Your World Within Podcast by Eddie Pinero - The Courage to Start: Don't Wait to Begin | Eddie Pinero Morning Motivation Inspiration

Episode Date: January 20, 2025

  Sometimes in life, we wait for the "perfect moment"—when we have all the answers, tools, and guidance to move forward. But the truth is, life rarely gives us everything. Instead, it hands us just enough to take the next step. This episode explores the power of trusting what you have, embracing action even when you feel unprepared, and understanding that progress doesn’t require perfection—it requires courage. You don’t need a full blueprint to start; you only need to trust that the small steps today will lead to something bigger tomorrow. Together, we’ll unpack the beauty of imperfect beginnings and how the gaps you face now are simply opportunities for growth. What’s stopping you from taking the next step? Monday Motivation Newsletter: https://www.eddiepinero.com/newsletter Free Ebook: www.eddiepinero.com/ebook  YouTube: www.eddiepinero.com/youtube 

Reality comes down to what we do with what we have. This is an idea I brushed shoulders with again right over there this morning, staring out the window. My mind sort of wandered into this place of, I wish I had a few more pieces. I wish I had a few more things in my arsenal before moving on to this next chapter. And I think we've all been there, more tools in the toolbox, maybe more advice or guidance from people that I look up to,

maybe more research, you can go down that rabbit hole forever. Before sort of remembering that life always gives us some of it, but never all of it. And some of it is always enough. Let's call this the law of broken crayons. Go back, go way back. Grade school. You're sitting on the floor at the table with the other kids,

blank piece of paper in front of you. You reach into that box of crayons. Grab your color, and you go. The crayons cracked, probably broken in half. Somehow, always had other colors intentionally drawn on the wrapping. But like, who cares, right? I don't ever remember thinking,

if only this box was pristine, you know, if a new box is opened right in front of me, that would be amazing so I could create with the flawless, untarnished instrument. It's like, no, it wasn't even on the radar. We used what we had and what we had. It was always enough because we made it enough. So flashed through time,

boom, back to the window this morning, I'm longing for, metaphorically, a fresh box of writing instruments, unopened and in perfect shape. The stuff I'm carrying around is cracked and drawn on and feels no longer pristine. But that's not what life provides us when it calls us to grow, when we're ready to step into something bigger. Now, life gives the cracked ones. Maybe you have to grip the little piece that remains tightly with your thumb and your index as though you're threading a needle, but it's usable. Maybe the color you need is missing, but there's a shade close enough to make do. I think you get what I mean.

It's a lesson we need more than any other. Because it's not that every once in a while we don't get that fresh box of crayons, it's that life rarely ever provides. it. Life simply says here are the fragments, the pieces, the blueprint. They will work but that's not up to the instrument. It's up to the artists

who hold them. And personally, I've been blown away by how many times I've seen the same set of circumstances produce wildly different outcomes depending on who happened to be the artist.

Depending on who was holding the instruments, right? Back in the day, when I was criticized, I would struggle. Someone would say, for example, you're not good at basketball. That comment would make me think less about myself as an athlete, how I played ball. It would plant this tiny seed of doubt that I would have to navigate my way out of. And then I remember learning about some of the toughest minds, right? Notoriously strong mentalities, the Jordans and the Kobe's, you, tell them they suck, that doesn't create doubt. That ignites that, well, I'll show you mentality. They shined in those moments. Same instruments. Just different interpretation by the artists.

And you realize the world has nothing to do with this. Criticism has nothing to do with this. It's the relationship I have with me. And if I trust myself, if I believe in my growth and my commitment to excellence. The other stuff, it's just detail, and it will always be detailed. Starting a new business, right? No one has ever had what they needed out of the gate, ever. I think it was Alex Hermose who said, you know, starting your own business is like running a marathon out of shape and getting yourself into shape along the way. I thought that was spot on. It's the only way to do it and is the opportunity perfect? No. Is your body acclimated? No. But life provided those metaphorical running shoes, a road and a journey, and it turns out that's enough. So what I'm asking of you

is that you keep this realization as close to you as you possibly can. It's that you remember having everything is wildly different than having enough. One is an illusion and one is your superpower. And maybe you're looking around at a world that feels cracked and flawed. Maybe it feels like it's missing pieces, requiring that you make trade-offs and improvise. That's not the world working against you. That's life placing a map in front of you. Like Jim Rohn has said, it's not where you're going.

It's who you become along the way. The truth will always be, if you want it, the pieces to take that necessary first step are there. Some people wait for perfection. Sure, that perfect box of crayons, a life without curveballs, twists, or turns. Great. But as it turns out, they find themselves waiting a very long time. So why not step into the world now? Armed with two things. First, what you have now. And second, the understanding that what you have now is enough. It will multiply, it will evolve with time, exponential growth is bound to occur down the road, but first pull up the shades and let light in. Give life a chance to enter the equation. Let's not forget those basic unspoken truths, those things that at one point, way back in the day, were intuitive. Open the box of crayons, turn on the camera.

Make the call, write the book, try the workout, apply for the position, share your thoughts. Is the moment perfect? No. And maybe even a hell no. But is the moment enough? That's the question you should be asking, and the answer is yes. Always. There's a quote that states, life is 10% what happens. to you and 90% how you react to it.

Which means that your reaction is drastically more important than the circumstance. That's critical to know. It's critical to understand that nothing, no one in life has more power over your own situation than you. And there's an old story that hits on this point, exactly. There's a father and a daughter. And basically the daughter's complaining. She's complaining about life, how difficult things are, she's just know how she's going to make it,

in whatever it is she's doing. I mean, the bottom line is she's tired of the day to day, right? And her father gets this idea. He says, come with me into the kitchen. And he gets three pots of water, puts them on the stove and turns the burner's own. As soon as they start boiling, he drops a potato in the first one, an egg in the second one.

and some coffee beans in the third one. And after some time goes by and they boil a little bit, he pulls them out, right? He puts the potato in a bowl, he puts the egg in a bowl, and he takes a ladle, and he puts some of the coffee in a cup. And he says, what do you see? She says, well, I see a potato, I see eggs, and I see coffee. He says, yeah, but look closer.

There's more there. And she goes and she touches the potato, and it's now soft. and he hands her the bowl with the boiled egg and she takes the shell off and breaks it open she sees that it's hard inside then finally he asked her to take a sip of the coffee and you know she smells it

she takes a sip and a smile comes to her face she says so what does all this mean what are you trying to say he says well the potato when I dropped it in the water it was rigid it was tough it was uncompromising but in the boiling water it became soft soft, weak. Then you have the egg that was basically the opposite. This delicate layer

protecting a liquid center and the boiling water made it hard. And then there was the coffee. That wasn't just changed by the situation. It created something new. It took the same adversity and used it as a lever to bring something beautiful. into existence. He then looks at his daughter and says, look, when things become challenging, when things become difficult, which one are you?

What's your approach? See, maybe the question is not about how challenging the situation is, right? Maybe we've been asking the wrong question. Maybe it's how do you transform yourself and by default, the world around you. How do you take your strengths,

your values, your loves, your joy, your happiness and let that lead you into something bigger. When life gets hard and it does, what do you become? I always remind myself, you know, we are not defined by life at peak state. As much as I wish that were the case, right? We're not shaped by the easy days or the times that we floated by because those times are great, they're enjoyable, but they're not what make or break us.

It's the times that challenge us and ask us to be what we have not yet become. That's the good stuff. And this is another one of those simple but not easy type things because on paper it makes sense. It's understood. But it's an outlook that manifests over time.

It's slowly stacked piece by piece and brick by brick. realizing that every situation provide you with tools to make something out of an apparent nothing. And then it waits, because fate is in your hands. And I can certainly think of times in my life, that's one of the reasons I love these stories. I can reflect where each one of those pots of boiling water was relevant.

I can think of times I was too headstrong, like the metaphorical potato, I thought success would be easy. I thought projects would be simple to execute. I spent months doing things that just weren't good because I didn't ask what is the world need. I asked myself, what do I want to give the world? And there has to be a marriage there, right? And it was a quick reminder that the world owes me nothing.

I was humbled or softened as the story goes. I've been the egg, I've been timid, I've been uncertain, thin skin. worrying about what people would say or the content I was creating, worried about perception. How would things look if I failed? And very quickly, I learned that when life is a game of comparison or one-upmanship, when you do things for reasons and people other than yourself, can't win. You overcompensate. You do things for the wrong reasons and you lose yourself.

You become hardened. And then there's the good stuff, right? Getting to the coffee, not bowing down to the circumstances, but shaping them. Not letting life dictate how the story goes or the fate of your character. And what's interesting is I'm pretty sure that being that metaphorical egg and the potato, they lay the foundation to become the coffee, the life lessons, the falling down, the picking my ego up off the floor. learning to trust myself, not be led by the opinions and expectations of others.

You essentially learn that you can take the world around you and change it, that it is malleable, it is flexible. You have that power. You have that ability. It's up to you to believe it. And that's critical because no one comes along and cosigns that understanding for you. It's an internal process. You start to learn that things aren't there to provide instruction.

They're there to propel you. But can you see the unknown as the opportunity, the obstacle is the way, and the loss is the armor that you pick up during the journey? And so, you know, all of these words essentially come to one point. And that point is you have so much more control over your life, than you think you do. As I've said before, you are stronger than you think you are.

You are more resilient than you can even imagine. And when life tests you, and again, it will, remember that the challenges are not happening to you, but for you. The world isn't taking away what you have, it's giving you what you need. so long as you're willing to adapt with it, to grow, expand out, because you not only have the ability to change yourself, but the world as well.

Empowerment is knowing that you have control of your life, that you create the expectations and you carry them out. whether it be tomorrow, in a month, in a year, or even longer, just knowing that the image in your head is the standard. It's fact. Because when you leave the door open, when you leave the door to your ambitions cracked, even the smallest amount, the realities of the present moment,

they find their way in and they create dissonance. They want you to see, they want you to be intimidated by the gap between what you have and what you, you want. And truly the greatest gift I've ever given myself is to start every pursuit knowing that whatever I'm chasing, whatever it is I want to obtain, it will be reality. It's possible. Period. That's my starting point. All I have to do is connect the dots. No questions. Just steps. So there's a certainty that I possess as I move on to the next level. And as a creator, whether I'm creating for my YouTube channels, collaborations, clients, it doesn't really

matter. There's a common theme. And it's that the world can't see the image you have in your head until you complete it, upload it, share it, email the final result. You know what the outcome will be in a way that just can't be expressed or articulated. It can only be shown upon completion. and you must be the one to show it, by the way. The reason that's so significant is because there's no difference between making a film or realizing a dream. Either way, there's no rewards, there's no applause, there's no assurances until you're done, until you've crossed the finish line. Just like a client can only point to things they've seen as a reference point.

Well, the people around you, they only know the present moment. They only know how things are. And so it's borderline crazy to put those opinions on a pedestal, right? To absorb that criticism, to adhere to those rules. They navigate around the now, the present, not the future, not where you're going. Who cares about the now? You'll just be looking back at it as you make your way on to your next goal. See, all this circles back to those dots that need to be connected.

Because the places you're going, the things you're becoming, they require three things. The understanding that all problems have solutions, the certainty that you will find them, and the persistence to power three. That's all. That's the mentality that will put you in a position to do anything you want. It will empower you. It's not that the people around you are dumb or that the world wants you to fail. It's just that placing your fate in their hands is meaningless.

To discount your dream based on how things are or the opinion of someone else is like a pilot worrying about airspace he's already flown through. Or asking the random dude in seat 22B to fly the plane, right? They are passengers on the journey, a journey that is worth the climb, that will be rewarding, that is waiting, but you have to be the one to see it. And you have to see it before the world does. You have to believe it before anyone else will. Because you'll build brick by brick on a foundation that the rest of the world would simply walk right by. Why? Because right now it's not a skyscraper with a beautiful architecture, 50 floors and an incredible view.

Right now it's an ordinary plot of land that no one would think twice about. So remember, yes. It's possible. Yes, there is a way. And when we focus on the vision and connecting the dot in front of you, the world opens up. Be your own biggest fan. Learn to cherish the sound of your own applause because that is always what must come first. Sometimes what you don't do is more powerful than what you do. Sometimes the answer is not the home run or something. 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 nose. No, to the faint whispering that you came. No to the feelings of

inadequacy and no to the reflection staring back at you that just feel feels ordinary. As 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. is not a movie, there is no fixed ending, and where there are unknowns, there is fear. That's not rocket science, unknowns 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 picked. while you dance to melodies of songs unwritten 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 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. not. So 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 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 changed. Your job is not to make a finish 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 us. Let's 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 would be letting go. Being lost is not about what you don't have. It's about temporarily forgetting what you do have. Forgetting that contained within every dark room is a little light switch that hangs within an arm's reach

And see, the reason this is so powerful, the reason it's been so important to me is because every time I'm in a lull or navigating a low point like we all do, I remember something that acts as that hand to pull me back up. I remember that everything I need I have. See, I used to use the word stock as to imply immobility, being powerly. to the outside world when in reality, I just had to remind myself that the path to recreation

is always in front of me. And the map needed to navigate is always folded up in my back pocket. In essence, what I learned is that helpless is not a situation. Helpless is a decision. And one I'd simply never choose. Life's challenges. They are not a display of your insufficiency. No, they are a

reminder of just how powerful you are. If you never let yourself fall, hit a low, or lose your way, you'd never get to see the miracle that is your resiliency. You'd never get to look in the mirror and see the reflection that is the conqueror of worlds and the slayer of dragons. You'd never get to climb the mountain from which you'd ultimately look and see a world of your making. There's a story about some frogs. And, you know, these frogs as are sort of making their way through the woods, the ground breaks underneath them, and two of them fall into this little pit. way, way down. They tumble and eventually they hit the bottom. They're looking up and they're realizing how far they've fallen, right? Moving around, panicking, essentially coming to grips with the

situation that they're now in. They start frantically jumping, trying to climb the walls. And as they're jumping, the frogs on top are looking down. They're basically yelling, look, we're sorry this happened to you. But this is a lot of them. lost cause, there's no way out for you guys. There's no need to jump around. This is a futile situation. But they continue to jump and they're jumped, not willing to come to terms with that possibility, not yet. And again, the frogs up top, they yell down, you know, there's no way. It's over. You're going to die down there, guys. You need to ultimately face that. And one of the two frogs in the pit does concede to the situation. He hears the voices and, you know, he stops

jumping and makes his way further down the pit and he dies. But the second one, the second one keeps jumping and adjusting his approach, trying different things. Ultimately, he does get out. He climbs over the ledge and when he gets to the top, he's confronted by the others. And they come up to him, they ask him, hey, didn't you hear us yelling down that the situation was implaus? Didn't you hear a say there was no way out? And as it turns out, he didn't hear. Because this frog was deaf, right? So we couldn't hear a single word.

And this ultimately saved his life. Not because it helped him do the miraculous or the impossible, but because it blocked out the outside voices, attempting to tell him what possible is. Look, there will always be doubters, skeptics and cynics, as Aristotle said, there is one way to avoid criticism. Do nothing, say nothing, and be nothing. But the beauty is that these voices have one thing in common, and that's their irrelevance. Because there's one voice that matters in the writing of your story, and that voice

belongs to you. Never forget how much control you have. Never forget who holds the pen. Things are real when you make them real. Things stop when you stop. Things change when you change them. So here's the following, not orders or expectations, but that spark that guides you to what feels right, to what means the most. Here's to an everlasting self-belief.

That will lift you out of any hole, carry you over any mountain, and most importantly turn blank. pages into a story that is truly your... So imagine years from now. Way down the road, you're older, sitting on your front porch, kind of fist propped up under your chin, you're staring out, and thinking about your life.

You're thinking about the decisions you made, the things you did and didn't do. What would you be thinking? What would you change? Would there be regrets? There's a lot of research around this topic in one of the most important books written on it by Brani Ware talks about the regrets of the dying. One of them is wishing I had the courage to live a life true to myself. So you're sitting there, you're looking out and you're imagining what if you acted differently?

differently? What if you tried? What if you started? And you go back to that moment where you were looking fate in the eye and you had to make that decision, right? That singular decision. It showed its face repeatedly, but the decision more or less remained the same. It was vulnerability or safety. Choose one. Vulnerability or safety. Safety. That innate desire to not disrupt or challenge the way things are. Even when you know in your core, there's more out there. See, safety is the wolf in sheep's clothing. Watching life happen through a window is incredibly safe, but it means you're forfeiting the essence of life in exchange for a front row seat to watch others live it. It means you don't capture that.

adrenaline that drives us. You don't take part in the emotion that excites us. It means you don't meet the people who would change your life and you don't see the places that would take what you know of reality and transform it. Now, equating safety with contentment is the product of outdated thinking, an outdated operating system. It's indicative of a way of looking at the world that used to be life or death, but now in 2020, in modern day society, it's regret. And the first step in changing something is to become aware of your current circumstance. It's to realize you're not wrong or guilty for thinking small or taking a backseat to fear. That's what humans do.

It's our default setting. But it's your fault if you don't do anything to change it. It's your fault if once recognized you don't pick up the pieces and create a different narrative. You know, I always say the most important changes we can make, they're simple. They're not easy, but they are simple. that road to something new always starts with seeing beyond the confines of the world that you've accepted for yourself. Understanding the reality that dictates your reasoning, thought patterns, and decision making can change. Because my friends, if you can remember one thing

and one thing only, it's this. Fear is not the enemy. It is the ally you need most. Inaction, is the enemy doubt is the enemy not fear Seneca says we suffer more often in imagination than reality mark Twain has says do the thing you fear most and death of fear is certain it's like jumping into a pool on a hot day you get a second or two of discomfort before you can acclimate into something better see people are stronger than they think they are, they are adaptable, they are resilient. But to see this, we must move beyond the stories in our head. So back to that rocking chair, you're thinking back, that fork in the road, and maybe you choose the challenging path, the one that scares you and maybe you

fall flat on your face. But you get up a little smarter, a little better equipped, and you're and you keep going. And maybe you fall and you fail again and again. And in comes the criticism. But you see that maybe criticism doesn't kill you. In fact, it does nothing if you don't let it. And again, you pick yourself up and you carry on. And you pick up some allies along the way.

You expand your skill set. You drive towards mastery. In day in, day out, you continue to. to fall, to trip. But eventually you look back and you see something you haven't seen before. Distance. And you realize you are not the same person you once were.

You realize what you have right now. Simply through a process of falling and rising again, you have redefined your existence. You've redefined what's possible. You've redefined the people, the places, the things that matter. And it dawns on you. that falling, that fear, that the unknown wasn't the problem,

that that's not scary, it's just part of being better. It's the cost of greatness. You've been looking at things wrong, hiding from exactly the thing you should have been running towards, allowing into your life the very things that held you down, making you think comfort was the goal when it was shackling your feet to the ground and advising that spectating was a good thing.

No, not you. And when you sit down on that rocking chair and you look out, thinking of the life you made, let it be one of adventure, the failures that made you stronger, the wandering, that unveiled life's beauty, and the end that became beginnings, because that is the essence of a life, Screwy!

Lift. You look for, it tends to be what you find. What you believe is usually what you see. Which means your existence hinges on where you build your walls. And part of the reason stories, music, movies, they move us is because we're allowed, even if it's for a short period of time, to change our parameters on these things.

to let the mind navigate through a world without any limitation. When you think about it, we never fast forward through a movie so that we can quickly check off the box and complete it. Right? We never rush through to move on to the sequel. No, we want to experience it. We want to be overwhelmed by emotion, captivated by excitement lost in the mystery, and then when it's over, we retract, we return to reality. The walls come back up and the rules are reinstated. And from a 10,000-foot view,

you can't help but look at that and wonder if there's more there. Why do we have to retreat to this microcosm of our ideal world, where we're not rushed, we can enjoy the moment? Why does it take a dark room and objects depicted on a small screen for us to feel like it's acceptable to step outside of this everyday script? And the question isn't who's enforcing these rules.

The answer is always us, it's internal, but the question is why? Is it incomprehensible that the same excitement be inserted into your world? Is it out of the realm of possibility that the rush of adrenaline, the peace, experiences, the laughter, love, twists, and turns be inserted into reality? It's like we choose to be chased through life by ticking clocks and measured by socially constructed checkpoints. But we can move beyond that, much beyond in those checkpoints. They're just as imaginary as the talking raccoon you set aside three hours to watch last

So, by the way, you could escape from a manufactured reality. Right, there's a powerful authoritative line that separates our day to day from the imagination, and every second is about pushing that back. Never fast-forwarding through life, but making it unlike anything else. Never applying the word mandatory to things that don't warrant the term. We need to think working like a madman to build someone else's dream is not mandatory. Enjoying two-sevenths of your life is not mandatory. Being confined to one road when there are infinite paths of travel is not mandatory.

They're components of a bad movie. And my point is not to be ungrateful. It's not to be resentful. It's to remind you that things are the way they are because you've allowed them to be that way. that way. Nothing in life is destined, predetermined, or meant to be. Everything is decided. Life is chosen. Paths are taken. And sometimes a simple reminder that you have the flexibility to redefine the rules can make all the difference. You are entitled to happiness. Every day is a continuation of the extraordinary, not a break from it. And you have to see that. You have to believe

that you're not alive so that you can every so often escape. You're here to feel the imaginary, to challenge the make-believe. Our view of the world without a concentrated effort, it seems to come, and this is a reminder to disallow that to stop living for the 5% or the 10% and flip that ratio on its head. Now is the time to rewrite your story. time to rewrite your script, recraft your storyline. And if what you look for is what you get,

then it's time to see what you've never seen. Found a quote the other day. The time heals nothing unless you move along with it. And I thought, well, that makes perfect sense. You can't pursue a new reality, a new world, unless you can detach and depart from the current one. But that's in theory. And my question was, is it the destination or the path that holds us back?

Because in my experience, the greatest struggle in life, it isn't what to do, it's knowing how to do it. How do we get there? We know we need to get back up. But how? How do we initiate a spark and create momentum and take that world? of black and white and add color. Because those times of gray, when life seems to lose its purpose,

we find ourselves simply existing and not living, that's when we need answers. And I guess this quote, it jumped out at me because it prompted an equally important question, which is, now what? And I started thinking a few years back, 2017. probably the most difficult year of my life. It was void of, you know, many of that beautiful nuance, the uplifting moments that we like to remember when we look back. For me, it was, you know, essentially an ended relationship, was relocating away from family and friends, was having a few dollars in my bank account, everything I own in a trailer, and starting over.

And when I'll never forget about that experience, you know, in totality, was that I saw it colorless, bland, dark. Essentially, the road ahead had lost that glimmer that it once had. See, I used to get so much joy in telling stories. But life had kicked me around so hard that I, at least for the moment, forgot the point. Like, what was my reason? And I knew, like I said, what I had to do, but I couldn't wrap my arms around the how. How do you get the train moving again?

And then I got this email. Right? I'm going to paint a picture for you. New apartment. Trash. There's stuff everywhere. Suitcases open. I haven't shaved in two weeks.

I'm exhausted. Couldn't sleep. Sitting there frustrated with my laptop. And the email is basically someone looking to create a documentary. Asking if they could stay with me for three days. And create a film about always maintaining discipline and living a productive life. and I just erupted into laughter, right? I don't think Seinfeld could have written something more ironic.

It was just, it made no sense. But it caused me to reflect, right? I obviously declined the video. It just wouldn't have felt right or accurate in that moment. But I started to think, how is there such a gap between the old me and who I was sitting on that bed? Is this the new me? And if it's not, why have I allowed this imposter to stay so long?

I've always said a life changes one decision away. A light switch away. Just reach out and find it. And when you're going through times like this, it's funny. Life has a way of doing its best to conceal the beauty. It's like it becomes this black in white painting and it stays that way. It stays that way until you put color into it. One brush stroke at a time.

Because life is intimidating when you see everything you're not. When the blank canvas feels like emptiness and not opportunity. But life doesn't require of you the whole picture. Masterpieces, they aren't made overnight. They're not instantaneous. They are a product of trust, of faith. Not in the canvas or the brush, but in the artist. Through his eyes, he's capable of transatlantic.

transforming his experience into art, his misfortune into meaning. Victor Frankl uses the metaphor of a movie, each day being its own scene, where often they don't even come together until the very last act. Trust that. Believe that. But man, start painting. In the very next morning, like everyone, before it I woke up to a yellow beam of light making its way through a crack in the

blinds painting the wall of an otherwise dimly lit room but this time I saw it this time I didn't close the blinds I opened my eyes and sometimes that alone is the little hinge that swings a big door a door that I walked through and I saw the green of the palm trees the beauty the simplicity and thought, how lucky am I to be where I am when I am? I saw a blue sky, a miracle in its own right, that's not confined to story or narrative, and well, maybe I'm not either.

The white of the sidewalk leading me to wherever I choose to go next, the red of my running shoes hitting the pavement, the gold of the sun bouncing off the buildings, the black of a cup of warm coffee as I choose. soak in the day and the teal chandelier that hangs over the horizon as the same sun that started it all retreats after a hard day's work see you have everything you need and life is not always perfect but it is always what you make it how things are it's not how they should be your need to be but how you've allowed them to be.

And most importantly, black and white does not describe reality so much as it describes what's not there. What's missing from reality. And my hope is to never conform to that sketch or outline that masquerades as truth, but to see beyond it.

To find the strength, the courage, the self-belief, to pick up the brush and live life in color. Sometimes success is merely hanging on when others would let go. Not doing anything spectacular or out of the ordinary. Not leaping a mile or jumping over a mountain, but simply carrying on. Thomas Edison has a famous quote that's really stuck with me over the years. He says, many of life's failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.

Right? How close they were to the finish line when they turned their back and said it wasn't worth it. It's really an interesting thing to grasp. Success is seeing what else. others can't. It's believing when others don't. It's taking the abstract, those visions, those pictures in your head to make believe in finding the courage to make them real. Bring them to life. It's this constantly evolving process and it grows a little bit every single day. Sometimes we feel that progress. We feel the momentum. We do something big and it's exciting. And sometimes

the progress feels small. And then there are times when we get knocked down and we don't see it at all. We feel like because we weren't validated that we lost, that we failed, that it wasn't enough. We forget that's part of the process, that progress is a journey.

And it goes when you go and it stops when you stop. Just like that famous Dalai Lama quote, right? The only way to fail is to quit. Period. No one ever stops because they can't. They stop because they decide to. They stop because they see that huge mountain and they think that's impossible. They forget it's only made of little rocks. They stop because they get so disheartened by the distance of the finish line that they forget it only takes a collection of little steps to get there. You don't have to leap the entire distance.

You know, I've been there. This is me speaking from experience. It took me years to figure it out. And even now, life is rapidly evolving. I've poured my heart into things that, let's be honest, no one cared about. I've invested in opportunities that fell apart right in front of me. And each time it felt like the end of the world. I've been lost.

I've been unsure. Gotten up after things didn't go as planned and it felt like a loser. I had to look myself in the mirror and pick myself back up off the floor. But there's one thing that I kept doing that I never thought twice about. And that's continuing on. Whether life lifted me up or it beat me down, my plan for tomorrow was always the same. Get up and try again. Keep going.

And as I sat down this morning with my pen and a piece of paper, I thought, what's the one thing I would want to be told if I started out again? What's the one thing that people need to hear most? And it's to simply keep going. Keep taking steps. Because one day the world will start to make sense. And you'll look around and you will be thankful for one thing. that when most would have stopped, you didn't. When the world said no, you said yes.

There is nothing so powerful as a soul that refuses to back down. See, persistence is not an important thing or an essential thing. It's everything. So live as to see. Not what can be lost, but what will be. game. Find that light in darkness even if it's a flicker, even if it's a spark. See, every loss makes you a little tougher and every instant of sadness uncover something beautiful. Every moment of fear teaches you to be a little braver. Every broken heart opens the door to a new

connection. Instead of doubting yourself, feeling inadequate, and like, darkest moments know that you need what you are going through. You are uncovering the little victories hidden in plain view. So when the world feels like too much and your patience is thin, be stronger than that voice in your head, begging you to think small. Stand on every experience, the good and the bad, let it elevate you to a beautiful tomorrow. Beautiful tomorrow.