Disney Magical Mindset Podcast

Your Worst Chapter Isn't Your Last Chapter: The Magic of Starting Again

• Ruben R. Rios • Episode 62

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0:00 | 18:34

What if the only thing holding you back from your future, is the story you keep telling about your past?

In this episode of the Disney Magical Mindset Podcast, we talk about why so many people stay trapped in yesterday, and how imagination can help you start building a better tomorrow.

Before Disneyland existed, it was just orange groves. But Walt Disney imagined something greater, and the rest is history.

Here’s the truth most people don’t realize:

You’re never going to feel ready.
You’re never going to feel like it.
And it will probably feel scary.

But you can feel all of those things, and start anyway. Your past may explain you, but it doesn’t define you. Your worst chapter isn’t your last chapter.
Your next chapter starts today!

Helping you silence the villain in your mind and become the hero of your story! 

Opening: Magic And Mindset

Ruben

Hey pals, welcome back to the Disney Magical Mindset Podcast. My name is Ruben, your Disney Magic Mentor, and I'm just so glad you're here. I really am. I appreciate this opportunity to help you experience the magic of Disney, where we learn how to unlock the magic inside of us so we can live our happiest life. And if you love Disney parks like I do, and I know you do too, you know something special happens when you walk into Disneyland or Walt Disney World or any Disney park around the world. You step into a place that was once just orange groves, specifically Disneyland. Farmland, it was nothing extraordinary, but someone imagined something more. And that someone was Walt Disney, my hero. And today I want to talk about something that stops a lot of people from building their own dreams, from going on that adventure that they know they've been wanting to go on, that's calling their name. And here's what I want to talk about that stops that. It's the past. Yeah, it's often the past. So many people stay stuck because they're constantly looking backwards. Past mistakes, past failures, past regrets. Have you ever felt that feeling before? I know I have. But the happiest people, listen to me now, in life don't operate from their past history. They don't. They operate from their imagination, from their dreams, their imagination. So that's exactly what I want to talk about today. So if you're ready, come on, let's do this. Cause here we go. Let me ask you something. How much time do we spend replaying things we wish we had done differently? Oh, I feel this one. I'm sure you do too, because we've all been there, right? Things that we said, things we didn't say, opportunities we missed. It's like our mind keeps trying to go back and rewrite a chapter that's already finished. And here's the truth we've got to hear today. You cannot go back. It's impossible to change the past, right? Yesterday is closed. And so I see this happen often. We spend so much time focusing on the past, trying to change the past, wishing it was different. And we're doing something that that is just impossible to do. We can't go back. And believe me, there are so many times, like, you know, I have these conversations with my wife. I wish I could go back. I wish we could go back and do things differently, or or change this up, or or you know, have made better decisions, you know, when we were younger, when I was younger, but we you just can't do that. Here's what you can do, and here's the power you get to do in your life today, right? You you get to to believe that what happens from this moment forward, you get to now write that new story, write that chapter. Yes, you can reframe uh the past so that you learn from it, right? You you can even go back and and make some, you know, um additions and and really just use that as a platform to say, okay, what can I do differently? What did I learn from this? But to absolutely rewrite the entire thing and to just erase everything and start again. You just can't do that. You you you hear what I'm trying to say today? And and and here's the beauty of it: your past chapters don't define your present and don't define your future. It's part of your story, but it's not everything. And there's so much power when we let go of trying to fix something or change something from the past that we just absolutely cannot do. You just can't. So instead of trying to go and fix it or rewrite that past story, it's time to believe that you get to write the new chapter, right? You're stepping into a new story, and there's so much liberating power when you embrace that in your life. Like today, I'm gonna do something different. Today is chapter 10. Today is chapter 12. Like, yes, I didn't care too much for chapter three or chapter four, but it's part of my story, but it's not everything. And and here's the truth. Sometimes the reason people stay stuck is because they believe if they think about the past long enough, somehow they'll fix it. I've been there. And it's and it's sometimes it's just so easy to do to keep reflecting and and thinking about the past. And sometimes it, you know, it just happens where you don't even think too much about it. It just pops in your head and you're like, you know, wow, you you remember what you did 10 years ago or five years ago or a year ago. And here's the real question today. You ready for the question? What are you doing today? Not yesterday and not even tomorrow. What are you doing today, right now? What are you doing today to become the person you want to be? Because you get to decide. Are you going to live off the old chapters or are you going to write a new one today? Because you have the power to do that. What are you doing today to build the future you keep wishing for? You have something in you that you desire for your life or for your kids or for your family. What is that? Because the truth is, your worst chapter is not your last chapter. Come on, let's just say that together. Wherever you are today, your worst chapter is not your last chapter. My worst chapter is not my last chapter. And I'm so grateful to just realize this beautiful truth that we're always writing new chapters. And our worst chapter doesn't define our entire book story. You get to decide today, you get to believe that your worst chapter is not your last chapter. Oh my goodness. So good. When you look at the story of Walt Disney, it's amazing how easy it would have been for him to live from his past. I mean, just take a moment to think about the things that the chapters in his life that you can read about where you lie, you're like, wow. I mean, he he lost some things. Or there were some things that were, I'm sure he wishes he can rewrite, right? He had failed businesses. He lost control of characters that he created. Oswald, the lucky rabbit, you've heard that before. People told him ide his ideas were impossible. There's no way that you're gonna be able to do what you're saying you're gonna do, Walt. I mean, banks rejected him when he was trying to build Disneyland. Imagine those banks that rejected him. You know what it's like to look at the the new chapters that Walt was writing. You know, and Walt didn't sit around replaying the past. If you look at his life, he didn't, he didn't just rest on his, you know, previous chapters. He was always writing new chapters. That's what he did. He's like, hey, okay, yeah, learn from it. Let's go. We're gonna go. Because he understood that in order for him to do what he was setting out to do, he could not dwell on the past. What are you gonna do? You you gotta keep going, right? And he lived. Here's what I love about Walt from his imagination. We've been talking about that, his imagination and dreams. He asked a different question. And here's the question I believe he asked. What could this become? Yeah, what could this become? Instead of focusing on what went wrong, he focused on what was possible. That's the shift, that's the mindset shift right there. And because of that imagination, millions of people now walk down Main Street USA, like I do all the time, that I super enjoy. And I even sing that song too. Every day, every year, they walk down and they feel inspired. All because one person refused to let their past define their future. Because the question that we need to be asking is what could this become? Right? What is possible? Not what went wrong. So yeah, we learned from that, but what is possible? What can we do? And when you look at Walt's life, it's such an inspiration because when Snow White was come was being worked on, and everyone told him, Don't do this, Walt. There's no way that you're gonna be able to do a full future uh a feature-length, a full feature-length animated film. Don't do it, Walt, don't do it. And Walt went out. Everyone told him, No, you're not gonna be able to do this, Walt, what are you doing? He had to go and secure money because no one was really giving him money. I mean, he had to put almost everything up for sale. Like he, you know, he he poured into everything because he believed, yes, he knew what was at stake. He knew that this could go really, really well or it could go really, really wrong. But he still did it anyway. And that changed everything. That changed the trajectory of his life. Because once Snow White uh and the seven dwarfs came out, man, it just set him up and it built confidence and it told him, okay, listen, look at this chapter. Now let's keep going. And you notice he didn't sit on Snow White, he didn't just stay there. He kept building, he kept dreaming, he kept creating more art uh animated films, he kept going, and that's exactly what I'm talking about. The past is, you know, yeah, it's there, but we keep going. We keep writing new chapters because so many, ooh, this is so good. We keep writing new chapters because if you don't, people will miss out on what you are offering in your story. If you can't, if you just keep focusing on the past and dwelling on the last chapters. You got so many new chapters to write, and people get to experience it and read it, but they can't do it if you're constantly fixated on what happened yesterday. Ooh, y'all got me started today. Oh, this is so good. And that's why I love Walt Disney. I'm so inspired by his story because he knew the right question. He kept asking, what could this become? He kept focusing on what was possible as opposed to what could go wrong or what went wrong. Keep focusing on the possibility. That's the imagination, that's the dreams, because that's gonna keep you going to believe that your best chapters are still ahead. All right. I read something the other day from Mel Robbins. It was so powerful. I want to share it with you. She said, you're never going to feel ready. You're never going to feel like it. It's always going to be scary. But the secret is that you can feel all those things and do it anyway. That's the key. So many people are waiting for confidence. They're waiting to feel prepared. They're waiting for fear to disappear. But fear rarely disappears before you start. You know that. Confidence usually shows up after you start moving and doing and going. So the real secret is simple: just start. Take the step, send the email, apply for the opportunity. You know, uh, call somebody, go learn how to do what you want to do. I keep saying this because it's so true. There's a blueprint for everything. No one's really doing anything brand new. They get it from someone else because there's a way to do it. I hope that you hear my heart for you today. So, yes, take the risk because you will never get what you want by staying exactly where you are. That's turning the page. That's starting the new chapter. That's believing that whatever took place in those chapters before, it's a new one today. And I get to decide to believe that I'm gonna make a difference, that I'm gonna do something differently today, that I'm gonna step out. Because, yeah, you know what? I'm never gonna always feel ready. Yeah, there are gonna be moments when I'm not gonna feel like it. Or, yes, it's gonna be scary, but I gotta just go. I gotta go. Because again, this life that we get, this one precious gift of life, this is all we got, my friends. And I don't wanna get to the end of the road, to the end of my life, and look back with regrets. I wanna be able to look back and say, you know what? I gave it everything. I went after everything. Yes, after the good chapters that I had, yes, even the bad chapter, but all of it because I went to pursue what I desired, what I wanted, what I was hoping for, that happily ever after, it's yours. And it's yours when you start believing that your last chapters don't define your next chapter. Come on, let's go. Let's go. One of the most important things to remember when you're rebuilding your life is this, all right? When you're rebuilding that story or you're you know going to that next chapter and you're starting to write that new chapter, change takes time. Whatever it is that you desire to change, whatever it is that you want to do differently in your life, it's gonna take time. So if you spent years developing different habits or thinking patterns or decisions that you regret, I want you to realize that it's just unrealistic to expect everything to change overnight. Okay? I I wanna just give you that freedom. I I want you to sense that today. I I want you to give your best self time to grow. All right. You gotta you gotta give it time to grow. Give your best self the same time to build that you gave that worst part, you know, that worst chapter in your life, that you gave that time to fall apart. I I think it's so easy to just assume that that we're gonna just do it quickly and it's gonna happen overnight and we're gonna get there, and life is gonna change, you know, my life is gonna be different. But the truth is that sometimes those chapters they take time. Like growth is a is a long game. Dreams are a long game, and the life you want is built one decision at a time. And that's why I say today, hey, listen, what are you gonna do differently today? You can't focus on the past, you can't focus on what happened yesterday. I I want you to just start thinking about what's possible today and give yourself that confidence, that belief to just feel like you can do it, even though it's gonna take time, right? Because change, especially when it comes to your best self, it's a process. But that's part of the beauty, that's part of the journey, that's part of the joy that you get to look at what you've been through, what you have accomplished, what you the the the bumps, the the challenges, the dips that you took, the roller coaster that just kept seeming like it was going down, down, down, and then you're finally coming up and up, up. But that's part of your story, and that's what makes that next chapter so beautiful, is to be able to say, look at what I've been through, look at what I've overcome, look at where I'm at today. Yeah, it took some time, but how awesome is it that now you have an amazing story to tell and an inspiring one that will encourage others who were there where you were. And maybe they're in a place where they're like, I don't know if I can do it, but because you showed that you can, they now have the confidence to write a new chapter in their story because they saw what you did with yours. Okay. So if you're listening today and you've been feeling stuck because of your past, let me remind you of something. Your past may explain you, but it does not define you. The story is not over, the next chapter is still being written, and the beautiful thing is that you get to decide what happens next. Just like Walt Disney once imagined something greater and turned a patch of orange groves into Disneyland, you can start building something amazing with your life too. But it starts with one simple step. Start today. Start today. Ask yourself the question: what can be possible? What can I do differently today to make what seems impossible possible? You got this. I am cheering for you. I'm not just saying this just to say it. I share these things because I believe it with all my heart, but I'm also living it too. So, like I'm there, I'm seeing things happening unfolding, like dreams, like the chapters are being written, my friends, and so I'm sharing with you things that I'm experiencing in my life. It's possible, it's possible, all right? Yes, it definitely is possible, and this is the kind of mindset that built Disneyland. Oh, come on, Walt. Thank you, Walt Disney, for the example. What a chapter, what a chapter. Friends, thank you so very much for joining me this week on the Disney Magical Mindset podcast. I'm so grateful that you take time to be here, that we can experience the magic together. If this episode hit home, would you please share it with a friend who could use some encouragement today? Uh, if you've not done so already, it would mean the world to me if you would be able to take time out of your day to just uh jump on and write a review wherever you're listening to this episode. That's a great way that we continue to share this beautiful magic. And remember always, you are the magic. Because the magic is in you.