Julien Smith Quotes & Sayings

No one has a problem with the first mile of a journey. Even an infant could do fine for a while. But it isn't the start that matters. It's the finish line. — Julien Smith

You will never be entirely comfortable. This is the truth behind the champion - he is always fighting something. To do otherwise is to settle. — Julien Smith

The first step is to stop seeing everything as a threat. You can't will this to happen - it requires wider exposure. If you've been punched in the face, you won't worry as much about a mugger, for example. If you face the flinch in meditation, you don't worry about a long line at the bank. Build your base of confidence by having a vaster set of experiences to call upon, and you'll realize you can handle more than you used to. — Julien Smith

Somewhere in the world, a lion wakes up every morning not knowing what it's going to eat. Every day, it finds food. The lion isn't worried - it just does what it needs to do. Somewhere else, in a zoo, a caged lion sits around every day and waits for a zookeeper. The lion is comfortable. It gets to relax. It's not worried much, either. Both of these animals are lions. Only one is a king. — Julien Smith

You can't make yourself feel positive, but you can choose how to act, and if you choose right, it builds your confidence. — Julien Smith

Those who are unwilling to face the flinch are obvious, too. Their eyes are dead. Their voices sound defeated. They have defensive body language. They're all talk. They see obstacles as assailants instead of adversaries. Their flinch is the elephant in the room, and they don't want to hear about it. Any fight you want to win, a habit of pushing past the flinch can make it happen. Once you have adjusted to the pressure, once you learn to flinch forward, you have the resolve to pass through the impassible. In fact, it becomes certain that you will - it's only a matter of time. — Julien Smith

Open your eyes. Block all escape routes. Eliminate all noise. The common will capture your attention as long as it's allowed in the room. Whatever you are used to, whether cigarettes, shopping, or Twitter, must be eliminated in the quest to get into the ring. You must make a sacrifice on the altar of greatness and perform acts that others will not. If you aren't willing to sacrifice your comfort, you don't have what it takes. — Julien Smith

You can change the world again, instead of protecting yourself from it. — Julien Smith

Getting lost is not fatal. Almost every time, it will make your world. — Julien Smith

The ability to withstand the flinch comes with the knowledge that the future will be better than the past. — Julien Smith

The truth is that judgment and fear will never stop, but they don't actually do anything. — Julien Smith

So if you see no one like you, no one who agrees, don't worry. There are actually hundreds of people like you, and they're waiting for a leader. That person is you. — Julien Smith

Here be dragons. — Julien Smith

Turn your mobile phone off for a few hours each day. Having nothing to do while you're waiting for a bus can be boring, but it's only when you're bored that the scary thoughts come to the surface. Use a dumb phone on the weekends to prevent yourself from checking your messages. — Julien Smith

Welcome to the ring. Enter those who dare, and let them share the spoils. Only they have earned it. Will you win? The ring offers no promises. But one thing's for sure: unless you get in the ring today, you don't even stand a damn chance. Decide what really matters, and get in the ring for it - now. — Julien Smith

Challenge yourself by doing things that hurt, on purpose. Have a willpower practice, such as very hard exercise, meditation, endurance, or cold showers. Choose something that makes your brain scream with how hard it is, and try to tolerate it. The goal isn't just to get used to it. It's to understand that pain is something you can survive. — Julien Smith

What you're missing is that the path itself changes you. — Julien Smith

Everything you are used to, once done long enough, starts to seem natural, even though it might not be. — Julien Smith

You can't settle for reaching other people's limits. You have to reach yours. — Julien Smith

The flinch is your real opponent, and information won't help you fight it. It's behind every unhappy marriage, every hidden vice, and every unfulfilled life. Behind the flinch is pain avoidance, and dealing with pain demands strength you may not think you have. — Julien Smith

Success works as a cycle - growth and contraction, balancing and unbalancing - all while you're encountering hurdles that get higher and higher over time. — Julien Smith

Behind every flinch is a fear or an anxiety - sometimes rational, sometimes not. Without the fear, there is no flinch. But wiping out the fear isn't what's important - facing it is. — Julien Smith