In this interview-style video, host Evan Carmichael presents Jennifer Aniston’s personal "top‑10" rules for career success, drawing from her experiences as a high‑profile actress. Aniston emphasizes avoiding comfort zones and "blinders," choosing projects based on gut feeling, fun, and collaborative energy rather than prestige or pay. She discusses the importance of mindfulness—regular yoga and meditation—to maintain peace, reduce stress, and stay present. The conversation also touches on body‑image struggles, past yo‑yo dieting, and how she shifted to a balanced lifestyle. Aniston reflects on being typecast after Friends, the need to actively seek diverse roles, and the value of honest dialogue with managers and co‑workers. She offers advice to her 20‑year‑old self—"enjoy it"—and encourages viewers to apply her lessons, while the video ends with a brief interactive game and a call‑to‑action from Carmichael.
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You kind of really have blinders on and don't let yourself become comfortable and play it safe. You can't take on a job because, oh well, what am I gonna get? This has got to be a good one. You have to just always go by your gut.
She's an American actress, producer, and businesswoman. She gained worldwide fame for playing Rachel Green on the TV sitcom Friends. She's one of the highest-paid actresses in Hollywood. She's Jennifer Aniston, and here's my take on her top 10 rules for success. Rule number 2 is my personal favorite, and make sure to stick around all the way to the end for some special bonus clips. Also, as Jennifer is talking, if she says something that really resonates with you, please leave it down in the comments below and put quotes around it so that other people can be inspired. And also, when you write it down, it's much more likely to stick in your head too. Enjoy!
I think I was getting stuck myself, feeling nervous to take a chance and, you know, forgetting the fact that I'm an actor and I can play different parts. And I've been on— I used to do character shows or sketch comedy shows where I would do hundreds of characters. And all of a sudden you get very safe and very— you can feel stuck. And not only do you feel stuck, but the world sort of sticks you somewhere. They put you in a little box and in a category. And so that's what I learned from it was don't listen. You kind of really have blinders on and don't let yourself become comfortable and play it safe because you'll burn out. And I want to do this for a while. I want to be around for a little while longer.
When a script comes to you, when somebody's sending you a script, I mean, are you looking character first? Are you looking story first? Are you looking for the whole project? And how—
The whole kit and caboodle. I'd say the character, the story, and am I gonna have a really good time? Am I gonna connect to it? Doesn't have to be real serious or this or that. Can be a big blockbuster hit comedy and— I just want it to be really fun and enjoyable. The outcome's always gonna be the out— you never know what the outcome's gonna be. And you can't do it for— you can't take on a job because, "Oh, well, what am I gonna get? This has gotta be a good one." You have to just always go by your gut and if you're gonna enjoy yourself And have a good time creatively and work with people. Time saver. Don't work with angry people. Don't work with pain-in-the-ass actors. Don't work with, you know, get all your information and say, yeah, life's too short rule. That falls under that. I will move on. You and I both believe that you call things into your life and that things happen as they should when you're ready for it. Is to happen. The other day, I was doing yoga. Mm-hmm. And with my girlfriend. And we were— we finished. We were sort of sitting there, just sort of stretching. And I looked over at her, and I said, you know what? I have to say, I'm feeling a feeling I have— I don't know if I've ever actually felt before. And that is that I don't want to be anywhere other than where I am right now, sitting across from you. And that means— OK. You know, I'm not— I'm not sitting somewhere dwelling on the past, or I'm not fretting or, you know, obsessing about something in the future or something that was— you know, it's just— it was a feeling of total peace. And I love that. How did you get there? Because you had to have— you had to shed some tears. You had to have some moments where you were like, oh my God. Me? Not shed a tear? Yeah, please. Yeah. So, you know, although I did not burst into tears at the opening of that article, by the way. I'll just say that. But anyway. So you shed some tears. I shed some tears, but meaning, you know, it was— it's sort of that the living in the moment, in the now, as they say. In all the self-help books— because if I had a dollar for every book that was sent my way, I could have probably paid for this studio. But, you know, I— You would have needed $2 for every book. $2 for every book? OK. But if you had $2 for every book, then— For every book. Yeah. So, but yeah, you can read the books. But you can read them and you can sort of intellectualize it. But the truth is, and you sit there going, well, how do I do that? You know, and you're frustrated. And then you get down on yourself because you're not there yet. And then you just realize one day it's just— it's happened. It's collected in your, you know, your cellular memory. And that's— and then one day you're sitting there with your friend doing yoga and you go, oh, I get it. I'm OK. I get it. You know, we all have varying degrees of loss and sadness and pain in our lives. And it's a necessity, honestly, because then how would we appreciate the good times and the hopeful times and all of the abundance that life has, if you go and grab it? But it's a personal choice to get up and move on and be better. I was saying the other day to somebody, you know, I think all actors who are, you know, maybe gratefully successful Sometimes if you're identified with something like Friends, you almost feel like you're an actor in a closet always trying to like, I wanna do more, you know what I mean? And it's always, there's always a little bit of a struggle and a challenge. But I find that exciting, you know what I mean? And to keep pushing myself and to keep challenging myself and taking risks. I think it's important not to get lazy and stay safe. You have to understand, when you have nothing to compare it to, you, you, and you just get to go to work and you see so many of your friends who are not working, I'm just grateful to be working and, and doing movies that I found fun and entertaining. And some were beloved and some were not. And, you know, and then it wasn't until I got really a lot— started getting older where I realized, I think having gone— done The Good Girl it made me really sort of realize, "Oh, I have a choice of what I can do." You know, I really can explore other things and not just sit back and just wait for what's handed to you, you know? So I think I started back then making— being more conscious and vocal with my managers and agents about stuff, you know, areas that I wanted to explore. Now you've been into yoga for years and you also meditate. Yes. So what are some of the biggest changes that that has brought to your life? You know, I— it's there, it's, it's kind of not one thing you can point at or put a finger on. It's just, it's just there's— I just can tell you that I feel it just, it's like a kickstart for your day. It just centers you and things, your stress levels are just down. And you find yourself interacting in the world much easier and better and in a calmer way. And there's just a peaceful joy that sort of comes over. And you can't— I don't know how or why, it's no rhyme or reason. And I just know that if I go through a phase where I slip off and I'm not as religious with it, I feel the difference. I just feel it. Well, and for people that are maybe a little bit intimidated about taking up meditation, what can you tell them? Just, you don't have, there's nothing to do wrong. You can't do it wrong. So there's, you could go and take a class if you want. You can have someone come and, you know, give you training in it, or you can just find something that works for you. You can just listen to beautiful music and just find gratitude in whatever is here or in what you have. All I can say is you can't do it, you can't mess it up.
Have you ever, again, no names.
No names.
But have you ever accepted a project and then been into it a couple of weeks and said, not to the world, not to me, but to your best friend, "Mmm, I don't think this is what I expected it to be." Yes, I have.
All right.
All right, so now no names are deal.
But I'm gonna actually name a name.
No.
I was like, that would just not happen.
But how do you get through that then? I mean, that's—
How do you get through it?
Yeah, because you're 3 weeks into it, and then you've got another 3 or 4 or 6 weeks of shooting.
You make the best of it. You do the— you just take care of your job. Yeah. You know, and you talk and have as much of a dialogue with them as you possibly can.
Yeah.
And, you know, just get in there. Get very involved. Sometimes you can just sit back and just do your job. And sometimes it's important that you kind of be a bit more collaborative, you know. I was always a yo-yo dieter. I was a, you know, a chubbier kid. But did you do drastic things to diet? No. Oh, was I like bulimic or anorexic or— no. But I was a dietaholic, definitely. Grapefruit diet. I remember there was the watermelon diet. There was the white grain of rice diet. Jennifer! Jennifer! But these days, she says it's different. She works out 3 to 4 days a week and has learned to make eating about life now, not a reaction to the past. A father who broke up the family and a volatile mother. I want to say to all these young girls, there are so many struggles that everybody has, especially when it's like you don't know what you're filling up. Are you filling up a void? Is it your father leaving? Is it, is it your Is it that I will never be that thin? I will never be as beautiful as you, whoever you are? And I think once you become— once you figure out your, um, you know, who you are and who— what you love about yourself, I think it all kind of falls into place eventually. All right, so here's how we play. We're gonna take turns acting out clues to the other person, and they have to guess the word in the monitor. So there's gonna be a word behind me. I can't see it. We each have 1 minute to guess it. To get the other person to guess as many as we can. And you're the guest. I'm going to let you go first. OK. And so it's here. And I'll have to guess as many in 1 minute as I can. OK. OK. Game is queuing up. Game is queuing up. Game is queuing up. Get ready. Oh, it's like— OK. Jump rope. Hula hoop. Hula hoop. Oh! Oh! Oh! Oh. Snow angel. Snow angel. Oh my God. Oh God. Twerking. You're a monkey or you're a gorilla? You're running man, running. Cheering, cheerleader. Oh. Oh, God.
Thank you guys so much for watching. I made this video because Ursula asked me to. So if there's a famous entrepreneur that you want me to profile next, leave it down in the comments below and I'll see what I can do. I'd also love to know what did Jennifer say that had the biggest impact on you? What lesson are you going to take from this and immediately apply it to your life or your business? Leave it down in the comments. I'm going to join in the discussion. I also want to give a quick shout out to MD McGill. Thank you so much for picking up a copy of my book, Year One Word, and taking that awesome picture. On what looks like an amazing, sunny, beautiful day. I hope you enjoy the read, and thank you for sharing. 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 would you say to your 20-year-old self, though? Oh, my 20-year-old self. Who's cute, by the way. Yeah. I would say, enjoy it.
Oh yeah, that's good.
That's— I really— It's true. But it's true. This is— it's— Enjoy it. Enjoy it. Yeah. This is really— Don't fret so much. No fretting. This is a really wonderful thing that we get to do to make people laugh and entertain people. And it's— we're lucky. So enjoy that and listen to people when they when they tell you how much joy you bring to their living rooms or their movie— Pay attention. Pay attention.
