why I run it. That's why the accusation, odd, crazy, abnormal, and uncommon gets the same response. Regained composure and open your eyes.

Because there is everything to be gained. This is a fight. A fight against the tyranny of the subconscious, against enslavement by the mind, which mandates that you take the path of least resistance. How long does one need to be cornered, stagnant, or overpowered before they fight for what belongs to them? before they take what is truly theirs.

Imaginary limits make believe inadequacy will soon be a thing of the past, soundly defeated. This is not a negotiation. This is war. As fear takes the form of bullets, pain transforms into fire and your world becomes chaos. Remember that what lives lies ahead is much more valuable than what is left behind.

When you are tempted to fall back and fade away, look up at what can be and take what's yours. Storm the hill, keep your eyes fixated on the prize. Sacrifice is an understatement. Indestructible confidence is a necessity. The enemy is not behind you, it's in front of you. It's fighting for the status quo and its fight is in vain. You are armed, armed with the desire for more to be better,

to not just exist, but to make the world wonder how you did it. Yes, this is war, winner take all, stay still or move forward, settle or chase down what you really want. Yesterday doesn't matter, last month doesn't matter, right now matters. I will win. A statement often met with skepticism. Who are you to say that or predict that for yourself? Can you tell the future?

Well, there lies the misconception. It has nothing to do with the future, does it? The first requirement was that you show up. And look at that, here you are. Check. The next requirement was that you move, but you don't even give yourself an opportunity to get cold feet. You don't ponder worst-case scenarios or sit on your hands,

worrying about the road ahead. No, it's brain off, shoes on check. Then comes the best part. People will tell you the deck is stacked against you, the path comprised of difficulty, life too complex. But look, your job's not. to engineer the next rocket to Mars. It's to not stop.

It's to put one foot in front of the other. How's that for simplicity? They say that confidence is earned. And it seems to me that by putting yourself in this position, you have earned a ticket to something greater. The privilege of stepping into that forbidden space, the space 99 out of 100 don't dare touch. And you know what I'm talking about.

When your body whispers its complaints to the mind, and man, is it a good negotiator? But today, right now, it's not good enough because you're here. And if you're going to do it, you might as well really do it. You might as well make sure that when you get back to the car, you're thanking, God Almighty, this thing's over. You might as well make sure your lungs are still angry 10 hours from now when you're eating dinner.

you might as well teach your subconscious that feeling tired doesn't mean that much. You will win because you're saying yes to right now and you don't need a crystal ball to tell you whether or not to put one foot in front of the other and at the end of the day be a little better, a little stronger, a little more confident in your abilities.

As far as I can tell, that's what winning is. Victory, continuously, sustained, accumulating over time. And while the world stays where they are, looking up at their mountain tops, gazing over their endless abyss, guess what? You'll be scaling those little boulders one by one, bridging that gap step by step. They'll be stopped dead in their tracks,

entrenched in the awe and magnitude of what stands before them, but you, on the other hand, will be breaking the complex right down into the simple, because anyone can do simple, and one of the greatest secrets in life is that that's all there is. It is, simple. We just have a tendency to stack it until it looks like an excuse. Because success doesn't wait for the perfect moment.

It's happening in the now, always, a million tiny battles, little yeses. How powerful to know that by moving on when most wouldn't, you are building something bigger than most could dream of. At some point you will reach your finish line. Look back on the aggregate and think that was a lot. You may even think to yourself it was too much, that the demon took you too close to the edge of your world and that's fine. Everything looks bigger on the outside looking in and while you just crawled out from the depths of hell survived because you didn't think about any big pictures or sweeping narratives

just one foot in front of you. That's the reason you made it out. Escape. And now as you look back on from the outside, tired, exhausted, emotionally, dream. That feeling of pride pulsating through your veins is proof that winning is not a spot reserved for someday down the road. It's who you are. It comprises every essence of your being. It's why you will be right back here to do it all over again. Sometimes we need to understand the gravity of the situation that we are in.

We are in. We need to know the reason. We need to capture the whys and why not. But sometimes it's simpler than that. Sometimes it's just about giving. Sometimes it's so incredibly simple that nothing else is necessary. See here's the deal. There is more in you to give.

And every once in a while you have a decision. decision to make. Not because you owe it to anyone or because you're supposed to, but because your mind wonders what it would be like to look back on this moment and ask yourself, what? So you stretch. You give more. And maybe it's one extra set of push-ups. Maybe it's one more or mile, maybe it's one phone call, one more hour in the studio, it is the little advantage. The one that you didn't have to do, and why would you? You could have easily walked out and left it on the floor

just like everyone else does. But what if? What if you dipped your toe in the crazy? What if you left the rationality behind you with yes, Yesterday's standards. After all, greatness requires a little insanity, actions out of the norm, the yes, when most would say no.

Why? Because it hurts. More hurts. Being proud hurts. Greatness hurts. Oh, but the top. And see, this is the part where you think about one thing. Digging deeper. deeper, finding more. The part of you waiting to be uncaged. It never reveals itself. It must be found,

discovered, it must be brought to life. See, that pain that you're feeling in the moment it goes away. The body, it recovers. They're not in this equation. It's just you and the victory that will Live with you for the rest of your life, the conquering of this moment. Again, our world, it is simple. There is more on the table. Will you take it? Will you build something now? That will stay with you forever.

So imagine you're sitting down, having something to eat, thinking, relaxing, reading, whatever you're doing. And someone walks up to the table across from you, pulls out the chair, sits down, kind of leans back, puts one leg over the other, casually tells you, you know, you probably don't have what it takes to do anything significant in your life. What would you say? It would be outrageous, right? That's a ridiculous scenario.

Well, let's say that the next day you get up, you go to walk, run, work out, and he shows up again. Starts running next to you, casually reminding you that the odds of you changing doing anything for the better or slim to none, that this is kind of a waste of time for you. You brush it off, you go to work, and guess who? He passes by your desk, leaves a little note saying, you know, that your bosses, your higher-ups,

they're cut from a different cloth. They just see things in a way you can't. You'd probably tell that person to take a long walk off a short pier, right? Or at the very least, you'd understand how absolutely insane the situation is. People can't just walk up and talk to you like that. But now imagine that same person is you, living rent-free in your head. And here's the catch. You invited him in.

You allowed the negativity and the doubt to live there. See, every time I think about that self-talk, I can't help but wonder in a world of obstacles to navigate and challenges to tackle. Why is it acceptable for your biggest obstacle to be you? Why should you allow or be okay with that? And I'm not saying everything's perfect all the time. Every thought's pure bliss. But I am posing this question.

If you don't believe in yourself, how do you expect anyone else to? If you're not your biggest ally, if you don't respect the person staring back at you in the mirror, how do you expect the world to? Why is our inclination to tense up and refute the negativity from others? but sit back and accept the same nonsense in our own heads. If those words don't support what you're trying to build, I don't care who they're from, where they come from, why they're there, they don't deserve your time.

And it's a simple awareness that they are not truth, but merely your fears and your insecurities trying to stop you from becoming who you might be. My biggest leaps in life, they didn't come from physical milestones or bench, marks. They came from mental shifts, convincing myself, believing myself, trusting in myself. When the road is untravelled, when the story is untold, the positive and the negative are both make-believe. They are both fairy tales, their options, their theories, and guess what? You get to choose which option, which one will be yours.

My favorite quote is, you are always stronger than you think you are. Not so much because it reiterates how high the bar is, but because it reminds me how low we often set it for ourselves when we're not paying attention. How loud that negative voice can be. You know, when I was unemployed, I was writing, I was running out of money, my life changed because I stopped seeing myself as some lost, jobless mess. And I started seeing myself as one of the greats with a hell of a road to travel. See, people always follow through on who they believe. themselves to be. I refuse to hear that you might fail and the not good enough and I buckled up for the road ahead and when you believe you can change and know that the

road to your goals will be rocky, it will be uncomfortable but worth it. You are taking that hostile voice and making him or her a spectator not a decider of fate and yeah you will lose you can't win all the time and you will feel stuck but life's not always smooth sailing and sure you'll be mad at yourself but not every decision is a home run. But these situations are the byproduct of a journey, and here is my point. Self-belief is being able to differentiate your situation and pointless, negative, talk about the situation.

It's about remembering that you are the gatekeeper of your own mind. When you believe in you, it places your faith, your strength, and your determination in the driver's seat. It makes everything else. trivial, meaningless. It makes it an option that you are simply not going to choose. Why is it that when we look back on our lives, it's never the easy days or the simplicity? It's not the calm that changes our reality or makes us who we are. Don't get me wrong, calm and simplicity. They're wonderful, but they're not transformative.

And why would they be? Why would we change or seek to obtain? or seek to obtain more without a reason or incentive. It's times of struggle, of turbulence. It's when life was hard that we had to rethink who we are. Reshape the way we look at the world. Because without chaos, you don't get calm. Without the storm, you don't get those crazy neon colors and golden rays

it leaves as it passes by. In order to triumph in any capacity or any area of life, there's always a sacrifice that must be made. The adversity is the fire that forges the iron. There's a saying hard times create strong men. Strong men create good times. Good times create weak men, and weak men create hard times. It's a cycle. This is generally used in a sociopolitical sense, and I,

I think in a lot of ways it applies today, but where I've really found it useful, where I've found value in it is at the personal level. Because what I've noticed is that growth also appears to have a cyclical nature. And when we're in a rough situation or overcoming an obstacle, we have to push, we fight, we grow. Sometimes without even realizing it,

we achieve a result, and by default, this transformation that in one way or another makes us something new. But then it becomes easy to level out, right? And that's the challenge. It creates this period of stagnation. It's like we made the jump, and it becomes real easy to stay there.

And that's why I have found value in when life is not providing resistance to manufacture some. Because that's the only way to grow. Progress is happiness. Victor Frankel and Mansearch for meaning, He says purpose is to find from struggle. If things are too calm or simple or quiet, life begins to lack meaning, and that's never a spot we want to be. Life is about the pursuit of something.

You just have to figure out what that blank will be. You get to decide which mountain to climb. There's a story about a butterfly making its way out of a cocoon. And it makes a little hole. It starts attempting to push its way out. Someone walks by. They see it struggling and open the cocoon up to help the butterfly out, right? Thinking that they did this great deed.

But in doing so, that butterfly has now lost its ability to use its wings to fly. Why? Because the strength that was necessary to fly would have been forged when he fought his way out. The butterfly was deprived of the very thing it needed to become something more. And that's the point. It's easy to get lost. now and seek to eliminate everything that doesn't make the moment more comfortable to remove that which doesn't make things easier.

But whether we're talking about collectively or the complacency in our individual lives, we have to remember that avoiding discomfort isn't the answer. When your biggest problem is Amazon taking five days to deliver or that your feelings are hurt by someone's comments or opinions on social media, you've lost track. of yourself. You may be living in a world lacking the resistance necessary for growth. Maybe it's time to ask what matters. And I remember when I lived in Boston, I'd walk around listening to podcast downtown, and I'll never forget hearing Ryan Holiday differentiating between passion and purpose.

He called passion temporary, a dopamine hit. It's the excitement before the project begins, the beginning of a journey, the honeymoon fate. But passion alone falls short. And it falls short because anything worthwhile is hard. It tests us. It repeatedly presents us with those metaphorical cocoons we have to fight. We have to earn our stripes, grow our wings, and if we stop at passion, there's no reason to battle on. to take the punches, knowing that they will create for us a tomorrow full of infinite possibility,

and that's where we need purpose. That's why it matters. We need something bigger to march towards, a destination that's meaningful. To remind us that those challenging times, they're not a burden. There is no poor me here. They're the fire that sharpens us. That whispers to us, not only the importance of carrying on, but the power contained within ourselves to do so.

This world, it is not stacked against you. It's never the problem or the obstacle. No, it's the opportunity laid out at your feet. And it's in those very times. When we're uncomfortable, when we're unsure, when we don't know where to draw our strength. That we need to remember it comes within. It's an idea that is brought to life through courage, through understanding, through the trials and tribulations of life that didn't intimidate or hold you back,

knowing that life has given you everything you need to blaze your trail. So don't be afraid to let it take you somewhere new. If life is truly what we make it, and what we make it depends on the answers we find along the way, then one might be left to wonder as they make their way through the world, the ups, downs, the highs, and the lows. Am I asking,

the right questions. Like not how many steps are left, but how do I make this step count? And maybe it's not about what's over my shoulder, but the road untravelled. Perhaps the question isn't the whys, but the why not. Not how do I get around the obstacle, but how do I push through it?

Not how do I avoid the unknown, but how do I make it mine? See, there is a one-to-one correlation between the questions you ask and the answers you get. Every competitor knows asking, can I get there? And asking how quickly can I get there will put you in far different places when the day ends. It's been said that it's not what's in front of you, but what you see. It's not the materials, but what you build with them. It's not what happens, but what you do about what happens. So when the road is long, when you want to stop,

when the mere idea of carrying forward seems like a burden, here's to those who have no interest in asking why, because they're too busy chasing down. Why not? secret that the best things in life come with the biggest price tax. The victories, the transformation, the things that ultimately define your journey, they're made of something different. And in fact, if you look at the etymology of the word extraordinary, it means outside the

normal course of events. It means it requires of you. something bigger. Robert Frost has a beautiful quote that the best way out is always through. The only way to redefine reality is to stop running in place and look the now square in the eyes. And when I think about my story, my growth, the greatest adversary I've faced hasn't been instances of misfortune or setbacks.

Sure, they occur, but we find ways around those, my greatest adversary has been to concede to what I believed was normal. To hope or expect that somehow things would change on their own, that the world would ultimately rearrange itself for me. But this way of thinking needs to be changed, because where there is no accountability, the power is in the situation. But when you find the courage to face every problem in your life head on, you suddenly find yourself where you need to be in control.

Life is about breaking things down and rebuilding. It's remembering the meaning of the word extraordinary. And therefore stepping into the dark, the unknown, the organized chaos, not going around the discomfort, but storming the castle because it's here the greatness lives. It's by paying a price in strength and courage that reality will ultimately bend to your will. While life might tempt us, while pride might beg us, the best way out is always. Sometimes what you don't do is more powerful than what you do.

Sometimes the answer is not the home run or some lifetime achievement award. No, sometimes the answer is simply hanging on. Realizing that the yes is, they're important. But they're nothing compared to the noes. No, to the faint whispering that you can. No to the feelings of inadequacy and no to the reflection staring back at you that just feels ordinary. is that feeling it's wrong.

And what this means, as I was once told, is that success is not always the spectacular. Sometimes it is simply hanging on when others would let go. When the world would hear that same faint whisper and bow down because, oh, we all hear it. Life is not a movie. There is no fixed ending. and where there are unknowns, there is fear.

That's not rocket science. Unknown's equal fear. But if I may, let me explain something. Because where there is fear, there is also something else. And that something is opportunity. Like a curtain that must be pulled back, an ocean that must be crossed or a toll that must be paid.

While you dance to melodies of songs, and are led by the characters in stories untold. This is not a game of the miraculous. This is a game of self-belief. A game of not personalizing the people that are going to let you down. The days that will bring you to your knees, it's not feeling inadequate when you swing and miss because you will.

And I hope you do. I hope you do because each swing makes it swing makes you stronger and each loss makes it easier easier to say no to that ship that wants to bring you right back to the port you left from how comfortable how safe how secure it would be but just like fear and opportunity are one in the same so are safety and regret a concession a wolf and sheep's clothing and they are a lot of things but they are not so far Forget about the grandiose. The magic is not in the moon. It's in the staircase that takes you there. Each step, each battle, each time you fall, smile to yourself, and carry on.

Because the difference between average and exceptional is the ability to make a single decision, the decision to hold up. On. To stand firm when the people around you turn back, to believe in your foundation when the walls close in, it's running a race with eyes fixated on each step. Not on the finish line. No, the finish line doesn't do anything but distract. It reminds you of the road to be traveled. Your job is not to make a finish line. line appear. It is to say yes to the step in front of you and know to everything else. See, anyone can take one step. Anyone can progress one foot. Races, journeys, life is simply a culmination of those steps, a culmination of little decisions to not let go. So when your arms shake in the voice in your head screams.

When your thoughts beg you to stop and your mind starts to rationalize the possibility of surrender, remember that big things are broken into little things. Minutes are merely seconds, mountains are merely rocks, and success is simply hanging on. when others. There's a quote from Henry David Thoreau that I've learned to love over the years. He says, we are constantly invited

to be who we are. Meaning essentially there is always a hand reaching out to invite us to leave the confinement that we've allowed to become our lives, the pressure of the outside world, and attack a world that means the most to us, not obligatory, but for the opportunity, because it's there, it's perpetually available,

and that's what Henry David Thoreau means. And what's interesting is the second we lose sight of this, our lives become consumed with things that really have no relevance to our goals or our objectives. In fact, the daily routine becomes the goal. It's the box that needs to be checked to feel accomplished. We do things because, well, isn't that what you're supposed to do? adhere to rules and processes and guidelines,

almost like we forget why that routine matters. Like we forget the car has to go somewhere of relevance. You don't just get in and drive it to drive it. That doesn't make sense. And a friend of mine recently showed me this book of insights from different photographers. It's called The Photographers Playbook, and it's life lessons that helped each one of them along the way.

And one that stood out to me specifically was Andrea Parleto. And she talked about a concept called hibernation or cutting off, temporarily leaving your day to day or your craft, so that all the have-toes and the should-bees can dissipate. And you can ask yourself the question that we so quickly lose, the question that should be the target, that should be the foundation we build upon. Who do you want to be? Because when all is said and done, and you're looking back, that's what will matter, that's what will dictate your happiness. Not that you were five for five on your checklist every day on your 20s, 30s, 40s, and on, right? No, what does it look like when you

heal that back? What does it look like under the surface? What makes you, you? And sometimes we have to step back, go away, leave the day-to-day world we've created to see life from a different angle. Eliminate the steps, the requirements, the technicalities, and what are you left with? When you put your head on the pillow at night, what makes you smile? Brony Ware states in her book, regrets of the dying that not living a life true to oneself was one of the greatest regrets people experienced. Isn't it worthy of your time, your attention? Don't you owe it to yourself to make sure that your vision is defined and your action, support that.

See, anyone can move just to move and anyone can breathe just to breathe. But the ones who make the most of each step, each breath, they put themselves in position to live life differently. To accept the invitation to be who they truly are. To take their inspiration, their gifts, and their dreams, and never look back.