Evan Carmichael argues that greatness is a mindset, not a rare gift, and that limiting beliefs are what stop people from achieving big goals. He uses a Nike ad of a chubby kid running as a metaphor: most people quit when they can't get past the driveway, but the difference is how you see yourself in the mirror. Pick one word to guide your daily actions toward your goal.
Chapters
Greatness is not this wonderful, esoteric, elusive, godlike thing. It's not a feature that only the special among us will ever taste. It's something that truly exists in all of us. All of us. All of us. All of us.
Do you have the mindset for greatness? This isn't hokey fluffy BS advice. If you're laughing at this point or about to close the video or think you know better, then you need this video more than anyone else. You're not hitting your big goals and you clicked this video for a reason, so at least give yourself a chance and finish it. All the advice and books in the world will be useless to you until you fix your mindset. Your limiting mindset is holding you where you are. One of the most powerful ads Nike has ever created doesn't feature Michael Jordan or LeBron James. It pictures a chubby kid huffing and puffing as he's running down an open road. Nike's ads usually feature great athletes, physical specimens at the peak of their careers who have already achieved extreme success. Extraordinary success. And here's this fat kid running, and he's great? Yes, because he took the first step. He started doing. Whoever made this ad for Nike is a genius and needs a raise. This ad speaks directly to your mindset for greatness. When you're finding your greatness, you start at the beginning. Everyone starts at the beginning. And the beginning is really hard. Just taking the first step is hard. Maybe this kid wants to be a distance runner and win an Olympic medal. He tells his friends and family and they all laugh at him. Classic little man behavior. You wanna what? Um, have you looked at yourself in the mirror? This fat kid is you. You have a big goal and you're just getting started on it. You don't have the skills. You don't have the training, you don't have the experience, you don't have all the answers. So you're going to make a lot of mistakes and you won't make very much progress right away. The difference is going to be how you see yourself when you look in the mirror. Do you honestly deep down see a future Olympic runner? Or do you just see a fat kid? If you just see a fat kid staring back at you, then you'll never reach your goals until you change your mindset. Maybe your first run is only to the edge of the driveway. That's okay. Most people quit here. It's too hard. I'll never make it. What was I thinking? Man, this was a stupid idea. Understand that every successful person was once this fat kid when they got started. And as with any skill, they learned, practiced, and got better. Consistently, they found their greatness. They didn't let the little man hold them back. They believed in themselves, so they succeeded. What do you see in the mirror? If you see greatness, you're ready for your One Word.
