Spike Lee says film school degrees from NYU, USC, AFI, or Columbia don't guarantee success. Real credibility comes from finished films, reels, and scripts. Evan Carmichael argues that blaming external factors like funding or connections is a lazy mindset. Take responsibility for where you are.
Good morning, Believe Nation! Today's message is don't be lazy. Over to you, Spike Lee.
I wake up every morning, espresso keep me going. Laziness is something I really can't tolerate. So because of laziness, I think that that speaks of a sense of entitlement. And that's just not a good look in this industry where you think that you are entitled to something, that you deserve something because you're wherever you think you are. It doesn't work like that. Another thing I'd like to add is that— and I'm speaking about my school— a lot of people come out of NYU Thinking that because you have this degree from this prestigious, prestigious institution, NYU or USC or AFI, Columbia, in the real world they don't really give a shit. You know, if you don't have the talent, that degree doesn't mean a thing. When you come out of school, you should have— if you're a director, you should have a film. If you're a DP, you should have a reel. Editors should have a reel. If you're a screenwriter, you should have scripts. So people really want to see the work you've done.
I think one of the biggest things that plagues entrepreneurs and plagues people in general, but especially entrepreneurs since that's the focus on this channel, is a laziness in mindset. Is having and carrying these limiting personal beliefs all around with us like these heavy burdens, heavy suitcases that we're carrying through life that prevent us from doing great things. And every major growth that I've had in my life has come from crushing through a limiting personal belief. And so the laziness is in thinking that it's somebody else's fault by putting responsibility somewhere else instead of on you. Well, I can't be more successful because I don't have funding, and if I had funding, everything would be fixed, or I won't be more successful because my parents don't have the right connections, or I grew up in this country, or whatever it is. You know, look yourself in the mirror, ask yourself that question: why am I not more successful? Chances are— this is it, honestly, do it. Don't just, don't just listen to this video, go and do it. Go look at yourself in the mirror and say, why am I not successful? Why am I not more successful than I am right now? And chances are, whatever comes back is going to be blaming somebody else. For a lot of people, it's blaming something else. I didn't have the right education. Whatever it is, and that's a lazy mindset. You deserve exactly what you have, good and bad. You deserve to be exactly where you are, and until you take full responsibility and accountability for your current situation, it's never gonna grow because it's so easy to blame others because the hard work isn't doing the work. When you realize it's your fault that you are where you are, that the only person that's coming to save you is yourself, and that's a lot of work. You don't want to do that. You want to just blame, blame Clinton or blame Trump, right? Doesn't matter who wins the election. You're still going to go out and get yours. I'm going to go out and get mine. It doesn't matter. I look at my YouTube channel, you know, I have 400,000-something subscribers. Great. I deserve that, both good and bad. Some people might look at that and say, well, I'm making lots of videos, how come I don't have 400,000 subscribers like Evan? Well, maybe I'm working harder. Maybe I'm providing more value. Maybe I'm hustling just a little bit more than you are. You know, I deserve to have the subscriber count that I do. I deserve to have the impact that I have because of the hustle, hard work, and energy and effort that I put in. But I'm also not at 4 million subscribers, right? I'm also not crushing it as big as some other people, and I deserve that too. I shouldn't be out there— and I hope I'm not— complaining that, "Look at that guy! Look at how much traction he has! I have such an important message! I'm better than that guy! Why am I here and he's there?" That's a losing mindset. He's doing something better than I am. I need to get better. I need to work harder. I need to be more consistent. I need to push harder. I need to push faster. It's on me. It's my responsibility to get there. It's nobody else's fault. And I think people don't want to take that approach. They have that lazy mindset. And so go ask yourself that question. Why am I not more successful? Where's the blame? And until you put the blame on the person looking back at you in the mirror, and accept responsibility for where you are in your life, you're never gonna go where you could go. That's the truth. So the question of the day today is, I want you to answer that question truthfully. Why do you believe you're not more successful than you are right now? Leave in the comments below. I'm gonna join in the discussion. I also want to give a quick shout out to Amber Malioka from ThaiHealingArts.us. Amber, thank you so much for picking up a copy of my book. Really, really, really means a lot to me. Thank you guys again for watching. I believe in you. I hope you continue to believe in yourself and whatever your one word is. Much love, and I'll see you soon.
