928. How Do I Understand Truth & The Meaning Of Life?

What if the fastest way forward… was to slow down?

In this episode, I unpack a quote from Tolstoy that hooked me:

“Taking slow, small steps forward without stopping is the best way if you want to understand truth and the meaning of life.”

If you’ve been feeling stuck, burned out, or like you’re racing through life without a clear direction, this one’s for you. I’m not here to preach. I’m just working through it with you. Because like you, I’m searching for something real. Something meaningful.

This episode is a reminder that you don’t have to have it all figured out—you just have to keep moving forward. Slowly. Intentionally. Without stopping.

Let's get it!

—Marsh

Transcript

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Alright, 3, 2, 1. Let's get it. Welcome to episode 9 28 of What's Your Problem, the podcast. I'm your host, marsh Bi, and man, today, obviously the headline grabbed you. What's the meaning of life? Hope to shed some light on that to help you really start thinking and understanding truth, and the meaning of life. That is a, that's a mono, a mono job, man. That's a one-on-one job. And only you have the answers to that, so let me, let me read to you a Tolstoy quote. And then. Then I wanna unpack it like I always do. Alright, so here's what he wrote, Tolstoy That is taking slow small steps forward without stopping is the best way if you want to understand truth and the meaning of life. Boy, that's a heavy quote, a beautiful one, and one that to me. If you let it in and I say in into your soul, that quote can walk with you for the rest of your life, lemme read it to you again. Taking slow small steps forward without stopping is the best way if you want understand truth and the meaning of life. And I'm not gonna lie, man. Uh, initially when I, I, I read it, I just glanced over it. I was actually on my way to reading something different, but I said, wait a minute. Lemme just, lemme just write this in my journal so I can come back to it another time. And I wrote it and it was like a gigantic fish hook. It was like, it stuck me, man. It snagged me and it slowed me down. And it made me think slow, small steps forward without stopping. That's not just the best way, I think it's the only way because what else are we really chasing? If we're not chasing the truth and the meaning of life? I mean, that's what we all wanna know, right? Why am I here? What's my purpose? How do I contribute to the whole, what's my role in this massive equation? So let me unpack it. Number one, slow. Slow doesn't mean weak. Slow means deliberate present. It's simply just a lower speed, but a longer game. See when you're moving too fast. You're gonna miss opportunities. You're gonna make careless mistakes. You react instead of respond. But when you're slow, you control the pace. You get to analyze, adjust. You gain understanding. You see a bigger picture, you notice patterns, and you stay in control. And while others seem to be speeding past you, it's, it's okay because they're in a race while you're on a journey.. Number two, small steps, small steps forward, don't seem like much, but they add up, they stack. You don't need to make a scene to make progress. It's simply one step at a time every day. And here's what's key. If you stop taking those steps, you stop shaping your own life. You stop writing your story, and you start living someone else's, even if you don't know exactly where you're going, do just keep going. Just keep moving because the direction is going to create clarity. You're gonna figure it out as you're doing. Number three, without stopping, love this one. Slow, small steps forward without stopping that phrase right there. That's the whole thing, man. This is where most people fall off, not because they ran outta opportunities. But because they ran outta belief, they lost their curiosity. They stopped being creative. They let their doubts become decisions. But the small steps forward without stopping, bro. That's consistency over intensity. That's how you reshape your life one moment at a time. And even when it's hard, even when you're unsure, even when it's dark, you keep going. Number four, understanding truth. Truth isn't a lightning bolt. It's a slow unfolding revelation, but the truth is real. It's authentic. It conforms to reality, not fantasy. See, when you slow down and you really see yourself, you start shedding the layers of who you're not. You stop chasing an image and you start chasing an identity and you begin to grasp who you are, your patterns, your pitfalls. And even your potential, and the more you understand yourself, and this is a lifelong game, bro, but the more you understand yourself, the more you learn to contribute, not as a copy, but as your true self. Number five, the meaning of life is what we all wanna know, right? The meaning of life isn't found, it's understood. The meaning of life is the sum total of your existence, the good, the bad, and the becoming. It's what you learn when you stop running from yourself and you start walking with yourself. Think about that. How many times, how much longer are you gonna keep running from yourself? And when will you confront and start walking with yourself? That means that shadow's right there. That means you gotta keep looking at it, you gotta keep dealing with it. But this is when you begin to understand. This is what you gain when you face the hard truths and not hide from 'em.'cause that's the thing about it, when you don't confront, and I'm, I'm living proof when you don't confront and you just keep running from it. It is like, it's like Jason Voorhees in Friday the 13th. He's just gonna plot along waiting for you to trip on a route, and by the time you trip on that route, he's gonna slice you in half. That's what running trip from the truth does, man. Truth is just going to plot along. You can run from it, but when you stop running from yourself and you start walking and you gain this understanding, man you start shedding some light on that thing. That shadow gets smaller and smaller and smaller until it goes away. You'll stop self-sabotaging and you'll start growing these roots, these roots that you need for the storms of life. Because you'll know yourself. You'll understand yourself, and you begin to realize where I am right now is not permanent. It's just a point. It's just a place, but I don't have to stay here. Everything matters. Everything counts. And where you are right now, it's only part of the equation. Life is the sum total of your existence. It's just part of it right now. And so over time, as you begin to align your life and you're taking slow, small steps forward without stopping. Not letting your present circumstances stop. You just gonna keep going. I don't know how this is gonna turn out. I don't know what, where this leads. Keep going, keep going. You'll get clarity and over time the additions multiply and the multiplications compound. And the life that you're building becomes something that you earned, and you earned it because now you understand it. It's no longer something that you just chase. So if you want to understand the truth, if you want to understand the meaning of life, then take slow small steps forward without stopping. It's about making the progress, not the results. The results are gonna be what the results are, and the results are from what you've done, not from what you're doing. Where you are right now, good or bad, it's a result of what you've done. What is it right now that you're doing? But the results be what you, when they happen is not up to you. What you do for when it happens. That is up to you. That's your purpose in life. What did you get from this episode? This is a deep, deep episode. This is something that's just gonna marinate with me today and for some time forward, and you may need to listen to this a few times, you may need to write it down yourself if you, if you want the quote. Uh, go to my Instagram. I'll post it on my stories, grab that quote, screenshot it, R dm me. I'll send it to you, and that way you can write it yourself and unpack it. You may see this a little bit different. Uh, you may formulate this a little bit different because like I said, understanding the truth and the meaning of life, bro, that's a deep one. That's a lifelong commitment. And that's something that you just gotta continue doing. But I believe in you. I know that you can do it. I'm trying to figure it out too. Alright, let's get outta here. Thanks for sharing this episode with one person who needs it. Share it on all your socials. Help get the word out. If you have not left a rating or review, appreciate it. If you would, just take a few seconds. If you got just a second man, leave a rating. If you have just a minute, leave a review. What did a recent episode mean to you? Uh, because there are millions of podcasts out there. And it's your words that could stop and have somebody listen to an episode and begin to change their life. Not because of my words, but because of yours. You left it behind. You left a curiosity aspect to it. They listened to it. They found something beneficial. All right, I'm just a messenger. All right, let's get outta here. Keep it simple. Keep it moving. Never settle. Stay tough. Peace.