← Impact with Eddie Wilson
Impact with Eddie Wilson
48 - You’re Mistaking Noise for Direction | How Stillness Creates Clarity
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Welcome to the Impact Podcast. I'm Eddie Wilson, here to help you visualize what others cannot see, create opportunities where others have failed, and push you to build empires where once there was empty space. Let's embark on this journey together and make a difference in this world. Welcome to the Impact Podcast with Eddie Wilson. Excited to be with you again today, as always, and this is my favorite day of the week when I get to hop into the studio and share some knowledge and some experience with you. Today, I'm going to be a little bit vulnerable and just sharing with you one of my greatest weaknesses. I think that as a leader, we have to spend so much time really focusing on our strengths and making sure that that is leading us, guiding us, pushing others around us forward. But we shouldn't neglect those weaknesses that we all have. You know, a. A good leader will oftentimes be aware of their weaknesses and. And we'll compensate for them. And so, you know, this is a weakness that I think a lot of entrepreneurs have. I don't think it's unique to me, but the weakness is the lack of stillness. And this podcast, you know, today, as I talk about this, these are principles that I learn and I practice, but yet I still don't accomplish every single day of my life. It is a pursuit. It's something that. That I'm on the path of changing, correcting, creating. But, you know, it's a. It's a difficult thing for an entrepreneur who is driven. The noise that drives you oftentimes, the chatter that's inside of your head, the noise of the competition, that noise is oftentimes a driving force. But I'll tell you that you've heard me talk often about the ego and how everything. Everything that I want is on the other side of ego. And, you know, you take a young entrepreneur and an ego actually gets them to step out on their own. So ego isn't always bad. But, you know, for me, once you get to a certain level, ego begins to detract. And so everything I want is on the other side of my ego, when ego is in check, when ego is reframed. But I'll tell you, the only way for me to get to the other side of my ego is through this, which is stillness, because stillness is that concentrated effort to exist and sit with thoughts, realities, and unknowns and. And it's one of the most difficult things to do as an entrepreneur. I was doing some coaching with my good friend Larry Yatch, who led SEAL Team 3, and he's been such a good mentor to me in my life. And maybe one day I'll have on the podcast. I'd love to have Larry on here, but it he basically, we talked through a lot of the, you know, the traumas that you have in your life, and you've heard me talk about that on previous podcast. But when we were talking through that, he, you know, essentially said that the key to me living in alignment and one of those like, aha moments for me was that that stillness was the key. For me, that stillness was that active place where alignment happens. It's so easy to get pushed out of alignment when you're just chasing the noise of the world around you. And so I want to just kind of help you today because so many entrepreneurs lack that stillness. And in lacking stillness, they lack these fundamental pieces that make them successful in life, relationships and business. High achievers often equate stillness with laziness. And that's where I get stuck. I grew up in a home and an environment and a family where work ethic was everything. It was. It was preached, it was pushed, and, you know, work ethic was. Was, you know, who you were. And it was, if you weren't a hard worker, then you weren't anything, you know. And so that was the environment I grew up in. And so oftentimes I would equate stillness or that lack of activity as laziness. But when I began to build kind of my. The empire way of thinking and how I existed, and, you know, a lot of the philosophies that I've built in empire, what I realized is that in building the empire, stillness is where clarity forms. Stillness is where you have those moments that no one else can interrupt and clarity begins to show itself. And if you don't pause, you build your ego. If you don't pause, oftentimes, that's where the ego and the subconscious just automatically jumps in. And so much of our life is just trying to bring the subconscious into the conscious so that we can make good choices. And that's where it's done is stillness. But if you don't pause, you don't have that stillness. You build your ego, you build fear, you build assumptions, and you don't get revelation. Revelation is when you're sitting there and you begin to put all of those thoughts together. But in activity and movement moments, you essentially can never have that clarity and that revelation. So I don't believe that your next big breakthrough in your life is going to come from speed. I think it'll actually come from stillness. I know that all of my Great breakthroughs. All of my great moments was a moment of stillness, not a moment of speed. It wasn't about sprinting. It wasn't about pushing. It wasn't about dominating. There are moments where you have to sprint, where you have to push, where you have to dominate, but it's that stillness that gives you the clarity and the direction in which to do that. And so I believe your next big breakthrough will come from stillness. So I want to kind of juxtapose two points today. I'm going to take Ryan Holiday's book, which is a stoic philosophy called Stillness is the Key. And then I'm going to take the Bible, and I'm going to oppose those two together. Because in the Bible, many of you have heard this. The. The verse where we're supposed to be still and know that I am God, right? So, like, it's like this place of. I want you to hear the intellectual side, I want you to hear the spiritual and faith side. And I think that there's some meat and some truth in the middle there. So let me give you just a quick summary of Ryan's book. So Ryan's book, Stillness is the key. I actually went on. I took my. My youngest son, Maddox, to the beach for a couple of days, just the two of us, just to go hang out. And I took a couple of books with me just for those. Those still moments where I could just, you know, think and absorb. And one of those books was Stillness of the Key Is the Key. And it was a fantastic book. It was a great read. And I knew that I was going to struggle with it, because that's the one thing that I already. I already know that I struggle with. And so I thought, I'm gonna read it, and I'm gonna do my best to get through it and add principles to my life, even though I know it's gonna be painful. And it was great. And his book talks about stillness, and he basically says stillness equals peace, clarity or control of yourself, Right? Or control of the self. And he gave a ton of examples, some great examples. Marcus Aurelius, if you've ever read, you know, he's got all these, like, musings. He's got his meditations. He's got the. And those are just the journalings of Marcus Aurelius. And so Marcus would practice stillness through journaling. He talked about Winston Churchill, and he talked about how Winston Churchill, during the war. And during the height of the war. Height of the war, was painting. And he would go off and he would paint. And so Some of the, his paintings are still in various London art houses. And then he talked about Lincoln, how Lincoln, as Lincoln would get fear and anxiety, especially during the war, he would walk and that walking, he was told by a doctor that, that the movement of your inner ear releases fear. So he began to walk so that, you know, the, his equilibrium would essentially would remove some of those actors. Actions of fear and just a really great book. And then he said stillness is the discipline that allows leaders to stay grounded in chaos. And just a great reminder. And then he, he basically talks about the three domains of stillness. He said that we have to have stillness, not just in the physical. We have to have stillness in our mind, our soul, and our body. And I thought these were very, very great points. He said, in our mind, stillness gives us clarity, focus, and that inner peace. Usually that's what's talked about when we're talking about stillness. We're talking about that mind stillness, right? Like when we have that clarity or that inner sense of peace. But then he talked about the stillness of our soul and how that brings us purpose or it helps us identify our principles, or it gives us identity who we are. And then thirdly, our body, he talked about our rest, our health, and the disciplines of our life and how those, those can help so much and how stillness can bring that. And, and so it's like I, I, I love the concepts that he broke down because stillness wasn't just this concept of sitting there in meditation and in quietness when you're dealing with the thoughts of the mind. It was, it was the mind, it was the soul, our identity, our soul's purpose, and it was the body and making sure that there was alignment in all three. And so as you sit in stillness, the concept would be bringing into the conscious, not just the stillness of my body, right? Not just rest, not just the inner clarity or the peace of mind, but also bringing in those thoughts of purpose and identity and who we are. And so as I kind of reframe that, as I look at that book and that concept, I would say that my takeaway from that is that without stillness and you oftentimes mistake noise for direction. You've heard the phrase that the squeaky wheel gets the grease. And so oftentimes, especially in business, typically what's yelling at you the most, it might be a disgruntled customer. It might be the fact that you're losing money, it might be frustrated employees. Typically, as a business owner or CEO or leader, you run towards that noise and you're trying to solve that noise. But oftentimes you in that noise is not really where the problem is solved. It's usually the result of whatever the problem is. So in hearing the noise and when the noise becomes louder, when maybe the customers are unhappy and maybe you are losing money and there is no profit and your employees are frustrated, that's when stillness is crucial. Because if you're just trying to solve one of those versus solving the root of those, you're going to be on this fool's errand of just this cyclical, I got to solve this, and I got to solve this, and I got to solve this, and you're never actually getting ahead. So without stillness, you mistake noise for direction. Stillness builds internal structure, just like systems build external scale. Okay, so that was Ryan's book. So now let's talk about the Bible. Right? What does the Bible say about stillness? And so we know in Psalms 46, 10, it says, Be still and know that I'm God. Stillness in the Bible is actually referencing surrender, trust, or an intimacy with. With source, with God. Right? And that stillness isn't about something that is internal. Oftentimes it's the internal that's related to the source or the created, our Creator, who is the source of all knowledge and all truth. So with Ryan in his book, it very much was an inner focus. It was very much tied to who I am and what my purpose is. But I love that in Psalms it says to be still. And then the conjunction to that is, and know that I am God. And it's not just the stillness. It's not just the ability to pull one's thoughts, emotions, activity and noise away. It's about a full surrender, and it's about trust. And it's about intimacy or a deeper relationship, a connection with the Creator, God. Right. And so it's oftentimes then in Scripture where you see Jesus, who is the preeminent example in Scripture, right. You see, Jesus would often withdraw himself before the major decisions, before the crucifixion. He. He's in the garden of Gethsemane. Why is he in Gethsemane? He's there, he's praying, he's alone, right. You see Jesus being still as an example, when you go back to the Old Testament. I used to love these stories as a young boy, but the story of Elijah, right? And Elijah hears the whispers of God, and he hears the whispers not in the storm and not in the noise, but. But he hears them when he's alone and he's still. And he's silent when Moses Stood still beside the Red Sea. Before he parted the waters for the children of Israel to pass through. He stood by the Red Sea. He paused. He. He halted. He waited. So what you see is even in Scripture, there was this moment of just this pause, this reflection, this stilling of your spirit, your mind, your body and your emotions and soul. But the step of the. Where the Bible is taking us is. And in that, you tap into the knowing. What is the knowing? Well, oftentimes as a human, we have this experience where knowing is typically assimilated with knowledge, and knowledge is assimilated with whatever truths we have experienced or received or. Or collected. Wisdom would then be taking all those collected truths and putting them into action, right? So knowledge into wisdom would be. Knowledge would be almost like, I know it. Wisdom would be, I know it and I acted on it. However, have you ever innately just knew something without ever experiencing it? Have you ever felt in your soul that something was right, but you didn't have the experience or knowledge of it? And this is what the Bible is talking about. This is what scripture's talking about. It's like being still allows you into. Allows you to tap into the source of all knowledge, the knowing, which is God. And oftentimes, in running and sprinting, you never tap into that source. You miss all that is already there. This is a wild concept, because as much as I loved Ryan's book, and I think Ryan gave me light into how to practice stillness without the Scripture, I'm missing the source of all knowledge. So in that stillness, in that practice of mind, body, soul, I can then in my mind, body, and soul, tap into source. Stillness isn't quitting. It's confidence that God moves when you don't have to. When I'm still and I'm in the knowing, what happens is I can sit and believe that there are things working in my favor and on my behalf. That's a really important point. Stillness, then, leads to better decision making, slower reaction, less regret, and more alignment with eternal priorities. So with those two, I think that there's a physical and there's a spiritual, right? And, you know, wherever you are in your faith journey, I don't know. And I know I bring a lot of faith elements and scripture elements, as well as business and practical elements into this podcast, but I don't think that we could ever miss out on how those two play together. And that's what my belief is about. Stillness is, yes, What Ryan was talking about, his book is so practical to essentially be at war like Winston Churchill and get Away and paint is that sense of stillness. But in that moment, what are you tapping into? Are you tapping into nothingness? Right. Like, is there just an absence of all things or in stillness, does it allow you to tap into the source of all things? And that's a practice that I'm on every day. So practical ways to build stillness into your leadership and into your life. Let me just kind of like, take you down the path of just some practical things. Number one, there always should be some strategic silence before big decisions. Before you go walk into something or do something big or act on something big, there should be moments of silence and reflection. Don't just gather the data before you act. Gather yourself. Oftentimes, the discernment, the knowing, happens only in stillness. You know, it's good to block, you know, 12 to 24 hours of time before big major moves in your life. One practice that I have, as we, you know, have the Aspire tour, is I always, right before I go on stage, I walk up and I just pause and. And I pause in stillness. And in that, I'm trying to tap into the knowing. Yes, it is about a reflection on what I'm gonna speak about or. But really what it is, it's a gathering of truth. It's a gathering of all things. And I do that. And it helps me become a better communicator, and it helps me deliver more what I want versus just running out there. And we need those moments of pause and silence before we walk into those big moments. Number two, there should be daily moments of nothingness. Daily moments of nothingness. Five minutes without your phone. No journal, no agenda. Just listen. Just breathe and let things settle. Just listen, breathe, and let things settle. I will oftentimes struggle to sleep. And I know that many of you as entrepreneurs, you struggle to sleep. And we try everything, right? We try. I try breathing exercises. I try melatonin. I try. It's everything. I try walking. I try to change up my habits before bed. And, you know, when you have a restless mind, when you have a million things going on, and you're analytical and you're. You're dissecting down every situation and every scenario, it's difficult to. To silence the mind. And so every day, we must practice those moments of not nothingness. No phone, no journal, no agenda, no noise. Because in that, it allows us to begin to expand into those spaces. Just listen, just breathe and just settle. Number three, I call this a Sabbath way of thinking. Okay? So if you're not familiar with Jewish rituals, if you go back to Old Testament times, there was always a period of time where they, the, you know, the Jews were not allowed to act, to work or to do anything. And it was that 24 hour time period. And we've got to get into a rhythm of stillness. It can't just be on a whim as needed. We've got to get into a rhythm. It's not just a break. It should be a weekly time of rest. It should be a period of time where we set aside our world for a moment and we don't act on all the things that are noisy around us. And this is important because, and I don't think that you necessarily have to do it the biblical way and you have to set aside 24 hours of doing nothing. But I do think there should be periods of time, you know, there should be time where you're away from the distractions, where you're away from the noises, you're away from the tv, you're away from work and you allow yourself to honor yourself with weekly rest. And that is not a suggestion, it's a structure, right? Like when I teach Empire, I teach you meeting cadences, I teach you how to have meetings, when to have meetings, the rhythm of your meeting. I teach you all these things. And when you get into that rhythm, you find success. And there should be a rhythm of stillness. You don't lose momentum by resting, you lose clarity by skipping stillness. So in your life, do you lack the clarity on why you're not successful? And if so, you should be pointing towards moments of stillness. And then kind of the last thing I want to share is this, is that I think that when you are still, so then most people say, okay, so I have this moment of stillness. What should I say to myself? Because there are times where you should sit, you should collect, you should gather, you should, should be quiet. But then you get to a place where it needs to be an internal conversation. And the internal conversation should be asking questions like this, what am I doing in fear and not in faith? What in my life is, is avoidance versus pursuit? What am I acting on? That doesn't serve me because it's a fear based activity. Next, the second question I would ask myself in stillness is what am I assuming without asking God, tapping into that source? When I talked about be still and know, it's about being still and tapping in, right? It's accessing the entire all knowing God source, right? Like, and so when you, when you sit there at stillness, don't forget that there is a chance to tap into all things and so when you tap in, you should be saying things like this, what am I assuming in my life? What am I taking for granted without ever asking, God, what am I doing? What am I asking? And then the last thing I would ask myself in stillness is, what is good in my life but not aligned? And I think innately, you know what I'm saying? It's, there are things in your life that are good, right? They're, they're, they're, they're good things, they're not bad things, right? Like spending time with certain people. Oftentimes we can go overboard as entrepreneurs in any area. We, we have moments of excess. You know, it's like you're really into working out, and now you're working out two days a week or two times a day, right? It's like really into coffee. And now all I do is spend my entire life chasing coffee, right? It's like, as entrepreneurs, we have this obsessive component to our lives. And so you have to ask yourself, what is good but not aligned? Alignment comes when that mind, body and soul are all acting in concession with each other, in alignment with each other. And there are so many things in our life that are good, but they're a distraction. They're good, but they're not aligned. Stillness does not slow you down. It recenters you and it gives you direction. You've heard the phrase that it's that slow is smooth and smooth is fast. And that's what happens when you find that stillness. It doesn't slow you down. It actually gives you speed and speed over time, because clarity and activity pointed in the right direction always ends up winning. Taking that straight line versus the circuitous route, taking that direct line is what will allow you to get your goals and your aspirations and your dreams faster. Today I wonder if you, like me, will take on this challenge to find the stillness in our life so that we can have all things we want. You want to get to the other side of your ego is going to take stillness. Stillness is the key. Thanks so much for being a part of the podcast and for listening today. Love to connect with you further. And you can connect with me on social media at Eddie Wilson official on any of the social media channels.