Shadowing Practice: KEEP YOUR PROMISE TO YOURSELF - Best Motivational Speeches Compilation - Learn English Speaking with Video
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288 sentences
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Greatness it's just something we made up.
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Somehow we've come to believe that greatness is a gift reserved for a chosen few,
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for prodigies, for superstars and the rest of us can only stand by watching.
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You can forget that.
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Greatness is not some rare dna strand it's not some precious thing greatness is no more unique to us than breathing
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we're all capable of it all of us do you have the courage to act outwardly on what you see inwardly
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or will you die a dreamer will you die on the verge
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and on the edge and on in the land of coulda woulda
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and shoulda it takes courage to be successful it is far easier not to be successful
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no one said that the path is going to be easy and it's not
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we know life is rough and we know there will be pain
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That's the way life is.
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the end of pain is success some of the best things
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that we've ever learned from people happened
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because they were going through some time of discontent
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and they said how do i overcome
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this what can i do about it see getting what you
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want is up to you you turn your life around
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if you change your attitude you change your attitude
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you change your altitude take full responsibility for your life except where you are
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and the responsibility
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that you want to take yourself where you want to go
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we have two primary choices in life we can either accept conditions as they exist
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or we can take the responsibility to change them nobody who ever ran the olympics
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and trained and worked out and finished
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and crossed the finish line effectively got there
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because they felt like working out your feelings will never cooperate with your dreams beat your feelings into captivity
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Because when you beat your feelings into captivity, that is what discipline is.
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I have spent my whole life scared, frightened of things that could happen, might happen, might not happen.
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Fifty years I spent like that, finding myself awake at three in the morning.
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Ever since my diagnosis, I sleep just fine.
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i came to realize it's that fear that's the real enemy
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so get up get out in the real world and you kick
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that bastard as hard as you can right in the teeth
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life is going to happen and you're going to set up a plan
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and you're going to have a vision and you're going to hope
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that it's going to turn out perfect but what
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so often happens in life is that things get burned
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and things go the wrong way and it's in that moment
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that you're gonna have to choose your reaction you have a choice to make do you have the right reaction
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or do you have the wrong reaction what would your future be like
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if you decided to want that which you desire so strongly
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that prepares you past your fears
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that you experience the fear as the one book says feel the fear
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and do it anyway
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that's the problem with some of you you always want to blame other people
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you always want to you want to hold other people to the fire
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but you're not holding yourself to the fire you just said
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you're giving 50 you owe you an explanation you need to look at yourself in the mirror
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and say why are you only giving 50 % what's wrong
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with you you need to put yourself on punishment put yourself on punishment
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you need to tell you no more TV no more snacks no more desserts no more no we working out now
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don't no more alcohol not right now not no I can't handle it right now you need to tell you
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that you owe you something
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what causes that switch to flip the overdrive the full -on destroyer it's a thing
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that allows you to go the extra distance to dig just a little bit deeper
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and push a little harder to get after it so
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when it doesn't make sense to go on that's
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when you got to use your emotion that's
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when you yourself harder to push yourself to say I don't stop you got to come out your comfort zone
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because your comfort zone is the deadliest place
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you will ever be you should never feel comfortable you should be happy
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and dissatisfied anybody ever tell you be satisfied with what you
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got don't believe them get them away from you don't let anybody tell you hey man
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you know you should just be happy wait no
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you should double your business triple it you should never be satisfied with what you got
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because the attempt to get more makes you into something better until your mind is open to the possibilities
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that i can do this you would never be able to do it once the mind starts to believe
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it can be achieved only
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then does it start to break down tactically how we can
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do this until then you're gonna always lose some of you you wait for a tragedy to happen
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you don't think about it you don't forecast listen to me very closely
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you got to understand something the difference between beast
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and average people is
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that average people live from check to check average people don't think about their future
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they're consumed with the presence let me tell you something you already know the world ain't all sunshine
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and rainbows it's a very mean and nasty place
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and i don't care how tough you are it will beat you to your knees
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and keep you there permanently if you let it you me
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or nobody is gonna hit as hard as life
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but it ain't about how hard you hit it's about how hard you can get hit
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and keep moving forward how much you can take
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and keep moving forward that's how winning is done now
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if you know what you're worth now go out
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and get what you're worth but you got to be willing to take the hits
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and not pointing fingers saying you ain't where you want to be
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because of him or her or anybody cowards do that and
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that ain't you you're better than that they're not going to give it to you
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but if you're willing to get up every day
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and go take it if you're willing to get up every day
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and work for it if you're willing to get up every day
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and grind from sun up to sundown you can have the life
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that other people dream of whatever you feel when you feel down
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when things don't look like it's going to happen for you you might not make
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it just believe in what you're doing keep working
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you know don't let nobody tell you what you can be what you cannot do continue to do those things
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that you know
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that work for you after
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you have evaluated yourself in the situation continue to move stay busy stay busy stay busy
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sometimes you have to just back up
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and go within yourself at the end of every day you look yourself in the mirror
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and you ask yourself did I get better today
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if the answer is yes and you do
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that for five years 10 years 15 years how much better
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are you going to be are you getting better every single day that's the question
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and it's just taking small steps you don't try to get
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it all done in one day in one week in one year it's the process of getting better every day
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and doing that for a period of years that then create the masterpiece
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you gotta eat it you gotta drink it you gotta sleep it like it has to consume who you are
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and if you're gonna be the best the cream of the crop
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if you're gonna be the apex
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you gotta be it not talk about it you gotta be it it has to consume you
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if you want to make your dream become reality the people
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that are running at their dreams know that it's possible
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that you can live your dream that's it's necessary that you're relentless
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that you have a plan of action that you are created
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that know if it's going to happen it's up to them
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if you don't want to make waves be mediocre be normal
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and fit in and
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if you're more concerned about people than you are God
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then neutralize everything he put in you just fit in with
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everybody else dress like them walk like them eat like them
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go where they go think like they think do what they do
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and once you've neutralized your uniqueness you don't need courage
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it takes courage to be different
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it takes courage to go where you've never gone before for
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some of you it took courage to come to this conference
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it takes courage to get you outside of the bar it takes courage to be successful it takes courage to win
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People don't talk about people that don't win.
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If you win they're gonna talk about you.
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Do you have the courage to stand there though the storms keep raising
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and the people get to talking and you stand there and say I've come too far to turn around?
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Do you have the courage?
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You're in this storm and you're down on your knees
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and you're cold and you're weak
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and you feel like this is the end you have a choice to either give up
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or keep going give up or get up when you fail try again and again
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and again you just take one step at a time don't
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give up don't give up stay in it i want to introduce y 'all this very simple concept
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if you want it you gotta go get
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it i got tired of losing i got tired of coming up short
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i got tired i got tired of eating out of trash cans
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i got tired of watching everybody else graduate
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i got tired of seeing people ride first class i gotta go all the way to the back
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i got tired i hated as much as you hated but the problem is i wanted more than you wanted
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get your butt up get where you belong do what you're supposed to do live like you're supposed to live
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you gotta get this beast mode you gotta embody beast mode everything about you has to say i ain't playing
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if it's to have i'm gonna get it and i ain't leaving none of it behind it's mine
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discipline is the path to freedom discipline is the driver of daily execution discipline defeats the infinite excuses
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that hold you back make discipline part of your daily life
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and your daily life will get better you must get comfortable with fear
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and failure they must be your best friends they're the only one that moves
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that needle of life every hero
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you guys had was called an idiot crazy a loser
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you must break society status quo safety comfort zones are dead zones you have to continue to push yourself
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because your true potential will never be matched guys you thought for one minute
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that you broke me you got me twisted i am not phenomenally skilled
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but phenomenally will i will not give up i will not surrender i will not quit
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if it's in your imagination it's possible do you know
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that you can't think of something
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that can't happen you know it's impossible to think of the impossible
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you must have some kind of vision for your life even
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if you don't know the plan you have to have a direction in
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which you choose to go everybody has a turn back moment you have a moment where you could go forward
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or you can give up
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but the thing you have to keep in mind before you give up is
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that if you give up the guarantee is it will never happen
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it's your play that has the most impact in dictating success
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or failure it's you it's the way it's how you play the game
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if you want it to happen you're gonna have to do what i do
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and that's get up at three o 'clock in the morning
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and you're gonna have to act like you got all the energy in the world why
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because this is my time
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this is my moment tomorrow tomorrow tomorrow ain't no such thing as tomorrow
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we only got today your problem is you start something
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you stop it you start something you stop it you feel good
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you do it you don't feel good you quit people who do stuff consistently
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and on time they surpass people who talented
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and gifted everybody talks positive about themselves everybody talks like you're a beast you dress like you're a beast then
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when it's time to do what bees do you back up you have an excuse what's gonna separate you is
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when it's beast time when it's wartime you got to get up
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and make it happen greatness will cost you something
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it's going to cost you some time it's going to cost
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you some energy it's going to cost you some sacrifice
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it's going to cost you some resources it's going to cost you some hours of your life laying down
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Paying the price going the extra mile doing what other people are not willing to do greatness is not cheap
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Greatness always costs more.
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That's why there's not many people who achieve greatness.
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They're not willing to pay the price true champions get Hungrier every time they win.
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They don't reach a peak.
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They don't reach a pinnacle.
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Winners dominate losers
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Legends Dominate winners and your mentality on this earth should be that you want to dominate winners
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Almost any accomplishment in the history of the world
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Has come at the hands of people who've taken risk
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people who are willing to push the envelope people who are willing to explore the unknown
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you know the key thing about taking risk is learning you know
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and if something doesn't work out learn from it
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and then you're able to move further discouragement can creep in secretly
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if you listen at discouragement you will wonder if you're ever going to get out of what you're into.
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There are moments that try the human soul so violently and so perplexing that if the truth were told,
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all of us have had moments that we wanted to throw up our hand and walk away.
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But I tell you, there are some times in life where you fall down
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and you feel like you don't have the strength to get back up. And fear comes in.
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Just that fear paralyzes you
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and i just want to ask you today do you think
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you have hope i have to have the courage
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i have to have the courage to stop making excuses is this going to be the year you stop making excuses
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i can't i'm too old i'm too young i'm too fat
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i'm too thin i can't right i can't i hear this all the time all the reasons
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that you can't do something don't don't tell me you can't don't give me excuses.
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What's the reason you've given yourself why you can't be successful and you can't be better?
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Let me tell you something I've learned.
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It's way easier to blame someone else than to get honest with yourself.
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What's the reason?
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What excuse have you bought into?
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What excuse have you believed that's not allowing you to live the life God's called you to live?
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so i say take ownership take extreme ownership don't make excuses don't blame any other person
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or any other thing don't hide your delicate pride from the
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truth take ownership of everything in your world the good
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and the bad take ownership of your mistakes take ownership of your shortfalls take ownership of your problems,
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and then take ownership of the solutions that will get those problems solved.
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Take ownership of your job, of your team, of your future, and take ownership of your life. And lead.
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Lead yourself and your team and the people in your life.
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Lead them all to victory.
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you see I will try 100 times to get up and
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if I fail 100 times if I fail
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and I give up do you think that I'm never gonna get up no
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but if I fail I try again and again
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and again for as long as I try there's always that chance of
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getting on there's something about you
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that no matter what life throws at you you will overcome
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it you're not cut from the same cloth we're branches of the same tree what do you do
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when you tried and failed and you want to quit and and you want to give up
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Do not let the darkness win fight
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fight on I think periodically wherever there is purpose and wherever there is resistance to that purpose pressure
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Releases us from that resistance and the more that we yield to the process
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But but the problem today is that we don't preach process
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we preach promises I don't know what that dream is
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that you have I don't care how disappointing it might have been as you've been working toward
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that dream but that dream that you're holding in your mind that it's possible expand yourself
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take yourself out your comfort zone if you stay in your comfort zone that's why you will fail
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your biggest enemy is you is you against you the only person
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that gets in your way is you nobody else is you even
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you're getting out there get back up you get back up you get back up
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and you continue to push against the wall and
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so i need you to walk out
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there no more 50 no more no more 50 % no more no more 70 % no more
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I want us at 85 to climb
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if you're at 80 I want you at 90
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and I mean moving rapidly I need you to give me
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that 120 I need you to give me
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that everything to do I need you start giving me that 120
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and everything to do bring it all together bring all the energy all the passion bring it all together
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and dominate there's gonna be a lot of times y 'all about to fail
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we are all a work in progress but in
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that moment I want you to remember the power of you you will change the world I love the Sun
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but things don't grow because of the Sun you have to have some rain
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and you've got to stop looking at rain in your life
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is something bad my greatest moments didn't come from my greatest moments my greatest moments came from my greatest defeats
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no one said that the path is going to be easy and it's not
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we know life is rough and we know there will be pain
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and whether that pain is at the hands of an enemy
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or at the hands of nature or time or disease there will be pain that's the way life is
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i need you to recycle your pain
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because what you're going to discover as you're going towards your dream as you're going towards your goal
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there's going to be so many people that come up against you
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so many obstacles so many trials so many tribulations
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when people ask me easy like for real for real eat i know you can give me 20 things
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that you've done to help yourself to become successful.
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But ET, I just need like one or two.
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Can you give me one or two?
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And one of the things I tell people is, I outlasted the pain.
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Nothing's ever going to be given to you.
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Everything's going to be earned.
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If you don't go out there and put in the work, if you don't go out and put in the effort,
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one, you're not going to get the results.
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But two, and more importantly, you don't deserve it.
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You need to earn it.
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The world ain't all sunshine and rainbows.
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It's a very mean and Nasty place and I don't care how tough you are.
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It will beat you to your knees and keep you there permanently if you let it
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When you're in that darkness you want to sit there and wait for the light to come
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But you can't wait the only way out is to step forward to face your fears to become your own life.
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I Don't care if you have to inch your way day by day even if If you have to get down,
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and it hurts, and it's hard, and nobody can see what you're really going through.
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If you don't quit, the pit will become your platform.
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Thank you.
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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This speaking lesson is built on the video “KEEP YOUR PROMISE TO YOURSELF - Best Motivational Speeches Compilation”. This video has 288 sentences and 3512 words to shadow. The speech runs for 23:28. The speaker talks at a natural 150 words per minute, close to everyday conversation. 90% 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 |
|---|---|---|
| courage noun | /ˈkʌ.ɹɪd͡ʒ/ | The quality of being confident, not afraid or easily intimidated, but without being incautious or inconsiderate. |
| ownership noun | /ˈoʊnɚʃɪp/ | The state of having complete legal control of something; possession; proprietorship. |
| greatness noun | /ˈɡɹeɪtnəs/ | The state, condition, or quality of being great |
| beast noun | /biːst/ | Any four-footed land mammal. |
| comfort noun | /ˈkʌm.fət/ | Contentment, ease. |
| discipline noun | /ˈdɪsəplɪn/ | A controlled behaviour; self-control. |
| dominate verb | /ˈdɑ.məˌneɪt/ | To govern, rule or control by superior authority or power. |
| knee noun | /ni/ | In humans, the joint or the region of the joint in the middle part of the leg between the thigh and the shank. |
| consume verb | /kənˈsum/ | To use up. |
| earn verb | /ɝn/ | To gain (success, reward, recognition) through applied effort or work. |
| 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. |
| punishment noun | /ˈpʌnɪʃmənt/ | The act (action) or process of punishing, imposing and/or applying a sanction, typically by an authority or a person in authority (for example: a parent or… |
| darkness noun | /ˈdɑɹk.nɪs/ | The state of being dark; lack of light; the absolute or comparative absence of light. |
| overcome verb | /ˌəʊ.vəˈkʌm/ | To surmount (a physical or abstract obstacle); to prevail over, to get the better of. |
| wherever | /(h)wɛɹˈɛvɚ/ | Regardless of the place in, at or to which. |
Phrasal verbs you will hear
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| give up verb | To surrender (someone or something); to inform on (someone). | |
| get up verb | To move in an upward direction; to ascend or climb. | |
| work out verb | /ˌwɝk ˈaʊt/ | To calculate. |
| go out verb | To leave, especially a building. | |
| back up verb | To move backwards, especially for a vehicle to do so. | |
| go through verb | To travel from one end of something to the other. | |
| move forward verb | To cause to make progress. | |
| break down verb | To stop functioning. |
Sentences worth repeating
Short, complete lines from the video that you can reuse in everyday conversation:
- Greatness it's just something we made up.
- If you win they're gonna talk about you.
- Do you have the courage?
- What excuse have you bought into?
- Can you give me one or two?
Grammar in this video
The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:
| Structure | In the video |
|---|---|
| Conditional sentences if + clause, will/would + verb — a condition and its result | if you listen at discouragement you will wonder · If you don't quit, the pit will become |
| Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now | we've come · we've ever learned · have spent |
| Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it | can be achieved · are created · had was called |
| Relative clauses who / which + clause — extra information about a person or thing | people who do · people who talented · people who achieve |
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 146 contractions and reduced forms, such as you're, don't, gonna. Say them the short way, as you hear them.
- The “th” sounds: thin /ˈθɪn/, breathe /bɹiːð/, cloth /klɒθ/
- The “sh” and “zh” sounds: ownership /ˈoʊnɚʃɪp/, punishment /ˈpʌnɪʃmənt/, sunshine /ˈsʌnʃaɪn/, explanation /ˌɛkspləˈneɪʃən/, passion /ˈpæʃən/
- Long words — get the stress right: permanently /ˈpɜː.mə.nənt.li/, captivity /kæpˈtɪvɪti/, explanation /ˌɛkspləˈneɪʃən/, execution /ˌɛk.sɪˈkjuː.ʃən/, consistently /kənˈsɪstəntli/
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 courage, ownership, greatness.
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.