Your World Within Podcast by Eddie Pinero - WIN IN SILENCE

Episode Date: April 24, 2024

“But all the magic I have known I've had to make myself.” ― Shel Silverstein, Where the Sidewalk Ends Monday Motivation Newsletter: https://www.eddiepinero.com/newsletter Free Ebook: www.eddiepinero.com/ebook  YouTube: www.eddiepinero.com/youtube  In this podcast episode, Eddie Pinero dives deep into the theme of life transitions and explores how we interpret life and the significance of aligning our beliefs with our experiences as humans. Discover the hidden value in frustration and anxiety as you navigate through change. Get ready to be inspired and empowered to embrace life's transitions with resilience and purpose.

When I was younger, I want to say maybe third grade. I remember reading this poem by Shell Silverstein called Where the Sidewalk Ends. This place where the cement stops and the grass begins. An inflection point of sorts. And I obviously don't remember what we talked about back then, but I certainly remember the book. And a few weeks ago, I happened to be at the airport. I was walking through, and I saw a bookstore. and a Shell Silverstein book propped up in the front.

And I couldn't stop thinking about it. I had that title stuck in my head, right, playing on loop, where the sidewalk ends. Some things just hit you, like that title sounds perfect to me, this larger-than-life, transitionary place. It feels like some sort of graduation. But graduation from what, to what? That's the question. Is it simply checking off the current box before moving on to the next one?

Is it the end of a paved, calculated path? And the beginning of something a little less defined, a little more free? Is it the place where you step away from what's expected of you and instead do what you are called to do? What you know when your soul is right? I guess depending on who you are and what you need, it could be any and all of those things. But as I sat 36,000 feet in the air, it kind of dawned on me. Not necessarily what Shell Silverstein wanted the takeaway to be.

Fair, right? I mean, it's a famous poem. There's a lot of analysis and writing on this. But I'm more interested in the question, what do I need personally? Now, with everything going on in my life, what would I? I want that place to be, where the sidewalk ends. And the more I thought about it, the more I realized it's not a transition. I don't think where the sidewalk ends is where you step out from one place and arrive in another.

But I think what's more applicable in this moment is a perspective shift, almost a lifestyle invitation to straddle that line. Where you have one foot on the cement, right? The stable ground holding onto that structure. need to maintain healthy lives, to build, to take who we are and effectively share it with the world. And one foot on the grass, unpaved, no parameters, where our childlike curiosity runs rampant and reminds us that life is no standardized test. Right, like if the cement represents the frame, the capsule, that rocket going to the moon, the grass

represents the precious cargo it will be taking into orbit, that substance that must be found. And I think the reason my mind goes here is because in my life I've swayed too far in both directions. You know, I've spent entirely too much time on the sidewalk where I've limited myself, my beliefs in my trajectory. I've abandoned what I wanted to do because I was terrified to stray from what I was supposed to do. I've let routine kill creativity. I've let plans suffocate freedom and exploration. But I've also spent too much time entirely in the grass, beyond the structure, dreaming but aiming for no target, free but not grounded.

Perhaps at times having worked so hard to tear down the parameters and the structure in my life that I found myself with no foundation to build upon. Right? And I think the deal is sometimes we need more sidewalk than grass, and sometimes we need more grass than sidewalk. There are times in our lives that call for exploration, and there are times in our lives where we put our heads down and build. But the critical thing is we remember that beautiful balance

between the structure that's ultimately imperative and the freedom to step beyond. so that we can pull in more life. That when things feel too stiff or constrained, maybe you lean more towards the edge of that unkempt, undefined world. And when you crave structure, when you've been wandering too long, when you want to build something with the pieces of life you've been casually collecting along the way,

you lean in towards that foundation, towards that which is both known and dependable, and maybe that's where we leave it. As you navigate each segment of your life, it's knowing that you have your hand on the dial. The dial that will allow you to be your best at that particular moment in time, something no one knows but you. So think of that spot. What are you going through now and how can you best position yourself to handle it? This awareness is a power, it's a strength.

It's not merely passing through that place where the sidewalk ends. But I think it's an opportunity to embody it. To adapt and carry on as each new chapter begins. Human beings don't see we interpret. We don't take in what happened. We take in the things. We take in the implication of what happens. Everything in our world is story.

It's similar to the idea of two ideologically different news organizations, right, reporting on the same event. Neither will be completely factual. They'll both uphold their individual narratives. They're not black and white. They're interpreting grace, space. And our individual lives are no different. We are our own broadcasting channels. using data to support our individual narratives.

See, we know what the story's going to say before the story occurs because we will make it so. We'll make life fit our beliefs. That's what means to be human. So here's where the value lives in the context of this message when we find ourselves in a consistent state of despair or frustration or anxiety.

It's a fool's errand to look for solutions in the external world. Because everything we find, everything we come across, will support our current beliefs, our current story. That's what we'll keep playing in our heads, and it's why money can't bring fulfillment,

and another person can't take you from incomplete to content. It's why status will never equate to happiness. Those acquisitions are, like putting premium fuel in a car with a broken engine. It's just not the answer that we hoped it would be. To change your world, you must change your story. Whatever it is that needs to be changed. The location, the objective, the characters,

maybe the journey altogether, but it's the neural network behind your eyes that must change, not the detail it takes in. And so if you feel stuck or feel like where you want to be seems unrealistic, you have to know right now that the very fact you think that way is the problem. So ask yourself, not your girlfriend or your boss or your neighbor, but ask yourself what a turnaround looks like. Do you know? Or have you acclimated to being unhappy? Have you even asked yourself what happiness looks like? Or is your personal broadcasting channel so hell-bent on ensuring your life outlook stays the way it is that it's not even paying attention to the data it takes in?

See, I believe wholeheartedly that the first step in any facet of transformation is remembering that you have control that things in your life that bring you down or hold you back can be changed. In fact, the very things working against you can work for you, but you have to be aware. You have to think about it. Now, I'm not a believer in magic, right? I don't think you sit back, say, I don't want to be unhappy ever again, snap your fingers, and smile until the end of eternity. But I do believe that once we're aware of our manufactured shackles and our self-imposed limitation, we can start chipping away, doing the one, two, or three small things every day, tiny swing. at the tree until it falls.

If it's, I'm not happy with my work life, well, what does a better situation look like? What bridges that gap? I'll wake up 20 minutes earlier on weekdays and master Microsoft Excel. I'll send one message on LinkedIn asking an expert about the field I want to move into. I'll read 20 pages a day in a book related to business.

You think those things are small? See what they look like compounded in a year? Not only that. This is the most important part. You are taking the power back. You're taking control. And that's what feels good. That's where we get our identity.

You get a little disappointed at how you've let your physique slip when you look in the mirror. Don't be sad about it every day. Again, ask yourself what the inverse looks like and start doing small things. Subtract one sports drink and, add one green smoothie, double your water intake, do a 10-minute daily workout on YouTube. Like the pieces are out there. And to find yourself again is to realize that they're out there. Realize that you're playing a movie on loop in your head that isn't right.

It's just not you. And well, what movie do you want to be playing in an ideal world? Scroll through the library, find it, click play. and start doing the small things that make it real. There's so much power in progress. I've seen this unfold in different areas of my life, but particularly as a writer, as a speaker, it's like you identify who you want to be.

You start making tiny steps, and after a while, you're surrounded by the change that you've created. How can you not believe something that you're starting to live, it has to become your identity because it is you, it's around you. You breathe it. So look around and realize the malleability

of your situation. And if what you find is not you, good. Here is your opportunity to tear down the old and construct the new. You can do that because you have control. because it's within your grasp.

So start the new movie, the new story, make yourself the hero, and set out to find yourself again. It's time. The world will not stop spinning. The clock won't stop ticking, days won't stop slipping by. It's time. Things won't suddenly get easier. The difficulty does not remove itself. The path does not narrow.

That perfect moment, it doesn't exist. A flawless beginning is fiction. The stars will never align for you. It's time. Not tomorrow. Not someday down the road. but this very second. See, you don't need all the answers.

You don't need to know or be sure or be armed with guarantees. Your job, your only requirement is to begin. It's time to trade fear for opportunity. Someday for right now, it's time. To stop thinking so. Stop seeing what you want as a reach to stop looking at success as a stranger. It's time

To sit down and convince yourself that what you want can be accomplished When it's as real as the space in front of you When it's as probable as the completion of a single step, it will happen because it has to. It's time At some point, you have to see that you're not simply playing conservatively. You're not being a perfectionist. It's not about being okay with where you are. No, if we're going to get anywhere, let's be truthful. Let's call it what it is.

These things, these ideas, these excuses are a derivative of fear. The problem with possibility, is that it's incredibly hard to quantify. Technically, if you've never had it, you've never lost it. And that is how we rationalize staying where we are. That's why we compartmentalize the things we want most as dreams. But for a second, let's be bigger. Let's start from the premise that what life can provide or become is limitless.

It is truly infinite. And when you sit on an idea or you refuse to begin, you are in fact losing. Every single thing around you, everything. At one point, it began. At one point, someone summoned the courage to reach out and take what's in front of them. Maybe you do the same. Maybe you take that step. Maybe the first few times go terribly.

wrong, maybe it's terrifying, maybe you find out who has your back, who your real friends are, and maybe those truths scare you. But guess what? Guess what those steps turn into? Confidence, amplified purpose, and most importantly, more steps. You get to see right in front of you as your demons diminish, evaporate. higher you climb, the better the view, the longer the road, the greater the experience, I would rather fall a thousand times and continuously get back up stronger than be someone who looks at the world through a window like it's some fairy tale. Because at the end of the day, sure, they have no scratches, scrapes, or bruises, but I

have no limits and I'd make that trade any day. It is time to stop separating what you want from what you have and take that step forward. It's time to go get it. No one is stopping you. Nothing is stopping you. And in fact, if you choose to be, you are unstoppable. So take a look at. in the mirror, lace up your shoes, open the door, and begin.

It's time. 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 dimebeautcom. That's dimebeautyco.com. Your best skin awaits. A cheat code in life is understanding the significance of getting to one.

Because if you can get one, you can absolutely get two. And if you can get two, you can get three, four, five, five, five. 500,000, or 5 million. Once you realize that something is possible, you're no longer the same person you once were. Your hands need not be held to the sky as though the universe is going to drop something into them. No, you've cracked the code. You have the info.

And the burden has now been placed directly onto your shoulders. That little question, is this possible, dissipates. Getting to one was your proof of that. And then the obvious accompanying question, now what are you going to do about it? What are you going to do? Because the race isn't to one million, it's to one. One is the power.

One is the reassurance. One is everything you need. If you can sell one painting, you can sell 50,000 paintings. If you can make one three-pointer, you can make thousands of three-pointers. If you can create one genius marketing video that goes viral, you can create hundreds, thousands, millions. Again, the evidence, you got one. Anything beyond one is procedural. It's a testing of methods.

It's becoming relentless in your pursuit to repeat the process with the pieces that you're disposed. But make no mistake, those pieces are there, everything you need is there, so long as you get to one. I had to recently break through to this realization. Like so many of us, I'm an ambitious person. I love the game. I want to add value to more people, reach more listeners, generate more revenues, scale impact, all that stuff, of course. But for a while, I just couldn't figure out how. I became almost disillusioned.

What am I doing wrong? Maybe. What if maybe do I dare say? Do I dare even think for a second that I've gone as far as I can go? But was ultimately rescued. Rescued by the realization that I was asking the world for things I didn't have instead of leveraging what I did. I needed to separate the value I possessed from the logistics that would transport it. Because, and this is what we forget, I've already performed my miracle.

I've added value to one person, and if you can add value to one, why not 10, why not 10 million? It's not a product issue. It's a scaling question. The car works. Figure out how to get it to the racetrack. The tool is effective. Now get it into the hands of the builders. You see the difference?

the confidence that comes with that? Instead of doubting all that you bring to the world, asking yourself if more is possible, you say, yeah, of course it is, because I've already done it, here is my proof. Now what's around me that I can use to deliver it? How can I try things? Reposition things.

Figure out how to scale and get further, but I know it's possible. So many of us have already gotten to one. We're adding value. We're doing what we believe in. But we're asking the wrong question. We're still asking whether more is possible. It is.

The burden is just on you to bring it to fruition. The burden is on you to find a way. To scale the value contained in your one thing. And by the way, if you haven't arrived at one yet, buckle up. Getting to one was one of the best periods of my life. Finding your value proposition, enjoying the process, exploring, finding that intersection of value and personal contentment.

You'll eventually arrive there. But remember, for you, the goal is not one million, it's one. One idea that works, one approach that lights you up. One action that opens your eyes to the upside. That makes the world better to those around you. When you've found your one thing, when you know what makes a difference, then you move on to the scaling chapter, right? Then how do we turn one into one million?

But there are two different questions. So remember that moving forward. No matter how stuck you feel, if you have one, you simultaneously have a little seed capable of producing infinity. It just needs attention. Trust yourself to work through the logistics because that's all it is. Transform the if into how and start building that staircase straight to the moon. Life is perspective.

So during the good times, find gratitude. And during the difficult times, find the opportunity. When you have the answers, when you know, be proud of your knowledge. And when you don't celebrate all the wisdom to come. When the sun is shining, cherish the warmth on your skin, and when it's not, learn to run in the rain. When you're focused, appreciate the clarity. And when life feels chaotic, embrace the chance to manufacture order. When people come into your life, value the ride that you'll share.

And when they leave, take note of all they gave along the way. When you win, reflect back on all the hard work that made it possible. And when you lose, take in the lessons that you lose. that even winning can't provide. When things go as planned, revel in your ability to execute. But when your plans and life's plans diverge, remember that some things are simply outside of your control. And now, this moment is a chance to identify and utilize the things that are in your control.

Henry David Thoreau, it's not what you look at, it's what you see. So see the world as you'd like it to be. Never turning a blind eye to reality, but realizing how much control you have over making reality your own. We are the builders. The world around us merely provides the components and the pieces. And if one were to live as though there were value in every moment, They would inevitably find themselves looking for that value, perhaps even when it was difficult to find most elusive.

When most would hang their heads and walk right by it, I look out my window and see a world that is neither valuable or valueless. I see a blank canvas in which we are tasked with making that decision. Life is a roller coaster ride. It has ups and downs. the obvious and the unexpected. And while some think nothing of the high points and dwell on the low points, there are an abundance of resources, of beauty, of joy, reserved for those who understand how great the highs are and how valuable the lows,

who take what comes, not as walls to live within, but as parts to assemble. Not as antithetical to their hopes and dreams, but as the very foundation they will build those hopes and dreams upon. This world is not for you, just as much as it is entirely yours. It calls for you to be that arbiter. For what you decide will inevitably take.

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 guess work 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 dimebeautycom. That's dimebeautyco.com. Your best skin awaits. There was a point a handful of years back where I had one of the most important breakthroughs of my lifetime. And I've talked about this with people close to me, family and friends,

to clients, business associates. And it seems like there's a commonality amongst all of us. And maybe, depending on the person that happened in a different way, certainly at different times. But everyone, at one point or another comes face to face with the realization that they have a tremendous amount of control over their lives. And it's at that moment where one becomes empowered.

It's like you realize you have the key to the cell you've been locked in this whole time. And at that moment, one is prompted to ask, well, why not start living like it? There will always be responsibility and sacrifice in life. But that awareness makes one ask, well, what am I sacrificing for? Where am I going? Am I spending time with people that lift me up? Am I doing things that contribute to a greater vision? And perhaps most importantly, am I even living a life that is true to myself?

Because I'll tell you something, our time here flies by. Not only will next month, next year, next decade be here before you know it, but it's not even guaranteed. And if one doesn't take the time to look in the mirror and ask the tough questions, life will keep on ticking. Time will not stop. No one's going to walk up to you and point out the fact that you're just going through the motions here. No, that one's on you. You have to see that this world can become what you. decide it will be, that you are presented the tools, but tools require an architect and a creator.

Tools require someone in seeing what is not yet there to pick them up and build. And so maybe this is the time for you to ask, what am I building? Where am I going? And when my day starts, both feet hit the ground and I walk out the door. What am I moving towards? Maybe today is the day you realize that there are parts of your life that don't need to be there, that you can cut away. People that don't deserve your time, that don't elevate you or contribute to your well-being.

Maybe there are places you're going because that's where you've, always gone, things you're doing because that's what you've always done. But you don't need to live life on repeat. If you're not happy about it, how about doing something to change it? There is nothing in your life that can't be adjusted or altered. Just like yesterday is now a story, so is the idea that you are confined to a specific set of parameters. down those walls see things not as they are but as they can be if you have the

courage to walk away from old stories and characters what if today you created a new ending one that lights you up in the morning contributes to your sense of purpose when you close your eyes at night again remember no one will come up and hand that to you no one will let you you know you're selling yourself short, that transformation must be internally prompted. And so I hope you'll ask, I hope you'll ask the questions that you've been neglecting for far too long. I hope today can be the first page in an entirely new chapter. A chapter in a story that is truly an entirely, you'll be.

I had a friend recently told me consistency is more important than intensity. Interesting, I thought, right? Put it in my back pocket and moved on with my day. But the more I thought about it, the more I realized how valuable those words are, how necessary. I think because typically my brain associates the acquisition of more with an increase in intensity. It's like you want more, okay? Find a way to give more, to be better. That's the equation my brain was familiar with.

And while not necessarily wrong, what it can do is diminish the power of showing up. It neglects the compound effect. The reality is that consistency over time becomes intensity. A snowball rolling downhill doesn't just increase in size. increases in speed. Intensity is second to consistency because consistency creates intensity. Consistency is the material from which everything else is made and we forget that. Thinking about how much bigger, better, stronger we'd like to be, why can't I just leap a mile? Well my friend it turns out you don't have to

Miles are comprised of single steps. I wanted my run yesterday to be about three-fourths intensity. Decided the goal would be to land just under eight minutes per mile. 759 would put me in a good spot for my plan for the week. But as happens, from time to time, the sun, the heat, my body weren't about it, right? And halfway through the run, I'm a little higher than I wanted to be, averaging about 801, 802 per mile. a little above my mark, and I thought to myself, you have to be better.

You have to make a move. Right now, you have to find something in there. But did I? Did I have to find anything? Because it turns out I was right on track and didn't see it. What I needed to do was simply hold the eight-minute pace, 801. Just hold it. That keeps me in the game.

Then we kick it up at the home stretch. And the last sprint will be enough to get my cumulative average down to $759 per mile. No miracles here. Forget the intensity. All the world is asking of me is consistency. Show up step by step. Keep myself in the game. It's amazing that when you're hurting the mind plays highlight reels of everything you lack, everything you're not doing.

Right? It's reaching. We get so uncomfortable or impatient that we think we need to perform magic tricks. And it's like, no, keep showing up. Keep yourself in line. The intensity is a derivative of the consistency and it will make its presence known. So during those first seven miles, I showed up, I committed, and I held on, right? Understanding the assignment, big picture. Thought only about consistency, staying calm, and then as planned, picked it up at the last mile. Hit that goal. See, these little mental games are packed with value.

They reinforce bigger picture truths. Show up, put in the work, find your rhythm, and hold. Don't stress yourself out looking at finish lines you have not yet crossed. Don't let the delta between where you are and where you want to be. intimidate you. That's precisely the reason people quit and walk away. They get so caught up in where they are not that they forget little steps over time

are what bring about change. They don't understand that the snowball is increasing in velocity as well as it rolls down the hill. That by staying focused, their output becomes the avalanche. So when you have to have to, to when you feel like the world is increased in size and its obstacles in number. Know that there is value in holding the 8, the 801, the 802.

Know the power of simply getting on base, of getting up again and again and again, of putting yourself in position to succeed. Because your time to sprint will arrive. And when it does, you'll be battle tested and prepared. but the sprint only matters because you stayed steady, stayed consistent throughout, step, step, step. So remember when the rest of the world is talking about the shortcuts, the life hacks and the secret solutions that will change your reality,

they're missing the mark. Because one brick at a time, one step at a time, one day at a time, You're building something that can't be manufactured overnight. You're committing to the process and will ultimately experience that, which can only be experienced by those who paid the price. Those who didn't panic or overanalyze, but put one foot in front of the other consistently every single day. If there's time, then there's time to turn. turn things around. If there is a tomorrow, then there is hope today. The only half to bes in life are the ones we prop up and adhere to. And how interesting that oftentimes

we don't even realize we're the ones holding them up. There's a simple question that I like to ask as the sun comes up and the coffee brews. Am I living today? like it's an obligation or something more. Is it an automatic continuation of the past or a methodical move towards a future that lights me up? And these aren't small distinctions. Right? I've lived both ways. I've felt what it's like to feel both. I remember going to work and joking around that a flat tire would be a real treat.

That's not a count of bad. That's not control. That's essentially living life as a jellyfish floating along with the tide. And while the lack of required output, innovation, and planning may have felt like a win in the moment or a burden lifted off my shoulders at the time deprived me of that which resides in the soul of every human being alive. purpose, personal agency. See, you can only go so far, so long being the spectator of your own journey. You can only go so long looking out the window before you wonder just what it'd be like to be behind the wheel.

When we put our actions up against the question, why, it astounds me how many things are done because it's what we've always done. done. We act like we're expected to act. Think like we're expected to think, see who we're expected to see, but expected by whom? Some of my greatest breakthroughs in life emerged after being asked why by people I look up to or respect. Why have you accepted that? That's your income? Okay, great, but why? That's how you spend your day? I see. How calm? And when one is tasked with looking at their own life through a magnifying glass, some hidden truths always emerge. It shines a spotlight in the corner of the room, illuminating those shadows where one can, if they look hard enough, make out the wolf in sheep's clothing that is the phrase because that's how I've always done it.

We get in life what we accept. We are what we allow ourselves to be and if we don't ask ourselves which mountain is worth climbing, which ocean is worth crossing, we simply float with the tides. We're at the mercy of the winds. We forfeit the mastery over our own lives that await if we're willing to take that wheel and navigate. So here are a few things to take with you. First is you are bound by nothing. The parameters you exist between are of your making.

You can get in that car and drive. You can walk away and begin something new. You can entertain that vision that's been conveniently tucked away in the back of your mind. Understand that to not go is fine, but it's a decision. And perhaps a decision you'll wish you made differently. And second, difficult today liberate you tomorrow. It's easier to observe. It's easier to say how you wish things were.

After all, stepping out into the fast-paced chaotic world is tough. It's scary, it's unpredictable, but it's where you find yourself and the path that's calling your name. It's beyond the pins and needles, emerging as one jumps into the cold water, that they're able to find that evolution. If there's time, then there's time to turn things around. If there is a tomorrow, then there is hope. hope. Mark Twain said the two most important days of your life are the day you were born and the day you find out why. The first gets you into the show and the second asks what will you do with your time here? What will you make of this sunrise? Because we only get so many and I think there's immense

value in understanding that each and every one of us are here to leave this place better than we found. To stand up when we could be sitting down, step out, and make something of the chaotic and often hard to understand world around us. When you realize the miracle that is your existence, when you understand the almost impossible odds of you being here, thinking, feeling, breathing, breathing in the air around you, you begin to see the value of today. Because it's not an obligation, it's a currency, the most precious of commodities. Today is your time to step into that new version of yourself, to see something more so that

can begin the process of creating something more. Because the truth is life will always be what you decided is. If you walk up to your window, look through the blind and decide what you see is the finale, the final script, that's exactly what it will be. But if you see right now as a beautiful beginning, the initiation of the ride of a lifetime, a transport to the next version of you and the next and the next, then you are signing up for a world without limit. A world where you can feel what it's like to be tested and endure.

To be lost, but finds your way. To build something meaningful out of the seemingly meaningless. That's why you're here. That's what it means to truly live. Today is your day. Your chance, don't let it slip away from you, don't be fooled into thinking it's less than it really is, it is your ticket to infinity. A journey that starts when you decide it does. When you look out at that vast unknown and say, I'm not going to settle for anything less than a life of adventure.

I want the challenges, the turbulence, the losses and the battles, they will bring me to a place I could never have arrived at otherwise. You get from life what you give. So give it all. Leave no path unwalked, no stone unturned. Today is the most important day of your life because it will connect the you of yesterday to the limitless you of every day that comes next. Today is not like any day I've lived before.

And why should it be? In this very second, there are roads to be explored that I've never before walked down. There are actions to take that I've never before taken and ideas to bring to life that I've never before given the respect they deserve. That's saying, my golden rule, you are always one decision away from a totally different life. You are always one realization from pulling the lever, opening the door, finding the answer you've been walking by all your life. The problem is you don't see today as today. You see it as a continuation of yesterday.

The same movie with the same characters and same rules without even realizing you need to change the script. Emerson said, write it on your heart that every day is the best day in the year. Why? Because it can be. Your job is to remember that things will continue on and on and on until we give them an end. We must manually close the book on yesterday's story and start anew because we can. We often don't realize, but we can. And that is why the morning, each new day is so precious. It's taking the mistakes and sometimes disappointments of yesterday and transforming them into today's lessons and the opportunity to begin again.

A new journey seen through a new lens, walked through a new pair of shoes, a new sense of self. So here is your reminder that the words were and are the very different. They're very different. That's why each sunrise transcribes into the sky. The hopes and dreams of the you that you've always wanted to be. It's not a crazy formula or some secret code. It's simply untying your boat from the harbor that is yesterday and moving towards tomorrow's horizon.

Even if there were a magic box, with the answer to every single question imaginable inside, you'd still have to know what questions to ask it in order to take anything worthwhile away. The output is only going to be as valuable as the input. But why won't the world just give me what I want? Why can't I have something new? Why won't life grant me a fresh start? Well, the question worth reflecting upon is what are you doing to prompt the change? What are your inputs?

The jukebox only plays the song you select. What are you selecting? And I say this. Well, I say this because my expectations are sometimes inclined to diverge from the actions that I take. There can be a gap between what I want and what I'm actually spending my time doing. A gap that without the necessary time and attention widens. But what we want to do is close that gap. We want to take the ideal on one side and the real on the other and squeeze them as close together as possible.

That requires, though, that you recognize and take. control of your input. A friend of mine in the medical field and I were talking about weight loss not too long ago and something he said that stuck with me. He says, yeah, weight loss can be complex. There's certainly variability, but there's a simple underlying truth to all of it. If you burn more calories than you take in through eating, your body will lose weight. It's inevitable. You're creating a deficit. Simple. Your input controls your output. We can move to personal finance, something everyone can relate to. If you spend less than you make, you'll have money left over to save.

Again, personal finance also has its nuance. There are certainly plenty of variables. But this piece will always be true. If you want to increase your savings, you can either make more or spend less. your decisions here, your inputs here, will dictate your output. And so I think it's worth calling our attention to those things we're doing day in and day out. And I'm talking about the most basic of things. Are they contributing to what you want most or not?

That's why I reference my whiteboard list so often, right? Incredibly simple, which I think is what we need. One column on the left is your goals, you know, the things that you want. The other column on the right is what you're doing to bring about what you want. What are your actions? And if you make that list and notice that your days wildly deviate from that list, there's a problem. Either you're wasting your time with meaningless action or you've selected the wrong goals. You can wildly change the results you get by tweaking the actions you make or inputs.

have called them here. Here's an example. This is an adversary. I've been dancing around for a decade now. I have injury problems. We'll talk about it all the time. Left ankle, right knee, left elbow, right shoulder. I'm constantly working around these things

until inevitably something happens and I have to take a step back and rest and rehab it, right? What did I do? I saw a physical therapist. Definitely a valuable input, but not enough. I'm consistently working on my diet. Valuable input, but again, not enough. Hydration, right, gallon of water a day.

Valuable input, but not enough. I decided not too long ago to take yoga seriously, like be obnoxiously serious about it. I'm going almost every day, and I think I don't want to speak too soon, but I think I'm seeing something that I haven't seen in a decade. I feel good, and I'm able to do some weight training that previously I really couldn't.

You know, the output here is finally starting to look like I want it to look. But here's the thing, right? It's been so frustrating over the years. Like, I get so angry with the situation that I forget that I have control over the outcome. It just seems like when you've exhausted so much time and energy, like it's beyond you. And it's like, no, there are still your inputs creating your outputs and you can continue to change those things. Don't stop trying, testing.

You know, and that's really it. And I mean, this is such a basic concept. It's so almost painfully simple. But as I like to say, you know, the wheels don't fall off the wagon when we get the minor details wrong. No, it's when we're getting the basic things wrong. That's when we lose ourselves. That's when we fall off track.

And that simple input and output idea is amazing to me. Because it waters all that seemingly complex stuff down into the simple. It puts the power in our hands to do something about it. Even when it's frustrating, even when we feel like we've exhausted all our options. No, there's always more. Why? Because you put something in, you get something out. If you don't like what's coming out, change what's going in.

You are your own experiment. You are responsible for closing that gap between the real and the ideal. If the people you're spending your time with don't make you feel good or bring you down, adjust the input. If you aren't happy with your financial situation, adjust the inputs. If you aren't happy with your physique or overall health, adjust the inputs. If your business or platform or personal brand isn't evolving the way. you'd like it to, stop blindly repeating what you're doing day in and day out and adjust the inputs. The real world results will change right in front of your eyes. Not because anything was given

to you, but because your persistence, your adaptability, and your commitment to growth demanded it.