Ever felt like the world is telling you "no"? Transform that finality into the first letters of "New Opportunity" and join us on a journey to explore the relentless power of perspective. Discover how legends like Thomas Edison and Roger Bannister harnessed their failures and defied the impossible, proving that resilience is not just beneficial but crucial for success. Our conversation is a testament to the unyielding belief in the possible and the mindset that turns every setback into a setup for a comeback.
The only thing you can't do is the life is the thing that you say you can't do.
Learn how to build this belief muscle!
Thank you for tuning in! If you feel led, please subscribe & share the show to others who you believe would benefit from it.
Keep in touch below!
Ever felt like the world is telling you "no"? Transform that finality into the first letters of "New Opportunity" and join us on a journey to explore the relentless power of perspective. Discover how legends like Thomas Edison and Roger Bannister harnessed their failures and defied the impossible, proving that resilience is not just beneficial but crucial for success. Our conversation is a testament to the unyielding belief in the possible and the mindset that turns every setback into a setup for a comeback.
The only thing you can't do is the life is the thing that you say you can't do.
Learn how to build this belief muscle!
Thank you for tuning in! If you feel led, please subscribe & share the show to others who you believe would benefit from it.
Keep in touch below!
Welcome to the Win Today podcast, a weekly tool intentionally crafted to help people enhance performance, feel inspired and conquer life. Our commitment is that you will learn from some of the most disciplined, heartwarming and inspiring people on the globe, in addition to receiving a piece of a winning playbook from myself or a renowned expert in their field. My name is Ryan Cass and I am your host, and it is my purpose in this world to inspire people to establish a foundation for sustained success by developing systems that will enable you to accomplish your goals, break systemic trends of adversity and chart a desirable course for life. Thank you so much for tuning in. Please help us achieve our vision of becoming one of the top podcasts in the world by subscribing to the show, sharing it with somebody who you believe will benefit from it and leaving a review.
Speaker 1:Let's connect with our guest. Let there be light. Do you realize that the reason why we have light today is because of a relentless human being? The reason why we're able to have the luxury that we do to flip on a simple switch is because of somebody who is absolutely relentless and believe that anything is possible and that there's really no such thing as no and there's no such thing as failure. I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work. That was said by Thomas Edison, the man who invented the light bulb, and the man who went through 10,000 attempts before he was successful Not 10,000 failures, but simply explored 10,000 opportunities. Another thing that Thomas Edison said is many of life's failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up. It makes me think of a graphic that I've seen many times, and maybe you've seen it that there's someone chipping away with an axe at a mountain and he's been chipping away and chipping away and chipping away. The graphic shows that he just walks away and he was searching for gold and he was maybe two or three more hits and he would have struck the gold mine. That's where I believe that anything in this life truly is possible, and this message is about why I believe that anything is possible and how you can adopt that mindset as well. I often talk about anything being possible if and when you develop the mindset and systems and framework that either I'm preaching or that my guests are preaching, but I haven't really dived deeper into why I really believe that anything is possible, using examples and studies and research from others. That's what we're going to cover here is why I believe and really why you should believe that anything and I mean anything is possible.
Speaker 1:I've found myself having just a little bit more of a fascination and curiosity behind why some people are able to, we'll say, break the norm, and why, the best of the best, what has put them in their seats? Why are they at where they're at? What are their defining moments? And time and time and time again, whether it's me researching or me interviewing them, it's almost as if these failures, or rather opportunities, serve as some prerequisite for success, meaning that the more you've overcome, the more times people have told you no or doubted you, the more time that you've had difficulty doing something that you're really good at now, I believe, is the more or higher likelihood that you have to achieve anything that you want.
Speaker 1:And now I'm not stating that you need to go through really bad stuff in order to be successful, but there are likely obstacles that everyone has encountered in their life, whether you come from an amazing family or a broken family, that can propel you to any level of success that you ultimately envision. In this fascination and curiosity, I've come to rename or reframe what I think of the word no, and the word no N-O in my book now simply means new opportunity. No for anything that you've encountered in life means you have a new opportunity, either to go do that thing again, modify your approach, or you've got a new opportunity to do something else that you were actually meant to do. Maybe it's not that one thing you were searching after, it's the next thing. So no means new opportunity, and another way I like to look at it is no simply means not right now, but I'm going to come back and get it later. Now, again, just as I've studied the back stories behind some of the people that we're going to talk about today people that you likely know I found that there isn't a single one where anyone was born into anything. None of them were given anything.
Speaker 1:People have emerged because of the difficulties they've encountered and their mindsets, and I'll start with one of my favorite ones, and, as you guys know, I'm a runner, if this is your first time tuning in. I love running, I love endurance sports. I believe that they do so much for your mind. And think about the four minute mile. Roger Bannister was the first person to break the four minute mile and there were, up until he had done it, the sports scientists, the athletes and really the world was saying this is impossible. There had been countless people that had run 401s and even four flats, but it seemed like the illustrious sub four was impossible. And for those that actually believed it, you're right. If you think you can or you can't, you're right that's said by Henry Ford. For those that believed it was impossible, they didn't end up achieving it. But it takes one, it takes one with anything in life to show us that, hey, that thing, you actually can do it. And then it opens the door for countless others. So Roger Bannister broke the four minute mile and now in the NCAA and in professional track and field, it's not uncommon to see people running their one mile in the three minute 40 second range, but most commonly in the three fifties. And that's just the norm now, because it took one person not taking no for an answer, looking at hey, this is another opportunity, a new opportunity, and I'm going to train differently, I'm going to adjust my approach, I'm going to do things differently, do things differently than anybody else has done to this point and show that this is possible.
Speaker 1:The next one on the running world is Elliot Kipchogge, sub two hour marathon, sport scientist. This is impossible, you can't do it. Elliot Kipchogge, famous for saying impossible is nothing. The only limits that humans have are the limits we place on ourselves. Any human is unlimited. There are no limitations that face us other than what we put on ourselves.
Speaker 1:And Elliot, for a few years, actually attempted to achieve the sub two hour marathon, got really close. His first attempt was in a sponsored we'll call it experiment by Nike, the sub two hour project, and he ran two hours flat and 25 seconds. So think about that for a minute. He was off the mark by literally less than a second per mile. Insane, and that could lead him to believe. You know what. Maybe it's not for me, maybe they are right, maybe the critics are right, maybe this is actually impossible. But not to Elliot, with the mindset and understanding that these opportunities, these trials, these tribulations are ultimately your prerequisites or qualifiers for success. So he comes back a couple years later in Vienna, austria, and runs a 159 40. Now the sub two hour marathon hasn't been broken yet in an official race, but the keyword is yet because Elliot Kipchogge opened the door to show that, hey, this is possible.
Speaker 1:So this is why, again now, I believe that, beyond just adopting the mindset and incorporating the things that talk about, often, look at other people. So, by studying other people, whether it's the Elliott's, the Rogers, or even organizations that have thrived and even started in the most difficult of times, this is why I believe that anything is possible. Look around at other people and if you see where they come from again, none of them come from a place where everything was given to them then it will, I believe, start to open your eyes and open some doors in your mind that, hey, you know what. I can do. Anything, too. You can do anything. The only thing you can't do is what you say you can't do. Now, switching away from athletes, what I've found in some other people that, again, you may know, is that things didn't go their way right off the bat.
Speaker 1:Walt Disney Walt Disney, the man behind Mickey Mouse and this global empire that we see today and that many of you have been to the parks to experience the magic. I know I have and still, even as a 31 year old, I think that place is amazing. Walt Disney was told that he wasn't innovative enough. Think about that and going back to the beginning, with the person that was chipping away at the mountain. What if Walt Disney would have walked away at that, at people telling them you know what? You're not innovative enough. Dude, this, this dumb mouse idea, nobody's gonna buy that. What if he would have walked away at that and think about how many millions, tens of millions of people have experienced Disney's magic. When I look back on my life and talk to a lot of friends like that's something we reflect on and Smile about, laugh about, like hey, remember that time you went to Disney, what was your Disney experience? And those are some of the most fun times in my life. But he didn't stop because someone said I, you know what. Walt Not innovative enough. He believed in himself and he believed enough in his vision. So there's another lesson there that, regardless of what people say, it's important to have a Strong belief in whatever it is that you want to do, because it doesn't matter what other people say. If it did again, if it mattered to Elliot, if it mattered to Roger, if it mattered to Walt, if it mattered to Steve Jobs with Apple which people don't know, steve actually got fired from Apple Then we may not have the iPhones that 90% of us are using today. That's why I believe that anything is truly possible now, looking at these people.
Speaker 1:And here's another one George Clooney. You've probably watched a fair amount of movies with George Clooney in it, and George Clooney was actually rejected from several of his auditions, and I didn't know this until I read the obstacle is the way by Ryan Holiday. This was one of my favorite books in 2024. The obstacle is the way, and it basically highlights throughout the entire book, all of these stories whether it's people, organizations, military organizations and what they overcame to eventually experience greatness that these things that we think are Obstacles in our lives are actually the things that will help us the most. They are the opportunities that are being placed in front of us. So, george Clooney I figured that he must have been a successful actor, probably started small and then worked his way up, almost Didn't make his way into the film industry at all, but he adjusted his perspective, adjusted his approach and Now we have the George Clooney that we see today, and I know that I look forward to any movie that he's in, because you know it's gonna be a good one because of the quality of his work and how he is sharpened and refined his craft Over the years, and a lot of that is likely driven by those times where he was told no, and he's got this chip on his shoulder, or really this gift that every time he goes out there and gets on camera he's probably thinking man, I'm gonna show you guys that I am the best and I can do this and there's no role that I Can't serve in. So, george Clooney, folks, amazing, amazing example.
Speaker 1:Beyond researching people, other people, I've looked around at people in my life and been intentional about Surrounding myself with people who not only share the same belief system that anything is possible, but also have demonstrated themselves that they can overcome unthinkable odds or that they can go ahead and break the norm, they can flip the script on anything. And One person that comes to mind immediately is Jen drum, and Jen recently became the first woman in the world to summit the second highest peak in each of the seven continents, which is actually more difficult than hiking the first highest peak in every continent, which you would think otherwise. But Jen became the first woman in the world to do that, and it wasn't without a Near-death experience and it wasn't without having to attempt or recline some of these mountains multiple times because on the way on Her first attempt at K2, she had teammates that lost their lives to frostbite and avalanches. And she kept coming back and there's people telling her Jen, you shouldn't do this, jen, you've nearly, almost died. And now here, now, the door is open for more women to Do what Jen did, because she took no as hey, new opportunity. We'll come back, we'll do it again, we'll get stronger, we're gonna embrace life. We don't get to choose how we die, but we get to choose how we live this life, and that's something I'll never forget. Jen saying and she's somebody that I keep in touch with regularly and Just being around her presence and getting some exposure to her network Further ingrains in my mind that you know what. You can do anything that you want. Look at Jen.
Speaker 1:I've got a friend of mine, joe Pettit, another podcast guest that's local to South Carolina. Joe was addicted to drugs, not making much money, kicked out of his house, living in a single wide trailer, not the quote smartest guy in the world, and he decided to turn his life around. Take the naysayers and ignore them, put their comments to the side, and Now Joe is speaking all over the United States and even getting some international gigs. He has created financial freedom for his family. He is an author. He's an amazing person, but somebody that you know. You look at him At the time that he was struggling the most and you may think, man, that guy's a loser, that guy's not gonna do anything with his life. And here he is showing us that, hey, you know what. Anything is possible. And the more that I see Joe or hear from him and just stay close to him Sometimes it's just by tapping into his podcast or keeping up with his post I'm like, damn, if Joe can do it, you can do it. Joe can do it, I can do it. And and Joe, not a knock to you, I know you would agree with all this. I love you to death, brother. But this just shows, man, that it's possible. It is possible.
Speaker 1:The last one I found this one to be the most interesting when I was reading the obstacle is the way, and One that I don't reference much. I don't. I don't really dive too much into military topics and I've pulled. I've interviewed folks that have military experience and I believe there's a lot to learn there, but I haven't really chatted too much about this. So World War two People may be familiar with the Germans and the Blitzkrieg.
Speaker 1:And people are probably familiar with the Blitzkrieg for a couple reasons. One, if you're a football fan, you hear about the Blitz, and the Blitz is where the defense Goes all in and rushes the offense, primarily to sack the quarterback or stop a running play. So Blitz is, you got the whole line coming at you, we're going and there's some big boys coming at you. And you also may be familiar with the Blitzkrieg because of the Blitzkrieg bop. I believe that's a song from the Beatles. But the Blitz is a familiar term here in the United States and that originated in World War two with the Germans. And how they were successful in many of their pursuits is they would take their tanks and they would Line all their tanks up in any city they wanted to invade. They would just go full storm in into the cities with their tanks and that the Blitzkrieg and Absolutely pulverize Wherever they wanted to go. They would pulverize the city. No one wanted to stop this bum rush of tanks. You're not going to get in front of it.
Speaker 1:And at the time the United States General Dwight Eisenhower is in a room with his soldiers and People are telling him man, we can't stop the Blitzkrieg. We need to watch out. Sir, it's probably time that you know we we maybe even pull out of this mission. And Eisenhower said there's not going to be a single person at this table that speaks anything negatively about this Blitzkrieg. From now on, you're gonna look at it as an Opportunity. Nobody is gonna talk about how the Germans are kicking everyone's ass. We're gonna look at what opportunity do we have to modify our approach to stop the Blitzkrieg? And From that point on, just making that simple shift to in your mind that you know what again, how can I look at this? How can you look at this as an opportunity? So, rather than say, oh man, I'm about to get blitzed, can't stop this Blitz, just let them come sack me, what can we do to look at it differently?
Speaker 1:And they modified their approach to where they actually allowed the Blitz to come through. But then they set up their armies to where they were basically flanked on both sides. So we said, all right, fine, you know what, we'll let you Blitz the middle. But here's what we're going to do this time Instead of you running us over in the middle, we're going to set up our teams on the sides, flank both sides and then also be ready from behind. So, basically, on this next Blitz that you do Germans, it's going to feel like you're actually being pushed into a net because now we've trapped you and that's how we defeated the Blitzkrieg. Just looking at it a little bit differently hey, we're getting ran over. Okay, you know what, let's move to the side and then we'll trap them in our quote net.
Speaker 1:By adjusting your perspective and approach, you can achieve anything, same thing that George Clooney did he adjusted his perspective and his approach and now he is one of the greatest and most well known actors of all time. So what we've covered so far is why you can believe and why you should believe that anything is possible is one. We have other people that have paved the path for us, and they've done so by simply saying no, looking at no as a new opportunity, having extremely high belief in themselves, in the mission or the cause that they're pursuing. And then we've looked at surrounding yourself with those people and some of these people that we talk about. Yeah, it may be a little difficult, a little more difficult for you to surround yourself with, say, elliot Kipchoge right now, but it's not to say that's impossible, but most of you probably don't live in Kenya and would see him on a daily basis, but you can still access all of the material content that's out there about him. You can tap into the people that are making the content about him, because if they're making the content about him, they're probably covering other stories, other similar, inspiring stories that continue on this theme. That, hey, you know what successors reserved for everyone.
Speaker 1:Limitations are only created by yourself, so there's really no excuse for surrounding yourself with these people, because, even the ones that aren't locally available to you, you can choose to consume the content that is being put out there about them. You can choose to read the books that they talk about. You can choose to listen to the podcast that they talk about. All of that is public information, and that's how you can still latch on to someone's mind and heart without being with them, directly with them, directly next to them. These people are always shouting out the resources that have helped them. So jump into it, dive into it, grab it. These people are dropping tips and tricks for us.
Speaker 1:Success leaves clues. People, success leaves clues. Another reason why I believe that anything is possible and again, why you should, too. Look at yourself. Look at yourself, because I'm willing to bet you that there is something or a set of events that you've encountered and overcome that has put you where you are today, or even better yet. Maybe there is something or a set of events that has occurred in your life and you haven't tapped into it yet. Man, you've got the greatest resource available at your hands. If you have something or a set of things that have happened, what you believe is to you, and you haven't flipped the switch yet to look at it how it's happened for you, man, I'm so excited for you because as soon as you do that, as soon as you do that, you're going to open your mind, your body, to unlimited possibilities. So think through that for a second.
Speaker 1:And as I was preparing for this, I started to use myself as a science experiment and looking at my life and my journey, and I'm sitting here now getting the opportunity to talk to and create conversations with some of the most disciplined, heartwarming and inspiring people on the world people that have been on the top podcasts in the world. I'm getting the opportunity to leverage my resources and create content on LinkedIn on a weekly basis all these things and I say that, not to toot my own horn, but if I look back at who was Ryan Cass 10 years ago, more than 10 years ago, but 15 years ago, during those formative years, I was not focused, I was not structured, I did not get good grades, I was not a great runner, I had to push hard just to run a sub eight minute mile. When I first started this journey in high school on the wrestling team, I was not a great podcaster. To get started still have a lot of room to grow. My first interviews God bless you if you go back and listen to them. And no discredit to the guests, but the interviewer, me I wasn't that great, was not that great, but I do truly believe that the only thing that we can't do in this life is what we say we can't do. And again, going back to that Henry Ford quote if you think you can or you can't, you're right. But I've looked at myself as a science experiment and I encourage you to look at yourself as a science experiment. What have you overcome? Give yourself credit, give yourself grace. I guarantee you there's things there. But this whole belief or illusion that success is reserved for the most structured, the most disciplined yes, there are a lot of benefits to that, but a lot of these people that have that that we admire, didn't have that before, myself included. And if I can do it, then I truly believe that anybody can do it, because I don't believe I possess any special God given talent that anyone else doesn't have. There's, there's no way. I'm as normal as it gets and have have built all of this as a result of working on the belief system surrounding myself, with the people, things that you are either doing or you can do, or anyone can do. The last thing, as I was going back to the obstacles, the way I found this really awesome, really awesome excerpt here.
Speaker 1:Sports psychologists recently did a study of elite athletes who are struck with some adversity or serious injury. Initially, each reported feeling isolation, emotional disruption and doubts about their athletic ability. Yet afterward each reported gaining a desire to help others, additional perspective and realization of their own strengths. In other words, every fear and doubt they felt during the injury turned into greater abilities in those exact areas. So think through that, man. Even if you're going through some things right now, even if you're injured or have been told no like on the other side of that is the best version of you On the other side of that is the success, is the dream that you've envisioned. On the other side of that, because we all go through that. We all go through this quote, whether it's sports or not. We all have experienced this and we will experience this.
Speaker 1:Success isn't reserved for a small population. It is available for everyone. If I can do it, you can do it. Look at the pioneers, look at the pathfinders. Look at the people that have been put into this world, I believe, to inspire us that we can do anything. So look at what others have done, who have defied the odds and overcome it. Look at their backgrounds, look at their beginnings. I promise you that none of them have any sort of God given abilities where that you and I don't have. Some of them may be a little more genetically blessed, but beyond that, it comes down to discipline heart, belief.
Speaker 1:Surround yourself with people who have overcome the odds. There are people that share this mindset. Again, I believe they're available everywhere in the world, but if they're tougher to find, you still have the resources that they talk about. You still have networks. There's still so many other pockets of people that may be one or two degrees away from these people that you admire? Ask them what is it about this person that makes them who they are? We have access to so much more people and so many more resources and information that we could ever possibly believe in this life. Go out and seek it and then again, and lastly, most importantly I think, look at yourself. What have you overcome? What gifts have you been given? What obstacles and really opportunities have been placed in your way? I guarantee you there's some, and I wish that, by tuning into this, that you understand that success is reserved for you. You can create anything that you want in this life and you will win today and in the future. Thanks so much for tuning in.