Your World Within Podcast by Eddie Pinero - Who You Become Along The Way - An Inspirational Speech

Episode Date: January 26, 2021

Those difficult times, the twists and turns, the ups and downs, they didn't slow you down or hold you back. No, they made you stronger than you ever dreamed you could be..

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in the boat. About nine American rowers from Washington that won gold in the 1936 Olympics. There's this incredible exchange at one point in the book between the main character Joe, who's part of that historic boat, and a man named George Pocock, who was not only a brilliant rowing mind that helped the team out, but he also had his own business crafting in making the boats or rowing shells, as they were called, and he would make them and send them to schools all over the country. And so Joe's deal is that he's this natural talent, strong kid, tough as nails,

but just seems to lose his composure from time to time. When he's in the boat, there are these moments of jaw-dropping excellence, unprecedented speed across the water, and then there are moments when he loses his focus. And the boat sort of follows suit, right? They're inconsistent. And so George Pocock, being the Roe-Nose. expert that he is made a commitment to see if he could help Joe figure that out, right?

The mental game. So he calls Joe into his shop. And he starts showing him how he puts together these highly coveted boats, showing him the tools and the pieces and how it's nothing short of an art. He has sort of this divine respect for his craft. And at one point, he pulls out a cedar plank that he'll be using to make one of the boats. And he points to the growth rings in the wood, mentioning that they tell the story of the tree's 2,000-year life. So here's a quick quote from the exchange. He says, Their thickness and thinness spoke of hard years of bitter struggle,

intermittent with rich years of sudden growth. The different colors spoke of various soils and minerals that the tree's roots had encountered, some harsh and stunting, some rich and nourishing, flaws and irregularities told how the tree endured fires and lightning strikes, windstorms, and infestations, and yet continued to grow. Almost as if there was something sacred about it. The wood taught us about survival, about overcoming difficulty, about prevailing over adversity, but it also taught us something about the underlying reason for surviving in the first place.

something about infinite beauty underlying grace, about things larger and greater than ourselves about the reasons we are all here. I paused after reading that and thought for a minute or two what is it about those rowers crossing the finish line after giving everything they have

that touches us so deeply. What is it about a cedar tree standing the test of time, those 2,000 years of adversity only to triumphantly pierce the sky when all is said and done, it moves us because it tells us what we already know, yet forget, in our hearts believe, but often fail to see, that we are greater than the sum of our parts. Ernest Becker, when he was touching on the aspect of the human predicament, he famously noted that we are simultaneously worms and gods, earthly and divine. And I think it's in those moments, the crossing of finished lines, the times we did more than we ever thought possible, or looked back and smiled about all we overcame. it's in these times we're able to transcend the mundane, the everyday.

We're able to remind ourselves that, sure, some aspects of us are merely human, but no aspects are ordinary. The greatest power one can witness is that of the human spirit, bending but never breaking, making light of the odds and an example of the predictable. So know that whether now is difficult or not, it's part of your journey, a defining chapter and the incredible story of your life. And if you find yourself up, cherish that. It's more precious than gold. If you find yourself down, remember that you'll look back on this growth ring of your life

and be grateful that it gave you that which smooth sailing never could. Because at the end of the day, all you have is what's in front of you, the next move, the next step, and the faith that all these little pieces will someday mean something, that standing the test of time will speak for itself. At your finish line, whatever that may be, it will. You'll look back and see that without your knowing or awareness, they propelled you into the current moment.

They gave life. To something beyond the realm of worms and dirt, beyond the realm of humans operating in their day-to-day world. No, they allowed you for a moment in time to touch the infinite, if only to prove to yourself that you could.