Shadowing Practice: DISAPPEAR, STAY CONSISTENT, AND BUILD YOUR GREATEST VERSION - Learn English Speaking with Video

You have to disappear.

When I said I wanted to win eight gold medals, basically half the people in the swimming world thought I was absolutely crazy and nobody could ever do something like that.

But for me, I was somebody who believed in it, and somebody who believed in the process of getting there.

I knew it wasn't going to happen overnight, like I said before.

But every little small thing

that we did was a small stepping stone in order to even be able to have

that chance and that opportunity to do what I did in 2008.

Disappearing means doing the work.

It means doing the work in the dark.

It means building in private what you don't need to prove in public It means doing the work

when no one's watching You stop worrying about what people think and start valuing what you believe

Because the life that looks good or sounds good is nothing compared to a life that feels good

I believe that whatever I put my mind to, and if I was willing to make sacrifices, and I was dedicated, that I could achieve absolutely anything.

For us, we always also try to compare.

Every day is a new challenge, right?

Every day is a day that we can prepare ourselves even more.

There were a lot of days where I did not want to get out of bed.

And I guarantee you, if I ask the question here, if everybody is excited to get out of bed every single day, if I saw a hand I'm going to blatantly call you a liar

because we all know that is far from the truth but

if you have those little small goals those little small things

that get you excited when you don't want to it's going to make it even better

and even easier at the end when you're getting ready for a presentation

or the end of the year or this or

that whatever event you're leading up to it's going to make it

so much easier and I think if you look at the greats in anything, in any walk of life, the greats do things when they don't always want to.

And that's the separation.

There are a lot of people who are very talented who can make it there.

There are very few people who can deal with the pressure and the stress that happens when we're there.

As hard as you're going to work for yourself, you're going to find yourself in conflict working against yourself.

Assignments that you will be given, you will find ways to get busy and not to do them

or become distracted or let any kind of excuse stop you from honoring a commitment to yourself.

Things I know I should do, I don't do.

Things I shouldn't do, I do.

I found that the biggest enemy you have to deal with is yourself.

Lazy people don't know how to start.

Weak people don't know how to finish.

Successful people don't know how to stop.

People demand success but refuse to work weekends.

People want opportunity but won't talk to strangers people claim ambition

but sleep in every day we are the result of our actions not our aspirations

the greatest version of you it's not the i can do anything version of you

the greatest version of you it's the disciplined version of you the greatest version of you it's the version

that has parameters no i don't do that i don't drink

that i don't go there with these people i'm focused i

have a prize that's in front of me i have fixed

my eyes on jesus i know what i'm supposed to do

and that ain't it i have to stay right here it's the version of you

that has parameters consistency doesn't guarantee that you'll be successful

but not being consistent will guarantee

that you won't reach success an easy productivity hack Instead of spending time getting in the mood to work, just start working, confront the work.

People think they need perfect conditions to start, when in reality, starting is the perfect condition.

Ease is a greater threat to progress than hardship.

Keep working, keep striving, never give up, fall down seven times, get up eight without commitment you'll never start

but more importantly without consistency you'll never finish

if you focus on something every single day

and you ask yourself how can I improve it

and you demand from yourself that somehow it has to get better you will master

that area of focus if you go to the gym

and you work out and you come back

and you look in the mirror you will see nothing and

if you go to the gym the next day

and you come back and you look in the mirror you will see nothing.

So clearly there's no results, can't be measured, it must not be effective.

So we quit.

Or if you fundamentally believe that this is the right course of action and you stick with it, if you believe there's something there, you commit yourself to an act of service.

You commit yourself to the regime you exercise.

You can screw it up, you can eat chocolate cake one day and you can skip a day or two, you know, it allows for that.

But if you stick with it consistently.

I'm not exactly sure what day, but I know you'll start getting into shape.

It's not about the events.

It's not about intensity.

It's about consistency.

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240 sentences

Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson

This video has 72 sentences and 931 words to shadow. The speech runs for 5:05. The speaker talks fast, about 183 words per minute, so expect linked and reduced sounds. 88% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English, so the vocabulary is easy to follow.

Key vocabulary in this video

15 words from the video worth learning, with pronunciation and meaning:

Word	Pronunciation	Meaning
guarantee noun	/ˌɡæɹ.ənˈtiː/	Anything that assures a certain outcome.
consistency noun	/kənˈsɪs.tən.si/	Local coherence.
mirror noun	/ˈmiɹɚ/	A smooth surface, usually made of glass with reflective material painted on the underside, that reflects light so as to give an image of what is in front of it.
compare verb	/kəmˈpɛɚ/	To assess the similarities and differences between two or more things [“to compare X with Y”]. Having made the comparison of X with Y, one might have found it…
commitment noun	/kəˈmɪtmənt/	The act of sending a legislative bill to committee for review.
commit verb	/kəˈmɪt/	To give in trust; to put into charge or keeping; to entrust; to consign; used with to or formerly unto.
disappear verb	/dɪsəˈpɪɹ/	To vanish.
parameter noun	/pəˈɹæm.ə.tɚ/	A value kept constant during an experiment, equation, calculation, or similar, but varied over other versions of the experiment, equation, calculation, etc.
consistent adjective	/kənˈsɪs.tənt/	Of a regularly occurring, dependable nature.
mood noun	/muːd/	A mental or emotional state, composure.
medal noun	/ˈmɛdəl/	A stamped metal disc used as a personal ornament, a charm, or a religious object.
refuse verb	/ɹɪˈfjuːz/	To decline (a request or demand).
ease verb	/iz/	To free (something) from pain, worry, agitation, etc.
presentation noun	/ˌpɹɛzn̩ˈteɪʃn̩/	The act of presenting, or something presented.
regime noun	/ɹəˈʒiːm/	Mode of rule or management.

Phrasal verbs you will hear

Word	Pronunciation	Meaning
come back verb		To return to a place.
get out of verb		To leave, exit or escape from; to become free of.
fall down verb	/fɔl ˈdaʊn/	To fall to the ground. To collapse.
get up verb		To move in an upward direction; to ascend or climb.
give up verb		To surrender (someone or something); to inform on (someone).
lead up to verb		To set in motion; to act as a causal or preparatory event or sequence of events.
work out verb	/ˌwɝk ˈaʊt/	To calculate.

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	was dedicated · will be given · can't be measured
Relative clauses who / which + clause — extra information about a person or thing	somebody who believed · people who are · people who can

Pronunciation to watch

The speaker uses 30 contractions and reduced forms, such as don't, I'm, you'll. Say them the short way, as you hear them.

The “sh” and “zh” sounds: presentation /ˌpɹɛzn̩ˈteɪʃn̩/, regime /ɹəˈʒiːm/, separation /ˌsɛp.əˈɹeɪ.ʃən/, ambition /æmˈbɪʃ.ən/, hardship /ˈhɑɹdˌʃɪp/
Long words — get the stress right: consistency /kənˈsɪs.tən.si/, parameter /pəˈɹæm.ə.tɚ/, consistently /kənˈsɪstəntli/, productivity /ˌpɹɒdʌkˈtɪvəti/, intensity /ɪnˈtɛnsɪti/

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 guarantee, consistency, mirror.

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.

Shadowing technique: read the full step-by-step guide →

Shadowing Practice: DISAPPEAR, STAY CONSISTENT, AND BUILD YOUR GREATEST VERSION - Learn English Speaking with Video

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