Unlock Your GENIUS: Shine With True Talent

Good morning, Believe Nation. My name is Evan Carmichael. My one word is believe, and I believe that entrepreneurs will solve all of the world's major problems. So to help you on your journey, today's message is shine. Over to you, Tupac Shakur. I wake up every morning, espresso keep me going. I wake up every morning.

I can't explain why I shine and no one else shines. I think everybody shines in different different things. And a lot of things I can't do. I can't play basketball like every other black person in America, but I can act. I know how to go to that true spot in myself because I'm there every day. I can be me. I can be whoever because I'm true to me. I can go to neutral easily. A lot of people, black, white, Mexican, young or old, fat or skinny, have a problem being true to theyself. They have a problem looking in the mirror and looking directly into their own souls. The reason I sell 6 million records, the reason I could go to jail and come out without a scratch, the reason I could walk around, the reason I am who I am today is because I can look directly into my face and find my soul. It's there. It's not sold. I didn't sell it. It's still within me. I still feel it. My heart is still connected to my body. So I could— any character, I'm gonna bring that intensity, that truth, that honesty to it because I have to repay for that blessing from Black Jesus, from God. I have to pay for that by shining. If he give you the voltage and you waste it, that's the curse. He gave me the voltage, I'mma shine. It's not mine, it's from God. It's God. Not that it's so special that nobody got it, but all of our gifts and blessings and our strengths and our weaknesses come from God, come from Black Jesus, or whoever comes from within you, you know what I mean? So It's not really tricky. It's— everybody can do it if they just can go to that spot. I guess all the things that happened to me in my life allow me to go there easier.

I believe that everybody has genius-level talent at something. Everybody has genius-level talent at something. People just don't know what it is. People just coast. They sit on their talent or they never even discover it. I like to say that Michael Jordan is not the greatest basketball player of all time, but the greatest basketball player of all time is a manager at Starbucks. Because he didn't chase his basketball dreams, or because he never even picked up a basketball, right? And so how many people sit on their ambitions, sit on their dreams, sit on their desires, and don't actually take the action? You could have been Michael Jordan in what you did, but instead you're doing this thing that you hate. That's most people. They wake up and they drive to go work for something they don't like, in a job that they don't— that doesn't maximize their talents. They work with people who who don't respect them as much as they should, and they do that every single day for the rest of their lives. That's what most people wake up to do, and that's really sad. But it's nobody else's fault besides your own. I believe it's your responsibility to go and find the thing that you have genius-level talent at that you can shine with. And some of you know it. Some of you know, like, I could be the best in the world, or among the best in the world at this. You know it, but you're just not taking enough action on it. You're not committing enough to it. You're not practicing hard enough to get to where you want to go. Michael Jordan had talent, but he practiced. He worked harder than anybody on the Bulls as well. You got to own your craft and practice and work it every single day. So some of you know what you could have the potential to be great at, but you're not putting in the work to get there. You're coasting. You reach a certain level, you're coasting because it's easy for you to do that level. You don't have to put a lot of practice and preparation into it. You know, you have other responsibilities, and so you kind of coast in on this one thing that you're talented at. Some of you don't even know. Some of you have no idea what you're talented at. You have no idea what you're genius level, Michael Jordan level at. And so if that's you, then you need to explore. Like that manager at Starbucks, if he never picked up a basketball, he would never know he could be better than Michael Jordan. So you have to explore, you have to say yes, you have to try things. If you have no idea what your passion or your purpose is, then say yes to almost anything. You know, as long as it's legal, as long as it doesn't cause bodily harm, you know, there's a few criteria, but in general, say yes to everything. It's something I still try to adopt today. I say yes to new experiences, say yes to trying out new things, say yes to going to new countries, say yes to trying new food. Say yes to going to new events. Say yes until you know. You know, you say yes to trying that piece of sushi and you figure out, "I don't like sushi." Great, you don't have to do that again. That's the definition of insanity, right? It's going back and doing the same thing over and over again expecting a different result. If you've tested it and you know, "I don't like rock climbing. I don't like the thing in my crotch. I don't like the heights." I tried it. I said yes, I tried it. I didn't like it. Great, I don't have to go out and do it again. But if you don't know what it is that you love to do, then you have to try. You say yes, you say yes, you say yes, until you find the thing that makes you come alive, that you want to do over and over and over and over and over again, until you shine. You have Michael Jordan-level talent in something, and I desperately want you to find it and act on it to make a positive impact, not just for yourself, but your community, the people around you, your family.

And the world.

So the question of the day today is, I'm curious, two parts. One, do you know what you have Michael Jordan level talent at? And two, if you do, what is it? Both the yes or no question and the answer, leave in the comments below. I'm really excited to find out. I also want to give a quick shout out to Mzee Tom. Thank you so much for picking up a copy of my book, Your One Word. I really appreciate the support and I hope you enjoyed the book. So thank you guys so much for watching. I believe in you. I hope you continue to believe in yourself and whatever your one word is. Much love, and I'll see you again tomorrow morning for another shot of espresso. I wake up every morning, espresso keep me going.

You know, my mother used to tell me, Todd, you can do anything you put your mind to. And my grandmother used to tell me, If a task is once begun, never leave it till it's done. Be thy labor great or small, do it well or not at all. And I kind of grew up with that mantra, you know? I grew up believing that you can do anything you put your mind to, you know? And I don't, um, no matter what, you know, I am extremely determined. Yeah, like, I'm like, you know, that normally—

that need to succeed never goes away, right?

It's not only— it's not just a like a general success, like succeed for the success, for the sake of succeeding. It's, it's a desire to create. Yeah, you know what I'm saying? To use the godly power and talent that was instilled in me to the best of my ability, to maximize my potential. Because if I'm not here to maximize my potential, then what am I on earth for?

Well, my message to you pretty much, man, is just to follow your dreams, you know what I mean? I think a lot of people get caught up and get sidetracked by what's happening around them and what's cool. People always ignore their gift, not realizing that gift is what's going to take you out of your poverty, take you out of your situation. That gift is the ultimate element that God provided for you to get you out of any situation or to take you to what's destined for you. You know, some people are just great at certain things, but because music or modeling or film is cool, they alienate what their gifts are just to be a part of something that is pursued to be, or persuaded to be, cool. So I always felt like, you know, my method And message always has been to just follow the gift that you have, put a lot of emphasize in it, concentrate on what you feel that you're great in, because what you're great in is always gonna be what pulls you out of the worst situations that you could ever imagine and put you in a better situation like we in today.

When you fully accept that you are here to be great, when you fully accept that you are here to be happy, when you fully accept that you are here to receive, when you fully accept that you can have the peace and the serenity and the joy and the wisdom and the purpose and the intention that you intend to bring to the world and that it is all available to you, that's when life gets very groovy. And so my hope and my intention for today is to wake you up to that presence and more importantly, give you a really great New York City kick in the ass that says, "Not only I'm awake to it, not only do I believe in it, but I am committed to it. I am unapologetic about my capacity to be great. I am unapologetic about my capacity to heal. I am unapologetic about my capacity to see beyond my physical sight. I am unapologetic about my capacity to shine as bright as I can shine because I trust and I know that when I shine bright, I give others permission to do the same. And in my glow, they wake up to— and that That is why we're here.