Your World Within Podcast by Eddie Pinero - WAKE UP & REMEMBER WHO YOU ARE | Morning Motivation | Powerful Motivational Speeches 2022

Episode Date: July 27, 2022

"Never forget where you came from and never take your eyes off where you're heading" - unknown

Find a way. Because first and foremost, there always is one. Find a way because you are more than strong enough. Because anything other than a solution or some semblance of progress means you gave in. Called it quits, threw in the towel, and giving in is not who you are. Find a way because that discomfort today, well, it becomes our greatest source of pride tomorrow. The simple decision to carry on or stick it out now is so much more than it appears to be when under duress. Sure, it's easy to turn around, but everything.

Everything relies on your moving forward into that darkness. Find a way. Because while we may think we want safety and need predictability, our souls want adventure. Life's meaning is comprised of the mountains climbed and dragons slayed, so step out and slay your dragons. Find a way. Because an evolved self has to be earned.

Keeping promises to yourself is no small ordeal. Putting your head on the pillow at night, knowing you followed through on who you decided you would be. That's power. It creates a trajectory towards infinite possibility. It points you. at the stars. Find a way because you must reinforce the fact

that the world is clay to be molded, not a checklist. It's a game, not a chore, a gift, not an obligation. When you find a way, you become the ruler of your own kingdom. Look, there exists a way, a path That's not the question. The question is one of effort. Is there a willingness to move beyond the parameters imposed upon you by others, by the past,

by the thoughts that bounce around in your head? Is there a willingness to endure duress in the short term? Is there a willingness to fall down now, to look dumb, to not always be perfectly packaged or assembled? Are you willing to endure that in exchange for the infinite? I remember hearing the mantra, there is always a way to get to your finish line. It's not can I? It's not, is it possible? No, it's how.

How do I get there? The dots exist. You have to be the one to connect them. You have to build bridges over the oceans of unknowns, the valleys comprised of the unforeseen. Oh, there is a way. Remember that. Remember that it's not the destination that's in question,

but one's willingness to knock and knock and knock until the right door opens. Remember that you have everything you need, That you are armed with all that is required. You were made to connect those very dots before you. You just have to decide what's more important to you. That feeling of reaching the top of the mountain or the feeling of its shade at the bottom. What will you give to be more than you've ever been?

Do more than you've ever done. There is all. Always away. Are you willing to find it? Or you can ever get to where you're going. You have to decide to begin. You have to acknowledge that what you're chasing means more to you than what you are leaving behind. And then begins the greatest adventure you will ever experience.

knowing that you have turned someday into right now. That the road beneath you is waving you on, the wind at your back, it pushes you forward. There are no guarantees in life. But that just might be what makes it so incredible. You'll only go as far as you allow your imagination. to take you, whether it's the end of your driveway or where the sun and the ocean intersect. Someday the things that you currently don't understand will make sense. Someday the big things you're dealing with won't seem so big anymore.

Someday the doubts you have about yourself will be revealed as false. Someday you'll see that the things you worry about didn't matter at all. Someday you'll see that the road before you wasn't something you had to walk flawlessly, but rather something you had to trust and believe in. Someday you'll look in the mirror and see that you had it in you the entire time, that there was nothing you needed or should have been hoping for. someday someday that will all be true but what about some days from the past I remember years ago thinking someday I would venture out into the world someday I'd

speak my mind someday I would start my own business I would surround myself with people who believed in what I believe someday I'd make a little more money have a little more more time to do what I love. Someday I'd have all that. And as I look around, I realize it looks a lot like someday. But guess what? As we grow, so do our some days. It's a chase that never ends. There's always something more. There's always something bigger and better. And the problem is not the ambition. The problem is forgetting that in so many ways, you've dreamt of being where you stand right now. You have arrived. You're not the same person that 10 years ago was throwing some days out into the universe. No, you have grown. You have learned. You have evolved.

Why does this matter? It matters. Because without acknowledging how far you've come, you cannot acquire the strength needed to go where you must go. When you don't feel good enough, it's often because you haven't looked over your shoulder and opened your eyes. The evidence is right there. It's hiding in plain sight.

There's proof that you've been. there, that you faced demons and conquered them, endured your battles, and overcame. You did that. And at one point, not that long ago, you couldn't say that you had. You weren't yet that person, but things are different. Now, what you have today was once only that hopeful someday. It was a fleeting thought. It had no merit and no value. Yet you brought it to life. Look what you've done. Understand how far you've come, how you ran when you could, you walked when it was possible, you crawled when you had to.

And continued on to arrive at a someday that is right now. You, my friend, are a maker of things unseen, an architect of tomorrows and some days, so don't you dare. Don't you ever entertain the delusion that this gift suddenly stops now. Suddenly the burden is too much. The mountain is too tall. No, what you do is overcome. That is who you are. You've done it for you.

You've done it for the ones you love. And in some cases, the ones who didn't even understand, but you kept going, marching through the fires of hell to turn some days into right now. And I get that the road before you is uncertain. There's no way to know exactly how life will unfold. But that's besides the point. A bird can't predict every gust of wind it's going to encounter. It spreads its wings, takes off, and adapts because it can, because it always has, because that's what it does.

I'm not advocating that you should have all the answers. No, I'm suggesting that you trust yourself to find them. To move forward into the haze that surrounds you, to make sense of the seemingly illogical, bring about reality from the make-believe. Someday you will have what you're aiming for. But here's to never letting a today go by without realizing that you are always living out a someday from your past,

you are always arriving and leaving simultaneously. The accomplished and the student, crossing a finish line and on the starting block, with another race around the corner, another chance to stretch your legs and reach for the heavens. If you ever forget that, I ask that you find it within yourself to look over your shoulder. to remember what you once asked for,

and to appreciate the journey that you have undertaken. You did that. Now onward you go, you have more some days to bring to light. A little girl walked up to the edge of a river, took a piece of paper out of her pocket, folded it into a little boat, and pushed it out into the open water.

The little boat made its way with the current, kind of unsure where it would take him or what it would ultimately mean, and for days he felt helpless, lost. Until one day a storm pushed him to the edge of the riverbank. A man picked up the little boat and began examining it. Is this my home? asked the little boat. Well, wouldn't you be the only one who knows the answer to that? The man asked.

I suppose so, said the boat. It doesn't feel like home. So the man nodded, started to put the boat back in the water. Before the little boat cried out, wait, I don't want to go back in the water. I'm scared, I'm lost, I'm alone. The man, with the reassuring smile, pushed the boat back out into the water and said, look, I've felt how you feel. And I've been where you are.

I know what it's like to not know where home is, but the only way to find it is to carry on. is to carry on. That water is your path and little boat you're not alone. The little boat kind of gathers himself, starts making his way down the river. A few more hours go by. Suddenly he runs into some plants that are popping out over the surface of the water. He realizes pretty quickly he's stocky, can't move. The panic starts to set in, he's freaking out.

He's thinking now I'm never going to find home. Right? All these terrible thoughts start going through his mind. He's screaming for help. But then he sees a mom with their son over on the shore. The child points to the little boat, says, Mom, look, another one's stuck. We need to help it. The mom says, no, this one will break free too,

just like the last one did. Give it some time. The little boat hears them and starts thinking, wait, someone else got out of this situation. The thought never really crossed his mind. that it was possible. So he takes a breath, starts rocking from side to side, building momentum. A few seconds later, the plant's grip starts to lessen.

He nudges his way to the front of the brush, and sure enough, slips back into the flow of the stream. The little boy points his mom, look, the little boat got out, she says. He sure did, baby. He just had to realize that he could. So the boat, again, collects himself, keeps making his way down the river proud now. right, feeling accomplished growing into a paper boat of his own making, when sure enough, that wind shifted direction. Suddenly he's not able to go where he wants to go, starts drifting towards the muddy riverbank.

How could this be happening again, he thinks to himself, but see, that little boat started to learn a thing or two about life, that it wasn't all smooth sailing, that it would present its obstacles, but that contained within that little paper sea vessel was far more power than he knew. So he unfastened the excess paper on the back and the sides of the boat and created a little sail, and at first nothing happened. He waited.

Knowing that this was it, this was make or break for him, he adjusted one more time. He could see the shore, feet from where he was. And then suddenly he felt himself turned. started making its way back downstream. Against all odds, he had managed to get back on track. And he was so excited about this that he didn't even notice the water had cleared out

and led him to this giant opening. It took him a second to adjust, but when he did, he saw boats of all shapes and sizes from paper to the largest boats he'd ever seen. So he went up to the first one he saw, a little red and white canoe, white canoe drifting around. He said, I can't even believe this. You have no idea what I went through to get here. I almost landed in the wrong place. Then I got stuck in some brush. I thought it was

over for me. Then to top it all off, I started drifting towards the muddy riverbank and I barely adjusted course. I'm talking seconds. The red and white canoe smiles and says, well, so did I. And that's just it. That's the magic of this place. You can't even get here until you learn that the wrong stops are inevitable, but that they don't define you, that you have the strength to keep searching.

Until you learn that you have the ability to get yourself unstuck. That life setbacks aren't forever and that you can find a way. Until you learn that some things you can't control, but how powerful are the ones you can. As the saying goes, you can't change the wind, but Little Boat, you can always adjust your sails. These are the things we all had to learn.

Little Boat looks at him and says, but how was I supposed to know that? That I wasn't the only one. Well, that's the thing. You don't really find out until you arrive. I guess it's just one of those funny aspects of life. Well, I'm going to tell the world, said the Little Boat, that no one is alone. That we all get off at the wrong stops, that we all get stuck, that we all have to adjust course, but the trick is to keep sailing downriver, no matter what, keep sailing down river.

I'm going to tell everyone that they are not alone. That's a brilliant idea, said the red and white canoe. Now come on, I'll show you around. You're going to really like this place. I've come to accept the fact that I'm a loser. The more people say otherwise, the more I prove over and over again that it's just who I am. Stuck in my ways, an outsider, outcast, out of my mind, loser. See, it started with my old identity, who I used to be, I lost that.

Then I lost those people that made me feel small, the ones holding me back. Bye. Would the street continue? You bet. Lost that need to please others. Hey, it turns out I know what's best for me better than they do. Lost the things being done out of obligation and not purpose. Lost the wrong metrics I was using to measure success.

Gone. Lost my way so that I might find something better. That was hard. I thought I might lose my mind, but I found it. Just lost my old way of thinking, and hey, that's a win. Lost yesterday, found tomorrow. Lost scarcity, but found abundance. I lost two the people who were more talented, better skilled,

the ones who outclassed me fine. Showed me what it took to win. I lost my heart a few times. That sucked, but it looks like it still works, so we're good. I lost my purpose, followed the shiny objects instead of the things that matter, that matter, but sometimes seeing what doesn't shine puts a spotlight on what does. Keeps me swinging from star to star, and hey, I like it here. I lose my discipline from time to time, but hey, regret hurts more, so I force myself to find it.

As I write this out, speak it into existence, I'm losing track of time. All is forgotten, but I think that's how it should be. I hope I lose more tomorrow. Yeah, I lose a lot. Thank God. Dear younger me, there's a lot. but you don't know. A lot, you're pretty sure you understand,

but couldn't possibly wrap your hands around. Because the most important things in life, the things that you'll remember, they're the very things that seem like footnotes in your story. Background noise, hidden in plain view. So younger me, hear me out, because time goes by, quickly. And we only get one opportunity to do this dance, one chance to do this thing right.

Younger me, when you wake up, be thankful for the shoes on your feet, the house you live in, the life you lead, because if all you do is focus on what you don't have or the next milestone, happiness becomes a mirage. Younger me, the world as you know it isn't something that was destined to be. It's here because people know smarter than you have the courage to build it. Never be scared to challenge what is. This place will be better because of it. And younger me, it will always be easier to play it safe, to stay comfortable, but I want you to understand something. That's not where you'll find the good stuff. If you don't take chances, you'll spend your time wondering what could have been.

Younger me, believe in your greatness. This world can be a tough place, and if you don't believe in yourself, no one will do it for you. No one will hand you the sky. Earn excellence every day. It's there, I promise. Younger me, don't get distracted by the small stuff, the little things that so easily consume our energy and emotions.

Don't lose sight of who you are and what means the most to you. Everything else washes away. Younger me, you didn't have all the answers, but somehow you were exactly what I needed you to be. You created a map. You showed that change can't happen until one falls victim to life's imperfections. That risks aren't taken until you've experienced regret,

that confidence isn't acquired if you don't learn to play the student And most importantly, if you don't allow yourself to get lost, you will never discover who you truly are. 20 years from now, when we meet again, younger me, I know you'll do the same. I know you'll have given me everything I needed, nothing more and nothing less. Because time goes by quickly. And we only get one opportunity to do this dance, one chance to make this right. And I promise you, younger me, that it won't be wasted.

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 yeses, they're important. But they're nothing compared to the noes. 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 feels ordinary.

Because 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 unwritten and are led to the music. by the characters and 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 you. 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 traveled. 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 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. Why is this battle you versus you? With all the complexity, all the obstacles out there,

why are you your greatest opponent? Well, to put it simply, because all those obstacles and all that complexity still can't tell you no. They can't say enough is enough. They can't look back at you and say, let's just settle for what we have now. No, only you can do that. The world may create the landscape.

It may construct the terrain and those obstacles. But you are the sole decider on where along the way you stop. You decide how far you want to go and how much you are. are willing to endure. When it comes to your advancement or limitation, you are in the drivers. I just picked up a copy of Will Smith's recent book, and one of the ideas that stood out to me was resilient. And this part in the book, it's actually kind of uncomfortable to get through, but incredibly powerful. He's talking about his childhood and the polarity of his father's personality. A man who would do anything to provide for his family, he took pride in that and saw it as his primary responsibility.

But simultaneously was their greatest source of pain. And he mentions his father, you know, hitting his mother from time to time. In one particular example, struck his mother in the face so hard that it knocked her on the floor. And as she stood back up, she said something along the lines of, you can hit me, but you can't hurt me. And that was the first time Will, understood as a child, the difference between what the outside world inflicts upon us and how we choose to react to that occurrence.

That understanding is power. That's why you are the author of your story. In this sense that every single thing dropped at your feet, every situation, every occurrence, They come with an implicit question attached, a question that you and only you are responsible for answering. The question is, what does this mean? And how you respond to that question determines whether you go left or right at that metaphorical fork in the road. Does the occurrence detract from your ambitions or is it a multiplier?

Does it confirm your doubts and insecurities or is it? Or is it your reason to rise to the occasion? An opportunity to stretch, to evolve. That's a gift. That's an invite. Not some sort of divine punishment. But the challenge is removing the layers until you arrive at the value.

And it's hard. But you get there by saying yes. You get there by choosing to see the value. And here's a quick example. My favorite thing about athletics, which was for me a ton of running. Now I throw more interval training in there, but the same concepts apply. It's a chance to remind myself that I don't negotiate with my weakness. I don't give myself an opportunity to rationalize with the voice that wants me to quit.

That question, that fork in the road, I answered it. I charted its course before the workout started, knowing this is going to be uncomfortable at times, but it's where I need to go. There will be no more thinking from here on out. And so today's workout, for example, switching deadlifts, burpees to squats to core, you don't think. You see the next requirement, the next task, and you simply say, yes, you don't need your mind for this. In fact, you go before your mind even knows where it's going. Because that dotted line has already been signed. And that was the breakthrough for me.

When you separate what you have to do with the hurt associated with doing that thing, you free yourself. After all, what's there to hold you back if you can't talk yourself out of doing things? See, we tend to think our greatest adversity is the pain. or the confusion or the unknown. But it's like, no, those are the byproducts of doing anything of significance. The adversary is the voice that begs you to slow down

because of those things. And if you can figure out in your own life how to create space between the two, how to separate the task and the discomfort often brought about by the task, there's nothing that will ever be able to slow you. down. And look, I'm not saying that you walk around without ever utilizing the power of that brilliant mind you possess. The one's ability to think is everything. But what I am saying is there is a time to shut it off.

There is a time in which to avoid overthinking we simplify. Action, reaction. One more mile. Okay, end of story. One minute of jump squats next. Roger that. Period. It's taking the emotion out of the process, refusing to leave the door cracked for the inner dialogue that says, hey, maybe you don't do this. Maybe you slow down. Are you sure you can handle what's next? No, all of that is tuned out. It's assignment go.

Next, go. Next go. You know this is the right thing. You did your thinking before grabbing the sword, shield, and stepping into the arena. Now guess what? It's instinct. It's doing what has to be done. And what has to be done hurts. And look, you didn't have to accept that. You didn't have to step in.

You could have stayed home. But somewhere along the way, you looked in the mirror and said, the difficult path is the one with the value. And now here you are. face to face with hungry lions, clashing swords with your adversaries. There's no turning back now. Now is when you parse out pain from the objective. The pain is now part of the audience.

It's not with you or in you, it's watching from above as you do what you came here to do. So yes, those swords clash, but the eyes clash, but the eyes remain focused on what's ahead. And yes, those lions roar, but that's background noise. When you simplify your world into objective and action, objective, action, objective, action, there is time for nothing but forward progress. And sometimes that is all that is required of us in the face of adversity, in the face of pain, self-doubt, in the face of discomfort,

can you break your world down into nothing but one single step forward? One more set, one more rep, one more session, one more attempt, just one more. No rocket science, no negotiation, there's nothing to figure out here. It's walking the path before you. It's the discipline to care

Carry on, it's one more swing of the axe. Audience or no audience. Lions are no lions. You are bound to the universe at your feet. And that simplified concentration is why you will succeed. A life well lived is a dance between having the strength to walk away and having the courage to go all in. It's juggling the idea that absolutely nothing matters,

and the idea that every second is a blessing beyond which I'm capable of even explaining or articulating. Nothing matters, so live without limits or constraints, like you're on a once-in-a-lifetime journey, but everything matters. So know that every second along the way is perfect, a building block, a microcosm of the universe resting in the palm of your hand. And I think about this push-pull from time to time. I play with the idea that nothing matters when I need courage, when I need to convince myself to be a little bolder, Reinforce the understanding that there is no pressure here. Life can only give what I'm willing to carve out.

And as that clock ticks away in the background, what do I have to lose? As Mark Twain put it, it's the things we don't do that we come to regret. And then on the other side, when I need a little discipline, I play with the idea that the little things are everything. After all, two things can be true at once, and the details matter a lot.

For me, getting up two hours earlier does make a difference, that pushing a little harder will add up. The little things become everything. And painting that portrait that had been tucked away in my imagination, well, that's done one very real, very tangible brush stroke at a time. It's participating in that dance between nothing and anything. everything the real and the imaginary. But for the time being, let's leave those very important little things and focus on the divine big things. Those nothings that with some vision and concentrated effort become some things.

I have a friend that says to me all the time, nothing matters. Not in a nihilistic, you know, throw your hands up and stay inside until the end of time type way. But in a way that poses the question, why wouldn't you risk it all? Nothing matters. Why wouldn't you risk seeing how far you could push, how long you could run, how much you could become? Because maybe, just maybe, this whole thing isn't as serious as we'd like to think it is. And instead of feeling confined and scared, what if you felt alive, blessed to even be here? And I think realizing that we build these imaginary boxes around ourselves and live within them

is a huge step. That awareness that we spend so much time reaching out for things that will save us when in reality we simply need to set ourselves free. We need to open the gates, build bridges to the infinite opportunity that surrounds us. And when I think about this, a feeling that still comes to mind, a feeling I had after 2K tests in college. Those of you that have been on the rowing machines, I'm sure you get it. But if not, picture a feeling similar. to an all-out sprint for roughly six or seven minutes,

depending on when you cross the line. And when it was over, after I'd finished picking myself up, I would just sit in the hallway, cherish the feeling of being done. After pushing my body to its maximum, I'd appreciate the nothingness, the same nothingness that I'd never pay attention to at all otherwise.

But in that moment, it was everything. What a gift. As you regain your composure, as your heart rate comes back down to earth, to just be still. I still love that feeling after physical exertion, the reminder to just be thankful for a moment of serenity. A reminder that life can and will inflict upon us these periods of absolute chaos, of turbulence. And often they're very necessary. They harden us. They shape us.

but they also remind us to appreciate their absence. Same thing goes, and a lot of you, I'm sure we'll be able to relate to this for something like a headache or a migraine. You know, when they come and go in my life, it's like the second a brutal headache dissipates, that nothingness is the greatest gift I could ever imagine. The absence of pain,

infinitely more valuable than any tangible acquisition. And I think in those, moments, we get a glimpse of the world in its purest, simplest form, where all the nuance and detail we worry about doesn't matter much, because look at what we have. Look how much surrounds us when we position ourselves to notice, when we simply pay attention. Tolstoy said, if then I were asked for the most important advice I could give. That which I considered to be the most useful to the men of our century, I should simply say, in the name of God, stop a moment.

Cease your work, look around you. An incredible reminder to never forget where we are or what we were given. To remember that by breathing in the air around us, we have in a sense already one. And I love this because for a brief moment in time, it swings that pendulum to the nothing matters side of life. When you're living a miracle-wise sweat, the small stuff. And I can ask myself, why do I get so worked up? It's no big deal. Why not take the risk?

What's the worst case? that I fail and have to backtrack as a now more informed and knowledgeable person why not stand in the face of my fears the upside is consistently enticing

it consistently rewards look around and see what life has provided how dare we wasted and with that said I'd also be remiss not to include this little caveat

you know I'm careful with the words nothing matters Because even though in the context I've been using it for years, it's a positive, empowering thing. It's my reminder to push boundaries. I could also see how it begs the question, well, if nothing matters, why should I care? And so let's reframe. Because it's not that nothing matters. It's that nothing outside the scope of your worldview matters.

It's the acquisition of freedom, addition by the subtraction of all those externalities we let hold us back. Because you know as well as I do, it's not really the externalities that shackle you. It's your thoughts about them. So open the gate to your mind, let the detrimental out, and keep the necessary and the idea. in, nothing matters if it doesn't align with your values and your destination. I know I say in every video, speech, podcast episode, that we are the authors of our own stories. And it's because we craft our nothings and our everythings.

It's because your universe, the one behind your eyes, it needs a maker every morning. And if you allow it, each sunrise can be your genesis, your own beautiful creation story. You have your hand on the dial. And so amidst this world of infinite beauty and opportunity, look around you, soak it all in, ask yourself, what does freedom look like, feel like? Because you were put here to pursue that. And outside of those parameters, I believe that nothing matters. So why not live like it? Dream like it. Use the little thing in front of you to build the big things that have not yet arrived.

Walk away when it's misaligned and go all in. When you know in your soul it's right, there is everything to gain and nothing to lose. those.