Your World Within Podcast by Eddie Pinero - RUN YOUR OWN RACE | Best Motivational Speech

Episode Date: July 26, 2021

"Your only competition is you...." In this episode I discuss a realization I had while running in South Florida, prompting the question, who is your greatest opponent?

There are always footsteps behind you. It's an idea I talked about years ago. And it stemmed from a quote from Mark Cuban. He says, look, you need to be working 24-7 like there is someone constantly around the clock working to take it all away from you. And I strongly believe in that notion. I think there's a lot of value in that understanding.

It's a way to help you level up, right? Because the idea is in life, in the world we live in, there is no cap on what we can be doing. And short of driving yourself crazy, there's value in the understanding that the place you arrived at, the place you said, all right, I did my best, that was my limit, that was the peak. Maybe it was extraordinary.

Maybe it was progress. But it was not your maximum. Why? Because that word means nothing. As it, when used in the context of human potential, it's an infinite thing. You can't put a finger on someone's maximum, on someone's limit, on someone reaching their full potential. It's an arbitrary number, right? And so that was the idea. Long story short, I was running and I would run around the Charles River and Boston and I would really excite myself. I would get worked up and force myself to dig deep

when I saw, you know, someone run by me or even the idea that someone would. It helped me, you know, when I wasn't feeling my best, to suck it up and push myself. And so there was value there. No question. But I had an epiphany the other day, as I was, you guessed it, running. And it's related to the concept in the sound of footsteps. And I'm not sure if it's a parallel idea, maybe a progression, or maybe it's the result of five years, six years since writing that, immersed in the world of entrepreneurship and speaking and being a creator on YouTube and on these platforms, you learn a lot about yourself. In this particular situation, helped me realize that. I was doing a nine-mile run down A1A in South Florida, which is one of my favorite places to run because it's a straight shot. You know, straight up.

You don't have to think you can just one foot in front of the other and, you know, enjoy the run. And as I've been, you know, working my way back into running shape, coming back from an injury, it's been beautiful. And so I'm a few miles into this run. and sure enough, someone blows by me, probably going at a five and a half, six minute pace. And my first instinct is, whoa, Ed, time to level up, man. What are you doing? Like, that's not even close, right?

Sound of footsteps. Someone was behind you, someone's working harder, someone's going faster, there they go, here you are. And then I had this realization, some very common sense, realization, you're going to see that dude and pass him a mile up the road. Because unless he is an incredible athlete, that's not maintainable. You know, you are going at a slower pace, but you're going further, and you will pass him.

And then I had a second thought, which was who the hell cares? You know, the sort of old notion that the speed of others is some way related to you can be trouble. Right? And again, there is no right or wrong left or right good or bad the world exists in this in this gray area And I believe that if you can find value in something Utilize it if you're someone that gets motivated by that type of thing Sometimes I am a lot of the time I am you know green light use it But I think that highlighted that highlighted that a trap that I've fallen into that I think a lot of us fall into. We hear those footsteps. We see

that six-minute mile ago by us. And we think it's somehow reflective of us in our journey or correlated to where we're going or says something about us when in reality, it means nothing. Like there's a there's a it's comical that I'm sitting here even talking about it right now right because the the relationship between my goals and his goals are nil none but that's the world we live in right that's the social media world of highlight reels of seeing people's six minute sprints and saying oh my god I'm really running it at eight and a half. It's like, yeah, well, one, he went one mile, you're going nine, two, you're running different races, three, your finish line is all that matters. And it really hit

home because in this maybe six-year stretch, the biggest mistakes I've made, and I'd never shy away from admitting this. There, when I had that sense of panic and anxiety due to other, you know, people talking about things that work for them, their success. This is the way to get what you want. Look what I did. Look how I achieve A, B, and C. You want the answer? Here's the answer. And I'd look in the mirror and I'd think, well, hell, I'm going slower than this. I'm not there, right? I'm not doing what they're doing. And they had a little bit of success there, right? Better change my plan. Better pivot. Better integrate, you know, their steps, their processes. And that's always when I get in trouble.

That's always when I have to take a step back and say, Ed, what are you? This is not you. You had a plan. You had a finish line. You had an idea that you believed in. And now, what are you doing? Right? And I'd have to reel it back in.

And this happened a few times, right? Because sometimes it's not as obvious. Sometimes you forget your value, what you're giving to the world and what you love to do. If you're going down a highway, there are a lot of exits. There are a lot of people saying this is where you need to get off. This is where your answers are. This is what he or she did. And look how successful they are.

That's the exact same thing as looking at that guy speeding down A1A at a six-minute mile pace and feeling any level of inadequacy. What he's doing and where he's going is not what you're doing and it's not where you're going. And so I had a lot of time to have a conversation with myself, but that's exactly what I did. I had a tough conversation with myself. You've changed. You've changed since you wrote that speech, and that's a beautiful thing because, my friend, if you're not changing, you're not learning, you are dying. And there's a time and a place again for everything.

Yeah, if you're looking around and everyone's working harder than you, hey, maybe that's an indicator. Maybe you need to ask yourself the question. What am I capable of? Am I pushing myself in that direction? Or have I accepted some type of mediocrity? But they are not you. And in today's world, I want you to remember that.

because most of our interactions, they are digital. They are curated snippets, pictures, videos, concepts that are just not reflective of reality, especially online. I've been able to see the curtain pulled back on so many things, and it's like nothing is what it seems to be. People are not who they claim they are, right? And this is not some conspiracy.

that like there's all these strings being pulled in the background, but what I'm saying is no one presents life as it is. They present life as they want it to be seen. And the difference between those two things is substantial. I promise. And so when you are looking to your left, you're looking to your right, you're comparing it to yourself,

and you feel any level of inadequacy. Remember that you are going down a road that is valuable, that means something to you. You have your finish line, and you're going to get that. to get there. Don't be misguided, you know, by these short half-mile sprints or whatever they are. Don't be misguided. Don't be distracted by anything but where you're going. Because I promise if you just move forward, if you believe in your pursuit and trust yourself to get there,

If you're willing to adapt and grow, if you're aware enough to understand that you'll make mistakes, you'll learn from them and you'll pick up the pieces, the only adversary you have is yourself. Nothing else matters. So let's get that finish line.