The Keys to Life: Running & Reading
June 23, 2010
Being a big fan of Will Smith for a long time, not just because of his success in acting and music, but because he is also an all-around achiever of dreams, I want to share these with you.
Check out this short clip of Smith’s acceptance speech at the Kid’s Choice Awards. His “two keys to life” are also the “two keys to mastering the social arts.” Simple, yet profound.
1. Running.
As Will Smith says, if you learn how to defeat that little voice when you’re running that says to you, “I’m so tired. It’s too hard. Give up. There’s no way I could possibly continue,” then you will learn how to persevere when things get hard in life. No wonder the clients who progressed the fastest (sometimes reaching their goals after just one or two days) were often also the ones who had excelled in fitness or athletics. Or, their biggest growth spurts in social arts closely correlated with big strides in physical fitness. They withstand the social pressure, defeat the approach anxiety, and persist in the face of setbacks and challenges.
2. Reading.
Considering the accumulated wisdom of all those people who have gone before us, it would be stupid to try to reinvent the wheel every time and not learn from them. There is really no new problem you can have. Nowadays, there are just variations. In the social arts, I am an avid learner. I used to think it was because I was an academic. But no. The clients who improve the quickest are the ones who know how to learn, whether that be from books, movies, audio or DVD programs, in-field observations, or from personal mentoring. They devour all the knowledge they can get their hands on and apply, test, experiment with it themselves in the real world. For some suggestions, see my articles on Required Readings and Excellent Movies for Modeling.
See also this classic collection of Will Smith clips.
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4 Responses to “The Keys to Life: Running & Reading”
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Aw, will smith, my hero, dude! Spot on analysis, too!
[...] today and saw a video posted that I myself have always found really motivational. Check out Doctor Asian Rake’s post here, including an inspirational video by Will [...]
I never knew that side of Will Smith till a couple weeks ago one of my friends showed those videos. Made me realize how much of a success and intelligent the Fresh Prince of Bell Air is.
Hey Johnny,
Me too, haha. Thanks, man.
Hey Bonsai,
Good to hear from ya! Yeah, Will Smith says some pretty profound stuff for a prince from bel air