Your World Within Podcast by Eddie Pinero - WHEN LIFE HITS YOU | Powerful Motivational Speech

Episode Date: August 14, 2021

Your losses along the way aren't crippling you...they are creating you 💪

I saw an interview by one of my favorite authors today, Stephen Pressfield, where he highlighted what I believe to be a critical and often overlooked point. He says a lot of people think life is short, but life is actually long. And he goes on to explain that he didn't even get his first book published until well into his adult life, making the point that people at 24, 34, 54, 54, 64, 64, 64, they think they've won or lost. And they've got a lot of game left to play. And this message, it does a few things. I think first and most obviously it creates a kind of calm.

Like, okay, I can take some of the pressure off myself. Life isn't a sprint, it's a marathon, I'm not doing so bad. Sometimes we lose that perspective. We forget that the best things in life evolve over time. Often not an avalanche, but the chipping away of a story. of a stone until the statue reveals itself. As frustrating as it may be, clarity is often an evolution.

And the second thing is, it plays a role in defining what success means. If games are won in the second half, as they frequently are, then we learn not to define ourselves by the outcome of the first quarter. But more importantly, to put ourselves in position to win in the fourth.

The score at halftime is not defining. It's a treasure trove of lessons and information and data that can be tapped into to get the result that we ultimately want. And I often think of running in South Florida where, you know, I joke that I don't sit at the beach, but if you run during the day, you know, you kind of get the best to both worlds. A little bit of sunshine, you get your workout in. But the obvious disadvantage, especially in the summers, at the best. the heat is taxing on the body, it's more challenging to run under that sun. And what I find is that when I push my pace right out of the gate, right from the start, push my physical boundaries, the second half of the run is a nightmare.

Always, I'm dragging, you know, speed isn't even a factor. I'm pleading with myself to simply not stop, because I haven't positioned myself well. But on the other hand, when I'm disciplined, and when from the start I ease into something comfortable and progressively increase my speed, my body somehow responds exponentially better, I get the most out of myself that way. That's why I've said in the past, I'm proudest of my results when the last few miles are the fastest miles. It means I had the discipline in the foresight to make that happen.

And ultimately, the big picture is affected in a positive way. And I know the same can be said for other aspects of life. I know the same can be said for the moments of temptation when my ego pleads with me to do what someone else is doing or things aren't evolving as quickly as I want. So my pride says, just walk away from it all. Why? Because the current moment doesn't look how I wanted it to. So the mind says panic.

It says change things. It says you're losing or not good enough. It says you better pick up the pace right now because you're losing this current moment. But no, the question isn't is right now the goal? The question is, is right now moving me forward consistently so that when the time comes to sprint, so that when I'm ready to go faster than I've ever gone, be more than I've ever been, I've positioned myself to do just that. When things were challenging, I kept moving forward.

When the world around me seemed to be moving at a faster pace, I ran my own race, I stayed consistent, I remembered what mattered to me. That's the question. And by the way, this doesn't mean ignoring today's results. It means asking yourself whether today's results are meaningful in the big picture. Using Stephen Pressfield's example, if you don't get published or your work is rejected again and again and again, you have not lost. It's the beginning. It's the first quarter. But what info can you gain from this?

What tweaks can you make to your work so that it's in some way more captivating? How can you sell it a little better? What can you do to connect with people who will believe in you and help push you forward? Remember, you only lose when you decide to stop. Why? Because as long as you're willing to adjust and keep going, there are no stopping points. People don't realize limitations are self-imposed. Losing or quitting just means you stood up and said, I'm going to stop learning and evolving with regard to this pursuit. I no longer want to adapt and move on. No outside circumstances can impose that upon you.

It's truly an internal decision. I remember Jim Rowan saying success is easy. Doing the thing that's best for you in the long run is easy. Doing the right things every day is easy. And people would say, well, that doesn't make sense. Why isn't everyone successful? Well, because doing the wrong thing is easy. too. It's easy to think right now is the end-all be-all. To forget the big picture, that life is a journey, that you are equipped with everything you need. And when you don't see success to your left or right when your ideal world hasn't been created to panic, to seek drastic change, instead of remembering one step in front of the other gets you to your finish line. Instead of remembering the second half is where you make your move, is where you make your push.

Not every swing is a home run. Not every swing needs to be a home run. It's about on-base percentage. It's about setting yourself up for success. Step by step, day by day, allowing yourself to evolve. Because if you hang in there long enough, if you say yes and trust yourself long enough, you will get your Super Bowl.

You will get your midday run when the sun is at its fullest. You're exhausted. You're tired. don't want to keep going. But because you invested in the big picture, because you played the long game, you'll be one of the few who understands, who has created the weapon, the answer,

the key that will open the door. Very few people get to open and walk through. The best things in life take time. And time requires patience. Patience can be painful. It can cause suffering, chaos. But from that chaos comes order.

From that suffering comes meaning everything we needed and wanted is on the other side of that evolution. See that your short-term losses are not crippling you. They are creating.