FOCUS ONLY ON YOURSELF IN 2025 | Best Motivational Video Compilation | 3 Hours

90 seconds is too much just is I can't do 90 seconds and I can't do 90 seconds because my brain can't compute 90 seconds but I can do 30 seconds and I can do 30 seconds forever as we navigate our daytoday you know it's hard to see that because so often our day-to-day lacks Clarity so what can we do about it well we can place ourselves in situations Where we are reminded one of them I've talked about before being the cold plunge immersing yourself in cold water we sure there are health benefits some of which

are debated and disputed but I certainly notice value in that department but to me that's not the biggest value at not even close to me it's simply the daily reminder that I can do hard things that it's who I Am we need to reestablish that consistently confidence is earned and I know in my life I must earn it repeatedly and when I'm immersed in the cold and shivering there's always a point in my mind how however brief that I'm thinking I want out now the other day was at this point looked at my watch 90

seconds left and that day in that moment it felt like an Eternity just too much and those of you who are endurance athletes for example you know that when your body's operating at Max Capacity you're suffering you're exhausted 90 seconds is truly a lifetime when you look at it like that it's too much discomfort for a minute and a half your heart starts beating your mind starts worrying right so what do we do about it we look at it a little differently Because from a different angle you can skip it you can do 30 seconds

the brain can grasp and digest 30 seconds you can do anything for 30 seconds okay so you start counting all of a sudden 30 gone now what well you just did 30 you see how quick that went do another 30 okay done just like that now what 30 more but this is the last 30 you don't even feel anything on the last 30 right come on Adrenaline's going you can feel the Finish Line This is free time this is a gift this is cruise control and now done you didn't have to do 90 seconds you

only had to do three by 30 and anyone's saying come on man that's the same thing yeah it's the same when you're not under duress but it's a miracle when you are so why is running Life why is cold plunging life why is putting your body through stress or difficulty life because you remember that life is taking big difficult seemingly complex things and breaking them down into manageable tasks that is life the pieces are always manageable now the monster we allow the pieces to become when we stack them up and give them an invisible face

that's not so manageable That self-sabotage and so to arm yourself with the understanding that all big things must be broken down is to Greenlight the extraordinary on day one in 2014 a YouTube channel with zero subscribers growing to help over 100,000 people a day that's a 902 cold plunge that's unfathomable Unthinkable impossible but one video weekly at least for 9 years that's a 30second cold Punch it's very doable standing in front of the mirror practicing storytelling and speaking it's 30 seconds in cold water reaching out to others to learn to get better 30 seconds in

cold water it's like you look back and you see that you endured that 90-second plunge simply by breaking it down that's all growth is that's all evolution is Finding the smallest piece possible and making it actionable and then watching that transform multiply compound over time and one of my favorite books Unbroken by Laura Hillen brand this reminder comes through beautifully Louis empini an American prisoner of war in Japanese inter tournament camps during World War II he basically experiences unimaginable hell and suffering he watches his friends die He's beaten he's starved he comes close to death

himself and at the end when he's rescued and I'm paraphrasing but I remember this part incredibly vividly he's asked if he could do that again and he States he'd rather die because turning around and viewing it holistically like that is too much it's unfathomable that pain is bigger than one can even comprehend but taking something like That day by day step by step he did the unthinkable he survived in Breaking the 90-second task down into 30second pieces he walked away in Breaking the seemingly insurmountable down into the manageable and looking at each individual step as

a superpower he emerged and you talk about perspective his experience was as challenging as it gets right my cold plunge is laughable in Comparison but my mind does doesn't know that it's up to me to reinforce building a business is nothing in comparison to Louis Zamperini but my mind doesn't know that healing my shoulder and getting stronger in the gym is nothing in comparison but my mind does not know that it's looking at the mountain and reminding myself Eddie you can't leap those I've seen you jump buddy but the good news news is no Mountains

need be left here we Ascend this thing one rock at a time and mark my words you conquer those manageable tasks day in and day out you will find your son so when you feel stuck or too small for the task at hand remind yourself you're looking at a 90c block here break that down ask yourself what your 30 is ask yourself what you can create that's manageable that will Create your momentum that will shoot you into a trajectory that will allow growth and position you someday to look back over your shoulder and go wow

I endured all that a transformation too big to understand on day one it's a beautiful thing watching all those little steps add up to create the extraordinary [Music] while the world Slept I stayed awake I guess I couldn't bear to close my eyes and drift off into a dream knowing that as soon as they opened it would end I sat up I put my goals and aspirations into the backpack next to my bed threw it over my shoulder and I left Destination Unknown but I was armed with the belief that opportunities exist wherever you bring

them to life so while the world Slept I stayed awake there comes a point when dreaming takes the form of an adversary I didn't want to wake up and see the discrepancy between fantasy and reality I didn't want to be associated with wishing or hoping or crossed fingers see the beauty of life is that it always provides the necessary pieces to put your puzzle together so long as your eyes remain open so while the world Slept I stayed awake as a mind lays dormant so does opportunity as the ideal life remains imaginary so does the

action needed to build it the best way to find answers is simply to look for them a folded up map hidden away in your desk it suggests a million possibilities proposes an endless Journey but until you grab it open your door and step Outside it will never truly take you there I wanted to feel the wind on my face the sand on my feet and even even the most adventurous souls in the world don't have time to see everything to experience it all time is the most precious of [Music] Commodities so while the world slept

I stayed awake the secret is not in opening your eyes it's in what you allow your eyes to To see it's easy to live while being asleep to completely disregard or walk right by the advantages the opportunities the pieces that we can reach out and use to shape Our Lives look it's not about being right or wrong it's about trading what you kind of want for what you really want it's about walking down your street and viewing every single thing in front of you as Perfection as the stars aligning as the perfect ingredients to create

whatever You choose leave nothing for sleep let your dreams envy your reality and while the rest of the world sleeps I dare you to stay awake I dare you to get everything you've ever wanted [Music] it all starts with a thought you didn't ask for it you never wanted it but it's here and now the game has changed because that thought is not your Friend it's not telling you how strong you are or reminding you that you always find a way no it's informing you that you're finished tired weak chanting that you'll get them tomorrow

kid softly at first then a little louder and a a little louder until the message becomes unmistakable and In This Moment it's not Your legs that become vulnerable it's not your lungs this situation transcends the physical you are in the ring with your mind this is when the gloves come off it's fight or flight and in your gut you know it's nothing more than a front intimidation life's way of separating the average from the exceptional but this is not about knowing the truth it's about having the courage to stand up to it because that voice

is continuously Showing you your distress your pain your fatigue it's pointing to an empty well telling you that you have nothing left and perhaps in a different Universe you'd listen but in this world the well always goes deeper there is always more to give that moment when you begin to hurt the second that Voice pops into your head you have only given a fraction of your maximum Effort when you meet resistance your limits haven't even been tested obstacles do not make the destination any more or less real they simply call for an adjustment so adjust

see time stops when you stop goals stop when you stop dreams stop when you stop and in a world with infinite possibility there's simply no reason to relinquish that Control so let your forward progress silent the dissenting voices let those on the sideline talk about their empty tanks and fantasized limitation you are not running on empty my friend you are simply running [Music] today we're going to talk about keeping your head in the clouds and your feet on the ground simultaneously managing the big picture and the small stuff nonstop Believe that things will work that

there's an answer that you're ultimately going to get there and that you won't quit until you do while also being brutally honest with the facts on the floor the reality around you a lot of times I think there's a tendency to conflate positivity with a Detachment from reality but they're very different things right you need them both for Success to unfold you need the big picture and you need the the the minutia the steps the little things that add up over time in the book good to Great Jim Collins calls this the Stockdale principal or

Admiral Stockdale um I think at the time Commander Stockdale was shot down during Vietnam he was prisoner of war for over 7 years in Vietnam and it was just a obviously a brutal experience And you know one of the things that helped him survive was being painfully pragmatic while also knowing in his soul right with every ounce of his being that he would ultimately get out that the men he cared about and helped so much uh would ultimately get out and so when Jim Collins is interviewing him you know he says Admiral stockdell what differentiated

the ones that made it and The ones that didn't and the answer is incredibly surprising he says [Music] optimism because the people that were overly optimistic said we'll get out by Christmas and Christmas comes and they don't get out and then they say okay we'll fine we'll be out we'll see our fames by Easter and Easter comes and they're still there okay maybe next Christmas next Christmas Comes nothing changes he says those are the people that died of a broken heart there was too big of a gap between the reality the components needed to progress

the way they wanted to progress in the way they were thinking you know you have to be willing to look in the mirror and diagnose the situation you know that's applicable to business it's applicable to your personal Life drink big step small believe but act be cognizant of the world around you the reality that that that you're living in right you can't change something that you don't understand intrinsically you can't progress if you haven't analyzed something and this is not about your capabilities this is never a call to doubt yourself it's to be Strate iic

this is Just saying that you need to understand the realities so that you can improve upon them if you want to be uh the next Michael Jordan that's a huge ask that's a lot it's possible you can do it and you need to believe with every ounce of you that if that's what you want to do it's a Pursuit you know worth uh taking but you also need to know what it means To be Michael Jordan you got to understand the commitment how he sacrificed relationships he sacrificed uh you know his friends his love life

he got up every single morning all he did was basketball how he took thousands of shots a day how his mentality and his uh uh AG iive Behavior right his mindset his the way he looked at life and approached life on and off the court it required that he was so Intense and so obsessed with winning that some people couldn't handle it it meant that everything stopped except being the best that's a big ask a lot of people can't do that don't want to do that but that's what it takes and to think you're going

to be Michael Jordan without understanding one the commitment that's required and how you stack up it's going to be in vain I remember the CEO of the the Company that I work for I at a college he used to say look you have to be able to be honest and say when your baby's ugly right look at what you have and be able to draw a line from where you want to be so you can fix it so that's the that's the point if you can juggle those two things you will be unstoppable Unstoppable if

you can be the one to trust yourself Enough to know that there is a big picture you will pursue it relentlessly and you will get there if you can take that and you can marry it to the little things right to the awareness to promising yourself that you will continue to analyze assess and do what needs to happen uh on the ground that you will be realistic you will be pragmatic when things fail you won't sugarcoat it you'll dive in you'll look at why it Failed so that you can pick up those pieces and build

something stronger and continue to build and continue to build stack and stand on what you've made those are the people that change the world those are the people that get things done that get results dream big step small see you tomorrow [Music] [Music] what does it mean to give 100% effort on Something is it possible to say with absolute certainty that you couldn't have done better how do you know that you couldn't have Run 1 second faster done one more rep scored one point higher how do you know that there was more in you to

give in terms of human potential there's no such thing as a limit it's a fabricated completely negative debilitating idea so why why in a million years would you put obstacles in Front of yourself that aren't [Music] there in reality you can always be one step better one step further than you are now that's a fact and simply knowing that knocks down walls it opens doors for you to make moves to progress Warren Buffett has a great quote on maximizing effort he's speaking from a business standpoint and he says the one thing that is absolutely sure

to kill a business is complacency being Comfortable with where you are thinking that your current effort is sufficient that it's enough it isn't and if you get comfortable someone willing to pay a steeper price will come along and take what's yours and there is always someone working hard to do just that when you think about your dreams what you're striving toward I'm sure you have some plan some routine day in day out to get there to make it happen maybe You're moving forward maybe you're in a rough spot but regardless of your situation there are

positively untapped opportunities to move quicker to be better and these opportunities they just sit there and they'll sit there for an eternity if you don't recognize them and utilize them I'll use the example of an athlete when you break it down an athlete's work is comprised of physical training you have the mental component Their diet and to say you want to be the best is one thing but if you can't strip down your goal into these simple components and ask yourself how can I be a little better in each area you know you won't grow

to the level you're capable of you won't be the elite athlete you're missing the key ingredience to success even sitting on the couch watching TV you know it's a normal thing We all do it you unwind you relax for a few minutes but think about taking that half hour and reallocating it and instead sending three emails to people you know who have been successful in your field whether you know them or not now who have done what you're trying to do see if you can connect have a valuable conversation maybe it results in nothing maybe

it creates a relationship that changes your Life who knows but I can tell you for damn sure that the TV will not do that and this is an arbitrary example but I think it's an important one because it shows that if you truly want something you'll use every opportunity to get better even the little ones because every second is a GameChanger always be asking yourself what can you be doing differently what can you be doing better never be content with where you are be analytical be Searching for The Next Step because there is always a

next step and realizing this is just the [Music] beginning so imagine years from now way down the road you're older sitting on your front porch kind of fists propped up under your chin you're staring out and thinking about your life you're thinking about the decisions you made the things you did and didn't Do what would you be thinking what would you change would there be regret there's a lot of research around this topic in in one of the most important books written on it by bronnie wear talks about the regrets of the dying and one

of them is is wishing I had the courage to live a life true to [Music] myself right so you're sitting there you're looking out and you're imagining What if you acted differently what if you tried what if you started and you go back to that moment where you were looking fate in the eye and you had to make that decision right that singular decision it showed its face repeatedly but the decision more or less remain the same it was vulnerability or safety choose one vulnerability or safety safety that innate desire to not disrupt or Challenge

the way things are even when you know in your core there's more out there see safety is the wolf in sheep's clothing watching life happen through a window is incredibly safe but it means you're forfeiting the essence of life in exchange for a front row seat to watch others live it it means you don't capture that adrenaline that drives us you don't take Part in the emotion that excites us it means you don't meet the people who would change your life and you don't see the places that would take what you know of reality and

transform it now equating safety with contentment is the product of outdated thinking an outdated operating system it's indicative of a way of looking at the world that used to be Life or death but now in 2020 in modern day Society it's regret [Music] and the first step in changing something is to become aware of your current circumstance it's to realize you're not wrong or guilty for thinking small or taking a backseat to fear that's what humans do it's our default setting but it's your Fault if you don't do anything to change it it's your fault

if once recognized you don't pick up the pieces and create a different narrative you know I always say the most important changes we can make they're simple they're not easy but they are simple and that road to something new always starts with seeing beyond the confines of the world that you've accepted for yourself understanding the reality that Dictates your reasoning thought patterns and decision making can change because my friends if you can remember one thing and one thing only it's this fear is not the enemy it is the Ally you need most in action is

the enemy doubt is the enemy not fear senica says we suffer more often in imagination than reality Mark Twain says do the thing you fear most and death of fear is certain it's like jumping into a pool on A hot day you get a second or two of discomfort before you can acclimate into something better see people are stronger than they think they are they are adaptable they are resilient but to see this we must move beyond the story in our head so back to that rocking chair you're thinking back that fork in the road

and maybe you choose the challenging path the one that scares you and maybe you fall flat on your face but You get up a little smarter a little better equipped and you keep going and maybe you fall and you fail again and again and then comes the criticism but you see that maybe criticism doesn't kill you in fact it does nothing if you don't let it and again you pick yourself up and you carry on and you pick up some allies along the way you expand your skill set you drive towards Mastery and day in

day out you continue to fall to trip but eventually you look back and You see something you haven't seen before distance and you realize you are not the same person you once were you realize what you have right now simply through a process of falling and Rising again you have redefined Your Existence you've redefined what's possible you've redefine the people the places the things that matter and it Dawns on you that falling that fear that the unknown Wasn't the problem that that's not scary it's just part of being better it's the ca of greatness you've

been looking at things wrong hiding from exactly the thing you should have been running towards allowing into your life the very things that held you down making you think Comfort was the goal when it was shackling your feet to the ground and Advising that spectating was a good Thing no not you and when you sit down on that rocking chair and you look out thinking of the life you made let it be one of Adventure the failures that made you stronger the wandering that unveiled life's Beauty and the ends that became Beginnings because that is

the essence of a life truly lived [Music] it's it's a a a scene from a movie Called Dead Poet Society and this quote just really hit me uh hit home and to kind of explain this scene basically Robin Williams is a teacher he's teaching poetry and um I think it's a boarding school and there's a bunch of kids uh around him and he's explaining to them you know these are kids with ambitions they want to be lawyers and doctors and businessmen he's saying I get that right but um here's why poetry matters right And so

it becomes a metaphor for Life essentially so what he says is um it's a quote from Whitman ohe me oh life of the questions of these recurring of the Endless trains of the faithless of cities filled with the foolish what good amid these Oh Me Oh life and the answer is that you're here that life exists an identity that the powerful play goes on and you may contribute a verse in other words with all the negativity all the Ups and downs all the quote unquote you know terrible aspects of Life all the challenges what good

why are we here what's the point and it's that it's gone on for millions of years before us it go on for millions of years after us like a play that we can contribute one verse and the power in that right just waking up and understand in that we have the ability to create our own history our own little Universe to change the way Things are to leave our Mark you know and and so he's talking about I mentioned the kids huddled around him he's like um you want to be businessmen and lawyers and engineers

and doctors and that's that's it's incredible it's a noble Pursuit we need those things to sustain life but the reason poetry is important reason things like love and passion and Beauty are important it's because those are the things that we Live life for they are the Pinnacle of what it is to be human and every day you can decide what to do with that you can delve into it to change to grow yourself and in essence improve the world around you you can play a part in something much bigger than you and it doesn't have

to be this grandiose thing it's it's using uh what you have where you are and the impact you can Make is infinite never forget that enormous things are just the the Cal culmination of small things little decisions because for those of you thinking well I'm just one person you know what difference does it make and what why why would my verse matter and the you know the grand scheme of things the great play of life well I have a followup for you I thought this was beautiful too you say You're not special because the world

doesn't know about you but that's an insult to me I know about you right everyone touches someone and the ability to impact those in your immediate circle it just can't be understated right I I sometimes I worry that we don't value ourselves and our ability to be an agent for change the way that we should you know every single person Watching this can change themselves can grow and I'm not talking about you know who you are I'm talking about moving towards your greatness so back to the the the main theme right in this play of

Life what is your role what is your verse going to say because it matters it matters more than you know it matters to you because it's an opportunity and it's a chance to live every day to the fullest to Embark upon You know the the important things in life the the elements of Being Human that really matter passion purpose enjoying what's around you growing learning and an Essence helping others do the same when you delve into your greatness it changes the [Music] world what's one thing I wish I knew when I was younger that I

think people could benefit from Today what single piece of information could have the biggest impact and I spent some time thinking about this question and the more I think about it the more the answer becomes incredibly apparent it's that you are in control of your own life your own destiny your own future and when you take account ability for yourself Life Changes Period And if you thought that was obvious I would Advocate taking a look around maybe a stroll through social media the twitters and Instagrams and Tik toks of today and know that's not the

real world but it's certainly a microcosm of the real world what do you see well you see chronic blame I don't like where I'm at or things are so that must be your fault or their fault or someone else's Fault you see people looking everywhere but in the mirror actually seeking out victimhood because that's what brings the attention that's today's currency it's much easier to be the victim than the hero because being the hero means you have to sacrifice something it's people saying the news or some institution or the federal government is the problem and

if those things would Only change then we'd be good let me explain why I think this mentality is self- sabotage and why I would take younger me by the hand and I would say listen to what I'm about to tell you where you start is often outside of our control let's be real life is not fair we don't all get dealt the same hand but this next part as I once heard Will Smith articulate Beautifully is the same for everyone what you decide to do about it right now is what matters and that is the

control that we all have it's not your fault where you start but it's your responsibility ility to choose where you end up you can shake your fist at the sky or you can start building a life that matters to you it's easy to blame the world to be the victim at least in the short term but a fulfilling life is About meaning about fighting for something valuable about evolving into the version of yourself that you always knew in your heart you could be you just had to un lock see no one down the road was

ever happy with themselves for blaming the world while they bitterly remained stagnant I would say to a younger me worry less about how you're perceived and think more about who you are what you're capable of because that you can Always control stop losing yourself in the news or whatever The Narrative of the day is that has nothing to do with your progression has nothing to do with your very next step so sure be informed but do more consume less because by and large it's a distraction and I would say the government which has become the

Crux of our discourse today transforming into a modern-day religion look the Government's job is not to give you anything it's there to protect what's inherent to you already your right to live life on your terms see satisfaction it will come from good habits it will come from self-belief it will come from taking risks and failing and learning it will come from the courage to step out into a world that's completely unknown it will never come from a self-interested politician or body in Washington red or blue so stop whining About political Optics and focus on where

you're too two feet are taking you right now because I promise in the grand scheme of things that's what matters that is your strength expecting someone else to come along and change your life is like screaming into an abyss I would say to my younger self when you start looking around and seeing what everyone else has and beating yourself up for not being as good or Feeling like you're behind look it's great that their success motivates you but dwelling on it won't make your life better life is a race between you and you it's a

fight between yourself and those thoughts that constantly knock on the door looking to settle into your psyche if you defeat that demon you'll be where you want to be regardless of where others are you're right where you need to be so Keep your head up and keep moving forward I'd explain that to become something more to change requires a sacrifice that feels so substantial so big at first that it bullies most people into staying right where they are that to become something new you have to learn to play the fool to get humbled you have

to change your relationship with short-term failure and that's not easy but taking control of your life is not supposed to Be easy only worth it they're different and I can certainly look back at my own life think about the times where I was so busy pointing out that I didn't even think to point the finger at myself I was so worried about life being unfair that I existed in this temporary state of paralysis the whole time not knowing that I could have been stepping forward could have been tapping into the single greatest power I possess

control over my own Life see every time you feel anger or the need to blame those around you you're taking the spotlight off of what matters and placing it on things detrimental to where you want to be to your journey in your future even the most unjust arbitrary things let's say you didn't get that promotion you were Beyond qualified for or you were mistreated by someone or things didn't go the way you wanted them to you can fill in that blank but Refusing to blame others and immediately taking responsibility again even in a situation like

that it gives you one of the greatest advantages in life it gives you that gift of control you can now assess the situation you can now ask yourself Hey What Can I do to change this you can delve into the why find the lessons and the value you can come back and re-approach this thing stronger because to blame others to take On that role of victim it's essentially living life in the passenger seat it might be easier might be less work less responsibility but what you never have is control over where that car goes but

when you own it when you say hey maybe it's not my fault but look it's mine now it's my responsibility The Good The Bad every aspect of my life it puts you in position to change things to take the wheel and reroute to a destination of you're choosing so that Would be my message to the world I know it's not an easy Road I know life is unfair I know things aren't perfect but the best thing you can ever do for yourself is say you know what this is mine to own and I'm going to

look around for that light switch that will create momentum that little decision that will get the ball rolling I'm not going to sit back shake my fist and blame life I'm going to walk out that door and create Life that's where you'll find what you're truly looking for [Music] if you're lucky enough to be different don't let go I spend a lot of my time and energy exploring the power of perspective how our reality is determined by how we interpret what's in front of us how one person can look at one thing and see pain

or a problem or a barrier and another person can look at that Exact same thing and see opportunity or a future win or a bridge to something better and I think one of the best examples of this is how we perceive those qualities that make us unique those things that put us in a different category maybe we're a little hesitant to fully Embrace because they're not common and when it comes to that which separates us from everyone else well I Believe we have a decision to make I'm going to go back to Robert Frost's fork

in the road right he says two paths diverged in a wood I took the one least traveled by and that made all the difference on the surface you could easily brush this off as trivial it's like oh nice that's cute he took the path Less Traveled by but what does that mean as it turn turns out it means a lot it means instead of burying what Makes him different he made it his Battle Cry instead of slipping under the radar and sneaking through life like so many of us do he signed the dotted line for

the pain of being a beginner the struggle of being uncertain the discipline and sometimes torturous road that is turning a passion into Excellence Trading peace of mind for the pursuit of meaning in life exploring what makes you Unique it takes courage and in that message he chooses courage because it's not just that you're alone taking that path means every step of the way your mind screams at you reminders that you're alone it's not just fighting traffic patterns it's fighting your DNA it's resisting that impulse to please sit down shut up and blend in so is

it a trivial decision I'd say Not really maybe even the most important decision you can make because I promise you it's not your commonality with those around you that will bring fulfillment that will leave a mark on your life and the world that surround you no it's that thing that's unequivocally you that's a little out there that's somewhat strange that you don't know why But it's gravitational force pulls and pulls and pulls a tug of war where one side begs you to just relax conform do less begs you to never be laughed at or criticized

to take the easy Road then you have the other side poking prodding asking you hey yeah but what if what if you sacrificed the comfort of right now what if you explored what if you took that which you love and you ran With it what if you worked for a delayed payday what if for a moment in time when people ask you what the plan is you have to look back and say you know what I'm not quite sure what I'm building but I'll keep pivoting until it's so clear you can see it from the

moon those are the paths that pull us apart and every time I've lost my way it's because I've doubted my unique path and I mean that every Time it's when I become impatient with the journey or look around and see someone else winning in a different Arena using different methods different strategies see the latest trends and success formulas hey man I want part of that right I'm human I want to win I want to succeed but just like a little opening is enough to let in the outside water that sinks the boat well a little

bit of Doubt is Enough to derail your process the process that you have to believe in protect nurture a process that I've come to separate into two pieces number one believing that the exploration of that thing that makes you unique it's valuable that your abilities mean something they're not inconsequential they're not stupid or trivial or Unnecessary if it means something to you it will most certainly mean something to others and you bringing it to life not only helps yourself evolve grow flourish it helps the world you just have to believe that enough to bring it

to life that's number one number two trusting that as long as you don't stop in pursuit of your unique self you can't lose you can't Lose and I don't mean continuing to ram a square peg into a round hole I mean growing learning experimenting seeing what works there's a is saying that when you hit a dead end it's not that the goal or the dream should be abandoned it means the plan needs to be changed or adjusted and as you get better and more experience and continually work to adjust your strategy and your plans Learn

from your mistakes it becomes a matter of time you increase the odds with every step forward being different is the most precious thing afforded to you but to realize that Miracle requires a combination of both the mythical and the Practical the imaginary and the real dream that dream visualize that growth create a world out of those ideas That don't exist yet but also understand that the conversion process from dream to reality is a practical one it requires repetition learning losing adjusting and people don't like that it's much easier to blend in than spend years pushing

through the agony of setting yourself apart but it's worth it and the evidence is so obvious so plainly pointing to the fact that we Only celebrate the outcasts the crazy ones we sit around campfires listen to lectures watch movies and documentaries about the people that had every reason to doubt themselves but kept moving [Music] forward about the people who could have swept their unique abilities under the rug but instead used them as their foundation for everything not being distracted by what's popular or how anyone else lives or operates Not seeking to be anyone but themselves

knowing that that is enough knowing it's the seed to something precious the only question is will you provide the right conditions and nourishment for that little seed to grow will you do what so few people have the courage to do let their authentic selves shine through let who they are emerge Emerson has a quote he says to be yourself in a world that's constantly trying to make you something else is the Greatest accomplishment he goes on to say my life should be unique it should be an alms a battle a conquest a medicine and see

Perpetual happiness is a Fool's errand no life is full of trials and tribulations and ups and downs but for fulfillment comes from that quest for meaning for more for building something for creating your unique self a process a Pursuit that must be chiseled from Stone it's never given or provided it has to be found take it and as Emerson beautifully implies now is the time the question is what are you going to make with this once in a lifetime opportunity what will you make of the possibilities that only you know only you understand that only

you can bring to life never doubt yourself or your gifts or the things that set you apart you don't need everyone else to Believe in them you just need to convince yourself everything else it falls right in into [Music] place sometimes we convince ourselves that right now isn't quite right it's not the wrong time necessarily but eh soon we'll have that thing that will make the perfect launch Point soon so we'll Wait you hear it a lot with hopeful creators right as soon as I get the camera I'm going to start the podcast as soon

as I feel inspired I'll start writing or how about this one we can all relate to in some way as soon as it's January one I'll start taking care of myself and my health and I'm not talking about this because I read about it I'm talking about it because I live it it's an Adversary I'm always up against the Allure of waiting for that perfect moment but here's the deal when you start now the imperfections become part of the [Music] value people see imperfections and become inspired by them he started getting in shape in his

garage with two dumbbells look at that she started Writing her novel in a notebook waiting to pick her kids up from school right going now not only destroys that enemy that is procrastination it also gives you something of value in return it lets the very fact that you found a way become a narrative in your story it allows your imperfections to become your [Music] greatness I recently relocated my studio to Scottdale a move that according to The moving company would take 7 to 10 days 24 days later I realized that there are places in life

where you can attempt to cut cost moving companies should never be one of those things I found myself with the recording equipment in my Hammer bag that I travel with and some empty boxes right I'm waiting for my stuff to show up 1 week 2 weeks 3 weeks soon soon it'll arrive and I'll be able to record then because right now there's no Lighting right now I don't have my tripod I don't have anything to you know put behind me in the set it's like wait wait wait or how about this you take the empty

shelves and you make them intentional you lean boxes against the wall you have a life transition set right and not only can you make that work not only will it look sufficient but it's like you have a story Now we like to hear about the times others made something out of an apparent nothing it's relatable and that's actually where the fun stuff is in in any conversation I'm recording this in a hotel room doing what I can with what I have and so when you find yourself feeling not quite ready and the Temptation is to

wait rather than hold out hope for a Fake Perfection That Never Comes why not unpack the beauty contained in the present moment or put a much more practical way the opportunity contained in the present moment might not begin with less and tap into something that no other time in your life will have but now start your podcast using your phone mediocre visuals and echoe audio let this be the beginning that you Look back on and and smile remember how fun those episodes were that mediocre at Best Equipment and stories about where we were in life

start working out now can't get to the gym do it in your garage in your living room then you can point you know to to where it would have been easy not to but you built your physical foundation on the third floor of an apartment building in New York people ask you you know what it Took to get into the shape you're in now wait in a floor just start I find repeatedly that it's not about perfect it's about who we become in making progress with far less than the perfect we'd hoped for that's what

makes you realize you know how much of what we tell ourselves is just rationalization we're scared to not look good that's all we're scared of new Things worried about beginning and so we convince ourselves that the camera angle will make all the difference the expensive lens will be the differentiator again I've lived this and then you get it and it's like in truth the new camera just sits there you're still the person in front of it and what you say in front of your phone vers a 20 Sony is still entirely dependent on you Surprise

like the Sony doesn't have much to say and so I call you to think less about the set and more about what's going on within [Music] it the amount you can do with what you have now will Astound you how little we need is truly magical you know in these last three weeks have emphasized that for me two pairs of shoes two pairs of jeans Some T-shirts and a camera I didn't miss much because my ability to think and share ideas didn't get packed away and put in the truck with everything else that stayed with

me and we all have some version of that in our own lives that's what matters you are LeBron at something so cherish that bring that to the world regardless of the circumstances you can put LeBron on A broken down court with no Nets he'd still be pretty good the environment becomes something different something enjoyable because of its novelty too often we miss the value you know because of the details so I'll end with this don't seek perfection seek to start now with what you have so that you can give more of yourself to the World

you can give more of yourself when you're unsure give more of yourself when you're lost give more of yourself when you're starting give more of yourself when you don't have all the tools you wish you had give more of yourself at the beginning give more at the middle and at the [Music] end anything that suggests you need some miracle in the mail before you can begin Or tap into what matters is fear it's nothing more and nothing less so start start for the world and for the story you'll be able to share by simply initiating

The Climb you can become so fixated on winning or losing the game that you forget to ask yourself am I playing the right one is this my game am i setting myself up to win in an arena of significance to Me cuz look there are infinite games out there and sometimes we find ourselves uh caught up in a race we have no business running meaning it doesn't really do anything for us it's not where we want to be or should be there's a saying by someone in a few social media Outlets actually uh like restricted

my post for suggesting it was Einstein so it might not be Mr Einstein but whoever said it thank you you're awesome the saying goes everyone is a Genius but if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree it will live its whole life believing it's stupid now there are a lot of us fish out there attempting to climb trees as we speak wondering why we're not where we want to be perhaps seeing the results or lack thereof as an indication that we're insufficient inadequate in some way when hey that's not the case

at All is that we haven't taken the time to identify our own personal intersection of what we love and what adds value to the world we haven't manufactured those fireworks that's something that has to be explored found JRR token not all who wander are lost right and I think We innately Fear this process of searching because it's unsettling to not know how things are going to play out trust me I've been there right it's taxing to not Have your packaged little elevator speech and a 5-year Vision when it seems like the whole world does but

to deprive yourself of this exploration is to uh potentially forfeit the very thing that you come to live for most of the time purpose doesn't fall into into one's lap you have to have your eyes open what's meaningful must be sought out now I'm going to play little devil's advocate here because our world is not Black and white it sort of lives in this gray space right can you win at someone else's game sure there are a lot of people quote unquote succeeding in areas that are not ideal that they don't love that they're not

their best in but how is Success being defined I've talked extensively about my journey and all those games I used to play the targets I used to aim for and I know a lot of people who have come to similar epiphanies right but when you don't Realize you can exit stage left and begin again start something new you simply continue this same song and dance right it's not life that keeps us confined it's ignorance that keeps us confined we simply have to be taught that there's more and I understand to find uh an arena where

you can thrive in a purely historical context is a luxury and you are programmed to survive you're not programmed to uh Build an art studio because it's your passion right but there lies the battle we are at a place in time where we have collectively cult cultivated abundance the phone you're using to consume this content that little thing can be a portal that transports your thoughts your creation your business to the masses you have at your fingertips access to billions of people you have reach that humans only 30 years ago all The way back to

the beginning of mankind could only dream of the means are there in so many ways it's about freeing yourself to pursue the opportunity that exists all around you because we self-limit Alan Watts asked the ever important question what would you do if money were No Object now in a practical World why ask such a question simple because removing those monetary constraints as you contemplate Your answer allows you to truly analyze what Endeavors are meaningful you when something is Meaningful you want to do it when you want to do it you immerse yourself in those little

intricacies and those details that the average person simply doesn't pay attention to making you so good at whatever that thing is that eventually not only can you be the best at it but you can monetize it and probably at a very high Rate it's not money holding you back it's not time holding you back it's not the external World holding you back it's what you have been conditioned to believe that's holding you back you are a genius at something you are king or queen of your Empire Victor within your Arena but to realize these things

you have to one understand it's a possibility and two refuse to stay stagnant we have to stop conceding so Much while simultaneously accepting so little life will never provide what you do not ask for so why why be scared to ask life won't tell you you're a fish climbing a tree you must tell you that life won't expand your horizons and AD just your trajectory you must initiate that change to find your Genius you must be willing to leave what's insufficient to capture what's meaningful you must be willing to leave What is [Music] meaningless let's

agree to alter the question do I have genius level Talent because you do and you live in a society that also rewards those who realize it the question we need to be willing to ask is are you willing to walk on Shaky Ground to abandon at least for a period of time safety and the comfort of predictability in order to find that genius are you willing to nurture the Greatness that already lives within you because it was never a matter of ability it's a matter of what you're willing to [Music] discover one of the greatest

things about life is that how you perceive it determines what you get from it the lens through which you look at the world road maps your success right all we are is a compilation of the things we see and the beliefs we hold which brings me to a Very interesting question why are human beings so inclined to limit themselves in their abilities why do we bring life to stopping points to barriers that simply are not there see in the world we know every day of Our Lives is consumed by rules laws limitations if I throw

a rock into the air it's going to hit a certain point come to a stop and fall back down to earth that's science that result can be Mathematically proven and there's really no debate about it the issue though and one of the most tragic elements of human behavior is when that exact certainty that limitation is applied to potential because potential is not a thing potential is an idea visualize someone who just completed a 6-minute mile right it's pretty good time something to be proud of the question though is what tangible evidence what proof does that

individual Have that they couldn't have run 559 or 550 530 so often we stop because we believe we've done enough we're comfortable right where we are we know what the standard is and we act accordingly but just imagine a life without these false pretenses imagine the possibilities that exist for those who set their own standards it truly is the difference between ordinary and extraordinary going back a few years When Henry Ford first created the automobile he said that if he would have asked the world what they wanted they would have said Faster Horses because that

was the standard a new possible hadn't been defined yet and this supports the fact that reality is whatever you decide it's going to be right that mentality has been held by anyone who's made a positive impact on society anyone who's exceeded expectations unlike that rock flying Through the air there is no defined stopping point for you other than the one you give yourself and today is about taking that stopping point and making it disappear it's about Innovation Having the courage to step into the unknown to push to do the things that most people wouldn't because

most people are confined to those self-induced limitations but they don't need to be right there are two ways to look at any situation to Simply exist through it or To have an impact to be the defining piece to do something memorable in every day is an opportunity to become that standard but you have to first believe you are believe that your capabilities and talents stretch far beyond what is right in front of you believe that possibilities are Limitless and you will see the world transform right in front of you it'll be an incredible sight to

see [Music] [Music] it always gets worse first I was recently at a mastermind where someone made this point and as hard as I tried I couldn't really poke holes in it for the simple fact that everything new requires some vulnerability some discomfort that was previously non-existent or in other words you have to endure turbulence prior to Calm so imagine a wavy line on a piece of paper whiteboard where the top of each wave is slightly bigger than the one before it right so right before that new wave occurs there is necessarily a low point or

a trough a point that's absolutely without a doubt lower than the top of the previous wave and this to me summarizes the battle we fight right when you're Comfortable when you're at the top of The Little Wave you're currently riding it almost feels self-defeating to willingly jump off and land yourself at the bottom of some new soon to be future wave every new Mountain means starting at the bottom a new base every acquisition means letting go of something we once knew and understood the question is are you willing to fight through are you willing To

hang out in the trough at the bottom right wander that Valley of Despair and that's by the way what we're talking about when we talk about for example Walt Disney being fired being called unimaginative and struggling to get the world to understand his Mickey Mouse cartoon that's what we're talking about with Steve and was with apple right that's what we're talking about with Lincoln and the constant political Rejection before finding stability and success right these stories have become almost f and all of them share the the same characteristic that the main players willingly accepted the

fact that it would get worse before it got better all of them were willing to make a trade the Bottom now for a chance at the top later not only is this pragmatic but it also AIDS the Mind Throughout the process it helps us understand and internalize what we're going through you know that initial instinct to think why me to shake our fists at the world and fall into the role of victim that goes away when we know that you know we're enduring turbulence now for something better when we know that this is merely the

cost of admission you're not at the bottom of The wave because you have to be or even you know because it's fun to hang out there you're there because something greater is coming and a human's desire to delay gratification is a superpower we all know that things get worse before they get better so remember next time you're out in the world right dealing with adversity technically you don't have to be There you could be hiding away letting life slip by but instead you've made the decision the courageous decision to better yourself what you're enduring will

ultimately become your strong point and so don't villainize or demonize that cherish it hold on to that because we need to get beyond the notion that discomfort is weakness discomfort is a decision a bold decision that you should Be proud of again you could live your entire life running from the painful things hiding from the discomfort of growth but then you'd also be forfeiting that next wave you'd be so hellbent on escaping the notion that it always gets worse first then instead you never let your life get better to begin with there is no bottom

or trough on Earth more detrimental to the human soul than stagnation we need to be moving marching Forward even when we don't know right into the unknown into the night fighting to get to the ceiling then gladly allowing that ceiling to become our next floor it always gets worse burst and thank God that's where we are made condition that's the buffer that separates mediocrity from Greatness that forces us to ask the important questions do I really want this and if the answer is yes let it get worse [Music] first Let It Be Tough out of

the gate Grant yourself that gift of vulnerability because if you waves from now you'll be on a different level physic spiritually personally a few waves from now the quote unquote worst parts will be what Stand between who you are and who you were and that decision the decision to step out and face them will have been perhaps the best decision you've ever [Music] made 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 [Music] 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 stars as well as use the world around you to pull yourself closer to them that changes things it's that beautiful dance that has to be maintained and this is a balancing act that uh has certainly been challenging sometimes the pendulum swings way too far one way sometimes way too far the other but in a perfect world you know you want it 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 in 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'd 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 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 Brut 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 [Music] adjusting one of my favorite uh epiphanies when I started doing this fulltime was the realization at a very small scale at first

that whoo 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 relentlessly 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 in knowing it's in understanding that your footsteps the little actions of your you know your day today 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 [Music] evolve you will Ultimately arrive [Music] [Music] so you've made a decision congrats you're 3% done now I'm paraphrasing but that's an idea from author and entrepreneur Lee Benson belief and execution the duo that will

change your life first believe why because nothing happens without believe nothing begins without an Understanding and a trust that the future contains something of value that the seeds of discomfort being planted will bear fruit we simply don't walk through doors if we don't believe something of value exists on the other side and then there's execution the doing congrats you gave yourself permission to begin that was a big step right but now you have to deal with life and life my Friends is no picnic it's in the doing that success is either obtained or not that

a new reality is birthed or not in the book your most important number Lee Benson has said so you've made a decision congrats you're 3% done why because well now comes the implementation the execution now the feet are on the ground and the wheels the road and we must transform the thoughts Into two things thinking can be so much more convenient than doing execution is trying things it's recognizing the attempts that didn't work it's moving forward only to realize wrong path or wrong approach or maybe what's required of you is not yet something you're capable

of producing and so you must must evolve it's seeing setbacks as data point it's understanding that to not Know is okay because we collect our answers as we go and seeing the journey is an experiment one in which we seek to understand ourselves and the world there is so much contained in that 97% to write Your Own Ending Story book an infinite number of paths and outcomes But ultimately only discoverable by [Music] you and I think that's one of the most Beautiful things about life and once you give yourself permission to walk a certain path

once you believe in something greater than the world as it currently exists you become an artist painting something that was not there before four using the highs as little benchmarks to remind you why you started to begin with when your landscape becomes Gray it's using the Lowe's as fuel that turns the ordinary into extraordinary that slingshots the old you to the new you adding brightness and Vibrance to the overall scene you're encapsulating all of it as you move through that great unknown as you push further and further into the abyss you're playing the role of

maker not because you knew how it would all turn out but because you didn't and still you [Music] executed recently in an interview I heard Alex heroi a now accomplished entrepreneur in his own right talking about some of his failings Consulting Jim in the fitness industry the moment when things went South and he lost it all now for a moment he thought he had money assets and perhaps even the pride gone but came to learn that money and Those assets they are lagging indicators they aren't the value that's obtained the value is who you become

the value is learning how to be someone who can obtain those things in the first place it's emerging from the old restriction and limitation the old narratives because that cannot be taken away when we execute we're making ourselves something we otherwise could never have become and so Alex learned that what he Lost was insignificant compared to what he gained and why is this such a common theme with industry leaders folks speaking on their accomplishments I think the answer is simple because you don't get there without the doing and the execution and if to execute means

to step forward without having all the answers after all we are only human life will humble us Excellence must be against of trial And error we can't escape those lost everything stories because choosing the right path every time well that only happens when you choose no path at all we have to act and be okay understanding that action brings with it mistakes and lessons and setbacks you know all those little annoying things that become [Music] Greatness 9 87% is left because the path before you is unw walked but know that it contains everything everything you

[Music] need so believe it decide because nothing starts without that initial 3% but nothing changes without the subsequent 97 that's where we are Shaped and when you come face to face with the inevitable adversity know that life might take the material gains it might demand a price you deem to be steep it might collect as a toll assets you've been accumulating along the way but it can't take what you know or who you've become and that is why you execute to build the world around you yes but most importantly to build yourself into Someone who

can thrive in such an environment it's in doing that the man is built and as was said in Gary Keller's book The one thing build the man and the World falls into place [Music] what if I told you that you already know what must be done you just need to put yourself in Position to do [Music] it you need to unlearn the rules that crippled you the ideas that can find you we are in constant pursuit of the thing that will magically write all our wrongs the answer that will give us something we've never had

no everything you need you have now you just need to allow it to flourish Declutter simplify remove all that unnecessary stuff and walk your path Einstein once said everyone is a genius but if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree it will live it whole life believing that it is stupid and what's great about this is the idea that who we are is not found it's acknowledged it's accepted and I think in our World there are so many fish as Einstein says trying to climb trees that it creates a sense of

learned helplessness we are judging ourselves using the wrong metrics equipped with the skills the characteristics and and the abilities to win in our own Arenas but playing in someone [Music] else's how loyal are you to your own instincts do you do what you know is Right or what you feel obligated to pursue when was the last time you listened to you in Tim Grover's Relentless he introduces a brilliant metaphor he says a lion doesn't have to be taught to be a lion it just is it hunts runs roams explores lives life the only way it

knows how now if you capture a Lion bring it to the zoo or put it in a cage it will carry itself differently will lie down move around lazily sluggishly navigate its little space to passers by they'd never know what that lion really is they never know what it looks like in its element but despite all this it is still in fact a lion it maintains that Killer Instinct his characteristics haven't disappeared and if it were released from the cage it would go right back to doing what Lions do being what lions are meant to

be it just has to ditch the cage and the point is perhaps so do you there's a little light in your soul that Waits day and night to explode into something meaningful where your nature meets your Environment where the I shouldn't do this the odds are impossible the I'm not good enough I can't lose what I have now where all that Fades away where it's left behind you and you're finally free to Reign Over your own territory your own life your own [Music] Empire see we constantly feel like our glasses are empty like we're missing

pieces in need of something just one More thing that will be our answer that's all we need and I can say with confidence it's not about what you need it's about what you no longer need it's about mitigating the noise so what matters can shine through removing those people in your life that drag you down or ADD no value it's about getting rid of the things that make your world Unnecessarily complex removing the need for immediate validation success and accolades and instead embracing the little hinges in your life that as W Clement Stone said will

ultimately swing the biggest doors we all have the lock the key and the map right there amidst the trivialities of our daytoday and we walk right by them look right at them we pick them up and put them Down but have we learned to truly see them everything starts with that awareness and my life did not change until I recognized that until I began asking myself questions I'd never asked before big picture questions obvious questions but just because it's obvious doesn't mean it's always intuitive right what do I want out of life what is important

to me what's something I love doing that I can dedicate myself myself to that I can commit to being great at Long term that I'm so immersed in that when the inevitable down times arrive the losses when the doubt and insecurity Creeps in I can keep moving forward because I'm so in love with the process but I don't let the little things like that Define me as Jordan Peterson famously puts it choose your sacrifice a life of meaning isn't easy but there's nothing more Fulfilling because when you Embark upon that Journey it allows for the

evolution of this self we can become something more is n says those who have a why to live can bear almost any we equip ourselves for anything the universe can throw at us we position ourselves to evolve Victor Frankle says man's main concern is not to gain pleasure or to avoid pain but rather to see meaning in His life to align yourself with and pursue that which is your reason for living that's how we transcend the day-today life we've come to know when we breathe in possibility dance with the infinite and of course something of

this mag magnitude it consists of ups and downs it's not the easy road but it's the one worth taken our metaphorical lion doesn't succeed every time he's prowling for Food but he doesn't roll over and die he doesn't recede or quit being a lion he gets up tomorrow and does it again because it's who the lion is and while life do doesn't unfold until you find that same thing for yourself and people say well I don't know that's the problem I have no idea that's not the problem that's the essence of life that's the beauty

you're here to explore and find that for yourself but the power is knowing you're Not looking for something or someone to save you you're looking for an environment in which you can best be you you're looking for the right Terrain to share your gift with the world if you have what you need then you're not looking for the product you're looking for the delivery mechanism the vehicle to nurture and transport your value to a world that desperately needs it you're looking to build yourself up and in the process Amaze yourself look what you're capable of

is beyond comprehension it's limit almost unfathomable but it is as Ryan holiday says a confidence that must be earned so start now earn it let yourself succeed your intuition knows what feels right and what doesn't but the seed must first be planted so make today about setting yourself up for Success turning off the idea that you're one piece away from Completion one minute away from starting that you're almost ready no you are ready now you have what you need now you know what's necessary now you just have to be your own Ally put yourself in

position to be yourself let your Valu shine double down on what matters to you look it's not a game of acquisition it's a game of Courage do you have the courage to be who you are to follow that potential that possibility into to the great [Music] unknown if you have the ability to love love yourself first Charles wowski so last week I was in Utah and while I was there I did some guided breath work which had never done before and honestly was a little skeptical at first but I try and keep an open mind

and uh gave it a shot happy I did it ended up uh potentially being one of the most important things I've ever Done and I want to share why because this breakthrough or aha moment if you will was exactly what I needed when I needed to hear it so this episode's going to be a little different than usual but I feel compelled to pass it along so to set the scene I arrived with a friend of mine to the instructor Jen's location she gave us an overview kind of explaining what the next hour is going

to look like and handed me a notebook to write down my goal for the session and The notebook becomes pretty important as the story goes on but I opened it and I wrote what I'd like to use the session to reflect on it happened to be uh the walls that I have a tendency to build around myself right that day that felt like the most pertinent obstacle in my life I saw it as an opportunity to push back against that reality that human beings love to create normal and then latch on to it and That's

not ideal cuz when we do that we stop looking for places to grow we stop pushing we stop seeking to live life to the fullest in other words we settle and so I wrote that down I closed the notebook laid back on this incredible uh fuzzy blanket and the music got turned on we began the breathing pattern in in out in in out Jen started guiding us verbally Taking us back to a conversation with our younger selves the Journey had begun and this is the part where things get really interesting because uh my thoughts really

did feel like some strange mix of dreaming and hallucinating just from breath work but at some point she referenced the need to let go and said the words you know we weren't meant to suffer or hold on to Suffering and that really cut deep because I know there are so many places where I've rationalized continuous suffering in my life I'd speculate that in some way we all do when the hard thing or the uncomfortable thing you know when they stop being stepping stones and instead just become the way things are becomes a concession hey this

doesn't feel good but it's my life This person holds me down but it's how things are I don't like doing this every day it eats at me but hey life am I right that's learned helplessness it hides in the corners in the nooks and crannies of Life subtle enough that we don't give it much thought and I imagined very vividly climbing down a ladder placed on the edge of this Dark Canyon that went straight Down down down down everything my entire landscape was black and white there was Zero color except for the Rays of light

barely visible at the bottom all the way down as I descended into the canyon the colors that get a little stronger a little brighter as if every step put a little more Vibrance into my life each move down made things a little clear the ladder becoming quicker and quicker eventually turning into a slide that brought me down to the base of the canyon where upon landing and standing up everything was illuminated fields of sunflowers waterfalls Birds chirping the sun shining and it was there in that moment I realized my intention for the class The one

I wrote down in that little notebook well it missed the mark not in the sense of being incorrect or wrong necessarily but it it simply wasn't enough see at the root of it all or at the bottom of that Canyon existed life with the courage to love yourself not just accept yourself not just be okay with your existence but love yourself with all your faults and your struggle with all your mistakes and your History became clear to me how much changes when you love with all your heart the person staring back at you in the

mirror the opinions of others they do not guide your decisionmaking how could they how could others know you better than you in fact those opinions are part of the black and white landscape to be left behind at the top of the mountain the consistent suffering you've Become accustomed to the Learned helplessness you endure that's not acceptable to someone who truly loves him or herself loving yourself means pushing away that which is not you it's finding that ladder down to the beautiful world of authenticity and Truth The Magic of being aligned with what really matters and

what's funny is I can talk About breaking down barriers they should be broken down I can talk about stepping into fear because it should be confronted I can talk about finding a way out when we're stuck and a way up when we're down I can talk about all of that every day of my life but none of it matters if you don't learn to fully love the reflection in the mirror more More than you ever thought you could think about the gift you could give to that younger version of yourself think about what you could

give to those close to you your family your friends think about what you could do for the world if you left those black and white concessions behind you and lived a life true to yourself it is of course not always easy but I learned that day that it is the North Star it's what we build Upon so before we ask how to shape the world around us maybe we should be asking how do we embrace the one within us maybe we should learn to love ourselves so deeply that those walls don't need to be broken

down because in time we'll learn not to build them up in the first place we'll learn that in a world of black and white it is acceptance and trust and confidence and love that gives it color if you build yourself up the world Conforms one of my favorite stories is in Gary Keller's book The one thing towards the end he talks about a father and a son I'm going to kind of paraphrase it and give my my best interpretation here it's been a while since I've read it but in this story there's a father and

a son the father's tucking his son into bed and uh he says son I want you to know tomorrow I took the entire day off and it's going to be you and me and we're Going to play and enjoy the day and have an amazing time and the son is so excited to hear this that he can barely fall asleep right just makes makes his day lights him up so father says good night walks out eventually the kid falls asleep fast forward to the next day bright and early the father's downstairs sitting at his table

he hears his son uh you know the little Little Footsteps sprinting across the hall and he goes here we go down the stairs the Kid comes sits at the kitchen table right across from his father he goes Dad let's go let's go it's time let's go play let's go have fun and uh the father's excited right the dad is ready to rock and roll but he also thinks as many of us have it would be nice to just get 15 or 20 more minutes here to uh enjoy the morning right sip the coffee finished reading

the newspaper and the dad comes up with an idea he says okay son how about this he Rips a page out of the newspaper he's reading and he tears it into about 20 pieces and on this page was uh a globe it was a picture of the Earth he places these 20 pieces of the Earth in front of his son and he says the second you complete this puzzle and you put the Earth or the world back together I'm going to be done with my coffee we'll go right outside and the day will begin right

picks up his newspaper Continues reading smiling to himself thinking hey you know I just earned myself that 15 minutes well sure enough a minute minute and a half goes by he feels a tug on his newspaper he looks up he goes no way son says I'm done I'm done I'm done I finished it he looks over sure enough the puzzle is complete he says son how did you do that and the kid said well a piece fell on the floor right they have a glass kitchen table and he Said and when I went down to

pick it up and I looked up through the glass I could see that on the other side of the globe was a picture of a man and so I put the man together because that was easier the idea being the concept being when you build the man when you put the man together the World falls into place and that right there is I believe one of the most critical things I've ever learned and I'll talk a little bit About when I feel like that light bulb went off for me but that was everything right Jim

ran says it a little bit of a different way again I'm paraphrasing but he says you know it's not getting there it's not the result or the Mountaintop it's who you become along the way it's those instances where you look over your shoulder and you realize during the pursuit throughout the process you've become more capable You've become wiser more competent and that's the ticket to so many doors opening so I want to talk about three things that I believe help you build yourself the first thing is identifying a North are or identifying an ideal which

might seem simple but again it's the simple things that we often Overlook and by the way there's often a hefty price for overlooking them right so that's the first thing identifying the north star the second thing is okay we Have our North Star but what can we say goodbye to what can we cut off that we no longer need and the third thing is once we have that information starting which is a project in and of itself and I'll talk a little bit about uh the mindset behind that first things first identifying your North Star

to me this comes down to a simple understanding you have so much more Control of your life than you think you do and it's not your fault for not thinking that or not seeing that it's just something we do without being conscious and being aware we conform we live the life we feel like we're expected to live I've often talked about in in my videos being 26 years old and that being the moment the turning point for me why well because went to high school to get to a good college to get a good job

to move Up the corporate ladder I was four years into that job and I looked around thinking maybe I don't need to live for the weekend right maybe um I don't need to get up every day feeling obligated to do something that doesn't light me up maybe I have more control over my life than I thought there's an idea that everything around you everything in your life is there because in some way or another you've Allowed it to be there you've said yes to the people you see every day how you spend your time where

you go what you do all those things if they are in your life you know whether it's uh subconsciously or you know very blatantly you have said yes and so it's realizing hey there's something else out there for me that matters that's meaningful you know the the last 10 years it's been the hardest 10 years of My life there's no question bringing something into existence that was not there working to grow it to expand it working to grow myself as a person right but throughout it all I've cultivated meaning I get up in the morning

and I think this matters I have a purpose that I care about that lights me up to me that's the goal and to find that and identify that is everything JRR tolken in Lord of the Rings he says not all who wander are lost we need to give ourselves permission to seek that out to look around and realize hey some of this some of my life some of the things I do every day I'm sure some of it's beautiful right but some of it just happens that's life some of it falls into place and doesn't

make us better and doesn't excite us and has uh nothing to do with where we want to go and so we need to be able to Differentiate those things and and start gravitating towards something that matters the second one is a little bit it's it's quicker it's Associated to the first one right the idea of okay now you have that thing or you have an idea of that North Star find the courage to cut away those things that aren't going to help you get there another form of Freedom that shackle around your uh your ankle

that you've been carrying with you Greg mun his book I scream it from the Mountain tops essentialism was the first person to teach me hey growth is not always acquiring sometimes growth is getting rid of those things we are carrying around we carry too much empty your pockets of the burdens Free Yourself of those things and that again comes back to this awareness it comes back to looking around and doing an audit of how you spend your time and it's mindboggling like to take a day for example and really pay Attention to everything you did

and and try and look into the rationale behind it and where it's taking you a lot of things we do just to do that's what you need to take an axe to it's been said Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication the internet attributes that quote that everybody from Lincoln to uh you know Da Vinci but it's it's absolutely true when you can identify what matters and allow your world to revolve around That magic that's number two and number three is go start which seems easy right you take a step how complicated could that be Perfection fear

not knowing all all those things keep us from moving forward and I want to gift you with this thought that helped me tremendously you're not supposed to know you're not supposed to know how things work out you're not supposed to have the answers you're not supposed to have a Perfect map or game plan life is chaos it's supposed to be messy and the people that get the most from it smile and step into that Abyss knowing they'll pick those pieces up along the way that's not a little detail involved in personal growth that is personal

growth that's the whole thing that's the story you go before you're ready because you'll never be ready and I can find those people I can point to them talking about what they're Going to do if only they're going to start something when X Y and Z happens well that's a forever game you go before you're ready even this studio right this is a new studio it's a new setup just a little Spark to reinvigorate um creativity and production it's like moving things around is it perfect is everything lit up should I be closer to the

camera further from the camera all these things That I'm I'm you know going back and forth with until I hit that ultimate uh you know light bulb moment who cares pick up the mic say something and iterate 10 versions from now 10 videos from now this probably will not be be the same perfect but there will not be 10 videos from now if you don't go and so that's what I encourage you I encourage you to remember that Perfection is just fear and disguise the people that wait for all the answers Before they start they

wait forever your time is now so go so I'm going to leave you with that the beautiful story from Gary Keller's book The one thing when you put the man together the World falls into place so give yourself permission to put the man together the world wants you to win it has all the tools it has everything you need you just got to go put the man together and the world will fall into [Music] Place the said that most men lead lives of quiet desperation and go to the Grave with the song still in them

probably an astute observation as most death is potential put to rest most stories were stories about what could have been perhaps simply because it's easier on the ego to talk about what life could have looked like if you cared enough to Shape it than to have actually put skin in the game and fallen short but there lies the misconception to step into life's chaos with the hopes of taming it is why we're here and yeah obviously it hurts to fail it hurts uh to be vulnerable to put yourself out there especially when it seems as

though all eyes are on you but that Hurt is a fraction of the hurt the road describes falling hurts but it hurts less than wishing you had the courage to fall ridicule it hurts but it hurts less than being the one on the sidelines pointing the finger and simultaneously longing for the courage to take action in their own life what keeps us from Going what keeps us from building we know life is short we know regret is the ultimate pain we know how much opportunity is out there so why why would we not go why

would we designate dreaming to [Music] sleep in his famous man in the arena speech Teddy Roosevelt said this it is not the critic who counts not the man who points out how The strong man stumbles where the doer of Deeds could have done better the credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood who strives valiantly who errors and comes up short again and again because there is no effort without error or shortcoming but who knows the great enthusiasms the great devotions who spends

himself in a worthy Cause who at the best knows in the end the Triumph of high achievement and who at worst if he fails at least he fails while daring greatly so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid Souls who knew neither Victory nor [Music] defeat no one who is content in their own life will go out of their way to bring you down there was never a Critic deeply immersed in their own Journey who Took the time to mock or scoff at the man in the [Music] arena I think our

fear is pointed in the wrong direction it shouldn't be concentrated on or focused on the opinions of those who have not yet themselves walked through those doors no the fear should be letting life go by without ourselves walking Through the fear should be contributing to Thor's statistic of quiet desperation the one most men face but you are not most men or most women not because you were given some special power or status but because you decided you can choose not to be like most people basic math taking into account the number of people in the

stands versus the number of people on the stage Or court or in the arena well it tells a tale of Courage anyone can sit in this stand anyone can anyone can from the nose bleeds decide whether to clap or point or Boo or cheer but who suits up and enters the game who looks at the finitude of life and says this is my reason to start building to put it all on the line because if I fail it will mean I was one of the few who looked around and said this isn't Bigger than I

am this world is not predefined it's being built in real time by those willing to walk through the doors and step into the arena not the critics but the doers and look everyone has a thing right I don't know what that thing is for you but you do you probably think about it all the time dream about it every day you probably know it's where your heart is pulling [Music] You do not let your life become a statistic don't you dare go to that graveyard having been someone who held on tighter to excuses than to

What mattered most in your life so go step into the arena and if they Point let them point if they criticize let them criticize your concern conern isn't with those wishing they had the courage to step through those doors themselves it's not about them it's about You it's about understanding the Beauty and the opportunity and the freedom contained in life for those who find the courage to reach out and take it [Music] don't stay down in the ashes use the pieces to build new things don't dwell on what hurts use the lessons to chart a

course to happier Days don't fixate on What's Missing there's an endless supply of what's not there instead Rejoice over and capitalize on what remains don't take Misfortune personally remember that life is neutral it's you who has to decide whether to shrink in its shadow or grow because of it don't compare yourself to people people around you we only see highlight reels we only See the best of our neighbors but they have their demons their problems their struggles too instead compare yourself to who you were yesterday that's the only worthwhile Benchmark don't exhaust time wishing you

had someone else's gifts or natural abilities sure they have theirs but you have yours too explore and go all in on your unique superpowers because that's exactly what They are should you choose to bring them to life don't let the gravity of the moment keep you down you might feel lost or defeated but it's not always about feeling good sometimes it's whether or not we can move forward when we don't don't so step into that unknown knowing sure you might not be at your best but that lives are often defined during our imperfect Moments don't

waste energy on hope the future is a construct an idea that you have no control over and that will make you it slave if you allow it to see the value of right now right now you have the power to change adapt evolve to make things happen right now is all you'll ever have to control build tear down Retreat Advance follow or lead everything is a choice life provides the components to go up or down left or right it's a Perpetual fork In the road endless opportunities but you are the architect you decide what they

become before you can ever get to where you're going you have to decide to [Music] begin you have to acknowledge that what you're chasing means more to you than what you Are leaving [Music] behind and then begins The Greatest Adventure you will ever experience knowing that you have turned someday into right now that the road beneath you is waving you on the wind at your back it pushes you forward there are no guarantees in life but that just might Be what makes it so incredible you'll only go as far as you allow your imagination to

take you whether it's the end of your driveway or where the sun in the ocean intersect [Laughter] [Music] [Music] that thing that gives you butterflies that lights you up that world you see when you close Your eyes chase that with all of your soul Chas it [Music] it's easy it's to brush off life's potential is just outside the realm of possibility to see the ideal as some form of window shopping that you can almost touch a fantasy to be explored when you sit back in your office chair or pass Time in the doctor's office waiting

room but I think these aspirations mean more than that not distractions but a North star not a diversion but the path and by the way I'm not naive about this Pursuit and all that it entails the truth behind it I'd never advocate that what's possible or meant to be is somehow easy in fact I'd argue the only way Something is meant to be is if you're willing to commit to the difficulty in bringing it to life otherwise it wasn't meant to be anything but a missed opportunity because it surely will be a difficult Road and

here's what we come to learn everything of value is difficult you know and in an attempt to oversimplify I often break life down into the easy thing vers the difficult But meaningful thing and in some ways sure that's true but I can also honestly say it would have been more difficult for me to have stayed where I was not moved at all to not have pursued what I believed in it would have been more difficult thinking about that life I could have lived the doors that could have opened and that's just it life is about

choosing your difficult the difficult you seek out Intentionally or the difficult you come and let take control render you helpless and I think when we find ourselves in routines or we've built for ourselves a world you know we know we don't want to live in anymore or we've outgrown it's not that the current is real and the future is not it's that we somewhere along the way decided to face the wrong opponent some adversaries make us Stronger they force us to be more to grow other adversaries or opponents they sit back and they let us

defeat ourselves and that's what we don't want see when the world knocks you down you get to rise again wiser tougher stronger but when you keep yourself down well there's nothing to be gained from that those two opponents they are not the Same I reference my speaking career because for me it's where that transformation is most evident it's Where it All Began my opponent was very much me avoiding opportunities hiding from failure I didn't give life a chance to knock me down and so it didn't how could it I'd already placed myself in chains and

because of that guess what I stayed the same I couldn't evolve my Ideal future was an idea that would briefly entertain me from time to time and move right on it wasn't until I Found the courage to switch my opponent from myself to the world I let life humble me I gave talks where I was nervous and had cold feet Keynotes where my delivery was mediocre at best where I barely got by but with these battles came metaphorical riches came that trust that had to be manufactured that confidence That had to be earned when I

got out of my own way I was able to let the trials and tribulations of Life create a new foundation for me to stand on to re Define reality and the good news is that anyone can do that anyone can ask that question is something external in my way right now that I need to figure out that I need to solve or am I in my own way am I not Even giving myself a shot have I settled for right now as truth when right now is just the less ideal difficult when I was little

playing action figures with my buddy up the street we used to think was cool to see around corners to see through walls to know what was coming before it arrived right for action figures Absolutely in superhero movies why not but in the journey through life you don't need to see around corners in fact it's counterproductive because it is the interaction with the unknown that matters it's adjusting amidst life's uncertainty that comes to make you who you are transforms you and your reality as far as I'm concerned the only way to lose is to remain behind

that Corner p ing out every now and then hoping to get some kind of advantage or shortcut willing to let life pass you by while you wait for the stars to align thinking that that vision of an ideal life will stroll along the sidewalk see you and reach out a hand that wait will be a long one unproductive and difficult more difficult than trusting yourself to face whatever lurks around that corner so Remember that who you are is built and every time you do something a little bit scary or unsettling every time you wander a

step or two outside of your comfort zone the reward is not just the short-term Triumph you feel as you leap frog that obstacle and carry on no you are investing in a new you a new reality you're investing in something changing before your very eyes putting a little Marble in a jar that is your potential and you can't see it not now no one's going to announce it to you you might not even realize or understand until you look back years down the road but those little acts of courage they matter more than you know

they're not trivial and they are certainly not insignificant [Music] when that movie plays in your head and you think to yourself I wish or If only and the Delta between that image and the reality on the ground disappoints you gives you a little knot in your stomach or dissatisfaction that floats around in your thoughts remember that that feeling is transferable that difficult can be exchange for one that actually changes things you can get off the merrygoround and towards a new North Star difficult yes but we've seen the goal is not to Avoid difficult it's to

pick the difficult that will transform your life it's to find meaning in a world that if you do not pay attention will paint your landscape with routine and obligation and today can certainly be a continuation of that script a box that's checked a calendar square with an X or it can be the beginning of something that gives you butterflies that lights you Up that brings you one step closer to the world you see when you close your eyes [Music] [Music] one of life's greatest lessons is that yesterday is only as powerful as we allow it

to be yesterday is an idea a story a movie that started and ended now it's quite possible that story or that ending is disappointing or it Hurts to look back on perhaps a reminder of something that wasn't ideal something you want to break away from so the question is why do we give that old story power why do we relive it create this self-inflicted wound see the past undoubtedly played a critical role it brought you to where you are now it in many ways shaped your world view constitutes your beliefs it was the very road

to this moment and there's value in That but imagine this scenario imagine stepping into your car turning the keys and thinking to yourself that you can in this very moment only drive down the roads you drove on yesterday only associate with the street signs you know the places you've already gone your reality now is determined by what you've already done so adjust and get used to it you would say that's outrageous right yesterday's path has nothing to do with where I'm going now just like a boat's Wake trailing off behind it has nothing to do

with where it's going next the person holding the wheel controls that we are saturated with freedom there is so much opportunity and possibility and potential in front of us that we fail to see because we can't stop thinking about that fictitious story we call yesterday we confuse the path we took then for the one we need now the Wake from the steering wheel what is and that story About what was the gateway to change is unshackling ourselves from those imaginary monsters and more often than not the answer isn't in finding some solution it's in cutting

ties with those things that no longer serve us then we see the world as it truly is then we see the magic laid out before us and I get that it's easier said than done leaving a part of us behind Hurts looking in the mirror and being vulnerable enough to say I can be more than this it's not easy but it's possible and everything starts with how we see ourselves and when we remain captives to the past everything about who we think ourselves to be is outdated we're neglecting one of our superpowers the Perpetual ability

to restart one of the most important conversations I've ever had was on this topic seemed trivial at the time but I Was having lunch with a friend and we're talking and I mentioned to her that I was full and she goes well then why are you still eating and I'm like cuz I paid for it right I wanted to get my money's worth and she says in a very you know pragmatic way Eddie just cuz you paid for it doesn't mean you need to eat it right it's a sunk cost why don't you move on

and the whole thing seems silly right it's like yeah if you're not hungry Don't eat move on but in the grand scheme of things how many of us keep on consuming that which doesn't serve us how many of us stay too long when we should be letting go we let the path behind us dictate the one before us see there's a tendency to overvalue what we know to feel so invested in how things are even when we're not happy or it's not healthy that we'll take the pain of now Over the potential for something greater

and that's precisely why the unknown is so terrifying it's not concrete it's a world unsettled and man do we hate being unsettled but what we failed to realize is that every time we close our eyes take a breath and work up the courage to step into that unknown to leave yesterday behind us life gives us new pieces it resets the stage it provides new tools to build Something incredible something more ideal more conducive to our goals our hopes and our dreams and the the thought is well but but what if things become worse than they

are right now what if I move forward and I find myself more confused more lost what if things are are more chaotic and that may for a moment be true but what we do is we adjust we learn things we never knew we see things Through a lens that we never could touch things that we never thought EX existed it wasn't in staying but in leaving that we rediscovered who we were meant to be that we allowed our truest selves to flourish in worst case scenario contrary to popular belief it's not that the world ends

no the worst case scenario should you find the courage to move forward is that you end up right back where you started a little more confident a little Bolder and Better prepared to live this life like you never had all that's needed is for you to convince yourself that there is more you just need to taste the fruit step into the sunlight that's the difference between reality and the story in your head reality is that this world has for you everything you need to change to grow explore build a life that means something it has

the support structures And the resources for you to pull yourself back up every time you fall to say okay that hurt but now let's try a different angle there is undoubtedly what you need and the question is never whether the X on that treasure map exists trust me it's there the question is whether you can pause that story in your head the tales of a dark mean and scary world trying to hold you down pause the idea that you're nothing more than the You of yesterday you're nothing more than how people knew you to be

pause the idea that you're nothing without that job title or that relationship pause the idea that you need him or her or them in your life every day you wake up you are a blank canvas who cares about yesterday what do you want to paint now when you walk out your front door where do you want to go now step outside that Circle of familiarity see how artificial and in Some cases ridiculous these boundaries are that we place around ourselves life is an invitation not a set of requirements and when you free yourself of that

not only will you feel like someone new not only will you experience life as it was meant to to be experienced but you'll see that this world will conform to your new definition this world wants to support you it wants to lift you up and yeah it May be challenging and strenuous it may force you to work harder and be braver than you've ever been but it is at the end of the day your ally you just have to see your future self before it materializes when no one else gets it so move on from

all that does not serve you break away from the old rules regulations and guidelines maybe you exhausted time and energy into creating this reality maybe it feels like a Monumental piece of your identity maybe Right now is the only security you have fine but my hope is that you can respect it and walk away see it as the sunken cost that it is just because you paid to get there doesn't mean you need to keep paying to make wrong decisions just because it took your your time doesn't mean it's entitled to keep stealing your time

just because it's part of your identity now doesn't mean it must be tomorrow just because it creates security doesn't mean it's right jails And steel bars are also incredibly secure no today we are breaking free leaving the past in the past and setting our sights on the horizon today is the end of yesterday and the beginning beginning of the rest of your [Music] life that to find ourselves requires we must first lose ourselves is I believe Life's greatest Paradox leaving that Carousel of Comfort the predictability of what we know the certainty of who we believe

ourselves to be for a promise with no real guarantee of being kept well it's nothing short of irrational are the odds in our favor perhaps not but by stepping off by placing our bets on a different track with a different prize at a different time we have increased those odds from zero to Well I guess we decide and see the world teaches us that it's advantageous to [Music] spin a spinning Carousel is predictable it can't be cheated there's very little room for loss or humiliation or setbacks or even life to get in the way you

know where you start and you know where you end and that's just the thing this spinning world is so easy that people don't want to leave in fact it's not Until you walk away from the crowd that you even face the unknown and that's precisely why it's so hard to walk alone it's hard it's challenging because of the now not because the now can't be measured or understood no we get it but because there's this little whisper in the back of our heads that the now might go on and on and on forever that that

check will never be Cashed the summit never reached no just footsteps down a perpetually long windy road and that's you know when maybe just maybe we miss that carousel we miss the Safety and Security and that's what sometimes makes it such a stressful thing to walk alone we think about all of ourselves our mind our heart we've left behind along the way truths we now have to face things they never taught us on that Carousel we had to learn that we were Wrong about who'd be by our our side through it all we could no

longer hide behind the notion that when things got tough someday everyone everything would be there would be the [Music] same we learn to swim by jumping into the deep end seeing in real time that people only believe what already exists what's put in front of them that ideas are empty that a dream is a language only spoken by its creator and if you Want it to mean anything you must dedicate your life life to translating it we learn how much is backwards how much of life is reactive that success is being one of the few

who don't react but build a world to react to and in the thick of it all to internalize the process because talking well talking does nothing plans are just potential energy confined to your pocket you have to be okay growing that seed by yourself like a making her way past a Crowd right the crowd sees calm sees peace sees the Finesse of an athlete Gliding Over the pavement they have no idea the war being fought behind her eyes the silencing of constant Whispers to slow down to do less the repression of pain that consumes her

to such an extent it can't even really be pinpointed it just kind of floats over her body they'll never know that and what we Learn is that they don't need to it's the truth and see it's also what makes it quite lonely to walk alone walking alone well it's it's a lot of things but it's never boring it's never dull and if you can hang in there long enough without even noticing the head wind you've been fighting it becomes a tailwind and where we may have felt Alone the idea pops into our heads that maybe

that's not quite right if anything the wind at our back is now momentum it's a partner along the way that Carousel yeah it's still spinning but somewhere else some far off place beyond our field of vision and know things don't ever become easy we wouldn't want that but difficulty is interpreted differently now not a Burden but a cost and one we'd gladly continue to pay and that space that once felt so empty so desolate so helpless well now it's made up of people who see what you see who hopped off their own carousels and wandered

through the desert they too navigated through the impossible and the never been done it's funny how at some point we Always find each other and I suppose now having traded the carousels for the adventure we can walk alone together us against the world standing up in defiance of the odd chasing that glimmer of hope all in on a pursuit to find what most won't and see what most can't not because we were made different but because we chase down the idea of Different it gets a tough rap walking alone and in so many ways it's

a fight it takes all of you but you don't come out the same person you were when you stepped in the same person you'd still be today had you stayed on that Carousel so if you are still spinning step off and if you have if you're still adjusting to the discomfort of Reality if you're making your way through the hell of uncertainty or questioning whether you have what it takes or have the strength to commit I promise you do in fact you're right where you need to be so don't be distracted by those screaming of

their successes or communicating capturing every small wind as they make their way around the carousel It's the quiet ones who change themselves the ones who take life one step at a time one battle at a time who redefine reality and I'm sure you can't see it now no one can no one can see the sun amidst the storm but you'll emerge stronger than you ever were you will navigate towards the ideal and away from that life you once settled for it's a long path but it's worth it so get Up and let your feet guide

the way let's go walk alone [Music] [Music] I woke up last night and I remembered my debt to you being that I stand by the promises that I make I jumped out of bed and I walked over to my desk I turned on a light and I began writing at a minimum to explain myself But at best case scenario to provide some reassurance that every storm ends that nothing is forever and that someday without question I'll make you proud see things haven't been the easiest lately and it's funny sometimes things seem so intuitive sometimes they

make so much sense and then sometimes it feels like you open up a novel right in the middle And it's in a language you can't read you know life feels more complex than it really is and I feel smaller than I really am but don't be concerned I've fought my way through worse I promise you you'll be satisfied with the result and yeah you might have noticed that sometimes I face the Obstacle of of juggling two sets of Standards you know two definitions of success mine in the world what I love and what matters to

me Versus what will increase my status my standing in society and honestly it pulls me in two different directions sometimes makes me think back to years past and that that discomfort of experience you know standing on an empty Foundation but believing someday something meaningful would stand there realizing that when you put your head down and when you block out the Noise you can finally hear the most powerful voice of all your own that's why you take in the short term to acquire meaning in the long term I've found that courage before and I'll find it

again any second now don't you worry and sure you know you might have seen that every once in a while I forget about life's abundance I mean I just do I know it's true but it feels sometimes like the World pushes me to Forget You know I start comparing myself to other people and I start thinking about what I could lose what people might say about what could go wrong it's like sure I know I'm the gatekeeper to my own mind I understand that in fact I cherish the idea but I guess sometimes doubt catches

that gatekeeper napping and slips through I always catch him eventually Though I've had doubts before and really all I did was keep moving by them kind of like that time I went snorkeling in kilargo you had to to make your way through this jellyfish field to see an underwater statue my first thought was this is crazy but then you move in and you realize they just exist they don't have control or an agenda and if you find the courage they become meaningless you can float right By them so don't worry I'll swim through and you'll

see me on the other end and and I will catch that view not for Facebook or for Instagram because in a way I owe it to myself and I owe it to you I didn't make these promises to run when things got challenging I made them because they meant something and yeah from the outside in things are not perfect I get that I Understand but if you just hang tight if you just remember that I've been there before I've climbed out I've come back in fact the deeper the valley and the darker the night the

clearer the answer always becomes when I emerge and it may be a journey but however long it takes I've gotten there and I have to admit yeah it feels funny writing a letter to myself but I need you now more than ever you've always been my toughest critic and I Appreciate that but now I need you to be my biggest fan to remind me that life can be confusing and seemingly contradictory uncertain and even chaotic but that doesn't mean I'm not right where I need to be right where we need to be and if you'll

just believe in me if you'll hop along for this ride you'll see that as sure as I'm sitting here writing to you now I will make you proud [Music]