Your World Within Podcast by Eddie Pinero - When You Feel Weak | Powerful Motivational Speeches

Episode Date: September 24, 2025

Life doesn’t test us when we feel strong...it tests us when we’re tired, broken, and unsure. Weakness isn’t the end, it’s the doorway to strength.True courage is standing tall in the dark. True resilience is born in struggle. These moments don’t break you, they build you.This is a reminder: when you feel weak, that’s when you’re closer than ever to becoming who you were meant to be.More from Eddie Pinero:Monday Motivation Newsletter: https://www.eddiepinero.com/newsletterYour World Within Podcast: https://yourworldwithin.libsyn.com/Stream these tracks on Spotify - https://spoti.fi/2BLf6pBInstagram - @your_world_within and @IamEddiePineroTikTok - your_world_withinFacebook - https://www.facebook.com/YourworldwithinTwitter - https://www.twitter.com/IamEddiePineroBusiness Inquiries - http://www.yourworldwithin.com/contact#liveinspired #yourworldwithin #motivation

It's what you do in the dark that determines what you become in light. Remember, it's easy to shine when the cameras are on. When the crowd is cheering, when you have momentum, when the music is loud, and the world applauds your every move. But the truth is, your life is not built in those moments. No, your destiny is forged when no one's watching. When it's just you, your doubts, your fatigue, and the quiet decision to keep going. It's what you do in the dark.

And I was reminded of this recently. It was an ordinary Wednesday. Doing my ordinary routine. I was at the gym, my trainer, about halfway through the work. There's obviously no need to get too detailed here, but some important context is just that it was an interval workout. The goal was to really jack the heart rate up, right? So I'm in the middle of it switching from upright rows to step-ups on a box repeatedly. No rest. Back and forth. Back and forth.

And you get to the point where your body becomes so fatigued, obviously, that you're that, you know, it starts to break down. You want to collapse. Your mind starts getting weak. You start looking for shortcuts. And I've been in that moment before, plenty of times, right? That's actually become my new norm with this routine. And I knew that if I could control this,

if I could steady myself right there in the storm, in the middle where things are the heart, where perhaps I'm starting to feel a little sorry for myself. If I could just keep my head up, take it moment by moment, push through, then the rest would take care of itself. I think this is an important note because it's usually not the beginning that breaks us.

That's the exciting stuff, right, before the trials and the tribulations, it's never the warm up. It's never the first few steps or minutes. It's the valley of despair. It's the middle. That's where the energy fades. The fatigue, your body whispers, that's enough.

It's where doubt asks, what if you can't? Maybe even why are you here? But to know that that spot is where champions are made. It's where lives are changed. Well, that's the differentiator. It's what you do in the dark. Admiral McRaven once said, At your darkest moments,

you must be your very best. And isn't that life? When the weight feels too heavy, when the path disappears into shadow, when you want to throw in the towel, That's not the time to shrink. That's the time to look into yourself and rise. Because life is not decided by how you act when things are easy.

It's just not. It's decided by how you respond when it's bordering unbearable. It's what you do in the dark. And see, here's this secret most people miss. You do not conquer mountains in one leap. You do not finish marathons by thinking about mile 26. You do not survive heartbreak by solving the next 10 years overnight. You win one rep at a time, one minute at a time, one breath at a time.

You stay locked in to the current moment because you have power over the current moment. That's how you tame chaos. That's how you survive storms. It's how you take your power back. Peace by piece, it's what you do in the dark. And I've seen it everywhere. I've seen it in entrepreneurs staring down debt. I've seen it in runners on blistered feet at mile 20.

I've seen it in parents holding their family together with pure grit. Their victory wasn't that they never fell. It wasn't that they never doubted. It was simply that they refused to quit while in these shadows, while navigating the darkest corners of life. Because you bet that storm will come. The question will not be whether it arrives. The question is, when it does, will it break you?

Or will it reveal you? It's what you do in the dark. So remember this. You don't have to conquer the whole mountain today. And when you're staring up at the momentous obstacle, before you, that should provide relief. You don't have to carry the entire burden at once. You just have to own this moment, this rep, this breath.

Because if you can be your best when you feel your worst, if you can steady yourself when everything shakes, you'll discover a truth that changes everything. The storm wasn't there to. To end you, it was there to reveal you. And what it reveals will always come down to this. It's what you do in the dark. Life is about duality.

It's about being grateful for the road behind you, but also excited and hungry for what's ahead. That balance is where growth lives. It's why we created AGNS, always grateful, never satisfied. than just an apparel company, it's a reminder that there's always another hill to climb. And if you go to agns.lifestyle and you sign up for the email list, you'll get daily inspiration right to your inbox, latest updates on all the new merch drops, as well as a 20% off discount code. Hope to see you there. So I wake up, my feet hit the ground, I get out of bed,

walk into the bathroom, turn on the sink. I look up, you stare at the reflection in the mirror. It's time to rise, the voice says. I stop, I think about it for a second. The reflection continues to speak, so I listen.

It says, Eddie, life has placed some obstacles before you. Some valleys. Some of it was your doing. Some of it's just light. but all of it is yours now. We get in life what we allow. And pain, the internal turmoil,

that's a sign that you may just be letting the wrong things live alongside you. The wrong thoughts, actions, ideas, stories, people, and places. That reflection, he can. continued to share. So I listened. Eddie, here are some reminders. Take note.

One, time is the most valuable currency you have, period. Bar none. Be more methodical about how you use it. This is not new, but rather a recalibration. That little thing in your pocket, that phone, that portal. Yes, the same one you use to share, conduct business, get your thoughts out into the world, the same one that's changed your life,

it's also crushing you. If you don't reel in your time on that little device, the consumption, the mindless scrolling, the time that you do have, you'll be fighting for mere adequacy. Shut it off, go reread Cal Newport's deep work. Reread Relentless by Tim Grover. Remind yourself what greatness truly requires, the concentration, the focus, the effort.

Go. Remind yourself. Number two. There are seasons of life. There are times to sprint and there are times to pace yourself. Times to explore and times to plant a stake in the ground. Times to tear down and times to build up. Don't define yourself by the season you are in.

in. You just walked away from a lot. You in many ways are restarting. You, as the saying goes, step back to leap forward. And now you're here. So remember, you are not the struggles of the past month or two months. You are where you go from here. You are your very next step. You are all of the opportunity before you. Number three, ambitious people tend to look forward. Often they live in that gap between where they are and where they want to be. Sometimes they only see the road ahead, and this can be good because it's a motivator, contributes to one's growth and mastery of a craft, that competition in the soul, that mastery of self that pushes one forward.

But it can, if left unchecked, be just as dangerous as it is valuable. Look over your shoulder. Remind yourself how far you've come. Compare yourself to that. Compare yourself to eight years ago and how bad you wanted to be where you are now. See what happens when that's the focal point. Number four, when you're frustrated about an outcome

or how far you have to go, remember, you're never as far away as you think. It's about reworking the minor details. No wheels need to be reinvented here. Breathe. Collect yourself. Ask yourself which dots need to be connecting. Because you're closer than you think to recapturing momentum.

You're always an arms reach away from that light switch that will illuminate the path you need. Just reach out and find it. Number five, simplicity. Simplicity. Simplicity. Simplicity, simplicity. Stop making the simple things complex. You'll find yourself pulling your hair out about problems that are tangential at best

to what really matters. The right things are simple. A happy, healthy, effective life is minimal. It's protective. Preserve it. Keep the complexity out. Remove the clutter in your environment. Clutter in your thoughts.

Revert back to what's simple because they are everything of value. value will emerge. And number six, it can be right, but wrong for you. That means, in your case, it's wrong in totality. Look, there will always be available off-ramps. There will always be he did this and it worked, she did that and it worked. Stay true to you in your world, your North Star.

even the people trying to help you, right? They can only advise on what they know. Their experience. Their experience is not yours. This is the evolution of insanity. It calls for one to be crazy until they are, quote unquote, experts, to be lost until they are found. And if you avoid pointing to other people for the answers

and find the courage to carve out your own path, eventually people will point to you for the answer. And number seven, as a friend of mine once said, walk into every room like God sent you. You are there for a reason. You have something to offer, something to give, something precious. The world won't know that until you know that. Until you live and breathe that, until you operate with conviction. Give yourself the respect.

You hope to be granted by other people. The reflection pauses one more time looks at me through the mirror and says, It's time to rise. Life has given you some obstacles. It's placed some valleys before you. Some of those were dictated by life. Some of them are your fault, but they are all, all of it. Every single piece, yours now.

We get in life what we allow. And pain, the internal turmoil, that's a sign that you may just be allowing the wrong things to exist alongside you. The wrong thoughts, actions, ideas, stories, people, and places. So Eddie, I hope those reminders provided some clarity. I hope they reminded you who you are and that you already have what you need. It's time to rise. Everyone wants to change the world, but no one wants to change himself. This was written by Leo Tolstoy in reference to people's proclivity to point out at the world and project blame rather than to point in at themselves and ask, why?

What can I do? How can I be better? Which, when you think about it is basically a shark forfeiting its bite, right? Or a bird giving up its wings. our personal agency is without a doubt our superpower. Yet, from my vantage point, sometimes feels like we're walking away from that superpower, a tiny step at a time.

Little by little, day by day, we're allowing greatness to fade while bringing about the death of the hero. And well, that's a pretty big claim. What could I possibly mean by this? It's funny when people ask me what I'm most proud of. My mind pretty quickly goes to my work, the brand that I've dedicated the last almost decade to building. But I don't think that's right.

I think it's a product of my answer, but it's not my answer. What I'm most proud of is shipping away at the monster that is the victim mentality. You know, my default when things went wrong for so long was to feel bad for myself. It was easier to be the victim and sulk than it was to keep taking the hits. It's like a cheat code. When you can just bask in your sorrow and hate the world, you don't have to do anything. It's like a giant ibuprofen for the discomfort that is life. But it relieves this symptom, not.

the cause and to understand to overcome this worldview is like being gifted with a new pair of eyes and what I learned was that self-pity it gets you nothing it leaves you resentful disappointed envious wandering down a path that is not your own what I learned was that my story needed a hero that's why as I grew I spoke about the power and the beauty of doing the difficult thing Running in the rain, chasing the metaphorical fireflies, taking the last train home, see, until you immerse yourself into that vast unknown, you stay in a cell of your own making. You build walls of limitation and you exist entirely within them.

And as time has progressed, I look back, there are two things worth mentioning. One is that we find life's meaning in the day. difficult thing. And two, there is a fundamental misunderstanding, and even from time to time, contempt for what the difficult thing means, for those who speak of the difficult thing, as though hard truths are in some way inconsiderate. Like diverging from the comfort of one's feelings implies the lack of empathy. But that's wrong. If you love someone, if you care about someone if you care about yourself, you say what is true. And what is true is that the shelter and the temporary comfort of victimhood is a high,

not worth the withdrawal, not worth the suffering. It got me nowhere, it will get you nowhere, and that is a reality that will never cease to be true. We live in a world that's been shaped entirely by those who found the courage to do the difficult thing. Everything around us is a product of the courageous decision to take the now and bend it. And that means taking hits, it means being criticized. It means by definition you are choosing to be uncommon. You're choosing to change things. Yourself.

And by default, the world around you. There's nothing wrong with being common. Quitting is relatable. Failure is relatable. Falling short is relatable. We're all human and we've all been there. But these stock features of humanity, they are not worth celebrating. We don't put on pedestals the familiar.

No, we put on pedestals the times that we've reshaped the familiar. And a world of participation trophies is a world that has disincentivized that which makes life worth living. It cripples the very pursuit that ignites the soul, a push, towards the extraordinary, it's time we resurrect the hero. See through the facade of short-term comfort that leads to long-term emptiness. In a world where attention is currency, it's time we acknowledge the payment we receive

when we play victim buys only despair. Sure, we're flawed. That will always be true, but we are capable of manufacturing of manufacturing greatness. We're capable of capturing hearts and captivating minds. If you could only see within yourself that story unwritten. If you could feel the greatness that awaits, the roads to be traveled and mountains to be climbed,

there would be no debate. There'd be no hesitation about that march to the belly of the beast. If only to show that our demons exist solely where we allow them to. Resurrection the hero. Fight those battles that light you up, blaze your trail through the valley of darkness, take that path unknown to the common man, unseen to those who live within the confines of what is. Resurrection that hero because you need you, because the world needs you. There's no time to be down or

or sad or dwell on the mistakes of yesterday, there's too much on the line to pretend that settling was to plan all along, or to point at the obstacles with disdain and hatred while life rotates around you. No, resurrect the hero. Resurrect your answer, resurrect the person you were meant to be. It may not be simple or intuitive.

It may cause you to give more than you knew you had. It may not be easy. But my friend, easy, never changed the world. I want to share a story with you. The other night, my brother was in town. So he's in Phoenix. We're hanging out with our aunt, who's also in Phoenix. And she actually hasn't seen my brother in a very long time.

So we're all catching up, having a nice dinner. And she tells us this story about, my uncle, her husband, who passed away. And when she was with him in hospice, I guess one of the things they do is sort of some type of checklist with questions and different things to just discuss and go over. And one of the questions for my uncle

when he was sick was, how do you want to be remembered? And she said, you know, she remembers vividly asking him that question and him pondering it for a few minutes and saying one word, grateful. And I thought that was one of the most powerful, beautiful tributes to just life itself, to the people in his life to everything.

I don't think Hollywood script writers could come up with the more perfect answer, a more ideal answer. And, you know, it's something that I've been thinking about a lot, just gratitude in general, that sort of perspective, that power we all have to choose in how that sort of reinforced the gravity, the importance of having gratitude as a North Star. You know, we all have the ability to choose gratitude. and the older I get, the more I learn that it's not a small thing. One of the most important books I've read by Dan Sullivan and Benjamin Hardy, I've referenced it a few times.

It's called The Gap and the Gain. It talks about this sort of binary, this ability we have to either look at the gap, what's not there in our life that we want to be there. the things that are missing, the things that hurt us, versus the gain, which is how far we've come, in what we do have,

and how lucky we are. And it's funny, it doesn't matter the situation. There's always both. There's always a metaphorical shelf right in front of you, and you can choose which one you want to take and how you want to see the situation. You know, I think something that I'm learning as well is that we all have natural predispositions.

We have biological tendencies. How you view the world innately is not going to be the same as I do. Nature plays a role, right? I need personal development. That's why I love it. That's why I've, in a way, made it my mission. I love philosophizing and diving into it.

It helps me. Without it, I wander. Because my instinct is not, I am so happy. Let's find the positive here, right? It's training the mind to say, ouch, this might hurt, but where's the value? And at the end of the day, that's fine. Because I get there, ultimately, right?

And I scream that from the mountaintops because we can all do that. We can all look around and say, hey, there's something to be grateful for here. There's value here. Even in the darkest moments, even in our suffering, there is value. And in that book, the gap versus the gain,

that's what Dan Sullivan says. You know, especially as entrepreneurs. It's like, if you're ambitious, it's very hard to see anything but the gap to where you want to go. Right? We're impatient. We want it now.

But how lucky are we? to even be afforded an opportunity to bring something into existence. It's not lost on me that so much of what I talk about is first world. Right? It's like if you're not happy with your life, fix it. You can. That's a luxury to be able to do that. There's a time and place where it's like, I just need food.

I need water. I need shelter, right? I need to hide from violence or, you know, to be violent myself, whatever it is, right? And so we're in this sort of place in time where we can really make the most of life and why shouldn't we? But I think, you know, with that comes the reminder, we have to understand how lucky we are and how much we have. And, you know, I've said it before, that. It's armor. To choose gratitude is to choose armor.

It's to make yourself stronger. It's just strengthen yourself. I was with my brother the other day. We were in Sedona, Arizona. And I just found out that my car, when we were in Sedona, some rodent got under it and chewed the front trunk sensor and some wire harness. Clearly, I don't know much about that stuff.

And so with Teslas, when something's wrong like that, an alarm goes off. Like just an obnoxious alarm, and it doesn't stop. It just goes until, you know, you can get some type of, you know, you have to bring it to a mechanic. You have to bring it to one of their folks who can take care of it. But there's no way to override it. And I'm on the phone with them. I'm doing sort of the restart on the computer, on the car, nothing. So that means every time we got in that car

for that entire road trip and beyond, there's this just obnoxious alarm. That, by the way, when you turn the music up, the alarm goes up to match the music. It was almost comical, right? But at first, it's incredibly frustrating. And especially because, you know, they were saying that I couldn't get an appointment

for like 45 days. I'm like, so you want to tell me for 45 days, I'm going to be driving around with a siren going off in my car. We got it taken care of sooner. but it brought me to that moment, right? The gap first, the gain, because you feel angry. It feels stupid and unnecessary.

Why is this happening? This is obnoxious. Then you think, what a problem to have. Poor me. My Tesla is making a sound while I'm on a road trip with my brother in one of the most beautiful places in the world soaking in the scenery. This is when you're going to throw a tantrum? Right? And it's that same idea. There's just, it's so easy to be angry and overlook the good.

And I say that not to be cliche. I say that because it's really become a superpower for me. And I want to share that with you. That's what I do. I share my wins. I share my losses. When I discover something that I think is meaningful or powerful or impactful, I want you to know. because some of the biggest changes we make are little alterations to our perspective. And so every time you're angry, picture that shelf right in front of you. And there's the gap and the gain. Two things, right? There's a reason to be grateful or resentful.

There's the choice to move forward or to be slowed down. And you reach out and you pick up the one you want to pick up. they'll always be there. And so if you start becoming accustomed to picking up the gain and the gratitude and the value, you'll see that, you know, in this game of life, you're not a puppet. You're the puppet master. You know, Victor Frankel talked about in his book, the one thing that can't be taken away from us is our attitude.

It doesn't matter what's going on around us. what life is presenting, attitude can't be taken away. Your gratitude is always there. Whatever you're going through, good, bad, in the middle. Think of that shelf. Think of the value that you can pick up at any moment and use to better yourself

as opposed to these narratives that we create that hold us back or make things seem harder or put us in that gap unnecessarily. in a world where you can be anything, choose to be grateful. There's a saying that what you water is ultimately what grows. That where you place your attention ends up guiding your feelings, your perception, your actions, and your life. Focus becomes identity. And change comes from bringing awareness to what we're focusing on.

I remember when this light ball went off for me. Like so many epiphanies, you know, it happened during a difficult kind of a trying time. It wasn't where I wanted to be. And I remember, you know, sitting down and asking myself, you know, dude, are you on your own team here? Are you helping yourself? Using the metaphor, the question was, am I watering the weeds in my life or the flowers? And by the weeds, I mean, am I allocating energy to thoughts that are detrimental to what I want? Am I keeping myself in places I don't want to be and in relationships that are counterproductive?

Am I thinking about what can go wrong instead of all that can go right? Or am I watering the flowers, the positive, highlighting the possibility, the things I'm appreciative for, the seeds, the potential that can grow a mile high? See, I've always known the value in choosing to see the possibility. But the million dollar question is, how do you remain aware? Because that's the thing about weeds, they're sneaky, they'll take control of your life without letting you know they're doing it. So I'm thinking this through and it dawns on me. This is not complex. This is simple.

It's one identifying where you want to be and two, analyzing your actions. Based on those priorities, right? That's it. And so for every pillar of my life, health, relationships, career, finances, I made two dots. one for where I am and one for where I want to be. Everything in the middle is life. The ups, the downs, the joys, the sorrow. Everything in between is the path, the line. And it's simple.

You start on point A, knowing that you can always get to point B. That what you want exists. It's there. It's available. And your attention, all of your energy should be allocated to the third. thoughts that reinforce that true. That's your path. That's what you believe. That's what's important. And it's going to happen. Anything beyond or outside that line, anything that tells you you're not good enough, anything that accepts not achieving that priority suggests it won't work out.

That is where the weeds live. That is wasted space. Why exhaust that energy? To think, you know, I'm not good enough to get this promotion. How does that help you get to your point B. It doesn't. Eliminate that thought, right? Point B always exists. Just that notion pushes a lot of things to the side. You have to be good enough. You just need improvement. Maybe it's enhanced skills. Maybe it's more effort. Maybe it's changed approach. But tackling these things will water the flowers. It moves you along the path. And progress is happiness. Right? For me, health is a big thing. I run all the time. But I'd like to be more fit. I don't. like to eat healthier, there's room for improvement, and I know it's possible, because that

is my point B. I know that saying I don't have time, or I don't have the right body type, or genes, or trying to convince myself that fast food, just this once will be okay. No, all of that stuff is watering weeds. It exists outside my path. My time should be spent realizing how incredible the human body is, taking care of it, pushing it, being proud of it, taking accountability for it. That's me. I only get one of these things. Even if it's just a little at a time, that's the beauty. Simply existing on a path and revolving around your ideals, your vision, your priorities brings about joy. Negativity, it truly is a learned thing. It's manufactured. All there are in life are circumstances, circumstances that are neither positive nor negative, just pieces. And you decide what to do with them.

Do you focus on the negative? You can. but that won't put you in a position to change your circumstances or bring about happiness. When you decide to see the opportunity, you free yourself from the shackles of fate, because destiny never put you in the situation you did. But guess what? You can take yourself out of it. A field of sunflowers grew one root, one stem, one pedal at a time. The same field that was at one point, nothing more than dirt and weeds. It was always possible.

So is your ideal life. You just need to water the things that matter. Sometimes all we need is a reset. A new beginning, fresh start, a transformed perspective. Do you remember those pictures that used to make their way around from time to time and looked pretty obvious at first glance? Right? But if you really examined it, you would see that the picture of the young woman or whatever

was also an older woman, right, differing based on how you looked at the lines. And depending on who was looking, they might have a proclivity towards seeing one or the other. But when made aware of the picture's duality, they could always see both. Okay, and there's something to this. This idea is something we should lean on, because I'll tell you what. Sometimes our natural proclivity is to see the thing that's not helpful. The first thing we're going to be. The first thing we see is an excuse or self-pity. The first thing we see is a list of insecurities or doubts. We have to remember to take a step back and look again, to examine harder.

Because it's amazing how differently things evolve when you make a point to see their value. For example, let's say someone has something you want. Something you wished was yours. And maybe your default is, you know, you are less than. Your life is not what it should be. But if you step back and looked again, you would see a few things. One, we're all running different races. You're competing against you, not anyone else.

Two, think about everything you do have that someone else would give anything for. And three, if you truly do want that thing, how about applauding yourself for having goals, for having desires? for wanting to push the boundaries of life. Now the question is, can you seek to truly understand what that desire is and map out your path to bring it into existence? This is nothing but an opportunity, right? And how could it be anything else?

Life's challenges, life's losses, they are wins. They contain within them the DNA to create change, to progress. But one must be able to move beyond the instinct to label it a problem or a net negative. There are and will always be wins where you choose to see wins. As I've heard Tony Robbins mention on many occasions, this isn't closing your eyes and saying, there are no weeds, there are no weeds, there are no weeds when your garden is full of them. No, it's understanding a simple truth. You'll never leverage value that you don't believe is there.

Seeing it is always step one, because it gives you a foundation to stand on as you build. It's picking up the pen and starting that next chapter. It's choosing your worldview. If you lose money, how would one react to? I can't believe it's gone. Things will never be the same. my life is over versus, okay, obviously I learned how to acquire it in the first place. Time to do it again.

I'm wiser. I'm more aware and life is abundant. The person that wakes up thinking the former would probably have a hard time getting out of bed. The person telling herself the second story would be motivated to go make things happen. Her worldview has incentivized her. That's why thoughts become things. How we think directly translates into how we act. And our daily actions become our reality.

Look, we've all found ourselves in situations where we struggle to see the good in things, where life knocks us down and the opportunity seems to hide itself. But that's exactly what it's doing. Hiding itself. It is there. It's always there. It's there when you've lost something. It's there when you've taken a wrong turn.

You get the point. And I'm going to differentiate here between simple and easy. Because the idea of stopping and forcing yourself to find the positive, it's simple. But it's not easy. It's oftentimes not the natural thing to do. But if you can ask that of yourself, you will find the wind. that others walk right by. You'll be the change you want in yourself

because the outside world will act as the toolbox to make that happen. Remember, we often can't control what the world gives us, but we can always control what we do about it. And that ability is what I believe separates human beings and their level of growth,

success, and achievement. Next time you find yourself down and out, sure, do your things. handle it how you must. But don't forget that golden rule. It's not what you look at. It's what you see. And when you examine the world around you,

point to one, however small value add, that will pick you up, get you back on your feet, and move you forward to that more ideal reality.