Shadowing Practice: If You’re Ambitious But Lazy, Watch This - Learn English Speaking with Video
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I've been thinking a lot lately about how we live in an age of distraction
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and how people genuinely spend more time looking at a screen than thinking about their own reality.
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They always make excuses like, I don't have time, I'll start next week.
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Sometimes you don't even have the ability to make excuses
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because you're too consumed in distraction to even know what you're
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not doing with your life odds are you're probably no different
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you've probably known exactly what you need to do for years
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and odds are things probably aren't going to change unless you can actually fix the root cause
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why do you think so many people watch other people achieve things
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and won't actually go there and do it themselves i feel like it's easier to get that emotion
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that you like feeling from ambition from watching other people rather
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than having to do it yourself you continuously are consuming someone
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else rather than yourself doing something you can almost just get away with
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that quick fake dopamine hit that you get and i feel like people lie to themselves that doing nothing
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is better than doing something bad or doing nothing is better than failing
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because failing is terrifying and then in doing the nothing they watch other people do it
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so they can at least kind of like keep a lie to themselves
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and until you're in this like really dark place where you're forced to face the truth
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and you're like oh wow like i haven't been doing the things
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that noah should be doing being good or fulfilled
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or whatever doesn't just come obviously from not doing good things
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but when you know there are things that you should be doing
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that are good for you good for people around you and you don't do them, that's bad.
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The dream is really easy to love when it hasn't cost you anything yet.
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And before you've taken action, it hasn't cost you anything.
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I don't even think it's necessary that people are lazy, I just think they're addicted to the idea of potential.
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Because it's super easy to sit there I would say I have the potential to do it, but I just haven't done it yet.
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Versus, no, I tried and I failed because I'm not good enough to do that.
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That's a fucking gut punch right there.
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I don't know.
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Where would you say the line is between consuming content
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and letting your life pass by and actually being motivated and inspired by what you're consuming?
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I would say in a loose word, humility, because your ability to be honest with yourself, which I think is a huge part of humility.
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So if you're lying to yourself when you're consuming content, being like this is educating me motivating me pushing me towards doing my thing
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but you're not actually doing the thing only you know
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so you need the humility to be honest with yourself with
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that and it's the intentionality behind what you're doing are you intentionally like okay
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in my clear mind feeling good
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and motivated this is what i'm going to do in the
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day to get me to where i want to be i
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have a block of 30 minutes where i'm going to consume content
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that will either build my energy up educate me
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and drive me towards that
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or are you just like oh i got 10 minutes between this meeting
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and that meeting i'm just going to mindlessly scroll or or you're stuck there for an hour.
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Think it's just the ability to be honest with yourself.
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Not be a skinny bitch.
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What do you think, in your experience, stops most people from starting?
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a lot of things but top two that come to mind one most dramatic answer would be ignorance
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I think people are ignorant to the fact of how important and the magnitude of the reality that
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life is so short and that we're going to die and they just think they have more time to do it
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and they know it but they don't understand it
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and believe it in their hearts enough to actually take on action on it
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which to me is proof that they don't really know it
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because someone sat you down and you could really sit there
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and believe like you have one chance to do something
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and it is going to be the most important thing
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that you ever do for your entire existence
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and all you have to do is put your best effort into it
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and it will be fruitful be fulfilling it will be amazing
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like that it's like well duh I'm going to do it
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but like that's what your life is but people don't understand
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that so one day they're going to die
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and they're going to sit there
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and be like fuck did I give everything I had probably
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not you know you only have one shot you're all in on life
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so you might as well make it the most spectacular thing
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that you can possibly make it which brings me to point number two
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which is another thing holding the back of their self -image I'm a huge belief believer in the idea
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that you have an inherited self -image about yourself
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that comes from how you were raised your brain was formed watching people do things
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and that became your reality of what's possible
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and what's normal next thing you know you have these belief systems these limiting beliefs from your past
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that make you think you're not capable of more
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and it's very hard to break that self -image
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because over time it becomes what you're comfortable with it becomes
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the people you surround yourself with that's what they know you for
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so to be able to break that is like a form of death realistically
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when people talk about an ego death that's breaking your self -image
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because to you that was the self
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that you created to fit into an environment as humans were
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built to fit into an environment to have a community
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so we don't go out and die so to let go of
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that feel like you're gonna die but we live in a modern day where
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if people are holding you back you can move on
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and find better people who support you
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because what you believe in your mind is possible is not
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true it's just what you've learned from the past it's not objective reality it's subjective ideas.
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So you gotta break past that shit.
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Make your own reality.
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Why do you think people would rather play it safe than take risks chasing their dream?
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So it comes down to fear.
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They're afraid of many things.
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They're afraid of failure.
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And I think in that sense, if you're not looking at things, again, you can be ignorant.
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But what you don't realize is that if you're not aligning yourself with anything, then you're just always failing and you don't realize
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that until it's too late most people do not have a stable sense of self -worth
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so they attach it to things around themselves myself included done this my whole life working on it still
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but when you attach your self -worth to something you are working on then
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that failure feels like your self -worth is diminished so
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when people don't have
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that stable sense of self -worth they're much more afraid to actually go out
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and take action it's easy to say people are afraid of failure
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and then there's that famous quote from coach carter our deepest fear is not
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that we are inadequate it's that we are powerful beyond measure
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if you accept that you are powerful beyond measure and
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that you are capable of much more what you are also admitting
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that you are currently a failure or you are currently failing
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so instead of sitting there being like you know i'm capable of
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so much more than i'm doing i have a four hour
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screen time much five cents four hours of my day working my ass off towards a goal
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because someone else is doing it i want this thing
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but someone else is working harder than me
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if i believe i'm capable of
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that well then in my position right now looking back at
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last five years of my life we're like what the was i doing i just wasted all
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that time doing nothing but unless you can look at that reality and use guilt as feedback
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to push yourself forward rather than the shame as identity
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if you can't do it you're going to be stuck
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so you got to realize you're capable of way much than
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you know you're just afraid to admit it that's gonna suck
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it's gonna hurt it's gonna be embarrassing to look back at your life
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but you You need to be able to sit in that embarrassment and look at yourself and be like, I am embarrassed of who I used to be.
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That's why I'm not gonna be that person anymore.
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It's time for me to fucking change my life and actually take action.
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Oh, my God.
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what does it cost long term if people keep acting from a position of fear
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everything literally everything i feel like it's obvious to think
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if you sit on the sideline your whole life it's a
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direct path to a hollow empty life i also think people do not understand that
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getting shit done discipline in general is a perishable skill i have learned this myself
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as a slap in the face since retiring from the olympia
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it's like cool i can say i did all these things
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and i'm capable of discipline and holding myself accountable for a long period of time
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and accomplishing incredible things
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but unless i'm putting new things into action my discipline is fading entropy rules our world
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if you're not actively trying to grow or move forward you're getting worse.
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There is no standing still.
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Standing still means everything you want is moving away from you.
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There's two things actually from the Bible that I pulled inspiration from.
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The idea that those who have more will be given more in abundance
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and those who have less will have it all taken away from them.
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Essentially it's saying if you have more and you do more with it you're going to get more.
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You're going to be rewarded for enjoying and appreciating and putting into action the fruit that you've been given.
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And if you have a little bit and you sit there
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and you don't take action on it you will lose even
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that little bit because that's just the way the universe works
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if you have the potential take responsibility of
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that take action on it put the pressure on yourself of what
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that means to progress and move forward
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and then you will be given more it doesn't have to
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be perfect you have to have it all figured you just need to start taking action to understand
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that what you have you should be grateful for the little bits
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that you do have use it
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and you will get more from it you can't sit still otherwise you're literally falling behind
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Oh, my God.
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What's the thing that people are really protecting by staying on the sidelines?
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The life that they currently know.
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I feel like they're protecting themselves from the fear of losing what they think is everything.
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And I'll go back to an example of my life on this.
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When I was in high school through university, loved to party, going out with the boys was priority numero uno.
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We were just having a good time and
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when my bodybuilding crew started to take off
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and i realized it was taking away from
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that i still lived in a house of five guys who
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partied three to four times a week up late sleeping in eating whatever they wanted a w in canada
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and when i decided that i wanted to get to the olympia
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and then win olympia and then take it further
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and further i had to make the decision that that life
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that i knew the partying those friends with people my brothers
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who i love i had such a good time with trust
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me like those days are fun i had to choose in
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the middle of it in the peak at the age of 20 to step away from all
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that and let go of all
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that to move across the country to leave those friends behind
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for them to go out without me to be sleeping in bed at 8 p .m
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while i hear them partying downstairs to be letting go of all
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that and it's scary because it's all
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that you know it feels like you're losing your friends not everyone is going to support you
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and your goals and it can make you feel extremely alone
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if you're like i want to change this stuff i want
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to get fit i'm 200 pounds overweight okay well i'm gonna
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go to the gym that's not a change in your life
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that's one small habit you have to change everything about you have to let go of everything
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that made you into that person now to become someone new otherwise it's not going to happen
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so what people are holding on to what they're protecting themselves is loss of identity loss of life that they currently know.
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The only way to change is to let go.
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How do you solve for people being complacent
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and not taking risks in their life? i feel like this is always
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that like debate of whether you need to take action first
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or believe you can first because it's hard to take action
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when you believe you can but you don't believe you can until you take action
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so it's like a chicken with the egg scenario the reality is
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that you have to want to be bad you have to
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switch your mindset of like oh this is embarrassing to you know i actually want to be bad at this
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because being bad at something means i'm taking action you can't
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be bad at something you're not doing sitting on the couch doesn't mean you're bad at doesn't show you
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that you're bad at tennis you have to get on the court
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and try and play tennis to be bad at tennis
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but from that point of action you're at least at a starting point which allows for progress.
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When I first started bodybuilding, I knew I was good in the gym.
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I could train alone at hours when no one was there until I was good, then I could train at busier times.
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I kind of worked my way up into these things.
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Eating and all the stuff is done in private.
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You can practice posing in private.
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The training, you can go to a gym when it's empty, but stepping on stage, there's no hiding from anyone from that.
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So when I got to my first bodybuilding composition, I was backstage with my posing trunks on underneath, just like terrified.
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I was like, oh my God, like didn't even know I had to tan.
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They're like, you have to tan.
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I'm like, do I have to get naked? like what do i do like
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so much anxiety did all
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that then i put my clothes back on i'm like sitting backstage
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and i was a junior and men's open bodybuilding
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and i was like why the fuck am i doing this
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i don't know why i'm doing this i'm like just like
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hadn't practiced posing in front of anyone i got on stage
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and i blacked out like i don't remember being on stage i got off
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and i was like i think i literally hit every pose like this just deer in headlights
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and it scared the shit out of me
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because it was putting myself in a very vulnerable position of
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which i wasn't felt ready for it
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but i made myself do it by taking small actions before of getting to the gym
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when at least no one was there of eating the meals
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when no one wasn't around of proving to myself i'm acting like a bodybuilder
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so i'm going to get on a bodybuilding stage even
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if i don't feel like it in
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that moment at the end of the day it sounds trite
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but you don't have to know the first step if you're like
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if i want to be a bodybuilder find a gym that's empty at 9 p .m at night
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and go train at 9 p .m at night
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when no one's around and do that for a while
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and then just see what happens from there you just have
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to take a single step forward do fucking something other than
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sitting on your phone scrolling at home wasting your fucking life away
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because if you look at anyone that you look up to
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and imagine them like look at the person you look up to the most
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and imagine them at phone at home just scrolling on instagram like they're not doing
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that you got to get out and take action before you believe you do and then start to believe you do
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i feel like the one thing in order to push for action
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and instill belief because if you can combine those two things that's what you need right now
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if you could do one thing literally tonight sit down
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and define your future self or if you can't think of yourself like
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that define like your ideal man of the person who could achieve the goals
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that you want to do what is he working towards
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and how does he act what are his values his belief systems redefine what this man is
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and then define what he's capable of and if you go through all that stuff
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and you read it you might be getting jacked up creating
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this character in your mind you're like he could accomplish even more than i could have thought
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that i wanted to accomplish
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if he did these things well start doing those things in
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your day it could be the smallest things like i said
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earlier is he skipping the gym sleeping in late eating shitty food all these things probably not
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so define what this person's values are and then take action on it
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if you take one thing i would say at least to do
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that process experiment whatever you would want to call it i've honestly done it before in therapy in different ways
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and then it inspired me to do it myself in other ways
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and i want to do it again now that my life has changed
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so much so i'm a believer in that kind of stuff
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but being able to visualize
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and define the person you want to be to get where you want to go
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so big thing but at the end of the day stop wasting your life sitting around watching other people live your life.
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Go live it yourself.
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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This speaking lesson is built on the video “If You’re Ambitious But Lazy, Watch This”. This video has 262 sentences and 3210 words to shadow. The speech runs for 17:45. The speaker talks fast, about 181 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 |
|---|---|---|
| consume verb | /kənˈsum/ | To use up. |
| belief noun | /bɪˈliːf/ | Mental acceptance of a claim as true. |
| define verb | /dɪˈfaɪn/ | To determine with precision; to mark out with distinctness; to ascertain or exhibit clearly. |
| pose verb | /poʊz/ | To place in an attitude or fixed position, for the sake of effect. |
| tennis noun | /ˈtɛnɪs/ | A sport played by two players (or four in doubles), who alternately strike the ball over a net using racquets. |
| discipline noun | /ˈdɪsəplɪn/ | A controlled behaviour; self-control. |
| accomplish verb | /əˈkɑm.plɪʃ/ | To finish successfully. |
| scroll noun | /skɹoʊl/ | A roll of paper or parchment; a writing formed into a roll. |
| motivate verb | /ˈmoʊ.tɪ.veɪt/ | To provide someone with an incentive to do something; to encourage; to actuate. |
| humility noun | /hjuːˈmɪlɪti/ | The characteristic of being humble; humbleness in character and behavior. |
| stable noun | /ˈsteɪ.bəl/ | A building, wing or dependency set apart and adapted for lodging and feeding (and training) ungulates, especially horses. |
| odd adjective | /ɑd/ | Differing from what is usual, ordinary or expected. |
| ignorant adjective | /ˈɪɡ.nə.ɹənt/ | Unknowledgeable or uneducated; characterized by ignorance. |
| inspire verb | /ɪnˈspaɪə(ɹ)/ | To infuse into the mind; to communicate to the spirit; to convey, as by a divine or supernatural influence; to disclose preternaturally; to produce in, as by… |
| educate verb | /ˈɛd͡ʒ.əˌkeɪt/ | To instruct or train. |
Phrasal verbs you will hear
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| go out verb | To leave, especially a building. |
| look up to verb | To show respect or admiration for (someone); to see (someone) as a role model. |
| move forward verb | To cause to make progress. |
| take away from verb | To subtract a quality from; make something seem not so good or interesting. |
| come down to verb | To reach by moving down or reducing. |
| fall behind verb | To be late (for a regular event) |
| get away with verb | To get away, or escape, taking (something) with one. |
| get off verb | To move from being on top of (something) to not being on top of it. |
Sentences worth repeating
Short, complete lines from the video that you can reuse in everyday conversation:
- What do you think, in your experience, stops most people from starting?
- That's why I'm not gonna be that person anymore.
- They're like, you have to tan.
- I'm like, do I have to get naked?
Grammar in this video
The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:
| Structure | In the video |
|---|---|
| Present perfect continuous have/has been + -ing — an action that started earlier and is still going on | I've been thinking · haven't been doing |
| Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now | you've probably known · hasn't cost · you've taken |
| Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it | is put · were raised · is diminished |
| Relative clauses who / which + clause — extra information about a person or thing | people who support · those who have · person who could |
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 120 contractions and reduced forms, such as you're, I'm, don't. Say them the short way, as you hear them.
- The “sh” and “zh” sounds: accomplish /əˈkɑm.plɪʃ/, distraction /dɪsˈtɹæk.ʃən/, essentially /ɪˈsɛnʃəli/, inspiration /ˌɪn.spɪˈɹeɪ.ʃən/, composition /ˌkɑm.pəˈzɪʃ.ən/
- Long words — get the stress right: humility /hjuːˈmɪlɪti/, anxiety /æŋˈzaɪ.əti/, essentially /ɪˈsɛnʃəli/, inspiration /ˌɪn.spɪˈɹeɪ.ʃən/, priority /pɹaɪˈɒɹɪti/
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 consume, belief, define.
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.