Shadowing Practice: Undercover Billionaire Apologizes - Learn English Speaking with YouTube

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Here it is, what, one year since I went and shot this show.
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Here it is, what, one year since I went and shot this show.
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I still need time from this to recover.
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Hey to all my friends out there that have heard
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or seen the current videos out there going about me talking about my experience with Undercover Billionaire,
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Discovery, The Crew.
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Just want to make a couple things really, really clear to everybody.
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I've stated many, many times this was the best and worst experience of my lifetime.
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I'm with my little girl right now.
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She's doing homework.
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So in between social studies,
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she might pop in and ask me about the Shang dynasty here in a second.
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And I'll do my best to answer her,
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which will probably be incorrect.
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So first of all, I want to tell you.
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What happened to the Han dynasty?
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I don't know.
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I think it lasted a long time,
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like 600 years or so.
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But you go do the homework.
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I've already done that.
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I already passed that test.
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So for all of you that either have seen or have not seen Undercover Billionaire,
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first of all, I want to thank Discovery for trusting me with the freaking enormous task of doing this show.
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Also the crew at TJAT Angus,
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Tim Warren And the whole crew You guys that lived with me through COVID And I've said this many times
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I mean the fact that we were together through COVID For what?
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For 12 weeks plus the two and a half months off
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That crew over there The things you guys did To get through this The testing,
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people getting sick People having to jump through hoops To make this show It's unbelievable
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and the money and the time and the energy that Discovery has spent,
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both loading this on a linear TV as well as on the streaming app, Discovery+.
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I've done over 80 interviews on this show,
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trying to tell people about the importance of it.
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You've heard me fight for the show,
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talk about the importance of it,
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talk about the economy, where it's at today,
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how much people need help.
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To my co-cast superstars, Monique and Elaine,
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I know your experience on this show certainly was different than mine.
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I have no clue what you went through.
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I'm certain that it had to be extremely difficult because I know,
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for me, this was the hardest single thing I've ever done in my life.
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I did an interview with Lewis Howes recently,
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and it opens when Lewis took a cut out of there.
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We're like, I'm fighting with the crew every day.
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Well, the truth is I wasn't fighting with the crew every day,
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but in my mind I was.
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and I tried to explain this
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and maybe I went around about it the wrong way
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so I take full responsibility for miscommunicating
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but this was the hardest thing I've ever done in my
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life I was on my own by myself I didn't pick
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the crew Discovery did Discovery picked me Discovery picked the crew and I'd never shot a TV show before.
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So if you haven't seen it, check out Discovery Plus.
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There's 12 episodes up there right now.
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You can get, I think there's five or six,
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and each week they drop a new one.
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But basically three people get dropped off in different cities with $100 to their name,
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and their job is to build a million dollar business.
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Each of us go about doing it a different way.
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I am an extremely, extremely unapologetically intense human being.
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When I got dropped into this thing,
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I literally, you know, I went from having,
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you know, everything living in my place here in Miami
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and having my kids around me and support and a big staff and a lot of people to being in Pueblo,
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Colorado, no support, no friends,
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shooting a TV show with cameras around me with a bunch of people I don't even know their names.
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Like literally, I did not know one person when I got to Pueblo, including the crew.
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So each day I'm having to kind of memorize new names.
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It was 15 degrees, I'm altitude sick.
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And when I tell you I fought with them every day,
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I didn't actually fight with them every day.
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We got along great.
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These are relationships and friends that I will have for life,
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hopefully, if I haven't ruined it,
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screwed it up with some of my promotion.
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But you guys that shot this show with me,
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Like, you guys are freaking awesome.
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Unbelievable, okay?
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I'm doing my best every day while I'm in Pueblo to literally get through a day and not quit.
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My wife can tell you,
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she's in the other room,
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she can tell you every single day I wanted to quit this thing.
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It was that hard.
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On top of it being that hard, I'm sick.
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We get stopped at 10 days.
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All my momentum gets stopped.
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I'm falling into this whole story about this Louis Curtis character or being broke in LA.
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And I think there's a thing in acting where people become that character.
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And something happened to me.
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And I've said this before in some of the 80 interviews that I've done,
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like something happened to me in this show where I forgot that I was Grant Cardone with a successful business,
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two beautiful children, beautiful wife and marriage,
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and a lot of great things around me.
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And I became this guy,
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this guy, this guy, this guy that shaved his head,
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lost everything, and was trying to bring his family from Los Angeles out to Pueblo to start over.
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I literally fell into this thing so deep that I think
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that everybody for me while I was doing this was like the enemy, including the crew.
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So you guys on the crew,
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if you saw any of these interviews and you felt like I was trashing you or Discovery,
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like I could not have done this without you guys.
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Couldn't have done it without the crew,
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Couldn't have done it without Angus.
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Couldn't have done it without Tim.
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Couldn't have done it without all the guys on the ground.
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David.
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What's the sound guy's name?
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My buddy.
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Trevor was there.
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Trevor worked with me every day.
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Brian.
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My buddy that did the sound.
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Golly.
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Sound, sound, sound.
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Anyway, all of you guys that helped me, supported me.
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Stacey, Stacey.
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And then all the people that I'm forgetting right now.
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All the people that I met in Pueblo,
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like Antoine, Matt, Ryan Zabukovic,
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Ryan McWilliams that wouldn't, like,
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there's so many great relationships I made there.
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And then I come back, we get stopped.
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I don't know that I'm going back to do it.
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Okay.
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Of all the people that shot this show,
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you got to remember, I started and stopped.
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And I did not know for two and a half months if we were going to go back and finish.
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And when Discovery called and said,
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hey you ready to go back?
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I think it was actually Angus with TJAT which is a cool dude said hey you want to go back?
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I'm like no I don't want to go back.
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I can't just I can't be jerked off on my schedule here.
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When I leave I may never come back here.
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Yes.
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You know it's one thing when you get get punched in the face the first time
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but give it about two or three months and then the same guy walks up to and says,
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by the way, remember that last time?
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We're gonna do it again.
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First time's one thing, because you don't know what it feels like.
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Second time, oh my God, it's torture.
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Just getting ready for it.
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So I remember when I was getting on the plane to go back,
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I'm like, oh my God,
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I can't go back and start this all over again.
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Altitude sickness hit me again.
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Boom, I go back in,
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I get tested positive for COVID.
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I get shut down.
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You guys gotta watch this show.
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And when you hear me talking negatively about anything,
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okay, with regards to my shooting this show.
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Glenn Stearns told me this,
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he's like, look, you're too close to it, give it some time.
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Here it is, what, one year since I went and shot this show,
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I still need time from this to recover, okay?
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This was the most emotionally,
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emotional charged, real life experience that I have ever had that wasn't real.
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Like it was real to me,
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like me being Louis Curtis there,
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struggling through this was real,
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trying to figure out how the cameras work,
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what happens, what's the outcome?
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What do I need to do?
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Am I going to hit my target?
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Is it going to ruin my brand?
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Like all that is real for me.
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So again, I just want to put this video out today.
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If you've seen anything or heard anything that says,
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I'm not grateful for Don't confuse my enthusiasm and my passion and my conviction and my strong
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you know, my outspokenness to mean or represent that I am not completely understanding of what Monique and Elaine went through.
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I can't believe like I got hats off that, that they did this.
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To the crew that went through this with me,
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you guys are freaking phenomenal.
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So disregard all that stuff I'm talking about,
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fighting with you guys every day.
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I didn't fight with you guys every day,
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except in my own mind,
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I was fighting with you guys,
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just like I was the marketplace,
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Pueblo, COVID, my own struggles,
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my own problems, my loneliness,
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my insecurities, I was fighting with all that.
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And to TJAT and Discovery that put the money up to make this thing work,
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the money, the time, the energy,
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and took the financial risk to put this show on.
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Hey, hats off to you guys for making some great TV
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and giving discovery and all viewers in America and around the world.
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I think you guys are in 19 countries now.
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And then the courage to download and stream this app,
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to drop an app right now at this time in the world where there's so much competition for viewership.
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Just mad admiration for you putting at risk the money,
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the time, the energy, and the production.
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I can't imagine what it takes to pull that off and trusting me with those 12 weeks to produce this show.
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If you haven't seen the show, it's Undercover Billionaire.
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It's on discoveryplus.com, discoveryplus.com.
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Go watch it, go learn from it,
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and remember, when you hear me do an interview about this show,
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hey, my job is to get you to watch that show, okay?
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And all of what I'm experiencing might not be what other people experience,
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but it is, in my own mind,
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my crazy, whacked-out mind, It's what I experienced,
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whether it was real to other people or not.
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It was real to me because I'm a wacko.
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OK, so again, I apologize to anybody that was upset,
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got upset, felt felt like I diminished what you're doing or the hard work you put into this.
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I didn't mean that.
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I don't mean that at all.
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OK, this was a huge undertaking for everybody.
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But God bless.
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Be great.
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And remember, the American dream is alive and well.
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Go out there.
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Watch an undercover billionaire there.
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Watch Elaine do it, Monique do it,
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and watch your boy Louis Curtis do it,
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because it will definitely change your opinion of whether the dream is real,
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whether COVID can stop you,
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whether or not you need money,
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and how much time is too much time.
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Okay, thanks.
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so

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Why practice speaking with this video?

This video featuring the apology from the Undercover Billionaire is a compelling resource for English learners. It provides insight into personal experiences and real emotions, making it an engaging way to learn English with YouTube. The speaker shares reflections on a life-changing experience, highlighting challenges and lessons learned. This context allows learners to practice their speaking skills in genuine scenarios that reflect everyday conversations.

Practicing with this video can enhance your ability to articulate thoughts clearly and express emotions effectively. Engaging with the speaker’s narrative through repetition and mimicry can greatly improve your fluency and confidence in English. Utilizing a shadow speak technique, where you repeat what the speaker says in real-time, can help you internalize speech patterns, intonations, and vocabulary.

Grammar & Expressions in Context

In the transcript, several key phrases and structures stand out that can enrich your English speaking skills:

  • “I want to tell you” - This phrase sets a conversational tone and indicates the speaker's intention to share important information, which is useful in everyday dialogue.
  • “I have no clue” - An informal expression indicating uncertainty or lack of knowledge. Learning such idiomatic expressions enhances your conversational skills and makes your speech sound more natural.
  • “For what?” - This rhetorical question emphasizes confusion or curiosity, encouraging learners to explore intonation and emphasis to convey similar meanings in their conversations.
  • “Take full responsibility” - This phrase reflects accountability and can be used effectively when discussing personal or shared outcomes in various contexts.

Engaging with these expressions through a shadowing app can aid in understanding how to incorporate them into your speaking practice.

Common Pronunciation Traps

When practicing with this video, pay attention to specific words and phrases that may present pronunciation challenges:

  • "Apologizes" - This word can be tricky; focus on the "o" sound and the ending "-izes." Proper emphasis on syllables will help you sound more fluent.
  • "Experience" - Note the sequence of sounds; it’s easy to blend the vowels, but clear pronunciation is crucial for clarity.
  • "COVID" - With this widely recognized term, ensure you emphasize the "C" and manage the short "O" sound.

Listening closely and practicing these words in context will make a noticeable difference in your speaking ability. By using these strategies, you can effectively harness the potential of this content to improve your English pronunciation and communication skills.

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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