Your World Within Podcast by Eddie Pinero - TAKE CONTROL OF YOUR MIND (2022 New Year Motivational Speech)

Episode Date: January 17, 2022

“To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment.” - Emerson In today's episode, I discuss King Leonidas and the battle of Thermopylae, where 300 Spartans took a stand against a massive Persian invasion. When asked to submit and put down their weapons, the Spartans famously responded, Molon Labe, which translates to "come and take them." In this speech I explore the areas in your life where you can become bolder and relentless with regard to your convictions. As the world seeks to push you away from who you really are and what matters most, this motivational speech delves into the power of staying true to yourself, taking control of your mind, and when asked to trade what matters most for the fleeting relief of temporary comfort, to stand tall and pronounce, "come and take it."

There's a quote attributed to Lincoln. He says, be sure to put your feet in the right place, then stand firm. The other day I was listening to Dan Carlin's podcast called Hardcore History, which, side note, is an incredible podcast. Guys, a brilliant storyteller. And as I was listening, there's a specific idea that I wanted to dive into, an idea that I believe if we make an effort to understand and fully commit, is capable of changing our lives.

But first, some quick context, right? So Dan starts off this episode called King of Kings, talking about the Battle of Thermopylae in the year of 480 BC in ancient Greece. It's that famous story that a lot of us know where King Leonidas leads that small army, which includes 300 Spartans against this massive Persian military force that's invading.

And the quick version is, essentially Xerxes, who's the king of the Persian Empire and in charge of that massive army, tells the much smaller Spartan force that if they lay down their weapons, if they submit to him and let the Persians pass, no harm will be inflicted upon them. They'll be free to go, go about their lives. And here's the famous line. In response to the Persian command to lay down their weapons, the Spartans respond, Milan-Labé, which means come and take them. It's a Spartan's way of saying, look, the only way we're laying these weapons down is if you rip them from our cold dead hands.

Right? With everything on the line, the odds stacked against them, the ground beneath them, basically shaking from the marty, of a far superior fighting force moving directly towards their location, they would not let go of their principles. They were fighting for something bigger than them. And I couldn't stop thinking about this idea long after I hit pause on the episode. I guess I was awestruck by the power of living life with that type of conviction. Because I know in my soul that's a North Star, I should be gravitating towards,

We all should. The strength to be unrelenting with regard to that which we care about. The aforementioned quote from Lincoln about finding the right place for our feet and then holding steady. With everything you have, all that you are holding firm. I just couldn't get that out of my head. And then it came to me that that invading force represents so much in our personal lives. So many things.

One example, being the difficult or adverse circumstances, our trying times, when you're most likely to concede that perhaps you're no bigger than that world around you. Maybe life is a movie and I'm merely the audience. My job is to clap, laugh, gasp, or cry. am I cog in a wheel, a line in a script, powerless. In which case, you should be reminded of Victor Frankel's famous observation, that everything can be taken from a man but one thing,

the last of the human freedoms, to choose one's attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one's own way. In other words, the outside world may change. It may evolve, but it will never have power over how you choose to internalize and view what's happening. That's innately yours. So when the circumstances feel like they demand more than you can give, when they suggest you leave your interpretation of life behind, the correct response is, as the Spartans defiantly said, come and take it. That army could represent a pushback against your values, the pillars of your individual foundation

that you feel amidst all the pressure tempted to let go off. After all, it's easier to retreat than stand toe to toe with others. It's easier to abandon than it is to defend, at least in the short term. But as Victor Hugo writes, You have enemies, good. That means you've stood up for something sometime in your life. The enemies, obviously not being the point. I'm a believer in the conservation of enemy approach to life.

Allies just pragmatically get you a lot further, but here's the reality. Anyone who stands for something will undoubtedly create divide. They'll be criticized and condemned. and when one feels the pressure of that criticism, they must understand that it does not invalidate who they are or their worldview. That is yours. You are the only one who can give up or relinquish that control.

So as the Spartans said, come and take it. And then lastly, my thoughts went to the little things that make us who we are. Those tiny pieces of ourselves that we, little by little, one by one over time give away, the concessions that fade into the background as we evolve to fit in so that we don't stand out. As Emerson beautifully put it, to be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment. And so that attacking army just might be the universe, to mold you to it, perhaps not all at once, but more like that frog placed in water and put on the stove,

but the heat increasing so slowly over time that he doesn't realize the heat will soon overtake him. Externalities do not dictate. They are objects in need of meaning, and you are the architect here. If it means something to you, it's worth holding on to during the difficult times and the easy time.

When it's popular and when it's not, there is value within you specific to you, a value that must be nurtured in order to expand. Others can't and won't see that. The world around you may even, with all its complexities, seek to suppress it. But that flame is there, it's there and it's yours. to anyone or anything looking to extinguish its light, come and take it. After all, what is a life if not one lived on your own terms? The goal is not to simply exist, but to define the plane on which you'll evolve,

to devise your own parameters. Be yourself as that world looks to make you something else. So here's to digging deep. To finding within yourself the courage to stand up to the great armies of chaos, conflict, adversity, and their perpetual conquest. To remember how strong you are. How much control you have as you navigate the unknowns and redefine the right nows. Don't let your strength be the thing you give away. Don't let your heart be what games.

it's left behind. Don't let your thoughts become illusions of what could have been if only you'd held on. And look, I'm not saying it's easy. In fact, I know that the meaningful road will necessarily be the one that requires the most of us. That makes us question who we are and where we're going. It will ask that when our minds race with doubt and our knees shake with fear, we find a way to stand regardless. To walk to our demons, look them square in the eye and proclaim that whatever it takes we are willing to give. That we will fight until there's nothing left.

Go until we can go no further and hold with conviction all that matters most. So the next time light demands that you fall back or bow down, the next time chaos emerges in the distance and asks only that you lay down your arm. Here's to being strong enough, certain enough, courageous enough to say one thing and one thing only. Come and take them.