In this four‑minute motivational segment, host Evan Carmichael (Speaker A) introduces the theme “Seek Out Excellence” and hands the discussion to Michael Moritz (Speaker B). Moritz advises deliberately entering environments—organizations, groups, or circles of admired individuals—where one can learn intensively, noting that such settings expand horizons and provide a concrete sense of excellence. Carmichael expands on this by arguing that personal growth stalls when one remains in a comfortable, unchanging environment; change is painful but necessary. He emphasizes surrounding oneself with high‑performing people and consistently consuming elite resources (books, videos, his “Top 10” and “Espresso” series) to gradually shift mindset. He illustrates the approach with a team member, Alex, who watches the Top 10 series daily during lunch, absorbing lessons from icons like Steve Jobs, Oprah Winfrey, and Warren Buffett, leading to incremental mindset improvement. Carmichael concludes with a call‑to‑action, asking viewers to share how they seek out excellence, reinforcing the message that consistent exposure to excellence fuels personal transformation.
Good morning, Believe Nation. Today's message is Seek Out Excellence. Over to you, Michael Moritz. I wake up every morning with espresso to keep me going.
I think it helps if you try and enter an environment where you think you can learn a lot. And whether that's inside an organization, doesn't have to be a company, it can be some other organization, or around people that you particularly admire that you can learn a lot from. And I think that just helps expand one's horizons and also gives the individual a sense of what excellence is really like. If you pick the right setting or the right set of individuals and done right, it's a transformative set of experiences and massively expands your horizons. And the sense that you have of all the wonderful array of opportunities that lie in front of you.
I love that he brought up environment here because until you change your environment, you're going to keep getting the same thing that you've been getting. You're not really going to hit that next plateau until you change your environment because your environment is too comfortable right now. Because to get the mindset that you need to be able to play up here instead of playing here, you need to change the the way you think, and that's painful. Change equals pain for a lot of people. And so unless you're constantly surrounding yourself with people who guide you towards that change, you're gonna start and stop and start and stop and start and stop. And so I love the point of hanging around people who are trying to build things that are excellent. I think you can also accomplish it through your routine, through the resources you consume. I've talked about this a lot on the channel, especially recently. I think you can do it from the books that you read. I think you can do it from the videos you watch. The reason why I made the Top 10 series and the Espresso series was for me and for you guys to be around super successful entrepreneurs who you may never meet, but hopefully a little bit of their magic rubs off on you to start changing the way that you think. If you just watch one video, it may not spark enough of a change, but if you do it consistently, over time you'll see how much of your attitudes and your belief and your mindset have shifted. One of the things that I do with the leaders on my team that I'm training and I want to build up to be visionaries is I have them watch the Top 10 series every day. So Alex, who's been on the channel, who's with me here at Toronto Dance Salsa— Hi, my name is Alex. —when he's eating his lunch, he's watching the Top 10 series because I want him to learn from Steve Jobs and Martha Stewart and Oprah Winfrey and Walt Disney and Warren Buffett. And even though he's never gonna meet Steve Jobs or Walt Disney, he's spending a little bit of time with them or with someone of their caliber every single day, and that shifts His mindset, slowly, slowly, slowly, every single day he's getting a little bit better. He's starting to think a little bit different. He's starting to surround himself with excellence, and that turns him into the Alex that he can be. And I want the same thing for you. I want you to surround yourself with resources, ideas that force you to be more excellent than who you are right now, and do it consistently, because that consistency will lead to change. So the question of the day today is, how do you seek out excellence? Leave it in the comments below. I'm gonna join the discussion. 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 with espresso, keep me going.
