847 Unleash Your Untapped Potential with Marie Forleo

DO THINGS DIFFERENTLY. We all face a lot of pressure from the world. We’re constantly comparing ourselves to others on social media and getting critiques from friends and family. Whether it’s when to have kids, our relationship choices, or a nontraditional career, it’s hard to step outside the box. We might feel judged. We might feel alone. And it might be scary to wander into new territory. So how can we stay true to what WE want? On today’s episode of The School of Greatness, I talk to an inspirational woman changing the world on her terms: Marie Forleo. Marie Forleo is a life coach, motivational speaker, author and host of Marie TV. She is the owner of Marie Forleo International, B-School and MarieTV, and Oprah named Marie a thought leader for the next generation. Marie is passionate about spreading her message that you can figure out the problems in your life. She shares three simple steps to avoid getting overwhelmed and feeling helpless. So get ready to learn how life is “figureoutable” on Episode 847. Some Questions I Ask: What’s been the greatest lesson in the last 10 years? (6:00) What are the things you think you’re not doing well in business? (24:00) Are you open to the idea of marriage? (35:00) Where would you be if you were single for the last 10 years? (38:00) Where do you have the least amount of confidence? (48:30) What are the 3-5 things you do every day or most days? (1:00:00) In This Episode You Will Learn: How work ethic can be a bad thing (13:00) How Marie sets non-negotiable “adventure time” with her husband (16:00) The importance of downtime at home and in your job (20:00) About Marie’s decision to not have kids (27:00) Why you should trust your timing (42:00) The three rules for understanding “everything is figureoutable” (1:18:00) If you enjoyed this episode, check out the video, show notes and more at http://www.lewishowes.com/847 and follow at instagram.com/lewishowes Get more from Lewis! Get my New York Times Bestselling book, Make Money Easy! Get The Greatness Mindset audiobook on SpotifyText Lewis AIYouTubeInstagramWebsiteTiktokFacebookX

Speaker names marked ? are inferred from speaking time and the show’s known hosts — they are not voice-verified.

• 0:00Lewis Howes?

  This is episode number 847 with Marie Forleo.

• 0:06Lewis Howes?

  Welcome to the School of Greatness. My name is Lewis Howes, former pro athlete turned lifestyle entrepreneur. And each week, we bring you an inspiring person or message to help you discover how to unlock your inner greatness. Thanks for spending some time with me today. Now let the class begin.

• 0:31Lewis Howes?

  Charles Schultz said, "There is no heavier burden than an unfulfilled potential." Ah, potential is something we talk about all the time. It's something we all have and we can never truly reach. We can always grow into our potential, but then there's more untapped potential. So that's why life is a constant, growing, learning experience. And I'm so excited to dive into this topic with Marie Forleo, who has been a friend of mine for a long time. She's an entrepreneur, writer, and philanthropist who has created a socially conscious digital empire that touches millions. She's got an award-winning show, Marie TV, world-class online training programs,

• 1:12Lewis Howes?

  and has helped people dream big and take meaningful action to create results. She's been invited by Sir Richard Branson, mentor young entrepreneurs at his Center for Entrepreneurship in South Africa. She was featured as a thought leader on Oprah's Super Soul Sunday and was interviewed by Tony Robbins as part of this new Money Masters DVD training program. She's got a new book out, Everything is Figure-Out-able. It's out right now, so make sure you check the book out. Everything is Figure-Out-able. In this interview, we talk about the non-negotiable ways Marie has scaled back work, both personally and in the company, to refresh relationships and boost creativity.

• 1:54Lewis Howes?

  How many people work in fear and are therefore disengaged from their work? Why having real, honest conversations with your partner is incredibly important to sustain the relationship. How to tap into your unused wisdom and talents. And the powerful lesson Marie learned from her father about taking care of people. Super excited about this. Make sure to share it with a friend. Text a friend today who you think might be interested in this episode. Be a hero in someone's life, post it on social media, tag me and at Marie Forleo as well. So I'm sure she'd love to hear your thoughts about what you learned in this interview.

• 2:38Lewis Howes?

  Welcome back everyone to the School of Greatness Podcast. We've got the inspiring Marie Forleo in the house. Pumped that you are here.

• 2:44Marie Forleo?

  Yay.

• 2:44Lewis Howes?

  Very excited. I think I had you on maybe three years ago, I think.

• 2:47Marie Forleo?

  I think it might have been longer than that.

• 2:50Lewis Howes?

  Three and a half, four. It was in New York.

• 2:51Marie Forleo?

  Yeah, we've known each other for so long. Thank you, by the way.

• 2:54Lewis Howes?

  Excited.

• 2:55Marie Forleo?

  For having me on.

• 2:55Lewis Howes?

  I think I've known you for a decade.

• 2:57Marie Forleo?

  Yes.

• 2:57Lewis Howes?

  2010, 2009, somewhere around there.

• 2:59Marie Forleo?

  Yes.

• 3:00Lewis Howes?

  When I moved to New York, I think I met you.

• 3:01Marie Forleo?

  Totally.

• 3:02Lewis Howes?

  Pretty quickly after that.

• 3:03Marie Forleo?

  I remember some of your earlier apartments and we would do, remember like we would do like mastermind meetings? We'd have all these meals.

• 3:09Lewis Howes?

  Yes.

• 3:09Marie Forleo?

  I remember you and I had some great meals together at Aria.

• 3:13Lewis Howes?

  Aria.

• 3:13Marie Forleo?

  The little Italian, remember the little Italian place in the West Village?

• 3:17Lewis Howes?

  Do we do that at solo or do we do that with the group, the mastermind?

• 3:19Marie Forleo?

  No, I mean, mastermind group, we've done like Japanese places, but you and I would go like, and we'd just like dig into all these. Yes.

• 3:26Lewis Howes?

  That's amazing. Good times. 10 years, crazy. It seems to me like so much has happened, but it's gone by so fast in 10 years for both of us. What's the biggest lesson you've learned in the last decade for you?

• 3:38Marie Forleo?

  That things, first of all, keep getting better. I think in our society, especially as we're at least two, you know, as you get older, at least in my family, there was a lot of kind of cultural expectations like, oh, over this age, it kind of starts going down, or you know what I mean? You're kind of, you peak when you're young and that's when all the good stuff happens. And for me, I feel like it keeps getting better. And I love that the best years are still ahead of me. And that all the stuff that I've been through, there's like all of these exciting new possibilities. So that's one of the biggest lessons. And I think the other one is that I don't have to stress as hard. As a human being, I have a really strong work ethic, but I also tend to put a lot of pressure on myself.

• 4:22Marie Forleo?

  And the other lesson I've learned is that I don't need to do that. That the work actually gets done more joyfully and more creatively if I don't add on that additional layer of pressure and stress.

• 4:33Lewis Howes?

  Why do you pressure yourself?

• 4:35Marie Forleo?

  I have really high expectations. I wanna take care of my team. I wanna take care of my family. I wanna do right by my customers. Like with this book, I wanted to do right by my publishing partners. And I always feel a sense of responsibility to make sure that I'm taking care of people. And embedded in that, I have historically put a ton of pressure on myself to make sure, you know, that the buck stops with me.

• 5:00Lewis Howes?

  Yeah.

• 5:01Marie Forleo?

  But I think recently, it's been really great to see how awesome it is to collaborate with people who are like, "Girl, I got this." Like, "You're good. You go do your thing. I'll do my thing, and we'll create something together that's magic." And I've been like, "This is amazing."

• 5:13Lewis Howes?

  Don't stress about it, yeah.

• 5:14Marie Forleo?

  Yeah.

• 5:15Lewis Howes?

  What's been the biggest challenge in the last 10 years?

• 5:18Marie Forleo?

  I think the biggest challenge for me in the past decade, that's a good question.

• 5:23Lewis Howes?

  You started Marie TV, what, eight, nine years ago?

• 5:26Marie Forleo?

  Yeah, so to put this all in context, so I've been doing what I've been doing for 20 years now.

• 5:30Lewis Howes?

  Yeah.

• 5:31Marie Forleo?

  So, creating free content via email, back starting in like 2000, 2001, which seems like

• 5:38Lewis Howes?

  Crazy.

• 5:39Marie Forleo?

  Insane. Then blogging, and then I got Kuma in 2009. Kuma's my dog, my toy Australian Shepherd. He's a sweet little pup. And here's the thing. When we first got him as a puppy and I was training him along with Josh, I didn't have time to write as many

• 5:55Lewis Howes?

  You trained Josh?

• 5:55Marie Forleo?

  Nooo, training Kuma along with Josh. Josh knew what he was doing. I was just like, "What do I do with a puppy?"

• 6:01Lewis Howes?

  Yeah.

• 6:02Marie Forleo?

  I didn't have as much time to write blog posts, and so I just started opening my webcam on my MacBook Pro and talking right into the camera.

• 6:10Lewis Howes?

  I remember those early videos.

• 6:11Marie Forleo?

  Yeah, they're still on the site.

• 6:13Lewis Howes?

  Yeah.

• 6:13Marie Forleo?

  And so, Marie TV was actually started not because I had some big vision for like a show that I wanted to do. It was actually because I didn't have much time because I had a really cute new puppy, and I needed to get consistent content out. And I felt much more comfortable, and it was faster, to talk into my webcam than it was to construct a blog post. So that's how Marie TV started back in like 2009 slash 2010.

• 6:35Lewis Howes?

  It's been almost 10 years. It'll be 10 years.

• 6:37Marie Forleo?

  Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

• 6:38Lewis Howes?

  Wow.

• 6:39Marie Forleo?

  So, I think one of the challenges of the past decade has just been to continue to stay really present with all of the work while continuing to grow the company, like making sure that folks on the team Have the support that they need, making sure that we're attracting the right talent, people that have the right skills, the right culture fit, and just, you know, keeping all those plates in the air. And then, of course, still having a life and making sure my relationship, you know, stays on track.

• 7:06Lewis Howes?

  How do you stay on track with a connected, loving relationship? As a female entrepreneur, when you're putting so much energy into your business

• 7:18Marie Forleo?

  Yeah.

• 7:18Lewis Howes?

  and the culture and the team and your customers and...

• 7:21Marie Forleo?

  I made so many mistakes. I mean, let's just be real, like I talk about this and I told this story, like, I worked so hard to get my business off the ground and I was often working seven days a week. You know, not just coaching, like that was a portion of what I did. But to keep a roof over my head, it was bartending, it was waiting tables. It was like being a personal assistant, cleaning people's toilets, whatever I needed to do in order to pay my rent, put food on the table and actually continue to grow the business. So I basically developed a habit of working non-stop.

• 7:51Lewis Howes?

  Before Maretv.

• 7:52Marie Forleo?

  Oh, yeah, like getting the business off the ground. Like I worked side gigs.

• 7:56Lewis Howes?

  You were like a fitness coach, you did like dance instruction, you did everything.

• 7:59Marie Forleo?

  I was a Nike Elite dance athlete. I, you know, taught anywhere from like three to seven classes a week at Crunch Fitness. Some of them were choreographed, some of them were basic fitness. I had the coaching clients, I was doing the content and I was bartending and waiting tables. So I had developed this habit of non-stop work because that was what was necessary at that time.

• 8:18Lewis Howes?

  New York.

• 8:19Marie Forleo?

  Yes. But as Josh and I got together and eventually when I let go of the bartending and the waiting tables and even the dance and fitness as a revenue stream, I didn't let go of the habit of working non-stop. And that created some real problems in the relationship where it was to the point that him and I had been together for seven years and never taken a vacation together. Like we had traveled because either he had something for his work or I had something for my work. But it was always work-related, so it wasn't actual just together time, just him and I. And our relationship was almost over, like he was kind of done with me.

• 8:58Lewis Howes?

  Wow, because you were just, I want to work, I got to build my business, you don't understand me, this is my dream.

• 9:03Marie Forleo?

  I was operating too out of a lot of scarcity and a lot of just habit, like feeling like if I didn't work constantly, that it was all going to fall apart. And so there were other things mixed in there as well. You know, there were other layers of just life pressures from all these different ends. But that was like a definite, a critical piece.

• 9:22Lewis Howes?

  He had a son.

• 9:23Marie Forleo?

  Oh, yeah. So I, my stepson Zane came into my life when he was seven. So the year that Josh and I kind of, you know, one of the times, we've had many bumps along the road. We've been together for 16 years. Any couple that's been together that long, it's not all unicorns and rainbows. No, absolutely not. Relationships are so difficult. But at that particular juncture, Zane was going off to college, which that was a really big thing in terms of Josh processing that, you know, having your kid go off after you've raised them. And then me working all the time, there was this confluence of stressors that put us in couples therapy. And I had to really change a lot about how I was living, what I was believing,

• 10:06Marie Forleo?

  and really putting things back into perspective, which saved our relationship.

• 10:10Lewis Howes?

  What were you believing?

• 10:12Marie Forleo?

  Well, I was believing that if I didn't work constantly, that I wasn't a worthy person, that I wasn't doing enough to make my business successful, that I was perhaps letting people down. And so I had to really shift that and understand that, you know, I come from a background, I don't come from a wealthy background. So the work ethic in my nuclear family is very strong. Like my dad owned a small business. My mom, although she stayed home with us, she was constantly doing stuff, constantly working, constantly fixing things, constantly doing things that took care of the family. So that's the kind of DNA I grew up with was like, no, if something needs to get done, you get it done.

• 10:55Marie Forleo?

  It's not like you sit around all day and eating bonbons and watching TV. So, um, yeah, so that's kind of how I got there. But then I really, I had to readjust if I actually wanted to not only have a successful business, but have a successful life.

• 11:07Lewis Howes?

  Yeah. Well, how old were you when you came to this realization that like, okay, I can take a day off a week? Or I can take two weeks and go to Italy?

• 11:15Marie Forleo?

  Yes, yes, yes, yes. So that was probably, I may not get the dates right because time gets warped for me. But that was, I would say, well over like a decade ago, where I started making some changes. And then really starting to see also how much more creative and productive I was when I scaled back a little bit. And that was a really powerful realization because I think. Often, and I understand this, and I think it's important to contextualize this because at different stages of our life and at different stages of our creative process, we need to work in different rhythms. You know, often when you're getting something off the ground, it's kind of like a rocket ship leaving the atmosphere. It takes a lot of inertia to break free from gravity, right?

• 11:58Marie Forleo?

  To get into that upper stratosphere. So there's a lot of work required in the beginning, but then you have to adjust as you move on. And I just needed to learn that lesson.

• 12:09Lewis Howes?

  Because you were just in like launch mode all the time. Like we gotta launch, launch, launch, launch. I mean, not launching things, but the idea and the energy behind.

• 12:17Marie Forleo?

  Correct.

• 12:18Lewis Howes?

  Go, go, go.

• 12:18Marie Forleo?

  Yep. So yeah, I think about a decade ago is when I really started making some good changes and putting boundaries and bumpers in place for myself. And what that means was that at the top of the year, what we do in terms of relationship, and even for the company, we do the same thing. So there's two points I want to make here. In terms of my personal relationship, Josh and I look at the calendar at the top of the year and we set non-negotiable adventure time. So my favorite place to go is Italy. That's my happy place. So we, and we don't always have to go there, but it's just been a habit for like the past four or five years. And we set two weeks in the calendar where it's like, he doesn't accept work. I tell the team like, this is the time we're gonna be away.

• 13:01Marie Forleo?

  No matter what's going on, we're just offline. That's it. And then there's other kind of smaller adventures that we plan, like adventures with friends, where, you know, have a bunch of friends up for a couple of days around a birthday or around a holiday and like put these bumpers in place so that both him and I know that there are these solid connection moments throughout the year that no matter how busy everything else gets, that we have these things to look forward to. And that's been a game changer.

• 13:28Lewis Howes?

  Wow.

• 13:29Marie Forleo?

  And then in the company. I don't know if I've ever told you this story, but one day I was in New York and I was having like a really bad PMS craving for carbs. I was just like, I was like, mama needs some carbs. And I was feeling like a croissant. And there was this great little French bakery around the corner that I had never been to. And I'm like, I'm gonna go get my croissant right now. So I roll up to this little French bakery and on the window there was like this handmade sign that said, you know, offer vacation back July 18th. And it was like this two week thing.

• 14:02Lewis Howes?

  Wow. You were like, what?

• 14:03Marie Forleo?

  And I was like, wait, wait, what?

• 14:04Lewis Howes?

  Your business, you need to be here.

• 14:05Marie Forleo?

  Yes. And yet there, it was empty. And this simple little like hand drawn sign. And in that moment, Louis, I had this notion. I was like, wait a minute, I'm running this digital company. I have all of these amazing, beautiful, gorgeous souls that I work with. And we're producing content once a week, every week, nonstop. When do we ever take a break? And the advantage for me, like Josh who works in entertainment, like series, sometimes they'll have, you know, you watch your favorite series, like I love Handmaid's Tale. I love Stranger Things. You see 11 or 12 episodes.

• 14:39Lewis Howes?

  And you wait a year.

• 14:39Marie Forleo?

  And yes. And then they're off for a little while, right? And I thought to myself, why do I not have downtime built into my business? And this was about the time when also there was just a cultural uprising with like, you know, hustle 24/7 and you have to work nonstop and like, never take a break. And I'll, I'll sleep when I'm dead. And I'm like, those are horrible messages for your health.

• 15:00Lewis Howes?

  Yeah.

• 15:01Marie Forleo?

  So we decided after I saw, so after I had my croissant craving, I told my director of operations, I said, starting right now, we're gonna close the company down for two weeks in the summer and two weeks in the winter. And in addition to people's already having their, yes, their vacation time. And we started that, I guess maybe, I don't know, five, six years ago? I might be wrong on those dates, but a good number of time ago. And so our company goes dark twice a year. And now the company's at a place where not everyone in customer service takes off those exact same two weeks so they stagger so that we can take care of people. But everyone has two weeks of dark time, two weeks of dark time.

• 15:41Marie Forleo?

  And what's great about that is that you don't get FOMO, thinking that you're off and there's all these other things happening and there's projects moving ahead and there's these things that you want to be in on, but you're like feeling that tension because the rest of the company is moving ahead and you're trying to relax. So it's been a game changer for us as a team.

• 16:01Lewis Howes?

  Five years ago, roughly. Interesting. Have you felt any negative effects of that?

• 16:07Marie Forleo?

  Not one.

• 16:08Lewis Howes?

  What if you took a month off in the winter and a month off? Is there like too much time where you're like, okay, now people are just?

• 16:13Marie Forleo?

  It's a great question. We haven't tested that, so I don't know. Two weeks for us has felt like a really beautiful amount of space. So over the past couple of years, the feedback, and we all talk about what we do when we come back and we also share very openly about how it feels. And this is, this is no bullshit too. This is one of the things I'm most proud of. When everyone comes back from break, they're A, so excited to get back from work. It's almost like a little joke. They're like, oh my God, I missed you guys so much. And they talk about how they spent time with their families, like the adventures that they had, how they got a chance to refresh and renew themselves. And they come in with all these ideas. They didn't work on those ideas while they were away. It's just...

• 16:58Lewis Howes?

  This came to them.

• 16:59Marie Forleo?

  It came to them because they had a chance to step away.

• 17:02Lewis Howes?

  Yeah, they had space.

• 17:03Marie Forleo?

  Yeah. And this is the other cool thing, Lois, is I'm really proud of this. Oftentimes, and I don't find out about this until after a fact, they come back and I see these photos uploaded into Slack, they went to hang out with each other. And I was like, that's amazing.

• 17:19Lewis Howes?

  That's great.

• 17:20Marie Forleo?

  Yeah.

• 17:21Lewis Howes?

  Wow. Are those four weeks, are those paid or is it just we're off and you guys take your time off?

• 17:27Marie Forleo?

  No, they're paid.

• 17:28Lewis Howes?

  Wow, that's great.

• 17:29Marie Forleo?

  Yeah, so they have, we have pretty good benefits. Because I feel like in our culture, I was just talking about this last night with my creative director, we were at dinner. It's such a strange environment that so many people that work for companies... Feel afraid. Like they feel.

• 17:43Lewis Howes?

  Afraid of what?

• 17:44Marie Forleo?

  Expendable. Like, there's no sense of loyalty. And we were talking about someone that we know collectively who's like, super talented, but in an industry where things are shifting fast. And this person, you know, there's always this undercurrent of not knowing whether or not they're going to be let go because budgets or this, that, or the other thing. And there's not necessarily a connection between employee and employer. And granted, many people may, well, that's just the way that business works. That's, that's how it must be. And I don't agree with that. Like, I want the people that work for me and with me to feel a sense of safety and security. I mean, nothing is guaranteed.

• 18:26Marie Forleo?

  I get hit by a bus, you know, we don't know, something may happen, but that's all outside of all of our control. But on a day-to-day basis, for someone to feel like if they're contributing their top gifts and their talents and their time to an organization, that that organization is also is equally invested in their health and well-being, their sanity, their ability to show up fully for their family, to have time, to have flexibility. I just think that's where we need to go if we want to create real change in our culture. I mean, there's that statistic that's been around for a while now, it hangs out, that about 70% of people here in the United States are actively disengaged from their work.

• 19:08Lewis Howes?

  Right.

• 19:09Marie Forleo?

  You know, on some level.

• 19:10Lewis Howes?

  Maybe they're there for like, two hours actively, you know, maybe there's two hours of work a day, right?

• 19:13Marie Forleo?

  Yeah, or, but just even the sentiment that they have towards their work. Like, they're not satisfied with it. They're, you know, going through the motions, just showing up, they're doing it only because they get a paycheck, they feel no sense of meaning or purpose. And the economic repercussions of having 70% of our workforce disengaged at work or not liking their work or not feeling satisfied with it is enormous, which speaks nothing of the emotional or the psychological or the spiritual cost of having that proportion of our workforce unhappy.

• 19:45Lewis Howes?

  Yeah, that's true. Wow.

• 19:47Marie Forleo?

  Yeah.

• 19:47Lewis Howes?

  That's good.

• 19:48Marie Forleo?

  Yeah.

• 19:49Lewis Howes?

  What are the things you think you're not doing well in your business?

• 19:52Marie Forleo?

  I think a lot of these have started to shift with this book project. So I tend to be a person, this comes from two places. I like to be involved in things because I'm very collaborative.

• 20:04Lewis Howes?

  Yeah.

• 20:04Marie Forleo?

  So I love to see how things are turning out and I love to like put my spin on them or at least have my input. But in the same time, you know, that can be overbearing. I don't want folks to feel like they constantly have to run things past me. My team definitely knows I trust them. So the thing that I haven't done well in the past is delegating enough, letting go enough control.

• 20:28Lewis Howes?

  Yeah.

• 20:28Marie Forleo?

  And particularly with this project, it's pushed us all so far outside of our collective comfort zones that it's been a joy to be like, you guys make the decision. You're amazing, you're intelligent, you're smart. Whatever you choose, I'm gonna be happy with.

• 20:43Lewis Howes?

  Wow.

• 20:43Marie Forleo?

  Yeah, that's been good.

• 20:44Lewis Howes?

  It's hard to do to let go of that, right?

• 20:46Marie Forleo?

  It's been great.

• 20:47Lewis Howes?

  It's been good?

• 20:47Marie Forleo?

  It's been really great. Like the fact that I'm this like awake and happy and like in it right now speaks to my kind of let go and let Jesus take the wheel. And in this case, Jesus manifests as my team.

• 20:59Lewis Howes?

  It's amazing. Just let people make decisions and move on.

• 21:02Marie Forleo?

  Yes.

• 21:02Lewis Howes?

  You do what you need to do and let everyone else do what they need to do.

• 21:04Marie Forleo?

  Yeah, it's the only way to sanity.

• 21:06Lewis Howes?

  What do you think is missing in your life?

• 21:08Marie Forleo?

  I honestly, I'm gonna sound like probably such a butthole saying this. I don't feel like anything's missing. Like I feel really, first of all, I feel really appreciative of everything. The fact that I have my health, the fact that I have a team and people that I love and people that love me. And I don't feel like there's a hole, if that makes sense.

• 21:31Lewis Howes?

  What do you feel like you'll regret if you don't do something in the next 10 years? So you've had 10 years now of kind of launching this version two of your business, I would say, right?

• 21:41Marie Forleo?

  Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes.

• 21:43Lewis Howes?

  And now the next decade is coming up. What will you regret if it's 2030, we're doing this again, sitting here and you're like, I'm really upset at myself because I didn't do this in my personal life, in my business, my health, my family, the world?

• 21:57Marie Forleo?

  Yes. I would say the only thing I could foresee at this moment not regretting is not continuing. To take that quality time with people I love. That would be the thing that if for whatever reason I started making justifications.

• 22:15Lewis Howes?

  Right. Well, this opportunity is so amazing, so I gotta go here and do this.

• 22:19Marie Forleo?

  That would be the only thing to be super transparent with you. Yeah, because looking back on these past 10 years, the quality time with people that I love is everything. And I know this so viscerally in my body is that we're not gonna be here forever. And we never know when the people that we love.

• 22:44Lewis Howes?

  Gone.

• 22:44Marie Forleo?

  Gone. And so for me, there is nothing more important than maintaining and enriching and deepening those personal, like friend relationships, Josh, my family, like making sure that I show up as fully as possible and not letting anything take me off track from that. Because it's having not had money and starting with like tons of debt and building everything from the ground up and now being in a different position. It's like I can see so clearly the success on an exterior level. Like that's amazing and I'm grateful for it. But nothing can make up for not having a sense of love in your life

• 23:28Marie Forleo?

  and not having people that you care about and that you're invested in. So there's nothing that I could strive for or reach for that's gonna be more important than this, if that makes sense.

• 23:38Lewis Howes?

  Yeah, of course.

• 23:38Marie Forleo?

  Yeah.

• 23:39Lewis Howes?

  You probably get asked this a lot. Do you?

• 23:41Marie Forleo?

  Is my hair real?

• 23:42Lewis Howes?

  No, that one too. That one too. That's true. We found out before. It's real. It's amazing.

• 23:48Marie Forleo?

  I love it. Louis asked me, he's like, are those extensions? I was like, no buddy. I was like, that's not.

• 23:52Lewis Howes?

  I knew it wasn't, but I just wanted to ask.

• 23:54Marie Forleo?

  Yeah, no, I get it.

• 23:55Lewis Howes?

  The kid, the kid thing. Do you feel like, I think you get asked this a lot. I'm assuming you get asked this a lot by the women. Do you ever feel pressured, or judged, or whatever, critiqued because you don't have kids yet? And I think you don't want to have kids, is that correct?

• 24:11Marie Forleo?

  Yeah, no, it is. So I want to actually hit on all of those because each that you mentioned, pressured, judged, or critiqued. So let's stick with pressured, judged, or critiqued because those are very distinct flavors.

• 24:23Lewis Howes?

  Yes.

• 24:24Marie Forleo?

  So, at this stage, I don't get asked as much anymore because I've been talking about it so consistently and trying to be as loving and just straight up as possible about the fact that I've never wanted kids. And, real about the fact that I chose consciously or unconsciously, a man who already had a child. So, some part of me clearly wanted to be a stepmom because I am.

• 24:52Lewis Howes?

  Right.

• 24:53Marie Forleo?

  And I love my stepson and he's awesome. So there's that. But I've never wanted to have my own biological kids.

• 24:59Lewis Howes?

  Why is that, do you think?

• 25:00Marie Forleo?

  You know, I've also never wanted to get married. I just think that we're all kind of born with these innate desires. And sometimes we adopt the expectations of our family, of society, of the culture that we grew up in. For whatever reason, I feel like I popped onto this earth with a very clear inner compass of the things that I would like to explore, or learn, or experience. And also, a very clear compass of those things which I just am not interested in. I don't not want it for other people. It's almost like when you go to a beautiful buffet, right? And you walk up and you're like, "Oh my goodness, there's

• 25:44Marie Forleo?

  these vegetables. And, oh, there's these desserts and these possibilities." You don't necessarily take from every option that's there. You're naturally attracted to some things over the other. So in my life, I've always known what I want to go after. And the little plate that has "have children", And the little plate that's like getting married.

• 26:05Lewis Howes?

  Was not on your.

• 26:06Marie Forleo?

  I just was like, that's not for me.

• 26:08Lewis Howes?

  It's not desirable.

• 26:08Marie Forleo?

  It's not my path. And so, earlier on in my life, I had many people tell me that I'm making the worst mistake ever, that I'm gonna regret it.

• 26:17Lewis Howes?

  Both marriage and baby, not having babies and not being married.

• 26:20Marie Forleo?

  Mostly babies.

• 26:21Lewis Howes?

  Yeah, yeah.

• 26:21Marie Forleo?

  Mostly babies. Was that I was gonna, you know, reach some age and just absolutely hate myself and like it would be the biggest mistake of my life, that I was gonna die alone. And I'm like, I'm gonna die alone anyway.

• 26:32Lewis Howes?

  Well, die alone.

• 26:33Marie Forleo?

  That's exactly right.

• 26:34Lewis Howes?

  We're not holding hands, dying with someone crossing over.

• 26:38Marie Forleo?

  Lucky not, unless, you know, God forbid, a plane goes down. Right. So there was that. In terms of, you know, so the feeling judged about it and criticized, let's go into those pockets. Because that's interesting to me. I have had folks, and I can understand this, so I do understand it, but I think that there is just room to explore it and have a discussion when it comes to having a conversation around productivity, having a conversation around business growth, having a conversation around priorities. And people can be very bold and courageous on like an Instagram comment where they wouldn't be nearly. So, you know, if you were sitting across the table and just having a conversation, it was like,

• 27:23Marie Forleo?

  well, it's easy for you to say, those of us that have kids. And I'm like, now all of a sudden, anything that comes out of my mouth is all of a sudden without merit because I have not given biological birth to a child through my vagina. Like, really? Is that where we're gonna take this? Oh, and by the way, let's take a look at other folks that I have worked with who have seven kids.

• 27:46Lewis Howes?

  Right, right.

• 27:46Marie Forleo?

  Eight kids, who say, oh, I found value in this principle and here's how I made this idea work in the context of my life. So I think that it's really interesting to have someone judge another person for their choices. Do you know what I mean? So I think that.

• 28:03Lewis Howes?

  How do you handle being judged for that or for anything?

• 28:05Marie Forleo?

  Oh, I give absolutely no.

• 28:07Lewis Howes?

  No attention.

• 28:08Marie Forleo?

  Fs.

• 28:09Lewis Howes?

  Right, yeah, you just care.

• 28:10Marie Forleo?

  I don't because, you know, the more you care about what other people think, the more they own you.

• 28:16Lewis Howes?

  Mm-hmm, the more power they have over you.

• 28:18Marie Forleo?

  Yeah, and it's like, I want people to win. That's who I am as a person. I want people to win. I want them to be well. I want them to be successful. If there's anything that I could possibly share that even a tiny nugget of what I share helps them become more of who they want to be, then I feel I have done my job successfully. Do I have all the answers? Absolutely not. No way. No one has all the answers. But I do believe that what we create in our company and the programs we put together and the things that we share help people find their own answers. So I don't, honestly, I don't care.

• 28:56Lewis Howes?

  Yeah.

• 28:56Marie Forleo?

  I really don't care because if someone is gonna take the time to either make that comment or that judgment, it, my perspective would be that there's something in their own life that's not working, that puts them in that position of feeling a sense of pain or feeling like they have to judge someone else to justify what's happening in their own life.

• 29:13Lewis Howes?

  Yeah.

• 29:13Marie Forleo?

  I just don't think that gets any of us anywhere.

• 29:15Lewis Howes?

  So what do you do when people are judging you online? Or do you just delete? Do you just leave it and don't respond? Do you just say, "Thank you for the feedback" and move on?

• 29:25Marie Forleo?

  It depends, I think, contextually. Like, if someone has a different opinion and they express it respectfully, amazing.

• 29:33Lewis Howes?

  Yeah.

• 29:33Marie Forleo?

  If someone's being hateful.

• 29:35Lewis Howes?

  Yes.

• 29:36Marie Forleo?

  And trying to incite other people into a space of negativity and there's no basis in fact, there's no desire to have a meaningful conversation, again, depending on where it is. Like, we have a very, very clear and strong boundary in our programs. Like, there's like a zero negativity, zero drama, zero bullshit policy that we have. Because. No one can learn if they're in an unsafe environment. And if you feel like expressing an opinion or just kind of taking people down this drama-filled road, that's not why we're here. You know, in the context of my business, in the context of trying to help people gain skills and understandings. It's like, if you want to go have contentious conversations...

• 30:17Lewis Howes?

  Go do it with a group of people that...

• 30:18Marie Forleo?

  Do it on your own page. Go do it on your living room. Or go hold a community gathering. Invite people...

• 30:24Lewis Howes?

  To complain.

• 30:24Marie Forleo?

  Correct, or whatever. But not in the learning environment that you have entrusted me to support you in. That's not about to happen. But on public pages, again, if it's just someone who actually just wants to have a meaningful conversation, which is, you know, the exception, not the rule, let's have that meaningful conversation. But if it's someone who's just looking to kind of take a dump in your living room and stir the shit, I'm like, nah.

• 30:45Lewis Howes?

  Yeah.

• 30:46Marie Forleo?

  Nah, not interested.

• 30:51Lewis Howes?

  I want to take a quick moment to tell you about The Greatness Mastermind. Now, if you are an influencer with a large social media following, or if you're a business owner or an entrepreneur making seven figures in your business a year, or eight figures and beyond, then I want you to check out greatnessmastermind.com. This is a year-long program where we curate high-level influencers, high-level entrepreneurs to be a part of our coaching program. Where we pull back the curtain, we bring you together with other high-level influencers and entrepreneurs to help you scale your business, to help you grow your brand, and ultimately, bring in more income for your business as well.

• 31:34Lewis Howes?

  This is all about building a bigger brand, making more impact in the world, and bringing in more income as well. If you want to learn the strategies about how we build our brand, the School of Greatness brand, my personal brand, my business, how I've connected with some of the most influential people in the world, all the different strategies we do with marketing, sales, our team, social media, everything that we do, then go to greatnessmastermind.com, read the form, and only apply if you feel called and ready to make the commitment to take your business and your impact to the next level. This is only for select people who are ready. It's a premium investment as well. We want to make sure the right people are involved,

• 32:19Lewis Howes?

  who are committed to taking their business to the next level. So go to greatnessmastermind.com. And if that's you, make sure to apply today. And we'll see you there. And now, let's get back to the interview with Marie Forleo.

• 32:34Lewis Howes?

  So how do you navigate your relationship? Let's say, I don't know if Josh wants to get married or not, but if he wanted to get married at some point.

• 32:42Marie Forleo?

  Yeah.

• 32:42Lewis Howes?

  Like 10 years down the line, he was like, you know what? I just really want to be married.

• 32:45Marie Forleo?

  Yeah.

• 32:46Lewis Howes?

  Would that be something you'd be open to? Or changing your mind about?

• 32:50Marie Forleo?

  Yeah.

• 32:50Lewis Howes?

  And what if he's like, I really want to have another kid?

• 32:52Marie Forleo?

  Yeah, we've had the kid conversation. So I'm very clear on that one. Yeah, we've already, we've, because I think that it's important, especially for couples. I think it's important to have those real conversations about.

• 33:02Lewis Howes?

  Curly?

• 33:03Marie Forleo?

  Yes. So we tackled that one.

• 33:06Lewis Howes?

  Okay.

• 33:07Marie Forleo?

  And we talked about it. And he was really loving and open with me, like, hey, especially, you know, after being together 16 years in the early part, he's like, if you change your mind and want to have kids, like, I would love to have a kid with you. So he was, but he's like, but I don't feel the, like, I have my son. Do you know what I mean? He's a father already, so there was no.

• 33:27Lewis Howes?

  He was not pressuring you?

• 33:28Marie Forleo?

  No, it was just more like the open invitation. And then in terms of marriage, I don't like to say never to anything. I just like to be honest about my truth in this moment. But if there came a point in the future where my, something in me goes like, I'm super into this. And he was like, I'm super into this too. Let's do it. That very well could happen. And I'm super open with that. But I, what I love about our relationship is we, we throw it on the table. And we talk about it.

• 33:56Lewis Howes?

  Everything.

• 33:57Marie Forleo?

  Yes.

• 33:57Lewis Howes?

  All the time. I think that's the best way to do it.

• 33:59Marie Forleo?

  It's the only way because we, human beings are complex. And expecting another person to just capitulate to your desires or what you really, it's like, it doesn't honor their individuality. And I really believe that there is a way to nurture and love and support the growth of the person that you love without pressuring them consciously or subconsciously to bend at your will.

• 34:26Lewis Howes?

  Right, or manipulate them for passive aggressive in some ways to get them to do something they don't want to do.

• 34:32Marie Forleo?

  Exactly. And for, for us, and I'll just, the last thing I'll say on this. Like in terms of a romantic relationship, the most important things to me, like, do we actually love each other? Do we respect each other? Are we loyal to one another? Is there love and passion? Do we feel a sense of intimacy and connection? Do you, you know what I mean? It's like on a day-to-day basis, are we waking up so excited to be with one another? Not that it's always that way. I was just talking, the vast majority of the time. Is shit on track? And if it is, in my book, winning.

• 35:03Lewis Howes?

  You're winning, yeah.

• 35:03Marie Forleo?

  Super winning.

• 35:04Lewis Howes?

  If you're ninety, eighty percent of the time, things are positive.

• 35:07Marie Forleo?

  Correct.

• 35:07Lewis Howes?

  And pretty smooth. It's pretty good.

• 35:09Marie Forleo?

  And you still love that person. You want to be with them. So like with Josh, it's like, he is my human. He is my person. We love our lives together. And when our work takes, we're like, okay, you know, what's our next adventure together? Or like, when, when do we get to see each other? Or we switch our plans so that we have that night together? If it was going to be three weeks of going in different directions. And I'll be like, I will fly home, even if it's just for dinner or whatever. Or, you know what I mean?

• 35:34Lewis Howes?

  That's cool.

• 35:35Marie Forleo?

  But that to me means more than a marriage certificate. Again, this is just my-

• 35:39Lewis Howes?

  This is your personal truth.

• 35:40Marie Forleo?

  This is my own personal truth, not for other people.

• 35:42Lewis Howes?

  Of course.

• 35:43Marie Forleo?

  Just for me.

• 35:44Lewis Howes?

  Where do you think you'd be if you were single the last ten years?

• 35:47Marie Forleo?

  Oh, my goodness.

• 35:49Lewis Howes?

  Like, would you, would your business be as successful? Do you think, again, we're just-

• 35:53Marie Forleo?

  I know, it's hypotheticals.

• 35:55Lewis Howes?

  Do you think, or do you think, I don't know, you'd be distracted, or where do you think you would be?

• 35:59Marie Forleo?

  It's a great question. I don't know the honest answer to that. But I would be lying if I didn't say that the love and the depth of trust and connection that, that we have together, it's impossible that that hasn't positively impacted my business.

• 36:19Lewis Howes?

  Yeah.

• 36:20Marie Forleo?

  Being single these past ten years? Like, sometimes I honestly will go out and about, and I just, I look up and I'm like, thank you, sweet Jesus, to that I am not kind of out on the scene. I just, I just, you know. And like bless people that are. And I, you know, I hope for everyone who wants love to, to have love and to find love in the, in the form that's good for them. But I'm just real happy, so I, I don't even know.

• 36:45Lewis Howes?

  Do you think your business would be as profitable and successful?

• 36:49Marie Forleo?

  You know, to be really honest, it could go either way. Like, depending on- How wild and crazy I got over those last 10 years. You know, I could envision a version where it wasn't, but I could also envision a version that it was actually technically more successful. Who knows?

• 37:05Lewis Howes?

  Right.

• 37:05Marie Forleo?

  Do you know what I mean? It could have been like-

• 37:07Lewis Howes?

  More financially successful or something.

• 37:09Marie Forleo?

  Or something, just because, you know why? Because I didn't take those-

• 37:12Lewis Howes?

  More time.

• 37:12Marie Forleo?

  Exactly.

• 37:13Lewis Howes?

  Didn't take a break.

• 37:14Marie Forleo?

  Exactly. That's exactly right. And so, that's as possible, you know, as the other one.

• 37:19Lewis Howes?

  Do you know any examples of individuals who have extremely successful brands, careers, or businesses, who are single after 40, where they have healthy businesses and they are happy?

• 37:36Lewis Howes?

  Do you have any friends like that? Like females, males, like that, who are single for-

• 37:40Marie Forleo?

  Single?

• 37:41Lewis Howes?

  Or not married, no kids, and they're just crushing and happy and fulfilled?

• 37:49Marie Forleo?

  I don't. I was thinking about my friend, a friend that I have who is in her 60s, who is not married, but now recently has a boyfriend, but she also does have a child, but it's an adult child. And she's very happy and she's very satisfied with her life.

• 38:05Lewis Howes?

  She's been single for a while.

• 38:06Marie Forleo?

  She was single for like a very good portion of her adult life and only within the last year has a new boyfriend.

• 38:14Lewis Howes?

  And she did really well and she seemed happy.

• 38:15Marie Forleo?

  And she did really well. And she's amazingly happy. So that's one that comes to mind. I'm trying to think. Most of my other dear friends are in some type of partnership, marriage.

• 38:28Lewis Howes?

  Yeah, gotcha. I'm always curious about that. Because I think about the men that I admire the most, they're typically in a committed marriage or some type of committed relationship.

• 38:38Marie Forleo?

  Yes.

• 38:39Lewis Howes?

  And their businesses take off when they have that support.

• 38:42Marie Forleo?

  Yeah.

• 38:42Lewis Howes?

  As opposed to just the distractions that are out in the world.

• 38:45Marie Forleo?

  Yeah. I think there's something settling that happens for us when we have someone that we want to devote our love to and invest in that person and who they are. I don't know. I like it.

• 38:59Lewis Howes?

  Yeah.

• 38:59Marie Forleo?

  I do.

• 39:00Lewis Howes?

  This book came about-

• 39:03Lewis Howes?

  I think from an Oprah talk that you did three years ago, almost three and a half years ago, four years ago.

• 39:07Marie Forleo?

  Yeah, the idea I've been talking about for like two decades.

• 39:10Lewis Howes?

  Your mom taught you this when you were younger, growing up.

• 39:13Marie Forleo?

  Yep.

• 39:13Lewis Howes?

  But then you did a speech on it, which I saw, which was amazing.

• 39:17Marie Forleo?

  Thank you.

• 39:17Lewis Howes?

  Yeah, here in LA. And everyone's been asking you to do a book for a decade and you finally decided to do one.

• 39:24Marie Forleo?

  Yes.

• 39:24Lewis Howes?

  Why do you feel like you wanted to do one now? And why this topic and not something else?

• 39:29Marie Forleo?

  So, the why now piece was a lot about trusting myself. You know, when I think any of us have opportunities knocking at the door, it can feel easy to be like, oh, I need to say yes because, you know, this window of opportunity isn't going to be open long, or this is going to help me quote unquote get ahead, or, you know, I need to make sure I maintain my edge and get out there.

• 39:51Lewis Howes?

  Yeah.

• 39:52Marie Forleo?

  And one of the things that's been a big lesson for me is to always trust my own timing and not the exterior pressures of the world. And when those calls kept coming in, like, we need a book from you. Let's do a business book. Let's do whatever book. I was like, no, it doesn't, it feels like there's a seed that's been planted. And just like a real life plant, that seed takes some time. You have to water it. There needs to be the right nutrients in the soil. Needs to be the right weather. And then even as the seedling comes up out of the ground, you can't tug on it too fast to get it to bloom faster. You know what I mean? Like, you have to nurture it.

• 40:23Lewis Howes?

  Yeah.

• 40:23Marie Forleo?

  And it has to take the time it takes to come into its full possibility. And that's how I felt with this book. I had known that there was a big idea I wanted to write about. When Oprah and her team had asked me to speak at Super Soul Sessions, the first thought about what the title of the talk would be was everything is figure outable. And then I had appeared in my mental theater, this is your book. Like, it wasn't even like it was a decision. It was like, it was like the seedling had come up and go, this is me. Now you are going to be ready to, you know what I mean? So, but the bigger reason, in terms of an exterior reason, there's two things. One, we have a lot of challenges collectively happening right now. There's over 315 million people around the world that suffer from depression.

• 41:07Marie Forleo?

  Suicide rates in the United States are at a 30-year high. That speaks nothing of the economic, political pollution, thinking about every level of inequality and injustice that impacts us. So, we've got a lot of problems that both individually and collectively we need to solve. And I ran into a mutual friend of ours, Toby, who runs Shopify. I think you know him. I was actually working on the manuscript at like a restaurant in New York and he walked in. And I was like, oh my goodness, because he's from Canada, like, what are you doing here? And we caught up and he's like, why are you writing a book? You're so busy with the rest of your business. It's not like you need to write a book. And this is what I told him.

• 41:48Marie Forleo?

  I said, Toby, honestly, I feel like if I were to walk out in the street right now and I got hit by a bus, this is the one idea that I would want to leave behind. From every Marie TV, from everything I've ever done. I feel like if I can somehow communicate this idea in a book form in a way that people can really get, that I could leave and go to that next chapter being like, peace, y'all, I did my thing, right? Like, I'm fine, I'm good. So that's the reason I wanted to write this book because I feel like every single one of us has such innate wisdom and so many capabilities that we're not even fully aware of. And that if I could write about this simple three-word phrase that has helped me at every single stage of my life and continues to help me to this day.

• 42:31Marie Forleo?

  I still use it every day. It would give people a tool that could serve them regardless of where they come from, regardless of their age, regardless of their economic background, regardless of their cultural background, because it's so simple. It's not complex. I joked, because I struggled a lot through the writing process.

• 42:50Lewis Howes?

  You're like, it's so simple.

• 42:51Marie Forleo?

  It's so simple. I was, I remember like at points kind of tearing my hair out, feeling so terrible. Like, I'm a bad writer and I don't know if any of this is good. And going, but going like this, I made the joke, I was like, can't we just write a book with everything is figure-outable on the cover and then there's blank pages throughout? Like, that's it. That like on a very kind of joking but meta level, like, this is all you need to know.

• 43:10Lewis Howes?

  That's it, yeah. Well, I think the best, the best-selling books are always the, the most basic.

• 43:15Marie Forleo?

  Yes. It's like the foundational, right.

• 43:18Lewis Howes?

  The Four Agreements, it's literally like four sentences is the whole book.

• 43:22Marie Forleo?

  But it's so profound in its simplicity.

• 43:25Lewis Howes?

  Simplicity, the five-second rule. It's like, okay, it's, you know, you say five or three to one and it's like, that's the whole book. You know, it's all these things. So, you are a badass. It's like, okay, I'm a badass. You just believe it and you don't need a whole book. It's like simple stuff, but just as a big hit, so. Was that challenging for you to like say, okay, how I'm gonna fill up a book that's really, could be one cover?

• 43:46Marie Forleo?

  Yes.

• 43:47Lewis Howes?

  And write all this research and do all this stuff?

• 43:49Marie Forleo?

  Yeah, it was, I'll tell you, what was interesting was For me, how to communicate all of the tools and the principles that support this one notion in an arc that gives people actionable things to do and that doesn't overwhelm them, but at the same time gives them enough things to activate this belief so that it never leaves their consciousness or their soul again.

• 44:16Lewis Howes?

  Yeah, that's the power.

• 44:17Marie Forleo?

  Yeah.

• 44:18Lewis Howes?

  That's the power. What is the thing right now that's in the way that you need to figure out?

• 44:23Marie Forleo?

  I think one of the things that's been interesting about the book launch process for me, we're just in the process of actually figuring out how to get the book in as many hands as possible in a way that always feels authentic to us. And it's fun. It's like, that's really the thing that we're figuring that we're figuring out. And it feels like we're in the process of it, if that makes any kind of sense.

• 44:49Lewis Howes?

  Figuring it out right now.

• 44:49Marie Forleo?

  Yeah, totally figuring it out.

• 44:50Lewis Howes?

  You've never done this. You've done other launches.

• 44:53Marie Forleo?

  Yeah, I mean, I wrote a book when I was in my early twenties.

• 44:56Lewis Howes?

  Dating one, right?

• 44:57Marie Forleo?

  Yeah, and it was so it was such a different experience.

• 45:00Lewis Howes?

  A different era of like getting books out then, too.

• 45:02Marie Forleo?

  Completely, completely. I didn't know anything. I didn't have a very big audience. I didn't have any confidence in my own ability to like negotiate or to partner with anyone. Like, it was like such a different era. But that's, that's the thing now, like figuring out. And we just did a kind of really fun video shoot yesterday that that's tied in to the book. Giada, who's my creative director and I, we were like sitting at dinner last night and just laughing. We're like, oh my goodness. Like, we're working with so many different teams. Like, imagine us six years ago. This would have totally stressed us out. And now we're like so joyful about it. So it's really fun.

• 45:36Lewis Howes?

  That's cool.

• 45:36Marie Forleo?

  Yeah.

• 45:37Lewis Howes?

  Where in your life do you feel like you have the least amount of confidence?

• 45:40Marie Forleo?

  The least amount of confidence? I would say... For me, the place where there's like a real growth edge is saying yes to like a keynote talk, right? Where I could just say yes and get on that stage. I'm a talker. So I don't mind, I love talking and I love teaching. But I also am really interested in creating beautiful cases to inspire people to adopt ideas. And that takes, for me, it takes work to craft those. You know, I was at one point in college considering a law degree. So I took many law classes. And one of my favorite pieces of those classes was constructing the legal briefs because

• 46:23Marie Forleo?

  I loved finding an idea and then backing it up to make a case to argue for that. It's a nice skill. Right? It's a great skill. But for me, that doesn't necessarily happen instantly. And I don't necessarily feel confident at this point in my career because I care so much about ideas, just like stepping on a stage and be like, I'm gonna give a keynote like tomorrow. Even though technically I know I could fill an hour. And be fine. And be totally fine. But I don't feel the same level of confidence as, let's say, other aspects. Like, you know, you could throw me in any kind of interview. You could throw me in some marketing situation. You could throw me in almost any, and I'd be like, give this, bring it. But that's the area that I'm excited. Giving keynotes, huh? Yeah. Interesting. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

• 47:08Marie Forleo?

  I also, it's really a fun, just because I've spent the last decade focused in other areas, if that makes sense. Yeah, of course. Yeah. What's a skill set you really want to learn over the next decade? Okay, there's a couple. I got a couple. So I don't know if it'll happen in 10 years, because just like with the book, it's not necessarily something I'm like, I want to really do this, but I don't have the time. Because that's bullshit. I do have the time. It's just about what priorities are. Desire, yeah. Yes. So it may not be within a decade, but certainly within 15, is learn to speak Italian.

• 47:38Lewis Howes?

  Yeah.

• 47:38Marie Forleo?

  Because I love the language and I I practice little bits here and there and I practice around my trips and I just know in my heart that, God willing, I'm on the planet long enough that that will be to go over there and spend some time and like do an immersive program where I can just drench myself in the culture and not speak English for like eight weeks and just do it. I think the other thing that I would really, I'm a horrible singer. Horrible. I love karaoke.

• 48:04Lewis Howes?

  Yes.

• 48:04Marie Forleo?

  I love singing and rapping. I'm doing whatever, like anything in the karaoke world. But I think along with that Italian thing, training, like vocal training, I think would be so fun. Not even necessarily to perform publicly, but I feel like-

• 48:18Lewis Howes?

  For yourself, inner confidence, skill, yeah.

• 48:20Marie Forleo?

  Just for even like singing in the shower. I have so much fun singing no matter what. But being able to like follow a tune, like I see it a lot like dance. So for me, when you learn choreography and it was unfamiliar to you and then it gets in your body and you are actually able to not just perform technically, but you can dance the choreography, there is a freedom in that feeling-

• 48:46Lewis Howes?

  It's amazing.

• 48:46Marie Forleo?

  That's remarkable.

• 48:48Lewis Howes?

  It's amazing.

• 48:48Marie Forleo?

  And I I suspect, and I don't know if this is true, but I suspect there's something akin to that with singing, that if you could learn a tune and actually, do you know what I mean? Be able to follow the notes-

• 49:01Lewis Howes?

  Absolutely.

• 49:01Marie Forleo?

  That it would be a really joyous experience.

• 49:03Lewis Howes?

  I know. I mean, when I started learning salsa dancing, it was for-

• 49:06Marie Forleo?

  You're good at that.

• 49:07Lewis Howes?

  Thank you. I do my best. For three and a half months, I was, you know, I think we learn anything. You're self-conscious. You're like, I suck at this.

• 49:14Marie Forleo?

  Yes.

• 49:15Lewis Howes?

  Especially a partner experience. I was like, I'm just making these people look bad every day. I felt bad. And it wasn't until like three and a half months, things started to click where I was like, I was fluent in salsa dancing. And then I was not self-conscious anymore. I wasn't thinking about- Counting the steps and hitting the beats, I was just flowing.

• 49:33Marie Forleo?

  Yes.

• 49:33Lewis Howes?

  And it was just like the rhythm took over and I was like, I'm a Latino. You know, it's like, I am a Latino, you know what I mean? I just started taking singing lessons at the end of last year. And it's been a game changer for me because I've never sung in front of people. Cause it's one of my fears.

• 49:49Marie Forleo?

  Yes.

• 49:49Lewis Howes?

  So every year I try to write down like, what are the biggest fears that still hold me back?

• 49:53Marie Forleo?

  Yes.

• 49:54Lewis Howes?

  Whether they don't hold me back because I just don't try them, but I know they hold me back instead.

• 49:58Marie Forleo?

  Yeah.

• 49:58Lewis Howes?

  And I never did karaoke before. I would just go and watch and I would never do it.

• 50:02Marie Forleo?

  Yes.

• 50:02Lewis Howes?

  Unless it was like 10 people singing at the same time, type of thing, you know? It's like, I would never do it myself. And I started to, I was like, okay, I'm sick and tired of this. I'm going to do lessons and it's been amazing.

• 50:12Marie Forleo?

  Did you find someone here local?

• 50:14Lewis Howes?

  I found someone local and I was like, all right, I need to find someone who terrifies me. And I was like, who's one of the best singers in the world? And who's her, their coach?

• 50:23Marie Forleo?

  Mm-hmm.

• 50:23Lewis Howes?

  And I was like, Sia. For me is like, Chantilly or the song, I was like, this girl can sing.

• 50:28Marie Forleo?

  Yes.

• 50:28Lewis Howes?

  I'm like, who is her coach?

• 50:29Marie Forleo?

  Yes.

• 50:30Lewis Howes?

  I found her coach and I'm working with Sia's coach.

• 50:34Marie Forleo?

  You're gonna, brother, you're gonna have to share a little text. Cause I was just gonna say, I don't know.

• 50:38Lewis Howes?

  It's amazing.

• 50:38Marie Forleo?

  Is it?

• 50:38Lewis Howes?

  No, it's amazing.

• 50:39Marie Forleo?

  I really want to learn.

• 50:40Lewis Howes?

  Yeah, the first few weeks I did it, I was literally like drenched in sweat, so nervous. Cause just me and her and I'm singing right in front of her.

• 50:48Marie Forleo?

  Yes.

• 50:49Lewis Howes?

  And I'm just like, see all the posters of all the, you know, the singers that she's worked with. I'm like, what am I doing here? Every week it just got more and more natural. Where I was able to expand my range and open my vocal cords and everything. And I was just like, okay.

• 51:02Marie Forleo?

  Oh wait, so have you sung publicly a little bit?

• 51:04Lewis Howes?

  No, no, no. I mean, I've done karaoke a couple of times, but I'm not.

• 51:06Marie Forleo?

  Do you want to sing right now?

• 51:07Lewis Howes?

  No.

• 51:09Lewis Howes?

  I don't even want to do it for public.

• 51:11Marie Forleo?

  No, of course.

• 51:11Lewis Howes?

  You know what I mean? It's just like you with the shower.

• 51:13Marie Forleo?

  I completely understand that. It's more like. I completely understand that.

• 51:14Lewis Howes?

  But if I need to, I could, and it wouldn't terrify me.

• 51:17Marie Forleo?

  Yeah.

• 51:17Lewis Howes?

  You know what I mean?

• 51:18Marie Forleo?

  I totally respect and totally understand that.

• 51:21Lewis Howes?

  It's a, it's a game changer though.

• 51:22Marie Forleo?

  Yeah.

• 51:23Lewis Howes?

  Just like the art of learning something new that you're scared of. I think it's powerful for all of us.

• 51:27Marie Forleo?

  Completely. And to be able to hang out there, like, so part of what we're doing with the book, we were talking about this a little bit off camera, so I wanted to do something special. And we're doing this thing in New York, and I'm grateful because it's sold out, but we describe it as imagine if a Beyonce concert and a TED Talk had a baby and then threw a block party.

• 51:48Lewis Howes?

  Yeah.

• 51:48Marie Forleo?

  And that's kind of what we're doing. And there's choreography involved. And not just of other dancers, but for me. And I will tell you, Louis, the other day, I went into my first day of rehearsal, and even though, right, I was a Nike Elite Dance athlete, and this is going way back.

• 52:03Lewis Howes?

  You taught dance?

• 52:04Marie Forleo?

  I taught dance. I don't have a formal dance training background.

• 52:09Lewis Howes?

  Like a hip-hop.

• 52:09Marie Forleo?

  Exactly. So I was completely self-taught, and I didn't start until my mid-20s. So I was like over the hill in the dance world. So I'm still not anywhere near the realm of like some of these incredible folks that are out there. And I was going into dance rehearsals the other day, Louis, I was so terrified. I actually did like a little, I recorded it on video because I wanted to remember the feeling of how much I wanted to like throw up, how scared I felt of just going into that room and just the notions, like the visions in my mind of just being completely overwhelmed, being like totally shut down, do you know what I mean? Like all of that fear of stepping into, and what I said to myself was like,

• 52:53Marie Forleo?

  I'm so curious if other people experience this in other disciplines. Again, whether it is speaking in public, having a conversation with a loved one.

• 53:02Lewis Howes?

  Starting a business.

• 53:03Marie Forleo?

  Starting a business.

• 53:04Lewis Howes?

  Writing a book, whatever, maybe.

• 53:05Marie Forleo?

  Going into a new kind of phase of their health or fitness, showing up for something. But I think it's a really exciting place to be, and I loved, it was uncomfortable to hang out with those feelings, but after three days of rehearsals, I was like, let's do it again!

• 53:19Lewis Howes?

  Were you with like professional dancers also, who are like top pros in New York?

• 53:23Marie Forleo?

  Yes. And so that particular rehearsal, like we have rehearsal with the rest of the team coming up, but this is with, like, I mean, people who have choreographed and worked with folks like Beyonce, and like, do you know what I mean? Like, we're, and so the intimidation level is like...

• 53:39Lewis Howes?

  You're intimidated, you're like, what am I doing here?

• 53:40Marie Forleo?

  Completely. Just like, what have I gotten myself into?

• 53:44Lewis Howes?

  Can we start with the two-step, guys? Just start the basics.

• 53:46Marie Forleo?

  Taking it real, real slow for this one.

• 53:48Lewis Howes?

  That's good.

• 53:48Marie Forleo?

  Yeah.

• 53:49Lewis Howes?

  I think it's important for people to get out of their comfort zones as much as possible. And it sounds like your free course that you have, it sounds like if people buy a book, they get access to the free course.

• 53:57Marie Forleo?

  Yeah, so I want to talk about this real fast. So, writing for me, I was saying how it wasn't an easy process. And I was trying to do a really good job, just do a good job by my publishers and by the audience, too. Turned in the first draft of the manuscript and was waiting for feedback from the editors and the publishers. And they, you know, sent a lovely email with, you know, a bunch of notes for each chapter, stuff to tweak and to change all part of the process as it was. But I had spent a ton of time on this last chapter and I was like, super proud of it. And I was hoping for them to love it. I wanted them to love it.

• 54:29Lewis Howes?

  Round of applause, bravo.

• 54:30Marie Forleo?

  Or something like, "Oh, my goodness, like, that's so great." No. The feedback was, "We think you should lose that chapter." Like, "That chapter needs to just not be there." "We think the book ends here, it feels like ba, ba, ba." And I was like, "Okay." And I was definitely, like, crestfallen and felt disappointed.

• 54:45Lewis Howes?

  Yeah.

• 54:45Marie Forleo?

  But then I had the two-week break off for the holidays, which gave me a moment of perspective shift. And I went back and looked at the material and I was like, "You know what? They are right. This book doesn't, this, excuse me, this chapter doesn't belong in the book. It belongs in the classroom." I can actually help people with this material so much more if I can use the benefit of my voice, of visuals, of fun sheets. So, I took the material, reworked it, developed it even further, and then turned it into an online course and people can get it completely for free. There's no upsell, it's not like that. But to celebrate the launch of the book, I just want people to have that extra information that didn't make it in. So, it's kind of like the advanced material to help you embed the belief,

• 55:28Marie Forleo?

  "Everything is figure-outable," into your psychology. Because my friends were asking me, they're like, "You think this way automatically because this is some, this is an idea that you've grown up with." Yes, so now it's a part of my DNA. So, I was like, "How can I help other people in a really simple and easy way get this belief to be a part of their DNA so they can get the benefit of it like this?" And so, that free course, which is called the Figure-Outable Formula, if you order the book, you can get in, there's a page, it's everythingisfigureoutable.com/freegift. And you just upload your receipt, you'll get an email when we're starting the course and, you know, you can have that material for life.

• 56:03Lewis Howes?

  It's five days live.

• 56:04Marie Forleo?

  It's five days. The videos are super short. So it's not like you have to have a big time commitment.

• 56:10Lewis Howes?

  Right.

• 56:10Marie Forleo?

  If you have five or 10 minutes a day, I will teach you a tool that is research backed. That will help you, get this Lois, this is so great. This is why I was so proud of it. I was so disappointed. You can get over any fear, any doubt, any negative belief and get into action in 90 seconds or less.

• 56:28Lewis Howes?

  There you go.

• 56:28Marie Forleo?

  It's fun. You might not, you might have to, you're gonna have to use the tool a couple times, right? Just like anything else.

• 56:34Lewis Howes?

  I love that.

• 56:34Marie Forleo?

  But it will, it will get you into that space of moving forward rather than feeling stuck.

• 56:40Lewis Howes?

  What are the things that you would say, maybe you don't do these every day, but if there are three to five things that you could do every day?

• 56:47Marie Forleo?

  Yes.

• 56:48Lewis Howes?

  You know you would have a much better day if you don't do those things.

• 56:51Marie Forleo?

  Okay.

• 56:52Lewis Howes?

  And maybe you do them every day, maybe you do them most days and sometimes you miss, but.

• 56:56Marie Forleo?

  I'm a most days person because, because.

• 56:59Lewis Howes?

  Cause life happens.

• 57:00Marie Forleo?

  Well, yeah. And I mean, just, you know, you and I have been texting back and forth. We were both traveling so much. I had like a pretty, it was just one, you know, when you just have those travel days where you're on the tarmac for a few hours.

• 57:12Lewis Howes?

  You're like, I can work out.

• 57:14Marie Forleo?

  I was just like, I got in, I had hardly any sleep. It was just a moving target. So my most days things are movement for sure. So on days when it's tough, it looks like a little app that racks up a seven minute workout that I can literally do anywhere.

• 57:32Lewis Howes?

  Yeah.

• 57:33Marie Forleo?

  Like in an office to on better days, going to a class or doing like a full 30 minute or a 45 minute or something like that. Or like a dance class or a spin class. In anything in that range, even if I can only get in a seven minute workout. I'm proud of myself because I did something.

• 57:48Lewis Howes?

  Yeah.

• 57:48Marie Forleo?

  Right? So movement. Meditation, another big one. I actually saw it the other day when I was in rehearsal. So I had three days of men in a row. Two out of the three days I meditated, the two days that I meditated, my ability to remember choreo was so much faster. And the second day, I felt like my body had just needed more rest because I had pushed it really hard the day before. So I had this moment, I don't know if you've ever experienced this, where you've got like a little bit of a choice, or like, oh, does the body need this or this? And for me, I'm working really hard to maintain my health as I'm pushing myself very hard. So it's just making choices to go like, does, will the extra hour sleep? Or whatever. But I noticed that the day that I didn't meditate, I had a harder time

• 58:33Marie Forleo?

  and I was harder on myself in the studio.

• 58:36Lewis Howes?

  Yeah.

• 58:37Marie Forleo?

  So meditation.

• 58:37Lewis Howes?

  Yeah.

• 58:38Marie Forleo?

  Drinking enough water. I am definitely one of those humans that between like water and food, if I get into like a creative zone doing something.

• 58:50Lewis Howes?

  You forget to eat and drink?

• 58:51Marie Forleo?

  Yes, I'm like, oh, wow, it's 7:30 and I have not touched food.

• 58:55Lewis Howes?

  Wow.

• 58:56Marie Forleo?

  Not, do you know, so obviously proper hydration. And then I would say, when this works for Josh and I, this is like a non-negotiable in the morning, like we have coffee together in bed pretty much every day. Like there's maybe a 20 minute or like half hour connection time.

• 59:13Lewis Howes?

  That's good.

• 59:14Marie Forleo?

  Where we just, we bullshit, honestly. Like we just talk about,

• 59:17Lewis Howes?

  Whatever.

• 59:18Marie Forleo?

  Talk about whatever. We play with Kuma. We talk about anything. It's just like hangout time.

• 59:24Lewis Howes?

  That's good.

• 59:25Marie Forleo?

  And it feels really, it's just grounding and it's just like a moment to be with that person that you really love before the rest of the world. So those are the things that for me, and it's not much more complicated than that.

• 59:36Lewis Howes?

  It's simple.

• 59:36Marie Forleo?

  There are certain times of like creatively where maybe journaling, like when I was writing the book, it was a really helpful way for me to kind of process new ideas. But I'm not an everyday journal person. Sometimes it feels like it's just kind of, the faucet is open and I have to actually go right into. Yes, yes, yes.

• 59:55Lewis Howes?

  Okay. What's something you think that you could add or eliminate that would make your life better?

• 1:00:01Marie Forleo?

  Add or eliminate?

• 1:00:03Lewis Howes?

  Maybe one of each.

• 1:00:04Marie Forleo?

  I think the more I dial up physical activity, I am just more joyful. So it would just be to kind of crank up the volume on that even more. And then eliminate, it's a really, okay.

• 1:00:18Marie Forleo?

  It's like changing, I'm like, okay, I'm wanting my subconscious to surface something. I will tell you, and I don't really know if this would make my life better, I really don't. So I love, I call it real estate porn. Because I just love.

• 1:00:32Lewis Howes?

  Are you on Zillow all day like me?

• 1:00:33Marie Forleo?

  I have, it's street easy for New York and I have other, where it's, I just like seeing interiors. And I like seeing the shapes, I don't know what it is, but I love seeing how different things are constructed. It feels like when I just, I like flick through, I have no desire to go look at these places. I have no desire, do you know what I mean? But there's something about it that I'm like, well, I know how some folks, and you know, God bless all of us, right? We all have our little things, like some people are like, oh my goodness, I spend too much time on Instagram. That's not really me. I'm not super duper into social, but I would say if there's any app that I overuse, it is that street. Is that, is that real, I just go, I'm like, oh, what's new or what's happening or you know?

• 1:01:15Lewis Howes?

  An hour passes and you're like, what did I do with my life?

• 1:01:17Marie Forleo?

  Yeah, yeah, yeah, but sometimes I will admit though, sometimes it is a great way for my brain to just actually, almost like the, you know what I mean, the dust settles if, um, obviously meditation would be like ideal. But there's some times where if that's just what my little heart is like, girl, just get yourself a moment or two of real estate porn, I'm gonna say yes. It's.

• 1:01:38Lewis Howes?

  It's like watching a movie, just you're just watching a movie, you're on way.

• 1:01:41Marie Forleo?

  Yeah, totally.

• 1:01:42Lewis Howes?

  It's just your movie.

• 1:01:43Marie Forleo?

  Yeah, so again, I'm still, I'm skeptical about whether or not less of that would actually be good.

• 1:01:47Lewis Howes?

  Try it for a week. Dude, instead of that, go do another workout class or meditation class or yoga.

• 1:01:54Marie Forleo?

  Yeah, because it's the nighttime thing, if I work out at night, then I can't sleep.

• 1:01:57Lewis Howes?

  Ah, gotcha.

• 1:01:58Marie Forleo?

  Yeah.

• 1:01:59Lewis Howes?

  So early in the morning, gotcha.

• 1:02:00Marie Forleo?

  Yeah, yeah, yeah, but if I find, if I think of something else, that's, that's terrible, I will absolutely give you an update.

• 1:02:05Lewis Howes?

  What's something you're proud of that no one knows about?

• 1:02:08Marie Forleo?

  Something I'm proud of that no one knows about, I think no one knows about this maybe because I haven't spoken it. But. I'm really, really proud of my team and the company I've built. And I know, maybe I've talked about it, so I'm not trying to weasel out of it, but that's the first thing that came into my heart. Because I love them so much and I love seeing how happy they are. And I feel like, while they make their own choices, they've opted to be here. I feel like I've played some part in bringing these magical humans together. And when they send me Slack messages that say like, "I feel like I have my dream job, like I can't believe this is real."

• 1:02:50Lewis Howes?

  That's cool. That's pretty cool.

• 1:02:53Marie Forleo?

  Yeah.

• 1:02:53Lewis Howes?

  That's pretty prideful, yeah.

• 1:02:54Marie Forleo?

  Yeah.

• 1:02:55Lewis Howes?

  That's cool. What is the thing that you're most afraid of?

• 1:02:59Marie Forleo?

  Thing I'm most...

• 1:02:59Lewis Howes?

  Besides the heights we talked about before.

• 1:03:01Marie Forleo?

  Yeah.

• 1:03:02Lewis Howes?

  What about like an emotional thing you're afraid of?

• 1:03:05Marie Forleo?

  An emotional thing I'm afraid of, I think...

• 1:03:07Lewis Howes?

  Not like spiders or like snakes, but I mean, something else is like...

• 1:03:10Marie Forleo?

  No, no, no, no, no, something, something real. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, nothing that... You know, I think it would be behaving in a way that I was unaware that I was hurting someone that I love. Do you know what I mean? Like finding out after too long of a period of time that I had been doing something unconsciously that was unkind or that was hurtful or that was somehow damaging to someone and I didn't know it.

• 1:03:39Lewis Howes?

  Yeah, that would suck.

• 1:03:40Marie Forleo?

  Yeah, I think I would, I would just be like, not because I'm striving to be perfect, but I, I love people and I would never want to hurt someone. And to, you know what I mean? To know if, that I had been doing something unconsciously that was, that was causing another person pain, that would suck.

• 1:03:59Lewis Howes?

  Would suck. Final few questions. Your mom, you know, people are going to learn about your mom and the lesson she taught you about everything is figure outable in this book. What's the one lesson that she taught you that you don't talk about in here? That's really impacted your life? And one lesson your dad taught you that was really influential for you?

• 1:04:18Marie Forleo?

  You know, my mom, a blessing that she's drilled into me, that I don't talk about in the book, is just like how important it is to love your partner.

• 1:04:35Marie Forleo?

  Really, like it's just, she's, my mom is such an interesting character. She's still alive, God bless her, it was just her birthday, actually yesterday. And she's spicy, like she's real spicy. Sometimes, you know, like all of our parents, and all of us as humans, we're complicated, right? We're not that easy to get. And my mom, there's times when she will be like, you know, while you're young right now, while you and Josh are together and you both have your health and you're both able to do all, she's like, I remember she had said this to me right before we went to Italy, she's like, I need you to do something. She's like, I know how busy you are, I know there's a lot going on. She's like, but when you guys are together, promise me that you're just gonna take a moment,

• 1:05:17Marie Forleo?

  when you're in whatever little cafe, that you'll just sit there and have, if you're drinking a cappuccino, she knows I love my, you know, cappuccinos or espressos, she's like, just really take it in, because it's not gonna last forever. And just look at him and like really taste that cappuccino and look at like the birds or the trees or whatever's there. And she's like, take that moment in, because there's gonna come a time, it's not gonna be around anymore.

• 1:05:44Lewis Howes?

  Wow, that's powerful.

• 1:05:46Marie Forleo?

  Yeah.

• 1:05:46Lewis Howes?

  Wow.

• 1:05:47Marie Forleo?

  So, it's like, she's real good at drilling those things in. And it's important, it's important. We did it. Like when we were there, it was so, I was like, hey, remember what my mom said? And he was like, yeah, and we're like, okay, yeah, let's like, let's do it. Like, we're here right now, like we're still, like we still have our health, we still have the ability to like walk around and to enjoy this, and you just, you don't know.

• 1:06:14Lewis Howes?

  As opposed to doing constantly, let's travel, let's do this, let's just be.

• 1:06:17Marie Forleo?

  In that little moment, and in the really like, simple moments. The simple moments of like having a slice of pizza or just hanging out on like a, me too. I have, by the way, I have really great pizza recommendations. Both.

• 1:06:32Lewis Howes?

  Here too?

• 1:06:32Marie Forleo?

  Yeah, well, I'm not here, New York and Italy.

• 1:06:35Lewis Howes?

  Okay.

• 1:06:35Marie Forleo?

  I will, as a side note, we went to Naples for the first time and I did three pizzas in three days. So pizza for lunch, pizza for dinner, and then pizza for lunch the day before we left. I'm gonna give you a video of the best. Oh my god, it's awesome. So that's, that's mama.

• 1:06:50Lewis Howes?

  Yeah.

• 1:06:52Marie Forleo?

  My dad, he really taught me about like over-delivering in business and like the notion that you just take care of people. When people show up to your business, right? And so he had a printing business, like a, just a small, physical business. And sometimes his clients would be in a bind and we would go in on the weekends and weeknights, you know what I mean? If there was like, okay, we gotta get this big job done for this person. Like this is a really important client to my dad, they're in a bind, like whatever happened. And you know what? This is what we do. We take care of people.

• 1:07:28Lewis Howes?

  Yeah, wow.

• 1:07:28Marie Forleo?

  We go above and beyond and my parents, we would like when, we would all, as a family, go into work when there was like a, something going on that was intense. Like they would bring a boombox, we would order a pizza, we're in Jersey. And we would like turn it into like a work party. And I think my dad just taught me this, this, the value of the work ethic, which is good. It's like you don't complain, you just show up.

• 1:07:48Lewis Howes?

  Yeah.

• 1:07:49Marie Forleo?

  You do it with enthusiasm. And when people are kind enough to reward you with their business, you reward them with going above and beyond and like taking really good care of them.

• 1:08:00Lewis Howes?

  That's cool.

• 1:08:01Marie Forleo?

  Yeah.

• 1:08:02Lewis Howes?

  I want to acknowledge you, Marie, because it's been amazing to watch your journey and to know you for the last decade and to see you continue to grow into such a, just a loving woman.

• 1:08:14Marie Forleo?

  Thank you.

• 1:08:14Lewis Howes?

  Just a human being that cares about humanity. And I think that's what I respect about you the most is that your desire to impact people. And for me, that's what I want to do. I want to do more of impacting people and you do an amazing job of working so consistently and committed to creating the tools and the information to inspire. You inspire men, but most of your work is for women and women entrepreneurs. And I think that's, that's something I admire the most about you. So I acknowledge you for that. I admire you for, it's not easy when every, not everyone, but lots of people.

• 1:08:52Lewis Howes?

  Do things different than you do it. In your relationship, not being a mom, whatever it is that you do it differently.

• 1:08:58Marie Forleo?

  Yeah.

• 1:08:59Lewis Howes?

  It's not easy to hear that all the time. Or think like, oh, am I, you know, should I be doing something else like these women are doing? Or whatever.

• 1:09:06Marie Forleo?

  Yeah.

• 1:09:07Lewis Howes?

  And so I really acknowledge you for owning your truth for where it is right now and just being who you are. Because I think it's in a world where it's easy to judge ourselves and compare ourselves to other people's lives. You are living your life, and I think that's really awesome.

• 1:09:27Marie Forleo?

  Thank you.

• 1:09:27Lewis Howes?

  So, yeah, of course.

• 1:09:28Marie Forleo?

  Thank you, and thanks for having me on.

• 1:09:30Lewis Howes?

  Of course.

• 1:09:30Marie Forleo?

  And congratulations, I mean, I feel similarly in our friendship too, because we've been in each other's lives for so long. And it's always so fun for me to see how many things you're doing and how many people love you. And how you're like, oh, my God, you're in Louis' house. And I'm like, yes, my boy.

• 1:09:46Lewis Howes?

  Yeah, exactly. Appreciate it, appreciate it. The book is out. Everything is figure-outable. Make sure you guys pick it up right now, Marie Forleo. Go to the website, it's at marieforleo.com or everythingisfigureoutable.com. And they can enter the receipt. You'll have it all over your website too.

• 1:10:01Marie Forleo?

  Yeah, it's very, it's very simple, very clear.

• 1:10:03Lewis Howes?

  To get the bonus courses, things like that. Check out the tour that you're on. It's probably already sold out by now when you're watching this or listening, but check it out, maybe you can get a ticket. What else can they do besides getting the book, following you on social media?

• 1:10:18Marie Forleo?

  Yeah.

• 1:10:18Lewis Howes?

  Go to their website?

• 1:10:19Marie Forleo?

  I think use this simple idea, you know, just take this on. I like to just tell people, try it before you deny it. You know, for folks that are skeptical, like, is everything really figure-outable? There are actually three simple rules. I'll run through them really fast because it helps us have this mental container.

• 1:10:35Lewis Howes?

  Perfect.

• 1:10:35Marie Forleo?

  An eight-year-old asked me when I was first writing the book, like, Marie, no, everything's not figure-outable. And I was like, what do you mean? He's like, well, I can't grow human working wings out of my back and fly. And I was like, well, that's true right now. We don't know where we're going.

• 1:10:48Lewis Howes?

  Exactly.

• 1:10:49Marie Forleo?

  Crispers on the horizon.

• 1:10:50Lewis Howes?

  Yeah, exactly.

• 1:10:51Marie Forleo?

  But we can indeed fly. And he was like, oh, yeah. And then he said, you know, well, I can't bring my childhood dog back from the dead. And I was like, well, not yet, but cloning is happening and we are, you know, kind of people are looking at cryogenics and stuff. And he's like, oh, I get it. So here's the three rules. All problems or dreams are figure-outable. Rule number two, if a problem isn't figure-outable, it's not a problem, it's a fact of life. Like death, gravity, laws of nature. Rule number three. You may not care enough to solve this particular problem or reach this particular dream, and that's okay. Find something that you do care deeply about and go back to rule number one. And what that little set of rules does

• 1:11:35Marie Forleo?

  is it helps us create a mental container with which we can use this idea for its highest intention, which is our own growth, our own learning, and our own capability to develop ourselves to make meaningful change in ourselves and the world around us.

• 1:11:50Lewis Howes?

  That's good.

• 1:11:51Marie Forleo?

  Yeah. And we do have stories in there for anyone listening who's like, "Wait, but what about like terminal illness?" Or the loss of a child, or any of these hard truths that we humans face. We have stories in there from folks. I'll tell one quick one before we go. A woman named Jen wrote to us. She said, "I watched your Oprah talk about everything is figure-outable. I actually watched it with my mom because it's a lesson she's been trying to teach me my whole life, and we both loved it." She said, "Then, though, everything changed. My mom was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, and suddenly, nothing seemed figure-outable. But when she said she took a step back and looked at it from a different perspective, things were.

• 1:12:34Marie Forleo?

  She could find nursing care for her mom, who lived in a rural area. She could find foods that she could tolerate. And she could get medical equipment, which would allow her mom to spend her last days, and in fact, her last five weeks, in her home, which is where she wanted to be." So she wrote and she said, "It actually turns out that everything is figure-outable, and thank you for sharing that talk, which made a difference to me and my mom who live on the other side of the world." So, I just wanted to say that for anyone listening who is just like struggling with one of those really difficult, hard truths, that there's still an ability to use this idea to awaken an innate power that you have within yourself to figure out things

• 1:13:19Marie Forleo?

  that will make a tremendous difference, even in the midst of really challenging circumstances.

• 1:13:23Lewis Howes?

  Yeah, that's powerful. Two final questions. This is called the three truths question. I ask everyone at the end. So imagine you've accomplished everything you want, and you live as long as you want. But at one point, you gotta go.

• 1:13:35Marie Forleo?

  Yes.

• 1:13:35Lewis Howes?

  Okay? You're 100, 200, whatever you want to be, as old as you want to be. And you've created everything again that you want, but for whatever reason, you've got to take all your work with you. All your written words, your audio, your videos.

• 1:13:47Marie Forleo?

  Taking it with us?

• 1:13:48Lewis Howes?

  Books, whatever, everything that you've created, it's got to go with you to the next world, wherever it's going.

• 1:13:53Marie Forleo?

  Okay.

• 1:13:54Lewis Howes?

  So there's no more access to it.

• 1:13:55Marie Forleo?

  Okay.

• 1:13:56Lewis Howes?

  But you have a piece of paper and a pen to write down three things you know to be true about your entire life and the lessons you learned that you would share with the world as your final three lessons to the world.

• 1:14:06Marie Forleo?

  Okay.

• 1:14:06Lewis Howes?

  That they would have to remember, you buy, but also as kind of like a guide for their life.

• 1:14:10Marie Forleo?

  Okay.

• 1:14:11Lewis Howes?

  What would you say are your three truths?

• 1:14:15Marie Forleo?

  Not trying to squirrel out this, they would all, it would be this. Everything is figure-outable. Everything is figure-outable. Oh, and by the way, everything is figure-outable. I'm not kidding.

• 1:14:26Lewis Howes?

  There you go. Those are good.

• 1:14:27Marie Forleo?

  It would, it would be it.

• 1:14:28Lewis Howes?

  Okay, perfect, simple. And final question is, what's your definition of greatness?

• 1:14:33Marie Forleo?

  My definition of greatness, inspired by how I see success, inspired by the great Maya Angelou. Success is liking who I am, liking what I do, and liking how I do it. So I think greatness is an expression of that, an extension of that, of liking who you are, liking what you do, and liking how you do it. And I think if those things are aligned, any one of us can feel that sense of greatness.

• 1:15:01Lewis Howes?

  Marie Forleo, love it. Thank you.

• 1:15:03Marie Forleo?

  Thank you.

• 1:15:10Lewis Howes?

  There you have it, my friend. I hope you enjoyed this episode. Big fan of Marie Forleo. And if you have not checked her stuff out yet, make sure to subscribe, make sure to get her new book, follow her on social media, and share this episode with one friend. Text a friend who you think this might help through the wisdom and the knowledge and the lessons that Marie shares here today. Post it on your Instagram story, tag Marie Forleo, tag myself, Lewis Howes. And you can be a champion, you can be a hero to someone today by sending them this free resource and helping them improve their business, their life, their relationships. And that's what this is all about, to help people grow and reach their potential. And as you know, when you reach your potential, there's always more potential to be found and to be created after that.

• 1:15:55Lewis Howes?

  So this is a never-ending process. You're an amazing human being. I'm so happy that you decided to show up for yourself today to improve your life, to improve your business, to improve the wisdom that's already within you so that you can take actions on your dreams and reach your potential. Charles Schultz said, "There is no heavier burden than an unfulfilled potential." Don't let the burden of wasting your life away hold you back anymore. You can take the steps each day. You can fail, you can make mistakes, but just keep moving forward so you don't have that burden weighing on your chest. I love you so very much, and you know what time it is. It's time to go out there and do something great.