Tag Archives: inspiration

Will Smith – Secrets to Success

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Est. Reading time 1 min, Video: 9 min

I think it is a fair assumption to say most people like Will Smith. He comes across as I nice guy, and his films are entertaining for the most part. I was put forward towards this video of him which shows a side I have not seen before.

Obviously he is hugely successful, but it appears he does not rest on his success. He became successful through lots of hard work, and in this superbly made video, he comes across as a great motivational speaker.

Some themes he covers are:
Nothing is unrealistic, Talent vs Skill, and work ethic.

Hopefully you will enjoy this video of Will Smith’s secrets to success:

In another video he talks about the book Rich Dad Poor Dad. It’s a great book and worth a mention about how to get into the mindset of the rich vs the poor.

Rich Dad Poor Dad – Amazon.com (USA)
Rich Dad, Poor Dad – Amazon.co.uk (UK)

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How Bad Do You Want It?

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Est. Reading / Watching Time 5minutes, (15min with bonus videos)

Hi All,

Sorry for the lack of posts. My trip was extended to an incredible six month journey. I have been back a month now and have started to knuckle down and get motivated. I would like to share with you this amazingly shot video title “How Bad Do You Want It?”. The title is self explanatory. The video was shot using parts of a speech by a speaker at Michigan State University. I will include the original two part speech below the video.

Having ideas and wanting to be successful is all well and good, but its doing and putting those ideas to action which sets people apart.  Enjoy this fantastic video.

Click the HD button if your computer can handle it as the video is superbly shot and deserves it!

How Bad Do You Want It from Greyskale Multimedia on Vimeo.

 

 

Here is the original footage with an extended version of the inspirational speech in two parts…

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The Human Experience

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Guest Post by Kate Peterson

This is the second guest post by my good friend Kate Peterson. Kate and her friend Melissa recently travelled Europe, after previously working in medicine in Nepal and Colorado. She is a running fanatic and has ran several marathons across the world. She writes far better than I do and I loved her posts during her trip.  Post trip she wrote these two special pieces entitled Adventure and The Human Experience, both which are now featured on this site. Enjoy

The Human Experience – Kate Peterson

“Traveling allows for meditation and introspection. It broadens your world view and alters how you see yourself and others. It provides answers but creates many, many more questions. It is a unique and challenging experience. As I was living the dream of backpacking across Europe, I kept wondering why I felt that something was missing. I think part of the answer can be found in recalling our visit to the Red Cross Museum. I had anticipated a visit full of despair as the human experience was marred by suffering, natural disasters and war. Instead, it was encouraging. Yes, there is and has been since the fall of man, suffering, natural disasters and war. However, we caught a glimpse of beauty in the pain. People, through the Red Cross Red Crescent Movement, were responding to the human experience. During the 10 weeks we spent traveling, I experienced so much. I met tons of people. I saw new sights, heard new sounds, smelled and tasted new wonders. My sensory system was on overload. There was so much to take in. But I felt that something was lacking. I was so busy absorbing and traveling that I did not have an opportunity to respond. I could react, but that is not the same as responding. I am incredibly blessed to have a job that I love that allows me to respond to the human experience in a very tangible way. As a nurse, I am able to help others navigate the turbulent waters of illness and injury. To be sure, it is a difficult element of the human experience. But it is an honor and a privilege to respond. Through our responses, we can fully realize our humanity.”

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One amazing girl, with an amazing story at only 23, Maggie Doyne

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This was the first Do Lecture from 2010 that I have seen, and what an amazing speech. Maggie Doyne was a high school leaver who went on her gap year and instead of drinking it up in Australia she turned to poorer countries, like India and Nepal (one of my favourite countries). Concerned with the conditions of some of the children she saw, with just $5000, at the age of 23 she has set up her own school for orphaned children at Kopila Valley, Surkhet in Nepal. She has taken children away from child labour to give them a deserved chance at education.

She has since started her foundation called BlinkNow Foundation to share her ideas with other young people. Maggie won the prestigious Do Something award in America for all that she has done so far.

If you are interested in Maggie’s work please visit the BlinkNow webpage.

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The Young Ones BBC – Inspirational TV in the UK Shock Horror!

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Over the past week there has been a superb program on some old British stars, who now in their 70s and 80s are finding life very boring, hard and unfulfilling. As part of an experiment they were put in a house together which was decorated in 1970s gear, and everything they were allowed to see, e.g. Newspapers, and TV were from 1975. The scientists then put together subtle tasks to make them feel like they were in the 70s again, a period of time they all felt was the best time fo their lives. They did cognitive and physiological tests before and after the one week to see how much they improved.

Even without the tests, you could tell how much better everyone was. Smiling, being active etc. One 88 year old who had had several strokes walked without crutches, when she entered the house in a wheelchair. All this just from one week of positive experiences. It helped them gain confidence, and remind them of what value they had and still can have in society. It was nothing to do with being in 1975, that was just a trigger for change.

I believe it doe not matter what your age is, sometimes whether you are 60 or 30 you can feel old, and that your best times have passed you, yet its all about state of mind and getting up and doing. Whether that’s going out for a meal with friends, or taking a walk in fresh air. The less your do, the more tired you are. I’m sure any gym goers who have had a time where they don’t go for a week feel that. If you keep the mind active, it will look after your body for you.

For these pensioners who used to be in demand TV and Media stars, it changed their state of minds, and their lives around in just one week even at their age. Its all about living life to the fullest you can.

If you are in the UK you can watch this on BBC iPlayer http://www.bbc.co.uk/i/tv913/

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Three Great Inspirational Scenes from Movies

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While Hollywood does produce an unbelievable amount of rubbish, everyone loves a great film. However this selection of videos is not about great films, its about great inspirational speeches from films. There are some good films in there, but don’t be put off by any preconception of the film and not watch the clip. I included an amazing Rocky speech for just that reason, the film has no interest for me, however I was told watch this clip. And it is great.  So enjoy these scenes, watch them before you set out your day, before you sit to write an essay, before a job interview. Go out and don’t let anything hold you back.

1, Pursuit of Happyness – Protect Your Dreams
The entirety of this film is superb and inspiring. However this scene is arguably the most important in the film (no spoilers in it), and is certainly the most inspiring.

Buy on Blu Ray and DVD

2, Al Pacino – Any Given Sunday – One Inch at a Time
Unbelievable monologue, not about American football, but about life. One of the greatest actors of all time doing one of his most famous speeches. Whoever wrote this is amazing to bind this into a film about sports. Great motivational speech.

Available on Blu Ray and DVD

3, Rocky 4 – Father to son – Living out of the Shadow
As I say, don’t skip this just because you don’t like Rocky. Its about how hard you can get hit, and keep moving forward. About going out and getting what you want despite “taking the hits”. Pretty amazing speech even coming from Stallone.

Buy Rocky Collection on Blu Ray

What are your favourite inspirational movies speeches? Please share and let me know what you think of these three.

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Why staying foolish is as important as staying hungry – Steve Jobs speech

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Most people know Steve Jobs, the founder of Apple. You are probably either in the camp of Windows or Mac (excluding the hardcore in Linux, although saying that I use Ubuntu and I’m not hardcore). From these choices you probably have a view on Steve Jobs as did I.

However I got pointed to this amazing speech by him. In it he goes into his early life, as well as his recent battle with cancer.  Its nice to hear him speak openly about goals, and how he has overcome being sacked from the company he founded, then rehired.  Steve Jobs has been through a lot and come through it all, and whether you like Macs or PC’s, I hope you will find this speech as interesting and inspiring as I did.

Its was done in 2005 by Steve at the Stanford University Commencement Address in California.  His talk is aimed at inspiring people to pursue their dreams and never settle.
“Stay Hungry, and Stay Foolish” – Steve Jobs

More on Steve Jobs:

West of Eden: The End of Innocence at Apple Computer

EOS magazine Vol. 20 Nr. 3 maart 2003: Vliegtuiglawaai – Ramp Columbia – Walvissen – Gemidificeerd voedsel – Misvormde kikkers – Steve Jobs

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Alastair Humphreys – The “Why” of Adventure Video

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This is a short inspirational video. Its a talk, again by Alastair Humphreys about how to find adventure wherever you are, and why you should and do it. I love the comparisons in the video between the “worldly” images of Monks etc. to some guy off Junction 14 on the M25. Great short video

If you do not know of Alastair Humphreys, then watch his Do Lecture. Its amazing.

More on Alastair Humphreys:

Moods of Future Joys

Thunder & Sunshine

Ten Lessons From the Road

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Randy Pausch Last Lecture Achieving Your Childhood Dreams

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This is one of the best hours of your life you will ever experience. Randy Pausch was a lecturer who died of cancer recently and gave his “last lecture”, normally given at the end of a year for students, this actually was his last lecture.

Carnegie Mellon Professor Randy Pausch (Oct. 23, 1960 – July 25, 2008) gave his last lecture at the university Sept. 18, 2007, before a packed McConomy Auditorium. In his moving presentation, “Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams,” Pausch talked about his lessons learned and gave advice to students on how to achieve their own career and personal goals.

There are so many great inspirational concepts in this video. I love this ideas about brick walls. “Brick walls are there to show you how much you want something”. Such a great man, and an incredible lecture. He gives such great information into his life and how he came about his views. Its an amazing video and one of the most inspirational and motivational videos you will ever see.

R.I.P. Randy Pausch (Oct. 23, 1960 – July 25, 2008)

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Baz Luhrmann – Everybody’s Free to Wear Sunscreen

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This speech / video came out in 1999. I was 15/16, and did not really get its meaning. I always liked the music though, and I remembered it when I stumbled across it recently. Wear Sunscreen or the Sunscreen Speech are the common names of an essay actually called “Advice, like youth, probably just wasted on the young” written by Mary Schmich and published in the Chicago Tribune as a column in 1997.

The most popular and well-known form of the essay is the successful music single released in 1999, credited to Baz Luhrmann. Its a great speech about living right, and living well. I’m sure a lot of us can see things in this that are very relevant.

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