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0:00 One month ago, I decided to start the scariest challenge of my life. Speaking on camera without a script for 30 days. I wanted to see if I could go from feeling awkward to feeling totally confident on camera in just 1 month. Now, quick backstory. I've been making videos for 2 years. For every single one, I'd write out the exact script and then read it off a teleprompter. Sure, my channel was growing, but the videos, they felt kind of stiff, forced, just not so natural. But then this morning, I saw a video from this Australian YouTuber, Jack Pigot, and it completely changed my perspective. In the video, he's walking through a shopping mall, talking to
0:45 camera, totally unscripted, as if it was the most normal thing in the world. And that video, it got 1.3 million views. Dude, this is a superpower. I want to learn this. Like, can I get as comfortable on camera as that guy? Or I guess, can I even get so good that I beat Jack? So, here's my plan. I'll record one video per day for 30 days. Each video will be completely unscripted. I'll give myself max 30 seconds to gather my thoughts. Then I post every video on Tik Tok. But here's the twist. One take only. No doovers, no editing. If it's messy, I'll still upload it. Now, why is that? Because I
1:30 don't want to be the person who needs 20 takes for one video. I want to build this raw, unshakable camera confidence. Part one, getting started. All right, first video. Uh, guess we're getting started. Like this. I I actually thought it would be much easier, but I knew that that was part of it. From that day on, I recorded one video per day, and I was proud. With each video, I felt like I was gaining momentum. Excited about my progress, I decided to share it with my best friend, Damian. I was just hoping that he would give me a little bit of appreciation.
2:16 [Music] Dude, I love Damian, but yeah, that hurt. Like, I guess he is kind of right. When I look myself on video, I look a little bit like too robotic, too stiff. But yeah, I don't know. I don't know how to change that. Now, one thing that popped to my mind was to do the same thing that I do before a training. there. I always do a warm-up routine to get into the zone. So, I guess I could try doing the same before I record a video. I took a few minutes to shake out my body, take a few deep belly breaths, and then warm up my voice.
3:03 Wow. I've been warming up for 3 minutes, and I felt alive. Like, I feel alive that I want to jump on video right now. From that moment, I started warming up every single time before I recorded. And again, not long, just a couple of minutes to get ready. But even though I was getting more and more comfortable, I knew that I was still playing safe. If I really wanted to break free from those old habits, I'd have to push myself much further. Otherwise, this challenge wouldn't do anything. Part two, turning up the heat. So, I was just watching Jack Pigot's video again and I realized like that dude, he's he's in a freaking mall talking in front of strangers and I
3:51 realized like I'm here on my couch in the living room. Like, obviously, I'm not going to grow like this. I got to get out there. But at first, I felt so self-conscious. I've always judged those people for doing exactly this. Like those Gen Z kids filming their boring lives. And now I was that guy. But deep down I knew that there was no way around this. If I wanted to grow, I had to get uncomfortable. Tommy, why am I doing this? Why am I doing this? Like this is so awkward. And from that day on, I committed to filming outside every single day. I figured more reps means
4:36 more confidence. But even after five more days, I was still feeling tense. Every time someone walked by, my heart would race, I lose my train of thoughts, and sometimes go completely blank. And I didn't know how to fix it. So, I called the one person who never seems nervous on camera. So, Jacob, how can I feel less self-conscious when I'm actually filming in public? I had this a lot in the past and I felt very self-conscious. The number one thing that has helped me is to focus on what I can control. What do you mean by that? So, in the past when I made a video, I focus on all of those things outside my control. Like, what will other people think of the video? How will it perform? And it created so much nervousness and
5:24 lack of confidence in such a video. But it all shifted once I focus on things that are fully in my control. For instance, I keep asking myself, how can I serve? And I picture one person I can add value to. And that is something fully under my control, aiming to serve. And so then you picture this person and then you just repeat in your head like I'm here to serve. Yeah. So I keep repeating I'm here to serve. I'm here to serve. And sometimes I also ask myself, how can I serve to go on that mission? Yeah, I guess Jacob is right. So far, anytime that I've recorded, I've just focused on myself. Like me, me me. But I'll give it a try. See if it actually does change anything.
6:10 I'm here to serve. I'm here to have fun. And something clicked. The moment I focus on who I was helping, that fear of being judged, well, it didn't vanish completely, but at least it shrank by a lot. And I could feel the difference. I could see the difference in my videos. And apparently so could my audience. So, I just recorded this one walking video where I'm just walking through the street, and that video got 4,000 views. Like, this is crazy. Usually my stuff gets like 200. This is insane. From that point on, I felt unstoppable. Every single day, I hit the streets to record one video. And with each one, I felt
6:57 more confident, more relaxed, more me. But deep down, I knew that there was still one final test. The one thing that would prove just how far I'd come. So, in Jack Pigot's video, he's walking around a freaking mall talking for like 6 minutes completely unscripted. And at the end, 1.3 million people watch that video. And I'm just thinking like, dude, can I do the same right? Can I walk through the most packed place here in Amsterdam, record a long video, and get millions of people to watch it? I'll find out. Part three, facing the final boss.
7:42 All right, we're in the city center of Amsterdam. People everywhere. But yeah, we're going for this. So, I don't know whether I want to do this. [Music] [Applause] [Music] For what felt like hours, I walked through the crowded city center in Amsterdam. No script, no prep, just me speaking off the cuff. I just did it. I walked through packed Amsterdam city center speaking on camera for longer than 5 minutes. Now, that stuff just would have never been possible 30 days ago. This is crazy like
8:31 how much you can advance just in 30 days. The same day I went home and uploaded the video on Tik Tok. I wanted to know how's the video going to perform. Could I actually beat Jack Pigot? So, the video has been out there for a day, which should be enough to see whether it has gone viral. [Music] Well, the video got 1,299,500 views less than Jack's, which that did it got 500 views. Um, not going to lie, it is a little bit disappointing. I kind of wish that it
9:16 had gotten much more views, but you know what? It's also okay because I realized that what I've learned over the past 30 days is something much more meaningful. It is something so profound that no one can take away from me. As the 30 days come to an end, I ask myself a few honest questions. First, do I feel more comfortable speaking on camera? That one for sure. Absolutely. I feel so much more comfortable showing up unscripted, unfiltered, but also unafraid. No one can take that away from me. Now, was it fun? Well, not really. But I guess it was
10:03 liberating because now I have options. I can choose if I want to speak scripted or if I fully want to improvise. And having those options just gives me so much freedom. Now, will I stop using a teleprompter? Honestly, no. I'll still use it for those longer videos because at the end, a teleprompter helps me to stay sharp and intentional with my words. I guess it also just takes so much less time to record. But what I'll do now is I'll mix in those raw, unscripted moments because that's at the end showing the real me. That's showing the behind the scenes. I actually love this challenge. so much that I don't plan to stop. My new goal
10:48 is to actually post one unscripted video every single day for the next 365 days. And maybe you want to do the same. If you want to feel more confident on camera, don't wait for that perfect moment. Take your phone and start today. It will change your life.
