Conan O'Brien says young people chasing fame should go where the work they love is being made, even in a small role like making coffee, and stay there without ego. Showing up where the action happens is the core of success. Talent alone won't produce results; consistent creation and daily prolific action build skill and visibility.
Good morning, Believe Nation! Today's message is Get in the Arena. Over to you, Conan O'Brien.
What astounds me is how many young people come up to me and say, Conan, someday I'm gonna be on your show. And I say, me too. What do you— oh, what is it you do? Yeah, they don't know. That's the crazy That's the craziest thing. Most people, it's the Paris Hilton phenomenon. They just want to be famous. Exactly. And they've actually seen it work. They've seen a number— they've seen someone get incredibly famous for just being famous. Um, so that's a little unsettling sometimes. But mostly, uh, what I've noticed, or what I would say to people, is you've got to go to where they're making the thing that you like. And then work there in any capacity. You know, if you have to get coffee for somebody, if you have to hold a cable, if you have to stand there and volunteer, go to where they're making the thing that you— that moves you, that gets you excited, and try and get close to it. Uh, and I mean, I remember for years I was aware that I'm not doing the thing that is going to be my life's work. but I'm close. I couldn't even tell you exactly what it was, but I knew I was close. Do you know what I mean? I knew when I was a writer at Saturday Night Live, this isn't quite it, but I'm close. I knew when I was a writer on The Simpsons, this is further away from it than I was at Saturday Night Live. I knew that I liked being around the live performing or the, you know, so I knew when I was close. I just, and that's what I tell them, is just go there and don't have an ego about it. There's so many channels now, so many stations. That's exactly what I tell them. And just get in the arena is the idea. I mean, if you get it, you're saying 99% of it is getting in the arena. Get in there and do it. And eventually it's just the Brownian movement of molecules. Eventually you getting in there and doing, putting yourself out there. If you have something to offer, someone's gonna see it at some point and you're off and running.
I get this at least every day, at least every single day, somebody out there in Believe Nation leaves a comment on one of my videos that says, "one day you're going to profile me in your top 10." And listen, I love it. I would love nothing more than for you guys to have such a big impact on the world that people are shouting your name, that people are tearing down the walls to get to me to say, "Evan, you need to profile this person." That would make me so happy that you're out there having that kind of impact. But having the goal isn't enough. For all of you who have at home this goal list of everything you're going to accomplish, Having the goal is not enough. You have to do the work. Because you could be talented at whatever it is you do, you have genius-level talent at something, but unless you're out there doing the work, you're never gonna get the results that you're after. That goal sheet is just gonna stay a goal sheet for the rest of your life until you start taking action. Look at me, I could be the best in the world at making motivational videos to help inspire entrepreneurs. Maybe that's what I have genius-level talent at. If I was not out there creating videos for you guys, then that genius just stays within me. And for a lot of you guys, that genius will die within you. For a lot of you guys, that genius will never be brought into the world. You'll never have the impact that you want to have. And somebody with far less talent than you will have a much bigger impact than you because they are out there doing the work. They're out there in the arena. I'm here making videos for you guys 5 times a day. I'm doing the work and it helps me get better every time I do it. You need to be prolific in the creation of your work as well. You need to not just get in the arena once a week or once a month. You gotta get into the arena every single day and fight and grind and learn and improve and get better and beat on your craft until you are one of the best in the world. Until you're having that impact that you wanna have, and then you're able to cross those things off the list. So I love the big thinking, I love the goals, I love that you wanna get on My Top 10, I love that you wanna be a millionaire, or whatever it is that you've set for your list of goals. But I want you to actually start hitting your goals. I don't want you to be in the same place that you are next year, making a new set of goals, and the exact same ones that you had last year because you didn't cross any of them off the list. And that comes from you actually getting into the arena and doing it and doing it and doing it. You have to take action because talent alone is not enough. So the question of the day today is, are you getting into the arena enough? Leave it in the comments below. I'm gonna join in the discussion. Thank you guys so much for watching. Have an amazing day. Continue to believe, or whatever your one word is, and I'll see you again tomorrow morning for another shot Aventpresso.
