Shadowing Practice: You Need to Romanticize Your Process - Learn English Speaking with YouTube
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What would your life look like if you loved the process of working on your craft,
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What would your life look like if you loved the process of working on your craft,
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your project, your art?
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If it was something that you looked forward to,
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not something that you avoided,
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not something that you procrastinated on,
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but something that you were eager to get to every day.
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What if you did this not because you felt like you had to,
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but because you wanted to?
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It was as easy as playing video games.
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What if it was addicting?
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Imagine what would be possible.
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Think of the work that you could achieve.
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Now, let me show you something.
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What do you see here?
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I'll tell you what I see.
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I see artists in the zone.
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In their process.
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Maybe you don't have the same resources as them,
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and maybe that's your excuse.
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Well yeah, if I had a huge decked out studio with this equipment and this camera and audio and this microphone,
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then yeah, it would be easy.
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I'd look forward to working on my craft every day.
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But those things stripped away.
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What we're looking at, at its essence,
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is an artist engaging with their craft.
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And that's possible for you right now.
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You can do that.
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The levels of success that many of us may want to achieve is gonna take a lot of work,
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a lot of hours.
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And we can't afford things like procrastination,
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hesitancy, avoidance, overwhelm and fear.
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We just can't let those things win.
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It's gonna take many hours,
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and I believe that the trick to putting in those hours is by absolutely loving the process.
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Because if we love the process,
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then the hours will feel less like work,
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and the hours will feel like minutes.
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Now how do we love the process?
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Well, we need to romanticize the process.
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And how do we do that?
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Let's start with this framework.
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Romanticizing the process is necessary.
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It is necessary because you have to have fun.
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Your creative spirit thrives in the zone of having fun.
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Having fun is the key to finding your creative spirit.
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This is the zone of creativity, similar to flow state.
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This is where you are just completely lost in your craft.
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The best art comes from this zone because you are getting out of your own way.
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You are allowing your creative spirit to take over.
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And when you truly do that,
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when you surrender to that,
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you allow new levels of art to be made.
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Now this is why having fun is important and necessary.
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Having fun is an indicator that your creative spirit likes what is happening.
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And if your creative spirit likes what's happening,
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that means that it's at work.
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And that's what we're trying to do here.
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We're trying to get the creative spirit to be at work.
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So this is about finding your creative genius through having fun.
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And you're having fun through loving what you're doing.
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And this brings us to our first major point.
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Love what you make, make what you love.
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So you'll have fun through loving what you make,
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but you're not gonna love what you make unless you make what you love.
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Unless you make things from your heart.
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Make things from you, authentic you.
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You cannot let expectations of what you need to make,
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or expectations of what others will think,
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or rules, some kind of rule that you write in a book,
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you can't let those exterior things bog you down in this process.
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Those things are gonna absolutely kill the creative spirit.
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The creative spirit, once you contain,
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once you try to contain and limit it by those things,
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that's when you push it away and you start to numb out the process.
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So you cannot make art for others,
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you cannot make art for rules,
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you cannot make art for expectations.
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You have to make art from the heart and you have to make art that you like and you enjoy.
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So lean into what you like.
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Lean into your inspirations.
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Inspirations and the art that you like are great indicators of the type of art that you want to make.
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So just ask yourself, what is your favorite piece of art in the craft that you're working on?
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What's your favorite movie, your favorite book,
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your favorite song, your favorite poem, your favorite painting?
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Any and all of the above.
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Look at your inspirations, the art that you like,
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and think about how that can inform your style what that means about the type of art that you want to make,
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what that means about what you like.
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Again, the idea that you having fun being an indicator that your creative spirit is at work,
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it's the same thing with your favorite art.
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When you like art, that is an indicator that your creative spirit is talking to you.
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You have to listen to that.
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Be conscious of the things that you like,
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be conscious about enjoying the process,
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enjoying what you're making, and very important, next point, your environment.
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Where are you working?
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Where's the actual physical space where you do your craft,
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where you do your process?
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and how can you make it better for the process?
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How can you make it more fun?
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How can you make this environment a place that promotes your creativity?
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You have to craft your dream space for your creative process.
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Again, having fun, enjoyment, creative spirit, things that you like.
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Have all of these things guide the way that you craft this space.
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Your environment has huge impacts,
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conscious and subconscious, on your state.
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Your emotional state, your physical state,
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your spiritual state, all of these things.
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So you have to be very aware of the place that you're in during the process,
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during the craft, because they will affect you.
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And that is a positive thing because you can use that to your advantage.
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Put up things that inspire your creative spirit.
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Put up visuals and images that you resonate with.
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Print out pictures, put up posters of inspirations,
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artwork that you like, just things that you like, things that you enjoy.
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And I'll tell you a space right now that's already made for you,
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that is perfect for the creative spirit, and that's outside the outside world, nature.
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I cannot emphasize this more but work outside.
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Work outside.
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Try to find every opportunity that you can to do your work outside.
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Like I said, the environment has huge effects on your mental state,
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your emotional state, your spiritual state,
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and being outside in nature in a wide open space or just with trees,
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with bushes, with flowers, with the air that you smell,
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these things are going to impact your state.
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If you can find that serenity,
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It's going to allow your creative spirit to feel safe to come out and go to work.
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You know for me in my own process,
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I have to do a lot of work on my laptop.
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Specifically, you know when I'm producing music,
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when I'm mixing, when I'm editing.
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But if I have to conceptualize or brainstorm for some kind of script,
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then I'll just do that outside.
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If I have to write a song,
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I'll bring my guitar outside and I can take advantage of
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that outside world and the tremendous impacts that it has on my state when I'm in the creative process.
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Next thing, routine.
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If you can prove to yourself that this is much more than just a hobby,
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but it's a way of being,
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it's a way of living,
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your creative spirit is going to notice that,
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and it's gonna come out more.
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This is training your creative spirit to work.
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It's like training your muscle,
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it's like exercising your muscle, growing your muscles.
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It's frequency.
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It's all about frequency.
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If you don't have frequency, it's not gonna grow.
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And it's not your creative spirit that's growing.
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Your creative spirit is already there,
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it's infinite, it's within you.
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but your relationship to your creative spirit,
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that's the thing that grows with frequency.
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So you have to show and prove to your creative spirit this is not something
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that we're gonna do once a month or once a year,
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do when we feel like and then shy away from it for a long time,
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no, no, no, no. This is serious,
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this is a way of being.
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Creativity is much more than just a hobby.
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Creativity is a way of life.
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You need to commit to this if you want your art to benefit from it.
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But you have to commit to this routine and this frequency if you want to see results.
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Now, this can seem hard,
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but again, going back to what we talked about.
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Enjoyment, fun, easy going, effortless.
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Like video games.
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This routine, this commitment to this routine,
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should be a result of you loving what you're doing.
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By making things enjoyable first,
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your process, your environment, the work that you're actually doing,
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by making those things enjoyable,
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you're making it easier for you to want to actually come back and return here.
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Make your work, your environment, and your routine enjoyable.
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What is the best time to work?
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What's the best time in the day for you to do your work,
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your craft, your creative process?
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For me personally, I like the morning just because I feel more relaxed,
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I feel like I have the whole day ahead of me,
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I feel like I can be more chill during the process.
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But also, at nighttime, if an idea strikes me,
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if inspiration strikes, I'm not gonna suppress that.
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I will create if I feel called to.
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Which leads me into my next point, grow the inner artist.
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This is like any other relationship in your life.
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If you want it to grow,
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you have to feed it.
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So if an idea comes,
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you have to take it and run with it.
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You have to trust the things that your creative spirit is sending you.
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The more you harness that relationship and those ideas that come to you,
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the more that it's going to come out.
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The stronger it's going to become.
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The more your creative spirit's going to be expressed into this world.
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And the more that happens,
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the more that it's going to actually take over you.
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And as it takes over,
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it's going to draw you to the process.
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It's going to bring you to the space, to the work.
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It's going to bring you to the studio.
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So if an idea comes up,
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write it down, record it.
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It's coming to you for a reason.
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You might not know what it means now, but you will later.
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Anything the creative spirit wants to give you,
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you have to grow that inner artist by exercising those muscles that act on those ideas,
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that act on the inspiration,
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that act on anything that your creative spirit wants to give you.
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The magic found in the process,
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the magic that's responsible for the genius art that you have created and that you will create,
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is not found in these physical things like the camera or the microphone, or this pen.
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When you write, when you journal,
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it's not found in those physical things.
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It's right here.
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It's the soul.
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It's the creative spirit.
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And that is why it is the most important relationship that you work on,
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that you develop in this entire process.
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A great way to feed this relationship is by practicing stillness.
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Practice stillness every single day.
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Get quiet.
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Find a time, find multiple times throughout the day,
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where you're just quiet with your own mind,
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or you can get out of your own way.
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Go outside, be with yourself, and just listen.
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Just tune in.
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Don't feel like you have to force a thought.
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Don't feel like you have to ponder.
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That's not your job.
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Your job is just to be quiet and listen.
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You might not be getting ideas because you're always filling the silence with noise.
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Don't fill in the silence.
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Don't play music or a YouTube video every time you do anything,
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like washing the dishes or taking a shower,
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going to the bathroom or folding laundry,
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literally doing any other human task.
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During some of those moments,
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during those pockets of time,
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just let the silence be there.
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Maybe you don't want to work on your craft because you don't have fun ideas to act on,
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well here you go.
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Here's an opportunity to actually get ideas.
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It's right there in front of you,
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the silence, the allowance for these ideas to come in,
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but you're just filling it with noise so get serious
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and harness this relationship I know
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that it can be hard to just be there in the silence
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because of a lot of our habits and a lot of our tendencies and the way that we currently live
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but The reason why it's hard is because it is very very rewarding
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And I promise that if you just sit in the silence
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if you give your mind some quiet time the soul is going to send you messages.
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The creative spirit is going to give you ideas.
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Again, it's right in front of you.
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It's right there.
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You don't have to go out and chase it.
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You don't have to create it.
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All you have to do is receive it.
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And lastly, the power of perspective.
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We don't see the beauty that is constantly around us because of fear,
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because of false beliefs, because of limiting beliefs.
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But if we can, again,
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get out of our own way,
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then we can see this beauty.
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And we can see how much of a gift all of this actually is.
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The opportunity to be able to do something
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that we love to be able to engage with our soul in such a magical manner through this craft,
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through this art.
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We can experience the magic of our own souls.
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Sometimes you just have to shift your perspective to see that
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and I promise that if you don't find a way to see it now
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if you don't find a way to enjoy
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and be grateful for the process right now you're not gonna be able to do
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that later you're not gonna be you're not gonna be able to do
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that later at the point where you think you'll be able to do it
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when you have reached that comfort and level of success
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that level that you're really trying to get to
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and then you'll be happy then you'll be satisfied then you'll enjoy the process.
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That's not gonna happen unless you find a way to tune into that truth right now.
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And romanticizing the process may sound like you're making this seem like something it's not,
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but it's the opposite.
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By romanticizing the process, you're getting closer to the truth.
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You're getting closer to the true magic and true gift that is in front of all of us right now.
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And we should enjoy this because that is ultimately the whole point of all of this.
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We should be enjoying this process.
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This is what we want to do.
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This is our dream.
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Now I'm not saying that there's not going to be struggle
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and you have to be disciplined and there's going to be problems and issues and it's going to be hard.
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Those are all beautiful things.
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Those are all great things.
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Those are good signs because we're getting stronger.
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But we should learn to love those things as well.
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We should learn to love the entire process with all of its ups and downs.
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This is all a gift.
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If there's a part of you that's pushing you away from the work,
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you have to find, you have to rediscover the part within you that's going to push you back towards the work.
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Romanticize the process, find the fun,
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and remember the magic that's there.
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I hope you resonate with this message.
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Thank you for watching.
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Thank you so much for watching.
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Thank you for your time.
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Go check out my Patreon for exclusive content and access to the Discord.
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Go check out my newsletter blogs on my website,
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all these links are in the bio.
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And subscribe to this YouTube channel for more videos like these.
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I hope all of you are doing great on your projects,
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dreaming on, having fun.
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Go spend some quiet time today if you haven't already.
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Tune into your soul, tune into your heart,
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listen to what it wants you to do.
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Follow God, trust the plan,
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trust the process, and I will see you guys very very soon.
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Peace out.
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About This Lesson
In this lesson, you will learn how to embrace the process of creation as an exciting journey rather than a tedious task. By watching the YouTube video titled "You Need to Romanticize Your Process," you will practice your English listening and speaking skills, enhancing your vocabulary through engaging content. This lesson encourages you to find joy in your craft, whether it’s art, writing, or any other passion, and helps you develop a mindset that fosters creativity. As you work through the practice, you’ll discover effective strategies to overcome procrastination and harness your creative spirit, which is essential for succeeding in IELTS speaking practice.
Key Vocabulary & Phrases
- Romanticize: To make something seem more appealing or enjoyable.
- Process: A series of actions or steps taken to achieve a particular result.
- Procrastination: The action of delaying or postponing something.
- Creative spirit: The inner drive that inspires innovative ideas and artistic expression.
- Flow state: A mental state where a person is fully immersed and focused on the task at hand.
- Engaging: Involving or attracting someone’s interest or attention.
- Excuse: A reason given to justify an action or an event.
- Zone: A mental and emotional state where one is fully focused and productive.
Practice Tips
To enhance your English speaking skills while practicing shadowing techniques, follow these tips:
- Listen Actively: Watch the video multiple times, paying attention to the speaker's tone and rhythm. This will help you grasp the nuances of natural conversation.
- Shadowing: While watching, try to repeat what the speaker says in real-time. This technique can improve your pronunciation and fluency. Use this as part of your daily routine to learn English with YouTube.
- Pause Strategically: Don’t hesitate to pause the video to repeat phrases or simplify complex sentences, ensuring that you understand the language fully.
- Record Yourself: After shadowing, record your voice to compare your speech with that of the speaker. Focus on intonation, pacing, and clarity as you work toward mastering the content.
- Engage with the Content: Reflect on how these concepts of romanticizing the process can apply to your own interests or projects. This will not only enhance vocabulary but also connect your practice with personal relevance, crucial for those preparing for IELTS speaking practice.
By utilizing these tips within the framework of the video, you can effectively engage with the English language while cultivating a positive mindset towards your learning journey. Explore the benefits of shadow speak as you harness the power of enjoyment in your craft.
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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