Do What You Can’t.

Do More Project II: How Casey Neistat makes an impact by going against the grain.

Ian Allen
Ian Allen
Jul 24, 2017 · 4 min read

You can’t.

How does hearing that make you feel? As Casey Neistat hit the bottom of a downward spiral that ended in him being a broke, single, teen dad, that’s all anyone ever told him. You can’t, Casey. It was all he’d heard for his entire life.

“If I were to write an autobiography, a book about my life, one title that would work would be Do What You Can’t.

YouTuber, entrepreneur, and family man, Casey Neistat, has walked through hell and back to be where he is today. He supported his girlfriend and their son off of an $8 an hour job after dropping out of high school, experienced 9/11 first-hand, and carved a career out of an entire branch of media that has hardly existed for more than a decade.

The underdog story is something we’ve all heard before, however remarkable any specific example may be. It’s those unlikely heroes like Steve Jobs, John Lewis, or even Casey Neistat that spread inspiration universally. Casey’s story is beautiful, quirky, and influential, but he doesn’t live to dwell on his own past. Casey lives his life engulfed in what he loves.

His life of passion impassionates others.

How does one life a live of passion? David Brooks describes it beautifully in an article analyzing Lady Gaga’s own life of passion.

“To be passionate is to put yourself in danger.”

Casey’s second vlog; the title tells it all.

Casey has made quite a few cliff jumps in his life, from investing everything he had into moving to New York with no high school degree in the hopes of making movies to snowboarding behind a Jeep through the streets of Manhattan. Danger makes Casey Neistat’s life one of passion.

The unknown is terrifying, there is no doubt. However, how can you know if something isn’t your niche, your passion, without trying it? How are you supposed to know what you love to do if you’ve only done a few things? Make new friends. Try new things. Feel new emotions.

Try anything and everything until you find your passion, and build your life around it. Explore the world around you, but also explore what is within you. Discover the vast frontier of your own thoughts, tackle your issues, and conquer them for the world to see. With your passion revealed, the possibilities are endless. Make it into something bigger, like a career for yourself or maybe a message for others. Do what Casey has done.

The relationship between risk and reward is a basic concept that applies to a wide range of topics outside economics. Casey’s life, and lives of other passionate people, are flawless examples of this fact. The more danger you face in life, the greater bounty you will receive. By dropping everything and moving to New York, Casey put everything on the line. He could take the easy way out, living somewhat comfortably through a wage-earning job in Connecticut, or he could take the hard way and risk being stranded in New York with a lowly job, a terrible apartment, and a passionless life. In Casey’s mind, there wan’t even a choice.

Casey never takes the easy way out. He said it himself: Always the stairs, never the escalator. Even after his success at festivals like Sundance, Casey moved his attention towards YouTube despite initially facing criticism.

“Our job is to create new cliches, not adhere to those defined by generations past.”

That risk earned him $25 million when CNN acquired it. However, Casey refuses to give up his role in the company. He will continue to live out his passion through YouTube and the newly redefined media company. He will continue to face down danger in spite of any future condemnation.

Casey destroying yet another Canon DSLR (worth about $1,000)

He puts even his camera gear in danger to get the perfect shot, preferring the chance of losing a camera to missing a new angle. He knows that without risk, there is no reward.

As the title of one of his vlogs puts it, he gives “Zero F*cks What People Think.”

He lives for his passion, and, more importantly, he lives his passion with the goal of benefiting others. He shares positivity for those who need it, honors heroes, and sets an example for others who want to live passionately.

Casey does not show fear of injury, failure, or ridicule in the face of danger so that he can share with the world who he is and what he loves. He loves his family, he loves filmmaking, and he loves making his viewers’ days a little brighter than they were before watching one of his videos. This is Casey Neistat’s life of passion.

Casey Neistat’s life of passion

Commit to Serve

2017 UGA Freshman College — Service Learning

Ian Allen

Written by

Ian Allen

Professional meme curator

Commit to Serve

2017 UGA Freshman College — Service Learning

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