3992: How To Walk On Water by Marc Chernoff of Marc And Angel on Moving Beyond Fear

[00:00:00] Before we start, I want to share a super powerful practice I use called NSDR or Non-Sleep Deep Rest. In just about 10 minutes or so, this Yoga Nidra practice leaves you feeling as refreshed as after a nap without actually sleeping. Experience it for yourself on our guided podcast. Search NSDR and look for the one from Optimal Living Daily.

[00:00:22] This is Optimal Living Daily, How To Walk On Water by Marc Chernoff of MarcAndAngel.com and I'm Justin Malek. I read articles and give some commentary to go along with it to give us both a little reminder about what's important every day of the year. So with that, let's get right to it as we optimize your life. How To Walk On Water by Marc Chernoff of MarcAndAngel.com.

[00:00:53] This past Sunday, I was relaxing at the water's edge of a local beach when a young boy ran full speed right by me and into the shallow surf. He continuously hopped up and down as he was running forward, kicking his little legs in the air and across the surface of the water, before inevitably falling face first into the waves. He got back up and repeated this act several times, each time with more determination than the previous attempt. It became obvious that he was trying to run across the surface of the water. I couldn't help but to laugh.

[00:01:21] His combined levels of determination and exertion were priceless. After several attempts, he noticed my laughter and walked over to me. What's so funny? He asked. You remind me of me, and it makes me smile, I said. Do you know how to walk on water? He asked. Like a superhero? Well, I think I can help you out, I said. Let me give you a few pointers. Curious, the boy sat down on the sand next to me. His mother scurried over, worried, but I reassured her that her son wasn't bothering me.

[00:01:49] Relieved, perhaps, to have her son sitting safely on the sand instead of flying face first through the air, she went back to her beach chair 20 feet away and continued a conversation with another lady. So, you want to walk on water, eh? I asked. He nodded his head anxiously. A rough summary of what I told him. Number one, make sure you were born to walk on water. You must follow your heart and be who you were born to be.

[00:02:15] Some of us were born to be musicians, to communicate intricate thoughts and rousing feelings with the strings of a guitar. Some of us were born to be poets, to touch people's hearts with exquisite prose. Some of us were born to be entrepreneurs, to create growth and opportunity where others saw rubbish. And still, some of us were born to walk on water, to invent the capability of doing so. If you're going to walk on water, you better feel it in every fiber of your being. You better be born to do it.

[00:02:44] Number two, decide that nothing can stop you. Being born to walk on water isn't enough by itself. We must each decide to accept our calling. Unfortunately, most of us make excuses instead. But I might drown trying, we say. Or, but I have a family to think about first. First, walking on water or doing anything that hasn't been done before requires absolute, unconditional dedication. The only person who can control your level of dedication is you.

[00:03:12] If you're serious about walking on water, you must decide that nothing, not gravity, not a group of naysayers, nothing can stop you. Number three, work on it for real. While many of us decide at some point during the course of our lives that we want to answer our calling to accomplish our own version of walking on water, only an astute few of us actually work on it. By working on it, I mean truly devoting oneself to the end result. The rest of us never act on our decision.

[00:03:41] Or at best, we pretend to act on it by putting forth an uninspired half-ass effort. But to truly walk on water, you'll have to study physics, rheology, hydrophobic substances, etc. And then you'll have to define and redefine next-generation theories and complex hypotheses, which must be tested relentlessly. When the tests fail, you must be ready to edit your theories and test them again. This kind of work, the real kind, is precisely what enables us to make the impossible possible.

[00:04:10] Number four, let the whole world know what you're up to. When you're trying to walk on water or do anything that nobody else has done before, life can get lonely pretty quickly. To keep your motivation thriving, it's important to let others know that you're attempting to defeat the formerly impossible. Don't be shy. Let the whole world know that you're trying to walk on water. No doubt it'll place a bit of extra pressure on your back, and you'll almost certainly hear some laughter in the crowd. But this kind of pressure fuels motivation,

[00:04:38] which is exactly what you'll need to accomplish such a colossal undertaking. And when you finally do succeed, the last bit of laughter heard will be your own. Number five, value the people who value your ambitions. When most people hear about your mission impossible aspirations, their natural reaction may be to roll their eyes, call you crazy, and tell you to quit being foolish. But fortunately, the world is also inhabited by pioneers and believers who see the value in your dreams.

[00:05:07] These people understand that achieving the formerly impossible is one of the greatest gifts human beings possess. They'll likely give you tips, bits of assistance, and the extra push you need to succeed. These are extraordinary people, and you'll want to surround yourself with them because they will ultimately assist you over the hurdles and across the surface of the water. Think of them as an influential personal support team. Without them, walking on water will be a far more difficult feat, if not completely impossible.

[00:05:37] Number six, ignore the negative naysayers. No matter how much progress you make, there will always be the people who insist that walking on water is impossible simply because it hasn't been done before. Or they may incessantly suggest that the idea as a whole is utterly ridiculous because nobody really cares about walking on water anyways. When you come across these people, don't try to reason with them. Instead, forget that they exist. They will only waste your time and energy.

[00:06:06] Number seven, prepare yourself for the pain. Even though you're no longer mindlessly running face-first into the oncoming ocean surf, but instead forming complex theories based on the studies of rheology and fluid viscosity, it doesn't mean you won't experience your fair share of pain. You're in the business of walking on water, of doing something that has never been done before. You'll likely get a waterlogged lungful of water on a regular basis. But the pain will seem like a small price to pay when you become the first person

[00:06:35] to jog across the rapids of the Mississippi. Number eight, enjoy the pain of your greatest challenge. Superheroes aren't real. In real life, nobody has ever walked on water. But lots of people have achieved formerly impossible feats and continue to enjoy the possibilities of new challenges. These people will all tell you there's nothing more gratifying than the thrill of your greatest challenge. The inherent pains along the way are simply mile markers on your trip to the finish line. When you finally do finish,

[00:07:04] you may actually find yourself missing the daily grind. Ultimately, you'll realize that pleasure and pain can be one and the same. And number nine, never give up, never quit. The reason nobody has walked on water isn't because people haven't tried. Remember, you just tried several times in a row and I'm sure many others have too. The reason nobody has succeeded is simply that within the scope of modern science and physics, it's currently impossible. But this doesn't mean that with your help, it won't become possible in the future.

[00:07:33] If you were born to do it and truly dedicate yourself to the end result, anything, including walking on water, is entirely possible. Just a chance. When we were done talking, the young boy got up and ran back over to his mother. He pointed over to me and I smiled and waved back. Then he said to her, Mommy, Mommy, that guy just taught me how to walk on water. A few moments later, she walked over to scold me for supposedly giving out reckless advice. She told me I was giving her son a false sense of hope.

[00:08:02] I told her all I was giving him was a chance. You just listened to the post titled, How to Walk on Water, by Mark Chernoff of markandangel.com. And I'll be right back with my commentary. I'm constantly thinking about how to optimize my health, what supplements to take, hours of sleep, what my diet should focus on. Superpower finally takes the guessing out of it.

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[00:08:57] The mom coming over to scold him for giving her son false hope. And his response was that all he was giving him was a chance. I thought that was a really nice line. Because I think that's what a lot of us are actually missing. Not certainty, not a guarantee, just the feeling that it's worth trying. I'd bet that everyone has something like that, some version of walking on water, something that feels just a little too big

[00:09:25] or too crazy to actually go after. The reasons not to try are always easy to find. But what if the cost of not trying ends up being higher than the cost of failing? It's definitely something worth considering. So what's your version of walking on water? And what's stopping you from at least giving it a shot? Something to think about today and this weekend. And with that, have a great rest of your day. Thank you for being here every day. And I'll see you tomorrow as usual,

[00:09:55] where your optimal life awaits.