Listen To This When You're Ready To Change

When you're at your lowest point, you are often without realizing it, positioning yourself to arrive at your highest point. Potential energy accumulating to propel you through an atmosphere of new beginnings. See, I believe our adversity is life asking that we submerge and dive deep. Sometimes very deep. Just to remember how badly we need that oxygen above. So that when we again come up for air and we will, we notice the warmth of the sun on our face and the calming sound of the waves crashing on the beach. You don't make the most of what's around you until you recognize that what's around you is the opportunity. And so life reminds us, a taxing reminder. Right? It rarely gives without first taking away. It rarely opens new doors without closing old ones. And that to put it simply can hurt. They don't teach you in school that growth is painful. But as it turns out, a life without growth isn't much of a life at all. And so we must dive deep. We're given no other choice. Without night, there is no day. Without suffering, there is no beauty. Without those depths below. There is no surface above. Our submergence is our transformation. The cocoon that separates who we were from who we will be. But unlike the butterfly, it doesn't just evolve once. Our journey requires that we are continuously growing a new pair of wings. Life is chaos. Life is unpredictable. Life is hard, but you were built to not only endure in its arena, you were put here to excel. To learn the rules and then expand upon the rules. Sometimes break the rules. You were put here to take the difficulty and provide meaning to it. Piece by piece is if it were the construction of a rocket to the moon. Little pieces of at one point frustration and confusion and chaos combined reused and transformed into exactly what you need them to be. Emergent properties. You just have to be willing to see beyond the now and assemble. To come up for air and soak in all that awaits at the surface like you've never done before. The other day, I was texting with a friend of mine. I don't know where she goes, what's wrong? I'm thinking nothing, right? I haven't said anything. You know, what do you mean? She's adamant, right? She goes something feels off. I thought about it. I realized, yeah, she's pointing out something I've known for a little bit here. Something is up. I'm hiding from myself. I feel a little burnt out, a little tired. Certain areas of my life have become unevenly distributed. In fact, I was flirting with that saying I've always feared doing most. Simply going through the motions. That scared me. I don't want this. Right? I've come too far to feel like this. I'm better than this. How do I fix it? How do I solve it now? Figure it out now. Eventually came to realize the now part. Just might be the whole problem. Fix the now. Like it's a headache and me shaking my fist at the sky will be ibuprofen. No, battling imperfection is a fool's error. It's setting yourself up for disaster. We are humans, not gods. We are perfectly imperfect. And when something is off, don't fight, listen. Don't retract, expand. Here is the opportunity. I'm under the surface, diving down into the depths of my own soul. Here what it has to say. So that when I come up for air and I will, the sun will warn my face like it never has. The crashing waves will offer a symphony to my ears that I've never heard. It all see that the world I'm taking in is more a reflection of me than of it. As that saying goes, you don't see the world as it is. You see the world as you are. And how lucky to have taken a step back, a trip below the surface to realize again that I am the painter, not the critic. My world had become black and white, not because we live in a black and white world. But because sometimes we forget to put the color in. Sometimes we don't give ourselves permission to expand beyond the parameters we've created for ourselves. So with the breath and the oxygen will come a new appreciation, a liberating gratitude. There's nothing so sweet as remembering that both the castles in the air and the chains at our feet are imaginary. And hey, you get to choose which one to believe in. See what time has taught me is that there is strength in our vulnerability. In the times we fall or lose ourselves. And I know the inclination is to panic. Perhaps, assess too quickly. To not hear but talk, to not listen but attempt to solve. Which leads to the application of band-aids on bullet wounds. When we are low, when we are lost, it's our chance to better understand ourselves. It's the metaphorical equipment room where we stock up prior to our next descent. And if I could emphasize one thing, it would be that our perceived understanding of life, it oscillates. Sometimes we feel like we get it. We do. And sometimes we feel like we're sprinting with our eyes closed. It's a riddle we will never fully come to solve. But I do know one thing. We can't change the unpredictability of the world. But by observing, by listening, by getting back up, we can change ourselves. By recognizing our strength, we can utilize the downtime. As they are the education we've been longing for. Remember the world does not and will not ask perfection of you. So don't ask perfection of it. You were built to endure, to overcome and to recreate yourself. Losing your wings will never be the problem. It's forgetting that they must be regrown. That is the problem. So step out. Rise to the surface of your world and breathe. Take in the surroundings that will become your resurrection story if you let them. What's up guys, Eddie here. And before we jump into the next chapter, just a quick note. So as many of you know, every single video that I've ever put on this channel has been created with the intent of building momentum in your life. If you want something physical to anchor that momentum, we've created the brand A-G-N-S or always grateful, never satisfied for that exact reason. Athletic apparel that embodies the very ideas and concepts I talk about every day. Because you're watching on YouTube or Spotify, we've created a code for this exclusive community. Y-W-W-20. You can use that on the website, A-G-N-S. or right under this video on YouTube, all this stuff is there in the shop. Again, code Y-W-W-20 gets you 20% off the entire channel. entire store. It's a great way to support the channel and also elevate your journey. Let it be a reminder to keep showing up. Appreciate your time. Always grateful. Never satisfied. On to the next. A cheat code in life is understanding the significance of getting to one. Because if you can get one, you can absolutely get two. And if you can get two, you can get three, four, five, five thousand, five hundred thousand or five million. Once you realize that something is possible, you're no longer the same person you once were. Your hands need not be held to the sky as though the universe is going to drop something into them. No, you've cracked the code. You have the info. And the burden has now been placed directly onto your shoulders. That little question, is this possible dissipates? Getting to one was your proof of that. And then the obvious accompanying question, now what are you going to do about it? What are you going to do? Because the race isn't to one million, it's to one. One is the power. One is the reassurance. One is everything you need. If you can sell one painting, you can sell 50,000 paintings. If you can make one three pointer, you can make thousands of three pointers. If you can create one genius marketing video that goes viral, you can create hundreds, thousands, millions. Again, the evidence, you got one. Anything beyond one is procedural. It's a testing of methods. It's becoming relentless in your pursuit to repeat the process with the pieces that you're disposal. But make no mistake, those pieces are there. Everything you need is there. So long as you get to one. I had to recently break through to this realization. Like so many of us, I'm an ambitious person. I love the game. I want to add value to more people, reach more listeners, generate more revenue, scale impact, all that stuff, of course. But for a while, I just couldn't figure out how. I became almost disillusioned. What am I doing wrong? Maybe. What if maybe, do I dare say, do I dare even think for a second that I've gone as far as I can go? But, ultimately, rescued. Rescued by the realization that I was asking the world for things I didn't have instead of leveraging what I did. I needed to separate the value I possessed from the logistics that would transport it. Because, and this is what we forget, I've already performed my miracle. I've added value to one person, and if you can add value to one, why not ten? And why not ten million? It's not a product issue. It's a scaling question. The car works. Figure out how to get it to the racetrack. The tool is effective. Now get it into the hands of the builders. You see the difference, the confidence that comes with that? Instead of doubting all that you bring to the world, asking yourself if more is possible. You say, "Yeah, of course it is, because I've already done it. Here is my proof." Now, what's around me that I can use to deliver it? How can I try things? Reposition things. Figure out how to scale and get further, but I know it's possible. So many of us have already gotten to one, we're adding value. We're doing what we believe in. But we're asking the wrong question. We're still asking whether more is possible. It is. The burden is just on you to bring it to fruition. The burden is on you to find a way to scale the value contained in your one thing. And by the way, if you haven't arrived at one yet, buckle up. Getting to one was one of the best periods of my life, finding your value proposition, enjoying the process, exploring, finding that intersection of value and personal contentment. You'll eventually arrive there. But remember for you, the goal is not one million, it's one. One idea that works, one approach that lights you up, one action that opens your eyes to the upside that makes the world better to those around you. When you found your one thing, when you know it makes a difference, then you move on to the scaling chapter, right? Then how do we turn one into one million? But they're two different questions. So remember that moving forward. No matter how stuck you feel, if you have one, you simultaneously have a little seed capable of producing infinity. It just needs attention. Trust yourself to work through the logistics because that's all it is. Transform the if into how, and start building that staircase straight to the moon. The hard thing brought me through hell, but also to that which exists on the other side. The hard thing prompted me to question and doubt, but also provided the pieces I used to build my confidence little by little. It made me ask the tough questions. The ones maybe I didn't want to hear the answer to, but also gave me the power to transform those answers I didn't like. The hard thing meant forfitting being the expert in my world, an exchange for the role of student in a foreign arena. It gave me new ladders to climb new possibilities to reach for. It showed that true growth requires a willingness to be the beginner. It took some people out of my arms, my circle, my work, and in some cases my life altogether, but always seemed to open the door to those souls better aligned, so those conducive to the journey and the process. Let's remember what the hard thing is. Beyond the pain, because we all know it does bring that. Beyond the challenges, because there are certainly many. Beyond all that exists the hope and the change and the promise. Robert Frost says the best way out is always through. Through because it's the chaos, the haze, the darkness of night that shapes us. It's in being broken, that we learn to rebuild our world with the pieces, and perhaps most importantly, we learn that such a rebuilding process is possible to begin with, that the now is not mandatory or permanent. The hard thing, as it turns out, is nothing more than a transaction. Turbulence for the view above the clouds, fear in the moment for confidence in the future. It's learning that, although life sometimes appears to paint a picture of conformity and helplessness, there's always a path leading to the very place we need to go. It just asks, we find the courage to walk it. Churchill has said, "The pessimist sees difficulty in every opportunity, the optimist sees opportunity in every difficulty." And this beautiful message rings true. Because from the difficulty is the advantage, and sure our first instinct is to see the problem. Our eyes tend to initially fixate on that which is unfortunate. But beyond that is where we get the most incredible things life provides, as if one is removing the shell or outer layer in order to get to the nutrients in the center, the ingredients required for growth, the pieces necessary to experience life at its fullest. And so we must be reminded that those opportunities, they're not rare, they're not reserved for Everyone but you, they just tend to disguise themselves as the things we're most inclined to disregard or walk by. But if one finds the courage to move into them, through them, if one can see the difficulty not as a deterrent but as a bargain, they'll be given everything on the other side. Reality is not changed with a magic wand or the granting of a wish. It's from staring down the hard thing and moving directly into it one little step at a time. You know, one of the hardest things to do is to walk away from a situation that's just okay. That's fine, it's doable, livable. There's an idea that the enemy of great isn't its inverse. The enemy of great is not average or insignificant or, I don't know, throwing any similar word. No, the enemy of great is good. Why? Because it's incredibly easy to rationalize good. It's incredibly easy to sit back and tell yourself, hey, things aren't currently broken, so why touch them? Leave it alone. It's a dangerous place to be. Comfort doesn't on its own initiate action or evolution. There has to be some sort of stressor to ignite the flame. And I'll get a response, you know, every now and then, truly in good faith, asking, "Well, what's wrong with average? Why can't I just be? Not everyone can be LeBron James or Adele or Denzel Washington. Eddie, this convo sends people down a path of false hope." Well, hear me out. Because I'm certainly not saying everyone can be LeBron James. But they can most definitely be LeBron James in their own world. And instead, are settling for some sort of bench role. I'm not saying, if you're not a movie star making $20 million dollars of film you've lost. Now merely pointing out that perhaps you haven't even found the courage to star in your own movie. The one that is your life. And I can't speak for every human being on the planet here, but I most certainly can speak for myself. The easiest thing for me, the temptation I always find myself grappling with, is the temptation to stay where I am, to accept things as they are, past change-off as something that's just a little bit out of my control. That's what my lizard brain always seems to want. It's really nice to not have to feel the burden of knowing I can change things around me. Right, that prospect of creating my own friction, my own chaos, so that I can, in a sense, tame it and elevate myself. I can be overwhelming. That's stressful. But you know what it is at the end of the day? It's thrilling. It's meaningful. And it may have taken me years to understand. It's a trade, a safe life, for a meaningful one any day. It was my coming to understand that statistically we should not be here. The odds are so small that you're alive listening to this, that the word improbability doesn't do it justice. It's a miracle in every sense of the word. And so what do we do about that? How do you explain a feeling? How do you explain the cost of not going? A fewer sunrises? Less laughter, untapped creativity. Unwarked paths, journeys never started. You can't. Which is why you have to go. Good is not detrimental because it's insufficient. It's detrimental because it gives you just enough to make stepping out into the world to feel illogical. It's a warm blanket, keeping you comfortable enough to forfeit that feeling you truly crave. And I hope it's clear my take in this is not that we aren't enough. It's that we have to be reminded that our biological compass points towards survival. And survival is a game of stagnation. Our souls on the other hand, they need to run. To seek out the magnificence of life. And the more times we can be tapped on the shoulder and reminded of this, the better. See, I don't dream of new horizons because I'm ungrateful. I've learned to chase them down because I'm so grateful that I refuse to forfeit the gift. To leave my curiosity packaged and confined, I want to bask in life's abundance before my time here is up. And that's just it. That's the whole point. The friction between the knowing and the doing. Making that happen, physically bringing yourself there. It's not an easy thing. Certainly not as easy as putting your feet up and rationalizing the status quo. It's why I listen to voices that inspire me, read stories that teach me, I talk to people who lift me up. Going is harder than staying. But meaning resides in the going. So no, it's not about being LeBron James. It's about getting off the bench and at least shooting a shot. Whatever a shot means to you, wherever you are because if you don't, you'll never experience the thrill of having made one, of having felt that success. It's not about what you're doing. It's about what you're leaving on the table. Is average terrible? I don't know. Is a Ferrari never taken out of its garage terrible? Not really, it's still a Ferrari, but it won't experience the very thing that Ferrari was designed to experience. Again, how do you quantify that? You can't. Not until you go. So here's the stepping out of whatever the present definition of normalcy is in your world. Maybe not frantically changing the world around you, but certainly questioning the good, questioning yourself, questioning the Rogeron. Has the routine overshadowed the reason you put the routine into place? Has the way things are come to outweigh the way you'd like them to be? Has good become a distraction, mistraryting you away from both life's brilliance and your own? [Music]