In this motivational video, Evan Carmichael opens his "Believe Nation" series by emphasizing the importance of living in the present for entrepreneurs and creatives. He first hands the floor to ballet star Misty Copeland, who shares how she focuses on one step at a time during performances, illustrating the power of staying in the moment. Carmichael then expands on the theme, arguing that while entrepreneurial frustration can be a useful catalyst for change, it must be balanced with gratitude for existing opportunities and an awareness of abundance. He recounts Thich Nhat Hanh’s story about washing dishes mindfully to demonstrate how people often think ahead instead of fully engaging with the current task. Carmichael urges viewers to practice presence, be grateful, and use frustration constructively, ending with a prompt for the audience to share their own presence practices. The video continues with a brief interview segment featuring Chris Martin of the band (presumably a fictional or mis‑attributed "Chris Martin"), who explains how his group treats each concert as if it could be the first or last, thereby staying fresh and appreciative of the audience. He discusses overcoming past periods of doubt, limiting negative social‑media input, and choosing to focus on the positive aspects of performance. Selena Gomez then appears, stating that setting a final goal for life is counterproductive; instead, she stresses continual presence, authenticity, and evolving confidence, linking this mindset to her artistic project "Revival." The video concludes with Carmichael thanking a fan for picking up his book "Your One Word," encouraging viewers to believe in themselves, and promising another daily video. Overall, the content blends personal anecdotes, philosophical parables, and practical advice to persuade entrepreneurs and creators to cultivate mindfulness, gratitude, and balanced frustration as pathways to lasting success and happiness.
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Good morning, Believe Nation! Today's message is live in the moment. Over to you, Misty Copeland.
I think that when I was younger, I was, you know, you get so like antsy and you just want the good things to come and it's hard to enjoy the process. And I think that's something that I really understand and appreciate now. I mean, my life is so chaotic with just being busy all the time that I literally just take everything one step at a time. Like, even when I'm on the stage and I'm like, I can't think about third act, I'm in second act now, and I'm going to think about the piqué arabesque I'm about to do, not about the, you know, the pirouettes I'm gonna do in two seconds. So it's literally just like Taking everything, you know, just pacing yourself in one thing at a time.
If you can't learn to appreciate the moment, you'll never be happy. I think one of the things that we as entrepreneurs are great at is being frustrated with the status quo, is wanting more, is wanting to change something, wanting to change the way an industry is done because we're so angry and frustrated with how it's currently being done. And that's great, and that's a strength, and that's a tool, and we should lean in on it. At the same time though, I want you to be grateful for what you do have. To recognize the abundance of opportunities and wealth that you have already living. The fact that you are living and watching this video and have access to YouTube puts you ahead of still most of the world. And recognizing that and being so grateful that if even if you never accomplished any more of your goals, that you have an amazing life, I think it's helpful. Now, I don't think it's only focus on how great everything is, because then you don't do anything else, right? You don't want to change things. That little bit of frustration is good, but I think you need both. I think too many people, they'll lean too hard on the negative, on the frustration, on the way things are currently done. And if that's all you are chasing, then you'll never be happy. There's a great story from Thich Nhat Hanh where he's talking about washing the dishes to wash the dishes. He's doing this retreat with his students, and at the end of every night, they would go over to his place and he would make them dinner, and then he would wash the plates. One of the guys who came to his session said, "Hey, let me wash the plates for you. You did a lot of work. You helped us out. You fed us. How about I wash the plates for you?" And he told them that if you're going to wash the plates, then you need to wash the plates. You wash the plates to wash the plates. And what that means is so many times when people are washing the plates, what are you doing? You're thinking of what's next, and you're not actually focused on washing the plates. You're thinking about the conversations you're going to have after you finish washing the dishes. And then when you're having a conversation after, thinking about what you're going to do later on that night. And when you're actually doing that thing later on that night, you're thinking about what's going to happen tomorrow. We're so focused and always thinking about what's next that we don't take the time to enjoy what's happening right now. I'm enjoying making this video for you right now. I'm entirely focused on just making this video. I'm not thinking about the next video that I'm going to do. I'm not thinking about how I'm going to spend my evening. I'm here trying to be with you in this moment. And the more time you can spend being in the moment It helps you be a happier and healthier entrepreneur. I think too often we're focused just on thinking about what's happening next, and we don't actually get to spend time enjoying our family, enjoying our customers, enjoying the work and the process that we're doing. So if you can take all of that and learn to be present, and yes, focus on the frustrations so that helps you become a better entrepreneur, but at the same time be grateful and mindful in the moment for everything that you do have, I think it'll make you happier, healthier, more successful entrepreneur. So the question of the day today is, I'm curious, what do you do to be present in the moment? Curious to find out, leave in the comments below. I also want to give a quick shout out to Peter. Peter, thank you so much for picking up a copy of my book, Your One Word. Really, really means a lot to me, man, and I hope you're enjoying the read. So 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 guys again tomorrow morning for another shot Ivan Espresso.
A Head Full of Dreams, the tour's going on now, you just got off the South American leg. I mean, the crowds, the show, does it ever— how do you keep it fresh? Because it's not your first rodeo, it's your thousands, ten thousands, I mean, you've been doing it.
Well, here's how we keep it fresh. Bruce Springsteen apparently, I don't know if he really does or not, used to say to the rest of the E Street Band, this could be someone's first show and it could be someone's last show, so let's treat it like that. So I have that inspiration and then some other things in my life that just make me, but every time before we go on stage, I really think about like who's showed up, how much they've been through to get there.
Wow.
And also for us at the moment, we're just so, we took a break from touring on the last album we did called Ghost Story, so we're so excited to be there. And we know that nothing lasts forever, so I think that we're just really more than ever living in the moment and, and trying to appreciate the fact that for some people it's their first show and some people, you know, you know.
And that has to be a perspective that, that's not immediate, right?
You learn to work to that perspective. Yeah, we definitely went through a period about 10 years ago of, of feeling like, what are we doing, you know, questioning everything and not really able to take in the joy of it.
That must have been hard.
It worked well. I mean, everything's in perspective, but for us as a band, it was a bit hard. Like, what do we, you know, but slowly just you keep going and you find great people who come in and help you out and teach you things. And I think the more that you let in, it's very easy right now with social media to let in anything negative, you know, whatever you do, someone is going to slag it off online.
Well, you're not on social media at all.
Personally, we are as a band. I don't really personally do it. I'm not that good at selfies.
That's the honest answer.
So, so, so, so I made a decision that, well, you know, it's easy to take in the bad stuff, so I'm going to really take in the good stuff and appreciate who these people have shown up and they want to sing our songs together. And that's great. I'm into it.
It can't ever get old.
It's very fresh. It never gets old. That's the thing. It never gets old.
You're not meant to put a goal on your life. You're not meant to say, once I get there, I'll have it all. I think that that's the biggest lesson I've needed to learn is how to be present in that moment and to know that I'm always going to strive for something. I think everybody who's watched my story, they've seen that not everything has kind of been handed to me, and, and I've been honest about everything. Some of the things that haven't been me in the past, and other things I've been so passionate about and so spot-on with. So if anything, that's what Revival represents. It's that I feel the most confident I've ever felt, and it goes like that. It's like, it's constantly changing. And I don't know, I think that's just— that's what I want it to feel like.
Your background is fairly well documented, that the things you went through which have shaped you, how much of that is really behind you? How much do those ghosts still haunt you? The involvement in, you know, issues that got you imprisoned and tortured, and, you know, the drug use and so on?
I am myself and my circumstance. I think that, like a Spanish philosopher used to say, So who am I? I am a sum of all the experiences that I lived in my life. That said, of course, I don't look back because if I look back, I may become a statue of salt. So I try to live my life here, but it is the sum of difficult moments, good moments, well, experiences that I had in my life that brought me here in front of this camera talking to you. You don't live your life in this capitalistic sense. that you accumulate knowledge as you accumulate money. No, no, no, no, no. Life is about the present moment. And you're here, you're here now, and then you have an idea or you have something, but that may be a root in your past, but you don't know. So what I try to do is to live my life as full, as intensely as I can.
