Episode 123: Beat the Suck that Life has on You

Welcome to the Soul of Innovation podcast. I am Thomas Anglero, and life comes in waves, periods of time that, irregardless of what you're doing, where you're at, what your intentions are, your good fortune or bad fortune, things will change and you have no control, no control over what's about to happen to you or what is happening to you. And you don't understand. You're doing all the right things. You're not even looking in that area. Maybe you're being healthy and training and eating right and still You can become sick. Maybe you've done everything right at work and you still get overlooked for a promotion, or you even lose your job. So, so much times in life things happen, and these waves— in my time, in my life, a lot of waves, a lot of periods in which I tried and tried and tried, but I couldn't get out of that wave. I just want to remind you that that wave is just a— it's just a period of time. No matter what you're in right now, you have to see it as this period of time. I'm not going to give in to the wave. Don't drown. Keep fighting, but eventually you're gonna break the current. So let's give you analogy. Maybe you don't know it, and maybe you save somebody's life out there. I found out when I was young, swimming out in Coney Island in Brooklyn, New York. It has extremely strong currents that would pull you in. I mean, you would be up in the water only into your knees, and the current was so strong, the water was so strong It would suck you out. And every summer at least 1, 2 kids died because the current would just suck you out into the ocean. I think it was called riptide. I don't recall right now, it's been a long time. And I remember one lifeguard on some TV show— oh, it was on a news report on TV. They talked about a kid who had drowned and they interviewed the lifeguard and he said that if you're pulled out by the riptide You're standing there only in knee— the water's up to your knees, and you get pulled out. Literally, it's weird as hell. I mean, you figure you can't fall. You get sucked out by the ocean, and it's pulling you on, it's pulling you under. The only thing you could do is don't try to swim inland. That's what most people try to do. He said swim along the shore because it's only that short period. It's like within say 10 meters to your left and 10 meters to your right. That little area there has a riptide, but once you break through that period, that little section there, there'll be no more current and you can swim to shore. One day I was in Coney Island sitting there or standing there playing, and the damn riptide came. It pulled me out and it pulled me under, and I was going out to sea fast. I was barely able to get my head above the water a couple of times, and I started swimming to shore, and I was going further and further out to sea. And I'm talking about the Atlantic Ocean, and I realized then that I was in the middle of the riptide. So at that moment I said, let me do what this guy said to do with a little bit of energy I left, because I used a lot of energy to swim to shore like everyone else when you're stuck in this riptide. So I said, this is all or nothing, because if this doesn't work, I'm dead because I'm exhausted. So I took all the energy I could and started swimming like crazy sideways. Following the shore, and the riptide was pulling me, pulling me down and pulling me out. And I kept on swimming harder and harder and harder, fast as my little arms could swim. And then all of a sudden— and I've been swimming like that for at least 2 or 3 minutes, I had nothing left— and then all of a sudden, in one stroke, it let me go. And my next stroke, I was able to swim so much faster. Nothing— whatever was holding on to my body, whatever was pulling at my legs, whatever was holding me back, whatever was trying to destroy me, to ruin my life, it no longer had hold of me. And I was free. And I felt it instantly. I was able to— I felt it instantly. I was able to stop for a moment, and I was able to just sort of Swim, Steph, float there. And I quickly swam back to shore with a little bit of energy I had, more like a dog paddle. And I finally got to the beach, crawled until there was no more water touching me, and collapsed. Life is just a period of time where we feel like we're trapped. There's nothing we can do. That tide is pulling you out. As strong as you are, as much as you've prepared, as you could be a great swimmer, but if you do it the wrong way, irregardless if you're an Olympic swimmer, you cannot beat the tide. You cannot beat the pull that life has on you. You have to fight. You have to fight smart. You have to take care of yourself. You have to think positive thoughts. You have to continue to fight, to fight, but not in the way that you have. Life's teaching you a lesson, but understand this, that this is only this portion of your life, only that portion of time. It's not forever unless you keep doing what you're doing. Then it's going to pull you out to sea, and for some of us, it may be game over. Do you understand? I want you to look at your life. I want you to look at the down periods, the troubling times when your child gets sick, when your loved one gets sick, your sibling gets sick, your mother or father gets sick, when someone you care about gets sick, when you lose a job, when you get a divorce, when your dog passes away. It's just a period of time. And you'll get through it, but you're gonna have to keep on fighting. Fight smarter. Find a way to beat life. Find a way to get through it. I don't think we could beat life. That riptide was still there in that 10-meter by 10-meter spot. It was still there. Life's challenges, life's current, Life's ability to pull you under, make things difficult, it's there right in front of your nose. And if you do the wrong thing, if you paddle the wrong way, you're gonna get right back into that riptide and there it is again. Don't do that. Don't fall back. Don't drink that bottle of alcohol. Don't smoke that cigarette. Don't eat that cake. Don't enter that person's house and spend time in their bed. Don't do it. You're entering the riptide. Don't put the riptide in your life. Avoid the riptide and you'll have a beautiful life. Go forth and spread beauty and light. Believe in yourself. Believe that you get through these moments, these challenges, that you can swim, that you're strong enough swimming, that you're strong enough person. You believe in yourself, your willpower. You believe that you deserve life so much that you can swim against the current, through the pull the negativity and break free and live. The riptide is not your destiny. It's just that portion of time that you're in. It's not permanent unless you let it be. Don't let it be. You're too good for that. Don't swim against the current. Swim 90 degrees to it. Find another way. And then, when you've broken free, reflect and understand that you'll be given another chance. And now do what your life is meant to be. I love you. This is Thomas Anglero, and I truly believe in you. The riptide of life is only for a short period of time. You're gonna get through it. And I'm here for you. Take care, okay? Until next time.

Thank you for listening to that episode. If you want to contact me, you can contact me on my website at anglero.com, and you can also subscribe to the newsletter, or you can find me anywhere on social media with Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, and Twitter. Thank you so much, and I hope to hear from you very soon.