Harden Your Mind to Prepare for Tough Times

Welcome to the Soul of Innovation podcast. I am Thomas Anglero, recovering from a fever. I apologize, sweaty, but I wanted to share with you an important experience I had this week, something I learned about the difference between people. And it's about how to prepare yourself when times are hard, how to push yourself so that you know that when times get really hard, you got what it takes to to make it. So let me tell you a story. I had a meeting with 3 people this week, and I was telling them how I prep myself, how I purposely put myself in an impossible situation when things are absolutely fine, because just specifically so that when things get really, really hard, I know in a moment's notice I could push a button and I'm good to go. Nothing can stop me. So I told them just this past weekend I went to a sauna, and the sauna is usually 60 degrees Celsius. Don't know what that is in Fahrenheit, sorry. But this time I went to the sauna, it was 78 degrees Celsius. That is hot. That's like 130 degrees Fahrenheit or something. It is hot. And as soon as I sat in that sauna, I turned the dial on the wall, there's a sand dial, and it sets for 30 minutes. And as soon as I sat down, my mind kicked in. Of fear and panic. It came up with so many excuses to get the hell out of that room because it was hot. And right at that moment, I knew, I understood that this was my moment to conquer my mind. The mind is going to play tricks on you. The mind is going to do things. There's— it's always going to default to— I will say the path of least resistance, but it's always going to want to protect you. But it's your job to make your mind strong so you and your mind are one, but you got to build it up. It's sort of like, um, you have to, you have to be a personal trainer to your mind, as if you're in the weight room, and you have to push you know, that person to lift more weights, to get stronger. And that's the same thing you have to do in your mind, say, no, this is not bad, we can do this. Do not give in to those thoughts. So as I sat there, my mind came up saying, well, Thomas, you could pass out, we could get dizzy, this is really hot, this is not healthy. All these excuses were coming up and I ignored it. I recognized it and I told my mind No, I'm here. I'm not going anywhere. No excuses are getting me out of this room, this sauna. I sat there battling with my mind, saying, no, this is not that hot. It's all in the mind. This is not painful. It's all in the mind. I could be in a worse situation. And that's the one that really pushed me through the sauna. I kept on telling myself, I could be in a worse situation because I've been in worse situations. This is nothing compared to that. I have friends and family who've been sick in worse situations. They've gone through worse. I can sit in a sauna? Pathetic. And after 30 minutes, the last grain of sand fell. And I left that sauna knowing then, when I left that room, I then knew that I am stronger than my mind, and my mind is now stronger than where it was. And together, my mind and I, we are ready for whatever comes. Is your job— you must train your mind, you must train you, you must train your instincts to say, I can handle whatever comes my way, no matter how hard it is, no matter how difficult it is, no matter how uncomfortable it is, and no matter when it comes, I got this. I told the story to these 3 people and they were looking at me, I looked like I was out of my freaking mind. They thought I was crazy. I asked them, how do you harden yourself? They didn't understand my question. They understand life is supposed to be all about having fun. Get funding, enjoy yourself. And if the startup fails, so what? Move on to the next job. But what about the investors who just gave you millions of dollars and they lost all their money? It's not my problem. That's not the way to go through life. Life is about ups and downs, and you have to harden yourself. You have to prepare yourself. It is up to you to get yourself ready. It's not up to anybody else. When you get sick and you go to a hospital, yes, it is the doctors there to help you, but if you would have prepared yourself, and maybe if you were, you were unlucky, then you ended up in the hospital. But maybe if you're taking care of yourself and eating, you would have never ended up in the hospital, and now you have to depend upon the doctors. You should have been depending upon yourself in the beginning so you didn't end up in the hospital. You have to harden yourself all the time. Life is what it is, and it's hard sometimes, and therefore you must prepare yourself for those hard times. Go forth and spread beauty and light. And harden yourself. Find a moment that is easy and make it hard. For example, I do it all the time. Hold your breath. Excuse me, the fever. Oh, so sweaty. Hold your breath. Go for 2 minutes, and that's the starting point. It's a fun game. But you should be able to hold your breath for 2 minutes without a problem. Then you go for 2 and a half minutes, and then you go for 3 minutes, and then you go for 4. It's just a mind game, because when you realize, when you're holding your breath, that you're like, I can't breathe anymore, I can't breathe anymore, all you have to do is open your mouth, open your nose, and you breathe. It's not life-threatening. It's a game. It's a game that you're playing with your mind to harden your soul, to harden your thoughts, to make you understand that you can conquer no matter what's thrown at you, after you, or thrown at you. I apologize. That you are in control of your life and that nothing can kill you. I don't need air. I could hold my breath for 2, 3, 4 minutes. I could survive anything. You could put me in oppressive heat, I could survive that. That mindset, I can get through anything, is what's going to get you through everything. I say this because I love you. I want you I— to have— I want you never to feel like a victim. I want you to be so damn confident. But the only way you're gonna get there is to harden yourself. And it's not— hardening yourself is not about torturing someone else. That's not it. It's not about yelling at somebody and they yell back and you say, I could take that. No, hardening yourself is all about you and you inside of your bubble. Take a cold shower. That's a simple one. To start with the warm— be it water being warm in a shower, make it colder, colder, colder, all the way till you turn it where it's just ice cold and you're standing there and you don't feel it. Harden yourself. Understand that it's the mind that you need to— your mind that you need to conquer. And once you conquer your mind, there's nothing that can stop you, and there's no one that could hurt you. No comment from any idiot out there will ever affect you. Everyone's going to criticize you, but once you've hardened yourself, it doesn't matter. You're impenetrable. You've created your own kryptonite. And that's you. I love you. Take care of yourself. Until next time.