How Quentin Tarantino Almost Broke Hollywood with a Video Store Job

Good morning, Believe Nation! Today's message is get out of Loserville. Over to you, Quentin Tarantino.

I got a, uh, you know, I started working at this video store. It's pretty much what you're talking about around that time, and And it was great at first, because I'd always hated day jobs and stuff. And so I got a day job, and it ended up being pretty good. But admittedly, I was there for 5 years. At a certain point, it was a narcotic. All right? I didn't have to keep pursuing my dreams. Because it's not what I want to do, but it's sort of, kind of close. And if I didn't have an artist's soul burning in me, I could have made myself happy with that. If I didn't have an artist's soul burning to get out, I could have— you know, walked backwards a couple steps and just done that. And that would have been a fulfilling— well, to anybody else, it would have been a fulfilling life. It wouldn't have been for me because I would have known I would have had something to say that I didn't get a chance to say. But it did put me to sleep for a while. And I've always just thought— I mean, what really got everything kind of truly going for me— you could point out a lot of different things, but the bottom line is the fact that I realized that even the group people I hung around with. They were all great, great, great fellas and great gals. But it was easy for me to think that I was doing a lot because I was doing more to try to move myself forward than they were. But that's not— yeah, OK, I'm a big fish in a puddle. So what? All right, they're not doing anything. All right? So yeah, I'm doing more than them. I realized that actually I need to get my ass out to Hollywood and meet other people who are, you know, like, in my category or working a little higher. And I should be the weakest link in my chain that I have, and that'll make me be stronger. It'll make me run faster. I mean, like, an analogy I've always used is, all right, if you run the 100-yard dash with people that can't run as fast as you, yeah, you'll win. Hands down, you know that. But if you run with people much faster than you, all right, yeah, you might come in last every single time, but your time will be better because they're making you run all the faster. They're making— they're making you dig down just a little bit more. Doesn't matter that you won, your time is faster. And that's what I knew I had to do. I had to get out of Loserville and throw myself into a place where, like, this is what fuckers do for a living.

I love this message, and it's one that I resonate deeply with because it comes back to the environment. And you hear this this on my channel over and over and over again. The environment that you surround yourself with matters, and it holds you where you are. And to his point, you know, it's great that you're the best in your circle, but that doesn't mean a lot. That doesn't mean you're going to go off and change the world and have a huge impact. And it's something that I struggle with because a lot of the people in my life, a lot of the, the friends that I have, they think I'm doing great. They're like, Evan, man, you're doing so well, you're on fire, you know. And I think like, I need someone to push me, right? Like, I'm happy with what I've done, but I need to do more, right? And who's pushing me to do more? And I think that's something that's really missing in my environment. And I didn't solve it by going to Hollywood. I solved it by creating the Top 10 series and creating this Entpresso series and surrounding myself with huge entrepreneurs and game changers and revolutionaries and people with amazing ideas and visionaries. And I see what they're doing, and I consider them to be part of my environment. And every single day I'm watching videos from people who inspire me to do more, where I look at what they're doing and then I look at what I'm doing and I realize, man, I am just a tiny fish, right? I have done nothing compared to most of the people that I look up to and I try to surround myself with. And so yeah, if I was in a race with them, I would come in last, but my time would be better. And so I think it's such a great analogy and such a great thought process to look at the people around you and are they pushing to be better? You know, are they challenging you? Are they saying that, you know, it's great what you've done so far, but you could be more? Do you have people who believe in you more than you believe in yourself and push you to be that best version of yourself? And if you don't, then you need to find it. You know, you need to first eliminate the little man from your life, eliminate the haters and the negative people, but then you still are left with a bunch of people who support you and who love you, who think you're great, but they don't push you to be better. And without people pushing you to be better, then you get stuck in an okay environment. You get stuck being the big fish in a puddle, right? And so having people around you or creating an environment that pushes you to do more by reading books, by watching videos, by, you know, reading magazines, and by, you know, surrounding yourself with ideas from people who are doing amazing things, amazing things, changing that environment. Maybe it means leaving your city. Maybe it means going to a place where there is more action. But not being satisfied with the environment that you currently have around you and ask yourself, is this environment great, right? Am I constantly getting better? Am I being pushed by the people around me? Because you can't do great things unless you're surrounded by greatness. So the question of the day today is, are you stuck in Loserville? Deep, kind of heart-searching answer on that one. Leave in the comments below, really curious to find out. Thank you guys so much for watching. Have an amazing day, continue to believe, and I'll see you again tomorrow morning for another shot of espresso.

I wake up every morning, espresso keep me going.