If I get a dollar every time I’m told I’m good at languages, I’d be a millionaire today.

The answer is automatic. As soon as I say I speak 5 languages ​​they look at me like I’m a liar or a nerd. And then, the answer is automatic: «You have a gift for languages«.

But you know what? At the age of 17, I was about to fail my access to University because of just one subject: English. Just like you, learning a language for me was like climbing Mount Everest. Until the age of 19, I was terrible at languages. In fact, because of my English teacher, I ended up hating English and hating myself for not being able to learn something as necessary as English.

But at the age of 19 everything changed. Something happened that turned my whole life upside down and I began to enjoy learning English. Today I am 30 years old, only 11 years have passed since then and I speak 5 languages ​​and I am learning my sixth language. Now you’re wondering: what the hell happened?

What happened is that I found my passion. When I was 19, I went to New York for the first time and did what every tourist is supposed to do in New York: see a Broadway show. My first Broadway show was Billy Elliot. I couldn’t understand a single word of the show but the music, the dances, the actors… moved me in a way that… ¡AAHHH!  And when I came back home I told my parents: “Mamá, Papá, I want to be a performer”.

And then a motivation began to arise in me that nobody and nothing could stop. I desperately wanted to be on Broadway. And you know what? From that moment on, English stopped being a pain in the ass and I began to enjoy learning the language. Every word I learned, every expression, every verb took me a little closer to being on a stage in New York.

As you can see I never got to achieve my dream. In fact, it has been more than 6 years since I changed the performing world for teaching. That’s life… But the idea that I want you to understand is this: 80% of learning a language is motivation.

Forget about the courses, teachers, resources… When I started studying English I had no idea how to study languages ​​and 11 years later I am learning my sixth language. And the only difference is here.

And this can be hacked. This is a motivational board. It is simply a compilation of everything that you are passionate about the language you want to learn. All those things that make you say: “Oh God! I wish I could speak Spanish”. Maybe it’s a photo of an exotic beach in Spain, a video of Penelope Cruz, or maybe a song that reminds you of your trip to Mexico. You name it. Collect all the things that motivate you to learn a language and put them together. And every time you get to study Spanish, go over the board for a couple of minutes. You will get a very powerful but very short boost of motivation. Enough motivation to get you to work and bring down all the excuses from your brain.

Now download the worksheet down below where you’ll find more instructions for today’s task.