What If Everything That Went Wrong Was Actually Right? 

0:00This episode is brought to you by Progressive Insurance. Do you ever think about switching insurance companies to see if you could save some cash? Progressive makes it easy. Just drop in some details about yourself and see if you're eligible to save money when you bundle your home and auto policies. The process only takes minutes, and it could mean hundreds more in your pocket. Visit Progressive.com after this episode to see if you could save. Progressive Casualty Insurance Company and Affiliates. Potential savings will vary. Not available in all states.

0:34This is The Ed Myron Show. So welcome back, everybody. I'm really, really excited about what we've been doing here. The ratings and reviews and shares are in the millions, and it's so exciting to see what's happening. So today, what I want to talk about is qualifications for your dreams. You know, most times in life, we do everything we can to disqualify ourselves from our dreams and our potential. And I want you to think about this just for a minute. I really believe, and I want to make a bold statement in the beginning, that you were born to do something great with your life and that you're not disqualified.

1:07No matter what's happened in your life, good, bad, or indifferent, or maybe it's just been average and ordinary the entire time, you are not disqualified from making your dreams, your purpose, your vision a reality in your life. But what we do often, and I've done it many times, is I think my past disqualifies me or some mistake I've made. So we hold ourselves. It's almost like a weapon we use against ourselves is we hold our past mistakes, our past failures, our past setback, our past average performance and behavior as if it's a predictor of what our future is. We think we're disqualified. So I'm here to tell you that the things that maybe that are the biggest setbacks of your life, the things you might be most ashamed of, the biggest disappointments, the biggest what you might call failures where people have hurt you, or maybe you even hurt others, sins you've had, mistakes.

1:58You know, I've had a divorce, so I'm disqualified from winning. Not true. Or I've had this setback. No, you're not disqualified. Well, I've had a bankruptcy or I had a business failure or I, I've just always been invisible and average. So I'm disqualified from ever doing something great in my life and nothing could be further from the truth. It's the great lie of life. The great lie of our lives is we begin to stack things that didn't work out as evidence that we can't win in the future as evidence it's not going to work. We actually also literally think it disqualifies us somehow from winning.

2:31And I'm here to tell you that is a great lie that millions of people around the world are telling themselves. And what if I was to tell you that I think those same divorces, setbacks, failures, sins, mistakes, the average performance of your past are the very things that do qualify you to change other people's lives and fulfill your destiny. That's what I actually believe. See, in life, if you really want to impress people, show them how perfect you are. Show them your best Instagram photo, your biggest achievement, the best things you've done in your life, how happy and smart and amazing you are.

3:05You really impress people and you'll connect with nobody and you will change nobody's life. But on the other hand, if your ambition is to change other people's lives, is to make a difference with your own life, to make an impact on people's lives, then show them your imperfections. If you show them your imperfections, you will connect with them. Let me give you the best example in the world. Someone said this on my show many times, I've said it before. You are most qualified to help the person or people you used to be. Say that to you again. You are most qualified in your life to help the person or people you used to be.

3:43Rory Vaden said that on my show. I've said that back since 1997, a version of that. I just didn't know how true it was until recently So as you all know, I wrote the number one best-selling nonfiction book in the world this year called the power of one more If you haven't got that book, I would recommend you go get that book. I believe it'll change your life But after I wrote that book and it became a bestseller I woke up one night and the book is really about the lessons I learned from my dad as many of you know But some may not my dad was an alcoholic and a drug addict for the first 35 or first 15 years of my life and then he got sober when I was 15 and he made one decision to do that and stayed sober one day at a time for the rest of his life and I'm in the personal development the change your life space because I believe human beings can change in fact I don't believe it I know it and the reason that I know it is because my own hero did it I watched my dad live a particular way that wasn't great the first 15 years of my life and then the next 35 years of my life I watched him live as a completely different man, a magnificent life, a giving life, a kind life, a beautiful life, a heavenly life.

4:55So I know humans can change because I watched my hero do it. But what's most amazing about my dad's sobriety is I woke up one night many months ago crying in my sleep and I woke up and I said to my wife, she goes, what's wrong? And I said, I said, well, you're not going to believe this, but I just realized something. Someone helped daddy. Someone helped my dad. She goes, what are you talking about? And I said, well, when dad got sober, someone helped my dad change his life Some precious human being stepped forward and said, I can help you See, we're born in our life to do great things in our life big and small But we don't know when we're doing them whether they're big or small We don't know the ripple effects.

5:34And I said someone helped my father in the worst moment of his life My dad was either going to take his own life or lose his family And in that terrible moment, I don't even know where it was. Was it a bar somewhere? An alley? I don't know who they are or where it happened But what I know is some human being changed my dad's life Which then changed my life and i've changed millions of people's lives This precious human being has no idea that that one act that one generosity that one helping one person Is impacted millions of people because they helped my father in that alley or that bar somewhere is that not remarkable?

6:11That one act, the ripple effect has affected millions of people's lives. And that's not the most remarkable part of it. Even though that's crazy to think that as a human, you have that power. You have one person. The ripple effects are unknown. That's not the most amazing part. The most amazing part is what was it that qualified that precious human to help my father? What were their qualifications?

6:40the very things that most people would think disqualified them, the things that that person was most ashamed of, their biggest failures, their biggest sins. You know what qualified that person to help my dad? They were also an alcoholic at one time. They were also a drug addict at one time. They also lied and cheated and stole money and lived in the shadows. The things that person would think, my gosh, my alcoholism, my drug addiction, my lying, my theft, my shadowy life, all those things, the worst things about me, I'm totally disqualified from having a great life, from living a dream, from helping other people.

7:12If anyone's disqualified, it's me. Wrong. Actually, those were the very things God was using, the universe was using to qualify that person to meet the moment, to help my dad when he was going to take his life or lose his family. I want you to understand and think about the power of that. The very thing that human being probably walked around most of their life thinking, Now that's the weapon I use against me, why I can't win, why I can't be happy, why I can't help people, why I can't change. Other people could win, just not someone like me, not someone where I come from, not with my family, not with my background, not with my mistakes, not with the fact that I've always been average and ordinary, not the fact that I'm invisible.

7:50No, no, no, no. Sorry. Guess what? Those very things that you use as a weapon against you that you think disqualify you are the very things that do qualify you. That person didn't know all those years they were using drugs and suffering, all those years they were drinking alcohol and making mistakes and hurting other people and probably lying and probably stealing and probably living in the shadows, every single one of those things was preparing them for that moment to help somebody who was the person they used to be, my dad. You are most qualified to help the person you used to be in your life.

8:31I'm a living proof of it. By the way, so are you. As you're listening to this or you're watching this, you are part of the ripple effect of that one act, that human being who helped my dad, who helped me, who's now helping you. What I hope you do today is, by the way, you share this episode with somebody so that ripple continues. I want the world to understand one thing. You are not disqualified for making your dreams come true. I don't care. Some people think, well, that's what I look like. It's where I come from. It's the mistake I made. It's none of that crap. Those are the very things that are qualifying you right now because you are most qualified to help the person you used to be.

9:10And by the way, that's why growing matters because every time you grow into a new version of you, you are most qualified to help the people who you used to be. And then you grow people. Why do you still grow and read and expand? Because I know every time I grow and change, I now can help that person I used to be, those people that I used to be. If you were once broke and now have figured out how to make money, you can help broke people. If you were once overweight and now are fit, you can help all those people. If you were once broke in and now are a little bit less broken, you can help broken people.

9:44If you were once invisible and average and ordinary and in despair, you can help people who feel average and ordinary and and invisible and in despair. If you were once insecure and shy, and maybe you are right now, and lack self-confidence or lack direction or lack purpose, and then now you find it and discover it, you can help all those people in the world who currently lack purpose, lack confidence, lack inspiration. We are most qualified in our life to help the person or people we used to be and never underestimate the ripple effect of you just saying, hey, I'm imperfect too. But this is what I've learned.

10:20And I'm here for you. And I love you. And I believe in you. I honestly believe that if this one message reached millions of people, we would have a different world. We'd be a little bit less judgmental. We'd give each other a little bit more grace. We'd have way more people pursuing their potential and their dreams. So imagine it's midnight. You're on the couch. You're scrolling through this new website, hitting the add to cart button. and you decide to check out, but you remember that your wallet or your credit card is in the other room and you don't want to get off the couch, that's okay, you don't need to because there's that big iconic purple shop button.

10:58You know the one. With that shop button, that's Shopify. And there's a reason that so many businesses sell with it because it makes everything easier from checkout to creating your own storefront. Shopify is the commerce platform behind 10 % of all e-commerce in the US from household names like Mattel and Gymshark to brands that are just getting started. Shopify will give you a leg up from the beginning with beautiful ready-to-go templates to express your brand. And you don't need to know how to code. You can handle everything in one place from inventory to payments to analytics. And they've got built-in marketing and email tools and that iconic purple ShopPay button used by millions of businesses around the world.

11:37If you want to see less carts being abandoned, it's time for you to head over to Shopify. Sign up for your one month,$1 per month trial period and start selling today at Shopify.com slash Paula. Go to Shopify.com slash Paula. Shopify.com slash Paula.

11:58This episode is brought to you by Progressive Insurance. Fiscally responsible, financial geniuses, monetary magicians. These are things people say about drivers who switch their car insurance to Progressive and save hundreds. Because Progressive offers discounts for paying in full, owning a home, and more. Plus, you can count on their great customer service to help you when you need it. So your dollar goes a long way. Visit Progressive.com to see if you could save on car insurance. Progressive Casualty Insurance Company and Affiliates. Potential savings will vary. Not available in all states or situations.

12:39I have an addiction. I have a lot of them. but my main addiction is I'm addicted to the expansion of my being. I'm curious and fascinated by what my capacity can be to do different things in my life. And that constant pursuit of potential, that constant pursuit of growth, that lack of judging myself, that lack of assessment of negative thoughts about myself and giving myself grace of knowing, yeah, I just made a mistake, but guess what? I've learned from that mistake. I've grown from it. And now I'm qualified to help the people who may make those same mistakes. The reason I do this show is because I just have a lot of experience with failure.

13:17I have a lot of experience with setbacks and frustrations. I know what it's like to live scared. I know what it's like to live with negative emotions. I know what it's like to live afraid, to live angry, to be depressed. I know what it's like to be broken. I know what it's like to be broke. I know what it's like to not have electricity in my house. I know what it's like not have running water. I know what it's like to beg for money at a gas station so that I could get to my house now that I think about it. I know what it's like. And you know what? That's what qualifies me to help people. See, it takes leaders with vision to help people with dreams, not perfect people.

14:00None of us are perfect. Rinse takes your laundry and hand delivers it to your door, expertly cleaned and folded, so you could take the time once spent folding and sorting and waiting to finally pursue a whole new version of you. Like tea time you. Mmm. Or this tea time you. Or even this tea time you. So did you hear about Dave? Or even tea time, tea time, tea time you. Mmm. So update on Dave. It's up to you. We'll take the laundry. Rinse. It's time to be great. I want you to make your life something awesome. I want you to change other people's lives. And I know most of the time you feel disqualified to do it.

14:43And I hope today maybe you get a little bit of a glimpse of exactly how qualified you are. I think God's a really interesting dude. and I think he sits there and goes, if I could just get my children to understand, I'm preparing you every day to make a difference in the world. I'm preparing you every day to change your own life, to change other people's lives, and that you're immensely qualified, that the DNA of the King of Kings runs through your bloodstream. I just want to remind you today, as you're listening to this, that you're born to do something awesome with your life. And I'm here to help you every step of the way, along the way.

15:21but you got to take the first step today. And that step today is just to believe that you're qualified. You're immensely qualified. You're immensely capable. You're awesome with all your mistakes, all your weaknesses, all your sins, all the things you're not so good at, all the things that you wish you were better at, that you see other people have. You wish you looked this way or talk that way or thought that way or had that family. You're perfectly you. You're perfectly you in this moment. And the minute you accept that, you understand how qualified you are to change your own life and to change other people's lives and i think one of the things you could do today that would qualify you is to share my message is to share these thoughts with people so that people maybe today get a little bit of a glimpse into what's possible your decisions shape your destiny everybody and the minute you decide that you're qualified your life changes and hopefully you decide to share this with somebody as well i hope by the way that you get the power of one more in my book i hope you share this podcast and subscribe.

16:18God bless you everybody.