In this motivational video, host Evan Carmichael presents Lily Collins' personal "top 10 rules for success" while interweaving his own encouragement. Collins shares candid anecdotes about repeatedly hearing "no" and how she transformed rejection into a persistent, open‑ended mindset. She describes her ambitious, experience‑driven approach to acting, writing, and other creative pursuits, emphasizing the value of playing diverse characters to learn about herself. A recurring theme is the power of "letting go"—both on set (following director Warren's advice) and in life—to allow spontaneous, magical moments to emerge. Collins recounts becoming independent from her mother's constant script feedback, linking this shift to personal growth. She also discusses her recent advocacy around eating disorders, viewing her work as a life mission that aligns with her artistic projects. The segment culminates in Collins revealing her "one‑word" secret to happiness, a concept echoed by Evan’s own one‑word mantra of "believe." Throughout, Evan prompts viewers to reflect, comment, and apply the lessons to their own lives.
Chapters
I created the mentality in my head of taking no as no, not right now, not no, this isn't for you. So no didn't have a period, it had a dot, dot, dot. But then there came a point when I verbally had to say, like, I love you, thank you so much for all your opinions, but I need to now kind of do some of this on my own.
Are you ambitious? I mean, do you have—
Ever. Oh my God. She's a fucking animal.
What's up, Believe Nation? It's Evan. My one word is believe, and I believe in you. I believe in your potential, and I want to see that thing that you've got inside you explode out into the world to have a big impact for you, your family, and the world. So to help you on your journey today, we're going to learn from actress, model, and writer Lily Collins and my take on her top 10 rules for success. Rule number 5 is my personal favorite, and I'd love to know which one you guys like the best. And as always, guys, as you're watching, if you hear something that really, really resonates with you, please leave it down in the comments below and put quotes around it so other people can be inspired. And when you write it down, it's much more likely to stick for yourself as well. Enjoy.
If I could count the amount of times I was told no, it would amount to— I mean, just, it was way too many times. And it made being told yes that much better. And so I created the mentality in my head of taking no as no, not right now, not no, this isn't for you. So no didn't have a period. It had a dot, dot, dot. And so if I'd given up after the first time I'd said no, I wouldn't be here. And so it just, you know, not letting someone dictate your future. If you believe in something so strongly and you want to do something so strongly, who's going to tell you to not do it? So that was adapting. That kind of allowed me to take a lot of pressure off too. I like storytelling, but I really like being able to play with different parts of myself in different characters and, you know, switching it up and keeping people on their toes as to what they expect of me. And also Wait, what do I expect of myself? Can I go beyond what I think I'm capable of? Let me try this character and see if there's more to me than meets the eye and can really relate to her. And going from this movie, I mean, it was so interesting 'cause I shot the pilot for a series that I did, The Last Tycoon, which is ultra glamorous, 1930s Hollywood. Two weeks later shooting this. So then like two weeks later going off to Korea and shooting Okja. And it was like these three different people. And I don't know, I would never have thought in my life, Oh, I'm gonna play this person, this person, this person, but all of them are me. They're different aspects of me, and I get to learn about myself along the way, and I get to learn from people like Marti and amazing other actors, and you just get to play and to be different versions of yourself, and I think I better understand myself through the characters I play sometimes. I think it's probably more of a self-imposed rule that growing up I always felt that I almost had to keep it together all the time. To keep a composure all the time, to have all my ducks in a line all the time. And as an actor, again, like with the note that Warren had given me about letting go, you just sometimes are naturally not going to be in control all the time. And I think once I realized that that was a rule that I was putting on myself and that I could just discard, the world like opens up. All of a sudden, these more spontaneous, magical moments can happen, whether that's in your daily life, whether that's at your job. I mean, even if when in your relationship with yourself, it's something so important to know that it's okay not to have to be perfect all the time.
Are you ambitious?
I mean, do you have a— Ever? Oh my God, I— Yeah, animal. You're a fucking animal. I mean, but in, in an incredibly positive way. Like, you, you want to do all kinds of different things. I mean, I feel like your ambition is more toward experience. Yeah, but it's very focused. And that's awesome. I'm a very focused— I've been very focused since I was younger and definitely driven past what I think people would expect of me or even I think I'm capable of or whatnot. And sometimes I have to just take a chill pill and say no to some things. But I just— I'm a believer in like keeping lots of doors open. And I really— I'm passionate about what I'm passionate about and I think that everything can help help with everything else. The writing can help with the acting, with the, you know, just there's so many different things that I like to do, um, and I don't know why, why not, you know? I'd fought for this for what, like 6 months, 7 months? I really wanted it. And, um, I remember sitting there and, and my agent said to me, um, I have good news and bad news. Good news is you got writers. Bad news is you can't do it. And then why can't I do it?
Because it was exactly the same time as a press tour of mine, but we She did the press tour while she did our movie, so she took how many flights in and out?
I took 23 flights during this shoot.
During the filming of this movie?
Yeah.
Always knew her lines, always on time?
I— when I read the script, it was the first time, and since then it's been the only time I've ever read something that I couldn't imagine somebody else playing. And whatever it took, whether I was tired or— it didn't matter for me for this project. My mom and I are really, really close, so she would drive me to auditions and read scripts and give her opinions. But then there came a point when I verbally what I had to say, like, I love you, thank you so much for all your opinions, but I need to now kind of do some of this on my own and stop reading and, you know, asking her to read scripts. And I just became more independent, which I think regardless of whatever industry you're in, we all go through that, male, female. It's kind of like, let me do my own thing. I read this a week after I had written a chapter in my book that came out this year where I talked about my experience with eating disorders. So if that wasn't a sign that this was something I was meant to do, I don't know what is. So I read the script. I knew from reading it that it was bound to have been written by someone that went through it. I have just been pretty recently vocal about my experiences with eating disorders, and I think that that's part of my purpose, just a life mission, you know? And I think that when a life mission and a work mission can can mold together so beautifully, that's when like magic can happen if you let it. There were nerves, I mean, as an actor entering into a role anyway, and as someone who is now stepping back into the shoes that they once wore, you know, in something that wasn't a positive experience for them, yes, you would, would enter into it trepidatiously. But I saw it as something so much larger than myself, you know, I saw it as something greater than my story, and I knew that I had to do it. I just got, I instinctually, gutturally reacted so strongly, and I trust my gut. My gut's done some good things. You got a good gut. Got a good gut. I really hate gay slurs, and I will just never understand the use of those words. And yeah, I remember specifically on dates, someone using that as like a joke, and I was like, do you realize how you know how uncool that is? And I even shocked myself. It wasn't even a thing that I thought, should I say it? It just came out because of passion and I just really was against it. I think there's something so empowering about speaking out. And also, you know, sometimes they say that the moments where you're the most nervous or scared are the most, like, kind of invigorating moments in which you grow from and the most powerful. And what you gain an hour later looking back on that, Yeah, I told him. Yeah, I said something. Because those are the moments that you've obviously grown from, but also you never know, that could have made such an impact on that person because no one's actually ever called them out. And to be the first person to call someone out, that's a really strong thing. Thanks, Sabina, for your question. I'd have to say it's one from my mom, which is the quirky things that make you different are what make you beautiful. Because I think at such a young age when we're not embracing our differences, we're afraid to be different and stand out. It's really important to know that one day those things that make you different are the things that make you unique, and unique is special. Different doesn't have to be a bad thing. Different is beautiful. Hi, I'm Lily Collins. I'm as ready as I'll ever be for the challenge. Spice Girls. Wanna Be. Like living out a dream. I will gladly be the next member. I'm telling you, even the rap part I know. I think I'm pretty good at accents. I usually do a British one when I'm in Starbucks or somewhere where I'm getting coffee. I like to order a mocha frappuccino with whipped cream and extra icing. Like, I totally go like valley girl. A mocha latte, but it has to be like 102 degrees.
Thank you guys so much for watching. I made this video because Ann Chan asked me to. If there's someone you'd like me to cover in a future top 10, check out the link in the description and go and cast your vote. I'd also love to know what did you learn from this video? What lesson really hit home the hardest? What are you going to immediately apply somehow to your life or to your business? Leave it down in the comments below. I'm really curious to find out. I also want to give a quick shout out to Rebecca Coleman. Rebecca, thank you so much for picking up the e-copy of my book, Your One Word, taking that picture, posting it online. I really, really appreciate the support, and I'm so glad that you enjoyed the book. 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. I'll see you soon.
I would constantly get the note from Warren to let go more, and it's not something that I've never been told before, so I was very hyper-aware of it when he said it, and I just didn't quite realize how useful and almost kind of magical things can get when you just let go. And especially when you're doing take after take after take, you start to have to just relinquish all self-control in a way and, and really stop thinking so much about what you had planned to do. Even as an actor, you know, I know that it's all in those spontaneous moments, but you do kind of have a bit of a guideline of where you're going. But once you get to that 5th, 6th, 7th take, you have to start playing around in ways that you weren't even expecting. And it's in those moments that sometimes the most brilliant moments that would never have happened had it just been on take 1 would happen. And so I think I'm always going to take that with me. Both my mom and my dad always have encouraged me to do what I'm passionate about. And as long as you're choosing the decision because you feel it's right for you, you can't have any regrets, and no one can tell you that it's the wrong decision. Decision for you. So they always knew that I like to play dress-up and be creative, so I think it was quite inevitable that I'd be playing characters as I got older. So let me give you the one word secret to happiness. One word. This is all you need to be happy.
The most important word ever.
If you had to think of one word that's most important to you, or that sums you up, or that would be kind of like a little beacon—
Hey, Believe Nation! If you want to know what the most important one word is for Tony Robbins, Gary Vaynerchuk, Oprah Winfrey, will.i.am, and Howard Schultz, I have a very special secret video for you. Check the description for details.
