Will Smith’s Greatest Motivational Speech Ever (MUST WATCH) | WAKE UP POSITIVE Motivational Video
[Music]
what happened with me with this film so
I I accepted the film and I was really
excited to to take this and I loved the
idea and I was reading it and I got in
probably two weeks into my preparation
for the film and my father was diagnosed
with cancer and I was like you know what
you know first it stunned me and then it
was the magical work of the universe I
could not believe that this was the film
I was working on and I was you know
forced to face you know my father’s
mortality so it was you know it was
rough for about a week and I got it
together and I decided that we would use
the process of the character who was
suffering a loss and I would share my
preparation with my father and so we
just started talking about love time and
death and we we it was some of the most
open and powerful conversations that we
you know we we never had and they gave
him six weeks and he actually he lived
for four months so about three months
into the six weeks you know I go to see
him one day and he said man this shit is
embarrassing and I said what daddy said
man you tell everybody you won’t be dead
in six weeks three months later you
still hanging around but it was so
beautiful and he got we got to a place
that we were talking open and and
comedic Lee and really I think I was
able to embody the ideas of the loss and
also the redemptive quality of the pain
you know the the loss is bound to joy
like pain and suffering are bound to joy
the
being able to survive something is
actually a big part of being able to
find that next wave of joy you
appreciate smaller things right like it
was so magnificent for me you know my
father died on on November 7th but it
was so powerful for me to be cleansed of
box office like I don’t need the box
office to be huge on this film I don’t
need to win any awards you know I don’t
care it was the film that I worked on it
I was actually able to comfortably and
beautifully say goodbye to my father and
I hope that this film embodies a bit of
that so other people who are
experiencing things like that will be
able to use it in that in that way and
it can potentially be helpful and help
someone else so it was it was powerful
to be cleansed of the foolishness of the
game of numbers and awards and all that
type of stuff to actually be able be
able to create a piece of art that
legitimately I just want people to see
and hope it can be helpful and
transformative in their lives you’re
talking about perspective perspective
absolutely yes yes how much is fair play
into preventing us from grasping
perspective though I don’t know fear is
everything yeah like if if there’s if
there was one concept that I would
suggest to people to take a daily
confrontation with his fear the the the
problem with fear is that it lies right
so fear tells you hey you know if if you
say that to that girl she’s gonna know
she has you you know and she’ll never
really be attracted to you if she knows
how much you attracted to her
don’t say that know how we get her is
when she walks by ignore her you know
I’ll be on your show the beer tells you
dumb shit like that you know so you know
for me the the daily confrontation with
with fear has become a real practice for
me since about three or three years ago
I went I went skydiving in Dubai right
and skydiving skydiving is a really
interesting confront with fear right so
so I guess I got a stand all right so so
all your friends what happens you go out
without you oh sorry got my thing so
what happens is you go out the night
before and you you know you take a drink
with your friends and somebody says yeah
we should go skydiving tomorrow and you
go yeah we’ll go skydiving yeah yeah
right and you go home but you by
yourself you like right you’re like well
I mean they was drunk too right so so
maybe maybe they not maybe maybe I mean
we don’t have to go we all have to do it
so then that night you’re laying in your
bed and you just get and you’re
terrified you keep imagining over and
over again jumping out of an airplane
and you can’t figure out why you would
do that right and you’re laying there
you have the worst night’s sleep of your
life but you still have the hope that
your friends were drunk
right so you wake up the next day and
you go you know down and you say where
you were going to meet and everybody’s
there you’re like oh shit all right all
right cool cool cool cool cool cool
right so you get in the van and you
don’t know that your friends had the
same night that you had cuz there
pretended like they didn’t it like yeah
man my uncle’s the Navy SEAL and you
know this is gonna be great I’ve been
looking forward to this you like oh my
god oh my god and your stomach is
terrible you can’t eat and everything
but you don’t want to be the only punk
who doesn’t jump out of this airplane so
you get there
and then you have this safety brief and
you’re standing there and the guys that
say well if the chute doesn’t open
what’s gonna happen is you’re doing you
a lot of help with what could happen
that the chute the chute wouldn’t open
right so you do a thing and what you do
is your first jump you’re attached to a
guy who is going you know he’s gonna
walk you out so you go and you get there
and there’s an airplane and nobody’s
stopping everybody’s still going so you
get onto their airplane and you’re
sitting there and and you know it’s
extra because you’re sitting on some
dudes lap some stranger you know you got
trying to make small talk yeah man so
you deal you’d be you be jumping with
people all the time
you know so and then you just want to
make sure you got you got kids right you
have people you need to see right just
want to make sure he’s serious right so
you get in there so everything’s normal
so you fly and you go up you go up you
go up you go up to 14,000 feet and you
notice there’s a light it’s red and it’s
yellow and green right so right now the
lights red so then you start thinking at
some point the lights going to go green
it because you don’t know what’s going
to happen right and you wait and it goes
yellow and the light goes green and
somebody opens the door and in that
moment you realize you’ve never been in
a freaking airplane with the door open
right terror oh sorry I’m spit I’m sorry
sorry go terror terror terror terror
right so you go and then you know if
you’re if you were smart you sat in the
back so you don’t go first right and
then people start going out of the
airplane and you go and the guy walks
you up to the end of the thing and
you’re standing and your toes are on the
edge and you’re looking out down to
death and they say on three and they say
one two and he pushes you on – because
people grab one three right and you go
and you fall out of the airplane and in
one second you realize that it’s the
most blissful experience of your life
you’re flying right it doesn’t feel like
falling right it’s like this you
actually are kind of held a little bit
by the wind and then you start and you
you start falling you falling and you
there’s zero fear you realize that the
point of maximum danger is the point of
minimum fear
it’s bliss it’s bliss and you’re flying
right and you’re doing it and then 20
seconds 25 seconds 40 seconds and you
have enough time to just kind of like ah
shit that’s that building I sound like
that
right you start doing all of that and
the the lesson for me was why were you
scared in your bed the night before why
did you what do you need that fear for
just don’t go why are you scared in your
bed
16 hours before you jump why are you
scared in the car why could you not
enjoy breakfast what would what did you
need that the fear is fear of what your
know where to even near the airplane
everything’s up to the stepping out
there’s actually no reason to be scared
it only just ruins your day your you
don’t have to jump and then in that
moment all of a sudden where you should
be terrified is the most blissful
experience of your life and God placed
the best things in life on the other
side of terror on the other side of your
maximum fear or all of the best things
in life you know so that was out sorry
so don’t hope that wasn’t yeah that was
that was my experience with with
skydiving and fear alright practically
speaking but I didn’t like that take I’m
gonna do it again back to the I can sell
that better I can sell it then when you
decide to do something like that like
how does it work practically do you call
your wife and be like I might be dead
tomorrow
right no but that’s what I never just
promise yeah yeah I made a drunk promise
yeah how about this so I jumped I had
such a mystical powerful spiritual
experience I flew home and got my sons
and I went back and ten days later my
son’s jumped right now that was a little
different how to say that makes me stand
out ready because I’m scared I’m scared
right so it was one so jaden went first
right Jaden wants to do everything first
so I’m sitting there and I’m like yeah
my sons are gonna have this crazy
experience and then jaden went out of
the airplane I was like him
then my oldest son Trey goes up and he
goes out of the airplane and I was like
this could potentially be the worst
display of african-american parenting in
history I was like both my sons just
fell out of an airplane
jump jump right because I told him to
and that but again the fear again I was
like oh my god so I told the dude I was
like listen I want to see them go out
but I also want to see them land and
he’s like no it was cool so this time we
went out and we did the straight bullet
and I just went straight down past them
good right did the bullet straight past
pull the chute late I’m sorry snakes me
spit I’m sorry I’m sorry
pulled the chute late landed and then
videoed them coming down but it was like
they had the same thing the same
experience with the fear but that that
them telling you the confrontation with
fear is an absolute magical way of
facing the things we have to do in this
life you know forget security live for
experience right no you say you learn
that three years ago yeah amazing what
about these small things that we get
afraid about right so you are the funny
guy and you come along and everybody
expects to be entertaining sometime are
you ever afraid that you’re like you
know what today I’m really not feeling
like I’m just yeah I don’t want to be
that guy today so that’s cool movie yeah
you are not not that guy right yeah do
you have fear of that of like
disappointing people because like you’re
supposed to be funny and cool yeah you
know the thing that that’s been one of
the the major confronts for me and my
life over the past three or four years
like there’s a there’s a there what Will
Smith is an idea right so there’s parts
of that that’s me but that character
from The Fresh Prince of bel-air was who
I was 26 years ago
[Applause]
you people and this man’s crap that’s
the thing to be able to to boldly be
able to move and grow and create and
hope that the things that I’m you know
able to deliver at this point you know I
was I was 20 doing the The Fresh Prince
you know so I’m 48 now so it’s a it’s a
it’s a really different time in my life
yeah and I got less of a chair but you
know if you have a fare of being
completely who you are because it may
disappoint some people just want to see
that eight year old yeah no I definitely
I definitely have difficulty with that
you know there’s a certain you know when
you when you’ve created things that are
so iconic
it becomes healing for people nostalgia
is healing you know to the The Fresh
Prince theme is healing to hear that you
know you
it just harkens back to a time and a
feeling and an energy you know that is a
beautiful way to help relieve some some
little touch of suffering you know so
when people see me or the The Fresh
Prince and even during that time the
movies that I made while I was making
the Fresh Prince so it was the Fresh
Prince during the the winter and then
the the summers were bad boys
Independence Day many black you know so
it was like it really captured a time so
it’s it’s very difficult I wouldn’t have
it any other way I love being able to
make people smile and cheer you know
over that but I also am going to boldly
go to
creation you know even something
something like the decision you know I
had the two screenplays in front of me
for the Independence Day two and for
Suicide Squad so I had to choose between
the two of those and even the choice of
going to Suicide Squad nothing nothing
about the qualities of the movies but
the choice of trying to go forward
versus clinging and clawing backwards
you know so I do want to aggressively go
forward and do new things and create and
hopefully be able to stumble upon a new
heyday amazing now you have an
incredible cast oh god yes yeah how does
that happen to like how does so many big
stars yes I know this and then how does
that work between your you know it’s the
it’s the the ideas the screenplay allan
loeb the screenwriter he just wrote a
brilliant screenplay everyone related to
the ideas of love time and death as
powerful tools to try to put your life
back on track so everyone related to the
journey but it’s I mean I mean look at
that group that’s like a yeah it’s like
a superhero movie did your father get to
see any of it no you he came to set once
but he didn’t he didn’t get to see the
film and you all looked close yeah we
were very close yeah yeah my father when
I put my life together and I look at my
father my mother and grandmother were
the most influential people in my my
life and in my mind when I draw it I
always draw a triangle and my father was
the base and my mother was the left side
and my my grandmother was the right side
and always put discipline as the bottom
my father hard work discipline endurance
was really the foundation of creating my
life and my mother was education and my
grandmother was love so you know the
combination of that discipline education
and love was a you know what I mean
I’m really grateful for you sharing with
us that part of you and also this
struggle with his death because the
other thing is that we live in a time
where people show these curated sides of
it right because I think of the same
fair yeah right you just want to be this
piece absolutely all the rest of it but
you somebody wants to hear all the dad
you know it’s Facebook come on let’s
have fun some other dude it’s a bummer
your dad’s gone you know for me is
laughing is the elixir here now and that
was another thing that my father taught
me he was he was joking all the way up
to the end like laughing you’re it you
have to be able to laugh at everything
and for me the beautiful part is that
that’s my natural color on the spectrum
I naturally go to comedy you know and
when when when I’m looking at something
I’m always trying to find why that’s
funny and you know it’s been really
really helpful in in this experience and
and you know even just this point in my
life keep remember to laugh remember to
laugh and and spend time with people
that make you laugh like that is hugely
important laugh and connect yes
absolutely there’s a good messages yeah
I love this this idea you know it’s you
know a guy trying to put his put his
life back together and he just gets
furious and rants and writes letters to
love time and death and then love time
and death respond you know so it’s it’s
you know really that that beautiful
Christmas flavor is you know just a
little touch outside of reality you know
so you get to you get to deal with real
subjects and real topics and real loss
but because it touches just that New
York Christmas just a little bit outside
of the
you know how excruciating it would be if
you dealt with it
you know straight hard rated-r law so
you know so I just love going into that
realm of the the mystical to be able to
to take a good look at you know real
human issues so you talk about real
mm-hmm I felt it was the most relay at
senior being really yeah like I found
there was no filter there and I wondered
for somebody who could choose to do
anything yeah
was there something special that drove
you to this yeah you know when I when I
first read it you know when I when I
first read it every once in a while you
you you know you read a screenplay and
the the most important thing in a movie
I guess that you know the the two most
important things that I look for is one
is the universally relatable concept
right so just at its core when you first
say it when you say one line about it
can you connect to people you know and
what you know one of the one of the best
ones I’ve ever had like if something was
like I am Legend the last man oh yeah
yeah
security good I am this section right
here you know but it’s like when you
when you just have that one thing you
know and with this it was it was a
little bit heavier but it was a guy
trying to put his life back together
after an extreme loss right so people
can relate to that that’s a that’s an
extremely relatable idea and then I flip
to the last 10 pages and the ending it’s
like then you know this is a movie that
has lots of twists and turns but then
even within the last ten pages there’s
still another surprise when you can send
people out of the out of a movie theater
with another surprise you know and you
know I mean historically you’re not
there’s been times I’ve sent people out
of the movie theater and the surprise in
the last 10 minutes is that the movie
wasn’t good right so you just want to
avoid that surprise run avoid that one
you know but with this one it had such
an interesting turn and in the end of it
it was it was you know one of the the
most fun screenplays I’ve ever read why
are you doing movies at all still like
you could still go and do this thing you
know I um I enjoy connecting with with
people and and ideas and you know it’s I
have a mission statement so every year
for probably the past ten years I’ve
worked out a mission statement for
myself and for the last few few years
the mission statement has stayed the
same and it you know it’s been improved
lives right so when I go into something
I’m looking for how the quality of this
piece could potentially improve lives
but it’s all along the way it’s when you
make the movie in how you’re interacting
with people in the process and you know
the the the concept of improving lives
runs through the center of everything I
do and then I realize that the the way
to improve lives is to continually
improve yourself right so with that
every every morning when I when I get
out of the bed you know I I haven’t
fixed everything in the world yet so
there’s always something to do and in
this film I read an interesting quote
for the Siddhartha Gautama the Buddha he
said that good people have to get out of
the bed every day and try to empty the
ocean with a ladle right and I thought
that was you know I knew that was
profound and I paused for a second and I
said all right what the hell is a ladle
right right so there you know I just I
touched it on my iPad is ladle oh it’s
like a big spoon a big spoon okay so
trying to empty the ocean with a soup
spoon you know as the the mentality of
how you you wake up every day to try to
do good in the world so for me I’m
really driven by continually trying to
elevate my elevate my mind and elevate
my spirit and care for my body and to be
able to love as many people as
effectively as as possible with this
mystery of life that I’ve been given
