Your World Within Podcast by Eddie Pinero - UNLEASH THE POWER OF YOUR MIND | Best Motivational Speeches | Morning Inspiration

Episode Date: September 25, 2023

"All problems are illusions of the mind" - Eckhart Tolle As we stand on the vast stage of life, it’s essential to remember that the world is neither our ally nor our enemy–it simply is.  This vast, expansive universe we call home remains indifferent, not pausing or bending to our individual wants and whims. As much as we’d like to believe otherwise, life doesn’t owe us favors, breaks, or good times. Remember those childhood days? Days when loving voices told us we were unique, special, destined for great things? Well, here’s the twist: while every one of us begins with a blank canvas, an untold story, a world of potential—it’s our choices, actions, and resilience that dictate how that story unfolds. Think of the world as a tool, a hammer, to be precise. In our hands, this hammer can help craft remarkable creations, forging legacies that last lifetimes. Or, with one misjudgment, it can bring destruction. But the hammer itself is simply a tool. Its power lies in our intent, our vision, and our determination.  Our journeys, our trials, and our victories—each adds a brushstroke to our canvas. And it's entirely up to us to make it a masterpiece.  We may not enter this world with a crown of specialness bestowed upon us, but that doesn’t mean we can’t leave an indelible, unique mark behind. How will you leave your mark? Eddie

If you want to be empowered, understand this. The world is indifferent to you. It's not an enemy, but it's not a friend either. It's a tool. The same way that attributing any type of motive to a hammer would be ridiculous, right? I've seen hammers build things and I've seen hammers destroy things. Well, the same can be said for the world around you. What it becomes is to determine.

determined entirely by how you choose to utilize it. You know, there are things we learn as we navigate through life that change us. And one of the most critical for me was understanding that, yes, the world is indifferent to me and no, I am not special. Doesn't mean I can't go do amazing things, help people, change the way things are. But if those results materialize, it will be because of what I made with what surrounds us, with what surrounds me. Not because of what the world owed me,

or because I was special or deserving. No, it will be because I set my sights on something in pursuit it. And so you ask, why is this empowerment? It's empowerment because it puts things into perspective, and perspective is power. It simplifies the road ahead. The bad things that happen, they are not personal, they are not personal, they don't mean the deck is stacked against you,

and those good things they are never guaranteed. Everything's a question of grit, of depersonalizing the lows in an effort to capture those fleeting highs. Life is not predetermined, life is a game. A game that you have the ability to win, to leave this place better than you found it. But you're also capable of taking a different path. It's just as easy to highlight the flaws, to take on the role of a perpetual victim.

The tools are there to do both. And so the question is, what will you do with what you have? Because it's not about where you start. It's not about where you came from. It's about choosing to look around you and say, I choose to be an architect. From this reality, I will build. I will contribute.

I will go forth and conquer. When the walls cave in, it's not because you can't or shouldn't. It's because sometimes in life, walls cave in. And now you choose whether to lay in the rubble or rise from the ashes. And this fork in the road, it's going to present itself many times. The ones who get angry, who point out, who project blame, who will live very different lives

than the ones who brush it off as an obstacle on the windy road that is life and press forward. You did not arrive here special, but you sure as hell can leave here special. The world may be indifferent, but you are not. If you're passionate, if you move forward with conviction, you'll become friends with the trials and allies with the tribulations.

You'll see that growth only stops, not when an angry world around you decides it's so, but when you do. When your feet stop moving and your heart longs for the horizon no more. But until then, it's all systems go. Until then, you build. You can only exist within the walls you've placed around yourself. So, question. Where have you placed them? Think of the concept.

You can only hit targets that you aim for and expand it out. Because my point here is you can only exist in the plane that you have deemed to be real for you, that you have decided is reality. And if we think about that, just on a common sense basis, it's pretty apparent, right? People don't do things that stretch beyond their perceived identity.

If I don't think I'm capable of accumulating wealth, for example, I'm simply not going to do the things or take the necessary steps required to accumulate wealth. Why would I? If I don't think I can help or add value to others, I'm not going to do things in an attempt to help or add value to others. Using that example, that stuff would exist on the other side of those walls I've placed around myself. That's why deciding what those targets are is so important.

Deciding what's real matters. Because if you set the scope too small, if your reality is void of all possibility and imagination, even if you win, you've conceded too much. The premise you've been basing your entire existence and your decisions on is so limited that you can win there and still lose overall, still leave everything on the table. And there's, you know, a ton of examples of this. You know, I commonly hear people refer to it with their work. I'm not crazy about what I'm doing, but how do I fix it?

How do I learn to like this job? How do I exceed expectations in my role? How do I get a promotion so that I can bring in more income? All valid questions, certainly valuable questions, if it's where you should be. And I can tell you, I remember asking those same questions to myself, and the conclusion I finally came to was, no, what you need exists on the other side of those walls.

In this part of your life, it's critical that you move beyond those parameters. That's not what lights a fire in everyone, but it's what lit a fire in me. I was asking the wrong questions, right? Let's go over there and start your own business, start your own journey, start sharing the things you want to share. So what Alex Hermosso refers to is playing a different game altogether.

And it's kind of a weird concept to grasp. You know, that you can win the game you're playing and still end up losing, you know, because you never thought to look for more. You never ventured to peer out over what was directly in front of you. This is a matter of self-reflection at its finest. Because you'd never see those walls unless you really took the time to think about it, to be alone with yourself and ask those questions. It's the fun what-ifs.

what if I stopped doing those things I don't like and started doing what I love? What if I didn't accept this as what I have to do and instead took a different path altogether? What if I was capable of playing a different game? And what we find is that we're capable of some pretty incredible transformations. We're capable of taking what matters out of a less than ideal environment

and recreating it somewhere that is ideal, that is conducive to our success in our growth and our evolution and our contentment. Instead of conceding so much and asking so few questions, why accept those limitations? So again, I ask, where have you built your walls and why?

And what if you push them back? like lines in the sand meant to be redrawn. See, perhaps the income coming in is a direct result of you feeling like, hey, that's just what I make. Perhaps your fitness level is the result of you thinking, that's just how I am. Perhaps your friends and the people you surround yourself with

are a result of you saying, it's just who I know. But there comes a point when new targets must be set and new lines drawn. At least if any type of evolution's going to go. You don't have to perpetually navigate the revenue streams, fitness levels, and friend groups you have now. You can play a different game.

Again, it's not always asking, how do I live within these walls, exist within these circumstances. Sometimes the question is, How do I step into a new arena entirely? One of the most important lessons I've learned is that I already have what I need most. Now, as I unpack this,

think of it not in a fluffy sort of your magical just the way you are context. And instead, let's look at it through a truly practical lens. Hey, life is about connecting dots. And I personally believe there's a way to make almost anything happen. You just need to figure out what dots have to be connected to get there. And, you know, even if this message isn't true 100% of the time, me believing in it, believing it so,

has pushed me to find ways to succeed when I otherwise would have walked away. To me, it's a 100% value ad. So let's dive in. Let's say you're currently going through a rut in life. Just not feeling good about yourself how things are. Okay, we've all been there in some capacity. You might think about your ideal life and think, well, I have none of that. I have none of those things.

I'm not any of those things, right? That's just a different world altogether. And when you look at it in one giant leap like that, you're correct. But again, your job is not to wake up tomorrow and be perfect. Open your eyes and be a god or goddess. Jump out of bed with the PhD and have your life all figured out. Right now, there's none of that. Your job, and this is the point here, is to simply connect dots from one little thing to the next.

So again, you're stuck. Let's say theoretically, the road to something better starts with energy. Having to feel good, otherwise doing anything is difficult. Feeling good, feeling energetic is a baseline. So draw a dot at waking up at a reasonable time, breathing in the morning air, letting the sun hit your face as it comes up in the morning. Boom, dot connected. You did that.

You're a little bit better. Next, make a dot at groceries. What are you taking in? How are you fueling yourself? Make a few changes that will have you feeling good about how you are taking care of your body. Boom, you just connected another dot. Next, dot at gym three days a week. You get the point, right?

These little changes, you're starting to feel like a different person. And you can see how this upward spiral works. works. None of those three things was a monumental transition. They were small manageable tasks. And everything of substance is a little change like this. Sometimes that's just hard to see. When you're frustrated, when you're looking at what you don't have, when you're comparing yourself to others, when all you see is the delta or the gap between where you are and where you want to be, All that is poison. But true change is about connecting little dots, making little roadmaps, being consistent but patient, expecting more of yourself, but also giving yourself love and grace as you make the journey.

And it's from this vantage point that you truly do already have everything you need. It doesn't matter the goal, objective, or pursuit. you have exactly what you need to win. Why? Because you have everything you need to connect that next dot. Always. If only we would stop wasting time looking out, wishing and chasing things, we think will solve our problems,

when in reality we walk around with the solution every single day. You know, Jim Rohn used to say. say it's not where you're going, it's who you become along the way. And I think this is because as we seek to evolve and grow, we learn to create and connect those dots. We trust ourselves that, look, we don't need one giant leap. We need to step.

We need little consistent action, and we're more capable of that than we could ever imagine. And I'll get personal for a second. And a goal of mine, I want to be one of the most impactful thinkers in orders of our generation. That invigorates me. It also is a lot, right? Even saying it feels like a lot. As the words come out of my mouth, it feels pretentious, right? Who am I to categorize myself with the best of the best, the nerve, right?

But I believe it. And I believe it wholeheartedly to the point that I've bet my life on it. Why? Because I don't need to wake up tomorrow. and write like Ralph Waldo Emerson or speak like MLK. I don't need to think like Nietzsche or inspire like Churchill. Nope, not tomorrow.

I just need to keep creating those little dots that will bring me closer and closer. I need to find ways to connect them in real time one day at a time, one dot at a time, and I will do that. And the best part, so can you. I'm not special. No, not in this regard.

What am I? I'm a decade into connecting dots. A decade into understanding that I have everything I need to take one step and another and another. And my friend, you are capable of the same. So understand that strange dichotomy of thinking big and small simultaneously. You have to dream big, otherwise what's the point?

You dream big because it forces you to ask big questions, pushes you to arrange and rearrange until you have evolved. But when we get caught up in the end result, we forget how to get there. You don't transport to greatness in your endeavor. No, you follow that roadmap, that roadmap of consistent steps. You connect the small, immediately achievable. They are the formula to outcomes that exceed expectations and bend reality.

So what do you need to ultimately arrive where you most want to be? Not a miracle. You need a simple understanding. You need to acknowledge that right now, in this moment, you have everything required to build and connect the next dot. And that will always be enough. I was watching a masterclass by author Margaret Atwood. It was on storytelling.

And, you know, I knew going into it, it would be interesting. I'm not a particular fan of her work, at least from a content perspective. But look, we're talking about someone who's, you know, truly made a mark on the world. Right? But there's a lot to be learned from her, so I buckled in and listened to what she had to say. And unsurprisingly, there was a lot of wisdom there. And there was one idea in particular that really resonated with me. Both as a writer, yeah, but also outside the quote-unquote creative space, which I'll get to in a second.

The idea was centered around finding the moment to begin, a story's true starting point. And it was interesting. She said, you know, people think stories start on page one, but she'll pick up a book. And I don't remember if she was referencing new authors or maybe someone, a book just off the shelf at a bookstore. But she'll be reading it and she'll think, ah, okay, so this story really begins on page 10. Like, that's the starting point. I think she even referenced her own writing process, being a few chapters in and thinking, ah, this needs to be the starting point. Got to cut away the other stuff and move this up to page one. And, you know, understanding that's obviously important for those looking to entertain and captivate an audience. You need to give the reader a reason to stick around.

But I can also very easily draw a parallel from that to, you know, a bigger picture, our real world. All I could think about was, you know, what story are you telling yourself and where did it start? Or more importantly, has it even? even started. There's something both liberating and beautiful about the fact that all of us, in the stories we are living, could at any moment, recreate that metaphorical first page. And I believe that with all my heart. Like we think, oh, page one started years ago. This is how things are now. This is where I exist in life. But what about the idea that beginnings don't have to start on page one? What about the idea?

that you can cut away as much as necessary to create the right beginning. The story that feels right to you. We don't know anything to the words that were written leading up to now. We're not beholden to the chapters that came before. Robin Sharma talks about the idea of killing your darlings, which is an old saying that refers to that very challenging task, writer's face of cutting away the things that aren't absolutely essential to the story's main nerve.

It's hard to do. We place value and importance on these things because they feel like a part of us. We feel like they're too significant to dismiss. But in reality, the act of letting go is ultimately a value add because it ensures that what matters is what's It's the ability to understand that the story doesn't begin when thoughts become words. It begins when there's alignment. When the story captivates, inspires. And in the one you're writing, the one that is your life, you can always make that moment right now.

There's always a new novel that can be written with new objectives and characters and storylines. It's okay to chop anything that led. to this moment. It's okay to create a beginning as you stand here today, right? It's the idea of sunk costs that changed my life years ago. Just because you spent a long time making a mistake doesn't mean you need to continue making it. Just because you've been writing the story of your life for years doesn't mean the beginning is behind you. You can start this novel here. You can begin this epic adventure now.

And I think there's tremendous power in looking at life like that. It's never too late for a new beginning. It's never wrong or impossible to, even at chapter 4, put your finger down on a new starting point and say, this is where it all begins. Where the new ideal takes shape. We are all authors. And if authors have anything, it's control over the narrative. It's the ability to design a world that aligns with the one they imagine.

Feeling stuck is a feature, not a bug. Having moments of doubt is a feature, not a bug. Losing perspective from time to time is a feature, not a bug. There's no way to step out. step out into the world and avoid these things. Therefore, the question is not, will these moments arise? The question is, when they inevitably do, what will you make of them? And I think that fork in the road is often very misunderstood.

How you look at the world around you is everything. Not because, as the great Tony Robbins says, you close your eyes and chant. There's no weeds, there's no weeds. suddenly gone from your garden, but because it's indicative of the choice we have. That when something happens, we don't always get to control how it unfolds before us, but we do get to choose what it means. And that's it. A simple decision.

And you can see how it's just as easy to go one way as it is to go another, citing another brilliant voice in this space, Jim Rohn used to say something along the lines of success is easy, right? It's nothing more than a few simple decisions every day. Well, when asked why isn't everyone successful, he'd say, because being unsuccessful is easy too. Choosing not to do those things is easy too. Right, everything is about your decoder. The world provides the pieces, but it makes you the And so what are you building? The ones who have had the greatest impact, designed beautiful change, added value to the world,

they did it through chaos. Yet those who are the angriest who've done very little with the Gifts Alada to them, they'll cite some variation of chaos for the reason they haven't succeeded. It's the lens, it's the decoder. It's the decoder, it's the fork in the road and you choosing which direction you will take. If you're feeling trapped in a routine, you have in some capacity taken the pieces around you and created a story of limitation. You're forgetting that nothing is stopping you from trying something new today, taking a risk

today. When you're feeling insufficient or like everyone around you has it all figured out, you've taken the pieces and created a story of imaginary adversaries. This is not you versus the world, it is you versus you. This moment has given you a fresh start, a chance to find alignment with that which is meaningful to. One of my favorite metaphors, life is a staircase, where the chaos and the turbulence are ultimately there for you to tame and then move on to the next step.

In fact, that's the only way we climb. The world will consist of challenges and one of the most important gifts we can give to ourselves is to remove the notion that we can just waltz on through with zero problems. Having that as the benchmark sets us up for failure. There is no perfect path or pursuit. Instead ask where is the value? When we fall, ask where is the value? How can I rise, grow, adjust?

That's why perspective is everything. One man or woman's business failure is the reason he says, I tried and talks about what could have been over beer with his buddies for the next decade. Another man or woman's failure is the reason she's able to pinpoint where the problems existed and come back stronger. wiser, armed with solutions. See, these aren't wildly different circumstances or initial occurrences. What has occurred are wildly different interpretations, wildly different reactions.

Trust me, I'm human. I get the instinct to point out at the world. To shake your fist at the sky, turn your back on the opportunity, But in truth, that's the only way to ensure values not obtained. There's a stoic anecdote about a teacher on a boat out at sea during a storm and it's enormous, right? The waves are crashing over the side of the boat, rocking the boat back and forth. And that teacher turns pale just like everyone else. He freezes in fear just like everyone else.

The only difference is the teacher is not going to be. is not crying out or screaming. Right? And the message here is that the initial reaction, that's human. It's human to feel anger, it's human to feel frustration, fear, doubt. The difference comes down to can you pause? Can you collect yourself and instead of immersing yourself in the emotion, ask, what can I become from this?

That is power. A relationship ended. Okay. How can I now plant a seed to greater fulfillment? The plan didn't work. Okay. Why? What can I learn that will be advantageous on the next approach? I'm lost. I don't know what to do.

Okay? Instead of thinking less of yourself or the lack of knowledge, how about appreciating? appreciating the fact that you've established a foundation upon which a solution can now be sought. Losses do not exist so long as adversity is pointed out and transformed into value. And whether or not that happens is entirely up to you. When it hurts, there is value. When you're down, there is value.

There's always something so long as we learn to find it. And that's what will make all the difference. Adversity is not avoidable, but living right means knowing it can't be avoided because it's a requirement. It's from the chaos that calm and order and meaning and growth and momentum are obtained. So even though you may be tempted to turn your back to run or cry out when the winds are strong and the waves come crashing down. on your reality, remember that you can not only withstand the disarray, but you can come out on the other side stronger.