Shadowing Practice: Never the Victim - Motivational Video - Learn English Speaking with Video
Choose a practice mode
Each mode opens a full-screen practice room.
56 sentences
If sentences are too short or too long, click Edit to adjust them.
1
Never let yourself be the victim.
2
If I could go back in time and have a conversation with my eight to ten -year -old self,
3
that would be the message I would give.
4
Because when you think about it, you're a kid, things don't go your way, what do you do?
5
You cry, you whine, you throw a fit, you want your parents to feel sorry for you.
6
You feel sorry for yourself
7
It's how how you deal with things at that age and then you grow up
8
But you don't necessarily shed that habit that mentality
9
And it becomes obvious, right?
10
I mean you can talk to someone for 30 seconds
11
and you know right away if they have that victim mentality the world's falling down They're tired.
12
They have so much to do.
13
They're so busy X Y and Z
14
look having that mindset does two things for you one it makes you come across helpless
15
and weak and no one wants to come across
16
that way two it does not get you to where you're going
17
it does not change the situation right here's the reality there is always a way to get what you want there
18
There is always a way to position yourself to move away from what you don't want.
19
You can quite literally become what you want to become, but you cannot look at life like it's this problem, like it's against you.
20
The ball is in your court.
21
You know, it wasn't that long ago, two, three years ago, that I was not the happiest guy in the world, right?
22
Did not like what I was doing, did not like how I was spending my time, was not energized was not passionate about very much
23
but the time came where I didn't want to live like
24
that I had a conversation with myself I stopped being the victim I stopped complaining
25
and I asked myself dude what do you want what is
26
your purpose what is your goal who do you want to become
27
and I literally made the decision and walked away a different person and the things around me changed,
28
my life changed because I made a decision to never be the victim again to get what I want.
29
I became the author of my own story.
30
And you realize just how simple it is to transform your situation.
31
Not easy, right?
32
And it takes time.
33
But there's always a way to get from point A to point B.
34
And this separates the world into two kinds of people.
35
People who look at how things are, who accept reality as truth, who complain, and people who look at what can be,
36
who make the most of any situation, look at life as if it's clay, to be molded, to be shaped.
37
It seems funny to me, knowing what I do now, that I went through any of my life like a hamster on a wheel.
38
That I talked to people every day who didn't energize me, that I didn't want to be around,
39
that I did things I wasn't passionate about, that is insanity.
40
Because if you don't like something, but you do nothing to change it, what's left for you to do?
41
Complain, whine, stay where you are, that's it.
42
See, one of the reasons I reference athletics so much is
43
because they bring this mentality on you that when things become difficult
44
when things become challenging your job your one job is to find a way to figure it out
45
and i always did and i took that
46
and i brought it to everything else i do
47
and now it's eye -opening to see people achieving success financial freedom these things everyone wants
48
and know that the difference between them and everyone else is
49
that they felt like they deserved it a lot of the time they weren't smarter stronger.
50
They weren't more gifted starting out, but they moved toward what they wanted.
51
They didn't cry or groan about the problems.
52
They didn't look for sympathy.
53
Those at the top of the mountain are not victims.
54
They would never let themselves be victims.
55
It's about the other side, the opportunity, getting from where you are to what you want.
56
Thank you.
Download App
Everything you need to speak fluently
AI PronunciationScore every sentence
IPA PracticeMaster every sound
VocabularyBuild your word bank
Vocab GameLearn while playing
Same Channel
B23
The Problem With Perfect - Motivational Video
Business EnglishUniversity StudentsWorking Adults
B25 Life Changing Speeches You Need to Hear TODAY (2021) | Motivational Video Compilation
Business EnglishUniversity StudentsWorking Adults
B1One Minute Motivational Speech | Accept It, Eliminate It Or Adjust Yourself To It |
Daily ConversationWorking Adults
FOR YOU
Recommend Video
B24
59 sentences
WHEN THINGS GET HARD - Powerful Motivational Video
Daily ConversationWorking Adults
B21
106 sentences
give me 7 min and i'll make you a completely different person...
Daily ConversationWorking Adults
B24
473 sentences
Video
Daily ConversationWorking Adults
B23
33 sentences
When you think like a victim, this happens. @Dr.ShadeZahrai #jayshetty
Daily ConversationWorking Adults
B21
495 sentences
Be Delusional. 2.0
Daily ConversationWorking Adults
B21
53 sentences
YOU JUST NEED 2 MINUTES TO CHANGE | David Goggins motivational speech
Daily ConversationWorking Adults
C156
15 sentences
The Journey Will Show You What You're Truly Capable Of
Daily ConversationWorking Adults
B21
147 sentences
LET HER LEAVE - Motivational Speech (Andrew Tate)
Daily ConversationWorking Adults
B2149 sentences
How to Make Yourself Attractive to Anything You Want
Daily ConversationWorking Adults
B21
141 sentences
IT'S NOW OR NEVER. - Powerful Motivational Speech Video
Daily ConversationWorking Adults
B21
329 sentences
2026 Is Winner’s Revenge Year— Kill Them With Success | Andrew Tate Motivation -Jim Rohn -Les Brown
Daily ConversationWorking Adults
B2128 sentences
I CAN DO IT - Powerful Motivational Speech Video (Featuring Lisa Nichols)
Daily ConversationWorking Adults
Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This speaking lesson is built on the video “Never the Victim - Motivational Video”. The speaker keeps coming back to these words: victim, mentality, situation. This video has 56 sentences and 712 words to shadow. The speech runs for 4:39. The speaker talks at a natural 153 words per minute, close to everyday conversation. 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 |
|---|---|---|
| complain verb | /kəmˈpleɪn/ | To express feelings of pain, dissatisfaction, or resentment. |
| mentality noun | /mɛnˈtæləti/ | A mindset; a way of thinking; a set of beliefs. |
| passionate adjective | /ˈpæʃənɪt/ | Fired with intense feeling. |
| necessarily adverb | /ˌnɛs.əˈsɛɹ.ə.li/ | Inevitably; of necessity. |
| clay noun | /kleɪ/ | A mineral substance made up of small crystals of silica and alumina, that is ductile when moist; the material of pre-fired ceramics. |
| habit noun | /ˈhæb.ɪt/ | An action performed on a regular basis. |
| athletic adjective | /æθˈlɛt.ɪk/ | Having to do with athletes. |
| transform verb | /tɹænsˈfɔɹm/ | To change greatly the appearance or form of. |
| sympathy noun | /ˈsɪm.pəθ.i/ | A feeling of pity or sorrow for the suffering or distress of another. |
| mindset noun | /ˈmaɪn(d)ˌsɛt/ | A way of thinking; an attitude or opinion, especially a habitual one. |
| mold noun | /moʊld/ | A natural substance in the form of a furry or woolly growth of tiny fungi that appears when organic material lies for a long time exposed to (usually warm and… |
| insanity noun | /ɪnˈsænɪti/ | The state of being insane; madness. |
| helpless adjective | /ˈhɛlplɪs/ | Unable to defend oneself. |
| energize verb | /ˈɛnəd͡ʒaɪz/ | To invigorate; to make energetic. |
| whine verb | /ˈwaɪ̯n/ | To utter a high-pitched cry. |
Phrasal verbs you will hear
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| come across verb | To change sides; to cross over to work for the opposition. | |
| fall down verb | /fɔl ˈdaʊn/ | To fall to the ground. To collapse. |
| go through verb | To travel from one end of something to the other. | |
| grow up verb | To mature and become an adult. | |
| start out verb | To emerge suddenly; to jump out. | |
| walk away verb | To withdraw from a problematic situation. |
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 17 contractions and reduced forms, such as didn't, don't, they're. Say them the short way, as you hear them.
- The “th” sounds: athletic /æθˈlɛt.ɪk/, sympathy /ˈsɪm.pəθ.i/
- Long words — get the stress right: mentality /mɛnˈtæləti/, necessarily /ˌnɛs.əˈsɛɹ.ə.li/, insanity /ɪnˈsænɪti/
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 complain, mentality, passionate.
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.