NOBODY IS COMING TO SAVE YOU, IT'S TIME TO START - Motivational Speech

[Music] every day there is a specific decision you have to make it's the first and it's the most important decision because from it you effectively wrote map your [Music] destiny what I'm referring to is the choice to either have a positive outlook or to allow negativity and doubt to chart your Course it's a dilemma that truly is that simple every morning you choose how you want to view the obstacles ahead of you and what you get out of life will be very different depending on your [Music] decision there's an old Cherokee legend that touches on

this conflict and in the story there's an older man he's talking to his grandson about life he explains that inside all people There is this fight going on the struggle consists of two wolves one manifests itself through negative energy he's anger Envy sorrow inferiority all that is evil the other is Joy compassion Faith truth all that is good so he finishes explaining this the boy sits there he thinks about it for a minute he asks his grandfather well which one wins the grandfather replies whichever one You [Music] feed what we sometimes forget is that we

are the soul makers of our own destiny there are always going to be external factors whatever they may be negative people tough circumstances maybe a lack of resources they'll be there but they cannot dictate your happiness or your success unless you let them yeah they may cause you to alter Your approach you might have to make adjustments that's good that's how we develop that's how we improve but no one and nothing writes your story but you [Music] your attitude your emotions they directly coincide with how you see the world so anytime you feel discouraged negative

envious anything that's not positive just stop don't waste your time with thoughts That aren't bringing you closer to your goal there's just no value in it Tony Robbins says this beautifully he says you have to be the guardian of your own mind allowing in only what will help you cuz God knows the world will crush you if you let it so take the wheel what you need to do tomorrow when you wake up is look at yourself hard in the Mirror make a conscious decision to feed the good [Music] wolf you'll be amazed at how

far it will take [Music] you I recently came across a simple yet powerful idea it's that when you become accustomed to doing the hard things life becomes easy when you become accustomed to only Doing the easy things life becomes hard it's a tradeoff of sorts little example that I think uh epitomizes this idea I recently just started cold plunging in the morning right so right now I'm doing about 6 minutes in 38 degree water and I'm thinking that my body will acclimate to it over time that it will get a little bit easier as I

you know move forward into this but right now it's pretty Uncomfortable but you know you do what you can you breathe deep and ultimately you get through it and as I was in there today um I thought of three ideas that I think are are worth sharing so they all have to do with sitting in the cold plunge which is where I was when I thought of them uh and then all sort of pull them up uh expand them out to Everyday Life which I obviously love to do and I think is is impactful here

are the three ideas the First one is don't give your brain room to negotiate when you have your mind made up when you're set on a Target you go first thing I was told you know when getting in the cold plunge is don't stop don't feel the water don't get in slowly don't give your rational brain an opportunity to do any convincing or negotiating go get in right before your body realizes how cold it is and can talk Itself out of it because by the time you realize what's going on you're submerged you've already begun

and as we know you know beginning is often the hardest part number two is you can do anything if you make the discomfort work for you you don't work for the discomfort so it's about positioning yourself to focus on the right things which this exercise reinforces you count the time you play Mental games you make each of the six minutes its own thought experiment uh whatever you need to do to get through it and you know this video right now this episode the idea for it happened between minutes 3 and four you know um that's

just value that was squeezed out of the process I've started calling the 60 seconds between minute 3 and minute 4 the bridge right in my mind I hype it up as the most important minute that way the last two feel like uh a celebration And not the most difficult and sure it's silly it's ridiculous but that's exactly the point right it's what works for me it's the name of the game it's positioning the little pieces around yourself so that you are able to do difficult things in that environment and third the takeaway right I feel

amazing afterwards which I was hesitant to call anything but a placebo for about a week or two but definitely the inflammation In my body is noticeably lower that soreness in my forearm and elbow um which occurs after most workouts is better but not only that everything else throughout the day in comparison is more comfortable right it's that simple life is relative running a mile is hard but not compared to running six miles the work I've scheduled is challenging but not the same kind of challenging as being submerged in 38° water it creates Perspective right it's

as though I've I've built a foundation to do the hard things uh with less trepidation and far more enthusiasm which is a beautiful thing so let's take these three thoughts and bring them a bit outside of the cold plunge why do we not want to give our brains room to negotiate why jump right into the metaphorical ice water because when we go we give ourselves something to react to we Create change the worst thing we can do is very often nothing but that doesn't keep our brains from screaming stop it's too dangerous it's too uncertain

it's too cold or hot or different or challenging the simple Act of moving forward with conviction is so powerful teach your brain that losing isn't whatever exists outside the door losing is doing Nothing losing isn't the discomfort of the cold water it's getting your hand in the cold plunge so slowly that you talk yourself out of it pick your North Star and go there next on making the discomfort work for you this is a perspective shift it occurs when you start seeing what's uncomfortable not as a stop sign but as a challenge as the good

stuff the water that grows the plant it's not supposed To be easy that's the point no puzzle is easy right again the question is how do you arrange the pieces so that they become manageable your Innovation and your imagination are required make this um you know we'll call the the discomfort an opportunity make this opportunity work for you when the instinct is to stop or quit or run ask how you can take that feeling and make something with it find your Value between those minutes three and four alter the rules to your game so that

you come out on top I've found this to make a big difference in life's outcomes you don't work for the discomfort it works for you lastly remember why that little exercise every day is 6 minutes at least right now six hard minutes that makes the rest of my day easier 6 minutes that unlocks a Tremendous Advantage the little hinge that swings the big door we do the hard things because they make the rest of life easier it makes me feel physically better mentally stronger and accomplished and let's face it people follow through on who they

believe themselves to be someone who's willing to do the difficult thing is very hard to beat in other aspects of Life the moments of enduring short-term discomfort they're not uh trivial or unnecessary they set us up for those big pictures victories they become defining in the long run so with that said is this an endorsement of cold plunges it could be if that's your thing but it could be any exercise or action you deliberately immerse yourself into for the purpose of growth anything that reminds you enduring the discomfort of today opens Up the possibility of

a new world entirely tomorrow it's an easier life brought to you by willingness to do what is not easy 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 from the actions that I take right 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 uh 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 uh and I were talking about weight loss not too long ago and uh 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 now 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 day 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 as I've called them here and here's an example this is a an adversary I've been dancing around for a decade now I have injury problems 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 St 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 go 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 uh seeing something that I haven't seen in a decade I feel good and I'm Able to do some uh weight training that previously I 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 it's been so

frustrating over the years like I get so angry with the situation that um I I forget that I have control over the outcome right 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 test testing you know and that's really it and I mean this is such a basic concept it's 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 right 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 inputs if you aren't happy with your financial situation adjust the inputs if you aren't happy with your physique or overall health uh Adjust the input 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 [Music] the world reflects back at us what we currently are like a giant mirror projecting the movie that's playing in our heads we lay on the horn in traffic not when we're at peace with ourselves but when we're in duress we gravitate towards the negative not when we're living in abundance but when we're living in scarcity we quit Retreat contract not When we're confident in the road

ahead but when we're doubtful alarmed in other words we find out in the world what already lives within us life in many ways is not absolute it's evidence it's evidence that we'll use to justify the things we all already believe Wayne Dyer used to use the metaphor of an orange it can be squeezed and squeezed and squeezed but there will never be grapefruit juice pouring out of an orange no grapefruit juice doesn't Live there you can only find on the outside what lives in the inside you can only extract from the orange orange juice recently

a good friend of mine said to me that they'd like to change their financial situation to which my response was perfect you most certainly can right like anything yeah it'll take work and Some planning and some restructuring all that good stuff but you most definitely can and his response was sure that's what all you motivational people say Okay smart guy now you're an example on a podcast episode congrat why because you want the people around you to realize how much is possible for themselves right it's not sorcery or witchcraft to believe something better is possible

in fact if one doesn't believe It's possible they're effectively cementing their feet to the ground at least with regard to that particular Pursuit let's face it you don't begin Journeys that are not possible we don't allow ourselves to do that and so to not believe in an outcome and somehow still wish for that outcome well that's essentially our orange metaphor right can't squeeze Financial Freedom out of a mindset that only sees monetary constraint believing it's possible Starts the journey see there's so much pragmatism in growth you know people talk a lot about the law of

attraction and yeah I get it right it it sets Target but the picture of let's say a a Dreamhouse on your wall is not why you'll eventually have the Dreamhouse the picture of the Dreamhouse on the wall reminds you it helps you believe that you're someone capable of someday acquiring that house obtaining that type of Success which results in you wait for it doing things that help bring that to life it is the doing but that doing must be connected to belief mid 20s I was unhappy wanted more but didn't really believe myself capable of

obtaining more right that was the issue back to the old orange expecting grapefruit choose can't get results in an area not conducive to Their creation right it wasn't until I said you know what maybe not definitely but maybe it could happen maybe I can take control here the odds have to be greater than 0% right it's Jim Cary and Dumb and Dumber so you're saying there's a chance yeah it's like starting out that's all you need a chance the door cracked in the beginning I just needed to convince myself something different was Possible the beginning

of transformation and that internal change prompted how I interacted with the external world you do things differently When You Believe differently or if you want to phrase it another way believing that you can bring something to life doesn't guarantee that you actually do but believing you can't guarantees that you won't and why not stack the odds in your favor I often juggle back and forth Between the philosophical and the tangible or the Tactical right three ways to do X life hack to change y yeah of course life does in so many ways come down to

the tactics to the how to the steps but does that even matter if you don't believe in the pursuit does it matter what Google Maps says if you never step out your front door you have to convince you you have to create an environment in Your world where change isn't crazy more isn't absurd it might be challenging but it's possible and possible is enough it is enough to begin enough to step out enough to see the trivialities as tools and the resistance as part of a beautiful game remember that the world is a mirror reflecting

back at us our world you we find what we look for so give yourself permission to look for things that make life beautiful give yourself The gift of believing change is possible was talking to my friend on the phone this morning and he's been on a very long journey lot of highs lot of lows but now he's doing incredibly well he's heavily invested in real estate has a very successful business I mean you talk about a turnaround he's it and uh he says Eddie you know what the best best part of all this is when

I get up in the morning I think yes I don't think oh man I wish I could sleep just a few more minutes I don't wish for a little longer in bed I think yes and I found that moving if that's not Peak living I don't know what is the second your eyes open to be excited about what's to come right And so I asked him Tom you know what's the the biggest mental change you made in your life that brought that about and he said essentially this is a a term uh used a lot

by Dan Sullivan he says I learn to always be the buyer now I'm just starting reading Sullivan's books so uh I'm not too familiar with the idea I said Tom can you explain kind of a expand upon that a little bit paraphrasing he Said he started to look at life like he was worthy of it like he was the decision maker right and and I don't know if if you've been there I certainly have where it's like man I hope this person accepts me I hope they hire me I hope I can be included now

that's a it's an existence of of of constantly selling yourself but when you make that mental shift of instead saying uh I have value To add to this person I am the buyer here you Empower yourself right a buyer cannot get rejected instead of walking around hoping the world accepts you it's having confidence in yourself and your ability as my eighth grade teacher Mr Bon Court used to say when we were kids the worst thing you can do is hold your hands up to the sky and hope something of value falls into them the worst

thing you can do is take the power out of your hands And Outsource it to fate because the truth is you do have value to add there is change you're going to make in the world there's a beautiful mark on Humanity to be created by you and there must come a time where you see that as a valuable resource you're on a mission and it's not about other people saying yes or no to you it's do you want to allow these people to come along with You on your mission not selling yourself but buying the

pieces that will comprise your greatness subtle shift but also a powerful one and the reality is people respect it right that's the crazy thing when you find the courage to dig deep and unlock that confidence in yourself you get more of it from others and this is from experience right I've never been the loudest guy in the Room not an attention seeker it's easier for me to listen right but I find that when you live with conviction the world around you conformed respect finds you people will never believe in someone who doesn't believe in him

or her self and this is kind of an interesting note a good friend of mine has has helped uh do some booking on podcasts and events right and part of that's trying to get speakers and personalities to Participate you have to explain to them the value and uh this is what I found amazing he says a formal wellth thought out letter stating the ins and outs how grateful the host would be how beneficial The Experience would be gets ignored 99 times out of 100 but a simple hey X is happening going to be incredible give

me a shout we'll see how we can get you involved gets responded to way more Often why because you're not selling you're buying right people want to be around those who live with conviction who have value to add so make that clear right instead of writing out those four paragraph emails asking the world for answers for assistance now you weren't put here to wait for permission to tiptoe through life and not make any mistakes you weren't put here to impress others or be accepted by those around You you're here to live life on your terms

to make magic to enjoy the passing moments with the ones you love spent how you choose to spend them never forget how much you mean and how valuable you are never forget that you have every right to wake up and say yes I get to get out of bed today I get to Chase my dream and bring along with me the people and things that are worthy of The Pursuit that's not arrogance that's confidence that's not existing that's living in a world of Conformity of please take what I have to offer in a world of

concession in a world of I don't want to but okay you have to get to the yes you have to become the buyer not only in each specific exchange but the buyer of a destiny that belongs to You if you believe the answer is within an Arms Reach it is let me explain what I mean here this is the closest I've come to in years of getting into a kind of a back and forth on social media on Instagram but I thought you know let's not go down that road take a walk think about it

play pros and cons with your point of view and see if in an hour hour and a Half you still feel the same way and I took my walk and I came back and I tell you that I absolutely unequivocally still feel the same way and I want to dive into it with you see anytime you talk about making the most of what you have anytime you talk about not being a victim anytime you talk about always blaming yourself because no one else can fix your life there's this sort of subtle unspoken Unease it's hard

to almost articulate you know like how can you tell people in adverse situations to go figure it out right have faith go pick up the pieces along the way you don't know what they've been through you have no idea right there are some people out there in immense pain and suffering who are you to advocate for internal strength in an unfair World which is basically the Crux of that Instagram comment that prompted me to grab the mic and and Yap a little bit and you know in its own unique way I think it's it's it's

correct there's Merit to that right there's Misfortune that I just can't and and don't understand look I grew grew up and and live in the west the most difficult decision I made today was do I make my own coffee or do I go to Starbucks I'm just being real with you I've always had Running water I have access to food and shelter I grew up in a middle class family in the suburbs of LA and then Boston two parents in the home always had lunch in My Lunchbox going to school I'm relatively healthy right minus

the occasional injury or Heche you know I don't know what it's like to open my eyes and hope I feel well enough to function that day that's suffering that I I cannot relate To but I know that regardless of one's pain this has to be true right a choice must be made perhaps the most important decision one is presented with that we are all during those times presented with and the frame it I'll start with a quote from Victor Frankl he says to draw an analogy a man's suffering is similar to the behavior of gas

if a certain quantity of gas is Pumped into an empty chamber it will fill the chamber completely and evenly no matter how big the chamber thus suffering completely fills the human soul and conscious mind no matter whether the suffering is great or little therefore the size of human suffering is absolutely relative what he's saying there is that even though our suffering is not quote unquote equal and it's certainly not in our own lives in our own world it feels The same right which is a strange to to even entertain right that my suffering or your

suffering feels the same as Jeff bezos's suffering it's like how right they're vastly different different problems different pains so I think you know long story short comparing is a Fool's errand we're not here to be judges of who's hurting more or why no I think the message is much simpler when we're in those moments of Pain or look maybe it's not even moments maybe it's a continuation right for years someone's been fighting or weren't given a great start they don't have Financial Resources family friends not around sick you name it right there are a million

things we go through question is do you point out with anger or do you point in with hope Do you look to transfer your pain to others or use your internal strength to build what was once not there and this is the message by the way that I've I've pondered and contemplated over and over and over again doesn't matter how I slice it and dice it that's where I land right it's never beneficial to blame just like it's always detri m al when others clap along with you like baby seals while you're dodging Accountability it

never helps for someone to say Hey you know this isn't your problem this is beyond you you're helpless let's be mad together hey we weren't dealt a good hand I'm sorry that's the way it is right that in the short term might feel good because you don't have to fix the problem you can remove accountability but in the long term you are hurting yourself you are disempowering yourself Disarming yourself removing the one thing that can change your life and that's personal agency again when you're at that Rock Bottom you have two options own it or

blame period and you can hear that and think what it's not my fault he walked out of my life hey I certainly didn't give myself this health problem hey I didn't pick to be born or grow up in this Neighborhood true true true check check check this is not about blame and it has nothing to do with blame it has everything to do with ownership with empowering yourself this is about saying I didn't put myself here but I sure as hell can take myself there not enough people are comfortable with that message right from every

corner of life you get the opposite right you have politicians saying hey son the deck is stacked Against you you're powerless but hey vote for me and and I'll help you have you know the media you have TV showing you tragedy after tragedy pointing fingers blaming others right let's make sure people live in fear so they have no control over their own destinations so they feel small and helpless in a world that's bigger than them you have social media algorithms right positioning victimhood as currency hey look how marginalized I Am poor me right guys clicks

retweets likes that's the magic this way of looking at the world is destroying us it's destroying us personally it's destroying our communities it's destroying the fabric of society right you can't have a functioning Society with no personal agency or individual accountability there's just no Foundation to build on everything starts with the individual everything as the saying goes no one is coming to save you no one's coming to fix all your problems even the ones you didn't create no one's going to fix a cycle of poverty or crime or obesity you have to want that now

is that complex yeah absolutely I'm not delusional enough to think that I can solve these things on a microphone I'm not but what I can tell you is I see it's complexity the same way I see a car is complex I can't put a car together there's thousands of Parts but I can tell you with conviction that car is not going anywhere without the engine or motor just like your willingness to own the situation your personal situation your agency is the engine or motor in your life you go nowhere without It there is no vehicle

without that ownership in other words everything revolves around that phrase what can I personally do about it so when you're frustrated with the current moment or the pieces you were given and trust me I can empathize man life is unfair it's brutally [Music] unfair remember those two options I mean point out Blame and beg to be saved or you can point in and find a way to capture light in darkness anytime you want to transfer a count ability you are a thief robbing yourself of your own strength anytime someone tells you that the world is

the problem and not you they are a distraction pointing you away from the North Star you need to follow if you believe the answer is within an arm's reach you are Correct because you are that [Music] [Music] answer if there's time then there's time to turn things around if there is a tomorrow then there is hope today the only have to bees in life are the ones we prop up and adhere to and how interesting that often times 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 bruise 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 accountability 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 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 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 come 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 it 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 awaits if we're willing to take that wheel and [Music] 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 liberates 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 today in 1519 heran Cortez arrived on the shores of Mexico with roughly 600 Spaniards all of whom quickly realized that a mighty Empire Empire waited for them not too far inland in Cortez inspired by Spain's current Golden age and the

encompassing sense of ambition and Adventure that gave life to the whole journey to the new world he pushed his men forward into the unknown ordering them as Winston Reynolds writes in hispania to destroy the ships behind them symbolizing ing the Valiant push forward with no return everything would be on the line and over the years this act has become folklore evolved into the famous Phrase we all know burn the boat burn the boat why is this an important idea well I look at it in very simple terms doing anything meaningful is hard not planning on

it or hoping to do it but actually doing it and when you're in the heat of metaphorical battle right when you're on your way facing the adversity and the challenges and the Hardships whether it's social physical or mental that growth comes with discomfort our instinct is to want out when we are in pain our brain's default is how do I stop the pain and what I've learned is that if you give yourself off ramps you'll take them if you allow for a plan B it will become more and more appealing if the mentality is give

it your all until it's inconvenient well we all know what happens right Since Excellence doesn't allow for skipping the inconvenience when you can't turn around and get back on those boats you're forced to create outcomes because suddenly everything depends on it does this mindset come easy no I don't believe it does took me into my mid 20s to realize hey I'd never done anything without a life wraft or a safety net I always carried option b c And d around with me in my pocket and the result was above average at plenty of things was

great at none but when your back is to the wall and those demons are closing in it's incredible what you can do what you can create you will shock yourself with your competence and your ability waiting to be unlocked now I'm not saying keep jamming this square peg in the round hole if you Know something's not for you I'm simply saying if there is something you want something that you know in your soul is pulling you in and you really want to see that thing come to fruition you can't have pre-made off ramps for yourself

when the inevitable difficulty comes in because it will it always does I refer to those moments as checkpoints areas of internal deliberation high security guarded Gates where many arrive but few get to pass Through not because they couldn't but because the cost of access was expensive too expensive mentally physically and socially expensive tax most simply say no thanks they get back on that boat waiting for them by the shore they arrived on and return to the world they've always known the way I see it this is not about right or wrong no that's missing the

point entirely I see the question being how Bad do you want it a little a lot how about enough to go all in because if you want to see levels of yourself you never thought possible you need to kick the ladder down behind you force yourself to rise to the occasion amidst the chaos map your path straight into the darkness of night not because it's the most convenient but because you gave yourself No other choice you burned the boats and are content to watch their Flames slowly disappear behind you as you go where few have

gone [Music] [Music] at night the sky becomes visible the darkness the muting out of everything else allows the Stars to finally shine through to make their Presence known and during the day conversely one cannot see those stars but the world around him on the ground becomes illuminated it's a push and pull that seems to work perfectly and I think there's something poetic about the partnership existing between the big picture goal and the small steps required to bring it to life as one of my favorite sayings goes keeping your head in the clouds and Your feet

on the ground cuz here's what's interesting if one were to only look up at the goal she'd be consistently reminding herself of the ideal without taking the necessary steps to get there and if one were to only look down at her feet well her steps would eventually become aimless and it's that Duality right the need to uh both reassure yourself you Can see the star S as well as use the world around you to pull yourself closer to them that changes things right it's that beautiful dance that has to be maintained and this is a

balancing act that uh has certainly been challenging right sometimes the pendulum swings way too far one way sometimes way too far the other but in a perfect world you know you wanted gravitating towards the Center I remember just starting the YouTube channel almost a decade ago having you know big multi-million subscriber goals but completely lacking the systems and everyday practices in place that would walk me towards that Finish Line right I mean sure something's better than nothing I was working and learning but the actions simply didn't align with the objective I had to correct them

and then I've been on the other end As well right I be doing things every day without knowing why all steps no goal that sort of thing um occurs when routine takes on a life of its own you start doing things because well it's what I do it's what I've always done and uh you know this is when one has to look in the mirror and ask the difficult questions and look anytime I can squeeze the complexities down into this simple I try and do That so with that in mind my questioning goes like this

what do you want know the answer okay good next question is what you're doing taking you closer every day to what you want asking that question in a serious way takes a spotlight to one's World using my previous metaphor it shuts the lights off so the north star becomes visible and then right turns them back on to ask yourself uh if you're using your Resources to move there and I become pretty good at asking myself this question consistently and still I find things that don't belong that sort of you know they hide in plain view

I have faith that I'll end up EX exactly where I need to be but that faith is rooted in my commitment to continually assess to scrutinize and adjust there's very little Hope and a substantial amount of trust in my ability to continue forward there's an idea referred to as the Stockdale Paradox which states and this is the the first definition I grabbed from Google here you must never confuse faith that you'll Prevail in the end which you can never afford to lose with the discipline to confront the most brutal facts of your current reality whatever

they might be that's where the tough love thing Comes in be your biggest fan because no one will believe in you unless you do it all starts with your trust in yourself to navigate the process and arrive where you must arrive but it also requires you are your biggest critic it means the reason you trust yourself to get there is because you know you won't just sit back and say eh I'll win because I believe I'll win no you'll win because you will while Having your head in the clouds be brutally pragmatic with the steps

you're taking on the ground you'll win because you're committed to learning and adjusting one of my favorite uh epiphanies when I started doing this full-time was the realization at a very small scale at first that whoa someone can't fail unless they quit you can't lose unless you Stop impossible someone might think right well no because when you miss the mark Or you fall short you take a second to understand why and then you come back to the problem or challenge again right this means life is a game of tenacity of Persistence of commitment the one

who keeps adjusting and coming back is bound to connect the dots Eventually which makes failure the simple decision that this isn't worth it for me I don't want to continue adjusting and re-engaging with this and look hey depending on the situation that may be the move right there have been things in my life where after sufficient trial and error sufficient data I've said this doesn't align with who I am or what I want I'm going to walk away and pivot to something that does right but the key is Knowing that it is a decision to

not reach a particular goal is a choice to no longer attack it relentless ly and so when you feel lost or defeated or even frustrated with the process try that line of questioning what do I want and is what I'm doing today bringing me there this allows you to start taking a sledgehammer uh to the things that don't belong refining the Process and yeah sometimes walking away from the things that are no longer in the scope of who you want to be and where you're going but the power is a knowing it's in understanding that

your footsteps the little actions of your you know your daytoday they are incredibly powerful but most of all when you are methodical with them when they're pointed in the right direction so pick your stars carefully And own those steps that take you towards them failure is not a a sickness you catch it doesn't fall on your head like a piano in those old cartoons it's a choice meaning in positive terms as long as you are committed to learn reapo and repeat you will find yourself at top the mountain as long as you're willing to evolve

you will ultimately arrive [Music] [Music] the inspiration is not a luxury what do I mean well I mean the pragmatic requires imagination like plants require water like lungs require oxygen they need one another it means if you say or put off or suspend the things that make you feel alive you have an empty Cup unable to pour yourself into the world there's certainly a theme in this chapter of my life right I'm noticing the internal struggle that exists between slowing down and speeding up right enjoying life while simultaneously building one so how do we make

these two seemingly contradictory things exist together well maybe they're not so contradictory at all maybe the work is just a manifestation Of the inspiration the building is a direct consequence of the doing what one puts out into the world world is a direct consequence of what one takes in from the world and so recently I went to Sedona and this is going to be an incredibly anticlimactic chain of events except for the fact that I had very little reason to go it cost me time it cost me money Pulled me away from my studio but

I felt called to head that way I needed a change of scenery I needed something breathtaking something bigger than my notebook and in my patio as beautiful as they are and as grateful uh as I am to have them perhaps you've been there too right that sudden call for new stimuli to wake up the sleeping giant that is the imagination and so I went 2 hours to a landscape so stunning it's it's hard to even comprehend right paths through winding pine trees flowing Creeks singing birds sunrises Illuminating a new world and sun sets pulling back

the curtain on an Endless Sea of stars it was quick less than 48 hours but what does that experience become well it becomes upon my return Home a spotlight on my reason why was what I needed at that point in time sometimes we do and do and do and forget why we're doing it was a reminder that life is not a cyclical routine not a process but an experience a once in a lifetime experience I'll never forget you know Wayne Dyer talking about an orange and how you know it doesn't matter how many Times you

squeeze an orange grapefruit juice is never going to come out right it can only give what lives inside it you'll only ever get orange juice from an orange and so you know upon recalibrating how I look at and feel about the world even momentarily I have more Beauty to give more strength more inspiration more power inside to share with the world more light to pass on why Because of what seemingly trivial 48-hour experience reminded me and by the way this is not a me story right this is an everyone story doesn't have to be Sedona

doesn't have to be anywhere right those things that light you up they matter and that is the point [Music] the instances of inspiration are just as important if not more important than everything else you're Doing because it's through the inspiration that we come to embrace the best version of ourselves it's through inspiration that you're able to pour Beauty back into your own life the lives of those around you and into the world in totality the inspiration around you is the oxygen necessary to fuel any flame worth burning and so yes it matters try it do

it see it Chase your curiosity say yes To the spontaneous impulses to dive deeper into life the inspiration is not a luxury it's what keeps our hearts beating and our eyes truly open open the inspiration is why we're here how do you visualize the road you're on with its twists and turns smooth terrain rough terrain straight away ways Hills what does it All mean do you find it odd that it gets more challenging as you get closer to your destination right the further along you get the more tension life puts between you and the Finish

Line almost like the universe is adamant about weeding out those who think they can skate by what is the difference between saying you want it and really wanting it perhaps it's a will willingness to Fight through a storm just for the opportunity to find calm and serenity in its [Music] Center this morning as the sun was coming up I went for a run a nice 5 mile run down the coast and the way I planned it out was simple right 2.5 or halfway up in soft sand and then I'd stop and I'd turn around and

I'd run to 2.5 back but on the harder surface right easier to Handle almost like a reward for pushing myself on the way up right and things were going perfectly I made the 2.5 mile run up and when it came to stop and turn around I realized what should have been obvious from the beginning it was high tide which means I didn't get that hard surface to run back on instead Not only was it it softer than the way up but I was running on a slope and that just threw my mind for a loop

right I'm embarrassed to admit I was actually Angry about it you know I I pushed myself hard going up and wanted that breather almost felt like life pushed the Finish Line back 2.5 miles and and trust me as I'm writing this seems ridiculous to talk about but in the moment just irrationally annoyed that was the the carrot that had been chasing the whole time um so I begrudgingly you know moved forward kind of trying to figure out what to do and ultimately just continued forward and you know the The emotion subsided and as usually happens

you pull yourself out of the weeds a little bit The Big Picture Tells a different story different story means different perspective uh and that's what I I came across right this idea or this question well why do we expect life to be flat ground why was that my assumption to begin with the easy to navigate path why is that the standard and the more I thought about it right The more I wondered if that's the very reason why we underperform it's the little spark that ultimately lights this this wild fire of regret because when convenience

is the standard everything else becomes unfair everything else is a burden when the road should be flat what are we to make of the hills in our path thinking life should be easy it provides oxygen to a victim mentality You know and sometimes it takes these little experiences for me to refocus on these subtle realities the flat ground is not the standard it is earned it's a gift it should be cherished and appreciated because guess what life wasn't easy it isn't easy and it never will be but I believe the differentiator is knowing that right

so I I kept running on the slope feet sinking into the sand I got my teeth kicked in just a little Bit longer and life didn't end in fact I think the mental aspect was tougher than the physical we're only talking 5 miles here but when the standard changes so does the performance it's about just moving forward and like poetry with about 3/4 of a mile left right the beach widened it leveled out the ground became harder each step became easier and yeah I was running but in my head it felt like I was lying

on a bed of Feathers because when you prepare to face life's demons when you're ready for battle when you anticipate you'll have to give everything any adversary that falls short of that feels like wind behind your back we can endure anything the question is whether or not we put ourselves in position to mistakes they don't Define us heartbreak it doesn't kill us and criticism it doesn't shape us but I'll tell you what the fear that they do stops a lot of people from becoming who they're capable of becoming panicking at the slightest sign of discomfort

moving away from anything but the convenience when in reality inconveniences are the path as Ryan holiday famously put it the obstacle is the way see satisfaction it doesn't even exist without a will to overcome what meaning Does a Finish Line have without miles of self-doubt and questions and fear and Dragons being slayed while you prove to yourself over and over again that you know what I am more and I can be more and the crazy thing is that there's not even a stopping point here this rocket will Propel as high into the ether as you

choose to take it and look it's not about running on slight inclines or Sinking a few inches into the sand it's not not about being rejected losing or Castigated by 7 billion self-interested Souls no it's about not being scared to take the bridge that connects current to Future complacency to Recreation the known to the seemingly impossible You're Made Of so much more than you give yourself credit for you are so much stronger than you think you are so for yourself and for the world capture that own it and redefine what it means not to Simply

exist but to your core with every ounce of your being your soul every Fiber in your body to truly live [Music] [Music] here's the going even when you don't want to go to moving forward when you're uncomfortable to stepping up when you're fearful here's the courage I was talking to a friend of mine earlier today about understanding the difference Between two things on one hand the fear that presents itself when we're growing leveling up right like we've all felt nerves before a big event or an important life change things like that then on the other

hand the emotions that arise when we start to feel like something isn't right for us similar discomfort but not quite the same we feel nervous or uneasy because we know we're missing is aligned and where we landed in our Conversation was that when you were on the edge of that metaphorical cliff and your body's pushing back your heart's pounding your mind is racing you're nervous you're fearful the question worth asking is will I be disappointed in myself if I don't go through with this will I be letting myself down here by turning back you have

to jump into the future and imagine you know future you sitting at The table reflecting on this if you see yourself as regretful wishing you pushed through then it's not an alignment issue it's a matter of courage and when you think about it it usually feels obvious looking back like I can easily recognize in hindsight the things I stopped doing uh because they weren't aligned with who I wanted to be right when you stop doing the wrong thing it feels like a breath of fresh air like a step back to Leap Forward Those decisions create

a more fulfilled life but those times I stopped because you know I let the moment get bigger than my end goal those times I caved and decided I didn't want to pay the price solely because of the temporary discomfort I remember those two that's a different feeling alog together a not so good feeling as we all know Jim Ron says it like this there's a pain pain of discipline or a pain of regret choose your Pain one of the things that makes life challenging is that we have to be open to some level of discomfort

in our lives that's just what it is to be human now our power is that we get to choose where we let that pain in and what it means what it will do for us will it be the type of pain that grows us or the type of pain that reminds us what could have been [Music] and I really think most of the time we Stop not because the path was wrong for us but because we somewhere along the way forgot that most of life's best experiences and circumstances and opportunities come with a hefty price

tag they demand a lot of us and in those moments when the lights shine the brightest when we feel the weight of the world coming down on us it's easy to misdiagnose that discomfort as a stop Sign it's like oh I feel alone I feel unsure I don't have any validation my pride hurts my confidence is shaken whatever it may be these things just you know even as I'm saying them out loud now seem awful when in reality they're just the cost of admission right it's like you have to not know before you can ever

know but try telling yourself that as you're wandering around feeling nothing But pressure right it's a different story altogether it's a challenge but here's the good news it's a challenge you're capable of handling of overcoming life is about stepping into things we don't feel ready for and then learning repeatedly that we can piece together the knowledge along the away it reminds us that fear is going to show up regardless of what we do in Life but to grow into the people we are capable of becoming we have to understand that fear is in its own

unique way an invitation the discomfort doesn't mean something's wrong often the opposite it's letting you know that more is available able that you are right where you need to be but you have to change in order to become worthy of what's on the other side life is not saying no it's merely Demanding of you courage and courage you have [Music] reality is the existence of two entities those who create change and those who merely react to it and so I've wondered what separates the one from the many what differentiates a fleeting moment from a chapter

in a history book see I think we all come to a point where We look up and we see no top to the wall we seek to climb we look down and see the Water Rising at our feet with every breath we look to our left and see those who are where we want to be tomorrow and we look to our right and see the trail of decisions we love to take back from yesterday this is where most create their limiting narrative where most most succumb to the world around them but most is not All

and every soul eventually comes to find that it was shaped not by sunny days or easy roads but by walking to the edge of the only world it's ever known and daring to risk the normaly to which it's accustomed because our appearance in the light is the manifestation of what we do in the shadows when we were alone fighting the little battles greatness isn't just a different level of results it's a whole new set of rules in The Monumental task in front of you is the culmination of a battle that's already been fought thousands and

thousands of times it's been won or lost over and over again every time you decide to stand apart instead of follow the crowd decide to flourish in instead of just survive decide to lead instead of follow build instead of conform when you endure it's because you've decided that you are different not in that moment but Every single day leading up to that point this is not a reinvention it's living out who you already chose to be so the wall is high you will climb because it's what you do so the water rises you will swim

cuz it's who you are so the people to your left have succeeded there is always room at the top and you will claim yours so you failed in the past good because falling then means you endure now and so you will there's a quote attributed Heracleitus on the realities of soldiers in battle he says look out of every 100 men 10 shouldn't even be there 80 are just targets nine are the real Fighters and we are lucky to have them for they make the battle but the one one is a warrior and he will bring

the others back [Music] [Music] [Music] Just go sure things will feel strange at first abstract at first wrong at first it's incredibly difficult to separate from the past it's hard to detach from the deeply rooted body biological Whispering of hey at least you knew what to expect back [Music] there but that whispering has preservation in mind not happiness and at some point we need to Stop preserving that which is not ideal so go the walls that once existed they'll crumble and this will be startling at first shocking at first intimidating at first it's incredibly difficult

to watch foundational structures crumble around us especially when you know you are the one that Lit the fuse it's hard to walk away from the faint Murmur stating hey this was your home how dare you leave it but those words they have status quo in mind not growth and home is an idea you take with you it's no set of parameters just go the stories you told yourself the narratives you thought were forever will prove to be nothing more than the end of an underwhelming chapter this will feel abrupt at first unfair at first will

leave you Deeply unsatisfied at first it's incredibly difficult to realize that happily ever Afters aren't linear they're cyclical it's hard to walk away from the voices pleading with you not to turn the page stating that because their realities will remain the same so must yours but those aren't the characters with whom you'll emerge Victorious some movies must be recast the setting Re-imagine the hero reinvented and so it should be known that your greatest strength is the little steps that you are capable of taking the little [Music] decisions you are capable of making remember safety is

not safe when it keeps you from what you need and the wrong Nows have a tendency to evolve into the Wrong Forevers the small consessions well they become the big mistakes so if it's a sign you're hoping for let this be it if there's a time you're waiting for let now be that time if it's someday you are dependent upon let today be that day as doing nothing is in fact a decision but only one of many One path laid out before you one Single grain of sand where the edge of today's world touches the

shores of tomorrows sometimes it's about the ability to stand up face The Horizon and just go go because it's only upon going that you realize you're capable of the journey you finally see in yourself the strength you've longed for it's in goinging that you realize yesterday's situation wasn't even really the problem it was your fear of the Unknown of leaving that situation it was living with the devil you knew instead of potentially having to face the devil you didn't that's what happened to your wings they just felt safer tucked away but it's in going that

we acquire perspective the tragedies the devastation the things that kept us awake at night they really weren't that bad but how are we to Know when you build walls around yourself what's within them becomes your entire world it's in going that you create yourself and while everything you need is already beating in your chest the great unknown before you is the water to that seed the key to that door what you fear is exactly what you need and so the beautiful dance through life goes on not beautiful because of its Elegance It's rarely that but

beautiful because of its promise it's malleability beautiful because we get to move without answers in order to find answers beautiful because what we become is directly proportional to what we're willing to [Music] endure and that means that the universe doesn't judge it doesn't know us by our failures Or our mistakes but by our courage our courage to face all of these things and move forward anyway to relentlessly explore the resilience of the human Spirit an infinite light in an otherwise finite World a bridge that is built beneath our feet in real time what a a

weight off of our shoulders to know this we don't have to get it right we just have to step out The door trusting that we will pick up a enough pieces to put together something meaningful we just have to go and then the world it opens up just like that leave the old embrace the new simple you think to yourself well yeah of course the best things in life are always simple always have been always will be we just imagine them to be difficult [Music] We have a a knack for making simple decisions into complex

matrices of cause and effect pros and cons wins and losses we learn to think for years until we finally come to the brilliant realization that happiness that meaning that a life well- lived comes when we think less ready fire aim there is no perfect path just an adjusted course an endless series of change of learning that Falling is just a road sign indicating where we need to go next you can't plan for that you can't chart a course that doesn't exist no you leave who you were yesterday behind and you set sail they'll ask you

where do you see yourself in 5 years and you'll think who knows but not here it couldn't be here it must be somewhere evolved where pieces of the world shaped your outlook and became the armor that you now Wear new game new rules new expectations new people new places and what really changed well how you view yourself it's funny how it all works how things come together when we look over our shoulders like it was meant to be as if this had to be the way things are no you could very easily have stayed dreaming

looking out that window wishing you could leave hoping for answers that Didn't exist and so the complex now feels as simple as we meant it to we move forward not knowing but trusting and we look back with the sense of understanding and a confidence that was built over time in the game of life there are people who go and people who stay people who build and people who don't and I'm not saying everything will be perfect or everything will immediately snap into Place how could I but what I am saying is that in moving forward

we pull back the curtain on the opportunity that is available to to us we move from the physical limitations of the bodies we walk around in and towards the infinite power of the mind that powers them we become who we were always meant to be how do we know what that is well not until we look over our shoulders of course so Go go make your mistakes go learn your lessons feel your moments of pain in your moments of bliss your times of doubt and your times of certainty because in doing so you will have

done the very thing so few people get to do with their limited time on this planet truly live so go just go [Music] why is it that when we look back on our lives it's never the easy days or the simp licity it's not the calm that changes our reality or makes us who we are don't get me wrong common Simplicity they're wonderful but they're not transformative and why would they be why would we change or seek to obtain more without a reason or incentive it's times of struggle of Turbulence it's when life was hard

that we had to rethink who we are reshape the way we look at the world right because without chaos you don't get calm without the storm you don't get those crazy neon colors and golden Rays it leaves as it passes by in order to Triumph in any capacity or any area of life there's always a sacrifice that must be made the adversity is the fire that forges the iron there's a saying Hard Times cre Create strong men strong men create good times good times create weak men and weak men create hard times it's a a

cycle and this is generally used in a sociopolitical sense and I I think in a lot of ways it applies today but where I've really found it useful where I've found value in it is at the personal level because what I've noticed is that growth also appears to have a cyclical nature And when we're in a rough situation or overcoming an obstacle we have to push we fight we grow sometimes without even realizing it we achieve uh a result and by default this transformation that in one way or another makes us something new but then

it becomes easy to level out right and that's the challenge it creates this period of stagnation it's like we made the jump it becomes easy to Stay there and that's why I have found value in when life is not providing resistance to manufacture some cuz that's the only way to grow progress is happiness Victor Frankle and man search for meaning you know he says purpose is to find from struggle if things are too calm or simple or quiet life begins to lack meaning and that's never a spot we want to be life is about the

pursuit of something you just have to figure out What that blank will be you get to decide which mountain to climb there's a story about a butterfly making its way out of a cocoon and it makes a little hole it starts attempting to push its way out someone walks by they see it struggling and open the Cocoon up to help the butterfly out right thinking that they did this great deed but in doing so that butterfly has now lost its ability to use its wings to Fly why because the strength that was necessary to fly

would have been forged when he fought his way out the butterfly was deprived of the very thing it needed to become something more and that's the point it's easy to get lost in the now and seek to eliminate everything that doesn't make uh the moment more comfortable to remove that which doesn't make things easier but whether we're talking about collectively or the complacency in our individual lives we Have to remember that a avoiding discomfort isn't the answer when your biggest problem is Amazon taking 5 days to deliver or that your feelings are hurt by someone's

comments or opinions on social media you've lost track of yourself you may be living in a world lacking the resistance necessary for growth maybe it's time to ask what matters and I remember when I lived in Boston I'd walk around listening to podcast downtown and I'll never forget Here Ryan holiday differentiating between passion and purpose he called passion temporary a dopamine hit it's the excitement before the project Begins the beginning of a journey the honeymoon fate but passion alone falls short and it falls short because anything worthwhile is hard it tests us it repeatedly presents

us with those metaphorical cocoons we have to fight we have to earn our Stripes grow our Wings and if we stop at passion there's no reason to battle on to take the punches knowing that they will create for us a Tomorrow full of infinite possibility and that's where we need purpose that's why it matters we need something bigger to March towards a destination that's meaningful to remind us that those challenging times they're not a burden there is no poor me Here they're the fire that sharpens us that Whispers to us not only the importance of

carrying on but the power contained within ourselves to do so this world it is not stacked against you it's never the problem or the obstacle no it's the opportunity laid out at your feet and it's in those very times when we're uncomfortable when we're unsure when we don't know where to draw our Strength that we need to remember it comes within it's an idea that is brought to life through courage through understanding through the trials and tribulations of life that didn't intimidate or hold you back knowing that life has given you everything you need to

blaz your Trail so don't be afraid to let it take you somewhere new [Music] it's when we most want to turn around That we must keep going when all we see is darkness that we must have faith in the light it's when we feel most vulnerable that we must become unshakeable see there's a misconception that strength implies a total absence of weakness or doubt that courage means never feeling fear uncertainty when in reality these things are human they've been wired into us as Ernest Becker has said we are simultaneously worms and Gods worms in that

sure we're animals flesh and Bone unable to avoid death or Misfortune or tragedy in life but most importantly God in that we have the Divine ability to transcend these inevitable C circumstances to find Hope in this seemingly hopeless to see opportunity in life's obstacles and growth when we fall to take the meaningless and give it meaning and one of the most important things I've learned is that when life Knocks me down pushes me to my limits it's not some indication that I walked the wrong path it's no referendum on who I am no it's a

hand extended offering the chance for me to be more than I've ever been and in a world of delusion and [Music] distraction it's a reminder that we have the capacity to turn life's hardship into a better Tomorrow the difference between fact or fiction possible or impossible success or failure is the decision to get up when life knocks us down this world it's not easy it tests us challenges us it makes us think we are but a cog in The Wheel of Life it can be tough but your weapon your strength is knowing that you are

tougher and look I know that adversity hurts but I also know that you're capable you are strong Enough to turn turn that struggle into something meaningful where most would turn back you have it in you to take one step forward let the walls crash down the Skies open up and the ground shake see this is minor detail in your world transcend transcend the average the Earthly constraints and the mental limitation remember who you are why you started remember that when your surroundings attempt to pull you back Down to earth you have no interest in the

narratives they offer to you you are unshakable sometimes it's what we don't say that Echoes the loudest what we don't do that has the greatest consequences where we don't go but ultimately gets us lost I remember as a teenager applying to college I was working on the admissions essay was brainstorming with my Grandmother um talking over possible topics and approaches and she read me this quote that sometimes attributed to Mark Twain uh but that's beside the point the quote States 20 years from now you'll be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by

the ones you did do so throw off the bow line sail away from the Safe Harbor catch the trade winds in your sales Explore dream discover and I thought this was the perfect bridge to the next chapter in my life the latest Horizon the newest Adventure I thought it was incredible and it was it was exactly what I needed and so onto that next adventure I went but here's the thing as life unfolded this equation somehow transformed from exploration and dreaming and Discovery into the question well what am I supposed to do somehow without my

paying attention life turned into a check list a question I couldn't get wrong a test I needed to make sure I didn't fail it's amazing how quickly we forget the infinite breath of life because we're focusing on the dotted line before us the one we're supposed to Walk sometimes we're so fixated on what the expectation is that we don't ask ourselves where these expectations are coming from who is so significant and wise that they know what's best for you to a greater extent than you do see how that's an important question and also one you

can lose in your periphery as You Follow That dotted line before you when you have a destination in mind hopes dreams Ambitions well that's an adventure when someone else has a destination in mind for you whether this Authority is imagin AR or not that's obedience and sometimes the greatest disservice we can do to ourselves is to not stop and think to not stop and ask ourselves where we're going and why do you remember when you were a child and you got into trouble right sometimes you'd get sent to your room And for me this was

Agony when it was punishment I wanted to be anywhere but confined within those walls I hated being sent to my room and then finally the door would open my parents would say Eddie you can come out now I'd go outside play basketball for a little bit and then often times I'd find myself right back in my room happy you know playing with my toys whatever I was doing not a care in the world and it's like what Changed nothing but the context same me same room same toys same whatever I was doing it was however

no longer a punishment and I think this realization is worth exploring we may not realize we may not even be able to articulate it but I think we long for control over our lives we long to walk our own path and in this situation the path led me right back to where I was sometimes though the path leads us in the opposite direction far Away to distant world world the end destination is not as important as the fact that we chose it that we ask ourselves why and that we believe in the answer and immerse

ourselves in its [Music] execution so when Mark Twain talks about the things that we don't do holding more weight in our hearts it's because those things we tend to skip over are often the very things That breathe life into our our souls we'll go to school to get good grades to get a 9 to5 to get a promotion to get a mortgage on a home but the audacity to open that photography studio the nerve to think you could rent a van and travel the country the delusion to think you could start that routine that will

get you in the physical shape you've always dreamed of see we're lucky and fortunate to have the things that we have the quality of Life we lead now far exceeds those that came before us life is convenient incredibly convenient but what is convenience if it comes at the expense of purpose of meaning in life because that's what steers the ship a crisis of meaning ultimately mitigates everything else there is no exploration without meaning and without EXP exploration tomorrow becomes a repetition of Today not an evolution of today and what's incredible truly incredible is that our

purpose can be rediscovered our paths redefined how by having a long conversation with you guessed it yourself by putting the phone in another room by disconnecting the Wi-Fi and spending time with you something along the lines of dear self what matters to me in this world where Am I going right now is where I'm going right now aligned with what matters to me in this world and sometimes the answer is yes sometimes no great but what we have now is a foundation to work off of an awareness that should be celebrated that you created it's

so easy to walk through life and never have that conversation it's so easy to sleepwalk to the tune of someone else's Song the beat of other people's drums but when you open your eyes you see the correlation between your thoughts and your actions your actions and your reality you realize that when you wake up that tendency to ask yourself what you you have to do today to reflect on your problems those questions you assumed were normal that you never gave much thought to well now you'll see you can Dismantle that notion now you'll see that

if you can ask yourself what you have to do you can just as easily ask yourself what you want to do what you get to do what life is inviting you to do if you can reflect on your problems you are just as capable of reflecting on the opportunity at your fingertips if you can spend time dwelling on whether you're walking the obligatory dotted line that's been laid out in front of you you're just as Capable of redrawing that line and allowing it to pull you into a new dimension listen again 20 years from now

you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the ones you did do so throw off the bow lines sail away from the Safe Harbor catch the trade winds in your sales explore dream discover explore but for you wander down those paths that have for so long pequ your curiosity try things you once felt like Other people were entitled to but you'd never given yourself permission be that for yourself because no one will come up to you and randomly give you that green light dream because without building your Castles in the

Air as thorough calls them you live your entire life on the ground you'll never hit targets that you don't create and sure there'll be a time that only you see the Destination great that's life but with each step forward as it becomes more real for you it will make sense to others as well try each step like it is in and of itself a miracle and you'll find in time that that's exactly what each step was and lastly discover discover who you are what you're capable of becoming as Emerson said to be yourself in a

world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest Accomplishment to forge your own path build your own life stay true true to your own heart is courage so sail away because you have the ability because you are strong enough and because the story you're about to write doesn't continue on until you turn the page on today's chapter there's a quote attributed to senica that states no man is more unhappy than he who never faces Adversity for he is not permitted to prove himself meaning it's in pursuing the difficult thing that we

obtain meaning recognition that we prove ourselves but prove ourselves to whom this is the same senica who famously stated that we suffer more in imagination than we do in reality that he is most powerful who has power over himself and that's one of the beautiful things About stoicism it makes us ask a very simple but often overlooked question who's really the adversary here who's the opposition we're dealing with as we fight our battles what is it that must be transformed is it the outside world or the way our eyes view the outside world what's really

holding us back back the circumstances or our own personal Thoughts about the circumstances and I think this is where we misunderstand the challenges before us I want to delve into this power of perspective to explain that we are The Gatekeepers between ourselves and our ideal lives and very often we do a job of ensuring that gate stays closed we sabotage our own goals our own dreams our own happiness while simultaneously pointing The finger at a million externalities see when we look at the difficulties of life and there's no doubt that life can be a very

difficult thing it's easy to look at the world as this binary playing field right me verse the world and in fact we often visualize the world as the enemy pushing back against us as if its motives were counter to ours but so many of these narratives these stories they actually say nothing About the outside world and when we look deeper it becomes apparent that they actually say a whole lot more about us it's the one View viewing that gets to decipher what the circumstance means and so all narratives are reflections of the Observer Jim ran

used to tell a story about two brothers who had an alcoholic father he'd come home drunk he'd abuse his sons they had a terrible childhood and as they each grew up and Had families of their own their paths kind of diverged right one became abusive and the other was kind and loving and caring and when confronted the now abusive brother stated well look how can you blame me don't you see how I was raised but the kind loving and caring brother stated of course I'm like this I could never put my family through what I

went through as a child same circumstances different Lenses interpretations which means different real world result and the idea here is to emphasize how one of the most important abilities a human being possesses is the ability to interpret the world around him I think of us as uh subjects navigating a world of objects as though the things around us don't have meaning until we place meaning upon them that's what humans Do create narratives out of objects and that often overlooked seemingly insignificant ability places a lot of power in our hands very rarely is it what we

see it's what we think and what we do about what we see you ever hang out with people that just tend to be happy upbeat positive energy I have a a very good friend like that where his first inclination is always to Find the positive in moments where I've sort of trained myself to pause take a second sift through the emotion uncover the value in a tough situation refocus and take a strategic step forward I look over at him and he's already arrived there right he's been there for 3 minutes right eliminated the negativity it's

his first instinct he's the metaphorical kid hopping around in puddles whistling at the top of his Lungs while everyone else is hiding out from the rain or at least trying to find the courage to run out onto the street with then there are people who seem to always find the negative it doesn't really matter what this situation is happiness is fleeting only to reveal the negativity that never seems to go away right the kind of person that if they won the lottery their first thought might be oh no but what if I lose it all

both examples are people projecting Themselves onto the world around them the same way that smoke covers and consumes an entire room it's not the room that's the [Music] culprit here's another example from Jim ran since Ron a Jim rone kick he's making a similar point and this is all from a collection of speeches he has on Audible um comparing humans to oranges which is probably not a comparison you've made recently but he said there's Consistency to an orange and that it can be filled with one thing when you squeeze an orange orange juice is coming

out period it will never be apple juice or grapefruit juice it will only emit what it has inside which is orange juice and while here's the connection when life pressures us challenges us or metaphorically squeezes us we only emit the emotions that are contained and available that are alive And well within us if there is no jealousy contained in our thinking we're not going going to project jealousy out into the world if there is no hatred within us we will not project hatred onto others why is that powerful it's powerful because again it's one of

the most important things you can do certainly one of the most important things I've learned to do is take that finger pointing blame at the outside world slowly turn it around and point it Back at myself and ask what thoughts what emotions what ideas am I letting live inside my head that's altering the narrative the story I'm telling about myself and the world that I live in and while one might think well that's uncomfortable that's unfair a little extreme why should I point at myself it's not my fault I would challenge you at least for

the sake of the next few Minutes to see such a change as empowering as your advantage as the bridge from where you are to where you want to be see if you always have feelings of let's say jealousy around a particular person that feeling in your stomach like oh they have it all they're ahead like they live how I want to live they're this and that and I kind of hate them for it you're naively giving the external world the power you're saying I feel the Way I do because of that out there some Cosmic

Injustice you are powerless because you're neglecting your personal agency as a factor but when you turn that finger around and say I only feel this way because I'm allowing myself to then you can ask the question so many never think to ask why why do I feel this Way which lights a path to how can I fix it see the key to a better life is realizing you don't have to be in the passenger seat pointing at and blaming the driver complaining about the road being taken no you can get into the driver's seat you

can take the wheel you can take control inherit responsibility and there's more at stake there's greater V vulnerability but the upside is Unfathomable and I find myself thinking all the time man people are blaming the wrong things they're shifting blame to the wrong adversaries the real villain [Music] here is not the driver or the road or the weather the real villain is the voice in your head pleading with you not to to take the wheel pleading with you to ride shotgun and complain as the world passes You By and of course it makes sense to

qualify that with the inevitability that there are some things placed upon us that are just bigger than us that we can't control and you can make a list however long you want to natural disasters decisions and actions of others health problems we don't often get to choose chose the [Music] landscape so as the stoics would say Understand that understand what you can't control and what you can because the beauty is that you can control how you navigate that landscape and that is power that is what makes the difference see the two brothers I mentioned a

few moments earlier same landscape different navigational tactics different view of what it all meant one took the Wheel and one did [Music] not so that senica quote that states no man is more unhappy than he who never faces adversity for he is not permitted to prove himself well it's perfectly clear as far as I'm concerned the the question is not whether or not to face adversity I think we all understand that what what I hope we take from today Is a better understanding of what the true adversity is a better understanding of the fact that

in front of us there is always an answer a key to every lock some people just don't think to look they're so busy peering around every corner for external enemies and scapegoats that they don't give themselves permission to succeed maybe unfortunate but it's True you can hit the bullseye over and over again but if it's the wrong target it won't do much for you might as well have missed by 50 ft and I think that is what we overlook you can't always fix the outside world you can't change the unchangeable but you can always change

yourself you can always fix you his tolloy said everyone wants to change the world but no one thinks of Changing [Music] himself you're capable of being both your greatest adversary and Ally so Choose Wisely because the world around you will do nothing more than respond accordingly to your decision [Music] 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 5 5,000 500,000 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 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 1 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 at your Disposal 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 Revenue 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 right getting to one was one of the best periods of my life right finding your value proposition enjoying the process exploring finding that en Section of value and personal contentment you'll eventually arrive there but remember for you the goal is not 1 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 found your one thing when you know it makes a difference then you move on to the scaling chapter right then how do we turn one into 1 million but they're 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 [Music] moon the first step towards creating the Life you want is taking responsibility for the life you have what does this mean well it's easy to accept the good things the things you're proud of it's easy to move forward under the banner of Victory but what about the things that may not be under your control the things that happened unjustly or what about the things you did in your past that you're not proud Of see if you're going to own the good you have to own the bad

too because you can't change anything you can't alter the reality on the ground until you own it you can't make something better that you have not acknowledged and claimed to be yours see our inclination when we feel like we've been wronged by life is to shake our fist at the sky innately aware of the cosmic Injustice that has Occurred and I get it we want to point out that Injustice label it as an adversary maybe even an excuse it feels good in the short term But ultimately it's depriving you of your strength the ultimate Advantage

which is substituting the word fault for responsibility when you're fixated on the word fault the emphasis is placed on finding the blame it's rep playing yesterday's Movie responsibility on the other hand says regardless of how or why this came to fruition it's mine to fix maybe it was brought forth by your doing maybe it wasn't but you'll learn and adjust in the present that attitude will place you in position to succeed in ways most couldn't even dream of when others project out it leaves you to find the solution where others assert blame it pushes you

to begin the process of Building again see there's nothing so detrimental as one who feeling slighted by life doesn't start where they are to make the most of what they have feeling so angry and disparaged by the path that brought them to the present moment that they forget it's not the same path that will lead them forward from here this moment is yours and there's a lot packed into that statement it means looking in the Mirror accepting the face staring back at you letting go of what you cannot control forgiving yourself and the world around

you for what may or may not have happened yesterday look you're here now with all the opportunity in the world everything in front of you the question is will you take it will you leave fault behind so that you can accept responsibility for the greatest gift one can be Given the chance to begin again pressure as in those burdens we sometimes feel as we navigate life it's complex it's powerful but like all powerful things also delicate that same pressure that creates diamonds and create diamonds it does well it can also remind you that in the

Meantime you are beneath the surface buried away amidst that process of creation [Music] in other words pressure is a beautiful driver because it is in many ways a standard of Excellence of more it pushes us towards a life of abundance like wind at our backs but see two things can be true at once and it's impossible to look at the word more without acknowledging that in Order for more to exist something must be lacking in the present and there lies the challenge pressure gone too far becomes a feeling of inadequacy the same driver to explore

the depths of one's potential can also if mismanage take them to the spiral of Never Enough see you are a brilliant human being with natur natural strengths and talents and while certainly Imperfect we all have something to offer the world this floating rock is a better place because you on it and as we go about figuring out what it all means and how to bring it to life we have to also understand the Nuance we want to get better every day not because we lack value in the present but because the journey is a remarkable

ADV Venture progress is happiness humans love and need progress growth and Expansion and exploration inject meaning into life they help us manufacture Peak moments and it's taken me a long time to understand that distinction right I want to be more not because I'm inadequate in the present but because Against All Odds I'm here and what a gift to be able to push that petal to the floor to squeeze from life as much Beauty as I possibly can the pressure doesn't say because Without it you're less it says oh but what a ride awaits if you're

willing to step up and seek it out I used to get so annoyed when I'd see like stories or memes on social media that anything along the lines of you're special just the way you are right it felt tacky it's lacking substance and sometimes to be honest it just felt like a lie but my thoughts on that have changed I don't think it's a lie it's just an Extreme in One Direction just like never being good enough is an extreme in the other look you're not perfect just the way you are we're all flawed and

we all have room for opportunity but you're also not void of value until you reach point x y or Z right if we're going to grow we need to understand why we're growing my favorite thing about this platform you know over the years has been trying to identify the obstacles in My life understand them to the best of my ability and then share that hoping maybe there's a piece or two there that's relatable that you can take uh value from but this topic and in particular I've never really felt like I've solved or been able

to grasp this constant weight or pressure uh I'd consistently feel to do more and I know others feel it as well I talk to them about it consistently it Can be almost suffocating I do attribute a lot of good to it right it helps me get back up it makes me want to be better find new ways to share add value to as many people as I can when I have my down times that pressure says Hey Man You're Made for More lift your head up and go I wouldn't be uh where I am without

it but then there's also the ugly side right like I mentioned above the cost of ambition is Sometimes the inability to be in the moment always reaching for more is the younger brother of never being enough it can be exhausting and so what to do what to do right the question that I've been playing in my head and here's where I am in the present I think this is an Ever evolving process but as I mentioned above uh I believe the answer is in why the why is everything there are no have toos in life

life is a collection of get Toos we're not dipping into life's infinite abundance so that we fill holes within ourselves no we're doing it to take in the show to absorb so that we can consequently add our verse to the play of life as the saying goes a ship in the harbor is safe but that's not what ships are built for and that's where the distinction lies as far as I'm Concerned where the ship is in the moment doesn't make it more or less beautiful or valuable but to deprive that ship of Open Water to

deprive its sails of the wind while it just feels like a shame like something's missing and so with all that said here's what I'm thinking I'm thinking that as I move towards Those Distant Horizons I need to remember that the journey comes with a few understandings I need to know That at times it will feel exhausting I need to know that while building you can become so fix on the plans that sure you'll forget about your progress I need to know how easily the future can steal from the present but also I know that taking

in the best life has to offer comes with the price tag and being tired from time to time seems fair I know that the Builder with the plans can ground him or herself by Looking over their shoulder every so often and appre appreciating how far they've come I know that the future is always Out Of Reach like that carrot hanging just beyond the grasp of the runner on the treadmill but the gratification can be both delayed and current when we're pointed to the right North Star so I invite you to reimagine the word pressure understanding

the notion that You've already the lottery you're here on Earth Against All Odds with your strength and the greatness that makes you you venturing deeper into life's potential asking more of the world and from yourself is not to compensate for anything it's not an obligation it's not even required of you no it's an extension of the human soul the best of Life the magic all around us an Invitation to live fully that pressure like water through a channel will flow in the Direction You Lead it it's nothing more than your vehicle to Distant Shores your

process for crafting diamonds with the adversity most would [Music] refuse that pressure doesn't always indicate where it's taking you or even guarantee that its destination will be preferable to where you are Now but it does promise quite the ride and that for me is enough [Music] a good plan violently executed Now is better than a perfect plan executed next week that's from George Patton general in the United States Army integral to uh the Allies victory in World War II so why what makes this statement so powerful Well it rings true because we have to move

beyond the idea that we can manufacture greatness with one swing of the bat one stroke of the pen that if we wait for the right moment Perfection will come the light will turn green the Stars will align and the path will emerge I feel like I could scream this from Every Mountain top and it wouldn't be Enough life is not a Perfection game life is an adjustment game and I'll speak anecdotally here in my experience looking over my shoulder reflecting you know those times that I'd clung to Perfection rationalizing my immobility by saying hey uh

you're not ready this isn't good enough I'd only have to dig a few layers down to see that my not moving wasn't out of some loyalty to Excellence now I was standing still because of fear a fear of going of starting a fear of the unknown Perfection is the biggest con there is it's a scam it says wait here your perfect moment will arrive hang tight the right time is coming no there are no perfect Beginnings there's merely the courage to move into something New or the regret that will ultimately come from wishing that you

did and sure a part of it almost counterintuitive it's like why isn't it beneficial to wait why would you want to take the leap before you're [Music] ready here's how I see it one of the most important distinctions to understand is that between the Thinker and the doer The Thinker who Ponders who Reflects who studies and studies and studies thinking he or she can create for him or herself a perfect jump off point thinking they can obtain for themselves all the necessary information all the answers before they begin the journey the truth is greatness is

forged through repetition via Wheels on the road and yes you are terrible at first completely unsure at first you get lost at first but this becomes the knowledge That shapes the journey when you go before you're ready two important things happen first after falling down and feeling embarrassed and insecure you get back up you look around and you go wow okay I'm still here that sucked sure but it wasn't as bad as my brain told me it would be next you learn from The Exchange you can start doubling down on what works and eliminating what

Doesn't and eventually as you take this confidence and wisdom onto the next step repeatedly the the curve becomes exponential in doing you begin stacking bricks creating a foundation those experiences that humbled you become what you lean on they're what turn into the experience the knowledge The credibility and see thinking you can skip all that ugly stuff by waiting on the ledge for Perfection to arrive in Your hands that will be your undoing that's just as crazy as a a sailboat waiting for the wind to stop it's like no you need that friction that resistance to

reach your destination and no we cannot control everything yes there are powers Beyond us but if you go now you learn to use and navigate them the greatest gift we can give ourselves is permission to go it's looking a year ahead and Dreaming of the moment we pause and say wow what a year the twists and turns the lessons the highs the lows the peak moments all brought me here and how different here is from back there how far I've come knowing by the way that life was never asking me for Perfection but rather a

willingness to start to dive in to adapt along the way I know a lot of people with businesses that exist in their minds but not in Reality a lot of people in shape when they close their eyes but not when they look in the mirror a lot of people living their best lives when talking about the future but not when they pull up to work on a Monday [Music] morning we shorten the gap between our ideal existence and the Present Moment by going by stepping now even when we can't imagine how the Process will unfold

because let me tell you life will bend and twist in ways you can't even fathom it'll take you places that ignite your soul show you things you never dreamt of seeing but you have to put yourself in position to receive that from life the world wants to help people who help themselves so give yourself the gift of progress of momentum if a dream is only worth the action one is willing to take To bring it to life let that action start now move beyond the illusion of perfection and towards the opportunity to take the imperfect

every single day and transform it into to Greatness every time your mind says you're not ready let that be your invitation to step forward see life may not be a race but that doesn't mean time will politely wait for you we must say goodbye to Perfection as we evolve as we Grow I can guarantee you it won't be missed [Music] 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 [Music] 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 and 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 path or peered in at the event were you the hero in the story or an extra someone who capital IES 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 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 life is not obligatory it is a giant get to and when you realize that you are truly free so not too long ago Jordan Peterson uh was doing a tour and he made a stop in Phoenix Arizona and he was talking about the role of God in our

lives and uh I I really enjoy that type of philosophizing that conversation and I I went and it was a blast to just have that discussion be in a room an auditorium with so many different people from all walks of life with different beliefs and backgrounds and one of the things he mentioned uh was that perhaps there is a a too rigid a view of God in some circumstances and and maybe that turns people away his question that he posed Is what if God is simply one's willingness to pursue what they were meant to do

the courage to accept life's challenge face adversity and find that level of meaning Embrace that calling that each of us uh individually uh have available to us stepping into that greater version of yourself and I won't get too far into it but just for some context he specifically referenced a story uh about Abraham in the Old Testament and how he was a really old man before he stepped out and uh basically became that person he was meant to be and so I'm going to quote Jordan Peterson here he said as long as there is breath

in you there is room for another adventure think about how powerful that is not something we hear every day right for me it's profound for two reasons one it's the reminder That there must be Adventure in life to begin with right that's a that's a prerequisite you know and that decision to uh step out the front door and become the person you were meant to be it's not a luxury it is life and second in sort of the corresponding piece is that it's never too old to do that it's not like when you're 18 or

25 or 35 that Ship Sails and and and heads to a distant Horizon and and you missed It no there's always the ability to step out your front door and take that path you've never taken become who you were most meant to be and that calling refer to it as whatever you want um you know nodding your head and finding the courage to Embark upon that journey is where you get to see who you really are you get to unveil a version of yourself that's been caged in waiting to come out that potential that's been

hiding away in your soul and Waiting to be released the chance to give to the world what you were meant to give to both ignite your soul and simultaneously be a light in darkness for others you know another quote that night he said people are capable of carrying an immense burden and still struggling uphill if you're willing to grit your teeth and go the sky is clear the path emerges But I promise you will Amaze you how much you can endure how far you can go and you might look around and wonder me surely this

is for someone else but no this message is for you that reminder that time is finite and those hypotheticals you know entangled in your curiosity those wh ifs those ifon they're waiting for you they matter and they're calling you now you know in a a way less formal setting my friend Steve and I'll I'll never Forget this something's just hit you uh you know we're sitting there random Tuesday having uh lunch at Panera and he said you know Eddie we are uh sacks of meat on a rock floating through the infinite nothing matters and I

thought that was such a a beautiful sentiment you can take that as two ways nothing matters so why leave or you can take it as nothing matters so why wouldn't I try why wouldn't I cash in This once in a lifetime lottery ticket why wouldn't I do what I'm called to do those worst case scenarios the playing small none of that matters how could you not step into life when you're only here for such a short amount of time how could you not want to see how far you can go in what you're capable of

when that clock is ticking in the background it's an irrefutable fact that there is more for you should you choose To pursue it that Curiosity that voice calling your name that's not a coincidence that's not a fluke that's a hand reaching out and asking you to accept that next version of you and you can call it anything from Divine to a pragmatic why not but the truth is there's more for you there's more beyond that door so I ask why not walk through [Music] it every next level of your life will demand a version of

you why because life is about reaching outside of your comfort zone acclimating until you are comfortable and then repeating the process every time you leave the familiar you are granted a new set of armor as Jim ran said if you want to have more you have to become more for things to change you have to change for Things to get better you have to become better if you improve move everything will improve for you and every time we expand ourselves we are forced to change in some way evolve so many of us fall into the

Trap of waiting for the perfect moment to jump there is no perfect moment how could there be there's no perfect time to step out into a world you're not prepared for but that's life we jump and we grow wings on the way down we step Into the chaos and acclim by walking into the dark we are forced to become the light this makes staying where you are the most dangerous thing you can do let's use our imagination for a second let's say you reach for the next thing you stretch yourself move towards something you really

want and you fall short okay time to breathe reassess step back for a second and reapo a little better this time a little wiser this Time as long as one remains engaged in this cycle growth is inevitable but now let's say you never step in Let's Pretend the idea of moving into the unknown is too much you'd rather stay with the familiar pain free you think to yourself but you would in fact be wrong see that discomfort one step up it would force you to evolve to see yourself as someone who steps into hostile territory

and Survives and maybe it's not pretty maybe it's not perfect but you attack and you survive and sure the difference between where you are now and only one step up isn't much but what about that second stepper Evolution because you'd miss out on that too and the third and the fourth and the compounding that would completely redefine who you are from your self-identity to your skill set from the mental to the physical you put the whole chain reaction on hold because Why you didn't want to take one step you didn't want to be uncomfortable in

the short term but discomfort is not a punishment it is a ticket to everything you could ever imagine so when the crowd runs out I challenge you to run in and when the world goes left I dare you to go right not not because the masses are evil but because human beings are wired to take the path of least resistance but you no not you you're here to rise above the Mental constraints that hold so many down because there is always another level when you feel good there is another level and when you don't there

is another level and see our world has been defined not by the best or the brightest but the ones willing to throw the themselves into foreign Arenas and compete to see adversity as the answer not the problem you want to change your world then change yourself you want to change yourself then go where you are Scared to go where your heart beats and your hand sweats turn and face the direction you know you should have been facing this is about you this is about what you can become by simply saying yes when most would say

no today is yours not because it was given to you but because you looked through the haze and you decided it's so [Music] Courage changes but so do I see the goal is for us to remain Inseparable dancing partners as life's song es and flows co-stars in the great play of Life see can't be perfect but I can be courageous and that as it turns out is enough now courage can be so small that it fits in my pocket or it Can be so big so Monumental so grandiose that it takes me out my front

door and drops me in a world I've never been before over the years courage and I have seen everything when I was scared to step out of one chapter and into the next courage helped me turn the page it said you are bigger than what's in front of you said life is not that serious when I looked in the mirror and Didn't like who was staring back courage helped me ask why which unannounced to me would be one of the more courageous things I've ever had to do when I was low defeated and overwhelmed courage

whispered in my ear that I was strong enough to get back up when I was tired run down courage explained to me hey it's okay to pump the brakes to put your feet up To escape and let life in for a little while and that was an interesting Waltz we did there but sometimes courage pushes and sometimes it pulls when I was shying away from deeper relationships vulnerability courage reminded me that the possibility of rejection and loss and disappointment is worth the upset side that never opening up is what we come to regret and you

know sure Everything you want lives on the other side of fear but I think love also lives on the other side of pain and you can't have one while trying to shy away from the other when I couldn't walk or run courage stated that it was okay to crawl as the saying goes on the days you only have 40% 40% becomes 100% 40% is Courage when my pride kicked and scream my ego built walls courage reminded me to reach out to be a fixer that yeah it's easy to be mad but being mad has never

fixed a problem when hiding behind Perfection courage reminded me an important truth there's nothing Noble about perfection Perfection is a lie it's fear in Disguise antithetical to Courage you can be perfect scared and live life as a shell of yourself or be imperfect flawed but authentic and Powerful when my knees would shake and my palms would sweat courage said grab the mic step onto the stage create the video set up the meeting make the call there is a bridge to a more powerful more evolved version of you you just can't see it because you're Currently

walking it when I become too accustomed to routine to normaly to how things are shying away from risk and opportunity and all the good stuff courage flashes that Vision in front of me of what life can be it says hey that dream that future you think of it's not going to come to you you have to go to it see over the years courage has changed but so have I and the goal has been and will always be for us to remain separable dancing Partners as life's song e and flows co-stars in the great play

of Life see I cannot be perfect but I can be courageous and that as it turns out is enough [Music]