Shadowing Practice: Be obsessed or be average - Learn English Speaking with Video
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Most people want success, but very few are obsessed enough to earn it.
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And a lot of people may say that obsession is unhealthy or that you need balance in life,
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but the truth of the matter is being somewhat obsessed is far better than drifting through life without any purpose.
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It's the obsession that turns dreams into reality and what separates the average from the truly successful.
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And it's not about being crazy or extreme, it's about being committed, it's choosing your dreams over distractions and refusing to live an average life.
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So today we will be exploring some key takeaways from the book Be Obsessed
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or Be Average by Grant Cardone to see how being obsessed in the right way can help you reach your fullest potential.
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Starting with the first major lesson, obsession is your advantage.
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Being obsessed isn't a flaw, it's actually a superpower.
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Most people stay average because it feels safer.
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They avoid taking risks, they stick to what's comfortable and skip the hard work they know is needed to reach their goals.
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And being average is not just a default,
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it's an active choice, a decision we make to hold back from the hard work and risks that actually lead to success.
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And this usually happens because stepping out of comfort feels uncomfortable, and chasing big goals means facing uncertainty and possible failure.
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It's just easier to stick with what's familiar than to push yourself into what's unknown,
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even if that means never living the life you're capable of creating.
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Obsessed people on the other hand, they take a different path.
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They refuse to settle for comfort and ignore their goals.
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And a great example of this is Beth Harmon from The Queen's Gambit.
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From the moment she discovered chess, she completely immersed herself.
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Her dedication wasn't just about talent.
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It was about focus, commitment and refusing to settle for anything less than excellence.
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Although her obsession with chess can seem unhealthy at times, that intense concentration is also what made her unstoppable,
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pushing her to master the game and rise to the top in a field dominated almost entirely by men.
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She proves that reaching mastery isn't about luck, it's about relentless dedication.
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Everyone desires success, but just desiring it isn't enough, because success unfortunately doesn't come from luck, it comes from relentless effort.
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Only by being obsessed with every aspect of your craft, every challenge, and every opportunity can you turn your dreams into reality.
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And that's what makes obsession such a powerful advantage.
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It's what pushes you to study longer, practice harder, and dream bigger.
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It transforms your ambition into action.
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In fact, if you're not a little obsessed with your goals, then you're probably not giving it everything you've got.
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The next takeaway is to reject balance.
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Many people tend to think that chasing your dreams non -stop is dangerous
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and that balance is the key to a healthy life.
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But in reality, striving for balance can actually hold you back from achieving your goals.
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Of course, I'm not saying you should never rest or take breaks.
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Those are obviously very important.
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What I mean is that if you want to achieve something extraordinary,
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you cannot let the idea of balance stop you from going all in when it matters most.
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You cannot let comfort become an excuse to avoid putting in the work your goals demand.
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Rejecting balance doesn't mean ignoring your well -being.
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It means understanding that extraordinary results require extraordinary focus.
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Sometimes, you have to stop chasing balance and start chasing growth.
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Because balance feels good in the moment, but growth is what actually gets you closer to the life you dream about.
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And some people might even judge you for being obsessed with improving yourself in your life.
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But the fact is, everybody is already obsessed with something.
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I've never met anyone who wasn't.
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The question is, is it a bad obsession or a good one?
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Is it taking you closer to your goals, inspiring you and helping you grow, or is it just a distraction?
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Take Cassie from Euphoria as an example.
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She's obsessed with seeking attention and approval from others and that fixation often leads her into unhealthy choices and emotional stress.
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And it proves just how an obsession can be so harmful and damaging if it's focused on the wrong things.
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The lesson here is that obsession itself isn't bad.
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It's all about where you choose to direct it.
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Another takeaway is obsession shows an action.
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Obsessed people work harder.
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They immerse themselves fully in their goals, constantly learning, experimenting, and improving.
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They treat every day as an opportunity to move closer to their dream.
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In the book, Grant Cardone talks about how his life only started to change when he became obsessed.
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He wasn't born rich or naturally successful.
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In fact, he was broke with no clear path to where he wanted to be.
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But rather than giving up or settling for average, he fully immersed himself in learning and mastering sales.
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His relentless commitment is what transformed him from someone struggling to pay bills into a multi -millionaire entrepreneur.
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His story is a reminder that success comes from dedication and consistent action, and the same applies to you as well.
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Choose a craft or skill that truly matters to you and commit to mastering it every day.
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Be the one who wakes up early to work on your dreams, even when others are still asleep.
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Be the one who practices relentlessly and who turns every opportunity into progress.
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Success doesn't come to the average people, it comes to those who are willing to outwork everyone.
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If you want to be different and stand out, your actions need to stand out too.
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And lesson number 4 that I want to highlight is Obsession requires sacrifice.
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Success comes with a price, and that price is the willingness to make sacrifices.
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Being obsessed isn't only about working hard, it's also about choosing your goals over comfort and convenience day after day.
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Sometimes that means saying no to distractions, skipping late night scrolling, or even missing social events so you can invest in yourself.
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Yes, it's not going to be easy, it's going to feel hard, but everything worth achieving in life is hard.
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Leveling up is hard.
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It takes a lot of effort, it takes a lot of patience and discipline,
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but doing nothing and staying stuck in a life that you're not satisfied with is also hard.
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So why not choose the hard that actually gets you closer to your dreams?
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And it's not about punishing yourself, it's about choosing what really matters.
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It might mean less free time and saying no to distractions,
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but the payoff makes it all worth it and the confidence you build along the way not only changes your results,
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it changes how you see yourself as well.
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At the end of the day, it's about how much you're willing to give for the life you want.
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Success isn't meant to be easy.
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If it were, everyone would have it, but that's not the case.
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Success demands effort, sacrifice, and a level of commitment that most people can't sustain.
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But that's what makes it rare.
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That's what makes it worth it.
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You don't become great by doing what everyone else is doing.
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You become great by doing what they won't.
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That's it for today.
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I truly hope this episode inspired you to take your goals seriously and let your obsession drive you forward.
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Thank you so much for watching.
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I love you and I'll see you in the next one.
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Bye!
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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This speaking lesson is built on the video “Be obsessed or be average”. The speaker keeps coming back to these words: obsessed, obsession, goals, dream, success. This video has 95 sentences and 1272 words to shadow. The speech runs for 6:43. The speaker talks fast, about 189 words per minute, so expect linked and reduced sounds. 84% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English; the rest is worth studying before you start.
Key vocabulary in this video
15 words from the video worth learning, with pronunciation and meaning:
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| obsession noun | /əbˈsɛʃən/ | The quality of being obsessed; an unshakeable feeling that one topic or activity must be pursued above other interests. |
| chase verb | /t͡ʃeɪs/ | To follow at speed. |
| comfort noun | /ˈkʌm.fət/ | Contentment, ease. |
| distraction noun | /dɪsˈtɹæk.ʃən/ | Something that distracts. |
| lesson noun | /ˈlɛs.ən/ | A section of learning or teaching into which a wider learning content is divided. |
| commitment noun | /kəˈmɪtmənt/ | The act of sending a legislative bill to committee for review. |
| refuse verb | /ɹɪˈfjuːz/ | To decline (a request or demand). |
| settle verb | /ˈsɛtəl/ | To determine (something which was exposed to doubt or question); to resolve conclusively; to set or fix (a time, an order of succession, etc). |
| extraordinary adjective | /ɪksˈtɹɔːrdɪn(ə)ɹi/ | Out of the ordinary; exceptional; unusual. |
| sacrifice noun | /ˈsæk.ɹɪ.faɪs/ | Originally, the killing (and often burning) of a human being or an animal as an offering to a deity; later, also the offering of an object to a deity. |
| dedication noun | /ˌdɛdɪˈkeɪʃən/ | The act of dedicating or the state of being dedicated. |
| unhealthy adjective | /ʌnˈhɛl.θi/ | Characterized by, or conducive to poor health. |
| relentless adjective | /ɹɪˈlɛntləs/ | Unrelenting or unyielding in severity. |
| ignore verb | /ɪɡˈnɔː/ | To deliberately not listen or pay attention to. |
| commit verb | /kəˈmɪt/ | To give in trust; to put into charge or keeping; to entrust; to consign; used with to or formerly unto. |
Phrasal verbs you will hear
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| stand out verb | To jut out, protrude (from a surface etc.). | |
| give up verb | To surrender (someone or something); to inform on (someone). | |
| wake up verb | /ˌweɪk ˈʌp/ | To stop sleeping; to awake. |
Sentences worth repeating
Short, complete lines from the video that you can reuse in everyday conversation:
- Rejecting balance doesn't mean ignoring your well -being.
- I've never met anyone who wasn't.
- It's all about where you choose to direct it.
- You become great by doing what they won't.
Grammar in this video
The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:
| Structure | In the video |
|---|---|
| Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it | being obsessed · is needed · wasn't born |
| Relative clauses who / which + clause — extra information about a person or thing | anyone who wasn · one who wakes · one who practices |
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 24 contractions and reduced forms, such as isn't, you're, doesn't. Say them the short way, as you hear them.
- The “sh” and “zh” sounds: obsession /əbˈsɛʃən/, distraction /dɪsˈtɹæk.ʃən/, dedication /ˌdɛdɪˈkeɪʃən/, concentration /ˌkɑn.sənˈtɹeɪ.ʃən/, patience /ˈpeɪ̯.ʃəns/
- Long words — get the stress right: extraordinary /ɪksˈtɹɔːrdɪn(ə)ɹi/, dedication /ˌdɛdɪˈkeɪʃən/, naturally /ˈnæt͡ʃ.(ə.)ɹə.li/, experiment /ɪkˈspɛɹ.ə.mənt/, concentration /ˌkɑn.sənˈtɹeɪ.ʃən/
How to practise with this video
- Listen to the whole video once without speaking and note the words you do not know.
- Start at 0.75× speed, shadow it sentence by sentence, then go back to normal speed once it feels easy.
- Record yourself and compare with the original, paying attention to words like obsession, chase, comfort.
What is the Shadowing Technique?
Shadowing is a science-backed language learning technique originally developed for professional interpreter training and popularized by polyglot Dr. Alexander Arguelles. The method is simple but powerful: you listen to native English audio and immediately repeat it out loud — like a shadow following the speaker with just a 1–2 second delay. Unlike passive listening or grammar drills, shadowing forces your brain and mouth muscles to simultaneously process and reproduce real speech patterns. Research shows it significantly improves pronunciation accuracy, intonation, rhythm, connected speech, listening comprehension, and speaking fluency — making it one of the most effective methods for IELTS Speaking preparation and real-world English communication.