Your World Within Podcast by Eddie Pinero - WHEN IT HURTS | Powerful Motivational Speeches

Episode Date: March 20, 2024

"To live is to suffer, to survive is to find some meaning in the suffering" - Friedrich Nietzsche   Welcome to Eddie Pinero's motivational podcast, where he shares insights on embracing uncertainty and finding strength in adversity. In this episode, Eddie encourages us to continue forward, even when we lack complete understanding, and to derive meaning from our challenges, using them as catalysts for growth. Drawing parallels to the phoenix rising from the ashes, he inspires us to transform amidst defeat and take control of our destiny. Tune in as Eddie's wisdom empowers us to make bold decisions and pursue our dreams with resilience and determination. Newsletter: www.eddiepinero.com/newsletter   YouTube: www.youtube.com/yourworldwithin   Free Ebook: www.eddiepinero.com/ebook 

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Promise yourself. Not that you'll know everything, but that you will continue forward. when you don't. Promise yourself not that you'll avoid pain, but that you'll find meaning in pain as it arises. That you'll use it to shape your destiny like fire-forging metal.

Promise yourself not that you'll remain undefeated, but that you will transform amidst defeat like a phoenix rising from the ashes. We're often inclined to look around, and see the current state as a reflection of our abilities and our potential. But right now is merely a culmination of decisions made up to this point. Just because the map you've been following has led you to a dead end, doesn't mean the world consists only of dead ends.

Separate yourself from the walls around you. Separate the map you've been following from the world's landscape in totality. Let's look at not what has occurred, but what's possible. Let's understand that we all face dead ends. We all find ourselves amidst disappointing outcomes. Times we've fallen short. This is not a you thing. This is a human thing.

This is a life thing. And so here's the question. Are you going to look around and say, this failure is me? This is who I am. Or are you going to understand that life is ups and downs. And the ones who win, who truly live

don't define themselves by their difficult times. No, they depersonalize and leverage that adversity. Those who make it out do so because they saw themselves not synonymous with the valley of despair as they trudged through. They saw themselves as passers-by strong enough to climb out, destined for higher peaks. That past, it is not you. Reminds yourself of that.

Say it out loud if you have to. You are your very next step. You're the road untravelled. You're the summits to be reached and the stories to be told. And yeah, you won't have all the answers, but they're not required to press on. You won't always be pain free, but it's from that pain you'll find your wisdom and your strength. And of course you won't always win, but every defeat brings you a little closer to what matters.

Just as that Phoenix rises from the ashes, you too will transcend that which has fallen around you. You too will rise above what is in pursuit of what will be. Just promise yourself. Not that you'll be perfect, not that you'll always be right, but that you'll have the courage to evolve even when you're not. I wouldn't make excuses for you. I wouldn't look you in the eye and tell you everything is great when in actuality the wheels are falling off the wagon.

No, I'd point to the insufficiencies and remind you that you're capable of chipping away at them. I think that pragmatism can save someone's life. But guess what? Being human is knowing there are things you don't know, realizing that growth is picking up little understandings along the way and bringing them with you into the future. allowing them into the evolution that is you. And part of my personal evolution was coming face to face with the fact that looking forward

isn't all of it. It's part of it. Yeah, we need to be better, of course. Yeah, we can always squeeze more value out of the time allotted to us. 100%. This forward progression, as far as I'm concerned, is intertwined in human fulfillment. But we are, in this moment, the manifestation of the obstacles we've already overcome. We are the times we wanted to stop and didn't.

We are the losses we bounce back from and the adversity we forged into opportunity. We're the endings that we melted down into beautiful beginnings. We are the mistakes, the obstacles. The little encounters with hell that didn't define us, but instead changed us. And that matters. So quick story time. For about five years after I graduated college, some of my friends and I had this fantasy baseball league we'd used to stay in touch, right?

And I think even they would begrudgingly admit that I was oddly good at it. I won like three or four out of the five years or something like that. And you know what my strategy was? It was simple. I picked players based on who they were over the course of their career, not based on how they performed last year, which is a trap people seem to fall into. So a guy that hits 30 home runs six years in a row,

and then last year suddenly only hits seven, it's not out of the question to think he'll hit 30 again, revert back to the mean to his average, his track record. That to me is more meaningful than some recent struggle, and I took that bet every time. Now, as you can imagine, the point I'm making here has nothing to do with baseball. It has everything to do with life in general. So much of the time, we completely focus on the current insufficiencies.

The bad things happening now, the misfortunes in our lives, we're striking out, and our brain goes into panic mode. It says gap, gap, gap, how do we fill it? And again, yes, that's important. And our plan for resurgence is necessary, but we can't forget who we are and what we've done. We can't overlook our track record. As the saying goes, you've survived 100% of the bad days. You've lived through countless struggles.

You've climbed out of many catastrophes, at least I have. And it seems as though it's when we need that reassurance most that we are most inclined to forget. It's when we, more than any other time, need to prove to ourselves that we are unconquerable, that we question our ability to persevere. I'd never say to you the road ahead will be easy. I'm not saying it won't suck at times. I'm not saying it won't take all of you. I'm merely saying that you are equipped to emerge victorious, to handle not some of it,

but all of it. I'm saying that the person in the mirror is stronger than you can even imagine. But understand you're not operating on blind faith here. You're not hoping for some miracle. You're operating on your own record of success. What you do is find a way. What you do is when you don't believe me, look over your shoulder. Take a trip down memory lane.

Glance back at all the mountains you've already climbed. And life, it won't be smooth sailing all the time. You'll have your slumps and your adversity, no question. But they're not you. They are what you were made to navigate. Everything has brought you to this point. And it's great to focus on this point, but don't lose the everything. Sometimes it's not about who you will be someday.

Sometimes it's about what you've already become. It's about who you are now. I want to share a theme with you that continuously reemerges in my life. And every time it does, I'm grateful. I'm a little bolder, a little wiser, a little more grounded. The idea is simple. It's creating a low barrier to entry. Let me explain what I mean.

The other day I was on a call with Ashley, who was a brilliant member of the team here, and we're talking about social media. And as we're talking, I'm going on and on about the end state, how I think things should in a perfect world be with our platforms and the output. And it's important to note for this particular project we're kind of on the ground floor.

So in reality, I couldn't possibly know what the end state's going to be. There's a lot of epiphanies to be had. There's twists in terms that I couldn't possibly anticipate. I think it's great to have a North Star in a vision, obviously. But winning in the long run, requires observation and reflection and adjustment and on and on.

So as I'm speaking, you know, she's listening, nodding her head, you know, agreeing with the vision. But after some thoughts as well, why don't we just start with what we have now, right? Keep the barrier of entry low so that there's less friction and we can start seeing how, you know, things evolve. And I thought that was just incredible, right? It's what I temporarily lost in the moment for sure. You win by going and then evolving. So many would-be amazing pursuits were never started because, you know, we make initiating them too complex. Same thing happened on another call that same day. I'm talking to Tyler, a business partner for another project coming around the corner. And, you know, I'm sending them videos talking about ideas for rollout, different avenues

we could take, which, again, it's great. It's better to have a large vision and trim it down than no vision at all, but the convo is the same. You know, Ed, I love it. It's great. But what if we start with one thing, though? One idea. Let's get the gears turning. That needed to be the theme for the day, and I appreciated it, right? So a few thoughts. One, surround yourself with sharp people like Ashley and Tyler that keep you grounded, but two, and perhaps the main point, stop creating friction for yourself when you're beginning new things. I've talked about this in different contexts, you know, and I've hammered it into my day-to-day in many ways, right?

Like if I'm going on a run, you know, I have the running stuff by the door and ready to go with a glass of water the night before so that when I wake up, the process feels so easy that to not go would seem stupid. But life is complex and so are we. It was a great reminder that your handle on something in one area of life doesn't mean you'll implement it across the board. And I was grateful for that reminder is what I needed at that time, right? The reminder that winning is going. Winning is beginning. Because you're immersing yourself in the process and you're acclimating to it. You're seeing what works and what doesn't. You're growing, as opposed to taking an extra three months to put into place parameters that will probably change anyway.

One of my favorite mantras is simplicity is the ultimate sophistication. Powerful, but sometimes elusive. But if you can keep it front and center, it adds immense value to your life. The most powerful thing you can do is have a general sense of direction and go now. And go now with what you have. Ashley and I will change our social media tactics many, many times in the future because we're collecting data and we're moving forward. Tyler and I will approach our venture in probably countless ways. Because we're not in love with a particular strategy. We're in love with the end goal. And perhaps you in your world are at a point where you're seeking to initiate something new. And you're playing with the pros and cons, you're listing ideas in your head.

categorizing details and nuance that sure it seems important right now in this moment, but will it forever, right? My advice to you is to mitigate detail and instead place the value on finding the courage to begin now. Before you're ready, before you have all the answers, before you know how X, Y and Z is going to unfold, mitigate the friction to such an extent that the pursuit feels like you know, the pursuit feels like, like an ice hockey rink. You're sliding into whatever comes next. Never underestimate how powerful that is. And be reassured by the fact that in three months from now or a year from now, the journey won't look the same. You'll be better in execution and wiser in strategy

because you simply created a low barrier to entry. You leveraged perhaps the most important ability you possess. You began. Ready to prioritize yourself in the new year, your skin is a great place to start. Dime Beauty, founded by a master esthetician, is more than just a skincare company. With four skin-conscious categories, skin care, beauty, body care, and fragrance, Dime offers simple, spa-worthy products that will help you enter 2025 with confidence. Whether you're revitalizing your regimen with nourishing products or building one from scratch, Dime makes it easy. The work system, our all-in-one best-selling routine, includes a cleanser of your choice,

toner, serums, and moisturizers, taking the guesswork out of skin care for your healthiest, happiest skin yet. Dime's commitment to clean ingredients and sustainable packaging ensures every product is as gentle on your skin as it is on the planet. With thousands of glowing five-star reviews and a loyal community, the results speak for themselves. Revive your skin and give yourself the routine refresh you deserve by visiting dime beauty co.com. That's dime beauty co.com. Your best skin awaits. Hey there, it's Ryan Sechrest for Safeway. Now through February 25th, stock up on your favorite self-care items and save up to $3 shop in store or online for items like Old Spice Deodorant, always ultra-thin pads, Gillette Fusion Razors and Refills, Old Spice Total Body Spray, Tampax Pearl, and Gillette Mach 3 Razors and

refills and save up to $3. You won't want to miss out on these deals. Offer ends February 25th. may vary, restrictions apply. Visit safeway.com for more detail. It's been almost two years since I first read it, and still the main idea from the book, The Courage to be Disliked by Ichiro Kishimi deeply resonates with me. The idea that being happy

is essentially dependent upon the courage to be disliked. And at first, it might not seem like the two, whatever be related. Happiness and being disliked. an odd pair, maybe even seemingly counterintuitive. Until you realize that happiness comes from such a personal, authentic place, that allowing the expectations of others to chart your course

means that you'd probably never arrived there. You have to do what's best for you. And doing what's best for you is going to create a divide somewhere. Why? because everything creates a divide. Everything is subjective. I knew I wanted to dive into this topic, but wasn't sure the best way to do it.

So the other morning, I was trying to think of like an objective truth, something that no one could disagree with. Just sitting on my balcony and pointed up towards this guy. Thought, let's start there. Simple as it gets, hard to refute that, right? I am pointing up. And I remembered we're floating on a globe. a giant sphere, there is no up.

Up is perspective. Everything is perspective. What's the difference between one and two? Some might say it's one. But technically there's infinity between one and two. You can have infinite decimals. 1.999 goes on forever, right? Point being there's subjectivity

when we drill down into even the seemingly obvious truth. Now, the value here is not to go running around, you know, arguing with everyone that there's infinity between one and two. No, there are certain aspects of society that we must adhere to, otherwise we couldn't function together. Right. But it's simply to show that you following the path you believe is right for you cannot be rightfully assessed by someone else. it's a place trust in your internal personal judgment. And when people don't understand your infinity, that doesn't mean it's wrong. And by the way, I don't have blinders on to the fact that it's hard to do. In many ways, it goes right up against our lizard brain biological wiring.

We're fitting and equates to survival, an ostracization becomes a death sentence. But we are, fortunately, be able. It's in our interest now, and in fact I think the courage to be disliked is a critical lifelong journey. I'm better at this than I was 10 years ago, no question, but do I still have a ways to go? Absolutely. There are still things I'm working on every day to let go of. I remember reading in Jefferson's biography about how it was so hard for him to be demonized

in the press all the time that it almost dissuaded him from jumping back into politics before his presidential run. And being attacked is a hard thing. But ultimately, he let his beliefs and personal values drive him, his ambition in a lot of ways, and came to see the scrutiny as a cost, decided it was worth the price. Or like I use this all the time, take one of the biggest pop stars of our day, say Justin Bieber. You look at what people are saying about him in the comments of his video. A lot of it's wonderful, some of it's great, sure,

but some of it's awful. And that's just the price of anyone putting themselves out there. And again, you think of an inverse scenario. Imagine if he didn't. Imagine if he limited himself or didn't dive fully into what he does because he knew some folks out there would have some bad things to say. Now, we are, for the most part, neither famous politicians nor pop stars, but our worlds contain the same element.

at different scale. There are things we're all scared to do or say because of how it will be received. There are parts of ourselves that we repress because we don't know what the feedback will be. We're all scared to fail in some capacity because of how it will look or what others will say about it,

which is why being disliked is courageous. As Aristotle has said, the only way to a way to a person who is a person who is, avoid criticism is to do nothing, to say nothing and be nothing. The opposite of being fully, truly yourself is becoming the manifestation of that quote. It's never pushing yourself, never seeing what you're capable of, never exploring or executing on your dreams, your ambitions. Now this is speculation, but if I were a gambling man, I'd place everything I own on the idea that when we're old looking back on our lives.

We'll spend less time thinking about who criticized us or disagreed with us than how we spent our days and who we shared them with. Did we live in a way that made us happy that was meaningful? Because on a sphere, everyone believes they are pointing up. But in actuality, none of us are. We're all merely navigating the subjective universe behind our eyes. So why not truly explore? Why not capture the magic out there before the hourglass runs out of sand?

It's hard, sometimes it hurts, it takes all we have, it requires courage. But I think we'll all come to find that the decision to live fully in our authenticity, regardless of whether others agreed, disagreed or were indifferent, was the best decision that we ever made. 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 into the world and avoid these things.

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. And they're 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. 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.

Everything is about your decoder. The world provides the pieces. but it makes you the architect. 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 allotted 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 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. 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 you. 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, ah, 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 the 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 really. is not crying out or screaming. 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 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. Ready to prioritize yourself in the new year? Your skin is a great place to start.

Dime Beauty, founded by a master aesthetician, is more than just a skincare company. With four skin-conscious categories, skin care, beauty, body care, and fragrance, Dime offers simple, spa-worthy products that will help you enter 2025 with confidence. Whether you're revitalizing your regimen with nourishing products or building one from scratch, Dime makes it easy. The work system, our all-in-one best-selling routine, includes a cleanser of your choice,

toner, serums, and moisturizers, taking the guesswork out of skin care for your healthiest, happiest skin yet. Dime's commitment to clean ingredients and sustainable packaging ensures every product is as gentle on your skin as it is on the planet. With thousands of glowing five-star reviews and a loyal community, the results speak for themselves. Revive your skin and give yourself the routine refresh you deserve by visiting dimebeautyco.com. That's dime beauty co.com. Your best skin awaits. Hey there, it's Ryan Sechrest for Safeway. Now through February 25th, stock up on your favorite self-care items and save up to $3. Shop in store or online for items like old spice deodorant. Always ultra-thin pads, Gillette fusion razors, and refills. Old Spice, Total Body Spray, Tampax Pearl, and Gillette Mock3 Razors and Refills, and Save Upals, and Save Upal

You won't want to miss out on these deals. Offer ends February 25th. Offers may vary. Restrictions apply. Visit Safeway.com for more detail. That was at the Heat Celtics game with my brother a few days ago. And the Celtics at the moment are the best team in basketball, which is fun being that we're from Boston originally. And, you know, right now the team has a handful of really good players. But one of them, Jason Tatum, has essentially separated himself as one of the most dominant players in the game. He's a superstar. And as we watched him play from the stands, we were talking about a narrative that I don't hear mentioned a lot.

And maybe it is in, like, basketball circles, but I don't hear much out and about. I think it's incredible. It's the fact that Boston's general manager at the time, Danny Aange, saw value in Tatum way before every. everybody else. Now, don't get me wrong, he was always elite. But the Celtics GM saw superstar potential in Tatum to a much greater extent than everyone else, right? In fact, in the 2017 draft, the Celtics had the first overall pick. And, you know, for those unfamiliar, it's usually pretty obvious how the first handful of picks are going to go, right? The players are all ranked before the draft, and the team with the first pick is going to select the first

best player, obviously. The team with the second pick is going to select the second best player. And while it was sort of known that Tatum was the agreed upon third best player in the draft, but the Celtics didn't want number one and two, even though the scouts and draft boards and, you know, the talking heads all around the country saw them as better, right? So here's Danny Aange with that coveted number one overall pick, which in basketball is so valuable, And he's like, I don't care. I want the guy who's projected number three. So he trades down.

He gives Philly his number one pick, basically saying, hey, if the guy I want is going to go third anyway, might as well trade away the first pick and get a little extra value. And still get Tatum at number three. And that's exactly what they did. And here we are, watching him as one of the best players in the game. And by the way, the guy who went first overall is really, relatively underperformed, given where he was picked.

The guy who went number two overall, same. It's been up and down, constant injury issues. And I look back at how that played out. And I just think, like, the pressure, the weight of having this coveted pick and being like, no, I don't want it, right? The guy that I want is number three, right? Being so confident that you see value where others don't. It's hard to do that with conviction.

You know, so I look at this and sure he made some mistakes, as all GMs do, you can't predict the future. It's a numbers game, right? But the ability to spot value, particularly in places others seem to disregard, is what I see as the difference between excellence and mediocrity. Life is always trying to give us the equivalent of a draft board, right, in some capacities. Like, here's what's normal, here's what's projected. Number one, two, and three options are the quote-unquote best options. And for the most part, sure, it's a decent guideline, but it's not enough. It's not enough.

I think we need to train ourselves to be asking, yeah, but where is the move that manifests into that game-changing difference? Where in my life is the move that pushes me over the top, the action that sets me apart? As staying on the basketball theme, one of the most inspiring things I'd ever heard was Kobe in an interview. Talking about the extra value he'd capitalized on throughout the day, being the difference in his career, saying, look, if I get up two hours before everyone else and I get a workout in, not once in a while, but every day, that's the difference. Why? Well, in a week, it's nothing.

In a month, it's not much. In six months, it creates a gap. In a year, that's quite the advantage. In five years, you're not even on the same level. level. In a decade, he is now untouchable to his competition. Yeah, it's just the morning. Everyone has the morning, but Kobe sought and recognized it as opportunity, as his value. The consensus out there in the world is that the morning is when you ease into your day, right? It doesn't put what you're doing at 6 a.m. high on that metaphorical draft board. Now, who cares? Well, to Kobe,

perfect. There's the value that I can spot, that I can utilize that most people will not even think about. And in totality, I believe that to be the truth, right? Like, you can do fine, simply anticipating and living in and around the value as identified by the majority, by following their blueprint. But to separate, to move from adequate to excellence, You need to find those places where you can squeeze more out of life. You need to dive deeper into what's around you than, ah, that's what's expected, or that's what everyone else is doing. That's what's perceived as valuable.

Be your own GM, right? Question the way of things. Not just out in the world, but in your home, in your day-to-day. Where are the moves that can take you from a, I don't know, a six inefficiency to an eight? What ways can you be unconventional? Flip the script to unveil the value you've been walking by for months, years, maybe even your whole life without realizing? There are always pieces around us to be great. And not just get by or survive, but thrive.

There are the necessary ingredients to our right and left always. to astound ourselves. We just have to arrange them in a way that allows us to maximize their value. It's a constant moving of parts, trying again and again, but not settling for a ranking system to life as prescribed by the outside world. There's more if you're willing to find it.

Today is not an obligation. Today is a gift. Why is it important that this distinction comes through loud and clear? Because the same action can differ wildly, depending on what brought it about. Was it an order or a choice? Were we told or did we arrive there ourselves? And we know this innately,

from a child being told to go to his or her room for punishment, that place where they'd gladly be if it wasn't being mandated by angry parents. When we're instructed, being told to, mandated, when we're doing something because we have to, we process this differently than a choice or a conclusion we came to on our own. We think about it differently when it's something we get to do.

When I talk about transformative perspective shifts, this was one for me, going from what's expected. of me. How do I not mess this up? What would make me look like the person I'm supposed to look like? To instead understanding that, listen, today is a gift and I'll never get it back. A series of opportunities and decisions. A choose your own ending story waiting for me every day as the sun comes up in my eyes open. To me, the difference is more than semantics. The difference is between feeling free and going into autopilot so that I mitigate mistakes and blend in.

That's not freedom. That's becoming a prisoner of your own making. You can walk the same road and see it differently every time. You can take in the same event and come away with very different interpretations of it. All depending on the role you chose to give yourself as you walked down the same. the path or peered in at the event. Were you the hero in the story or an extra? Someone who capitalizes on all to be gained or someone who hides from the fear that they might misstep. Obligations are about minimizing risk and doing what is merely required. An opportunity on the other hand asks,

what more could you do with what you have? How could you take what you love and you, and multiply it. How could you capture your inspiration and delve further into it? The one living out of obligation will always find the problems and the negative. But the one who knows they have in their midst the greatest winning lottery ticket of all time, well they'd be foolish not to cash it in. And so look, you might be going through some problems, as we all do. You might have your challenges and your struggles.

They're unavoidable. But these are part of a greater narrative. They're what will build you up and push you forward as you move deeper into the miracle that is your life. And that's the difference. The first step in being able to capture the opportunity is understanding that you are living in one. is not obligatory. It is a giant get-to. And when you realize that, you are truly...

Swiss Explorer, Bertrand Picard, said, very often human beings are living on autopilot, reacting automatically with what happens. What interests me about the life of an explorer is you are in the unknown, you are out of your habits. exactly would interest me, that contrast between the unknown in our habits, being on so-called autopilot. Because a life without examination and reflection is going to be a life void of some pretty incredible things. Obviously, yeah, life requires balance.

There's a time for routine and a time for exploration, a time for consistency and a time for adventure. But overall, I think we very often forget how being able to be. the world and how small the piece of it in which we've given ourselves permission to exist. Admittedly in the past, I've fallen victim to the doing without the thinking, but some of my greatest breakthroughs were realizing that, you know, understanding that I had the ability to change. Here's a story that in a unique way emphasizes this. The other day I was on the plane and it was watching some variation of animal planet

specifically talking about animal migration and a species of penguin came up and these penguins hatched somewhere near New Zealand when they're strong enough the first thing they do is swim offshore thousands and thousands of kilometers to Antarctica for food. Here's what's interesting though The narrator states, funny enough, they have everything they need right where they are.

Before they even start the journey, they have all the food they need. But still, mysteriously, they embark upon this trip. The longest single journey made by any penguin. And I'm paraphrasing here, but the narrator says it's quite possibly entirely pointless. And it's thought that maybe their ancestors started making that trip two million years ago when the only food that existed was in Antarctica. So they had to go there. He jokes it's a tough routine to break.

And the reason I found this interesting, the reason, there's a correlation in my mind between that journey and human beings is because of the tendency to go into default mode and do things that aren't conducive to what's best. But penguins, they don't have the ability to assess and change. Humans, on the other hand, we get to reflect. We get to examine the paths we take or don't take. For us, in the current year, autopilot most often doesn't

mean we're taking a thousand kilometers trips away, you know, it usually means we're staying contained and stagnant. Our autopilot, our instinct is to play safety above everything else, to live in fear of the same lions that pursued us thousands of years ago thinking they're still around every corner, right? When purpose is what we actually need, what we actually create. But when we we do not think we are driven by fear. Whether we realize it or not, we completely push away the unknown and accept the status quo.

That's our default. That's our metaphorical trip to Antarctica. It's part of who we are. It's how our species survived. So it's nothing to be ashamed of, but to see that, acknowledge that, and then seek to change that in ourselves so that we can live in a way that's conducive to what's meaningful.

that is a superpower. That's how you go from existing in the world to living in the world. What am I doing for the sake of doing? And how can I lock into the things that truly matter? Because that default setting, it won't take us to the promised land, right? So it's up to us. Do we adjust the path so that we get the most

out of this short-lived time on earth? Do we look beyond the routine of our day-to-day and make the changes, build the models, push the boundaries that create, create a new set of standards. It's amazing how just by examining how we spend our time, we unveil so much about ourselves and what we want. We give ourselves a chance to step off the merry ground

and carve out something of value. So I ask, how are you spending your time? What does your day-to-day consist of? Did these things align with what matters? Or is this routine designed, perhaps subconsciously, to keep the world out and the now, secure? Are the people in your life and the places you go, the things you do, intentional?

So they bring value? Or are they that dreaded autopilot? Again, the enemy isn't necessarily what routine brings. We need it to some extent. The enemy is what too much routine keeps out. It's not letting yourself grow into the person you could become. That version of yourself that It requires breaking the chains of predictability and safety. To Picard's point, if we don't think we will act automatically. But the path to something greater does not automatically reveal itself. It materializes over time with intentionality, with thought. It emerges from the comparison of where you are and where you'd ultimately like to be.

This world is comprised of unlimited possibility, just as you're comprised of infinite potential But for these two truths to intersect, you have to look around, you have to create and walk down your own path. I was in the car recently with my sister, Ali, her girlfriend Alex, and her girlfriend's dad, Jeremy. We were on our way to dinner in Naples, Florida, simultaneously driving and kind of looking through different places to eat. And no one really knew the area well, right? So we get to the point where we're pretty sure we have a spot we want to go picked out. When Alex suddenly looks up her phone and says to her dad, you know, looks like the place we're going tonight is a little fancy.

And so for context, right, they're both from London. Their accents make this one million times better. And he hears her, he looks back over at her and says, well, we deserve fancy, don't we, darling? And I'm like, oh my God, you guys are a real-life movie and don't even know it. I thought it was just such a beautiful thing. Moments like that are everything. Reminders to immerse ourselves in the moment, in what matters with the people that matter. This, of course, wasn't about the restaurant, but how evident it was that he was grateful to be there.

I remember seeing a quote that said, if you can't find joy in a cup of coffee, you certainly won't find it in a yacht. So how's that for perspective? You know, it's the little things that hold the value, the ones that become the big things. And while our eyes are fixated on mountaintops, life is about the climb. Or as it's put in another anecdote, we live not for the destination, but for the journey. And see, this is a very timely topic for me. I woke up today, having hit the milestone, 500,000 subscribers on YouTube, which has honestly been a goal of mine since I started doing this in 2014.

I woke up so excited, so happy, so grateful for every single view, for every person that stumbled upon my message and saw somewhere in my journey a little piece of their own. But as today's gone on, it's been interesting. I found myself more and more unsure how I feel. Because on one hand, it is representative of that exact thing. The journey, the ride. I feel like the luckiest human alive with friends and family that have truly carried me through the valleys of life.

And if anything, milestones like these honor them and the light they bring to the world. But on the other hand, a part of me couldn't help thinking, oh, okay, I guess one million is next. And trust me, I wish that wasn't true, but it is. I remember reading in the Almanac of Naval Ravakant, a passage where he said essentially that the excitement of acquisition isn't in the thing we're acquiring, it's in the anticipation of it, the buildup. I believe he used the example of a Ferrari, implying that waiting for it was the fun.

That's the rush. Getting it is just kind of, okay, now I have a Ferrari. And that's what makes these benchmarks we create so interesting. They're everything and nothing simultaneously. Reminders that finish lines aren't of value for their own sake. They're valuable because they remind you of the race you ran, the highs you cherished, and the lows you fought through. Life ebbs and it flows, and I'm continuously fascinated by its duality.

By the overlap we need to live in, how two things can be true at once and so often are. I can sit here today and tell you, I think in a lot of ways, societally we've gotten a little soft, too soft, that we often fail to understand that the road to what we want runs through the very landscape that will push us. to be more than we've ever been. That we have to get comfortable being uncomfortable. Or that the beauty of being human is that we can make sacrifices now for that which we desire in the future.

All this, as far as I'm concerned, is absolutely unequivocally true. But there's also the existential question. Yeah, but for what? If you're not living, cherishing the little things, finding the miraculous in something as small as a cup of coffee, then when, when, darling, will you let yourself deserve fancy? No, I'm not going to claim I have all the answers. I do not. But if my time on this planet is a test case, well, here's what had shown me.

When life is all about the destination, the 500K milestones, the money. the growth, the status, the world becomes hollow, and man does it hollow out fast? Things mean less. And while sure, they're often a valuable direction to point the compass, they are not life. And on the contrary, when it's all play in no direction, all wandering and no learning, all chaos and no building, that subsequent meaninglessness emerges again. It's in balancing the two. Life is incredible, but only to those who make a point to see it as so.

And God is that easy not to do. It blows my mind how easy it is to miss the things that are most important. That's what this day has taught me. The finish lines and 500,000 milestones, though few and far between, are a celebration. But they do not point to themselves. They point to the little things. They point to the people. They point to the times you were walking through hell and kept walking.

They point to the sunrises, sunsets, and times you sat back and thought, wow, am I lucky? After all, there's a reason the view from the top points right back down to the world below. shines a spotlight on the very ascent you just endured, as if highlighting what really matters, what life is really about. And so today, by default, a new ship has left the port. Towards a new horizon. Compass aimed at, let's say, one million.

Why not? But it's essential to remember that that is the North Star that guides the journey. It is not everything. I challenge you to point your compass accordingly to whatever it is in your world that matters, that excites you, that lifts you up. And when you arrive, let it be not the goal in and of itself, but a celebration of the joy. The happiness contained along the way, the fact that you did look around and smile, did

cherished those sunsets, sips of coffee, that you treated yourself to fancy, and that you paused every now and then to say to yourself, thank you. I was thinking about something recently, something we've probably all heard before and in some cases already know, but that's why it warrants a little bit of discussion. It's not about knowing, it's about executing, which are two very different things. And so I'll start here with the idea that everything is relative. Someone who runs five miles a day and then starts hanging out with people who all run 10 miles a day is more than likely going to at least ask themselves the question, could I be running more? Should I? Right, that's just human nature. One's perception of normality shifts

when they're around people or circumstances that stretch it. And as far as I can tell, this can be applied to anything. I remember a friend of mine probably about five years ago now, asked me what my monthly revenue goal was. And I remember telling him, and he paused and looked kind of puzzled and asks, you know, why only that? And I thought, only that, right? That's a big number.

I was reaching there. But that encounter, I still remember, it rocked my worldview. It's like, okay, wow, I need to move some things around. I need to aim higher. This is an important convo for me. And I think, you know, there's often a negative connotation we apply to this concept, right? Comparison being the thief of joy. They're always being more to acquire.

It's a tool. And not utilized the right way or internalized the right way can be unhealthy. But there's also, when utilized correctly, something not only healthy but incredibly powerful and advantageous about it. We need to be reminded that we're capable of more, otherwise our worldview can't stretch. We're able to extend far beyond the reality we find ourselves in, but that fact alone does us no good. We have to position ourselves to see, to feel, to believe the more. A good friend of mine and I started reporting to each other daily the workouts we do now twice a day. And the funny thing is, it didn't start out twice a day.

But just, you know, the nature of not wanting to be the guy who does less. You know, we've been friends for a while. We're all about helping each other be better in business and fitness and you name it. And you can bet when I've been running around working all day and I'm tired and the little voice in my head starts whispering, well, you already got a workout in earlier. Just go really hard tomorrow instead. You'll be fine.

But then my phone buzzes and it's a screenshot of his workout staff. It's like, nope, have to find time to do it. He's tired. He has a job and a family. He wants to crack a beer or grab a burger. But he didn't. And the fact that he reached for more makes me realize, hey, so cannot.

makes me ask, what are my targets? Are they big enough? And that's been incredibly effective. Prompting this conversation, making me realize, you know, there's something to this. How can I position myself so that I have line of sight to that precious abundance in the other areas of my life that I deem important? How can I nurture the relationships I have that serve as a reminder that there is always another level? How can I keep at the forefront of my mind that there are online creators helping millions of people a day? There are business owners making millions of dollars a month. And it's not that I'm not proud and grateful. I'm both of those things.

Instead, I love the journey. I love the challenge of seeing what I can become. And know that our default is to get so consumed by the current way of things, we start thinking, hey, maybe that's all there is. We forget to keep our eyes up. And so a few things I plan on doing. I'll share them and maybe they'll prompt some ideas in your head for whatever your values are, whatever you're trying to improve.

Recently, I set up a mastermind quarterly with some buddies I have that are investors and business owners. Simple to report growth, revenue, future plans. As someone who just loves to write and create, it's easy for me to put all that stuff second. So this is going to hold me accountable. Fitness, I already mentioned.

This one's new. I have a few friends that I started meeting up with just to get out, to unwind, do nothing business-related at all, which is just as critical as work, right? I have to make time to soak in the world around me. And there are others as well, but you get the idea, right? It's teaming up with those people in my life where our values overlap and we can help each other win.

The saying goes, you're the average of the five people you spend the most time with it. But now imagine taking that a step further. Reaching out to those people and teaming up to help position each other to succeed. You get the accountability, the camaraderie, camaraderie. You become a team looking to get the most of your time on this planet. I've stated many times that my belief is the pieces exist around us to do so many things, incredible things, monumental things. But how we mix, match, and utilize those pieces, the world around us determines that. So let's ask the question. What is a level?

life well lived to me and how can I tangibly position myself to obtain it? How can I help those I care about obtain it? Those are some powerful questions and will ultimately lead to some incredible growth.