You've Been BLOCKING your BLESSINGS! Do THIS To Get Into ALIGNMENT & MANIFEST Like CRAZY! | Tabitha Brown

Today we have an incredibly inspiring guest with us, the one and only Tabitha Brown. Tabitha is a social media sensation, actress, and vegan foodie who has captured the hearts of millions with her infectious positivity and wisdom. But her journey to success was not without its challenges. From battling health issues to navigating the complexities of Hollywood, Tabitha has faced it all with grace and resilience. In this episode, she shares her story of finding freedom and abundance by aligning with her true self and deepening her spiritual connection. Buy her new book for yourself and a friend – I Did a New Thing: 30 Days to Living Free (A Feeding the Soul Book)In this episode you will learnthe importance of authenticity and how it can transform your life and career.strategies for deepening your spiritual connection and how it impacts your overall well-being.how to identify and overcome the challenges that prevent you from living in alignment with your true self.the keys to manifesting your dreams and attracting the life you desire.valuable insights into maintaining a successful relationship and the impact of personal growth on your partnerships. For more information go to www.lewishowes.com/1600For more Greatness text PODCAST to +1 (614) 350-3960More SOG episodes we think you’ll love:Eckhart Tolle – https://link.chtbl.com/1463-podRhonda Byrne – https://link.chtbl.com/1525-podJohn Maxwell – https://link.chtbl.com/1501-pod 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.

• 0:00Speaker 00

  Welcome back to the School of Greatness, everyone. I'm your host, Lewis Howes, and today we have an inspiring guest on. Her name is Tabitha Brown. She's an actress, a vegan foodie, and she's captured the hearts of millions with her infectious positivity and wisdom. And today she talks a lot about overcoming health issues and navigating the complexities of Hollywood. All the different things that she's faced with grace and resilience. In this episode, she shares her story of finding freedom and abundance and aligning with her true self and deepening her spiritual connection. I really think you're gonna love this one, so let's go ahead and dive in.

• 0:38Tabitha Brown?

  A goal, you can be like, I didn't make that go, or I did it, chat. But the dream won't let you rest. Even when you've manifested and it comes, it still is persistent. There's more to do until we are called home. The dream is just, it lives inside of us.

• 0:52Speaker 02

  Emmy Award winning actress, CEO of several major product lines, social media star with millions of followers, and a New York Times bestselling author.

• 1:01Speaker 03

  Please welcome the amazing Tabitha Brown.

• 1:04Tabitha Brown?

  The very thing that I used to cover about myself is the thing people love about me the most now.

• 1:09Speaker 02

  Wow.

• 1:09Tabitha Brown?

  I believed what I was sold. Somebody sold me a lie and I bought it. But now, honey, I returned it and got all my money back. When you are pretending to be someone else, God can't bless who you're not. If I ain't pretending to be somebody else, what are these blessings that I'm getting? Those aren't mine. That's something I created. Freedom and being true to who you are is the best gift you can give to yourself. I wasn't ready for everything I was gonna gain. I also wasn't ready for everything I was gonna lose.

• 1:36Speaker 00

  What did you lose?

• 1:37Tabitha Brown?

  Friendships, relationships. When I started walking in my freedom, they started to disappear. But God revealed to me, he said, everybody's not ready to walk in their freedom. So being close to you while you're in yours is disturbing their spirit.

• 1:49Speaker 00

  Oh. What do you think is the true key to attracting and manifesting exactly what has meant for us in life?

• 1:56Tabitha Brown?

  I think...

• 2:00Lewis Howes?

  Welcome back everyone to the School of Greatness. Very excited about our guest. We have the inspiring Tabitha Brown in the house. So good to see you.

• 2:06Tabitha Brown?

  Very good. Thank you for having me.

• 2:08Lewis Howes?

  Welcome to the show. It's been amazing to watch your journey specifically over the last five years, just kind of expand and explode in a positive, powerful way. And we were just talking off camera about how when you fully stepped into who you authentically were, that's when everything started to expand.

• 2:28Tabitha Brown?

  Yeah.

• 2:28Lewis Howes?

  And you started to attract the right things for your life. You started to magnify your audience and community. You started to expand financially, relationally with positive abundance. And I think it's really cool that this all happened for you. And I'm curious, your new book, it's called, I Did a New Thing, 30 Days to Living Free. I'm curious, what was the thing that set you free to create more abundance in your life in a positive way?

• 2:57Tabitha Brown?

  Oh, I think the thing that set me free, you know, my story, I was sick, right? For quite some time, about a year and seven months. And I really thought in that dark season, because you know, I was sick and doctors can tell me what was wrong with me. They were doing all, you know, running tests all the time and giving me guinea pig medication is what I would call it because they can diagnose you, but try this and see if you feel better, right? You fall into this depression, which I did because it's like, I know something's not right with my body. I know I don't feel normal. And they can't tell me anything, right? And I thought God had forgotten about me. And so I think when I got to that lowest

• 3:41Tabitha Brown?

  point, I was like, you know, I'm from North Carolina, grew up in the church and I used to be this, this person, and I still am, who was excited to be a woman of faith, right? And I was like, here I am. Really thinking like, I have all this faith, but I feel like God has left me.

• 3:58Lewis Howes?

  Really?

• 3:58Tabitha Brown?

  And so, I was like, okay, Lord, this time, because what I also realized was, I was habitually praying, and that means I was just praying out of habit. But I wasn't really meaning or believing what I was saying.

• 4:13Lewis Howes?

  Can you give me an example?

• 4:14Tabitha Brown?

  You know how you grow up and it's like, just for example, like, God is great, God is good, let us thank Him for this food, right? You taught that as a kid on how to pray for your food. That's a habit that we pick up.

• 4:24Lewis Howes?

  It wasn't an intention?

• 4:25Tabitha Brown?

  It wasn't intentional.

• 4:27Lewis Howes?

  Feeling it.

• 4:27Tabitha Brown?

  Like, even though I was praying, "God, please help me to feel better, God, please heal me." Like, I was just saying, because it's like, oh, this is what we do at church. So I realized, like, oh wait, I need to unlearn how to habitually pray, and I really need to seek Him truly and let Him have me.

• 4:47Lewis Howes?

  Wow.

• 4:47Tabitha Brown?

  Right?

• 4:48Lewis Howes?

  What's the difference between habitual prayer and seeking God in faith and allowing Him to be inside of you?

• 4:55Tabitha Brown?

  The difference is, habitually, you're taught. I was taught how to pray that way. I was taught how to be a person of faith. I was taught how to go to church, how to worship. But when I say, "God, I'mma strip me clean," my prayer was, "God, if you heal me, you can have me."

• 5:16Lewis Howes?

  Wow.

• 5:17Tabitha Brown?

  That meant, I'm not gonna do it my way anymore and how I was taught. I'mma do it the way you created me to do it. That meant, I'mma allow you to deposit inside of me like only you can. Nobody else will get this credit or the glory for it, right? And so, that's what got me free. I started taking layers off, and when I prayed that prayer, I was in my bathroom, I remember, and my prayer was, "God, if you heal me, you can have me." Something changed that day. I can't explain it. I just felt different. I wasn't healed in the moment. But when I left the bathroom, I felt different. And from that day, I've just been taking layers off ever since and allowing myself to be

• 6:02Tabitha Brown?

  who God has called me to be.

• 6:04Lewis Howes?

  Wow.

• 6:04Tabitha Brown?

  So, yeah.

• 6:06Lewis Howes?

  Do you feel like you were sick physically and depressed emotionally or mentally? Because you were out of alignment with who you were meant to be?

• 6:14Tabitha Brown?

  Absolutely. I definitely think that plays a huge, huge role in it. I think that I also have a gift, right? So we all have gifts. I was born with the gift of where I can dream things that come to pass. I see things. I can hear things. And I remember a time when I tried to pray that away because it was scary. You know, growing up that way and, you know, people thinking you crazy because you can dream something and tell them and then it happens, or you see something and you tell them. It wasn't a fun gift to have as a kid or as a young adult, right? But I remember I went like a good, felt like about six years where I prayed like, God, I don't want this anymore. And when I didn't

• 6:57Tabitha Brown?

  have it as often, it felt like I was missing a part of it.

• 7:00Lewis Howes?

  Wow.

• 7:01Tabitha Brown?

  Right? But what I realized is when I would have a dream and I'm supposed to give a message to somebody, if I didn't, I would get sick.

• 7:12Lewis Howes?

  Wow.

• 7:13Tabitha Brown?

  I would not, like, I would get nauseous. My head would spin. I would have to lay down. But the moment I got it out, I'd be completely fine.

• 7:21Lewis Howes?

  So you had a lot of premonitory dreams or?

• 7:23Tabitha Brown?

  Yeah, like just, it's crazy.

• 7:26Lewis Howes?

  Like a vision or like a message?

• 7:27Tabitha Brown?

  Yeah, I can dream it while I'm asleep or sometime while I'm awake. Like right now, I'm looking at you and then something would appear right beside you. I cannot control it. It just happens.

• 7:37Tabitha Brown?

  But like sometimes it's like a movie screen, like a little box and I could see something play out. Sometimes it's an actual, just a vision, just as clear as you sitting there. You can sit right here.

• 7:48Lewis Howes?

  Wow. And when you wouldn't speak it?

• 7:50Tabitha Brown?

  When I won't say, like, there's times when, when God shows me something, but it's not meant for me to say anything. It's just for me.

• 7:56Lewis Howes?

  To be aware of.

• 7:57Tabitha Brown?

  To be aware.

• 7:57Lewis Howes?

  But when you feel like you're supposed to say it, you don't?

• 7:59Tabitha Brown?

  Oh, I'm not well.

• 8:01Lewis Howes?

  Interesting.

• 8:01Tabitha Brown?

  Yeah, so I feel like because I wasn't living my truth for so long, I had created this Tabitha that I thought would win. Like I was suffocating through me, so I couldn't breathe.

• 8:13Lewis Howes?

  Wow.

• 8:14Tabitha Brown?

  And so. The more and more layers I took off, the better I got.

• 8:19Lewis Howes?

  Why did you feel like you needed to put a mask on for the, either the industry you're in, or the relationships you were in, or whatever it might be? I mean, I, I know from my personal experience, I wore a mask to feel like I needed to fit in and feel safe for many years.

• 8:32Tabitha Brown?

  Yeah.

• 8:33Lewis Howes?

  Growing up playing sports and in school and, you know, as a young adult, I felt like I needed to protect myself with a mask. But why did you wear masks?

• 8:42Tabitha Brown?

  For many reasons. One, you know, I'm from North Carolina, right? From the South. I grew up learning how to code switch and conform watching my mama, right? So we'd go to the bank and if she talking to, you know, the white lady that work at the bank, but her voice is different. I'm like, oh, wait, is this how we talk?

• 9:00Lewis Howes?

  Interesting.

• 9:01Tabitha Brown?

  Oh, okay. If my mama came to school and talked to teachers and, you know, all my teachers were white. In Montana, it was only black and white. There was no in-between. I ain't see like Hispanics or any of that stuff until I grew up and became an adult. She would change her voice. So I learned very early, oh, this is how we have to talk to people who are not black. I didn't know that that was code switching back then, but it was like, oh, to be treated a certain way, to be respected, to be seen. That's what we have to do. And then, growing up and working in corporate America, being told like on, in a call center, people hearing my voice saying, oh, are you black? I, I don't want to speak to somebody black.

• 9:38Lewis Howes?

  No way.

• 9:38Tabitha Brown?

  Oh, absolutely.

• 9:39Lewis Howes?

  Come on.

• 9:39Tabitha Brown?

  Oh, absolutely, honey. And so I would learn to mask it even more, to, to, to, to push it down even more. And then getting into entertainment, hearing, oh, you, you sound country. You gonna have to learn to, to cover that. So it became like, I'm doing it for, you know, just my normal school and, and work. I'm doing it for corporate America, now I'm doing it for entertainment. And then it came to like, oh, you could come to LA. I used to, you know, have, my hair was always, uh, already natural, but they were like, well, your skin complexion, straighter hair. Okay, certain size. Sound neutral used to be the, the, the word I would always be given.

• 10:20Lewis Howes?

  No accent, yeah.

• 10:21Tabitha Brown?

  No accent, be as neutral, no one should know where you're from. And I believed that. And so I created that Tabitha to get jobs, right? The one thing that my mom and them, they named me Tabitha. So my first job at Winn-Dixie, I never forget. I put in the application, dropped it off, and I got a call. Um, and they were like, oh, we want to bring you in for an interview. I said, okay, great. So I get there and the, the assistant manager, when I walked up, clearly thought I was white from my name and how I sounded on the phone, right? So when she looked at me, I was like, I'm here for an interview. She was like, did somebody call you for an interview? I was like, yes, ma'am. Um, said her name and it was her. She was like, I'll be right back. Ended up getting the job because the, the actual store manager had came.

• 11:06Tabitha Brown?

  Uh, his name was David. He was a, an older man who was great. He was like, I'll interview him. And so he loved me and I worked there, you know, for a while. But my name always used to get me jobs, crazy enough because people thought I was white. They want no blacks Tabithas around. It was like, it's a Bewitch name, it was a name from Bewitch. That's where my mama named me from. So, um, it was, it's, it was conforming to survive. My ancestors had to do it to survive, right? And it was passed down, but we don't have to do that anymore. I'm enough just as I am from Eden, North Carolina. Honey, the very thing that I used to cover about myself is the thing people love about me the most now.

• 11:46Lewis Howes?

  Wow.

• 11:46Tabitha Brown?

  It's crazy, but I didn't know. I, I believed when I was sold. Somebody sold me a lie and I bought it. But now, honey, I returned it and got all my money back.

• 12:01Lewis Howes?

  Invested with interest.

• 12:03Tabitha Brown?

  Yeah.

• 12:04Lewis Howes?

  Do you feel like it was more challenging, you know, in North Carolina, growing up, trying to succeed or get opportunities, or more challenging in Los Angeles, Hollywood?

• 12:14Tabitha Brown?

  Oh, definitely, uh, Los Angeles.

• 12:16Lewis Howes?

  Really?

• 12:16Tabitha Brown?

  Oh, yeah, yeah. In the South, it's like you, it's. The thing about the South is, especially North Carolina, I love my, my, you know, North Carolina is the best place in the world. I mean, I love it. But it was always very clear. It wasn't hidden. You know exactly who, who you talking to.

• 12:32Lewis Howes?

  Interesting.

• 12:32Tabitha Brown?

  Right? Ain't no secret about it. Right?

• 12:35Lewis Howes?

  Whether I like you or not.

• 12:36Tabitha Brown?

  Yeah.

• 12:36Lewis Howes?

  It's clear.

• 12:37Tabitha Brown?

  Yeah, if I want you around or not, like, it's, it's very clear.

• 12:40Lewis Howes?

  Here.

• 12:40Tabitha Brown?

  Out here, it's Hollywood, honey. They, they hide the truth. You don't know that they don't really fool with you until after the fact, right? Or if you find it out in the email, or you see it in the trays, or whatever, you're like, oh, wait a minute. You acting like we was cool, but we really won't. You didn't really like me, you know? So it's more hidden here. People be out here acting. They be wearing masks out here. Yeah.

• 13:03Lewis Howes?

  They say they want to do a project, but then they don't talk to you.

• 13:06Tabitha Brown?

  Right, and you know what? I don't even care about that. Like, whatever's meant for me, I, I wholeheartedly, in this season of my life, I truly know what God has for me, it is for me. And if it ain't, it ain't.

• 13:18Lewis Howes?

  Absolutely.

• 13:19Tabitha Brown?

  Yeah.

• 13:19Lewis Howes?

  I was just saying this to my, my fiancee, Martha, recently, actually. I was like, you know, I was telling her, she got excited. She did a, a great audition recently for something. And she was really excited about the possibility. I go, you're gonna get this if it's meant for you, and if it's in alignment with your truths and your future. And if you don't get it, it wasn't meant for you.

• 13:38Tabitha Brown?

  It wasn't meant for you, huh?

• 13:39Lewis Howes?

  And you don't need to be upset about it, or, you know, maybe you can have a little moment of like, oh, okay, this idea of, I wish I could have got it, but you don't want to go through years of stress on something that's not meant for you.

• 13:49Tabitha Brown?

  That's right. That's right. Listen, when the thing is meant for you, there is nothing that will stop it. Like, God is not even complicated. He's not. He's very clear. We complicate things.

• 14:01Lewis Howes?

  We're in our head too much.

• 14:02Tabitha Brown?

  Yeah, we're in our head too much. We're overthinking it. You know, we, you know, we'll get an opportunity, and before the opportunity is ours, we will play out every single thing, oh, I gotta do this, and then I do this, and that. And we ain't even got it yet. Let's see if it works out for us first, and then we can expand on it.

• 14:17Lewis Howes?

  What do you think is the true key to attracting and manifesting exactly what is meant for us in life?

• 14:23Tabitha Brown?

  I think walking in your truth will do that, right? Showing up exactly who you are allows the things that belong to you to come. You know, because when we create a, a different person, as I did for myself, right? When you are pretending to be someone else, God can't bless who you're not. He can only bless who you are.

• 14:45Lewis Howes?

  Right.

• 14:46Tabitha Brown?

  So.

• 14:46Lewis Howes?

  Wow.

• 14:47Tabitha Brown?

  Right, so if I am pretending to be somebody else, what are these blessings that I'm getting? Those aren't mine. That's something I created. But when I just be me, I can get everything he has for me.

• 15:00Lewis Howes?

  And the interesting thing, you see people who are blessed for being someone they're not. They're usually depressed, anxious, stressed, or it's never enough, it's never good enough, because they still aren't good enough. They're not being who they're meant to be.

• 15:14Tabitha Brown?

  They're always chasing something else.

• 15:16Lewis Howes?

  Exactly.

• 15:16Tabitha Brown?

  Yeah.

• 15:17Lewis Howes?

  And that's almost a greater challenge. It's like you're being blessed, but you don't feel enough.

• 15:22Tabitha Brown?

  Right.

• 15:22Lewis Howes?

  You have everything, but you feel worthless.

• 15:24Tabitha Brown?

  Or empty.

• 15:25Lewis Howes?

  Empty.

• 15:26Tabitha Brown?

  No peace.

• 15:27Lewis Howes?

  No peace.

• 15:27Tabitha Brown?

  Yeah. Honey, that's the freedom and being true to who you are. It's the best gift you can give to yourself.

• 15:34Lewis Howes?

  How can someone know what their truth is when they've been wearing a mask for so long?

• 15:39Tabitha Brown?

  Oh, honey, we all, I feel like we know our truth. Right? Your truth is in your silence when no one else is around. Right, it's the things that you say to yourself, it's the things that you do,

• 15:56Tabitha Brown?

  like childhood memories, before you were taught that you weren't enough and before you believed it. Right? That's your truth. Sometimes we have to go back to our childlike thoughts because as children, we're free. We're born knowing what we're supposed to do, but we're taught how to have fear. We're taught no. We're taught yes. Right, we're taught how to speak, all the things. But we're also influenced by our parents,

• 16:24Tabitha Brown?

  by our friends and peers and different things. Sometimes unintentionally, it just naturally happens and you're influenced. But what your truth is, how you feel when you're alone, the things that you used to enjoy doing as a kid that nobody had to tell you to do. Like, that's your truth. Right, sometimes that's also your passion and purpose. We have to go back to that before we would talk, oh, no, you can't have that dream. Oh, no, you can't do that because, you know, they don't make money. You should do this X, Y, and Z. You go back to what did you used to love to play when you were a kid? Right? Did you love to play office? Did you love to play sports? Did you love to play, you know, did you take care of dolls and treat them like you were a doctor?

• 17:05Tabitha Brown?

  Like, what was your thing that you did every day without hesitation until somebody told you that that was just a game? Sometimes that's your purpose. That's the thing that you were put here to do.

• 17:16Lewis Howes?

  Yeah.

• 17:17Tabitha Brown?

  Before somebody told you you couldn't. And so you go back to that and then it's like, oh, that was my truth that I let somebody tell me was a lie. But that belongs to me. You know, those are, those are your feelings. Those are your, your things that still matter for you. But we have to tap back into it. Got to get back to that.

• 17:35Lewis Howes?

  And when you were in that bathroom, having that conversation with God.

• 17:38Tabitha Brown?

  Mm-hmm.

• 17:39Lewis Howes?

  What was it again? You said?

• 17:40Tabitha Brown?

  If you heal me, you can have me.

• 17:41Lewis Howes?

  If you heal me, you can have me, and that's powerful. And you said when you left that, something shifted inside of you.

• 17:47Tabitha Brown?

  Yeah, I felt lighter.

• 17:49Lewis Howes?

  Interesting.

• 17:50Tabitha Brown?

  I felt lighter and I just felt different. You know, it's, it's hard to explain that. But every day from that day, it was just like something is happening. I, I have this thing sometimes where I can walk outside and the air will feel different on my skin. And I know a shift is happening. Like, I, I, I know it's coming. I'm like, oh, something's about to happen. It's a weird thing, but I can feel it. I remember I used to work this job. It's working a nine to five in L.A. And we had a warehouse and then we had office space. And so I would go, because I was in charge of like shipping and coordinating. So I would go to warehouse sometime to take paperwork and then walk back to my office.

• 18:34Tabitha Brown?

  And that was a very long hallway. And this particular day, I had felt the wind shift. And so when I had left the warehouse to come back down this long hallway. I, and I sometimes still do this, but I remember this day, I would close my eyes. And I wouldn't even care about where I was going. I would just walk with my eyes closed this long hallway. Because it was just, I could just envision whatever the shift was, like God got something else with me that's coming. And I remember a girl that worked, she was coming out of the bathroom, so she was like standing in the hallway, she was like, Tabitha. With your eyes closed, walking. And it started me, she was like, you were just walking with your eyes closed. I was like, oh girl, honey, sometimes, honey, I do that.

• 19:16Tabitha Brown?

  Cause I'm just seeing where he's taking me, you know? It's, it's a, it's a weird thing. I, I can't even, I can't explain like why I do some of the things I do. Also, I feel like it's part of the gift. Absolutely. You know? But, but after I left the bathroom that day, it was about two or three weeks later, I had this dream. And in the dream, I, I saw myself on a show, right? But the screen was small and I've told this story many times. And when I woke up, I was like, okay, Lord, reveal that to me because during this time, I'm not really auditioning. I'm not doing any acting. I wouldn't do a stand-up. I wouldn't do any things that would land me on the show. Cause I was not well.

• 19:58Tabitha Brown?

  And I had a conversation with God and he said, um, start doing videos. And I was like, I'm not doing no videos. Honey, I'm an actress, a broke actress, but an actress nonetheless. Not doing that stuff for videos, eh? Why would I do that? And also, cause you know, as an actor then, we were always told, when I would go to action classes or different things, stay away from social media. They're gonna take you serious in Hollywood. And I believed it, okay? And so, the voice was clear, start doing videos. And I was like, Lord, I don't wanna do videos. And he was like, listen, when you were out doing stand-up, you were trying to get a TV show. And them little, you know, open mic nights, you getting 15, 30 people to see you a night. Yeah. You start doing videos, you reach thousands in minutes. And I was like, that's where I got you, cause I ain't got thousands of followers to reach in minutes.

• 20:43Tabitha Brown?

  The voice again, start doing videos. So I was like, I don't wanna do that. So then he reminded me, he said, remember in the bathroom, he said, if I heal you, I can have you. Ooh. And I said. Do you wanna be healed or, or not? I was like, oh, he caught me on a bad day that day, but I did say that.

• 21:00Tabitha Brown?

  Did I really say that? Did I really say that? You know, I was having a rough day that day. But that's the only reason I started doing videos. Wow. Right? Because you heard the voice and said, start doing videos. Yeah. And you didn't have a big audience then? No, I had, you know, my Facebook, I had my regular Facebook family for, you know, three to five thousand people, whatever your thing is on Facebook. I might have had like, I don't know, thirteen hundred followers or something on my Facebook actor page. Small, small audience. Oh, as small as you can get it and, you know, probably the same on Instagram. And I was like, well, I ain't even got thousands of followers to, to watch me. Thousands of minutes, what are you talking about? And I was like, okay, but I also was trying to live a life of obedience. So I was like, okay, I gotta start doing these videos. And then I was like, Lord, what am I gonna do a video about?

• 21:45Tabitha Brown?

  So when I first started doing the videos, I was telling jokes and telling stories of, you know, being a mama and a wife, same stuff I used to kind of tell on stage. And during that time, those same, you know, few weeks, my daughter had came home and told me about the documentary that watched, that she watched at school, what the hell? Because she knew I was sick. Uh huh. We watched it as a family and I decided to do a thirty day vegan challenge. And after the thirty days, I was like, oh, this, I was feeling better. Ten days, the first ten days, I'd had a headache for a year and seven months in the back of my head, every day. Wow. Every day. I was, I would fall when I would walk. I lost my vision for a day. I, my body was just attacking itself. First ten days, my headache disappeared.

• 22:29Tabitha Brown?

  After every drug, I was getting shots in my head, in my, I was getting everything they offered me. If anything was probably making me worse. Nothing worked. Ten days of eating plants, headache disappeared. And so I told my husband, I was like, I think this is gonna be my life. I think I'm gonna go vegan. And the moment I said that out of my mouth, on that day thirty, I was like, I'm not gonna go back. I think I'm gonna be vegan. The same voice that told me to start doing videos, like a hummingbird would fly by your ear. That's how I can explain it. That's how it sounds. It was like, now tell people what you're eating in your video. Wow. And I said, oh, Lord, I don't know if I want to do that because that makes it kind of permanent. Like, I'm from North Carolina. Yeah, you're like, the comfort food.

• 23:11Tabitha Brown?

  I'm doing, right, I'm doing, for real, this is my life, I'm gonna be vegan. And I never wanted people to feel like I was trying to shame anybody or anything. And I was just like, I don't know. I had also shaved off all my hair at the time. Cause my hair was always long and straight. So I was just doing a whole new, you know, transformation. And so I was like, okay. I just started telling people, y'all, I'm going vegan. And when I find food items, I'm gonna share it with y'all. I'm gonna cook some recipes and share when I find, you know, good vegan food. And that's how it started. And nobody was watching. I was like, it's 33 people on here, Lord, while I'm cooking live. You said thousands of minutes. Where are they? I would, I would cry. Cause I'd be like, I don't know why God asked me doing this. I don't know what I'm doing.

• 23:53Tabitha Brown?

  And, you know, that was August of 2017. And I think by October, I started, um, I was feeling so much better. I started driving Uber. Cause I didn't go back to work. I'd been on disability for over a year. And so I told my husband, I was like, mm-hmm. I was like, I don't want to go back to a nine to five. I'm gonna just see what God got out here for me. I'm in LA. I'm gonna drive Uber, probably pick up a producer or director. They gonna love me. I call you from set. That's how I think. I'm like, I'm about to get discovered in my car out here in LA. Uh, and December 30th of 2017, I dropped somebody off by Whole Foods, driving Uber that morning. Went in there and got me a breakfast sandwich. Cause I was still, you know, vegan, new to being vegan. But Whole Foods always got a vegan option. So I was like, oh, I'm gonna go in and get me breakfast.

• 24:36Tabitha Brown?

  Had never heard of vegan bacon at that time. They had a sandwich in they, uh, you know, the prepared food section. And it was called a T L T A. And it was like tempeh bacon and lettuce, tomato, avocado. I was like, oh, I ain't never heard of that. Throw me a little pickle on there, honey, a little onion and stuff. Ate the first half so fast. I was like, oh, wait, I need to do a video to tell people I found a new vegan option. Sat in my car, cause I was on my Uber break. Did a video, posted it, went on back to driving Uber. By the time I got home, that video had like 50,000 views. I was like, who watching this video? Next morning, over a hundred something thousand. I was like, I told my husband, I said, I think I'm going viral. He was like, what that mean? I was like, I don't know.

• 25:15Lewis Howes?

  They're watching though.

• 25:16Tabitha Brown?

  Exactly. He's like, you gonna make any money? I was like, I have no idea. Four days later, Whole Foods reached out and they were like, we saw your video. On Facebook, they DM me. And they were like, we would love to work with you. I became their brand ambassador for Plant Based Living, did over 15 campaigns and the rest is history. Yep, honey, ain't drove Uber since, but I will if I have to, but I haven't. And my life has been on this journey ever since.

• 25:40Lewis Howes?

  That's amazing. So December 2017.

• 25:43Tabitha Brown?

  December 30th of 2017.

• 25:45Lewis Howes?

  And you started making videos a couple of months prior.

• 25:47Tabitha Brown?

  August.

• 25:48Lewis Howes?

  Wow.

• 25:49Tabitha Brown?

  Yep.

• 25:49Lewis Howes?

  Isn't it interesting, what if after like a month of doing these videos, you just said, you know what, this isn't working, I'm not getting thousands of views right away, so I'm gonna stop.

• 25:58Tabitha Brown?

  Yeah.

• 25:58Lewis Howes?

  Where do you think your life would be if you stopped after, a day before you posted that video, just said, I don't wanna do this anymore, it's not working right away. You know, God said it would happen right away, it's not happening, I'm gonna stop. Where do you think your life would be?

• 26:12Tabitha Brown?

  I'd probably be working, you know, still auditioning, but I'd be working a nine to five. Yep, I'd still be pursuing the dream of acting. And the thing about acting is, and I told you this before, that used to be my, my only focus, right? I had put myself in this box where all I thought about was like, oh, I wanna be a series regular. Or, you know, of course, I would love to be, you know, the lead in a film. Those were my big break ideas. And God was like, you can do that, you can do that, Tabitha, you can do that. But let me show you what I can do.

• 26:47Lewis Howes?

  Wow.

• 26:49Tabitha Brown?

  This is what he can do. This is my fourth book, but my third New York Times bestseller. I never ever even had an idea to write a book.

• 26:56Lewis Howes?

  Wow.

• 26:56Tabitha Brown?

  Right? I have seasonings, I have a hair care line, I have a major partnership with Target, I have my own food, my own clothes, my own furniture, right? I have all these things that I never imagined. And that's because God says it's more than what you can imagine, if you trust me. And so I do.

• 27:18Lewis Howes?

  Wow, this is inspiring.

• 27:21Lewis Howes?

  This is inspiring.

• 27:22Tabitha Brown?

  Yeah.

• 27:22Lewis Howes?

  If someone is feeling, maybe not like in a complete depression or completely sick or completely out of it, but they just know there's something more for them. Maybe their relationships aren't where they want them to be, or maybe their career is just off a little bit. Or they just feel like, I just don't feel like the fire inside of me is driving me to where I need to be. You talk about 30 days to living free. What's the first few steps someone can take in starting to live free? To get that alignment back inside of them?

• 27:53Tabitha Brown?

  Yeah, it's so funny because this is why I started this challenge, right? This is a challenge that I started in 2014 because I was trying to, because what you're describing is feeling stuck, right? It's like you know there's something else, but you don't know what it is. We get in such a routine that we forget we haven't done anything outside of our routine for so long. So I always say, start with doing something new. It can be as simple as driving a different way to work. Or a different way to a friend's house, whatever. Or walking a different way. Just so that your eyes can see something it has never seen before. Something new that shifts the brain, right?

• 28:32Tabitha Brown?

  Like even wearing something you normally don't wear. Like for me, I always tell people, if you wear black all the time, throw some color on.

• 28:39Lewis Howes?

  I gotta throw some color on soon, yeah.

• 28:41Tabitha Brown?

  Right, like for me, I don't like wearing black. But I found this and I was like, you got a little color on it?

• 28:45Lewis Howes?

  It's cool.

• 28:45Tabitha Brown?

  I'm doing a new thing, right? And so it's little things, even trying a new food. You know, going to dinner or lunch by yourself. You know how many people are afraid to eat alone?

• 28:57Lewis Howes?

  I know.

• 28:58Tabitha Brown?

  Doing things that challenge you, that will open up a new space inside of you. That's what doing a new thing does for us. And that's how we start to think, oh, okay. And then going back to like, what is your dream? Like what's a thing that won't let you rest? And I, and I talked about this recently. Because people sometimes they get confused by a dream versus a goal. Goals are things that we create. Dreams are deposited inside of us.

• 29:25Lewis Howes?

  Let's go.

• 29:25Tabitha Brown?

  We don't make them up. They live there. That's why we can't rest because they they're constantly nagging us. A goal, you can be like, I didn't make that goal, or I did it, Chet. But the dream won't let you rest. Even when you even when you manifest it and it comes, it still is persistent. There's more to do until we are getting, you know, called home. The dream is just, it lives inside of us.

• 29:48Lewis Howes?

  Yes.

• 29:48Tabitha Brown?

  It's it's born inside of us. So I always say do one small thing every day towards your dream. Even if you're stuck in the nine to five job or in a relationship that, you know, or or business, whatever the case is, that makes you feel like, oh, I don't have time to do something towards me. Right? Which we all are worthy of doing something toward ourself every day.

• 30:11Lewis Howes?

  Yes.

• 30:12Tabitha Brown?

  Do one small thing, whether it's reading something that can help open up, you know, an idea in your mind to help you get closer to your dream. Whether it's watching a movie or a TV show or listening to a podcast that can help inspire or open up something in your mind. Something small every day. One little thing.

• 30:32Lewis Howes?

  There's a lot of people that I feel like that want to be, they want to achieve their dreams or be successful so quickly. You know, if they haven't made it by 27, it's like they're a failure.

• 30:42Tabitha Brown?

  I don't know who put that timeframe on us. Lord.

• 30:45Lewis Howes?

  But you you, you know, you started to really gain traction in your late 30s, early 40s, right?

• 30:50Tabitha Brown?

  Yes.

• 30:52Lewis Howes?

  What was the biggest lesson for you for, I guess, having success later in your 30s and early 40s versus in 20s? What did you learn about yourself?

• 31:02Tabitha Brown?

  I learned that I was not ready when I thought I was. I wouldn't have had nothing to show for it. Right?

• 31:10Tabitha Brown?

  I needed to do, as my daddy would say, keep on living. I needed to do more living

• 31:16Tabitha Brown?

  before it came so that I could, A, know how to pray for it. Right? Because a lot of times I I used to pray, pray, pray for all these things to happen. Oh, God, I want my dreams to come true and, you know, I'm fasting, I'm praying on it. But I was never praying, God, when I get it, prepare me to keep it.

• 31:32Lewis Howes?

  Let's go. This is the biggest challenge for a lot of people. I'm so glad you said this because early on, I was probably twenty-five, twenty-six. I remember being broke, living on my sister's couch for a year and a half. No money.

• 31:44Tabitha Brown?

  Yeah.

• 31:45Lewis Howes?

  I had a mentor at the time that I was working for for free, learning from him. And I was like, man, I'm really struggling. I could really use some money right now. He said, money comes to you when you're ready for it. I was like, I feel pretty ready. I feel ready for this. But he's like, it'll come to you when you're ready for it. Otherwise, if you get it too early, you'll probably lose it.

• 32:04Tabitha Brown?

  Yep.

• 32:05Lewis Howes?

  And I think it's similar to like having a dream. Like if you're not prepared for success or prepared for the pressures that might come with it.

• 32:12Tabitha Brown?

  Yeah.

• 32:12Lewis Howes?

  You might cause, you might sabotage it, you might lose it, you might squander it, you might not be ready for all of the responsibility, the weight that potentially could come with it, right?

• 32:23Tabitha Brown?

  That's right.

• 32:23Lewis Howes?

  So you don't feel like you would have been ready for it in your twenties or early thirties, right?

• 32:26Tabitha Brown?

  Oh, absolutely not. I wasn't ready for everything I was gonna gain. I also wasn't ready for everything I was gonna lose.

• 32:33Lewis Howes?

  What did you lose?

• 32:33Tabitha Brown?

  Friendships, relationships, right? Things that, people that I thought I would have in my life forever. And when I started walking in my freedom, they started to disappear.

• 32:47Lewis Howes?

  Wow.

• 32:47Tabitha Brown?

  But God revealed to me, he said, everybody's not ready to walk in their freedom. So being close to you while you're in yours is disturbing their spirit.

• 32:54Lewis Howes?

  Oh.

• 32:54Tabitha Brown?

  And I couldn't allow that to affect me in a way that I know it would have affected me in my twenties or early thirties.

• 33:00Lewis Howes?

  Oh, my gosh.

• 33:01Tabitha Brown?

  But in this forty-five, I'm all right with it. I love them, but I understand.

• 33:06Lewis Howes?

  Forty-five, feeling alive.

• 33:08Tabitha Brown?

  Right.

• 33:09Lewis Howes?

  Forty-five, feeling alive.

• 33:10Tabitha Brown?

  Yeah, yeah.

• 33:11Lewis Howes?

  Wow. So, man, I can resonate with that because, you know, in my teens or my early twenties, there were certain relationships that I had formed that made me feel good and safe, right?

• 33:21Tabitha Brown?

  Yep.

• 33:22Lewis Howes?

  And I remember losing relationships almost every few years.

• 33:26Tabitha Brown?

  Yeah.

• 33:27Lewis Howes?

  And I would be really sad that I was losing these relationships. That people want to call me back, or they didn't want to hang out anymore.

• 33:33Tabitha Brown?

  Yeah.

• 33:33Lewis Howes?

  But I also know that I was in such a pursuit of my mission and pursuing things. That later I found out that some of my friends told me like it scared them. Right? Because I was pursuing certain things. And they weren't pursuing the things they wanted.

• 33:48Tabitha Brown?

  Yeah.

• 33:49Lewis Howes?

  So I felt really hurt that they didn't want to hang out anymore. But it also kind of set me free to have more time for mentors or people that were wiser or older than me, who I can learn from and build relationships with them to give me counsel.

• 34:03Tabitha Brown?

  Yes.

• 34:03Lewis Howes?

  And to kind of guide me forward.

• 34:06Tabitha Brown?

  That's right.

• 34:07Lewis Howes?

  And that's the one of the most challenging things, I think, is leaving the friend tribe.

• 34:12Tabitha Brown?

  Yeah.

• 34:12Lewis Howes?

  When you want to bring people with you, but they may not be ready.

• 34:17Tabitha Brown?

  Everybody can't go.

• 34:18Lewis Howes?

  They can't all go.

• 34:18Tabitha Brown?

  Everybody can't go. You know, I feel like a lot of times we, we feel bad because we, especially when you love people, I'm, I love people.

• 34:28Lewis Howes?

  Me too.

• 34:28Tabitha Brown?

  I'm a people lover.

• 34:29Lewis Howes?

  If you're a loyal person, all these things, right?

• 34:31Tabitha Brown?

  And you always want to turn around and bring them back. And God revealed one day to me, he said, listen, everyone who you need to bring along, you don't have to turn around to get them.

• 34:42Tabitha Brown?

  He said, because when you turn around, that's when you get distracted from it. You gotta keep your eye forward. The moment you do this, you might have just crashed. He said, the people who are supposed to come, all you gotta do is go like this. You never gotta turn around. They right there. They right there. It's just like a hand off a baton. You watch a marathon. They ain't never turning around to reach for it. They're just right here.

• 35:01Lewis Howes?

  Right.

• 35:01Tabitha Brown?

  So the ones who are supposed to come with you, you don't have to turn around to go get them.

• 35:06Lewis Howes?

  So you've been married for 20 plus years, right?

• 35:08Tabitha Brown?

  Yep.

• 35:09Lewis Howes?

  How has that worked with your relationship and marriage? You know, with you and your husband, have you? Did you have a struggle when you started to step into your authentic self? Because you became a different person. Maybe you became the person you always were.

• 35:23Tabitha Brown?

  Yeah.

• 35:24Lewis Howes?

  Was there ever challenges in your marriage or relationship as you started to thrive? Or was there alignment right away and just like everything was perfect?

• 35:32Tabitha Brown?

  Oh, honey, listen, my husband was so happy. He was like, finally, the world get to see who I know.

• 35:37Lewis Howes?

  Wow.

• 35:38Tabitha Brown?

  Yeah. I mean, for years, he hated the industry of Hollywood because he saw how it changed me. He would always say, why you can't just be you? He would, I mean, it would be all the time. Why you can't just be Tab? You know, the same Tab that talked to your daddy. And I'm like, that ain't what they want. I gotta be this tale. It, it, those were the arguments. And all the no's I would get and all the hard work I would be studying and going to class. And he was like, you're doing all of this and they still don't like you. So he hated the industry for a long time. So when I became free and started walking in my freedom walk, he was like, now the world gets to see who I love. And I was like, you was kinda right about it, I guess, all along.

• 36:24Lewis Howes?

  You was probably like, yeah.

• 36:24Tabitha Brown?

  But no, it, it actually has made our relationship better and stronger.

• 36:27Lewis Howes?

  That's great.

• 36:28Tabitha Brown?

  Yeah.

• 36:29Lewis Howes?

  I think Jim Carrey had a quote, I'm gonna paraphrase it, where he said like his father got fired from a career that he didn't love. And that he wasn't his main thing he wanted to do. He always wanted to be a comedian, but he never pursued the dream. And he said, uh, something like his, you know, you can get fired at what you're, you don't love, for what you're not good at, so you might as well go after what you do love.

• 36:49Tabitha Brown?

  Yes.

• 36:50Lewis Howes?

  You know, it's kinda like you, it's like, people weren't choosing you for who you weren't, so you might as well be who you wanna be.

• 36:54Tabitha Brown?

  Exactly. Yeah.

• 36:55Lewis Howes?

  And get not chosen for who you are.

• 36:57Tabitha Brown?

  Exactly. A hundred percent.

• 37:00Lewis Howes?

  Um, you, something you brought up earlier about the walking in the hallway, closing your eyes. It reminded me of the Helen Keller quote, I'm paraphrasing, where she said something like, um, a lot of people have sight but no vision. And you were like able to close your eyes and visualize, you know, literally walking and not hitting the walls, but also visualizing the dream that you had for yourself in those moments. If you're able to have vision. A lot of us are seeing, but we don't have vision.

• 37:30Tabitha Brown?

  Right.

• 37:31Lewis Howes?

  What do you think is blocking us from having true vision?

• 37:34Tabitha Brown?

  I think a lack of faith. Right? Cause faith is, you know, believing things unseen. Right? So I think that, uh, you know, but, but what is the word is walk by faith, not by sight. And so I have faith in the things I feel, the things that I believe, I have faith that they're gonna work.

• 37:55Lewis Howes?

  Even if you haven't seen them yet?

• 37:56Tabitha Brown?

  Even if I haven't seen them. Right? I've never seen God's face, but I believe. Right? I've, I've heard a voice. I believe. I have faith in the, in the visions that he has shown me in my dreams or while I'm awake. I have faith in those things. I believe in confirmation. Right? I'll, I remember, uh, people used to, uh, ask me and still ask me often. How did you keep going after all this time? It took you over 20 years to get to success. Like, on the moments where you, you know, felt like giving up, like, what were the things that kept you going? And I always tell people, I would look at the signs of confirmation. Right?

• 38:38Tabitha Brown?

  I remember I used to work in a staffing company in Greensboro, North Carolina. And I was on my lunch break, went through the drive-through, and a little guy, when I got to the drive-through to pay, he was like, "Hey." I was like, "Hey." He was like, "Aren't you the lady on the show? Aren't you on the, like, Nickelodeon, something like that?" I was like, "Oh, no, I work at Selective Staffing off of High Point Road." He was like, "Okay." I was like, "Okay." He was like, "No, don't you have the show with the kids?" I was like, "I don't know what you're talking about, honey. I must look like somebody." And I remember thinking like, huh, why did he say that? You know, back then, and God spoke to my spirit and said, "'Cause he can see your destiny."

• 39:21Tabitha Brown?

  So, little moments like that were confirmed. And we're talking 2003, 2004 when that happened. I just want to end me for my children's show. That I didn't even dream of having. All 20 years later. I'd have never thought I was gonna have a children's show.

• 39:40Tabitha Brown?

  It was confirmation. Wow. Right? So, if we pay attention to the little signs. I remember thinking, like, I used to work at a nursing home, assisted living home, and we had to wear our uniforms. It was like khaki pants and polo shirts. And I worked the night shift. And it was hard. It was hard. That shit was hard. This was like 2010. Wow. And I remember I would take breaks and, you know, go to the bathroom, put water on my face, 'cause overnight, you're working at 11:00 at night to 7:00 in the morning, and I'm trying to stay awake. And I would just stare at myself in the mirror. And some days, I would just cry. I'd be like, I could, I'd look at myself, and for a flash, I would see myself on a red carpet. And I would be like, "I'm clearly in khakis and a blue polo."

• 40:24Tabitha Brown?

  But for a quick second, I could see, I could see myself. I said, "Something is coming." And it would just give me this boost. I would just get excited. I would get so excited. And I know, from being there, so many things happen, very supernatural things.

• 40:43Tabitha Brown?

  And I used to be like, God, why? Because I kept getting drawn to go work in a nursing home. My mother was a hospice worker. She was a social worker. But as a kid, she always taught me to respect our elders and just understand how much wisdom they hold, right? And so I would read to them when I was a kid. So after she passed away, I had this urge to go work in a nursing home. And specifically the night shift, which was crazy, right? So all these supernatural things would happen when I was there. And I feel like God had me there because one day I'll make a show about it, right? Also, because seniors and elderly people are the best people in the world. They are the funniest. Like, they don't care. There's no more fear. They don't care about what you think about them.

• 41:28Tabitha Brown?

  They've seen it all, done it all, right?

• 41:32Tabitha Brown?

  And so sometimes I think the flash that I saw of myself on these like red carpets and like lights and stuff, maybe it's because I'll do a show, I'll create a show about my experience there. And then I'll win, you know, maybe some awards or something for it. I don't know. But little things like that were always signs for me. So I always tell people, look for your signs. Sometimes you can be, I don't know, you know, talking to a friend that you have a certain relationship with. But you don't tell them your dreams. But they may say to you one day, just out of nowhere, you ever thought about doing such and such? And it's the thing that lives inside of you. That's your sign. You never told them that. How do they, how do they say that? That's your sign.

• 42:15Lewis Howes?

  Right.

• 42:15Tabitha Brown?

  That's confirmation. That's how you keep going. Look for your signs.

• 42:20Lewis Howes?

  You have a quote that I saw said obedience is better than sacrifice.

• 42:24Tabitha Brown?

  Yeah.

• 42:24Lewis Howes?

  What does that mean?

• 42:25Tabitha Brown?

  Oh, honey, because obedience is the thing that it's hard to do, right? It's hard to be obedient sometimes because sometimes we want to be in control. You know that feeling you get under your, that gut feeling as we call it? I call that the gift under the tummy. That's what I say gut stands for. Because we all got it. That's obedience, obeying that. Like when something is happening, you got to make a decision. You got to be obedient. Sometimes it's not the thing you want to sacrifice to do. Sometimes it's the thing that you have to be obedient and do so that you can go to the next place. Because I think that we all have. A certain amount of grace God gives us all.

• 43:11Tabitha Brown?

  But I feel like we can, we can get at a road that has a left and a right. Sacrifice is to the left, obedience is to the right. He also gives us the grace to make a decision. One turn might get us there quicker. Blessings may feel better. The other turn may be a whole different uncomfortable ride.

• 43:33Lewis Howes?

  Really?

• 43:34Tabitha Brown?

  Right, so obedience is better than sacrifice.

• 43:38Lewis Howes?

  Where, where was a time in your life where you sacrificed as opposed to were obedient? And what happened for you?

• 43:45Tabitha Brown?

  So many times. I mean, about 20 years I was living a lot of sacrifice.

• 43:51Lewis Howes?

  And what's, what's, how's it look different for someone? When they do something based on making a sacrifice? And maybe they think they're supposed to do this.

• 43:59Tabitha Brown?

  Yeah.

• 44:00Lewis Howes?

  Versus being obedient.

• 44:02Tabitha Brown?

  I think sometimes, we could say some people, you know, you may want to start a business, right? And so you may sell your house. But something inside you feels like, oh, this might, this is not right.

• 44:16Tabitha Brown?

  But you make the sacrifice and you do it anyway. Business fails. You ignore the obedience. You, you ignore the thing that said, don't do it that way. Because you thought you were in control. And that your way, your idea was better. Right? And sometimes it's hard to decipher, like, is this my thinking? Or is this the gift? Is this, is this God speaking to me? Is this the thing that lives inside of me, right? And so I always say, like, if you can come up with the idea and you can write it down and, you know, it's great, you can kind of come back to it. But you can also kind of forget about it a little bit. That's you thinking.

• 44:56Tabitha Brown?

  But if he's giving it to you, it's not going to let you rest. It's going to keep on nagging. And also, signs will come to confirm it. And, like I said before, he ain't complicated. It's a little bit easier sometimes. Sometimes there's roadblocks. Cause now there are roadblocks sometimes, but if we read the sign on the roadblock, it may not be a roadblock. It may just be, okay, there's a little bump here, but read the sign. You can still go this way, it's just gonna be a little bit harder. Reward will be greater later. But we just gotta make sure we know which, which way we're going.

• 45:29Lewis Howes?

  Wow.

• 45:30Tabitha Brown?

  And so, I've, I've done that many times, but every time I've went against that thing, I get burned every time.

• 45:37Lewis Howes?

  Really?

• 45:37Tabitha Brown?

  Oh, every time. Something doesn't work out. It just doesn't. I remember, and this happened recently, I had an opportunity to go in business with somebody to do a restaurant. And absolutely loved my business partner. His name is Neiman, love him. He has a restaurant in Chicago that I fell in love with, Kelman A. And so, he was like, I, I wanna open one in, in LA. I was like, I'll be your business partner. I ain't never did restaurant business. I did food, but I ain't never did restaurant business. Like, I didn't know all this stuff, right? But I was like, I know I can get people to come, type of thing. And so, I invested and did it. A lot of things happened with this, this building, a lot of things happened that we couldn't keep the business open.

• 46:20Lewis Howes?

  Really?

• 46:20Tabitha Brown?

  Right? And so, while we were in the process of, before we ever opened, I, I kept coming in, I was like, I don't know, I got a feeling.

• 46:32Tabitha Brown?

  Maybe this is not the right location. And he kept saying, oh, no, no, no, I know it is. And he had his reasons. He had his, his own reasons. And so, I said, okay, we'll go with it. And my prayer was, God, if it's not meant to be, don't let it last.

• 46:46Lewis Howes?

  End it quick.

• 46:46Tabitha Brown?

  And maybe it ended quick. It was grand opening, grand closing.

• 46:50Lewis Howes?

  Wow.

• 46:51Tabitha Brown?

  That's how it felt, yeah. But I had so much peace with it, cause I knew. I was like, I went against the, the guy. But he's still doing amazing and successful with his restaurant in Chicago, so, yeah.

• 47:02Lewis Howes?

  And it's almost, you know, the greatest blessing had, you went against your obedience. But it ended quickly. It didn't go on for five years of misery.

• 47:12Tabitha Brown?

  Right.

• 47:12Lewis Howes?

  Like, at least it ended within a year or something.

• 47:14Tabitha Brown?

  Oh, yeah.

• 47:15Lewis Howes?

  And it was, okay, I only lost a little bit and it didn't work out. It didn't take all my time and energy.

• 47:20Tabitha Brown?

  Yeah.

• 47:20Lewis Howes?

  As opposed to years, where some people are disobedient and they stay in a relationship for 20 years too long.

• 47:26Tabitha Brown?

  Oh, honey, yeah.

• 47:27Lewis Howes?

  Or they stay in a business because they have pride, well, I started this and I wanna make sure it doesn't fail.

• 47:32Tabitha Brown?

  Yeah.

• 47:33Lewis Howes?

  And they go against obedience and they suffer more.

• 47:37Tabitha Brown?

  Yeah. And then the hope is that when you come out of it, that you learned.

• 47:42Lewis Howes?

  Yes.

• 47:42Tabitha Brown?

  Right? Because I definitely learned, to me, it was like God is saying, okay, now remember, I've already shown you this.

• 47:46Lewis Howes?

  Yeah, don't do it again.

• 47:47Tabitha Brown?

  Don't do it again.

• 47:48Lewis Howes?

  Or it might be more painful.

• 47:49Tabitha Brown?

  You know what's gonna happen. Exactly. So, yeah.

• 47:51Lewis Howes?

  Might be more painful.

• 47:52Tabitha Brown?

  Yeah.

• 47:52Lewis Howes?

  How did you know you were prepared and ready for the pressure and the weight of the success that came your way? Or the abundance started coming your way, you know, five, six years ago?

• 48:03Tabitha Brown?

  Um, I think because I didn't necessarily know I was necessarily ready.

• 48:11Tabitha Brown?

  But I felt normal, if it makes sense. You know, my husband used to say, uh, he talks about this sometime. For, you know, we've been together for 26 years this year. So he's been with me since I've been pursuing acting and all this stuff in entertainment. And when we first moved to LA, it didn't matter what I auditioned for, this is it. I would come home and be like, this gonna be it, honey. I know this is the road that's gonna take me here. It could have been a short film, it could have been a commercial. Whatever it was, was always a thing.

• 48:45Lewis Howes?

  Wow.

• 48:45Tabitha Brown?

  And I would come home just overly excited, like, oh, I can't wait, we're gonna win the film festival. Like, I would just be all over the place excited. And that went on for years, right?

• 48:56Tabitha Brown?

  This stuff started happening, uh, in the last, we'll say the last, you know, five years. But about three years ago, 2020, things really just went crazy.

• 49:07Lewis Howes?

  Took off.

• 49:08Tabitha Brown?

  So much was happening. I mean, campaigns, money, brand deals, products, everything. And I was very calm, very grateful, always in a state of gratitude, but very calm. So my husband came to me, he said, hey, listen, I'm a little concerned. I said, wow, what's going on? He was like, so for years, when you was doing the acting thing and you were not making money, we were struggling. You would be so excited, so, so, so excited about, oh, this is it, this is it. And it wasn't it. He said, now, this is it, and you're not.

• 49:45Lewis Howes?

  Excited.

• 49:46Tabitha Brown?

  Excited the same way. And I said, oh, I said, oh, I get it now. I said, because back then, my flesh was excited. And I was all over the place. But my spirit was like, girl, no, no, no, you gotta keep on going. This ain't it. This, this not it. I said, but now my spirit and flesh, we are in alignment. So this feels like home. It feels normal to me.

• 50:11Lewis Howes?

  Yeah, your nervous system is safer.

• 50:12Tabitha Brown?

  It's, it's safe. It feels like, oh, I feel balanced. I was out of balance before, because I won't in alignment. I said, so now, I can be in a full state of gratitude. I cry a lot, because I'm so happy. But I'm not all over the place. I was like, so now, I know this is what God had prepared me for. So I feel at peace. And so it gives me, when we're at peace, and we have a, a understanding that I'm doing what God has, has planned for me and has purposed me to do. I know I'm ready for it.

• 50:46Lewis Howes?

  Wow.

• 50:47Tabitha Brown?

  Yeah. Also don't have a, a problem saying no. That's how you really know when you're ready.

• 50:52Lewis Howes?

  Yeah. When someone's trying to give you money and you say, I'm good.

• 50:55Tabitha Brown?

  God bless y'all. I'm all right.

• 50:57Lewis Howes?

  That's big. That's a big move. That's like obedience at a high level.

• 51:01Tabitha Brown?

  Yeah, because I said no to a whole lot of things, um, in the beginning of this journey. Before money started coming in. Um, and it was money, good money. And I was like, that's not in alignment where God has taken me. I gotta say, I gotta pass on it. And that's how I knew that I really was living and believing what God has for me is for me. Because I'm like, we need that money, but I don't, I, I'm not gonna sacrifice. I'm gonna have to be obedient.

• 51:30Lewis Howes?

  Yeah, that's so good, because, you know, we've been doing this show for 11 years. We've never taken, I've never been drunk in my life or high. I don't just tell them to do drugs or anything. And we've had different, you know, gambling companies or alcohol companies always wanted to sponsor. And I've just said no to all of it. And they've got big money.

• 51:47Tabitha Brown?

  Yeah.

• 51:48Lewis Howes?

  Like, okay, that money could be nice, and I could hire more people and do these things. But if it's not in alignment with me. It just doesn't feel right. Not saying that other people shouldn't take that.

• 51:56Tabitha Brown?

  Right.

• 51:57Lewis Howes?

  You know, it feels good for them.

• 51:58Tabitha Brown?

  That's somebody else's blessing.

• 51:59Lewis Howes?

  Exactly.

• 51:59Tabitha Brown?

  It's not for you. That's right.

• 52:00Lewis Howes?

  And I feel like, I feel good even though I haven't taken that type of money or those opportunities. And I feel like it's growing in the way that I want it to grow, you know. I don't need those things. I think that's really hard for people to say no.

• 52:15Tabitha Brown?

  Yeah.

• 52:15Lewis Howes?

  When it's out of alignment.

• 52:17Tabitha Brown?

  Yeah.

• 52:17Lewis Howes?

  And so that's, that's challenging to do.

• 52:20Tabitha Brown?

  Yeah, it is. You, you have to get to a place where you can do that. But I also understand desperation.

• 52:26Lewis Howes?

  Yeah, yeah. You might have to take stuff.

• 52:28Tabitha Brown?

  Sometime, yeah. I mean, back in the day, I, some of the movies and stuff I've done from way back, I'd be like, oh, Lord. But I was like, I got paid $500 to do that, or $5,000. And that $5,000 was the only money I made for six months, right? So I'm grateful for all of it, though, because it's my story.

• 52:47Lewis Howes?

  Yes.

• 52:47Tabitha Brown?

  You know, I did scripts that were terrible and, you know, I thought were funny. And now I'm like, oh, God, it was not funny. You know, just learning. But that's, that's my, that's my story to tell.

• 52:58Lewis Howes?

  Yes.

• 52:59Tabitha Brown?

  You know, and that's also can help inspire somebody else that is in that season in their life.

• 53:04Lewis Howes?

  100%.

• 53:04Tabitha Brown?

  We all go through different seasons. Yeah.

• 53:06Lewis Howes?

  What have you learned about the keys to having a healthy relationship and successful marriage? When you didn't have the success, the fame, the notoriety, you know, for the first, I guess, 15 years? To now having more of that, what have you learned? As one person in a relationship, you know, gets more famous and successful and financially well off? What, what have you learned or what advice would you give others in relationships?

• 53:35Tabitha Brown?

  For us, it's always been, we all we got. Right? You know, the saying, don't believe the hype. I live by that. Don't believe the hype. My husband, we are our foundation. That's where it begins. It's God first and then us, right? Then the children and all the things. But together. We can do everything together. You know, my husband was, uh, we moved to LA. And so that I could pursue my dreams. For 15 years, he was a Los Angeles police officer.

• 54:08Lewis Howes?

  Wow.

• 54:09Tabitha Brown?

  He was like, I can go get this job. And we can at least have one solid income that has benefits. You know, because we had kids. And you could pursue your dream.

• 54:19Lewis Howes?

  Wow.

• 54:20Tabitha Brown?

  And never have to get, you know, a career like a job job. Although I always had a job, but I might have a job for a year or two and then quit or, you know, whatever. So he sacrificed, right? He did that. And I used to tell him, five years, I'm gonna blow up out here in LA and I'm gonna take you out of there. And he'd be like, don't, I don't care about that. I just want, I'm fine. Pursue your dream, pursue your dream, right? We did that together. And so it didn't happen in five years, but after 15 years, I was like, listen, this don't even make sense for you to be working no more. Please retire like from LAPD and do something that you wanna do, you know, something else. So being together and never letting the noise in. Like, people start believing the hype.

• 55:05Tabitha Brown?

  I am Tabitha Brown, only because I carried my husband's last name. Right? So I am a, a wife first. Like, that's, that's what it is. Like, me and my husband, that's, that's it. Everything else is added on. That's all. It's just, work is work. But we never let it.

• 55:32Tabitha Brown?

  I don't know how to explain it. I think that people, sometime they forget that marriage should be first.

• 55:41Tabitha Brown?

  You know? And for me, it's, it's family first, it's gonna always be that. My career is my bonus that I get to live.

• 55:49Lewis Howes?

  Oh.

• 55:50Tabitha Brown?

  Right? That, all the other things, it's the bonus. My dream, God gave me. I also feel like my husband was part of my dream. Right? That's part of who I am. Like, this is who he chose for me.

• 56:03Lewis Howes?

  Right.

• 56:03Tabitha Brown?

  Right? To do this life with.

• 56:05Lewis Howes?

  What's his name?

• 56:06Tabitha Brown?

  Chance.

• 56:07Lewis Howes?

  Chance.

• 56:07Tabitha Brown?

  Mm-hmm.

• 56:08Lewis Howes?

  What's the thing you love about Chance the most?

• 56:11Tabitha Brown?

  Honey, he makes me feel safe. But Chance is not gonna do nothing that Chance don't wanna do.

• 56:18Tabitha Brown?

  And you be like, hey, you wanna go there? Nope, not doing that. Like, it's just, some days it gets on my nerves. But it's also admirable, like, oh, you're not easily influenced.

• 56:29Lewis Howes?

  He's authentic to who he is.

• 56:30Tabitha Brown?

  Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. Absolutely.

• 56:32Lewis Howes?

  If you get in some marriage, you gotta have to do certain things you don't wanna do all the time.

• 56:36Tabitha Brown?

  Let me tell you now, it's many days though he get on my nerves with that. I be like, you know what? I can't stand that about you. And then other days, like, I love that about you, you know? But I think another thing is, he's a phenomenal father. I've been able to witness my husband in all stages of his life, right? Yeah, we grew up together. We've known each other pretty much our whole life since we were 10. And so, I've seen him as a boy, I've seen him as a young man, and now, you know, a man-man, you know, he's 45. And it's been an honor to watch him evolve and grow.

• 57:14Lewis Howes?

  Wow.

• 57:15Tabitha Brown?

  And mature. But fatherhood has been one of the best things to witness.

• 57:20Lewis Howes?

  That's beautiful.

• 57:21Tabitha Brown?

  Yeah.

• 57:22Lewis Howes?

  Wow.

• 57:22Tabitha Brown?

  Yeah.

• 57:23Lewis Howes?

  Chance the man. You know, you talk about fears a lot in the book, I Did a New Thing. What do you think was the biggest fear when you were not fully obedient or fully living the most authentic life that was meant for you?

• 57:41Lewis Howes?

  And what is the biggest fear now?

• 57:45Lewis Howes?

  Stepping into owning you 100%.

• 57:48Tabitha Brown?

  I think the biggest fear before was, you know, dying with this thing inside of me.

• 57:58Tabitha Brown?

  Like, never letting it be seen, right?

• 58:05Tabitha Brown?

  Fear now doesn't necessarily live with me as much. I don't know if I have a

• 58:17Tabitha Brown?

  unnecessary, like, I don't, I don't know if I have a fear I want to

• 58:26Tabitha Brown?

  I want to change people, right? I want to, um, I want to affect them in the best way possible, right? And sometimes trying to spread love and positivity, people don't want to buy into that sometimes.

• 58:46Lewis Howes?

  Why is that?

• 58:47Tabitha Brown?

  I think misery loves company, you know? And sometimes happiness scares people. You know, you can have people that everything's going great, and they'll be like, "I know something bad's gonna happen." Why? We're allowed to go through it either way, you know? So I think sometimes I, I don't necessarily fear it, but I am concerned.

• 59:13Tabitha Brown?

  Am I doing enough with spreading love and trying to reach people? Am I doing it the right way? Even though I feel at peace about it, I always, you know, I'm in prayer like, "God, is this really what you want me to do?" I want to make sure I'm, I'm not ever being triggered to get back into being in control.

• 59:37Tabitha Brown?

  Because, you know, healing is a journey. And so sometimes we can be triggered to going back to our old things. And my old thing is being, "I'm in control." Instead of, "No, no, I'm letting God be in control, and I'm walking, and I never want to go back. I never want to go back."

• 59:55Lewis Howes?

  How do you know when you're on the right path in surrender versus in control?

• 1:00:05Tabitha Brown?

  I think it's that feeling. For me, it's the feeling off balance.

• 1:00:13Lewis Howes?

  When you feel like you're trying to control things?

• 1:00:15Tabitha Brown?

  Yeah.

• 1:00:15Lewis Howes?

  You feel more off balance.

• 1:00:16Tabitha Brown?

  Yeah, and when nothing seems to be lining up. "Oh, Tab, you trying to do this." Step back. Step back and let's, let's look at every piece of the puzzle and make sure you're not trying to create the puzzle, create the pieces, and put it all together. Sit back and, and let God do what God does. We still have to do our part, because faith without work is dead, right? But still, you gotta let Him orchestrate. Yeah.

• 1:00:46Lewis Howes?

  Wow.

• 1:00:47Tabitha Brown?

  Yeah.

• 1:00:50Lewis Howes?

  What do you feel like will be the thing that holds you back the most moving forward? Besides, you know, being in trying to be in control or not be obedient? Is there anything else you don't have the fears anymore? What are you preparing for? Like with the abundance coming your way, what are you preparing for to make sure you don't get in your own way?

• 1:01:10Tabitha Brown?

  I think just staying true to who I am, right? I don't, I don't fear.

• 1:01:18Tabitha Brown?

  I don't fear or

• 1:01:22Tabitha Brown?

  project negative, right? I ain't, I'm not, I'm not preparing for negative. I'm expecting the unexpected, right? Which I'm always in my mind thinking of God saying is more than what I can imagine. Right? That's greatness. That's what I'm, what I'm looking forward to. I don't look forward to cloudy days, although I know they will come. But they're not, it's not something I'm like, oh, I'm, I'm, I'm planning for a bad day. No, I'm planning for all good days. I'm, I'm, I am being mindful and intentional with joy. Right? So I don't think, and, and listen, that may be the thing that holds me back.

• 1:02:09Tabitha Brown?

  And if it does, then we, we'll cross that bridge when we get to it. But I don't plan on allowing anything to shift me outside of the position God has put me in. I think that I trust God. I believe that he has me on this journey.

• 1:02:31Tabitha Brown?

  And I'm all right with whatever come my way.

• 1:02:32Lewis Howes?

  There you go.

• 1:02:34Tabitha Brown?

  That's just kind of how I feel about it.

• 1:02:35Lewis Howes?

  What do you think is the greatest lesson God has taught you?

• 1:02:39Tabitha Brown?

  I was always enough. I didn't need to try to do his job.

• 1:02:45Tabitha Brown?

  Because the thing about when you conform and when you try to, you know, create another person, that's me saying, "God, you didn't do a good enough job on me. I had to fix me." But he taught me, he had did a great job and I was enough just as he created me to be.

• 1:03:04Lewis Howes?

  Wow.

• 1:03:06Lewis Howes?

  That's inspiring. You've done like three books in the last four years?

• 1:03:10Tabitha Brown?

  Yeah.

• 1:03:10Lewis Howes?

  Is that right? Three in the last four?

• 1:03:11Tabitha Brown?

  Yeah, in a little journal, like a workbook journal, but yeah.

• 1:03:14Lewis Howes?

  We should keep in track.

• 1:03:17Lewis Howes?

  This one's called "I Did A New Thing" by Tabitha Brown. You're number one New York Times bestselling author, multiple New York Times bestselling author. This is all about the 30 days to living free. You talk about how to really create new habits and a framework around setting yourself up for freedom, stepping into your truth, overcoming your fears. I'm excited for people to get a copy of "I Did A New Thing."

• 1:03:38Tabitha Brown?

  Yes.

• 1:03:39Lewis Howes?

  What else are you most excited about these days that you're working on and how we can support and serve you?

• 1:03:43Tabitha Brown?

  Yes, I know we were talking about it. I'm excited to get back into doing more acting. And I love that, you know, sometimes, and this is important for somebody to hear, somebody needs to be reminded of this. Sometimes we have a dream, right? But our journey to get to it doesn't always look like how we envision it. And so God took me on this whole different path that has led me back to be able to do the thing that I've been dreaming of since I was a kid. And so more acting, I just finished a film,

• 1:04:14Tabitha Brown?

  television, you know, doing things that really matter to me, making people laugh, sometimes making them cry, right? That's what we do as actors, making people feel, that's it. Creating more products that people can use in everyday life, because I think that's the most important. And I know my, I know my fan base, I know my, as I call them, my fam base, they my family.

• 1:04:40Tabitha Brown?

  And, you know, feeding people good food.

• 1:04:44Tabitha Brown?

  Good recipes, but also feeding their soul with inspiration and staying true, right? And I'm expanding with my hair care line. I don't know if you know my hair, her name is Donna.

• 1:04:55Lewis Howes?

  All right.

• 1:04:55Tabitha Brown?

  I named my hair. She twisted it up right now, but and I normally have a big old Afro. And her name is Donna. So I have Donna's recipe because I don't do desserts. But Donna, she can give you desserts for your hair.

• 1:05:05Lewis Howes?

  All right.

• 1:05:05Tabitha Brown?

  I have a sweet potato pie collection of hair products. It's at Ulta Beauty, also at Target now.

• 1:05:11Lewis Howes?

  Nice.

• 1:05:12Tabitha Brown?

  And we're expanding the line and doing more things with that. So just trying to, you know, build

• 1:05:19Tabitha Brown?

  an empire, but off of truth. I'll, just like you said, you'll never put your name on no, you know, alcohol because that's not in alignment. I'll never just throw my name on a product.

• 1:05:30Lewis Howes?

  Right.

• 1:05:30Tabitha Brown?

  It's gonna be something that you know, oh wait, that's definitely Tab, because this is how she lived her life. So I'm just keep on doing things that that matter and that are, you know, real to me.

• 1:05:40Lewis Howes?

  That's beautiful.

• 1:05:41Tabitha Brown?

  Yeah.

• 1:05:42Lewis Howes?

  I am Tabitha Brown on all of her social media, your TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, you know, YouTube is blown up as well. You've got amazing recipes. Alexandra, she's vegan.

• 1:05:52Tabitha Brown?

  She told me, yeah.

• 1:05:54Lewis Howes?

  And she was talking about how she wants to try one of your latest recipes. I think it was like a carrot bacon.

• 1:05:58Tabitha Brown?

  Oh, yeah.

• 1:05:59Lewis Howes?

  I was like, that sounds incredible. So I'm gonna have to have someone make it up and.

• 1:06:03Tabitha Brown?

  That was like one of my first viral videos on TikTok that took me through the roof in 2020.

• 1:06:08Lewis Howes?

  So I gotta try that someday.

• 1:06:10Tabitha Brown?

  Yeah.

• 1:06:10Lewis Howes?

  Um, so people can get all your content on social media.

• 1:06:14Tabitha Brown?

  Website is the same.

• 1:06:15Lewis Howes?

  I'm TabithaBrown.com as well. But make sure to get the new book, I Did A New Thing. I've got a couple of final questions for you, Tabitha. First one, before I ask the final two questions, I want to acknowledge you, Tabitha, for the transformation you've made and for sharing your transformation so publicly and the success that you've received by owning your truce. I think a lot of people wear masks in the world. I wore a mask for many years to protect myself, to fit in, to feel like I belonged, all these different things because I was afraid. And we can only create so much success with a mask on. But I think we can create true fulfillment and greatness as our authentic selves.

• 1:06:57Lewis Howes?

  So I acknowledge you for leaning into that, listening to the voice, and being obedient to what you felt was right for you. And the impact you've made by the continual actions you take and how you show up is just really inspiring. So I really acknowledge you for listening to the voice and taking action to be of service to so many people that watch and listen to you and read your books. So, congrats on everything.

• 1:07:22Tabitha Brown?

  Thank you for that.

• 1:07:23Lewis Howes?

  Of course. This question is called the three truths. So it's a hypothetical scenario. Imagine you get to live from this moment for as many years as you want to live, but it's eventually your last day on this earth.

• 1:07:35Tabitha Brown?

  Okay.

• 1:07:37Lewis Howes?

  And in this hypothetical scenario, you get to create all of your dreams. They all come true. You live the life you envision and you, you know, you have unexpected things that come to your life as well that are beautiful. But it's the last day, and for whatever reason on this last day, you have to take all of your work with you. So no one has access to this book anymore, this interview, and anything you create. For whatever reason, it's gotta go with you.

• 1:08:01Tabitha Brown?

  Okay.

• 1:08:02Lewis Howes?

  But you get to leave behind three lessons to the world. And this is all we would have to remember you by. I call it the three truths. What would be those three truths for you?

• 1:08:12Tabitha Brown?

  Oh, live free.

• 1:08:13Lewis Howes?

  Mm-hmm.

• 1:08:15Tabitha Brown?

  And

• 1:08:18Tabitha Brown?

  spread love.

• 1:08:24Tabitha Brown?

  And eat well.

• 1:08:25Lewis Howes?

  Hmm, I like it. Simple.

• 1:08:29Tabitha Brown?

  Yeah.

• 1:08:30Lewis Howes?

  And powerful. Final question, Tabitha. What is your definition of greatness?

• 1:08:37Tabitha Brown?

  Definition of greatness is, is freedom, right? Being completely free in your world and in everybody else's.

• 1:08:50Speaker 00

  I hope today's episode inspired you on your journey towards greatness. Make sure to check out the show notes in the description for a rundown of today's show with all the important links. And if you want weekly exclusive bonus episodes with me as well as ad free listening experience, make sure to subscribe to our greatness plus channel on Apple Podcast. If you enjoyed this, please share it with a friend over on social media or text a friend, leave us a review over on Apple Podcast and let me know what you learned over on our social media channels at Lewis Howes. I really love hearing the feedback from you and it helps us continue to make the show better. And if you want more inspiration from our world-class guests and content to learn how to improve the quality of your life, then make sure to sign up for the greatness newsletter

• 1:09:33Speaker 00

  and get it delivered right to your inbox over at greatness.com/newsletter. And if no one has told you today, I want to remind you that you are loved, you are worthy, and you matter. And now it's time to go out there and do something great.