When the defining moment comes,
either you define the moment
or the moment defines you.
Either you define the moment, you decide that you're gonna
not concern yourself with the naysayers,
that you're not gonna concern yourself with
what has happened or what hasn't happened,
but you're gonna make the commitment
to do what you've gotta do
so that you can have a lifestyle
that you've never experienced before.
Or the moment defines you.
And you decide to play it safe.
And 20 years from now, you say to yourself,
what if
I would've taken a chance on myself?
What if I would've stayed in the game?
What if I would've kept making the phone calls?
What if, what if, and what if.
The "what if" mentality
is this guy told me
I was a 36 African American
Navy SEAL...
In Navy SEAL history, in over 70 years.
This guy told me there's only 35
African Americans
to ever be a Navy seal.
He was pretty much telling me
you haven't got what it takes.
I took that and said,
WHAT IF I could be the 36th?
"But WHAT IF I COULD?"
What if
I could pull off this miracle?
How will I feel at the very end
if I can defy all the odds?
You're in the test of your will right now
Cause life says it has a little more test for you.
You
can look at your challenge
with skill
and it will see it just as that
a challenge
or you can look
at your challenge
with will.
Those exceptional people
who are uncomfortable with the times
and rise to the challenge
because they refuse to allow the chaos around them
to determine the conqueror within them.
I've never met anybody
who was terribly creative or gifted or strong in leadership
who was also comfortable.
You must be willing to extend yourself to the limit
with no guarantee of success.
Every day
you must ask yourself
did I do enough?
Prove to yourself today
every day
that you can
and will
push harder than you wanted to.
Harder than you felt like pushing.
Pass the point of fatigue
and far beyond the point of comfort
to that outer edge.
To the limits.
And on those points.
There will be no compromise.
Not now.
Not ever.
Young people globally want to be like Elon Musk
What's your advice on that?
I think that probably they shouldn't want to be.
I think it sounds better than it is.
it's not as much fun being me as you'd think.
I don't know.
You don't think so?
No,
there's definitely, it could be worse for sure
but it's,
I'm not sure I would, I'm not sure I want to be me.
but if,
you know, I think advice, I mean, if you want to make progress in things,
I think that
the best analytical framework
for understanding the future is physics.
I'd recommend studying the
the thinking process around physics.
Like, not the equations.
I mean the equations certainly that are helpful,
but the way of thinking in physics is,
the best framework for understanding things that are counterintuitive.
and you know, always taking
the position that you are some degree wrong
and your goal is to be less wrong over time.
I think one of the biggest mistakes people generally make,
and I'm guilty of it too, is wishful thinking.
You know, like you want something to be true,
even if it isn't true.
and so you ignore the thing.
things that
you ignore the real truth
because of what you want to be true.
this is a very difficult trap to avoid.
and like I said, it's certainly one that I find myself in
having problems
but if you just take that approach of
you are always to some degree wrong and your goal is to be less wrong
and solicit critical feedback.
Particularly from friends,
like friends, particularly friends.
If somebody loves you, they want the best for you,
they don't want to tell you the bad things.
so you have to ask them, you know, and
say, really, I really do want to know.
and then they'll tell you
First say to yourself what you would be;
and then do what you have to do.
Assemble your life…
action by action.
And be satisfied if each one achieves its goal…
No one can keep that from happening…
Action by action.
If your soul be habitually in practice,
you will plead and teach, listen and learn, investigate and meditate.
What more is necessary?
Does what's happened keep you from acting with justice, generosity,
self-control, sanity, prudence, honesty, humility, straightforward ness,
and all other qualities that allow a person's nature to fulfill itself?
So remember this principle when something threatens to cause you pain:
the thing itself was no misfortune at all;
to endure it and prevail is great good fortune.
I think failure's bad.
I don't think it's good.
But if
if something's important enough, then you,
you do it even though the risk of failure is high.
and so I think my advice if somebody is, wants to start a company, is
they should bear in mind that
the most likely outcome is, is that it's not gonna work.
And they should reconcile themselves to that
strong possibility.
and they should only do it if they feel that they're
they are really compelled to do it, you know?
because it's it's gonna,
the way starting company works is like,
usually in the beginning, it's the very beginning.
It's kind of fun.
and then it's really hellish for, for a number of years.
You talked about chewing glass.
There's a friend of mine who's a
successful entrepreneur and
started actually his career around the same time as I did,
and he has a good phrase.
His name's Billy.
he said, you're starting companies
like eating glass and staring into the abyss.
and you agree with that?
generally true.
And if you don't eat the glass,
you're not gonna be successful.
The impediment to action advances action. What stands in the way becomes the way.
Believe it or not,
obstacles can actually be the thing that propels you forward in your career,
your relationships, and your life.
Rather than getting shut down by all the stuff that pops up to block your path,
learn to understand impediments as essential tools for achieving your goals.
While this might seem contradictory, you’ve likely experienced this phenomenon in your own life.
If you’ve ever overcome an obstacle to reach a goal,
you know that the struggle in climbing over that wall taught you priceless lessons
that helped you become the person you are now and further refine what it is that you want to achieve in life.
It's easy to think about life as a series of fixed happenings.
You graduate from high school, you go to college, you begin a career, you get married and start a family.
While there's nothing wrong with having a map of your future,
it's important to understand that you're going to encounter things along the way
that might just fundamentally change the direction you're heading in.
As the simplest of examples, let's say that you are taking a run on some nature trails near your house.
During a storm the previous night, however, the path you always take has become problematically flooded.
What do you do-- do you turn around,
do you try to bushwhack through the woods around the path,
or do you change your route on the fly and explore a part of the woods
you've never been to before?
If you chose either option two or three,
the impediment to your action actually advanced your action.
You likely experienced a new and rejuvenating headspace, too,
either navigating through the woods without a trail
or running down a path you'd never considered exploring before.