9 Dec 2018 · 7 min
Thomas Anglero delivers a year-end pep talk about clarity and trying new things. He argues that simple actions, even your breath, ripple out and affect others. The process matters more than the goal.
Hello and welcome to the Soul of Innovation podcast. I am your host, Thomas Anglero, and I'm fired up because we're approaching the Christmas holidays here in 2018, and this is the time for all of us to get clarity. Clarity on where we are, clarity on where we're going. And I think, you know, with only a few weeks left in the year, this is a time to get really excited and go for it. Go for finding, go for doing and being who you were meant to be. You know, the stock market is going to crap, the price of oil is falling down, and you can take all these negative looks in the world, but you know what? Let me give you a perspective. None of that means anything to you. Here's why. Right now, you chose to listen to me, you chose to listen to this podcast. You chose, you made an action that's contributing to you. What else are you going to contribute to contribute to you? That's it. That's the only perspective you should have going into the new year. What am I going to do to contribute to myself? What is it that I really, really burn for? What is it that I always wanted to try? And listen to me, if you try something and you find you're not so damn good at it, you learn something. And during that process, you can find out more about you. For example, I want to learn how to play the saxophone. God, I want to learn how to play the saxophone. About 20 years ago, I tried for the summer. I took summer lessons. I was horrible. I remember after my 4th lesson, I went home. This is more than 20 years ago. This is going back a long time ago. Whatever. It doesn't matter. I went back home, played some music for someone, and they thought I was terrible, and I didn't pick up the saxophone again. I have no talent with a damn saxophone. But I learned something. I learned the beauty of holding an instrument. I learned the beauty of the fact that when I blow air with my lips, I can create sounds. I can create a feeling in the air. I could, when I practice, I could stop people walking by in the street, maybe because I was torturing them, or maybe they found a beauty in the note. You see, it wasn't— the lesson I learned was that it wasn't that I was trying to teach myself saxophone. I actually learned that my breath, that my lungs, that by puckering up my lips, I can change someone's thoughts, someone's mood. I would have never found that out if I didn't learn, if I didn't choose or attempt to try to play the saxophone. For this year coming up, what is it that you've always wanted to do? Bungee jump? I think that's cool. Let me remind you of something. It's not about jumping out the airplane. It's about all the things you're doing as you prep to jump out the airplane. The person you meet, the instructor, the other people in your class when you take the class, that person by accident when you both, you go to pick up the pack, touch hands, that could be the one. See, life ain't about going from A to B. Life is about all of those pieces in between. So that's why you set goals. That's why for next year you should set a goal, and don't be so damn crazy about that end goal. Enjoy everything that happens up until you get to that end goal. If you never get to that end goal— my end goal was to be playing some concert and have people cheer for me because I'm blowing my saxophone, making people feel good. Can't get there. But I realized that, oh, the little things, the big things, that my breath, that the air coming out of my lungs can make people feel good. Holy crap, I didn't know. Is that possible? Just by— I can make someone feel so wonderful. What can you do? By just by going— is that amazing? Isn't that a powerful reflection? For 2019, for this beautiful upcoming new year, ignore all the stuff happening in the news. That stuff will always be there. I want you to get giddy. I want you to get excited about you. I want you to write down on a piece of paper, just start writing about things you always wanted to do, things you did in the past that you really enjoyed, you know, things that are crazy that you would never ever do. That's the best stuff to go for, right? Take you out of your comfort zone. And then 2019, the year 2019 is all about you. Why not? Go for it. Go with that amazing perspective. Don't go into 2019 with the New Year resolution, I'm gonna lose weight and all that. We all have to do that. We all have to eat better. We all have to exercise. That's a given, all right? That's a given 'cause you're on the planet Earth and you're living. You gotta do that irregardless. I want you to have fun. I want you to find a new definition of fun for you. And the way you're gonna find that is by having a goal And you're saying, I'm gonna enjoy that process. I'm gonna enjoy all the times I fall down and make mistakes along the way to that goal. That's what it's all about. 2019, baby, is all about you. It's all about you falling down. It's all about your mistakes. And it's all about the people that you meet who help to pick you up. It's all about the differences you make, just with your simple Breath. You'll change the world just by blowing, just by being. But you gotta be. You gotta be in the game. You gotta be into you. And you have to be aware of the people around you who help make you. Have the most amazing last few weeks before the holidays. Get so excited about you. Start falling in love with you. Start thinking about all the wonderful things you're gonna start doing. And let me tell you something, if one of those things on the list is that my goal for 2019 is to go for long walks by myself, I think you made a wonderful choice. Because when you go for a long walk, you get to understand who you are. And then you get to hear nature going— Kind of beautiful, isn't it? Till next time, it's all about you. Take care.
