The Power of BELIEF - #OneRule

Believe, believe, believe, believe, believe, believe.

Hello, Believe Nation! Today we're gonna talk about the power of belief. And as always, guys, as you're watching, if you hear something that really inspires you, please leave it down in the comments below. Put quotes around it as well so other people can be inspired. And when you write it down, it's much more likely to sink in for yourself as well.

Enjoy! I want you to look at something right now. Think of some major goal you want, or maybe it's one you're already working on, and you have experienced a lot of setbacks, a lot of defeats. You've experienced a lot of disappointment. Maybe you've already given up, and maybe you just need a little fire, a little encouragement to get back in the game again. Here's what I want you to look at. There are winners, there are losers, and there are people who have not discovered how to to win. And all they need is some coaching. All they need is some help and assistance, just a little support. All they need is some insight or different strategy or plan of action to make some adjustments that will open up the key to a whole new future for them, that will give them access to the unlimited power that they have within themselves. That's all that they need. So what I want you to do is think about something you want for you that's real for you, that's important for you, that will give your life some special meaning and power. And I don't even want you to say, 'I can do that.' I don't want you to assume that. See, 5 years ago when I started out in this area, I would not have been able to make the mental leap that I would be up to where I am right now. I don't want you to begin to just psych yourself out. No, no. I want you to be able to say something to yourself that will enable you to maintain a level of integrity with yourself. That when you say this, even when you face tremendous setbacks, it will be a benchmark to keep you in the game, to keep you moving forward and experimenting and readjusting your strategy and your plan of action, continuously looking for ways to win. To win. So what is that something? When you got an idea you want to move on, you might not have the money, you might not have the education, you might not have the support or the resources you need. What is that something that can keep us going, that will enable us to act on our dream? What's one of those keys that will begin to help us to discover the secrets to our dream? Here's what I want you to repeat after me, please, with power and conviction. Say, it's possible. It's possible. That's all I want you to do when you look at your dream. Just say to yourself every day, it's possible. Just say that every day to yourself, it's possible. Because what does that do? See, it begins to change your belief system. See, the way in which we operate, ladies and gentlemen, it's a manifestation of what we believe what's possible for us. Whatever you've done up to this point, all that it really is is a duplication, it's a reproduction of what you believe subconsciously that you deserve and what's possible for your life. Before April 1954, the common belief, the universal belief, because it had been tried again and again and again and people had failed, the belief was that man was not physically capable of breaking the 4-minute barrier, that he could not run a mile in less than 4 minutes. That was the belief on the planet. It had never been done. But here's what happened, ladies and gentlemen. Roger Bannister came along and he broke the 4-minute barrier. Now here's what's significant about that. Since that time, up to this day, over 20,000 people have done it, including high school kids. What changed? 20,000 people, what changed? Here's what happened when they got on the track. They knew it had been done, and because they knew it had been done, there was a new belief about this barrier, about this goal that was unreachable. And those 20,000 people got in the race believing Knowing in their heart that someone had done it, that it's possible that they could do it. And I'm saying that if you know anybody that had some goal, some dream, something they wanted to do and they did it, then I'm saying that you know in your heart that if someone has done it, then you can do it. It's possible. And that if someone can make their dream become a reality, that it's possible that you can make your dream become reality.

First day I went to school, I was in a classroom. By the time I was, you know, 6 years old— didn't go to school until I was 6 years old because I lived with my grandmother at that time. But she had taught me how to read, read the Bible, Bible stories. So I went into the classroom knowing Nicodemus, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. I could spell all of those words. I thought I was, you know, I was preaching to my kindergarten teacher. So she was like, who is this girl? So I was never placed in an environment where I was ever made to feel inferior. I always felt like I'm the smartest kid in this room. And because I was never placed in a— never put in a position where I was made to feel less than, I didn't grow up feeling less than, you know.

And the rest, as they say, is history.

And the rest, they say, is history. And it's all about what you believe. You know, I say this to when I do something on my network now called Life Class, the fundamental key to success is what you believe is true for yourself, not what you want, not what you desire. It's what do you believe. You know, you can say, I want to be the most successful person in the world, but if you believe that there's a glass ceiling and you're going to have a hard time kicking through that glass ceiling, you will be defined by the glass ceiling. And the great beauty and gift of my life is that I was never defined by the box that other people tried to put me in.

Stripping that all back to the start of your career, a man with a dream, you know, training in the gym day in, day out. If somebody said to you, you'll have or you'll be as successful as you are now, what would you have said back then?

I believe you. That's what I would have said. Because I did believe. I believed in it. I had very few people who told me that. I had a small, small, small group of people that would tell me something like that. Other than that, it was just me telling myself. So if someone came up to me and told me that all the way back then, I'd say, you're damn right.

One of the things that's so fascinating to me is that Amazon and Jeff Bezos have pursued what might be described as a very asset-heavy business model. They're buying airplanes. They want to own the entire supply chain from beginning to end. And Alibaba has effectively an asset-light business. It is very much in terms of the retail piece of this, the opposite. You don't want to own the warehouses. You don't want to own the logistics companies. How do you think about that? Is Jeff Bezos right or are you right? And is there, is there going to be a meeting in the middle?

I hope both are right. And because the world can never have one model. If the world has only one correct model, the world is too boring. We need to have all kinds of models and the people who do the model should believe in the model. And I believe what I do. Right. The difference between Amazon and us, Amazon is more like an empire. Everything they should control themselves, buy and sell. And our philosophy is that we want to be an ecosystem. Our philosophy is to empower others to sell, empower others to, to service, empower, making sure the other people are more powerful than us, making sure with our technology, our innovation, our partners, our 10 million small business sellers, they can compete with Microsoft, IBM. Our philosophy is that we think using internet technology, we can make every company become Amazon.

Yeah, I think if you don't actually believe what you're doing is really important, if you don't derive satisfaction from what you're doing, then you will not be able to sustain all of the bad things that happen in the incredibly long period of time that the bad things happen over. And so the only motivation that I have seen work for people over a long period of time is enjoyment in what they're doing and an intense belief that it matters, and ideally liking the people that they go to work with every day. But the— I think the reasons that a lot of people— and by the way, it's totally cool when people start off saying, well, I want to make money, or I want to be famous. I think a lot of people start that way and they don't like to admit it, but pretty quickly, or at least in the first few years, I think a lot of people find a deeper mission for why they do what they do. They do, and that drives them then for the rest of the time they work.

What you represent now for all those kids out there trying to make it in whatever field it is, whether it's music or something else, what words do you have for them in terms of how you've lived your life and you've made it to this point? Because you're not supposed to be here right now.

No, no.

What advice do you have for them in terms of their lives and their journey?

Lace up.

Lace up.

What does lace up mean for, say, if it's the casual person, They might be seeing you for the first time on this show. What is lace up?

I mean, it means what you want it to mean, but to me, in a day and age like this, it means put both feet on that fucking ground, lace up, get ready to face the world, go out there, take it on, and turn a grain of sand into a diamond. You know what I'm saying?

I think they love that answer right there.

They're definitely laced up.

See, that's what it's about, man.

It's about believing in something, you know what I'm saying? Like having faith in something, man. Like that's what it is. Like we're not trying to hear some, we're not trying to hear some, you know, president in a suit who, you know, can't even live his own life, you know, like because he's so worried about public perception. We can't relate to that, you know what I'm saying? Like they want to see someone doing what they're doing, living how they're living, coming from where they're coming from, and like making something better of themselves than just sitting on their ass, you know what I'm saying? That's why they're screaming, because they see that in us. And that's what I'm coming with on this album. I'm just gonna be the people's champ. You know what I mean? I don't wanna hear some reverend tell me I have to believe in an organized religion. I don't wanna hear some president tell me what he's gonna do and not gonna do, because they never do it. I don't wanna hear some teacher put a limit on where my education could take me. You know what I'm saying? You want to teach me to, you know, go and fix lights in the house, but you don't want to tell me that I can take my own career into my own hands and be an entrepreneur and come up with something like this? They didn't teach you you could do this.

Yeah.

I'm just not— I'm not scared, man. I'm ready to step up and be a leader for this generation and be a voice for this generation. And all these people can act like they're talking for these kids, but it's just an act. Like, I'm scared. I'm still one of those kids, man. Like, this means the world to me, and that's what this album is about. And I don't— I just know things are gonna change, man.

It's—

I feel it. I feel it. I believe in, like, I don't know.

If you wanna be a fireman, go and do it. If you wanna be a ballet dancer, then go and be a ballet dancer. If you don't believe in yourself, then no one else will believe in you. And, yeah, it's an important— it's so important for me for people to understand that I wanna be an inspiration. I was bullied, as kind of 9 out of 10 children are, and I want it— I want to be a role model. And I think now I'm in the kind of limelight to go, it's okay. And it's the special people that are bullied, you know, the ones that have something magical. And it's something that you can turn into a positive and not let it eat you away. And there'll always be someone that says you can't do it. There'll always be someone that says I don't believe in you. There'll always be someone that says I do believe in you. And there's always someone that says you can do it. And that's the people that you have to focus However much people try and put me down, which they do, and they say, you know, "Every time I hear your song, I want to burn my ears," I say, "Who's laughing now?" My name is Alex Parrish.

Protecting our country had always been my dream. Quantico was my first audition. I knew I had to go into this room and read these lines in front of all these people, but I was so nervous before I went in. So I went to the bathroom, I remember, before I went in, and I looked in the mirror, and it's so stupid, definitely shame. But I talked to myself and I said, what's wrong with you? You've played the most difficult characters in, in, in the most complicated movies. I tossed my hair a little bit, felt great, and walked out, did my bit, and got the job.

What's your message for viewers out there about following their dreams?

I would say, uh, if you truly believe in something and you really have a passion If you have a passion for something, then go for it. I think there's a lot of obstacles that you have to go through, and nothing's ever given to you, and it takes a lot of hard work and dedication, but if you really believe in it, then you should do it.

And so you really have to believe the internet's going to be mainstream, a lot of people are going to get out there and use it, and that they're going to be willing to pay for some content.

Is that the operating idea that you have?

Well, each of these businesses is an entrepreneurial business. The overreaching theme is that, yes, I believe in the internet, I believe it'll get increasingly popular, and we're doing some neat new things to take advantage of that.

You've got a lot of cash on hand. Yes.

Right.

All right.

It puts you in an enviable position. You can experiment with a lot of entrepreneurial ideas and see what sticks and what flies.

Well, we're, we're in business to make money. And—

but the other thing is providing such a cash flow for you.

Well, it all belongs to the shareholders. We're not dilettantes. No, I know. We are business people. And it is true that if you find an idea that requires 3 or 4 years of improvement and patience and really sticking with it, that we're very good at that. Take Windows, which we bet our company on. Everybody doubted that would succeed. IBM did not support us in that. It took longer than we expected, over 4 years before finally graphical interface got popular, and now people take it for granted. It's part of every personal computer and you just, you just expect it to be there. That was one of the grand successes of the company. In the same way, we're betting on the internet, that our tools there will be popular and that a few of these content plays that we've decided to get involved in, that the scale and the users will make those into great businesses.

Thank you guys so much for watching. I'd love to know what did you think of this video? Which clip resonated the most with you and why? Also, is there anything that you want to share about the power of belief that will help the other members of Believe Nation? Leave it down in the comments below and I'm going to join in the discussion. I also want to give a quick shout out to Jerry Crawford. Jerry, thank you so much for picking up a copy of my book, Your One Word. It really, really, really means a lot to me and I hope you're enjoying it. So 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.