The word “driven” is defined as “propelled or motivated by something, or having a compulsive or urgent quality.”
When I think driven, phrases that come to mind include - “I want to change the world” or “I want to do something that’s never done before.”
Are you driven? Do you want to do something amazing or interesting during your life? Most of us answer yes, but I suspect few of us actually get out of our chairs and start dancing.
Speaking of being driven, have you ever dangled 1000ft in the air by a rope tied to a giant drone or snowboarded down Times Square? Casey Neistat, a YouTuber with 6 million subscribers has. Crazy? Reckless? Or is he driven?
At first glance, Neistat is this adventurous adrenaline junky who makes very cool videos. But if you look a little deeper, you will discover what he is really focused on – reinventing advertising. He “makes ads for people who hate ads.” Neistat’s mission is to produce advertisements that don’t feel like typical TV commercials. The 35 year-old is trying to build a bridge between what companies sell and millennials–through adventure and storytelling.
So, what do millennials like to see? We like stories that are compelling, engaging, and inspiring – stories that make us dream and think - “Hey, I want to do that.”
Neistat’s more recent ad for Nike, “Make it Count,” has received over 24 million views. Instead of producing an “ad,” Neistat and his friend Max decided to spend the entire budget from Nike traveling around the world in 10 days. When deciding to go a different direction than the experts recommended, he stated “if you’re doing what everyone else is doing, you’re doing it wrong.” The Nike ad presents a variety of different amazing locations, famous quotes, and of course, the new Nike Fuel. You can view the add here.
Neistat became a father at an early age and had to drop out of high school at 16. His life could have gone in many directions, but he remained focused and grew up fast. He became a strong believer in the phrase “without a goal, you can’t score,” - meaning that if you don’t have clear goals, there is no telling where life will take you. On the other hand, having clear goals and driving hard to attain makes it much more likely that you will get exactly what you are looking for. Neistat has goals for himself and is completely driven to attain them – even when his life is at risk.
Three key things I learned about being a driven person from Casey Neisitat:
- Have goals in life and in work.
- Despite what life hands you or puts in front of you, keep crashing through – keep pursuing those goals.
- Many people like Casey Neistat live a life filled with adventure. Many do not. Those that find adventure seek it out. It rarely falls into their laps. Be driven. Drive.
If you want to learn more, I discussed more about the importance of being driven in my article “3 Tips to Help Find your best Career."
Casey Neistat is driven to change the very nature of advertising – and he is having an amazing adventure in the process. If his channel doesn’t inspire you to become more driven – much less travel all around the world, I don’t know what will!
Be Driven.
Carpe Diem!
