I bumped into my friend Ali at 24 Hour Fitness today, and we got on the subject of motivational videos. I LOVE motivational videos! I told him that I was going to post a bunch of motivational videos on his wall, but then I thought… Hey! If I’m going to go through the trouble of collecting and compiling all of my favorite motivational videos, might as well make a blog post about it!

Motivational videos really helped push me this last spring semester whenever I was feeling down and needed that extra bit of inspiration and hope to go out there and put in some more work. Never underestimate the power of a good pep talk :)

So first off, you KNOW I gotta talk about Eric Thomas (E.T. the Hip Hop Preacher)!!! He’s a big, bad, ghetto, no-bullshit, in-yo’-face, tough guy that really knows how to get you pumped up. He speaks to a lot of ghetto kids in school, but his words can apply anywhere. Watch his famous video Secrets to Success Part 1 and Part 2. Also, he tells a great story of resiliency involving Mike Tyson and Buster Douglas that really inspires hope in me everytime I watch it. Also, he regularly updates his YouTube channel with great videos, and there are treasures spread all about.

Ahem! Anyway… I can talk about these videos alllll day, so I’m going to go ahead and just list out my favorites now:

Les Brown - a great speaker who tells you that the most empowering two words are “It’s Possible” - because, yes, whatever you’re trying to accomplish… it is possible . Period.

- a great speaker who tells you that the most empowering two words are “It’s Possible” - because, yes, whatever you’re trying to accomplish… it is . Period. Will Smith’s Wisdom - not only is Will Smith a great rapper and actor, he has a great philosophy on life. In this 10-minute video, he talks about his work ethic and his attitude, amongst other things. Great video.

- not only is Will Smith a great rapper and actor, he has a great philosophy on life. In this 10-minute video, he talks about his work ethic and his attitude, amongst other things. Great video. Arnold Schwarzenegger on the power of the mind - Arnold is a great visualizer and a great communicator. Here, he shows us how powerful the mind really is. Arnold is a machine and he isn’t afraid of anything.

- Arnold is a great visualizer and a great communicator. Here, he shows us how powerful the mind really is. Arnold is a machine and he isn’t afraid of anything. Al Pacino’s “Inches” Speech - a great speech that encourages you to fight for those “inches” - those tiny feats and accomplishments that, when you add finally add them up, can mean the difference between success or failure.

- a great speech that encourages you to fight for those “inches” - those tiny feats and accomplishments that, when you add finally add them up, can mean the difference between success or failure. Failure - reminds us that failure is a necessity because if you’re not failing, you’re not trying hard enough. ALL of the greats have miserably failed at one point or another. It takes great visualization and persistence to reach greatness.

- reminds us that failure is a necessity because if you’re not failing, you’re not trying hard enough. of the greats have miserably failed at one point or another. It takes great visualization and persistence to reach greatness. Ed Reed Halftime Speech - a very short clip, but his intensity and heart is always soo inspirational!

Some commercials are awesome too. Check these out:

I find inspiration and motivation through other media as well. Movies are great. What are your favorite motivational movies? Music is good too. I love listening to rags-to-riches rappers who talk about how much pain and hard work they have gone through in order to make it to where they are now. Check out Jay-Z, Lil Wayne, Kanye West.

Anyway, those are my favorites. There are lots and lots of motivational videos on the internet, plus motivation can be found anywhere! What’s your favorite motivational video? What motivates you?