Video summary
The podcast opens with a powerful message about rejecting traditional New Year's resolutions in favor of immediate action, citing Mary Shelley and Napoleon Hill to emphasize that beginnings happen today rather than waiting for January first. The speaker argues that success starts with imagination and the courage to take the first step into the unknown without being overwhelmed by the entire task at hand. Drawing on quotes from Arthur Schopenhauer regarding how our beliefs define reality and General Douglas MacArthur about breaking rules, the host encourages listeners to shed invisible limitations imposed by society or even well-meaning loved ones. The core argument is that one must possess an "arrogance of belief" in their own potential, refusing to be caged by others' perceptions because people cannot give what they do not have themselves; true freedom comes from defining oneself and driving behavior through personal goals rather than external validation. To achieve greatness, the speaker asserts that individuals are products of their decisions, not merely their circumstances, a concept attributed to Stephen Covey in the transcript. This decision-making process involves facing inadequacies and learning from failure rather than avoiding it, echoing John Wooden's advice on separating what you can do from your limitations. The narrative stresses that progress is built through relentless effort and adaptation, noting that human growth occurs when we push beyond our breaking points to trigger an "adaptation response." This aligns with the insights of Robert Louis Stevenson about planting seeds today for a future harvest and Michelangelo's observation on the back-breaking work required to achieve mastery. The speaker dismantles the myth of natural talent, citing Victor Hugo's distinction that adversity creates men while prosperity can create monsters, arguing instead that every great achiever is remembered because they worked tirelessly through unbearable difficulty rather than relying solely on innate gifts. The discussion shifts to education and knowledge as the most powerful weapons for change in a world filled with unprecedented technological breakthroughs. The host references Nelson Mandela's view on education not just as formal schooling but as an obsession with learning from mentors, books, or even personal failures. This relentless pursuit of knowledge is framed as creating a stockpile that protects one when needed most, contrasting the ease of following well-trodden paths with the necessity of forging new trails where none exist before, as suggested by Ralph Waldo Emerson and Rumi. The transcript highlights that while it is tempting to seek safety and comfort, asking for these things is essentially praying for weakness; instead, embracing pain and failure shapes character and builds a reserve tank of strength necessary for future challenges, much like Muhammad Ali's philosophy on reaching the bottom of one's soul after defeat to find extra power. Ultimately, the message concludes that the future belongs to those who prepare today by attempting the impossible and refusing to give up when faced with certainty of failure. The speaker uses Martin Luther King Jr.'s metaphor of crawling until you can walk, walking until you run, and running until you fly to illustrate the non-negotiable need for forward momentum regardless of current ability or obstacles. This relentless drive is coupled with a shift in perspective regarding how one views life: rather than focusing on pain and fear which monopolize thoughts via the reticular activating system, individuals must choose to focus on wonderment and glory as suggested by Joseph Campbell and J.B.S. Haldane. The final conclusion reinforces that life's game is about attention management; if you focus on negative aspects they become real, but choosing to see the incredible nature of existence allows one to find fulfillment through neurochemistry rather than wealth or fame. By attempting audacious goals and enjoying the process despite fear, individuals create a better life for themselves while contributing to a world that thrives on wonder and continuous improvement.
Read the full video transcript
Happy New Year everybody I hope this
time of year is as exciting for you guys
as it is for me and I definitely think
about new beginnings but I don't think
about resolutions and the reason that I
don't think about resolutions and the
reason that I hope you guys don't think
about resolutions either is as Mary
Shelley said the beginning is always
today and that's the important thing
whenever you're hearing this video
whether it's at the first of the year or
not whatever moment this is finding you
I want you to take this moment to
realize that you can make whatever
change you want to make in your life as
Napoleon Hill set
first comes thought the beginning as you
will observe is in the imagination and
that's the key to getting started is you
have to understand that you already have
everything that you want but you've got
to think about what it is you're trying
to create in your life first you've got
to define that starting with the goal
and understanding where it is that you
want to go and then having the courage
to take that first step you've got to
have that courage you've got to have
that willingness to step forward into
the unknown not knowing where it's gonna
go not knowing what you're gonna have to
do to get there and not overwhelming
yourself by looking at the entire task
but rather taking a single step
anesthesia Rozsival said far and away
the best prize that life has to offer is
the chance to work hard at World War
this is where everybody this is the
thing that is the great destroyer of
dreams people want it to be and the only
people that are gonna succeed are the
ones that really understand that the
prize that life has to offer is to
really pour yourself into something that
is worthwhile to gain a set of skills
that are going to serve other people to
do something to have a vision that's
bigger than yourself and to go after it
with everything that you have but ask
yourself when was the last time you
toured yourself into doing something
where you gave yourself over completely
and totally to something because that
that's what success is going to demand
of you if you're really going to tap
into the human ability to adapt to grow
to get better to become capable of the
extraordinary to really do something
that is going to change people's lives
within yours or somebody else you've got
to fall in love with the process of
busting your ass for something that you
believe in
you can do that if you can identify that
thing that you're willing to give
yourself over to and take that first
step
encourage without knowledge without
knowing exactly where it's going to end
up but believing in yourself having
faith in yourself that you can do it
then you'll be able to accomplish
anything you set your mind to and no
matter what
today is no matter when this message
reach me whether it's the first of the
year or it's a random [ __ ] Tuesday
start now
[Music]
everybody I hope you enjoyed that one
I've got some more coming up for you so
keep watching and at the end don't
forget take action everyone takes the
limits of their own vision for the
limits of the world Arthur Schopenhauer
there is all around you right now the
reflections of your world belief they're
so ever-present that you don't even see
them all the assumption that you've made
about the world the things that are
possible what you're capable of who you
are the very definition of what it means
to be alive all of it is completely
invisible and you're mistaken what you
have for what could be and once you
break free of that once you understand
that right now you're a moment in time
and that you have latent potential and
that latent potential can be expressed
in the form of skills that you can get
good at things that you can develop
yourself in any direction that brain
plasticity alone is one of the greatest
weapons that you're not using but you
have to move beyond what you can
perceive today you have to begin to look
beyond that and see that which doesn't
yet exist and you have to remember that
many of the things that are holding you
down are rules that you don't even
realize are rules and as General Douglas
MacArthur said you're remembered for the
rules you break and right now you're
following rules that you don't even
realize exists and some of those rules
are simply what is okay to dream but I'm
here to tell you the power is in
recognizing
that you can do it the power is in
having the arrogance of belief the power
is an understanding that you yes you are
going to be capable of something simply
because you are willing to believe in
yourself and that's the thing it's a
willingness to believe in yourself no
one's gonna give it to you even the
people that love you they're not gonna
give you that they are incapable of
giving it to you people cannot see past
their limitations and they take them for
truth people actually believe the things
that have stopped them will forever not
only stop them but they will stop other
people how can they hope to give you
anything but limitation so if you know
that if you know that even the people
that love you what they're handing it
was limitation with the best of [ __ ]
intentions with all the love in the
world how are you gonna break out of
that how are you gonna break past those
rules how are you gonna fight the
anxiety that inevitably comes your way
when you think about going against the
grain but my friends until you can do
that you can never get beyond the
[ __ ] that limits you if people said
gravity is what it is we never would
have reached the skate velocity and yet
as a species we have been able to hurl a
[ __ ] rocket into space get it outside
of gravity take us to other planets that
is real only because somebody said I
refuse to be held down by the most
obvious rule that we have the one that
everybody says is beyond reproach and
that is gravity
but even gravity will break under the
weight of a superior will so recognizes
Epictetus said if you want to improve be
content to be thought foolish and stupid
can you be content to be thought foolish
and stupid or do you allow yourself to
be caged to be hemmed in by what other
people think and look I get it I
understand the steam of contempt I
understand how much it sucks when
someone you respect doesn't respect you
but you cannot be anything more than
their captive if you think about what
they think about you if you let yourself
be defined by what other people perceive
of as you then you will forever be
limited by what they give you permission
to do and I don't know about you but
when I was a kid I said when I'm an
adult I will never [ __ ] be told what
to do again I will never be held back by
somebody else I will define myself I
will figure out what I need to do and I
will do it and at the end of the day
that is it my goals drive my behavior I
am NOT held back by what other people
think about me no matter how [ __ ]
intoxicating it is to be loved you have
to decide what you want more do you want
to be you or do you want to be someone
else's reflection of you
[Music]
as Mark Twain said the secret to getting
ahead is getting started that's
something I want all of you guys to
really embody and really think about
really put at the core of your existence
that step number one to accomplishing
whatever it is that you want to do is
actually getting started and I
understand I know the thing that holds
you back I know the thing that is
absolutely paralyzing for people is you
don't think that you have what it takes
to go out and be good and rather than
face that difficult Ruta Lee and getting
better and quite frankly facing your
inadequacies it's easier just to sit
back but as John Wooden said never let
me you cannot do interfere with what you
can there is something right now that
you're capable of there is an innate
skill inside of you that's your spark
it's that starting point it's that thing
that while you may not be the best in
the world at it it's a flame that you
can fan it's something that you can
breathe life into and really begin to
get good but first you have to
understand the very nature of progress
and that's a Stephen Covey said you're
not the product of your circumstances
a product of your decisions and it's
those decisions that are going to allow
you to build that skill sets don't worry
about where you started don't worry
about what you already have
remember it's the decisions that you
make it's going down that road it is the
decision to get started
it's the decision to face possible
failure it's the decision to get up once
you've failed and it's the decision of
what to learn when you fail do you learn
that you're not
never should have tried well do you
learn a lesson from the failure and get
up and brush yourself off and remember
that at the end of the day you're going
to go as far as you're willing to fight
for and that's it if you're willing to
fight to go all the way then you will go
that far you will set a new bar you will
define for people what is possible to
become that beacon of hope you become
that thing that other people look to as
the standard at the end of the day it
started the huge getting started it
started with you showing up it started
with you pushing and trying
don't worry about what you have and what
you are focus on who you want to become
and the price you're willing to pay
together
[Music]
as Nelson Mandela said education is the
most powerful weapon you can use to
change the world wherever you are right
now listening to this I want you to burn
that into your mind the most powerful
weapon that you're going to have at your
disposal isn't a gun it isn't a sword it
isn't a bomb the most powerful weapon
you will ever have at your disposal if
you really want to make change is
knowledge it doesn't mean going to
school it can be school it can be books
it can be a mentor it can be somebody
else's failure it can be your own
failure but whatever it is to always be
learning to be learning something today
knowing that that's an investment and as
Robert Louis Stevenson said don't judge
each day by the harvest you reap but
rather by the seeds you plant and that's
what knowledge is that's what the
learning process is is you're learning
something today that you may not even
understand how it's going to be valuable
but one day
that piece of knowledge is gonna come to
your in one day that thing that you
learned is going to be something that
you're gonna lean on one day that thing
that you've worked your ass off to
understand better than anybody else in
the world it's going to help you change
the world but you have to be doing it
now you have to be learning with an
obsession you have to understand that
ideas inequal ideas out and that you
have to chase that knowledge down that
it is a relentless pursuit and that like
you would build an armada like you would
create a stock pile of weapons you must
create a stockpile of knowledge you must
learn and learn and learn and you must
hold yourself accountable every day to
planting those seeds to getting better
to learning more to understanding things
more broadly when you do that there will
be nothing that one
that's what I want you guys to
understand it does
matter where you started your
circumstances the money the people that
you know none of it matters what matters
is how much you willing to learn how
good are you willing to get how much
knowledge are you willing to soak in
because that will become your weapon
that will be how you rise up and that
would be the thing that will protect you
when you need it most
[Music]
for you
so if you want to do something
incredible tomorrow learn today as
Michelangelo said if people knew how
hard I work to achieve my mastery it
wouldn't seem so wonderful after all and
that's the thing about getting great
that's the thing about being an artist
of such caliber that you're remembered
for hundreds of years after your death
it is back-breaking work
it is a blinding amount of effort it
isn't about natural talent that myth
that some people are born with something
that we celebrate so much is just that a
myth you're born a lump of flesh you
can't hold your own head of you may have
predispositions but that is a long way
from actually crafting your ability and
to the point where it looks like magic
and that's the beauty of artistry isn't
it
that it's so unbelievable that you're
more willing to believe that it was God
given that they were anointed with it
then that they just worked their ass off
but the truth is every one of the
Great's no matter how much natural
talent they were born with they're
remembered because they worked they were
remembered because they did so much work
because in that work is our
in that work is difficulty in that work
is unbearable adversity but it's in that
adversity that the magic happens and as
Victor Hugo said adversity makes men
prosperity makes monsters so I know
right now you wish you've been born with
some talent you wish that all those
dreams that you had they were yours for
the taking that you didn't have to put
blood and sweat and tears into it that
somebody would hand you at least
something in the beginning that they
would give you some start since spark
that's where the monsters created if you
really want to get hard if you really
want to get tough if you want to get
great if you want to be unfuckin
touchable because no one can bend or
break your vision of yourself then you
have to suffer that's the way of the
world and as Florence Nightingale said I
attribute my success to this I never
gave or took any excuse
and that's the secret at the end of the
day if you know what you want it's only
a question of whether you're willing to
pay the price to get there so ask
yourself are you willing to pay the
price
[Music]
as Ralph Waldo Emerson said do not go
where the path may lead go instead where
there is no path and leave a trail it's
never going to make sense it's never
gonna be obvious you're never going to
walk out your door and see the obvious
way that you want to go and if you do
it's a trap if you do go down the path
that's already laid for you it's going
to take you to all the destinations that
are already known it's going to take you
to all of the places that instinct drove
the people before you but if you want to
go somewhere unique if you want to go
somewhere that only you would go if you
want to create something new and really
live a life that was meant for you
because it's literally crafted by you
you have to take the first steps on
faith and as Rumi said as you start to
walk out on the way the way appears so
as you're looking at the choices that
are before you where you've got a path
that's well trodden you've got a path
that literally is invisible and won't
become something until you step on it
you have to understand that that's what
this life is meant to be and that the
only frustration that you will look back
on with tremendous regret is knowing
that you did what was easy even though
it wasn't you there's some mechanism
inside of us there's something that
wants us to walk a path that's never
been walked before and the thing that
makes it so hard is right now inside of
you is a desperate desire for that to be
easy but it's not going to be easy it's
going to be hard you're going to fail
you're gonna stumble you're gonna fall
on your face and thank God because as
Muhammad Ali said only
man who knows what it's like to be
defeated can reach down to the bottom of
his soul and come up with the extra
ounce of power it takes to win when the
match is even so what you have to ask
yourself is what do you want do you want
it to be easy do you want the path to be
well young or do you want the path to be
yours do you want to know that inside of
you is something that you can reach into
and grab and that will be there at the
moment that you most need it do you want
to know that you're that type of person
because if you do you have to be willing
to walk the path that doesn't exist you
have to be willing to tread through the
brambles you have to be willing to fall
because it is in that process of failure
and pain and agony and suffering that
you will become that's the process that
will make you you that's the process
that will shape you it's the suffering
that gives you the
serves to draw when you leave the most
so when you ask for safety when you ask
for ease know that you're saying a
prayer for weakness and when you take
the hard way know that you're forging
yourself when you make those demands
know that you're building a reserve tank
that will be there at the moment when
you need it when you walk the path that
only you can walk know that you're
living the life that you were meant to
live and that my friends is how you
become the you worth becoming
[Music]
alright listen and listen well because
no truer words are ever gonna be [ __ ]
spoken you can do anything you want
without limitation whatever it is that
you decide you want to make come true in
your life you can do that it is gonna
take an inhuman amount of work you're
gonna have to be prepared to break
yourself in half you are going to have
to learn more than anyone has ever
learned you can have to push yourself
harder than anyone has ever asked you to
push yourself before you're gonna go way
beyond your breaking point you're gonna
run until you vomit you're gonna study
until you fall asleep
you're going to push and push and push
and then you're going to push some
[ __ ] more and when you hit the limit
you're gonna push again beyond that
you're gonna force yourself into an
adaptation response and why because it's
Malcolm X said the future belongs to
those who prepare for it today so if you
don't put the work in today if you don't
do the unending back-breaking work of
developing yourself into something
greater the world is gonna pass you by
the people that are going to own it are
gonna be the ones that did that work and
the one promise that I can make you
right now is that somebody somebody out
there is out working somebody right now
is doing the things that I'm saying
somebody right now is doing the work of
failing and getting up and getting
better and pushing themselves and
triggering that glorious adaptation
response that makes humans the apex
predator someone right now they're
putting in that work and if you don't
the future is gonna belong to them and
as Martin Luther King jr. said you can't
fly than one if you can't run then walk
if you can't walk then crawl but
whatever you do you have to keep moving
forward it's not okay to make excuses
it's not gonna slow people down it's not
okay to ask the world to stop so that
you can step out front it's not okay to
expect little of yourself and demand
great rewards the only thing that's okay
is to be in line with the way that the
world really works and if you want to be
great you've got to become capable of
greatness you've got to develop your
skill set you've got to take what you
have now and if that's crawling then
[ __ ] crawl but you drag yourself ever
forward to a vision of yourself that is
so clear and so specific that nothing
could knock you off your path because
you my friends know exactly where you're
going you're willing to pay whatever
price it takes to get there and no
matter what anybody says no matter how
many [ __ ] hecklers come for you no
matter how many people try to feel dirt
on you try to stop you try to knock you
down no matter how many [ __ ] people
come for you at night while you sleep
you will rise and you will keep pushing
forward and you would get better every
day and no matter how many times people
chop it you knock you down knock you off
the path you can get back on you will
crawl so you can walk you will walk till
you run and then you will run until you
fly and that my friends is the only path
forward so if you want a [ __ ] future
that makes you happy
if you want a world that you're excited
about get your ass out there and earn it
as Thomas Edison said our greatest
weakness lies in giving up the most
certain way to succeed is to always try
one more time
I know they're gonna be a million times
in your life where you want to give up
where you absolutely ache with the
desire to quit where nothing sits inside
of your gut
other than the certainty that you are
going to fail that you are not good
enough to push forward but that is to
fundamentally misunderstand the nature
of a failure the nature of a failure is
not to tell you who you are the nature
of a failure is to tell you a way that
didn't work it's to inform it's to
educate you it's to test you it's to be
a gut-check to find out if you believe
in yourself enough to push forward even
when the world seems to be telling you
not to and as Brian Tracy said
attempt the impossible in order to
improve your
think about that for a second attempt
the impossible just to get better to try
the things that you know are going to
fail things that the world is gonna tell
you simply cannot be but even if it
violates the laws of physics if there's
something in that attempt that you're
going to learn you owe it to yourself
you have a [ __ ] moral obligation to
try because all of the people that will
lie in your wake are the people that
didn't try simply because they didn't
believe that they could do it you have
to be willing to look at the world you
have to be willing to see things that
you yourself think are impossible and
try because in that you will stretch
yourself you have to be willing to look
inward at the state of your current
skill set and say I am going to play
outside of that I'm not going to play
words safe I'm going to play where it
hurts I'm going to play where I feel
clumsy I'm going to play only in the
areas that make me feel stupid because
in that I know that the way that the
brain responds is to adaptation but I
have to stress myself
you can't ever lose sight of that the
only way that the human animal adapts is
through stress you have to be willing to
break things no they do
so if you want to push the boundaries if
you want to see just how far you can go
if you want to succeed at the highest
level if you want to play on a global
scale you have got to be willing to try
the impossible because right now the
things that you need to do are
impossible for you but they won't remain
that way forever and as Aristotle said
pleasure in the job puts perfection in
the work this doesn't have to be a tale
of always being terrified everybody
myself included screaming at you telling
you that you need to go do something
great the part they're leaving out is
why the [ __ ] should you care
you should character this is the
greatest joy you should only listen to
this if it's leading you down a path
that makes you feel more alive and
that's the point the point is to get in
touch with something that makes you feel
great but not to let yourself starve or
be stopped by a fear that you'll fail by
a fear that it can't be done
have fun have the guts to enjoy yourself
have the guts to go out and attempt
something audacious and terrifying
knowing that all along if you're doing
it right you're gonna have a good time
so all of this going balls out trying to
prove something to yourself trying to do
something amazing never lose sight that
it's to build a better life never lose
sight of the fact that you're doing it
to create the person that you want to be
ever lose sight of the fact that it
should be fun as JBS Haldane said the
world shall perish not for a lack of
wonders but for a lack of wonder
everything around you is incredible if
you're willing to look at it that way
everything around you can be taken for
granted if that's your perspective but
it really is about the frame that you
choose to put around things I mean
simply being alive is already insane the
odds are so stacked against you not only
just being a human but being a human at
this moment in time this moment in time
will breakthroughs in technology are
happening at at an unprecedented rate
where breakthroughs in medical science
are happening at an unprecedented rate
where our ability to connect with people
to empathize with people all the way
around the globe all of the changes that
have happened in technology and telecom
and connectivity health everything we're
living in the most miraculous time ever
but you have to look at it that way and
as Joseph Campbell said life is a
wonderful wonderful opera except that it
hurts so the question is do you see it
is the beautiful opera or do you just
pay attention to the pain and at the end
of the day you're gonna get what you
focus on they're both true this is both
the most amazing time that's ever
happened ever in recorded history and
yet real things that are terrifying are
also happening but where you put your
energy where you put your attention
where you put your focus is going to
determine what you see and that is the
most fascinating and the most important
thing you have to understand about the
way that your mind works you get when
you focus on if you focus on the things
that are bad they will become real they
will become exaggerated they will begin
to monopolize your thoughts you'll see
them everywhere it's called the
reticular activating system your mind is
literally does
signed to pay attention to the things
that you notice once you notice a
certain car you see it everywhere once
you notice a certain dog you see it
everywhere once you hear a certain name
for the first time suddenly realized
that that name has been all around you
this entire time but now that you're
focusing on it now that you're looking
for it it is everywhere
so whatever you look for it's gonna be
everywhere if you look for the negative
you'll be there but if you look for the
positive it will overwhelm you and as
Joseph Campbell said people say what
we're all seeking as a meaningful life
but I don't think that's what we're
really seeking I think what we're
seeking is the experience of truly being
alive and that's it
that's the juice figuring out that thing
that makes you come alive
it isn't keeping up with the Joneses it
isn't how much you're getting paid it
isn't anything other than for you
something very specific will be
different for everyone but for you find
that thing that makes you come alive
focus on think about it put your time
and attention there shift away from
seeing the pain in the Opera and instead
seeing the wonderment and at all seeing
the glory that is just everything around
you the opportunities the fact that
you're alive once you can see that those
basic things that you take for granted
that you can breathe in through the nose
and out through the mouth all of that
stuff once you start seeing how were
Acula sit really is once you start
seeing how we're connected to each other
once you understand that the name of the
game isn't wealth
it isn't fame it isn't ambition or
success
it's neuro chemistry it's feeling a
certain way it's finding fulfillment in
your life once you realize that you'll
understand this is a game of attention
and you entirely control what you focus
on so choose very wisely my friends
because your life will literally become
the summation of the things that you
look at
[Music]
you