Make a Decision

Hello and welcome to the Soul of Innovation podcast. I am the host, Thomas Anglero, and my mission for this podcast is to share with you those private thoughts and reflections that I have being one of the top keynote speakers around the world on technology, motivation, and innovation. I hope you truly enjoy all the lessons I share, all the dots I connect that sometimes are just really difficult to get out but it's all for you. I truly hope you enjoy this episode.

Welcome to the Soul of Innovation podcast. I am Thomas Anglero, and let me ask you a serious question. How often do you hesitate from making a decision?

Hmm.

Be serious with yourself. Is there something right now When I said those words, that you know you should have made a decision about something and you're just not doing it. Why do you do that to yourself? Why do you torture yourself? Making a decision is one of the most powerful things you can do for you, for every facet of you, for your personal life, your financial life, your love life, your academic life. I could keep going on and on and on. When you don't make a decision, that feeling you have inside of you right now— and you know what I feel I'm talking about because I'm calling you out, right? You know right now that you should have made the decision about something. You know, you know that feeling you have now? It doesn't feel good, does it?

Doesn't taste good.

You sort of feel something in the back of your throat. I can feel it now because there are things that I should have made the decision for and I haven't made a decision about.

And that's why I'm doing this podcast.

We don't deserve to have that lump in our throat. You don't deserve to have it. You just gotta make a decision. Let me, let me tell you a story. Back when I was 13 years old, I went to a school that was extremely good, private school, and I'm from the ghetto, and I got this incredible opportunity to go to this wonderful private school. They were years ahead of me, even though it was the first year of high school. Their reading capabilities, I mean, they had been reading Shakespeare for 4 or 5 years. I barely knew who the hell Shakespeare was, forget about reading Shakespeare. Anyway, this was an elite school. I was not. I was, I was where I was, but I was happy to be there. And I remember it was like the third day of school that That's how much— how clear this memory was, or is, sorry. It was the third day of school. I didn't— wasn't familiar with the school. I was getting lost in the hallways. I wasn't familiar with the people, but one of my classmates was taking me around, and we ran into a teacher. And she— into the— my classmate introduced me to the teacher, and the teacher, this man, looked down at me, tall now I was, And he asked me a question, and I remember— I don't remember the question, but I remember that feeling of, I don't know what the hell he's talking about. And in that moment, I paused. I didn't hesitate, I paused. And I had to make a decision. Was I gonna go all ghetto project and try to bullshit myself through this moment So this man doesn't see I have no idea what words he's using. It wasn't that I didn't understand his question. I didn't— I wasn't familiar with the vocabulary he was even using. Forget about not understanding his question. Of course I don't understand his question, but I don't understand the words he's using in his sentences. And right there, at that moment, at 13 years old, I made a decision. And I looked at him and said, 'Sir, I don't know what you're talking about. I don't know some of the words you used, but if you're asking me if I'm going to try hard, I'm going to try really hard. You've never met anybody who's going to try harder. I'm sorry that I don't understand what you're asking me.' And I put my chin on my chest and I thought, God, I'm an idiot. At least I'm exposed. I don't belong here. I don't belong in this world. And I looked up at him and he smiled at me, this huge smile of respect. And he said to me, "That's okay. That's why you're here. We will teach you, and I personally will make sure you understand everything that is said while you attend this school. See you later, Thomas. Welcome." I made a decision to be me, who I was, who I am in that moment. I was intimidated. I was scared. I knew I was outclassed. I knew I don't have anywhere— these people's pocket change is more money I'd probably make in my first year of my first job. It was insane. And I said, no, I'm— this is me. I'm not gonna bullshit this. This is who I am. I'm vulnerable.

I'm weak.

I'm not intelligent.

I'm not smart.

I'm not anything, but I am me. And I am going to succeed. And he saw that, he felt that, and he gave me respect. A complete stranger, a teacher, a professor, gave me— there's nobody, it's a little kid from the projects— complete respect.

To this day, that is like 40 years ago.

I'm old as hell, 40.

And I hold on to that because that was my breakout mental moment. That was my breakout spiritual moment. I made a decision to be me. I made a decision that my vulnerabilities, that my lack of education, my lack of this, my lack of that, is who I am at this moment, and that is okay.

And that moment was my foundation moment, and that is where I grew up. From that moment on, I grew up.

That was it.

I stood on my two feet for the first time in my life in that moment.

When's the last time you felt you made a decision and a millisecond after you made that decision, you felt taller, more erect, and you felt you were standing on your two feet?

Dun-da-da!

Have you had that feeling after making a decision? If not, then you haven't made the right decision. Maybe you made a decision that was, eh, 50/50. Maybe you made a decision that was safe. Maybe you made a decision not to make a damn decision. Or the worst is, I'm making a decision so that I don't have to make a decision. So I'm postponing my decision to postpone my decision.

How about that one?

That's even worse. That's like moving you into negative territory. Is that you? Why the hell are you doing this to you? Why aren't you making the decision? Why are you postponing all the decisions? That moment where you stand there and you feel yourself in your foundation and life is yours and you keep on going is waiting for you. Make that damn decision. How many decisions you got to make? Make it on a list, write it down, make a decision. Are you in love with the person you're with, or aren't you in love with the person you're with? Make a damn decision. You're in school, you know what you got to do. Maybe you're taking too many classes, maybe you shouldn't be hanging out so much, maybe you're sleeping more. Make damn decisions. You don't have money in your pension, you should be saving. Stop Buying crap with your credit cards. Stop doing stupid stuff. Stop following your friends. Every time your friends call you, say, hey, let's go hang out, don't hang out. Make a decision to prioritize you. Is any of this shit resonating with people? The decisions you've made, you know those decisions aren't the decisions that are best for you. What decision can you make right now, right now, so you can feel you can stand up right now and go, you 'Yeah, this is me. That's the first time I felt like this is me.' Those are the decisions you need to make, not these cop-out excuse decisions. Do you understand me? Do you see yourself in these words?

You have a whole, whole life ahead of you. Life is a long game. It is a long game. It takes a long time, life. That means you have plenty of time to make up— forget about making up— to build, to grow, to live, to exist, to love. But it all starts with you making a decision, a decision that reflects the deepest part of you. Not some ridiculously— just because you made a decision, oh yeah, I'll do that. That's not a decision. Come on, don't do that to yourself. Every time you have— make— every time you have a chance to make a decision, you have a moment to begin anew. You have a moment to elevate yourself and bring more beauty and love into your life. Do you ever see a decision that way? It's so exciting.

Isn't it?

Think of it that way. Every time you got to make a decision, is the universe giving you an opportunity to bring more love into your life, more financial prosperity, more happiness?

What an amazing moment you have. You have a chance to make a decision. Holy crap! You go left, you go right, you can go up, you go down. You have a decision. Some people don't have anything. Some people have this life of just absolute blahness. Because what they have done is they don't want to make a decision. They don't want to risk anything. They want everything to be so, so, so. Nothing should change. My day should be— what the— how boring is that? And they complain that they're not happy. Holy crap.

Make a decision. Make a decision to bring chaos into your life.

Make a decision to talk to crazy people who just change your perspective.

Make a decision to give some money to somebody who's sick. Make a decision to exist and to love and to learn and to laugh. Make a decision to laugh every day. Here's, here's something I want you to do. When you wake up tomorrow morning, after you take that deep breath in and you give gratitude to the world that you're so happy about— you're alive, you're breathing, the roof didn't fall on your head— I think about that every single morning, you know that, when I wake up. I'm so glad that the roof didn't fall on my head while I was sleeping. I mean, that's how much gratitude I have towards life itself.

But tomorrow morning when you wake up and after you go through that whole thing, I want you to start laughing. Just start, start giggling. Just start laughing as soon as you wake up, all right? Even before you do everything else, just start laughing, right? Um, you know how wonderful it is to wake up, just start laughing? Holy crap, you have just blessed your day. You're gonna have the most amazing day possible because you start off the first moment of the day laughing.

You made a decision to smile to start your day. Make a decision that's best for you. Make a decision. Your life, you deserve all the love that should come your way. Make a decision. Go forth and spread beauty and light.

I love you.

I believe in you. And I look forward to tomorrow morning when you wake up and you just start laughing how lucky you are. Until the 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.