Shadowing Practice: It took me 40 years to realize what I tell you in 10 minutes. My Best Life Advice - Learn English Speaking with YouTube

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What if I told you I just spent the last 40 years working out where I'm at now?
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What if I told you I just spent the last 40 years working out where I'm at now?
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And all those things that you think are important when you're younger, the perfect body, the big house, the perfect job, don't really matter.
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what really matters is what's going on inside you and I'd like to share with you
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in the next few minutes what I've learned in the last 40 years you might ask
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where did this come from well two years ago I had to stop work I'm medically retired now and that has given me a lot of time
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to reflect on my life and where I am today and what is important for me.
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And I started thinking, where did the time go?
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What have I achieved?
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I've done lots of jobs, from doing snow ski tours to working in bars to working in off-license and waitering, cooking, you name it.
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teaching art, I've done it.
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But what has been consistent all through my life has been my artwork, my ability to continue following that dream of mine.
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Not necessarily being financially successful, but doing something that is important to me that shows who I am as a character and as a human being.
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and if I could go back in time and talk to my 18 year old self I would say the
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most important things in life for you is time and your health in fact I think I put
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my health above time because if you haven't got a healthy life then that really affects the time and what you can do with that time.
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And another thing I would suggest is don't drink too much or do drugs,
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because that is going to take time away from you that is unbelievably destructive, and you're never going to get that back.
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And the older you get, the faster time seems to go.
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I mean, I emigrated here to the Netherlands 26 years ago, and I can't believe how quickly that time was gone.
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I see my two children growing up and I wonder what happened to that youth, that time when they were small.
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I cherish that moment now and it went so quickly.
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It was so quick.
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I mean before I shifted here I spent almost 20 years,
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15 years I suppose, bouncing around doing odd jobs but do I regret doing that?
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No, I don't regret the time I spent doing that.
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I mean I didn't have much money but that didn't seem to bother me so much then.
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I honestly didn't think I'll get to this age.
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But the time I've spent jumping from place to place, moving from city to city, it was a wonderful experience when I look back.
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It was hard, it was fun, it was a bit crazy.
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But would I change that?
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No, I don't think I would, because it has made me the person I am today.
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and if I look back I don't think I would want to change anything because it's
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the experiences I have learned good and bad and some very bad even some that almost took my life but I think I'm a better person today.
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And the thing about giving advice to your younger self, who's going to listen to that?
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You have to go and experience things yourself.
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You have to make the mistakes yourself.
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And from that you grow.
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And I'm very content for who I am inside as a human being.
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I live a very modest life.
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I'm still married, have been married for almost 30 years.
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I mean, that's an achievement in itself, learning to compromise in relationships, learning to give and be a partner, be together.
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And we brought up our two wonderful kids.
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that is an achievement in life and especially in today's standards where there are so many families being separated.
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Deep down we want to be fulfilled.
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We want to have a sense of purpose and I think the biggest way really for that to achieve that is spend it with your family.
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the older you get the more you realize that it doesn't matter what other people think it doesn't matter
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what you wear it doesn't matter how you look if you feel proud within yourself and you have self-respect for yourself that's what's important and it's such a relief
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not having to play that game anymore.
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You know, I'm lucky I have a drive in me to paint, to be an artist.
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And that keeps me going.
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That even as I am sick today and I can look forward to doing something, I have a goal in my life.
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That is what I want to achieve.
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and that's what's important.
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I think we all need to find that purpose.
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Mine's painting and my family,
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that's all that matters to me and as far as I'm concerned I'm reaching that target and with my sickness I don't know how long I will be able to keep on painting
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But at the moment, I will.
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I enjoy it.
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It gives me purpose.
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Because over the last 40 years, I've given my soul, I've given my physical ability, I've worked for other people.
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And now this time is for me.
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This time is for really developing who I am.
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And this is the first time that I've actually been able to just concentrate on my heart and not have them worried about paying bills.
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They're always there, but, you know, because we live such a modest life, I can just do what I need to do.
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What is important to me has always been inside me, and I've always been doing it,
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but now I'm allowed to let it out and let it be in the world, and that is such a nice feeling.
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I feel I am finally achieving what my purpose on this planet was to be, And that's liberating.
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That's fantastic.
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I think also that, you know, after 40 years, you learn to appreciate the people around you much more.
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You're willing to give more time for those people that you care about, or even people that you have just met that need help.
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And you're not after anything in return.
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It's not transactional, as some leaders might tell you in the world today.
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it's about who we are as human beings and the importance of being able to
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live together the more we work together the better this planet is going to be but it's got to start in at home and it's got to start in your community and then and it's got to spread,
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and hopefully we can do that.
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So how do I sum up 40 years in just a few minutes?
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Look after yourself.
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Don't drink too much.
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Don't do drugs too much.
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Take care of your health, and you'll have much more time ahead of you.
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and enjoy that time and share that time with people you love because at the end of the day that's what's most important and remember if you really like this please subscribe
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and give me a thumbs up and hopefully you'll i'll see you soon
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About This Lesson

You're practicing English with "It took me 40 years to realize what I tell you in 10 minutes. My Best Life Advice" using the Shadowing technique — a method originally developed for professional interpreter training.

Focus on sounding like the speaker — not just repeating words. With 15–30 minutes of daily practice, you'll build real-world speaking confidence.

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.

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