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So, hey guys, listen. We're all trying to get more productive and the question is, how do you find a way to get an edge? I'm a big believer that if you're getting mentoring or you're in an environment that causes growth, a growth based environment, that you're much more likely to grow and you're going to grow faster. And that's why I love Growth Day. Growth Day is an app that my friend Brendan Burchard has created that I'm a big fan of. Write this down growthday.com forward/ed. So if you want to be more productive, by the way, he's asked me, I post videos in there every single Monday that gets your day off to the right start. Got about $5,000, $10,000 worth of courses that are in there that come with the app. Also, some of the top influencers in the world are all posting content in there on a regular basis, like having the avengers of personal development and business in one app. And I'm honored that he asked me to be a part of it as well and contribute on a weekly basis. And I do. So go over there and get signed up. You're going to get a free tuition, free voucher to go to an event with Brendan and myself and a bunch of other influencers as well. So you get a free event out of it also. So go to growthday.com forward/ed. That's growthday.comed. your data is like gold to hackers and they'll sell it to the highest bidder. Are you protected? McAfee helps shield you blocking suspicious texts, malicious emails and fraudulent websites. McAfee Secure VPN lets you browse safely and its AI powered tech scam detector spots threats instantly. You'll also get up to $2 million of award winning antivirus and identity theft protection all, all for just $39.99 for your first year. Visit mcafee.com/incancel anytime terms apply. This is the Ed Miler Show. Welcome back to the show, everybody. So grateful you've decided to join me again here this week and this week. I have a question for you. Do you play hurt? Because I think playing hurt is one of the invisible skills of all the great ones. And if you think back in your lifetime, the people that you've been the most you know, emotional about, when you've watched them perform in sports or life in business, they were overcoming some pain they were in currently at the time, typically in sports, it's some type of an injury that they have. And so I ask you can you play hurt? Because I think that's the great separator in life and in business is that the great ones are able to perform even when they're not at their best, even when they're hurt, even when they're wounded, even when, when they're down. And average, ordinary people succumb to the injury, succumb to the pain, the down cycle in their life. You know, I really believe the separator in life is not what you do on the days where you're feeling great, you're feeling healthy, you're feeling emotionally strong, everything's going your way. Everybody performs well on those days. It's what do you do on the days that you don't feel that way? In sports, especially the greatest moments of my lifetime in sports. We'll talk about them in a minute. Have been watching athletes perform under pain, under injury, under hurt, and in business, in life, you know, we're not on television and so sometimes we don't realize that's the separator. The difference between winning and losing in life and sports is so small, it's almost too scary to talk about. One of the things that worries me is, I have to be candid with you. I think everybody can help someone, but one of the things that's happened in the business space, the entrepreneurial space, is there's just so many people that are giving advice and information that have never built a business, that have never accomplished anything other than telling you how to accomplish something. And so oftentimes I hear their messages and I'll commise with other people that I know that have actually done something in their life and like, can you believe that they teach this stuff and that people are believing this? I worry sometimes that you don't get told the truth about what it really takes to win and that so many of you are listening to so many different voices, many of which aren't qualified to help you in the area that you're looking for help. And I say that with respect because I think everyone can help somebody. But by and large, if I want to get fit and in shape, I want my trainer to be fit and in shape. If I want to become wealthy and build a big business, I want to listen to someone who's wealthy that's built a big business. If I want to become, become happier and more influential and more passionate in my life, I want to listen to someone who's done that. And so I know that one of the separators from the people that I know that have become mega successful in their lives is their ability to play when they don't have their A game, their ability to win and step up and sometimes play better. And so ask yourself this question. The last year, on days when you were down or not even feeling physically well, you had the flu or cough, or, you know, you had an injury that you hurt yourself and your knee or your back was hurting, or someone had hurt your feelings the day before or maybe a week or two before, the day before, you lost an account or didn't get a sale you thought you were going to get, or something's going on with your kids. How did you perform those days? Because that's the separator in life. And so we're so moved often by the people we see when they do this. I'll give you an example. I was recently moved by a young man, and I'm sure this will get back to him. And he might be surprised that I saw this, but a young man named Cade Ballou, and he's a college baseball player at Auburn University. I played college baseball. He's a lefty. I was a lefty. And so I took note of this young man. But the reason I saw him wasn't because he played college baseball or because he played at Auburn. He's a much better college player than I was, by the way. But the reason I saw him is that his mother had died. And the day that his mother had passed away, he still played in the game that night. And I guess evidently went to the coaches and says, you know, mom would want me to play tonight. This young man, under tremendous pain, just lost his mother. Can you imagine? Just hours before, he said, I think mom wants me to play. And this young man steps up to the plate. I believe it was his third at bat. Guess what he did. You know it. He had a home run. Mother of Auburn baseball outbuilder Kate Ballou Stacy passed away this morning after a battle with cancer. Our hearts and Auburn baseball are with the Ballou family during this time. Right. It's deep, it's gone. He hit it out of here, Brad. You know, some things just transcend the human experience and how sports can bring everybody together. That's one of them. One of the most inspiring things I've ever seen in 32 years of coaching was Big Blue getting hit. Home run, his first one of the season. Hadn't hit a home run on all the good days, but he had a home run on that day to honor his mom when he was under tremendous pain. Where many people would have said, hey, hey, Cade, we Wouldn't blame you at all, man. Sit out the game, sit out the weekend, you know, that's okay. And by the way, that would have been okay, you know, heal up a little bit. You know, there's so much this stuff in Percival about healing and all that stuff. And by the way, I think you can take action and still win while you're healing. And sometimes the winning can be the healing instead of just sitting around and machinating in your thoughts and trying to evaluate yourself all the time, get up and do something right. And I say that out of love. I would say this if you were my children. I talk to the audience as if they're an extension of my family. I also don't say these things sitting on some high horse because I've made the mistakes of not taking action on the days when I was down or hurting. I've sat out games when I was an athlete when maybe I could have played. And now in life, you know, as I got older, I realized that's the separator. And so, Kade Ballou, man, congratulations, brother. Way to honor your mom. Just want you to know I saw it. And now you've moved millions of people through our audience here today. On the day he was probably hurting the most in his life, he stepped up and hit his first home run of the season. I have to imagine that inspired his teammates. Have to imagine that. His mom's very proud of him. The rest of his family is very proud of him. And by the way, would. Would we been proud had Kate hit a home run? Sure. Would I be mentioning a guy at Auburn who hit his first home run of the year on my podcast to millions of people if he wasn't hurt? No. And so what I'm saying is some of your greatest accomplishments, your greatest story. We've all heard the saying that your test can become your testimony, your mess can become your message. But it's true. In fact, oftentimes this adversity is a gift. It's an opening to get something for your pain. I've always said that. I don't believe God's going to give you pain without a gift on the other side of it. That if you look for the gift of the pain you're going through, that all pain is temporary. And if you can survive the temporary, whatever the pain is you're going through, mental, physical, emotional, spiritual, if you'll survive the temporary. But while you're surviving and getting through it, look for the gift. Look for the miracle. He's going to give you something. He's Going to give you a new friend, a new relationship, a new insight, a new thought, a new talent, a new ability, a new innovation, a new whole new life, oftentimes a new reference, a new whatever. It comes your way through pain. And so this is the people that we admire in life. You think about, in your sports life, think about Michael Jordan. Of all the championships that Michael Jordan won, it was winning the 1997 NBA Finals, the flu game where most people wouldn't have played. He had 104 degree fever. No one thought he was even to show up and play that night. And somehow he comes through and wins the NBA title playing with the flu. Right. I mean, we remember this. It's iconic now. He won a lot of championships, but that's the clip that you see the most. Why? Because he played hurt. He played hurt. It's Tiger Woods. Of all the majors that he won. He won the 2008 US Open. They tell us on basically a broken leg. Are you kidding me? This is. These are the stories of legends. These are the stories that are what icons do. And you have a chance. When you're going through this down day, these are the days where maybe you're going through it today and you're like, man, I needed this today, brother. Or send this to somebody who needs it. My gosh, this is actually an opening for me. This is where I separate. This is my separation season. Because almost, you know, it's. I almost get off in my mind on these days because I'm like, I know nobody's working as hard as I am. Not after how bad yesterday was, not after how bad I'm hurting. Not after that let down. Most people are licking their wounds and staying down, and there's all this stuff as well. Maybe you should stay down for a while, evaluate what happened, learn the lesson. Yeah, maybe. Or maybe get your ass up and go back to battling, go back to fighting, go back to winning. Get in motion again. I think you could heal, learn, and take action at the same time. Tiger woods winning that U.S. open on a broken leg. They tell us Kirk Gibson in the 88 World Series hitting a home run coming off the bench. He was so injured he couldn't play. He didn't. He didn't play the game, and he didn't play at all. After this home run, he had one at bat, limps up to the plate. He couldn't play a position, so they put him into pinch hit. He gets up there, two strikes, Dennis Eckersley, bam. Hits a home run over the right field fence to win The World Series game. One of the most, if not the most iconic home run in the history of baseball. One of them. Why? Because he had a home run in the World Series? No, because he had a home run hurt in the world. By the way, I was at that game. Funny anecdote. My dad wanted to leave that game the inning before we got up to leave, and we ran into my T ball Little League coach in the. We were in the bleachers at Dodger Stadium, and my T ball coach says, you don't leave World series games early, Mr. Mylett. My dad went, ah, all right. We walked back to our seats. True story. Sat down in the next inning. Maybe the most famous home run in the history of baseball was hit by Kirk Gibson. But we remember it because he played hurt. If you're really old like me, the year before I was born. But I heard about it all. My Willis Reed for the Knicks coming out and inspiring his team to win. You know, when I speak, I walk out, out on stage to thunderstruck by acdc. And everyone thinks that's because he's such an ACDC fan. Well, I am a fan of that band, but that's not why I walk out. I walk out to ACDC when I speak. Because my favorite fighter of all time is Arturo Thunder Gotti. He came into the ring to thunderstruck my favorite fighter of all time, Gotti. Why? Because he was the best fighter of all time. Arturo was not the greatest fighter of all time. If you don't know him, go watch his clips. I don't care if you're a boxing fan, female, male, go watch Arturo, guys. Because the shots he would take and keep coming. His fights with Mickey Ward, I mean, I'm just going to tell you, like, inspired me to want to be somebody. If you think about the movies, it's Rocky Balboa. It's how he came back from being hurt. Cut me, Mick, right? It's. Those are the things that move us. The greatest of all time, Muhammad Ali and how he beat George Foreman and would come back from being hurt. The wonderful Carrie Scruggs. Most of you don't know this. One of the greatest clips of all time, Carrie Scrubs, 1996 gymnast ends up basically winning the gold on a torn ankle. And I remember watching that and crying, literally crying when she won. I wonder, by the way, why do we cry when we see somebody accomplish something great and overcome something amazing? Whether someone heals from cancer and they come back and they live, or an athlete that overcomes an injury like precious Carrie Scruggs did in the Olympics, and just the world cried watching her go through this pain and win. I submit that we cry when we see these great acts of courage because we know that exists within us and we're not using it. We're not even crying out of happiness. There's a part of. It's like, why can't I do that? I have the same capacity. I'm also a human being. I want to be proud of me. I want to overcome my pain. You know, the story that you're going through right now or have gone through, it's only inspiring if you win. It's only inspiring if there's a fairy tale. There's only. It's only inspiring if there's a lesson, if there's a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. And so you got to play hurt. And sometimes, I'll be honest with you, I think we exaggerate the pain we go through. We make it a bigger deal than it really is. You know, I've had people cancel because, well, I've got a cough or I've got the flu. Heck, this is a zoom call. I'm doing this today. My producer will tell you. I'm sitting here today. I've got at least two teeth that I need a root canal on today. I have got something wrong with my jaw where I can't really open my mouth to eat. It's enough that I can talk right. And I've got the flu. But no one asked me to run a marathon today. They asked me to do six zooms. I'm sitting in a chair. What's the difference between sitting on the couch and doing nothing and sitting here and helping change the world? And I'm not bragging about me. Heck, I'll just tell you this. I played this whole year hurt. I haven't been on social media in a year. I've had issues with my heart. I've had a back issue that's just very significant. I've had surgery on my back. I've got. I played hurt all year. It's one of the best years I've ever had. Now, has it been the biggest growth year? No. But I played hurt. Deion Sanders. Coach prime was on my podcast a few weeks ago. His agent and my agent, Constant Schwartz, was also on some of the most popular shows we've ever had. And Coach Prime's this legendary coach now at Colorado. But what a lot of people don't know is Coach prime played entire Major League baseball season and NFL football season. @ the same time, multiple years in a row, you imagine playing. Imagine how hard it is to get to the NFL. Imagine how hard it is to get to mlb. He got to both and played both, and some days would play a major League baseball game and an NFL football game in the same day. Imagine that. And guess what? One year he did it with a bronchial infection, walking pneumonia, basically, for the entire year. Imagine that you got a bronchial infection, almost borderline walking pneumonia for a year, and he plays a full NFL football season and Major League baseball season and went to the postseason in baseball. But some people can't get on a zoom because they've got a cough or their tummy hurts, right? But you want to be a millionaire. You want to be one of the great ones ever. But any chance you're hurt a little bit down? I'm just being honest with you. Maybe this isn't the message everybody wants to hear, but it's the message everybody needs to hear. The separator is what you do on the days you're hurting. This man played an entire football season, entire baseball season, both with a condition that most people would cancel their zooms for. Can you imagine? And so it's about how many punches you can absorb. Remember this. Your breaking point is God's building point. Just when you're ready to break, just when you think you've got too much, if you'll push to that next level, that's when God starts to build. That's when he starts to break through. That's when the growing happens. But we don't take advantage of these opportunities. I'm almost to the point in my life where I believe adversity is a gift. I can't tell you that every time bad things happen, like today, I didn't want to wake up with my jaw, and I didn't want all that stuff. It's just like a year of stuff in my physical being. I've had issues personally and socially. So I've been a tough year. You know, I'm not saying I would wish that. Same time, it's. I've learned a lot about myself. I've learned how much. To be honest with you, I love what I do and how much I care about you all because in a long time ago, financially, I didn't need to do this. And I kind of always thought you in my life, when I got very, very wealthy, I probably wouldn't work like I work still. But then when I got here, I fell in love over my lifetime with people and making a difference and serving them almost like feel like it's my home and it's my calling. It doesn't feel like that much work to me. And so who am I to be, you know, telling you to do all these things? And so when I'm not feeling great, I don't. And so I'm really convinced that your breaking point is God's building point. All right. Pants I'm wearing pretty comfy, Fit me really well. Can't show you quite on the camera here. And if you're on audio, it wouldn't matter anyway. Guess where I got them Quints. I've been elevating my style and not breaking the bank, which I don't like doing on clothes. So with quints, I get high end versatile pieces at prices I can actually afford. I'm sure you'd like that as well. You can upgrade your style. Snag killer luxury essentials. Quince has all the must haves, like Mongolian cashmere sweaters from 50 bucks, iconic 100 leather jackets, comfortable pants for every occasion. The best part is Quint's Items are priced 50 to 80% less than similar brands. They partner directly with the top factories, cut out all the middle people, pass the discounts on to you. And like I said, it's attractive clothing that'll fit your style. So indulge in affordable luxury. Go to quints.com ed for free shipping on your order and 365 day returns. That's Q U I N C E dot com ed to get free shipping and 365 day returns. Quince.com ed it's no secret on the show I've been talking now for a few years. I'm sort of obsessed with sleep. And the reason I'm obsessed with sleep is it affects your hrv, which is one of the most important health metrics in the world, but also life longevity. But every anti aging expert I've had on says the number one thing that will be a determinant in the longevity of your life in their mind is sleep. Plus, it affects your energy level, your cognition, fat burning, you name it. And now I have found Helix, which has helped me tremendously. Number one thing that was affecting my sleep was my back pain. And I wasn't sleeping through the night. I was getting too hot at night, can't dial the temperature in, in the room. And so Helix has changed all of that. If you check out Helix, I think you'll agree with me that your sleep is going to improve. Best mattress on the planet with all of the bells and whistles attached to it. It's designed for your sleep. Go to helix sleep.com ED for 27% off sitewide. That's helixsleep.com forward sled for 27% off sitewide. Helixsleep.com ED tell you another story of a guy you probably haven't heard of unless you live in Australia. I've been reading about this guy for a few years now. 1983, it started the one of the world's toughest ultramarathons, 540 mile trek from Sydney to Melbourne. I want you to imagine this. Some of the top runners in the world are running in this race. And a farmer shows up, true story. Dressed in overalls and like galoshes over his boots is what they say. I'm just telling you what they tell you. And so people are like, who's this farmer? This guy's got overalls on. There's this combination of runners, but some of them are the best in the world. 540 miles. And so reporters ask who he was. He replies, his name's Cliff Young. Oh, by the way, Cliff is 61 years old, sheep farmer. Picture this, a marathon is 20 something miles. Guess what? Five days, 15 hours and four minutes later, he won. He finished first in this race, grueling race. He beat the next closest competitor by about 10 hours. He becomes this Australian national hero, total icon of ultramarathon running. You know, example of determination, perseverance. But what he was really an example of is pushing through pain. Pushing through pain. You know, he won the race, he slept less. Now there's some legends that say he didn't sleep at all. Evidently that's not true, but he just slept less. He didn't know how much sleep was really required of him. And all the training of chasing sheep on his farm is what equipped him for the race. So all these other guys were just running their normal race. This dude's chasing sheep for years and years and years around his farm, some days having to run days at a time. He was totally built for this. And so when the actual race comes along, he dominated because he pushed through pain for years and years and years and years. The actual race was nothing. And so I believe when you push through pain over and over and over again, it starts to not affect you like it once did. But if you avoid pain, if you shrink to it all the time, if you give in constantly, it weakens you. Remember this when you've gone through a difficult, painful mental experience, a bad day yesterday, physical, spiritual, maybe it's in your relationship. Maybe you're just losing confidence. This is an opportunity to either strengthen you or weaken you. And how you respond means everything. I'm pretty sure Cliff, at 61 years old in overalls, didn't have all of the pedigree to be the guy to win that race, Never mind by 10 hours. But what he had done is trained himself to sleep less than most people. What he had done is trained himself to push through pain over and over and over. This wasn't something he trained for. It was his daily life. And he becomes this national icon. Isn't that incredible story? It's just incredible. So can you push through pain until you find your truth? I think of so many of my female friends and they'll tell me the greatest experience of their life is having children. Yet they'll tell me the most physically painful experience of their life for many of them was childbirth itself. And so for that unbelievably painful experience, you get the greatest gift of your life. Not amazing. Do you really look back at your life, man? You've come a long way. And if you look back, most lessons learned, most gains were made during your flu game, during your broken leg round. Most of your great experience of your life were the painful ones. In some odd way, it's God's gift to us. Because when you go through the real pain of life, believe it draws you closer to God. At least in my case, I had to conclude, I can't do this on my own. I need you, Lord. Please help me. And so, ironically, sometimes pain is one of the great gifts we can have to strengthen our faith, but it also strengthens our resolve. There's also something that happens in us where we develop grit and toughness and resiliency and a relentless pursuit that our conditions aren't the thing that determines our behavior. Conditions and behavior can be separate. The Bible says in 1 Peter 5:10, and the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast. Life can be heavy. There are moments when the weight of the trials we go through it feels unbearable. Pain can linger. Sometimes prayers seem unanswered. And oftentimes we wonder whether we're ever going to feel whole again. But take heart, because your suffering is not the end of the story. Remember this. God sees every tear, every struggle, every weary side. And he's promised that after you've endured for a while, he'll step in and restore you. You got to Endure for a while usually. And he steps in, strengthens you. He'll make you unshakable over time. Your pain is temporary. All pain is temporary. The only thing is permanent as our souls. But God's grace is eternal. Whatever your faith, beliefs are, just know that. And what feels like brokenness now, it's simply the ground where he's planting something new for you. Just remember that his hands are holding on to you all the time. They're rebuilding you. The storm you're facing right now, it's not going to destroy you. Because you're going to get up, you're going to persevere and you're going to fight. One way or the other, you're going to get through it. One way or the other, you'll get through this day. Remember this. One day at a time. One meeting at a time. My book, the Power of One More. I tell you this because I believe it to be true. You don't need to decide to never quit. You just need to decide. Right now, I'm getting up right now. I'll make one more call. Right now, I'll do one more workout. Right now, I'll read one more book. Right now, I'll go one more day, right now, one more. Just do one more. It's such a powerful concept. If you've not read the Power of One More, go get it. By the way, I should say this to you. You should be on my email list. Everything I send you is going to be free. If you go to edmylet.com just put your email there. I think it says join here or follow here at the top, whatever. Go to edmylet.com and be in there. And by the way, let God's grace carry you and trust that he'll bring you through. But you got to step up and be resilient. Remember this. By the way, the best ability is availability. You got to be available. The great ones like Deion Sanders, during that season, the best ability was he was available. So many people just aren't available. They miss too many hours, they miss too many meetings, they miss too much stuff. They allow too many things in their conditions to affect their behavior. The great ones do not do this. And that's why habits matter, rituals matter, routines matter. Because when we're down, when we're under pressure, when we're hurting, we resort to habit mode because our brain kind of checks out. If your habits to get up and fight, if your habits to get up and do it anyway, if your habit is to show up and give it your best, regardless of how you feel, then that will be your default setting. But if your habit has always been, and it's been mine in the past, yeah, I got to rest a little bit. I got to evaluate this. You know, I'm really hurting right now. They gotta take a breather, because that's what everybody does. But everybody's not successful. There's this whole thing in the world now. Everybody wants to be successful. Everybody wants to build a big company. Everybody wants a great body. Everybody wants a great relationship. Everybody wants a bunch of money. But nobody's willing to do the work on the hard days. They're willing to do the work on the good days. Man, I just listened to a great Instagram video. Man, I'm fired up. Yes, someone said yesterday, here we go. But what happens when three no's in a row? Somebody quits on you, somebody hurts you and you're feeling physically ill? Can you get up those days? Can you push through? Can you do what winners do? When you do what winners do, you get what winners get. You get what Jordan gets. You get what Carrie Scruggs gets. You get what Tiger woods gets. There's a great story. Kobe Bryant tears his Achilles tendon, but they need him to make the free throw to stay in the game, to win. They're like, kobe, you tore your Achilles. It's okay, bro. He will show you the clip. He walks out on the court and makes two free throws with a torn Achilles tendon. That's why he's Kobe. That's why he was Jordan. That's why he's Tiger. That's why she was Serena. That's why Carrie Scruggs is Carrie Scruggs. And I promise you, if you went through the lives of these people you admire, they played hurt. They found a way. They built that muscle. It's the separator. I tell my kids this all the time, Max, when he golf. So, you know, he said to me, dad, I don't have my swing. Hey, Max, it's the days you don't have your swing. Hang in. Shoot a decent score today. Go work on your swing on the range after. Come back tomorrow with your aame. But you got to score with your B game or your D game. This is the separator. And let God's grace carry you through. We all go through pain in our lives. We all do. It's part of life. It's. It's like if you're not in pain right now, you're probably going to be soon. This is a message from sponsor Intuit TurboTax. Here's the thing. 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Now this is taxes get an Expert now on TurboTax.com only available with TurboTax Live full service real time updates only. An iOS mobile app. See guarantee details@turbotax.com guarantees so why not have a blueprint, a mindset, a habit, a way of being that says, oh, I see what's going on here, devil. Okay, I'm stepping up, I'm getting more faithful, I'm taking more action. I'm coming back stronger. I'm built for this. And by the way, I know some of you listening go, I've just never been that way. That's okay. Neither were these people until they started to be that way. No one's born like that. What happens is they all hit a wall at one point and said, I'm tired of running, I'm tired of quitting. I'm tired of giving in when I'm hurt. I'm tired of backing up. I'm going to stop at some point. Kobe Bryant said, I'm going to stop backing up. I'm going to stop making excuses, I'm going to stop quitting, I'm going to stop flinching and I'm going to step into this at some point. I did. And I'm not equating myself with those people. But I know what it's like to give into an injury. I know what it's like to lay down too long when I'm down. I know many years ago, even at the prime of my health and fitness, I didn't work like I do now. And I'm probably in the worst physical condition I've been in in decades. Probably actually, certainly ever yet I think I've been delivering the best content of my life. Most athletes will tell you, by the way, any of you that played sports, my dad used to tell me this. When I play sick, most athletes, most business people play better. Hurt, especially you got a little bit of a fever running. Everything kind of slows down a little bit. It causes you to focus a little bit deeper and a little bit more. You kind of have to move out all the noise and stay in the moment because that's all you have energy for. A lot of times you're better. And here's the truth. None of that's real pain. I was thinking about real pain this morning. I woke up, had a lot on my mind, and I was still fuzzy from waking up. And I thought, oh, I'll call Dad. And it wasn't for about 10 minutes until I got up and started to move around. I remembered I can't call my dad. My dad's been passed away now for three years. I don't know if any of you have ever lost somebody, but every once in a while you forget. You have a great moment, you think you'll call them or you have a dream that's so real when they're in it. And I woke up this morning and for about 10 minutes I was planning on calling my dad this morning. And then I realized I can't. You don't know real pain until you crave a conversation with someone that's no longer with us. That's some pain. And then I had to decide today, don't feel real good. Wish I could call my dad. And I can't. That hurts. I think I'll honor him with what I do today. I could have chose a different decision. Yeah, I worked real hard. I've got a little bit of money. Be okay if I kick the curb? Can down the curb a little bit. Did this tomorrow. I don't want to do that. Fact. What my producer will tell you is I texted him about two hours ago. I said, let's do one more today, too. So we're actually doing more today. He probably wondered why he's learning right now. I decided to do more today because it's one of those days I'm not going to meet my normal standard. I'm going to do one more. So real pain is that stuff. And if you have that in your life where you can't call someone because they're not here anymore, honor them and make them proud of you with what you do on the days you're hurting. All right, everybody. I hope today helped you is a real one. Please share this episode and make sure you're on the old email list there so I can be communicating with you. God bless you. Max out your life. This is the Eden Milan show.
The Ed Mylett Show: "Are You Willing to Play Hurt? Success Demands Sacrifice"
Host: Ed Mylett
Network: Cumulus Podcast Network
Release Date: March 20, 2025
Episode Title: Are You Willing to Play Hurt? Success Demands Sacrifice
In this compelling episode of The Ed Mylett Show, host Ed Mylett delves deep into the concept of "playing hurt"—the ability to perform at your best even when you're not feeling your best. Drawing from personal experiences, anecdotes from the sports world, and philosophical insights, Ed elucidates how embracing pain and adversity can be a defining factor in achieving extraordinary success.
Ed begins by posing a critical question to his audience: "Do you play hurt?" (02:15). He defines "playing hurt" as an invisible skill possessed by all great performers across various domains. According to Ed, the ability to push through pain, whether physical or emotional, separates the exceptional from the average.
Ed Mylett: "The separator in life is not what you do on the days you're feeling great... It's what you do on the days that you don't feel that way." (05:45)
Ed reinforces his message by sharing iconic stories from the sports world, illustrating how legends have thrived despite adversity.
Kade Ballou's Story
Ed Mylett: "This young man, under tremendous pain, just lost his mother. Can you imagine? Just hours before, he said, 'I think mom wants me to play tonight.'" (11:15)
Michael Jordan's Flu Game
Ed Mylett: "Why? Because he played hurt. He played hurt. It's Tiger Woods." (17:30)
Tiger Woods and Kirk Gibson
Ed Mylett: "I was at that game... what's his mother's story... he played hurt." (21:05)
Carrie Scruggs' Olympic Triumph
Ed Mylett: "I remember watching that and crying, literally crying when she won." (26:20)
Ed opens up about his own struggles with pain and adversity, providing a personal touch to the episode.
Ed's Health Challenges
Ed Mylett: "I've played hurt all year. It's one of the best years I've ever had." (33:15)
Loss of His Father
Ed Mylett: "I decided to do more today because it's one of those days I'm not going to meet my normal standard. I'm going to do one more." (42:30)
Ed delves into the philosophical underpinnings of why pain and adversity are crucial for personal growth and success.
Ed Mylett: "I believe adversity is a gift. He’s going to give you something... a new friend, a new relationship, a new insight." (48:15)
He references 1 Peter 5:10, emphasizing that suffering is temporary and can lead to personal restoration and strength.
Ed Mylett: "Your breaking point is God's building point... Adversity is a gift." (55:10)
Ed offers actionable strategies for listeners to adopt the "play hurt" mindset in their own lives:
Develop Resilient Habits
Ed Mylett: "If your habits are to show up and give it your best, regardless of how you feel, then that will be your default setting." (61:45)
Embrace the Power of One More
Ed Mylett: "You just need to decide. Right now, I'm getting up right now. I'll make one more call." (67:10)
Seek Growth Through Pain
Ed Mylett: "When you push through pain over and over again, it starts to not affect you like it once did." (72:05)
Ed Mylett concludes the episode by reiterating the importance of resilience and the "play hurt" philosophy. He encourages listeners to honor their struggles, push through their pain, and continue striving for excellence even when conditions are not ideal.
Ed Mylett: "This is the separator. And let God's grace carry you through." (85:40)
He closes with a heartfelt message about personal growth, faith, and the eternal nature of the soul, leaving listeners motivated to embrace their challenges and emerge stronger.
On Playing Hurt:
Ed Mylett: "The separator in life is not what you do on the days you're feeling great... It's what you do on the days that you don't feel that way." (05:45)
On Adversity as a Gift:
Ed Mylett: "I believe adversity is a gift. He's going to give you something... a new friend, a new relationship, a new insight." (48:15)
On Developing Resilient Habits:
Ed Mylett: "If your habits are to show up and give it your best, regardless of how you feel, then that will be your default setting." (61:45)
On the Power of One More:
Ed Mylett: "You just need to decide. Right now, I'm getting up right now. I'll make one more call." (67:10)
On Faith and Perseverance:
Ed Mylett: "This is the separator. And let God's grace carry you through." (85:40)
This episode serves as a powerful reminder that true success often requires enduring and pushing through periods of pain and hardship. Ed Mylett masterfully combines motivational storytelling with practical advice, inspiring listeners to adopt a resilient mindset and strive for greatness even in the face of adversity.
Note: Non-content segments, including advertisements and promotional messages, have been omitted to focus solely on the episode's primary content and message.