How to EMBRACE the Hard Path | Lana Del Rey's Advice in 12 Minutes

Find someone who has a life that you want and figure out how they got it. I sort of planned on having a more normal life, just doing something else, and then when I was 18, I moved to New York and just started singing at the open mic nights.

I'm always willing to put the footwork in. Like with the mixing, if it takes 8 months, I will mix for 8 months.

What's up, Believe Nation? It's Evan. My one word is believe, and I believe in you, and I want to see that great thing that you have inside of of you come out so you can help change the world. So to help you on your journey today, we're going to learn from singer and model Lana Del Rey and my take on her top 10 rules of success. Rule number 1 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 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 with yourself as well. Enjoy.

Finding your own path is not for the faint of heart. It's the harder path. It's easier to just like keep doing the same shit over and over again and then be surprised when like it's still the same, same result. Somehow that's easier than just doing something different. I mean, I never feel like I'm, like, not where I'm supposed to be, you know? Because I think no matter who I'm with, I'm always still doing my own thing. Like, I can't remember the last time I was, like, in a club or somewhere and felt like, man, I'm not supposed to be here. And same with, you know, or like being in a theater or like, you know, we saw Pink Floyd the other day. So I mean, I just And I've kind of been doing it for so long, I feel like everybody I'm friends with, everyone I know, just knows I'm just all about the music.

Find someone who has a life that you want and figure out how they got it. Read books, pick your role models wisely, find out what they did and do it.

What would you say to all the haters?

I don't think I would say anything.

When I found Eminem for the first time, he really changed my life because I didn't know that music could be intelligent. Like he was talking about his own life and like he wasn't just rhyming over music just for rhyme's sake, like he was really talking about the way that things were and so that made me think like I could also, I wouldn't rap but I could also, you know, like talk about the way that things actually were instead of just making stupid music like and to try and sell it. So I mean And also, he's a genius. I mean, he's just— he happens to be a genius. So I love him. And then of course I love Frank Sinatra just because for the— when I heard his voice for the first time, I couldn't believe it was real. It was just the most— he had like a golden voice, like a golden tone on his voice. So, you know, like Eminem was the master of lyrics, but Frank Sinatra was like the master of vocals. So I really just like the masters from every different genre.

I think one thing that really affected me was when I was 11, um, I saw Kurt Cobain singing Heart-Shaped Box on MTV. I saw like the video for it. That was something that really struck me. I think when I was younger, I knew I wanted to be a singer, but we didn't really know anyone who was a real singer, so I sort of planned on having a more normal life, just doing something else. And then when I was 18, I moved to New York and just started singing at the open mic nights and playing shows down in Williamsburg.

I've never been somebody who, like, turned away from really hard work, so, like, I'm always willing to put the footwork in. Like, with the mixing, if it takes 8 months, I will mix for 8 months. If the master doesn't come back right, like, I'll find someone else to do it. And with the personal stuff, I mean, if I feel like I'm just not getting it right, like, I'll just keep on trying different things until I feel like I'm hitting my stride.

We've read a lot about you online, some good, some bad. Have you reacted to the sort of reaction itself to your arrival?

I was reacting a lot in the beginning just because no one had ever written about me before, but I I sort of stopped reading it because it was making me upset. So I am pretty busy, and so I just try and focus on writing.

People are hearing your music and you're out playing shows and people are liking it. I don't imagine that some sniping on a hipster blog or on a broadsheet review is part of that though. Are you quite bulletproof to that criticism, do you think?

I don't know, you know, I don't think about it too much only because You know, I've been living in New York for about 7 years, and a lot of the people that I started singing with don't sing anymore, don't write anymore. So the fact that I can still do that, like come here, play shows, sing and write, you know, that's kind of a gift. That's kind of what I sort of stay focused on. Like, I keep writing. When I went back to New York and California the last 2 weeks, I got to go back into the studio and keep working. So I find that when I'm working, I It's easier to just sink into that.

The thing I love the most about singing is that I think when I grew up, I just didn't really connect to anything. Felt like everyday life was just sort of mundane, and I was really worried that I'd never feel connected to my profession or get to do anything that makes me feel really alive. And just being able to sing, and it just makes me feel like electric and lucky to be expressing myself.

Even when I'm writing for a movie or I'm writing for somebody else's project, I sort of stay true to my own aesthetic, which is kind of either rooted in jazz or maybe more of like a cinematic tone. Even though I'm adapting lyrics for, for something like this, I usually have a kind of direction that I like to stay true to melodically.

When I first started making videos, I was originally collecting vintage clips of exotic places that I considered to be beautiful and inspiring and started setting it to classical music. And then I eventually started setting those clips to my own music and slowly splicing myself in, um, turning them into music videos. I knew in my video for video games, I wanted to feature different clips of the château because it was one of the most beautiful places that we had seen in Hollywood, and it had a lot of the muted blues and greens that I was sort of inspired by for the color scheme of my video. I actually started with the footage from here and then started collecting my other footage for the video based on, I don't know, the energy and the colors that I found from vintage clips of the château back about 10 years ago. I used a collection of different clips. Some of them were, some of them were vintage clips from the '50s and '60s of certain icons or just shots of things that I considered to be really beautiful and timeless. And I also spliced in different footage of more modern clips of kids skateboarding down in Santa Monica. And also, you know, like, there's a modern-day actress that I put in the video. And I feel like all the choices I made were really— they were just personal choices. I was guided by my intuition, and I just picked things that I thought were beautiful.

I think, you know, you just don't negotiate when it comes to your work. You just For your art, you just stand totally firm and take the consequences.

I'm not a normal performer. Like, I do what I want. Like, if I feel like in a, you know, weird freaking mood and I want to perform that way, like, that's just what I do. It doesn't matter if it's on SNL, doesn't matter if I'm at Amoeba, like, for an in-store record thing. Like, I'm not gonna— I'm not gonna be like more normal just because I'm on like a national platform.

Sure.

Like, I just got off a world tour around Europe and everywhere, and like, you know, China, like, before I went on SNL. So it was sort of just a continuation of what I was already doing. But they've been, you know, they say things about me no matter what I do. Yeah, you know, it doesn't really matter about the performance. They're just gonna say—

it's like a build you up, tear you down kind of situation, right?

But you know, I'm in sort of a place where reality doesn't really, you know, matter. Like, what I actually do has nothing to to do with what they say, you know, or at least what they write about. A very quiet life, a really normal life.

Um, I do a lot of the same things every day when I'm home.

Um, I still have my same babysitting job.

I'm surprised to learn that you still babysit. Well, can you tell me a little bit about that? Like, how is this like a Like a standing job you've had for years? How often do you babysit?

I babysit twice a week.

It's just something—

when I'm here, when I'm here, it's what I do. But it's just because it's something I've been doing for a while. But I have been traveling a lot, so.

How old are the kids you babysit?

I'm like 35.

It's one.

It's just one, and he's 10.

Does he know that you have this new life?

Actually, yeah. He's like, he's very with it.

Thank you guys so much for watching. I made this video because Anastasia Stashuk asked me to. If there's a famous entrepreneur that you would like me to profile next, 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 that had the biggest impact on you? What lesson are you going to take and immediately apply it somehow in your life or in your business? Leave it in the comments below. I'm really curious to find out. I also want to give a quick shout out to Megan from the Bootstrap Boutique. Megan, thank you so much for picking up a copy of my book, Your One Word, doing the review on your YouTube channel, and posting to Twitter as well. I really, really appreciate the support, and I'm so glad that you enjoyed my 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. What makes you so giving to your fans and like— I'm sorry, I can't even talk.

Well, you know, I, I mean, I've had a long road, so I get as much from, you know, the people that come to the shows as they might get from me, you know, because, you know, being a nervous performer at first, I—

it wasn't something I ever really sought comfort in.

But then, you know, when the shows got bigger, I actually dipped into that well of You know, strength. So it's an inspiration to me too.

Okay, well, the reason why it's an inspiration to me, and I'm just gonna say this, um, a couple months ago I almost tried killing myself, and when I listened to your music, it put me in a place like no other. I would get high, I would get drunk every night, but when I listened to your music, I would just pray, and you helped me through it. So thank you so much.

I'm so glad.

Thank you.

I love you too, baby.

Thank you so much.

Are you coming in?

No, but thank you.

What's your name?

Ryan.

Ryan?

Okay, well, I'll put you on the list.

Thank you.

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.