Videos

As I was backpacking through Europe this summer, I made an interesting decision: I decided to stay at a Christian hostel in Amsterdam. They promised FREE FOOD and a really quiet atmosphere (something I needed after my previous hostel experiences). I was just finishing my “free food” when I heard the catch: I had to watch a short movie. I prepared to get a dose of Jesus with my stringed beans and rice.

To my surprise, I had a huge smile when the movie ended. And want to know the crazy part? It wouldn’t go away. My mind told me, “The acting was bad, the lines were cheesy, and it wasn’t even in color!” Yet none of this seemed to remove the dumb grin on my face.

See for yourself…and you might end up with a smile that won’t go away.

Forget Self-Help courses! Flash Mobs are improving the lives of people more than most of those could. A Flash Mob is an organized routine performed by a group of dancers in a completely random area. These groups can range from less than ten people to hundreds of people. These large groups of strangers are usually brought together by some form of social media.

What do Flash Mobs have to do with life lessons then? I believe if you asked most people why they go to work, they would respond, “Because everyone else does it.” They are stuck in a routine and are awaiting the “glory” days of retirement. The fire and motivation is gone. What is the cure to this? Can it really be a random dance with strangers?

Watch the video below and observe not only the dancers but also the people who gather to watch. It won’t be tangible but you’ll feel the happiness bubbling up inside of them. The man in the suit is not thinking of his impending deadline as he’s dancing. The smiling and clapping audience members have forgotten everything in their lives for those five minutes. Most of us live each day with a checklist mentality. We need to accomplish certain goals and cannot rest until we get there.

As these dancers in Antwerp taught me, sometimes you just have to let go of everything and dance, even if only for 5 minutes in a train station.

The real question now is: Who wants to organize the next one?

If Will Smith were to decide to stop acting, he could quickly find a job as a Success Guru. After listening to the video below I am convinced he knows the secret to success in life and has clearly used it to reach extraordinary heights. It is one of the most enlightening videos around from one of the least likely sources, or so I thought. Below are some of my favorite quotes from the video and then the video in its entirety.

On Being Realistic:

“Being realistic is the most commonly traveled road to mediocrity. Why would you be realistic? I’m going to do it. It’s already done. The second I decide it’s done, it’s already done. Now I just have to wait for all of you to see.”

“It’s unrealistic to walk in a room, flip the switch, and watch the lights come on. Fortunately, Edison didn’t think so.”

On Work Ethic:

“I’m not afraid to die on a treadmill. I will not be outworked. You may be more talented than me. You might be smarter than me. And you may be better looking than me. But if we get on a treadmill together, you are going to get off first or I’m going to die. It’s really that simple. I’m not going to be outworked.”

On Talent vs Skill:

“I’ve never really viewed myself as particularly talented. I’ve viewed myself as slightly above average in talent. And where I excel is ridiculous, sickening, work ethic. You know, while the other guy’s sleeping? I’m working. While the other guy’s eatin’? I’m working. While the other guy’s making love, I mean, I’m making love, too. But I’m working really hard at it.”

On Having a Plan B:

“There is no reason to have a plan B because it distracts from plan A.”

On Doing the Impossible

One summer, his dad tore down a brick wall in the front of his business and told 12-year-old Will and his 9-year-old brother to rebuild it, a job they said was impossible. It took them a year and a half, but they did it.

“And he said, ‘Now, don’t you ever tell me there’s somethin’ that you can’t do.’ And walked right through that door, went inside. And me and my brother stood here and looked. And said, ‘Daddy crazy as hell, ain’t he?’” Smith recalls, laughing.

The wall is still there, and so is the lesson he learned from building it. “I just put my head down and lay the first brick,” Smith explains.

On the Universe:

“Make a choice. Just decide what it’s going to be, who you’re going to be, how you’re going to do it. Just DECIDE! And then from that point the universe is going to get out of your way.”

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“Here’s to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The troublemakers. The round pegs in the square holes. The ones who see things differently. They’re not fond of rules. And they have no respect for the status quo. You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them. About the only thing you can’t do is ignore them. Because they change things. They push the human race forward. And while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius. Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do.”

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Ever wondered where the hit motivational movie “The Secret” got its ideas from? The Strangest Secret, a short story by Earl Nightingale, proposed a startling claim and was just as popular as the new hit movie about half a century ago. The story claims to have stumbled upon a secret that has been the root cause of every successful man since the beginning of time. It is something that every great genius discovers and uses to his advantage. Its basic premise is that a man’s life is nothing but the sum of his thoughts. In even simpler terms, it can be summed up in one sentence: You are what you think about. It won a Gold Record in 1956 and is the only recorded message to win that award.

The video can be seen below the jump and it is worth listening to in its entirety at least once every month.

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