motivation

When you think about philosophers pondering the purpose of life, WWE wrestlers may not be the first people who come to mind. But professional wrestling star John Cena has been known to challenge perceptions, and in a surprise appearance on Kai Cenat's livestream, he's done it once again.

Kai Cenat is one of the most popular Twitch and YouTube streamers, with millions of viewers. In a clip from Cenat's stream that has gone viral, Cena explains how his view of his purpose in life has evolved and how he reflects on how he's living his life each day.

"I used to think I was put on Earth to be a wrestler. That was it. I was put on Earth to be a WW superstar," he said. "And then I started doing a little bit of acting and I'm like oh no, it's easy, I'm a storyteller. No, I'm a human being, breathing air like everybody else. And I'm significantly insignificant. I'm a grain of sand on a beach on a pale blue dot out in the middle of nowhere."

"I just want to be useful," he continued. "Life, to me, is a gift."

He explained that he understands he's been given "lottery ticket after lottery ticket after lottery ticket" in his life. "I am lucky," he said. "I understand my luck and I try to live each day grateful for my luck. So when the sun goes down, I look at what I did for the day, even if it's relax—did I earn the sunset? Some days I don't, and I motivate myself to try to do it again, but most days I do. And that's my sense of purpose."

Watch:

People loved Cena's thoughtful self-awareness and praised him for being a good example, especially for young men who might look online for examples of healthy masculinity.

Here are some things people said they learned from this clip:

"John Cena is actually smarter and cooler than I thought which in turn tells me that forming my opinions based on the few snippets i have seen online makes me judgemental and quite ignorant. I hope I remember this lesson and not rush to judge people I know almost nothing about."

"To be useful, To be grateful, To be productive, to be mentally wired to try again no matter what and lastly to have great self awareness."

"Reflect on your day, and what are you going to do better tomorrow."

"That the meaning of life is to be in the service of others. That everything from greed, pride, envy, etc is just type of self service, moving us away from the meaning, happiness, and purpose we can derive by living our lives for others."

"Humility, Accountability, and Gratitude."

"Do your best every single day so you can feel happy about yourself at the end of the day it's also okay to fall, just get up and try again."

"'Did I earn the sunset'? is an incredible line. That's gonna stick with me."

Cena talked with Cenat for about an hour in a wide-ranging conversation that ended with another motivational drop.

“Wow, this has been fun and here we are sharing a moment together—hopefully a moment of motivation, purpose, growth," said Cena as the stream wrapped up. "I guess if I would have to bestow some advice, take it if you want it. If not? It’s just advice. I would say, ‘Never give up.’ And that widens out to whatever lens you wanna put it in. I think as long as we’re breathing, we have a chance. We’re all eventually gonna get to the finish line.

"So, I don’t know. If you just attack every day with persistence and effort and follow your excitement and enthusiasm and never give up, especially through those hard times—'cause I’m not gonna act like it’s all roses and candy canes, there’ll be a bunch of hard times—just do your best, try to do the best you can, and never give up.”

Cena shares positive motivational messages on X in addition to interviews and has made a name for himself in the public eye as a genuine good guy. In an online environment where "influencers" are not always the greatest role models, it's refreshing to see a demonstrably "manly" man so unabashedly demonstrate self-reflection and humility.