The Power of Language: Choosing Your Words to Shape Your Destiny

The person you talk to most isn't your partner, your best friend, or your boss.

It's you. Morning, noon, and night. Consciously or not. And here's the question worth sitting with: What are you actually saying?

What This Episode Explores

George and Liz dig into the linguistic relationship we have with ourselves. How the words we use to describe our lives become the reality we create. And why simple shifts in self-talk can unlock the ability to live beyond your default.

The Lessons That Matter

Words Are Not Just Words

Let's get this out of the way first.

"If you don't take anything else away from this episode," George says, "words are not just words. They matter. Capital M-A-T-T-E-R. They matter, especially internally, but also externally."

This isn't positive thinking fluff. It's the foundation everything else builds on. The language you use to talk about yourself dictates how you think about yourself. And from there, your actions follow.

If your default sounds like "I can't be this" or "I'll never amount to that," you're not just venting. You're programming.

For you: Start paying attention to the words you use against yourself. Document them. You can't change what you can't see.

The Missing Piece Isn't Loving Others. It's Loving Yourself.

George shares something he hasn't talked about publicly much. There was a time he was homeless. Couch surfing between his cousin's place, a pastor named Willie May, and his grandparents. Just him and his skateboard during the day, trying to make the best of it.

That season led him to Faith Ranch, where he spent three years learning about love, faith, and self-belief. He learned to love others. He learned that God don't make no junk. But one thing didn't click during those years.

"I didn't take or didn't pay attention during those 3 years on how to love myself," George admits. "I knew God don't make no junk. I could like me. But I don't have to love me."

It took decades to figure out the missing piece. And even then, he had only learned to love the new George. The cleaned up version. Not the one who made mistakes. Not the dirty George.

Then came the question that changed everything. Liz asked him: "What does it look like if you showed up as a whole ass human?"

George sat with that question and wrote a Facebook post that captured his answer:

"To be a whole ass human is to understand you are a spiritual being in a human body. Love yourself no matter what. You have to love the dents and the bruises. You have to love the shine and the darkness. You have to love the punches, chisels, and chainsaws of life that made you this way."

And then this line, which George reads twice for emphasis: "Being a whole human is always trying to better my capabilities while at the same time understanding I was fully made with everything I need to be successful."

For you: Are you only loving the polished version of yourself? The dents and bruises aren't flaws to hide. They're part of the whole.

Stand in Front of the Mirror

George describes a practice he does every morning. It started after he heard a speaker say that 90% of the human race can't stand in the mirror and look at themselves.

He took that as a personal challenge.

"I'll stand in the mirror first thing in the morning," George says. "I'll look at myself in the eyes and say: George, you are humble. George, you are happy. George, you are a helper. George, God created you to be a blessing bomber. George, you're smart. George, you understand the things that you need to do."

And when he catches himself walking away too early? "I'll literally catch myself and go, no. No. No. No. Turn around. Stand your happy ass in front of that mirror and do what you know you're supposed to do."

The key isn't the mirror. It's catching yourself when you're not treating yourself right. When you're not loving yourself. Then flipping the switch and doing it anyway.

For you: Can you stand in front of a mirror, look yourself in the eyes, and speak words of belief over your own life? Try it tomorrow morning.

Use Your Own Name

Liz shares research that stopped her in her tracks. A study found that people who use first person when talking to themselves before a task were less effective than those who spoke in the second or third person.

Creating psychological distance in self-talk helps us calm down and face challenging moments.

So Liz tested it for a week. Instead of "I can do this," she said "Liz Moorehead is trustworthy. Liz Moorehead can be trusted to make better decisions. Liz Moorehead will get her butt to the gym."

"It made me move faster," she says. "There were times where I did have to say out loud, sitting in a parking lot in front of Planet Fitness, 'I do not want to go in. But Liz Moorehead makes better decisions than that.' And she got her butt in there."

George has been doing this instinctively for years after reading about how people love hearing their own name. He just turned that external communication technique inward.

For you: Next time you need to push through something hard, try talking to yourself in third person. Use your name. See what shifts.

Create Your Own Language

This is where the episode goes somewhere unexpected.

George and Liz explore research about the Hopi Indians, whose language has no words for past, present, or future. No minutes. No days of the week. Instead, they divide the world into manifested (the physical universe) and unmanifested (dreams, thoughts, desires, life forces).

The takeaway isn't about the Hopi specifically. It's about this line that stopped George cold: "Humans are at the mercy of the language they use."

If our language shapes our reality, what would happen if we got intentional about the words we allow into our vocabulary?

"What if moving forward, we spoke George or we spoke Liz or we spoke Billy," George asks, "and it was a subset of words that we allowed or did not allow in our vocabulary based on what created or moved us into being the best beings we can be?"

What if instead of being stuck in narratives about past failures and future fears, you spent more time in dreams, thoughts, desires, and life forces?

For you: What words do you need to remove from your vocabulary? What words do you need to add? You get to choose the language you speak to yourself.

Quotable Moments

"Being a whole human is always trying to better my capabilities while at the same time understanding I was fully made with everything I need to be successful."

"Humans are at the mercy of the language they use."

"You have to be the captain of your own ship. You have to have your set of maps for your life. You need to be able to speak to yourself and speak to your crew."

Your Next Move

Before this week ends, do these three things:

Stand in the mirror. Tomorrow morning. Look yourself in the eyes and speak words of belief over your life using your own name. If you catch yourself walking away early, turn around.

Document the words you use against yourself. For three days, pay attention to the internal narrative. Write down the phrases that show up. You can't rewire what you can't see.

Choose your language. What words do you need to ban from your vocabulary? What words do you need to start using? Be the captain of your own ship. Speak in a way that gets you to your destination.

Ready to hear the full conversation? Press play above. George opens up about his journey from homelessness to self-belief, and Liz shares research that might change how you talk to yourself forever.