Your World Within Podcast by Eddie Pinero
STOP PLAYING SMALL | Best Motivational Speeches | Start Your Day Right
09 Dec 2024
We’ve all heard the saying, “Comparison is the thief of joy,” and while that’s often true, what if it’s also a powerful tool? What if, instead of stealing from us, it could inspire us to see the world differently, to push beyond self-imposed limitations? I often turn to the lives of history’s great leaders—our country’s founding fathers and early presidents. Their courage, conviction, and willingness to embrace challenges were on a scale that feels almost unimaginable today. It forces me to ask tough questions: What separated their reality from mine? Was it circumstance, belief, or something more? This is about exploring that “delta”—the gap between their magnitude and our modern lives. Not to diminish ourselves but to reflect, recalibrate, and grow. What if comparison wasn’t about feeling less than but about discovering how much more we’re capable of? What questions does their legacy inspire in you? Monday Motivation Newsletter: https://www.eddiepinero.com/newsletter Free Ebook: www.eddiepinero.com/ebook YouTube: www.eddiepinero.com/youtube
Full Episode
Comparison is the thief of joy. We've all heard it before, and it's true. Sometimes. It seems like there's always a sometimes or an asterisk or a gray area. Comparison can be an incredible tool in simply reminding you that you're playing small. Maybe way too small. And so from time to time, I'll use comparison to help me paint that picture, to create that outlook. Quick example.
So on the shelves behind me and on my Audible library on my phone, there's a ton of books and biographies about the founding fathers and other notable American presidents. Why? Well, because they lived lives of such courage. They lived with such conviction. They just lived differently than we live today. And it forces me to ask the tough questions. It's like, why?
What makes up for that difference in magnitude? I mean, was it simply the times? Were they a product of their moment in history? Were they more determined? Did they have more self-belief? Where is this delta that I'm seeing when I look at their reality versus mine? You read Hamilton's biography, who's not a president, but you get the point.
And my toughest battles seem to contain the same level of intensity and weight as his decision to swat a fly. Right, so I'm gonna run through three bullets that sort of frame my thinking. It's gonna seem like I'm unnecessarily beating myself up here, but the point comes full circle, so bear with me. One, Washington, everyone knows, right? Led an army initially practically destined for defeat.
His execution and death was almost assured. Then I'm like, okay, I led myself to the gym today. Adams crosses the Atlantic four times for his country. At the time, that just brought unfathomable risk, and he does it with a smile. I'm procrastinating about making a phone call. drafting a declaration that claimed independence from the strongest, most powerful empire on Earth.
I get butterflies before going live on Instagram. We are not the same. Why? Well, I guess first and foremost, let's make sure we're asking the right questions. Who says you or I don't have the potential to be a Washington, an Adams, or a Jefferson? It's not productive to downplay our own battles, right? However small, after all, that's how empires are built, a stacking of small wins.
No one just arrives in a position of influence. And these folks surely had their own battles. That's all subjective anyway. But the comparison here is sacred to me because there is a common theme amongst all of them. And it's not hidden. You don't have to read between the lines to see it. It's self-belief, right?
All of these people were in an environment where change was warranted and all of them believed they themselves could be levers to help shift that status quo. It's like for no reason... The buck stopped with them. And you see that from childhood on.
It suggests that if you believe you can be great, and I do, and by the way, so should you, then understand that it's not possessing of courage that is the issue. The issue is that you're merely holding what amounts to a bucket of it. when the true depth of your courage reaches miles and miles down beneath the surface. There is so much more. So much that it's incomprehensible.
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