You Have One Life. Don’t Waste It.

Sometimes I ask myself a question, it feels dramatic at first, but the longer I sit with it the more practical it becomes. It's this. If today were my last day, what would I feel? And there's a lot packed into that question, right? What would I regret? What would I be proud of? Who would come to mind immediately? What would suddenly feel important in what would fall away the moment time became real? And every time I run through that thought experiment, I notice the same thing. The answers are never complicated. In fact, they're actually very clear, which brings to light another uncomfortable truth necessarily, because if we already know what would matter in the end, then why does so many of our days look nothing like it? Why is there such a delta between what we know would make us happy and how we live? And not necessarily in dramatic ways, right? Sometimes in subtle ones, in the way we rush, in the way we default, and how easily we trade meaning from a mental. Now, this is not a rant about the world. It's not a complaint about society or an opportunity to shake your fist at the sky. It's a mirror. Because most of us, we don't lose ourselves all at once, or we lose ourselves quietly by living in ways that don't leave a mark. There have been seasons in my life, plenty, right? There will probably be more down the road, where from the outside, everything looked fine, I was doing what I was supposed to. I was hitting the marks and keeping pace, and nothing was technically wrong, right? But hindsight's 2020, and nothing was particularly memorable either. And that's the thing worthy of note, right? Sometimes the danger is not failure, it's not falling, it's not some monumental catastrophe. It's forgetability. It's like blending into the background in our own lives because the background is safe. Can't screw up when you're not on stage. It's hard to fall when you're just standing still, right? That's safety. But years later, when I think back to those seasons, there's nothing that stands out there. There's no texture at all. It's just, I don't know, existing days blending into weeks and months to solving into years. You think about this, and that's when it hits. It's like when we blend in too well, even our own memories lose contrast. We don't fall off course. We drift. Taken by an unremarkable current into nothingness. When you imagine looking back on your life someday, what do you actually think you'll remember? Because I'm guessing it won't be the things that fit neatly. You probably won't remember the meetings. You won't remember the routines you never question. You'll remember moments, specific moments. Moments were something shifted, where you chose differently, where you stepped off the path you were supposed to be on. And those moments tend to have something in common. They didn't feel normal at the time. They felt uncertain. They felt uncomfortable. They felt a little strange or out there. There was that feeling in your stomach like, "Oh man, this deviates from everything I've done in the past." I hope this is okay. I hope it works out. In that initial sensation, I've learned is not a deterrent. It's a key. It's a sign. It's a green light. This morning I was laying in bed half awake, listening to music as the day started to come into focus. And it wasn't necessarily to be productive. The goal wasn't to motivate myself. I just wanted to be present. And a song came on acoustic piano. It was a pretty niche song by Owl City. It's called Be Brave. And there's a line in it that stopped me cold. It gave me this feeling, right? Like, this matters. And I'm not sure why it matters, but it matters. And I spent some time thinking about it. The line was, "Ain't life beautiful and strange." One of those lines that hits you before you can explain it. And the reason it hit me wasn't because it was poetic or beautiful to hear, just because I somehow knew it was accurate. See, we tend to treat strange as a problem, right? Strange. Something to fix. Something to avoid. If someone acts out of character, we say they're being strange. If life doesn't go as planned, we call it strange and usually not kindly. So I look it up. Strange, unusual or surprising in a way that's unsettling or hard to understand. Okay, check. Then I looked up beauty, something that evokes admiration, meaning a deep appreciation. And it clicked. Those things are an opposite. They're partners. They need each other. Without strangeness beauty has no depth. Without strangeness beauty's decorative. It's safe. It's forgettable. The things that matter most in life, whether it's love, growth, time, creativity, identity, they're beautiful because they are strange. They're out there. They're different. They deviate from the norm. They resist control. They don't come with instructions. They don't make sense until later. That's not a flaw. That's the point entirely. You know, when you look back on your life, what matters won't be what followed the blueprint. You won't be what blended in seamlessly. What could exist in the shadows behind the curtain. What matters in the end is what dared to be different. What was beautiful and strange. That's not poetry. That's memory. Think about it. The moments that stay with you, the moments that still feel alive when you recall them, they aren't the ones that made sense. They were the moments where you stepped into uncertainty. Where you trusted something you couldn't fully justify. Where you chose honesty over approval. And at the time, that may have felt reckless. Again, referencing that feeling in your stomach, a little alarming. You start to feel like, wow, there are things that can go wrong here. And looking back, you understand those moments. Well, they were essential. But here's where we get it wrong. Because we know this intuitively. We know that what lasts is what stands out. And yet, we spend so much of our lives trying to recreate what already exists, trying to fit into templates, trying to smooth out our edges, check our boxes, trying to look normal. But normal doesn't survive memory. Different does. Strange does. I'm a believer that life isn't meant to be copied, it's meant to be shaped. And the raw material you're given isn't certainty, it's absurdity. It's a life that's so complex and feels so beyond us. Sometimes it's hard to even begin with what to make of it. It's unexpected terms unanswered questions, moments that don't fit the narrative you planned, turns out they're not interruptions or detours, they are clay, they are the way. And the task isn't to eliminate is to have the courage to mold yourself from it. I feel like every meaningful life I've ever admired has the same fingerprint. It's never perfection. Never predictability. It's always originality. We don't celebrate with statues, people that blended in, that did nothing extraordinary, that didn't push themselves out of the box. No, it's a willingness to step into a didn't quite make sense yet. Which is heavy as you're making that step. It's not lost on me that the things that mean the most are the scariest in the moment. The things that call to us simultaneously terrify us. It's like the cost of admission. You want the most out of this life? Fine. You have to be willing when you step up to that line. Your knees shake and your palms sweat to step forward regardless. It's an acceptance that confusion isn't a sign you're lost. It's often a sign you're early. And as time goes by, there emerges this certain kind of peace. I guess it only shows up in hindsight, right? It's not the peace of comfort. It's the peace of alignment. The peace that comes from knowing you didn't betray yourself. The closest I've ever been to heaven wasn't in moments of ease. It was in moments where I chose something true. Before I knew it would work, before it was popular, before it was safe, before it was understood, moments no one else could see, but I could. I heard a quote about 10 years ago by Nisha that I've held close to my heart every single day of my life. Those who were seen dancing were thought to be insane by those who couldn't hear the music. Everything worthwhile is crazy before it's built. Everything that matters starts from nothing. What an absurd notion that is. But see an abnormal or strange life isn't reckless. It's more intentional. It's choosing depth over display, creation, over imitation. An abnormal life is seeing strange as an invitation. Those are the parts that give your life texture, meaning, again, memory. So again, place yourself in that situation, looking back on your life, when all is said and done. The highs, the lows, the peak moments. The parts of your life that mattered probably won't be the ones that looked right. It'll be the moments that felt true. The ones that didn't quite fit, that scared you a little. The ones you didn't understand at the time. What mattered in the end is that it was existed out in the fringes. It's that which was beautiful and strange. So maybe the point isn't to escape life's absurdity, but to let it shape you. To stop trying to blend in with the world that forgets itself. No, live a life of courage. One that will survive as a memory. One, however many years down the road, you'll smile on knowing you could have taken the easy road so many times, but that wasn't you. You were willing to pay the price. To step out of line. To do what you knew to be true, even when it scared you. Pizzaint life, beautiful and strange. 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.Live-style. We'll write 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 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. Life is perspective. So during the good times, find gratitude. And during the difficult times, find the opportunity. When you have the answers when you know, be proud of your knowledge. And when you don't celebrate all the wisdom to come. When the sun is shining, cherish the warmth on your skin. And when it's not, learn to run in the rain. When you're focused, appreciate the clarity. And when life feels chaotic, embrace the chance to man you factor order. When people come into your life, value the ride that you'll share. And when they leave, take note of all they gave along the way. When you win, reflect back on all the hard work that made it possible. And when you lose, take in the lessons that even winning can't provide. When things go as planned, revel in your ability to execute. But when your plans and life's plans diverge, remember that some things are simply outside of your control. And now, this moment is a chance to identify and utilize the things that are in your control. Henry David Thoreau, it's not what you look at, it's what you see. So see the world as you'd like it to be. Never turning a blind eye to reality, but realizing how much control you have over making reality, you're wrong. We are the builders. The world around us merely provides the components and the pieces. And if one were to live as though there were value in every moment, they would inevitably find themselves looking for that value, perhaps even when it was difficult to find most elusive, when most would hang their heads and walk right by it. I look out my window and see a world that is neither valuable or valueless, I see a blank canvas in which we are tasked with making that decision. Life is a roller coaster ride. It has ups and downs, the obvious and the unexpected. And while some think nothing of the high points and dwell on the low points, there are an abundance of resources, of beauty, of joy, reserved for those who understand how great the highs are and how valuable the lows. who take what comes, not as walls to live within, but as parts to assemble, not as antithetical to their hopes and dreams, but as the very foundation they will build those hopes and dreams upon. This world is not for you, just as much as it is entirely yours. It calls for you to be that arbiter, for what you decide will inevitably take shape. The moral is to the physical as three is to one. A quoted attributed to Napoleon Bonaparte regarding his troops morale in battle. Victory starts and ends with mindset. So the myth or story goes, Napoleon had a coin, and he was known, prior to embarking upon particular battles to flip this coin. He would say, "If it lands on heads, my friends, it's not our day. We weren't meant to fight. We'll stay here and fight some other day." However, if it lands on tails, the gods are on our side. We're meant to charge into battle and collect our victory for it is destined. And every time this coin landed on tails, the army would proceed into battle. They would march into the onslaught of oncoming bullets, of weapons and fire raining down on them, and they would collect their victory. And as time passed, Napoleon died, this coin was eventually found. Upon examination, something interesting was uncovered. The coin was tails on both sides. This coin had nothing to do with the gods. It was about preparing his men for victory in their minds before ever stepping onto a battlefield. It was about believing in an outcome before pursuing its realization. This is life. To believe something's possible is perhaps the greatest weapon one can have in their arsenal. When you believe something is possible, the question goes from, "Can I, to how will I?" The gap is bridged, the terrain is crossed, because time is not exhausted on the likelihood of the outcome. But on its materialization. I heard someone say years ago that some of the most incredible things in history were accomplished by people to ignorant of the odds to be held back by them. Dreams are self-fulfilling prophecies. They require one be crazy enough to willingly navigate the enemy's fire. To step into hostile territory. Put a stake in the ground and live as though you were meant to be there. To operate knowing the unknown is where answers live and excuses die. It's believing that the world doesn't dictate your fate. It just adds variables to the story. It puts building blocks at your feet, places a paintbrush in your hand. You are the only one who chooses whether to stop or go to quit or continue. Life can place obstacles before you. But only you decide whether to bow down to them. Navigate around them or march directly through them. We win behind our eyes before we go into the world and collect our medals. So close your eyes. Win your victories. Then go out into the world and collect them. Remember what's yours to control and what's not what must be let go. Remember that nothing is so futile as attempting to move the immovable or change the unchangeable. Remember that your greatest strength is focusing your time, talents and efforts, exhausting your energy on that which you can control. And sometimes this distinction hurts. But to fail to see it is to shackle oneself to delusion. Right, you can complain about the weather all day but to complain about it, to focus on it, to be stuck in it is not going to change it. Your time would be better suited looking at how to adjust yourself to it. And that's what life repeatedly tells us. There's plenty we aren't happy about. Plenty we wish we could change. But to stay there in that space is to forfeit your greatness, your strength. Why? Because there is so much you can control. There's so much you can do, you can always position yourself to succeed. But that calls for first separating what's yours and what's not. There are people I wish were different. There are situations I prayed were alterable. There are outcomes that are given without my asking. That's just life. The losing mentality is to fight that, to feel anger or resentment at the people that let you down. Why couldn't they be how I want them to be? It's to dwell on the situation that occurred despite your wishes. Why couldn't it have just happened my way? It's to refuse to acknowledge the outcomes that have already materialized. Why couldn't it just have evolved differently? All that as hard as it is to see is embracing a mentality of victimhood. It's walking down a path that has no desirable destination in store for you. When you accept the unchangeable, you then become the architect of your reality. Where people, places and outcomes weren't always the best. But now you ask, how can I navigate around it or better yet use it to my advantage? It is to use the famous metaphor, not shaking your fist at the wind, but building sales for your boat, creating a path to take you somewhere new. So let the energy, the time and emotion that's wasted on the immovable dissolve. The question worth asking is, where do you most want to be and how can you get there? And while those details outside the scope of your control can feel like a bottomless gap in your way, I promise that what surrounds you is enough to build a bridge over it. There's enough there for you to find your way. So long as we learn to separate the gap from the bridge, the details from the solutions, when all you see is why you can't go or how it can't be solved or how impossible something is. It's not that you are looking at an unfortunate truth, it's that you are looking at the wrong supporting evidence. When we stop seeing the details and outside circumstances as the deciders of fate we win. When we place our eyes upon the controllable, when we step into what is ours to move and shape and transform, we finally see that the journey to something bigger is not only possible, it is inevitable. [Music]