DO IT FOR YOURSELF - Powerful Motivational Speech ft Eric Thomas

LeBron James has already won championships, but watch him at the end of a game. He doesn't celebrate. He touches the numbers on the front of his jersey, then the numbers on the back. He does that for his coach, who died. He has a why. That is the central argument of this episode: without a deep, personal reason for what you do, you will never give the kind of effort required to be great.

The difference between skill and will

The speaker, Eric Thomas, draws a sharp distinction between two things you need to succeed: phenomenal skill and phenomenal will. Skill is what you are born with—talent, quickness, intelligence. But will is something you develop. It is the determination to keep going when talent alone would quit. Thomas argues that most people have average will. They have enough skill to be good, but not enough will to be great. He uses himself as an example: he failed English twice in college, had ADHD, and a learning disability. It took him 12 years to get a 4.0 degree. He could not read a book in a week, but he would take four weeks to finish it. He says, "If God gave me the ability to get up, it might take me five days to do what it takes you to do in one day. But I'm gonna do it in five." That is will making up for skill.

Finding your "why"