What If Everything That Went Wrong Was Actually Right?

Summary

THE ED MYLETT SHOW – Episode Summary

Episode: "What If Everything That Went Wrong Was Actually Right?"

Date: August 28, 2025
Host: Ed Mylett

Overview

In this deeply personal and motivational solo episode, Ed Mylett challenges the notion that our failures and setbacks disqualify us from achieving greatness. He flips the script, arguing that our adversities and imperfections are actually the very things that qualify us to help others and fulfill our destinies. By sharing his own story and his father’s journey from addiction to sobriety, Mylett illustrates the profound ripple effect one life can have on countless others. The episode serves as both inspiration and a practical guide for anyone feeling "unqualified" to chase their dreams or make an impact.

---

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. The Great Lie: Disqualification from Your Dreams

• (00:45–02:47)
  • Most people think their past mistakes and average experiences disqualify them from greatness.
  • "It's the great lie of our lives. We begin to stack things that didn't work out as evidence that we can't win in the future." (Ed, 01:43)
  • Our setbacks, shames, and failures are not evidence against us; they can be evidence of our capability to help others.

2. What Actually Qualifies You

• (02:47–03:49 & 06:08–08:15)
  • We often try to impress others by showing perfection, but connection and impact are born from sharing imperfections.
  • "You are most qualified to help the person or people you used to be." (Ed, paraphrasing Rory Vaden, 03:31)
  • The things that you think disqualify you—your hardships, addictions, failures—are actually what prepare you to help others in similar situations.

3. The Ripple Effect of a Single Act

• (04:01–06:08)
  • Ed recounts the story of his father’s recovery from alcoholism, highlighting that one unnamed person’s help led to a ripple effect, changing millions of lives.
  • "That one act, that one generosity, that one helping one person has impacted millions of people because they helped my father." (Ed, 06:05)
  • The impact of helping just one person cannot be underestimated.

4. The Power of Personal Growth

• (08:54–10:00)
  • Growing into new versions of yourself provides the tools to help people who are where you once were.
  • "Every time you grow into a new version of you, you are most qualified to help the people who you used to be." (Ed, 09:13)
  • Your journey through challenges makes you uniquely prepared to guide others facing similar obstacles.

5. Examples of Qualification Through Transformation

• (09:26–10:05)
  • Recover from being broke? You're positioned to help those who are.
  • Overcome insecurity? You can reach those who lack confidence now.
  • "If you were once invisible and average and ordinary and in despair, you can help people who feel average and ordinary and invisible and in despair." (Ed, 09:41)
  • The point: whatever you’ve overcome in life, you now have authority and empathy to serve others.

6. The Power of Grace and Acceptance

• (12:37–13:58)
  • Ed opens up about his own failures, low points, and personal struggles, emphasizing leaders are not perfect—far from it.
  • "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." (Ed, 13:12)
  • By giving ourselves grace and learning from mistakes, we expand our ability to help others.

7. Embrace Your Uniqueness as Qualification

• (15:03–16:14)
  • "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." (Ed, 16:14)
  • Stop comparing or wishing you were someone else; your authentic self, shaped by your experiences, equips you.

8. Call to Action

• (08:54 & 16:14)
  • Ed encourages listeners to share this message, believing that if more people understood how qualified they truly are, the world would be filled with more compassion and less judgment.

---

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Disqualification:
  "We hold our past mistakes, our past failures… as if it's a predictor of what our future is. We think we're disqualified. So I'm here to tell you that's a great lie."
  (Ed, 01:13)

• On True Connection:
  "If your ambition is to change other people's lives, is to make a difference… then show them your imperfections. You will connect with them."
  (Ed, 03:19)

• On Ripple Effects:
  "You help one person. The ripple effects are unknown."
  (Ed, 06:08)

• On Growth:
  "Every time you grow and change, I now can help that person I used to be."
  (Ed, 09:18)

• On Self-Acceptance:
  "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."
  (Ed, 16:14)

---

Important Timestamps

• 00:45 – Introduction to the episode theme: Questioning disqualification and the "great lie"
• 01:54 – The weaponization of our setbacks and why they don't define us
• 03:31 – "You are most qualified to help the person or people you used to be"
• 04:01 – Ed’s father’s sobriety story and its significance
• 06:05 – The ripple effect of one helpful act
• 08:54 – Why growth is essential for helping others
• 09:26 – Real-life examples: how your past equips you
• 13:12 – Ed's personal confessions: hardships, brokenness, and growth
• 15:03 – Final message on embracing your unique qualifications
• 16:14 – Acceptance and the call to action

---

Conclusion

Ed Mylett’s episode reframes the narrative around failure, pain, and personal struggle, urging listeners to recognize these experiences as unique qualifications to help others and pursue meaningful dreams. The powerful stories, practical examples, and relatable vulnerability make this episode a potent blueprint for anyone who has ever felt "not enough." The central message: You are not disqualified—you're more qualified than you know. Share your imperfections, pursue growth, and trust the ripple effect of your positive actions.

Transcript

[A]

I'm NFL linebacker TJ Watt and this is my personal best. YPB by Abercrombie is the activewear I'm always wearing. That's why I reached out to co design their latest drop. I worked with designers to create high performance activewear that holds up to my toughest workouts. Shop YPB by Abercrombie in store, online and in the app, because your personal best is greater than any.

[B]

This is the Ed Milet show. So welcome back, everybody.

[C]

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.

[B]

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.

[C]

From our dreams and our potential.

[B]

And I want you to think about.

[C]

This just for a minute.

[B]

I really believe, and I want to.

[C]

Make bold statement in the beginning that you were born to do something great with your life and that you're not.

[B]

Disqualified no 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.

[C]

Dreams, your purpose, your vision, a reality in your life.

[B]

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.

[C]

You've had mistakes.

[B]

You 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'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. And I'm here to tell you that is a great lie that millions of people around the world 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.

[C]

People'S lives and fulfill your destiny?

[B]

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. You 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.

[C]

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.

[B]

Someone said this on my show many times.

[C]

I've said it before.

[B]

You are most qualified to help the.

[C]

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. Rory 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.

[B]

So as you all know, I wrote.

[C]

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 will change your life.

[B]

But after I wrote that book and.

[C]

It became a best seller, 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. So 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, well, you're not going to believe this, but I just realized something.

[B]

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. And 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, 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 has impacted millions of people because they helped my.

[C]

Father in that alley or that bar somewhere.

[B]

Is that not remarkable? That 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 help 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? The very things that most people would think disqualified them?

[C]

The things that that person was most ashamed of.

[B]

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. If 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. 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. No, 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.

[C]

Preparing them for that moment to help somebody who was the person they used to be. My dad.

[B]

You are most qualified to help the.

[C]

Person you used to be in your life. I'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.

[B]

I don't care.

[C]

Some people think, well, it'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. And by the way, that's why growing matters.

[B]

Because every time you grow into a.

[C]

New version of you, you are most qualified to help the people who you used to be. And then you grow up people.

[B]

Why do you still grow and read and expand? Because I know every time I grow and change, I now can help that.

[C]

Person I used to be those people that I used to be.

[B]

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.

[C]

You can help all those people if.

[B]

You were once broke in and now.

[C]

We'Re a little bit less broken. You can help broken people if you.

[B]

Were once invisible and average and ordinary and in despair. You can help people who feel average.

[C]

And ordinary and invisible and in despair.

[B]

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.

[C]

It and discover it.

[B]

You can help all those people in.

[C]

The world who currently lack purpose, lack confidence, lack inspiration.

[B]

We are most qualified in our life.

[C]

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 and 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.

[D]

You got to keep your family safe. And in the world today, unfortunately, it goes beyond just having good locks or you know what, a little alarm dinger. If someone comes through your front door, you got to do more than that.

[C]

That's why I trust Simplisafe to protect.

[D]

My home and my family. It's about security that's proactive, not just reactive. Most security systems only kick in if someone breaks in that's too late. Simplisafe's Active Guard Outdoor protection helps stop break ins before they happen. AI powered cameras live monitoring agents detect suspicious activity around your property. If someone's lurking, you're going to know about it. Agents will talk to them in real time, turn on spotlights. They can even call the police. Proactively deterring crime before it starts. They've been named the best home security system in 2025 for a reason. Monitoring plans start at a buck a day. 60 day money back guarantee. Visit simplisafe.com mylet to claim 50% off with a professional monitoring plan and get your first month free. That's simply safe.com mylet there's no safe like Simply Safe.

[B]

This show is sponsored by BetterHelp.

[D]

I got to tell you, I'm glad that they do because, you know, people ask me all the time, what do most of the guests on your show have in common? Because there's all these different industries and stories, I'd say the one thing most of them have been to therapy and I've been to therapy. I think it's a great thing whether you've had a lot of trauma in your life and it's extreme and you need to work through it, or maybe it's not so severe, but you just need clarity, somebody to talk to. Get a plan in place. With over 30,000 therapists, better help is the world's largest online therapy platform, having served over 5 million people globally. And it works with an average rating of 4.9 out of 5 for a live session based on over 1.7 million client reviews. It's convenient, too. You can just join a session with the therapist with a click of a button, helping you fit therapy into your busy life. As the largest online therapy provider in the world, BetterHelp can provide access to mental health professionals with a diverse variety of expertise. Talk it out with Better Help our listeners get 10% off their first [e-mail] ed show. That's better. H E L p.com edshow I have an addiction.

[C]

I have a lot of them. But my main addiction is I'm addicted to the expansion of my being.

[B]

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.

[C]

Because I just have a lot of experience with failure. I 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 to 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, none of us are.

[B]

Perfect in the journey you got to.

[C]

Have in a videographer.

[B]

So, hey guys, you know what separates most businesses from others? The people that hire the best talent.

[C]

And we all know when you're working in a small business and you own one, it means you wear a bunch of different hats. But here's the truth. Sometimes you really need an extra pair of hands. And upwork is the place that you can find those hands.

[B]

Upwork is how good companies find great.

[D]

Trusted freelance talent in a variety of different areas.

[B]

Companies turn to upwork all the time to get things done, finding more flexibility in the way they staff, key projects.

[C]

Initiatives where they want to go global with stuff.

[B]

Top talent in it, web development, AI, design, admin, marketing, you name it. Posting a job on upwork is easy. Upwork makes the business process easier, simpler.

[C]

Way more affordable with industry low fees.

[B]

So post a job today and you can hire tomorrow on Upwork. Visit Upwork.com right now and post your job for free. That is Upwork.com to post your job for free and connect with top talent.

[C]

Ready to help your business grow.

[B]

That's up w o r k.com upwork.com all right, let's be real.

[C]

If your gut is 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. And 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. But 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.

[B]

Talked that way or thought that way.

[C]

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 I hope you share this podcast and subscribe. God bless you, everybody. This is the Ed Milan Show.