14. Environment Shapes Your Reality

It's actually quite funny thinking of the title of this one Environment on today's episode. The very first thing that came to mind was when I was a naughty little boy at school because I certainly was, especially in the early years. And I immediately thought of when I used to get sent to the principal's office, which was quite frequently I would go and hide under the demountables until lunchtime and then I go out and play with the kids and then go back to class. Oh man, isn't it funny when some of those weird, kooky, bizarre memories come flooding back just out of nowhere at times. Welcome everyone. You are joined or joining Big Red, Big Al coming at you with our latest podcast episode Environment and man, isn't that a big thing? The environment. It's so funny thinking back vivid memories under that demandable. There was not some very nice desirable things under there. Used to hide under there and hang out in mud. I'm surely mum caught on to it and other people because obviously I would have been dirty. And I do remember playing with cats, finding tennis balls. Yeah, some weird stuff. Weird stuff. And here we are. I don't go hiding under the animals anymore. So I think that's a step forward in my own evolution. But environment, environment is a funny thing. It's one thing that we quickly cancel out or you know, not neglect but don't include in ultimately what makes up our experiences and who we are. Because it's a constant. It's always there. There's always something there isn't. You know, the environment is the environment. It's actually your external surroundings. It is purely your external surroundings. Everything outside of your body is your environment. And we just quickly forget that obviously can conditioned in different ways through life. We neither good or bad. It's what it is like wearing clothes. We don't feel the material touching our skin anymore, do we? But you'll go and get a lacrosse ball, do some trigger point therapy or get a massage or some physio or chiro or needles and all of a sudden hey, what's this foreign stuff in and around me and touching me? So environment is a really funny one guys because there are two things. And I did a talk on this on Sunday which was it was a big success. I loved it. Getting the dads together up at Royal Commando and having a chat and a workout. Team workout. It was brutal. Team workout actually. I got sucked into it. We had 19 dads. Old H. Hayden came down and offered his services to run the class while I jumped in and made an even 20, which buckled me. It was a good session, though, and I spoke about that. And there's two things that collectively form your life up until this moment and will continue to form what it is. The first one is experiences. And the experiences you have in your life directly within yourself with other people. Experiences, relationships, parents, schooling, education, playing sports. All different things, all different experiences. And the second thing is environment and environment. And both of those collectively come under the banner of perception. How we choose to see the experiences we have in the environment that we are undertaking or part of. And I'm really big on environment, because experiences, yes, you can choose however you'd like to see your experience, good, bad, and the other, and also choose the experiences you actually have. But environment, environment is a funny one because we don't always control what is around us, but it can certainly heavily influence how we think, how we feel, the further or future actions we take in future, present moments. Which is something that really fascinates me, guys. And it really does, because for me, it's about my biggest thing that I love doing. And my passion is obviously helping people liberate themselves and create changes in their lives. And that's amazing. Like, the changes are theirs, not mine, but just helping them see a different way. Just think, just ask the question. And I love that stuff. But it's a fascinating thing because when it comes to the environment and what is around us, it can really heavily influence how we think and feel. And one thing that I love doing is contextualizing certain things, whether it's spoken by some old man in a famous quote who's 300 years old or something new. But bringing context, meaning, comprehension to something. And you hear the term, the sum of the five people we hang around, you might not have heard before. Who knows? I hear it from a few different entrepreneurs and business people and whatnot. And look, that may ring true, but you also have that level of responsibility and accountability to choose how you see your environment and those people around you. And I think somewhere along the lines, quotes just become quotes, sayings just become sayings. And there's no real sustenance or life to that. And I'd like to put some context to that as well. I believe that you're a sum of the environment that you continue to engage and allow yourself to be part of. So that doesn't mean that you're rising up or doing this or doing something different. Okay, I've got to cuddle my friends. You know, I grew up as a computer nerd. Loved, love games, love computer games. Still Do I'm a nerd at heart and empower to the nerds. They're a special kind of people. No discrimination disclaimer but they are. I'm one myself so I can, I can bag them out and. But you know it's. That's something I love doing and loving computer games, loving playing on the PlayStation and computers and when the Internet started coming as a teenager so obviously doing all those things things used to do LAN parties. We go around mates houses and literally take our whole computer system and set it up and that was awesome. I loved it. It was so cool memories coming back. Greg, he was one of my best friends when I was younger. We used to love playing computer games together. It was awesome. The love of computers and computer games and the love for that dictated so the experiences I wanted to have dictated to a degree my environment. But then my environment became my absolute. That was the absolute for me being in that environment and going to LAN parties and playing computer games and being with like minded nerds and that was a great period of my life and something that I loved and enjoyed and it's something that I chose ends naturally just like Crossfitters and I'm going to other people train with crossfitters are going to come and train at my gym and I'll do extras and extra training and same with rugby league. You start hanging out with the rugby league boys a bit more and and we go and do ice baths and recovery together and we're obviously playing together and all these different collectives that form key parts of my life and the environments that I'm part of naturally bring around the people that they say you are the sum of. So if you're into business and money and all that sort of stuff, well then naturally you're going to try and resonate and hang around and be around those sorts of things. Whether it's dawn, you know, self help, motivational business classes, mastery classes, whatever educational course that's running, you're going to naturally be invested in finding out more and surrounding yourself with people who are like minded. So it's something that we need to be very, very aware of. In this is my point in understanding that the environment that we choose or do not choose to be in ultimately subconsciously is a place that we have chosen whether you feel it or not. And there's still going to be things happening in environments we place ourselves in that we don't control. Of course there will be but you can still choose how you want to see that and the methods that you take and approach with that. And it's hard at times. There's different levels of good times, of course, and different levels of trauma that interests. I mean, the environment of playing rugby league and my first great game for the Dragons playing against the Bulldogs down at win Stadium and 10 minutes in my knees torn to pieces, got a nice little hospital pass and that's all she wrote. So there are the natural laws of cause and effect that enter the environment that you choose to be in. So you are not the sum of the five people you hang around. You are the sum of the perception you adopt and take in repeatedly having present moments and experiences in the environment that you choose to place yourself in. I hope that makes sense, guys, because there's a lot of power in that. Because ultimately this isn't about cutting friends or alienate people or I have to rise up or do this, that and the other. It's about understanding that you do have control over what is that you want to have in your life. And you must be that first. You truly need to be that and live it and experience this. This is science. If you're putting that energy out there in the quantum field, out there in the universe, it will bring about that universal attraction and energy and you can literally, like, this is science, guys, without going into it too much today, obviously, you can literally trick your brain, your conscious subconscious to believe that something is happening. I have visions, visions and dreams and dreams of being on huge stages, speaking to people, influencing positive change in people's lives. A real deep, genuine love for humanity which has brought tears to my eyes at times. Just literally visualizing and seeing the effect and the people that I can connect with and create change with. And I live and breathe that. And it's not. It's not daydreaming, it's not fantasy, but they are literally things that you can put in place in who you want to be and what you want to have through being that first in the internal. And then you start adopting and taking actions almost like you're reverse engineering from the end goal and that becomes how you carry yourself and who you are today. Just like this podcast right here. If you had to say this to me six months ago, even though it was a deep underlying urge and love for humanity and passion for helping others, I wouldn't be saying that, yes, I'm going to be here right now doing a podcast show talking about this exact same thing. It was a collective of visualizing the end result and over time feeling connected with that and moving towards that pathway that naturally aligns with it and here we are. That vessel is absolutely fathers for me. And it's just crazy how it was right there and it's all come about, it's all connected. Have I cut people from my life? Have I told people to go away? Absolutely not. When you have enough power within yourself, enough power and self belief within yourself in what's important to you and living your highest truth doesn't matter. The number of people around you doesn't matter. The environment, you create your environment and that's an empowering thing. Guys. There's so much power to that. You can create your environment and literally create. I'm not talking about literally building mountains with your hands and stuff like that. You're taking this in the right context, but you can absolutely. And you know what? Those who are aligned to your truth and resonate with you and want to follow the path of fulfillment, love, happiness, determination, fulfilling their dream, all those sorts of things and that somehow aligns with going on your path with you. Awesome. So be it. And that's the way to be. And that's, that's how it is. And that's the reciprocal energy we can have around being around like minded people, not just choosing those who are like that. One of the best ways is to look at mentors or someone who has been there or done that and looking at well what can I emulate or replicate here or adopt and apply to my life to be my version of something that they becoming and expressing that I like. I enjoy that I want to partner. This isn't reinventing the wheel. Everything has already been done and hasn't will be repeated again in different forms, different ways and. But it's about also that double sided of that coin, you know, being unique within yourself. There's only ever one Alex Ranieri. Well, actually there's a fair few. If you go on Facebook you can see shitload. Which was bizarre actually. I thought what's going on here? So many Alex Renieri's on Facebook. I thought my name was. Not that I thought it was special. I thought it was reasonably unique, you know, being a red headed Italian. But I guess the name Ranieri is, you know, reasonably common I guess over in Italy. And Alex or Alexander, which is my name or Alessandro, which is. You got to do it. We're rolling the tongue guys. You can't say Alessandro. It's got to be Alessandro rolling the tongue. I guess it is something that Italians can resonate with. But that was hilarious. Point is there's only one you. There's only one you. And adopt Similar principles, values, belief systems, or things in place that may help move you forward to creating the environment you want to be in. And these environments shift. And it's really amazing the power that can come from that. The power that can come from having the right environment. I look back at rugby league, my most enjoyable moments, apart from when I was playing reserve grade for West Magpies and with the North Sydney Bears, awesome years. Two of my most favorite years. But in terms of. It was an amazing environment. The guys were like brothers. And that's. You can see the teams that win competitions in sport across the board, not just rugby league. There is that camaraderie and sisterhood, brotherhood. Like they're bought into that vision, that absolute vision. And the vision can sometimes be the end goal of the gold medal and winning, or it can just be, you know, reaching their greatness, which may not even be realized in that season. But one of my most favorite periods was when I was at the Panthers because guys like Tony Pulitur and Joel Clinton, Trent Waterhouse, all of those boys took me under their wing and really nurtured me and looked after me. And I was the up and comer and the new kid on the block. And I loved it. Such a thriving environment because they didn't push me down or push me away or so I was so hungry and they helped me, they spurred me on, drove me so hard with my training, our preseason. I'm there, this whole new experience. These are seasoned vets. They just won it the year before. Maybe the year before that. Yeah, 2003. Sorry, two years later. And it was amazing. Like doing pre seasons. I'm there and I'm vomiting my guts up from all this. And that wasn't an amazing part. But the really grueling, tough pre seasons and the fellas just helped me so much, supported me so much. It was like family there. And you can see why they won in 03 and that was still there. Even though players had moved on, that was still there in 05. And I loved it. And it was such a special time for me being around these older men who I wanted to be, talking about environment and figureheads who have either got the accolades or established themselves in the area of the field that you connect with and resonate with most. Now, obviously, rugby league is no longer that for me at all, but at that time, and it changes. What an amazing period of growth for me, being so young, 20, 21 coming through and having these mentors around me. They were. They were mentors, big brothers. I love those guys. Swaney Swain, Doug, heaps of them. It was awesome. It really was. And oh man, good, good memories from which I really grew and grew out of my shell of being naturally shy. I'm not, I wouldn't say I'm naturally an introvert or extrovert being a Leo Virgo, if you buy into any of that sort of stuff. I may, I'm a loud party animal who's a perfectionist apparently. But anyway, it was really good because I rose up in footy very quickly. I didn't have any mates or know anyone at that level and I felt quite isolated at times and I felt very isolated when I moved to the Dragons. It wasn't an overly enjoyable period, obviously that with operations as well. 2008 had my knee and shoulder operator on the same time. It's. Yeah, you think you got real problems, try going to the bathroom, let alone wiping your backside. Tell you what, what a year that was. Without going into too much detail there, guys, but it truly is that and, you know, being in that environment and moving and pushing yourself towards that which attracts you, attracts who you want to be, what you want to achieve, what you want in your life. That doesn't mean where I'm heading now. And this definitely isn't to, you know, stereotype anything or what I'm doing, but it doesn't mean I'm going to go to all these self help seminars or go try and hang out with Tony Robbins or any of that sort of stuff. Like you can apply these sorts of things in your life if that's the field that you love. Whether it's different types. Well, everything in life is service, but different types of things that apply to you and your life. You can find and resonate with like minded people and ultimately create that environment, literally create the environment that you're in. All of a sudden you look back, you're like, wow, how did I end up here? How did I end up right here doing this? And I guess saying those words in retrospect, it could be on the flip side, man, how did I end up here? Somewhere along the lines, guys, your present moments now and your future present moments collectively form where you are in this present moment and can influence and dictate depending on your actions, where you'll be in the next present moment. And that's where we are here. It was a progressive thing for me, rising up through rugby league, my career being destroyed, still that little fat boy on the inside, still trying to validate myself to the world, prove it to everyone and prove it to myself. There's definitely genuine nature in there. I didn't want to just be the big rugby league glory man making millions of dollars and look at me, I'm on tv. Definite wasn't that it was a lucrative thing for me, in which I probably chased the carrot a bit longer than needed, but here we are. It's made me an incredible man in my own right in different ways, but was absolutely proving to myself as well. And then with CrossFit and opening up my own gym and all those sorts of things that came with that, competing again, filling that competitive void that was taken away when my career was destroyed playing overseas with Italy. Shoulder was gone, lost my contract with Souths. There are all these different moments that collectively led to the environments that have really hardened me. They've really hardened me and given me a life that's. It's been pretty interesting. There's always people who are going to do or see or have more in their lives, how people perceive it and do or see or have less. But for me, I feel blessed with a lot of the adversities that I've had. And deep down, I genuinely feel it's given me a skill set as well as a mindset and approach and methodology to create massive impact and change in people's lives. They change their lives, not me helping them change their lives. And the big part of that is fathers rdm. You know, it's. I love women and mothers, like, absolute respect for you ladies and for children and what they go through. And the people bagging out millennials, all that sort of stuff, that's for another story. We might do a story one day on Generations. I mean, the people who bag out the millennials are generally the one who's raised them. So that's. Doesn't really have much credibility there. But I'm in their corner. I'm in your corner, man. You know, the kids, women and mothers. Like, I'm helping fathers see what they can become. They can be better in themselves. They can be better men, better fathers. And that's not from a place or a line of judgment or a place of line of saying, look at me, I'm better. It's literally getting someone outside of yourself to help you shift your perspective, shift your environment and move you into the environment and the person that you want to be. And that's very powerful, Very, very hard to do on your own. You could never do it on your own with full potential, with full reach. You can't. It's impossible. Because you're only you. You only see what you are the gift of this world is all of us and all the gifts that we have collectively to help us shift the way we see things and form different ways of what is possible in our lives. And there's so much power in that. One example is Cam. Cam's coming on board with one of our episodes in the near future. He's a podiatrist man. He's going to talk about shoes and how to get the most out of being injury free. Everything starts from the ground up. It's going to be awesome. I'm really looking forward to having Cam on. And he's also a member of RDM and one of the dads here. And he used to train at Royal Commando here. And different requirements and different constraints stopped him from coming here with kids and work and business and whatnot. And that's just the way life goes. What we've created though online has been a phenomenal platform in which there is an absolute amazing, absolutely amazing environment that these dads can thrive in. And I saw Cam the other week, he's not too far from the gym and we catch up here and there. But the online environment we've created doesn't matter that it's online. It's created a huge shift in his life, huge change in his life, helped him with his business, with his family life of being so short tempered and harsh on the kids as we all can be and obviously being more present with his partner and better connected and all these different things that we'll get to catch up and you'll get to meet Cam that have collectively formed who he wants to be and who he continues to become and see what's possible for himself. Cam isn't 60 years old and 180 kilos. He's living his life, his story. You don't have to have the symptoms, so to speak, that are out there, that showcase this is who you are because you've got xyz, which is all the more reason for me to massively push this and what is needed and like I said before, absolute love and respect for women and mothers and wanting to help children as well. And we can do that and I do that and help achieve that through helping the fathers of today. Because women get a better man. They get a better version of their hubby or partner, co worker, different relationships, bosses, companies, CEOs, organizations help us everything. Children get a better father, role model, hero, leader. All these different things come together to really create a higher level of being in society. And that ripple effect in the ocean which honestly becomes A tsunami when we have enough impact and reach enough people. And at the end of the day, that comes down to environment. It is a huge play, huge player in the role of life and what it means to us. And before we wrap up today's episode, I want you to have a think about your environment. Close your eyes, visualize. You don't have to close your eyes. You can if you want that. Treat this like a meditation session. I'll do some hums, Visualize. What's my environment like right now? At home, at work, some of the physical, tangible things. Literally how I've laid out my room, my house, my workspace, office, the environment I'm in there, the industry I'm working on in the environment I create, how I engage with people and do I have a good temperament? Am I short tempered? What are the things I'm saying? What am I doing with these people? How am I working with myself? Do I create space within myself? Fortify the framework internally to make sure that I'm staying true to myself and what's important to me and all the fluff and bullshit out there in the world that can hit us at times isn't coming in and caving in on me. What does that look like as it presently stands right now? What does it look like and how do I see it? How do I feel about it? So what does it look like, that environment and how do I see it? What's my perspective on that environment? And then spend a few moments to think about, well, what do I want? If I woke up and looked in the mirror and looked at myself and knew that this was my last day, would I want to be doing What I'm doing right now is what I'm doing adding value to myself, expressing who I am and adding value to the world and those I love and those around me. And it's hard, guys. You can't just flick that switch. It's not an instant. I look back on my life the last 15 years, being an elite athlete, going through operations, businesses, all different, many, many different pressures and strains. Fatherhood as well. Another one, little Lillian, she's kicking on going, okay now. So that's great. That's a win in a tough 11 weeks with her. And I still feel like I'm moving towards. And sometimes a bit foggy, it's a bit hard to see, but I still feel like I'm moving towards where I want to get to. So it's not something that may happen overnight, but where do you want to be? Where do you see yourself? You're doing what you're doing right now. Is that something that you want to be doing over the next one, three, five years? You don't have to do the same thing forever, and you don't have to do different things every six months. It's not about that. It's about asking the why? What's the purpose? What is the point and purpose behind who I am, what I'm doing, and the environment that I'm continuously placing myself in, because that plays a huge role in influencing how I feel about that, how I feel about myself and how I feel about my place in the world and what's important to me. Let that sit with you for a little bit, guys, and have a good think about that. I look forward to catching up with you on the next one. Where we're going to be talking to Cam, our RDM super dad podiatrist, the wizard with getting. It's so important. Feet, ankles, shoes, all your mechanics, everything comes from the ground up. I'd say ankles are hugely important, ankles and feet, and just as important as your thoracic and your torso. So the largest portion of mass furthest away from where you are placed and grounded, which ultimately comes down to posture, how you're holding yourself. Because where we connect in the earth is our feet furthest point. The largest mass is our torso. And they both play huge roles, which ultimately a lot of the times when they're not both squared away, two most important parts. We spoke about that with Nadi, who is a physio, joined us the other week. Two most important parts. And when they're not squared away as they should be, the right way, that's when people's lower backs and hips are destroyed. Really have a think about it, guys. Find what resonates with you. Find and ask that question. What's the purpose? What's the point on the environment that I'm currently in and what's the one that I'd like to be in? And when you continually redefine, realign and ask yourself those questions, you will move forward. You will put those energies out there in the universe like I spoke about earlier, and literally create the environment you want to be in first. And it might not be a week away, might be a month, a year, 10 years, sooner or later that will come back and you will be there. And what a surreal feeling it will be because it honestly is just like I'm feeling this right here, right now. I blink and I can remember my year 12 formal and some of you listening that are older than me obviously, but it doesn't matter. We all understand that the concept of time now and it seems to be going quicker and quicker. But I literally bit by bit remember my year 12 formal. And that's what I'm coming up to 16 years ago. All right, there we go. Go so quick. Thanks again for joining us today. Appreciate your time as always. If you haven't anything, please let me know. Alexealdadmovement.com Jump on. You're either listening on this on itunes. If not, we're on itunes. I've got my own podcast page as well and Facebook, Instagram. Have a look, team. Check out some great stuff. I'm always posting videos, different types of things around your mindset. What's important to you, approaches, strategies, tactics to shift the way you think and the way you feel about certain things. To really free and liberate yourself. Remember your free will. Always remember that. Free your free will and get out there and kick ass and live life on your terms. Thanks again, guys for joining me. And if I don't see you, good afternoon, good evening and good night. I'll catch you on the next one. Cheers.