Pod Insights The School of Greatness 86 The Crushing Reality of Olympic Silver with Shawn Johnson About this episode "I talk a lot about the silver medals because it kind of has defined my life." - Shawn Johnson Learn more about the show and get lots of free resources at www.lewishowes.com/86 Get more from Lewis! Get my New York Times Bestselling book, Make Money Easy! Get The Greatness Mindset audiobook on SpotifyText Lewis AIYouTubeInstagramWebsiteTiktokFacebookX
Transcript 11,009 words · 2 speakers
Speaker names marked ? are inferred from speaking time and the show’s known hosts — they are not voice-verified.
0:00 Lewis Howes? This is episode number 86 with Olympic gold medalist Shawn Johnson.
0:09 Lewis Howes? Welcome to the School of Greatness. My name is Lewis Howes, a 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.
0:35 Lewis Howes? What is up everyone? Thanks so much for hanging out with me on the School of Greatness podcast today. My name is Lewis Howes. I am your host and I'm super pumped to be here with you today. I've got a very, very special guest and a dear friend of mine. Her name is Ms. Shawn Johnson. She is Olympic gold medalist and a three-time silver medalist in gymnastics. If you haven't heard about her, then you've probably been hiding under a rock because she is basically the main person when it comes to gymnastics. Whenever anyone thinks of gymnastics, they think of Shawn Johnson. She is like the queen of it right now. So she is an awesome individual. We, uh, she's here in LA.
1:16 Lewis Howes? So we, I had her on the podcast back on episode number, I believe it was 26 or 22. I'll link that up in the show notes for you guys, but we had an amazing time in the first time talking about the, the mindset of an Olympic athlete and kind of her rituals for getting ready to perform on such a big stage at 16 years old. I mean, could you imagine the pressure performing the Olympics as a 16-year-old? And having to be at your best when a billion people are watching you all over the world. It's, it's, I can't even imagine it. And the pressure that she was able to overcome is astounding. So very excited about her back on the show. So make sure to check out that episode if you haven't listened to it yet to learn about tapping into the Olympic mindset.
2:02 Lewis Howes? And this episode is actually a little bit different and we get a little bit more intimate with Shawn. She opens up in a way I've never heard her open up before. And we talk about what it's like getting second place and getting the silver. Cause she actually got three silver medals first before she won a gold medal. And what it's like.
2:25 Lewis Howes? Coming from a place of second place, not winning. She goes into this, actually this, this energy that's created whenever someone loses and gets second place. When they get third, fourth, or fifth, or beyond, it's still an accomplishment. And when you win, it's an accomplishment. But getting second, there's something interesting that Shawn says that happens when you get second. So we dive into that. We dive into how to realize your self-worth and your worth and your accomplishments when this happens. So maybe you don't get first in everything. Uh, maybe you don't get the job you wanted. You get the second place job, or whatever it may be. The relationships, or whatever it may be, it doesn't work out the way you wanted it to be, the way you envisioned, the way it was supposed to be.
3:09 Lewis Howes? Again, Shawn was supposed to win the gold medal, and it didn't happen on those, those four. She won one of the four. She was supposed to win gold in all four of those events. So I'm very excited about this interview. I'm super grateful for Shawn opening up in such an authentic, vulnerable, loving way. And she's just such an incredible human being. So without further ado, let's go ahead and dive into this amazing interview with the one and only Shawn Johnson.
3:48 Lewis Howes? What's up everyone? Thanks so much again for coming on and hanging out on the School of Greatness podcast. I've got my great, sweet, dear friend Shawn Johnson on. What's up Shawn?
3:56 Speaker 01 Oh, nothing.
3:57 Lewis Howes? Oh, nothing.
3:58 Speaker 01 What's up with you?
3:59 Lewis Howes? Oh, not much. The last time I had you on, I have to figure out what episode that was, but we had you on before. People loved it. And right before we did the last one, we did some salsa dancing. Do you remember that?
4:09 Speaker 01 We did do some salsa dancing. I think I was coming from Dancing with the Stars, from one of the shows.
4:14 Lewis Howes? You probably were. And yesterday, you just got back in town. You haven't been here in like six months, I feel like.
4:20 Speaker 01 It's been forever.
4:21 Lewis Howes? It's been forever.
4:22 Speaker 01 Yes.
4:22 Lewis Howes? We don't like that. LA misses you.
4:24 Speaker 01 Well, I miss LA.
4:25 Lewis Howes? Yes.
4:26 Speaker 01 But.
4:27 Lewis Howes? You live in Nashville now, right?
4:28 Speaker 01 Yes.
4:28 Lewis Howes? With your huge puppy that's now not a puppy anymore.
4:32 Speaker 01 Yeah, he's massive. He's 95 pounds.
4:34 Lewis Howes? Golden Retriever?
4:35 Speaker 01 Yeah, and he thinks he's 10 pounds.
4:37 Lewis Howes? He sits in your lap and he's literally bigger than you.
4:39 Speaker 01 Yes. And he's got too much hair. It's everywhere.
4:42 Lewis Howes? Too much hair.
4:43 Speaker 01 Yes.
4:43 Lewis Howes? And, um, lots happened since then.
4:46 Speaker 01 Yes.
4:47 Lewis Howes? Right?
4:47 Speaker 01 Quite a bit.
4:48 Lewis Howes? Quite a bit. But we also, yesterday, we got to do something new for you, which was some acro yoga. I call it acro yoga.
4:54 Speaker 01 It's cheerleading.
4:55 Lewis Howes? It doesn't look like cheerleading unless it's.
4:57 Speaker 01 You say acro yoga because it just sounds manlier.
5:00 Lewis Howes? It sounds cooler, yeah.
5:01 Speaker 01 Yeah. No, it's cheerleading. It's stunting.
5:04 Lewis Howes? Yeah. So basically, I've been learning acro yoga with my special lady friend, who Sean says I have to say girlfriend now.
5:10 Speaker 01 Girlfriend.
5:10 Lewis Howes? So with.
5:11 Speaker 01 It's definitely girlfriend.
5:12 Lewis Howes? Jen, and for a few months. And I was like, Sean, I bet you could do some of this stuff. Let's try it. And we did. And Sean was so against trying to do it the way I wanted to do it.
5:23 Speaker 01 My entire career has been like individual gymnastics. I control everything.
5:28 Lewis Howes? Yeah. It's much, how different is it than doing like a normal handstand?
5:31 Speaker 01 Completely different.
5:32 Lewis Howes? Well, I'll post a picture and a little video on the show notes here. But basically, I'm holding Sean's hands, for those that can't see it. And she's upside down on my hands, doing a handstand on my hands.
5:45 Speaker 01 While you're standing.
5:46 Lewis Howes? While I'm standing. And so why is it different? Like, tell me why is it different than just doing hands down on the ground?
5:54 Speaker 01 If I'm doing a handstand on the ground, I'm controlling my own body weight in my center of gravity, I guess. And so I put my center of gravity on my fingers. Then you come along, you're like, you had to put your center of gravity on your palms. I've done this for 22 years.
6:09 Lewis Howes? Yeah.
6:09 Speaker 01 And for you to change it, it was a little.
6:12 Lewis Howes? Yeah.
6:12 Speaker 01 A little much, but.
6:13 Lewis Howes? First like 15 tries, it was like this battle. I was like forcing Sean's hands in a position. She was forcing mine in a position.
6:20 Speaker 01 And you'd just be screaming at her.
6:22 Lewis Howes? I'm like, stop it.
6:24 Speaker 01 I'm not trying to.
6:25 Lewis Howes? And we'd hold her for like five to 10 seconds, but it was really ugly.
6:29 Speaker 01 We got it at the end.
6:30 Lewis Howes? In the last few, yeah, started to get really comfortable. So hopefully, we can get back out there again.
6:34 Speaker 01 I just stopped being a control freak and let you do it.
6:37 Lewis Howes? Ooh.
6:38 Speaker 01 Oh.
6:39 Lewis Howes? Let me lead.
6:40 Speaker 01 I guess so.
6:42 Lewis Howes? Yeah. And hopefully, we're gonna get you back out again before you leave your busy schedule this week.
6:47 Speaker 01 That would be fun.
6:47 Lewis Howes? And play some more. So, yeah, I think it'd be great at it.
6:51 Speaker 01 Okay.
6:52 Lewis Howes? It's funny, we should show a video of you trying to get on my shoulders.
6:55 Speaker 01 Oh, my gosh.
6:57 Lewis Howes? We finally got that done, too.
6:59 Speaker 01 You're like twice the size of me, so climbing on top of your back is like.
7:02 Lewis Howes? Like a tree.
7:03 Speaker 01 Pole vaulting.
7:04 Lewis Howes? Exactly. It's fun though. Anyways, that was a good time. And we got to talking about just what's been going on in your life. And we're like, we should do a podcast again. And what I, what you started talking to me about was
7:19 Lewis Howes? kind of this whole, someone like, someone came over when we were doing aqua yoga, it was like a park ranger or something. And you were, and we were talking about, he's like, hey, aren't you an Olympic gold medalist and this and that? And we were talking about it afterwards, how you've won one gold medal, but three silvers, right? Is that what it is? Three silvers? And then I was like, well, how does that make you feel about, you know, is it, is it worse to get three silvers and one gold or all bronze? Or what would, what would be better situation? And you were talking about how it sucks getting silver and you'd rather get bronze or you'd rather get like no medal.
7:57 Speaker 01 Yeah.
7:58 Lewis Howes? Why is that?
8:00 Speaker 01 I, I say that, but I also have lived it. So I also like the other side. So I like silver. But I, I think silver is the absolute hardest place to get because if you come in first place, people tell you, congratulations. They say you, you did it. You deserved it. It's awesome. If you come in third place, fourth, fifth, sixth, all the way down, they still congratulate you because it's an accomplishment.
8:24 Lewis Howes? Yeah.
8:25 Speaker 01 For some reason, if you come in second, people no longer say congratulations, but they say, I'm sorry. Or, you know, you almost had it. Or if you did this a little different, you would have had it. And it's kind of just a societal flaw, I guess, that people see a silver as a failure. But any other place is a success. So when I was competing at the Olympics, how this all got brought up is people always say, you're the Olympic gold medalist or whatever. And they just completely discount the other medals that I have. And for me, it's kind of like when, when I went to the Olympics and I got the silver medal. Nobody was telling me congratulations at all. They were telling everybody around me.
9:09 Speaker 01 You know, I remember the first interview I did after I got the silver, my first silver and you know, I'm, I'm kind of already
9:16 Lewis Howes? Which event is the sin?
9:17 Speaker 01 The all around.
9:18 Lewis Howes? Okay, so the event that you were supposed to win.
9:20 Speaker 01 Yes, the, the biggest event out there.
9:22 Lewis Howes? What you had all the pressure on yourself for and everyone was expecting you to win.
9:25 Speaker 01 Undefeated all around champion.
9:27 Lewis Howes? For the world championships, national championships.
9:30 Speaker 01 And for some reason I come in silver. And I was already kind of torn internally as to how I was, should feel about this silver medal or second place. And my first kind of public,
9:47 Speaker 01 I don't know, experience with whether I had done a good job or disappointed people or was my first interview right after. And you know, this is normally when they say you're going to Disney world or whatever. I'm trying to figure out what they're going to say, how to prepare my answer and they stick the microphone in my face and they say, I'm sorry, but you know, how does it feel to lose?
10:06 Lewis Howes? Oh, man.
10:08 Speaker 01 And as a 16 year old competing at the Olympics.
10:11 Lewis Howes? What a heartbreak.
10:11 Speaker 01 I, it was kind of a validation that I had disappointed people. And at least that's how I took it. So it's definitely a learning experience.
10:22 Speaker 01 Coming in second, saying that everybody congratulates everybody but you. I had to learn how to kind of congratulate myself and not feel like a failure wearing a silver medal at the Olympic games.
10:34 Lewis Howes? Wow.
10:34 Speaker 01 Even though it's one of the greatest accomplishments you can get, so.
10:37 Lewis Howes? Yeah. So why, why is that? Why do people say like, I'm sorry for second place a lot, you know, this Superbowl, no one remembers who's, who didn't win.
10:46 Speaker 01 Yeah.
10:47 Lewis Howes? They, they'll remember all the great maybe playoff games leading up to it and the teams that are like fourth, fifth, but they won't remember the second place. So why is that?
10:55 Speaker 01 I think it's just because so much attention in kind of your whole life, you're taught that winning is everything. And, you know, they also say that if you try, you've done a good job, too. So, they say, they say third place, you know, and on is, is an attempt, but in a first place is a win. So second place kind of just lives in this
11:17 Lewis Howes? No man's land.
11:18 Speaker 01 Abyss. Yeah. And so, when I got to experience that, I, I got my first silver medal in the all around and had to experience, you know, the press line of, I'm sorry's and how does it feel to lose and everything. And, you know, I remember my first answer and it was kind of just came out of nowhere. I, I think I was more in shock and just answered from whatever, but I said, I didn't lose anything. I won a silver medal. And, you know,
11:43 Lewis Howes? Good for you. Good for you, Sean.
11:46 Speaker 01 I look back at that and I'm like, I was 16. I don't know where that came from, but
11:49 Lewis Howes? That's great.
11:50 Speaker 01 I think there's something to be said for it, but I, I did that. And then I went on to compete in the team championships and we came in second as well. And then went on to compete floor, um, finals, came in second.
12:04 Lewis Howes? Jeez.
12:05 Speaker 01 And I got, it got to be comical.
12:07 Lewis Howes? You got three silvers in a row.
12:08 Speaker 01 And then I go for the balance beam and I'm kind of just, again, already checked out. My games are kind of almost over. You know, getting three silvers and having to deal with
12:20 Lewis Howes? When you're supposed to win, when you're supposed to win three golds.
12:22 Speaker 01 Yeah, I was, I was, I had every prediction for a year out saying I'd go in and sweep the floor and to get three medals that are silver and already start reading the headlines and hearing people talk. It just, it kind of, it hurt, but it also, I had the validation of my coach that I was doing enough, which helped. But going into the beam, I kind of was like, well, I'm, I'm gonna get silver no matter what. So I don't really care what I do. And I remember going up for that routine and just not caring anymore.
12:55 Lewis Howes? Hmm.
12:55 Speaker 01 It wasn't about a medal. It wasn't about anything. And I competed a great routine, couldn't tell you a single thing that went on. I can normally recite every word I ever thought and I just was in like a no man's land, just on autopilot.
13:11 Lewis Howes? Wow.
13:11 Speaker 01 And got a.
13:12 Lewis Howes? You were in the zone is what it was. You were in the zone.
13:15 Speaker 01 Finished and then ended up hearing that I got first and it was kinda like, again, I didn't care. A gold to me didn't mean anything anymore. I, I felt like the silver almost meant more because
13:29 Speaker 01 now that I was wearing gold medal, everything seemed almost fake.
13:34 Lewis Howes? Hmm.
13:34 Speaker 01 Because people feel like they have to say congratulations. And they have to tell you good job and give you a high five. And when you have the silver, nobody does that. So you have to actually ask yourself, did I give a performance that was gold medal worthy, silver, bronze? Where do I stand? And with a gold, it's just kind of assumed. It's almost easy.
13:58 Lewis Howes? Wow. Lots of questions to come up here because you know, one, you're getting judged. Like it's all based on what, how many judges on there? Five, three?
14:07 Speaker 01 Eight.
14:08 Lewis Howes? Eight judges. So it's like, okay, it's all someone else's opinion on if you won or not. So you may have had like thousands of other people think that you would have won, but then if these eight judges have your destiny, it's kinda like any team sport as well with like football. There's refs, there's umpires. It's like, yes, there's uh, points, but it's like up to some judgment calls.
14:31 Speaker 01 Mm-hmm.
14:31 Lewis Howes? So man, this is interesting. How is a sixteen year old did? You know, you really first off get back in the zone after these three silvers, which would have been heartbreaking in the first place, but also amazing at the same time. Like if I wanna, if I wanna medal at the Olympics, I'm excited.
14:50 Speaker 01 Definitely.
14:50 Lewis Howes? So I don't care.
14:52 Speaker 01 If you make the Olympics.
14:52 Lewis Howes? If I make the Olympics, I'm like, my dream is like complete, right? So. I don't know, just talk a little bit more about this because I'm just fascinated by how you were feeling and then also how you dealt with it moving forward.
15:05 Speaker 01 Um.
15:06 Lewis Howes? And how other people can really deal with it because I've gotten so many times where I've gotten second place in big games and it sucks.
15:12 Speaker 01 It does suck.
15:13 Lewis Howes? It's not fun, obviously not on Olympic level, but it's like, it sucks. So how can people?
15:18 Speaker 01 Um.
15:19 Lewis Howes? What should they do? Like, I don't even know how to ask these questions right now. What should we do?
15:23 Speaker 01 Um, well, I, I wrote a, a little bit about this in my book. And I travel and do speaker series, um, speeches to college kids and I talk a lot about the silver because it kind of defined, has defined my life. I, I've thought a few times of if I went back and if I would have gotten four medals, how would have my life have been different?
15:47 Lewis Howes? Four gold medals?
15:48 Speaker 01 Yeah, four gold medals.
15:49 Lewis Howes? Yeah, how would it be different?
15:50 Speaker 01 And I honestly think the Olympics wouldn't have meant as much to me if I would have gotten four gold.
15:58 Lewis Howes? Why not?
15:59 Speaker 01 Because everything would have been too easy. You know, people everywhere around the world would have congratulated me and I would never have had to force myself to go back and reflect and say, did you really deserve those? You know, how do you feel with your performance? How, how do you rate yourself, I guess, and, and how much training you put in and I guess self-reflect on the whole process, but with a silver, when nobody's telling you really anything, uh, you, you have to do that. And for me, going back, I honestly don't think I could have done anymore. And
16:38 Lewis Howes? Anything differently on your performances?
16:40 Speaker 01 Not at all. And I believe everything happens for a reason, but for me, how to deal with it, I guess, yes, it's. When I, when I got my first silver in the all around, I, I was devastated. I had this huge confliction in my heart of, I should be proud and I am proud because I gave it everything I had.
17:00 Lewis Howes? Yeah.
17:01 Speaker 01 I left everything on the floor.
17:03 Lewis Howes? But the expectations.
17:04 Speaker 01 But I had this little part of me that's like, I should have won gold.
17:08 Lewis Howes? Yeah.
17:09 Speaker 01 And, how's my coach gonna feel? How are my parents gonna feel? How's, you know, what are the signs gonna read when I walk off that airplane in Des Moines, Iowa this now? You know, it's, it's not congratulations with a gold medal. It's, you know.
17:23 Lewis Howes? Hero, it's.
17:24 Speaker 01 I, I just had all these visions in my head and, again, at 16 years old,
17:29 Lewis Howes? Wow.
17:30 Speaker 01 going through all this, I was heartbroken. I'm, haven't really admitted that to many people, but cried myself to sleep that night. I think more in confusion and disappointment of myself.
17:40 Lewis Howes? Yeah.
17:40 Speaker 01 Like I said, I, I was beyond proud of my performance and so was my coach, but, I think I was heartbroken, just in a sense of confusion more than anything.
17:52 Lewis Howes? Wow.
17:53 Speaker 01 Didn't know how to handle the, the next coming months. Um, but from that, I feel like, again, I've, I've gained a lot more self-confidence and courage and, learned that it's not about the medal, but it's about how you feel and, people can, people can buy rewards and buy medals and, you know, buy people's opinions, I guess, but, you can't buy your own and I think that's the most important one.
18:23 Lewis Howes? Interesting. Yeah. I think, you know, how you feel, but also the lessons you probably learned
18:27 Speaker 01 Mm-hmm.
18:27 Lewis Howes? from that and since then, I mean, what would your life be like right now if you won four golds?
18:32 Speaker 01 I don't know. No idea.
18:34 Lewis Howes? Would it be a lot different, a little different? Would, you know, would you, would everything just be given to you on a whole nother level for the rest of your life? So you won't have to rely on your own wisdom, your judgment or learn new things? What would that be like?
18:45 Speaker 01 I, I think a little bit. I mean, I think. I think I would value material a little more. I mean, I, I, I would hope not. I, I
18:58 Lewis Howes? You're from the Midwest. I don't think you would.
18:59 Speaker 01 Yeah. Um, I didn't experience a four gold, so I wouldn't know. But again, I think it just, it humbled me a little bit in knowing like what the most important things were. It was a weird experience. I mean, standing at the Olympics, being given a silver medal and having the medal bearers, you know, say I'm sorry. It's kind of like, it's a really hard experience.
19:23 Lewis Howes? They did not say that to you. They're putting it around your neck. They say, I'm sorry.
19:27 Speaker 01 Yeah.
19:28 Lewis Howes? They don't even say congratulations for bronze. They say congratulations.
19:31 Speaker 01 Yeah, for bronze they do. Um, so it was, it was just a lot and just trying to sort through all of those emotions is a lot.
19:40 Lewis Howes? As a 16 year old, I couldn't even like put my shoes on. So I don't know how you did it. That's pretty impressive.
19:44 Speaker 01 But I, I just, I gained a lot of that confidence back and just self-worth, I guess. Seeing how my family reacted, seeing how my friends reacted, um, my coach, just seeing that they were still proud. It just, it kind of broke down the whole Olympic dream that we all have and just kind of said, you know, the Olympic dream isn't about getting a gold medal. It's about working towards a goal and making it there in representation of the hard work you put in. And you know, whether you have a goal or not, it, it doesn't define your worth at all.
20:20 Lewis Howes? So let's talk about expectations and goals because obviously for probably a couple of years, you didn't lose. I'm assuming leading up to from like when you're 13 to 16, you probably never lost.
20:30 Speaker 01 No.
20:31 Lewis Howes? Right? At any level. And then you finally lose, which is in the biggest stage, which is heartbreaking, heartbreaking, obviously. How can people going into big events or big goals that they have? Obviously, we have expectations of winning, or we want to win. But how can they set themselves up to win even if they lose or get second? What are some things they can do emotionally or psychologically, do you think, that you've learned?
20:54 Speaker 01 Yeah.
20:55 Lewis Howes? People can do?
20:55 Speaker 01 Um, well, I think something that kind of saved me and kept me sane through that whole process is I grew up with my coach and I started training with him since I was, or when I was five.
21:06 Lewis Howes? Jeez.
21:07 Speaker 01 And he taught me from day one that nothing was ever about a score. So when I competed, I was never allowed to look at a score. I was never allowed to look at, you know, rankings, scoreboards, nothing. I mean, I studied those afterwards, just learning the science and kind of the math behind the sport. But it should never, or he taught me it should never drive your performance.
21:29 Lewis Howes? Interesting.
21:30 Speaker 01 And so when I got to the Olympics, having that kind of ingrained in me, the scores didn't necessarily matter, but that final result of the medal, I wasn't used to. So it made me kind of look at the scores and reflect on how I was judged.
21:50 Speaker 01 But that made me go against everything I've been taught my whole life.
21:53 Lewis Howes? Yeah.
21:53 Speaker 01 And so when I kind of learned to push that away and go back to, it's not about the scores, but it's about how you felt you did, how much effort you put out, your performance. I could go back and look and say, I did the best I possibly could.
22:07 Lewis Howes? Right.
22:08 Speaker 01 And, you know, my, my validation as well was finish, finishing my last routine and seeing 50,000 people and they ran on their feet. I mean, it's things like that that mean more than a score, a medal, but.
22:20 Lewis Howes? Got chills.
22:21 Speaker 01 Yeah. You know, in your heart too, I mean, how well you've done, how hard you've worked. There's no greater reward or judge than your, your conscience.
22:31 Lewis Howes? Sure. Man. Well, how has it affected you in the decisions you've been making since then? Like, have you been ever second guessing yourself when you're doing anything? You know, you did Dancing with the Stars, were you guessing yourself in that? When you went back to compete, did you second guess yourself in the, was that the, um, London? Or no, what Olympics was that?
22:51 Speaker 01 London.
22:52 Lewis Howes? London Olympics?
22:52 Speaker 01 I don't think it's changed anything in the way of like second guessing, but I would say I feel like I've made every decision differently than I would have had I gotten a gold.
23:04 Lewis Howes? Really?
23:05 Speaker 01 Kind of.
23:05 Lewis Howes? How so?
23:07 Speaker 01 Because it's no longer about winning to me. I feel like, and I use the word winning in the sense of like, it's not about money, it's not about being the top at a business, it's not about living in the biggest house, it's just, I kinda took that away from my life because I got there and realized that didn't matter. And so, you know, I butt heads with some people sometimes, some friends, some agents, some, I mean, all these people who are still driven by that, but for me, it's about the worth that I feel in my heart anymore, which again, is a lesson I learned back then. So.
23:45 Lewis Howes? It's about the balance, it sounds like.
23:46 Speaker 01 Yeah.
23:47 Lewis Howes? The winning balance, right?
23:48 Speaker 01 The winning balance. I've definitely rearranged a lot in my life,
23:54 Speaker 01 just over the past few years, just trying to get more things in my life that made me feel good, instead of just trying for a reward that didn't mean anything.
24:02 Lewis Howes? Yeah, it's interesting because, I think I've talked to you about this before, my own life, I was driven by, like, the wins, like the goals and making, if I didn't win or achieve what I wanted to, then it was like, I would be depressed.
24:16 Speaker 01 Yeah.
24:17 Lewis Howes? And it was like, it would crush me, if I didn't achieve it. So I was so driven to achieve these things for my whole life, and then I realized when I did achieve it, I would still be crushed and depressed.
24:27 Speaker 01 Yep.
24:27 Lewis Howes? I'd be like, I was not happy.
24:29 Speaker 01 Well, you get there and you're like, well, what was that point?
24:31 Lewis Howes? Yeah, what's next? You know, it's not that big a deal anymore. I had this expectation, or I thought it'd be something. And I realized, it took me a long time to figure this out, but I was driven by like achievements for so many years of my life. And when I kinda let go of the end result, it was more just talking about the journey, which you were just talking about, and just being grateful for every day and the journey and the lessons I'm learning, that's when everything starts to shift. And it's like this ease that I feel, I don't know if you feel it, but it's like, no pressure.
24:58 Speaker 01 Oh, yeah, definitely.
25:00 Lewis Howes? It's like this graceful ease, it feels really good.
25:02 Speaker 01 Yeah.
25:03 Lewis Howes? It's so nice.
25:04 Speaker 01 It does.
25:05 Lewis Howes? That's interesting. And you've been talking about this with this speaker series for a while, it's kinda like the lessons you learn from getting second and all the stuff we're talking about now, so if anyone's listening who is Runs a university or a school and you want to have Sean come in and talk. What's the best way to think of it, hold of you? She's a high ticket item. She costs a lot of money.
25:26 Speaker 01 No.
25:27 Lewis Howes? So make sure, contact me on my contact form at LewisHowes.com.
25:31 Speaker 01 Or you can go to my website.
25:32 Lewis Howes? Or you can go to SeanJohnson.net and there's a contact form, right?
25:36 Speaker 01 Yeah.
25:37 Lewis Howes? Okay, so you can contact her there. Just know that she's extremely pricey.
25:41 Speaker 01 No, I'm not.
25:44 Speaker 01 Yeah, it was, it was a lot and especially when I go to do these speaker series, I don't just focus on the silver medal. It's a lot of life lessons I've learned through, throughout my life. I started in elementary when I didn't get voted into the popular group. And you know, it's all these different little things, but it's about being your own person and being unique and
26:03 Lewis Howes? Sure.
26:04 Speaker 01 Not, again, just falling into the stereotypical path.
26:08 Lewis Howes? Now, what do you think made you so driven in your first 16 years? Obviously, you're still very driven and you know, you talk about a lot of different business ideas and stuff, but what made you so driven? Was it not getting chosen in the popular group early on, or was there other things where it was more driven by just family support and your coach support?
26:27 Speaker 01 I'd say, I mean, family support and coaches support was a huge thing, but I'd say my drive, a lot of it came from just my passion for the sport. I absolutely loved gymnastics and you know, if I, if I learned a new skill, that kind of victory feeling of accomplishing, you know, you feel like superwoman, that's, it's addictive and you know, you transfer that into trying to qualify to the next level and trying to be the best in the country and the best in the world. And you know, I had this, I had this passion for being on a stage. But I also had a few unique moments that kind of made me stand out and it was little things like, I remember being in Rio de Janeiro, competing at the Pan American Games and
27:12 Speaker 01 I was 14 years old and there's a picture of me trying to get the third, fourth, fifth and second place girls up on the top podium with me because I wanted a picture with all of them.
27:24 Lewis Howes? Cause you won.
27:24 Speaker 01 Yeah.
27:25 Lewis Howes? You were first at 14. Yeah, yeah.
27:27 Speaker 01 And you know, being 14, there's this huge article written of like, whoa, what is she doing? What is she trying to say? And I, and genuinely, I just wanted
27:35 Lewis Howes? You just wanted a photo with all of them?
27:36 Speaker 01 Yeah. And I, I remember just going through my career.
27:41 Speaker 01 Again, not driven by outcomes. I just wanted to have fun and do my best and share it with other girls. And I also grew up around girls, though, who were not taught that and they were taught everything is about the outcome. So the friendship, the, you know, sportsmanship, everything's thrown out the window.
27:59 Lewis Howes? Yeah, or it's fake or whatever.
28:01 Speaker 01 Definitely. And for me, that just it never made sense. And that's why I I definitely got a little alienated from the sport. In the sense that I wanted to have fun and I had fun, but I still won. And so
28:15 Lewis Howes? Yeah.
28:15 Speaker 01 That didn't make sense to people, but um it's just kind of prioritizing.
28:21 Lewis Howes? Sure. Well, I think it's like an interesting balance. Um, because I think a lot of us want to win. If we're going to compete in something and put a lot of our time and energy, we don't want to just go to play to have fun and not.
28:31 Speaker 01 Oh, yeah.
28:32 Lewis Howes? So the goal is
28:32 Speaker 01 I'm very competitive.
28:33 Lewis Howes? The goal is, yeah, right. The goal is to win for everyone.
28:36 Speaker 01 Yeah.
28:36 Lewis Howes? Usually. Um, but obviously it's not putting your energy and focus into that only goal. But really coming from a place of like you where like you just wanted to have fun and give your best every time. And if you could give your best or performance, then you can't, you can't control the outcome, whatever someone judges you.
28:53 Speaker 01 Definitely. And I mean, I'm not saying that in your job and your career, you shouldn't be trying to, you know, be the CEO or, you know, get a promotion or
29:03 Lewis Howes? Right.
29:04 Speaker 01 Win in your soccer tournament. That that's where your hard work goes in. That's what you focus towards.
29:08 Lewis Howes? Sure.
29:09 Speaker 01 But I'd say the lesson that I learned is it's just that shouldn't be everything.
29:14 Lewis Howes? Hmm.
29:14 Speaker 01 That should be a result of the work you put in and not, you know, your sole focus and goal. You shouldn't be trying to just beat someone out. You should be trying to beat you and better you. And in reward of that, you get the first place medal.
29:30 Lewis Howes? Right. Or you you continue to grow until you do.
29:33 Speaker 01 Yeah.
29:34 Lewis Howes? Interesting. So what would have happened if you do got all silvers?
29:37 Speaker 01 If I got all silvers?
29:38 Lewis Howes? Uh huh.
29:40 Speaker 01 Um.
29:41 Lewis Howes? Would everything be different right now?
29:43 Speaker 01 I mean. I don't really know.
29:48 Lewis Howes? Is it that big a difference for someone that gets a gold medal and someone that gets a couple of silvers?
29:53 Speaker 01 Unfortunately.
29:54 Lewis Howes? Like in the media world and the business world and everything, right? So if you wanted to got that, would you have as as many opportunities, you think?
30:01 Speaker 01 Not at all.
30:02 Lewis Howes? Speaking, books, sponsorships with all the major sponsors you have.
30:06 Speaker 01 Not at all.
30:07 Lewis Howes? Really?
30:07 Speaker 01 I mean, unfortunately, every appearance I've ever done since Celine Banks. You know, the the title they introduced me with is Olympic gold medalist.
30:15 Lewis Howes? Wow.
30:16 Speaker 01 It's not Olympic.
30:17 Lewis Howes? Silver three times.
30:19 Speaker 01 Medalist, it's just the gold.
30:21 Lewis Howes? Wow.
30:22 Speaker 01 You know, I I unfortunately think.
30:26 Speaker 01 I, you know, had I not gotten that, I could have been written off very, very easily.
30:31 Lewis Howes? Wow.
30:32 Speaker 01 But part of me might also believe that I got the gold because I went through the silver and I learned so much that I was given that final opportunity so I could maybe share this.
30:43 Lewis Howes? Hmm.
30:44 Speaker 01 I don't know.
30:44 Lewis Howes? Interesting. Wow. Now, do you feel like you deserved the gold?
30:51 Speaker 01 Which one?
30:52 Lewis Howes? The gold medal.
30:53 Speaker 01 The balance beam?
30:54 Lewis Howes? You only got one gold medal, right?
30:55 Speaker 01 Yeah.
30:56 Lewis Howes? Do you feel like you deserved it?
30:59 Speaker 01 That's hard for me to say.
31:00 Lewis Howes? Hmm.
31:01 Speaker 01 Because
31:04 Speaker 01 if I'm being completely honest with my heart.
31:07 Lewis Howes? Mm hmm.
31:07 Speaker 01 I don't feel I gave my best performance.
31:10 Lewis Howes? Uh huh.
31:11 Speaker 01 Um. But I also was mentally checked out.
31:15 Lewis Howes? Hmm.
31:16 Speaker 01 I had emotionally gone through so much.
31:19 Lewis Howes? I can only imagine what you went through.
31:20 Speaker 01 By the time I got to the final, final day, I had been going on a four month run. So this was four months straight of full competition. And that's competing for events every other day for four months. And it's just, I was exhausted. So I don't know if I can fairly say if I deserved it amongst my competitors. But maybe I did. I didn't even watch their performances.
31:46 Lewis Howes? Wow.
31:46 Speaker 01 Um.
31:47 Lewis Howes? But you know, you didn't give your best.
31:48 Speaker 01 In my heart, I don't feel like it was my best performance.
31:51 Lewis Howes? Your best?
31:51 Speaker 01 No.
31:52 Lewis Howes? Okay. The other three, you felt like were your best?
31:55 Speaker 01 Uh, yeah.
31:57 Lewis Howes? Really?
31:58 Speaker 01 Um, pretty.
32:00 Lewis Howes? Well, then I guess your best is based on the eight judges.
32:03 Speaker 01 Yeah.
32:04 Lewis Howes? It was their judgment of what was the best, I guess.
32:06 Speaker 01 I will say the best performance I have ever given in my entire life. I mean, my entire career to date was the very last routine I did during my all around competition.
32:19 Lewis Howes? Really?
32:20 Speaker 01 And the reason for it was right before I competed, I'm kind of a math nerd.
32:26 Lewis Howes? Sure.
32:27 Speaker 01 So, um, I remember looking up at the scoreboard, even though I was taught not to. I just had this huge impulse and I don't know why. And quickly kind of calculating scores and stuff, I knew the, the minimum or the maximum score that the girl before me could get for me to still have an opportunity to get a gold medal. Cause I was the last competitor of the entire games for this event.
32:50 Lewis Howes? The all around?
32:51 Speaker 01 For the all around.
32:52 Lewis Howes? What's the last event in the all around?
32:53 Speaker 01 The floor.
32:54 Lewis Howes? Floor.
32:55 Speaker 01 So I'm walking up onto the floor to get ready to start my routine and she's walking off. And that score flashes up. And between the time that that score flashes up and when I have to start, you have 30 seconds.
33:06 Lewis Howes? Wow.
33:06 Speaker 01 Otherwise you're disqualified.
33:07 Lewis Howes? You're chalking up, you're getting ready, you're...
33:09 Speaker 01 Yeah, and so within 30 seconds, I'm standing there getting ready to start and I see her score. And so my clock starts. And I saw her score and it was six tenths higher than the highest score I had conjured up.
33:24 Lewis Howes? Wow.
33:25 Speaker 01 So before I even started my routine, I knew that I could not get a gold, no matter what performance I gave.
33:33 Lewis Howes? Really?
33:34 Speaker 01 Yes. And so, talk about a life lesson.
33:39 Lewis Howes? So you knew before you're on the all around that you could not get a gold?
33:42 Speaker 01 Yes. Right before I went up, I figured it out.
33:45 Lewis Howes? Even though, even though other people thought you should have won it or could have won it?
33:49 Speaker 01 Yes, because I mean, at the end of the day, it comes down to scores.
33:52 Lewis Howes? Yeah.
33:53 Speaker 01 And I knew what my competitors had, I knew the score she was just given and I knew my absolute like perfection score.
34:00 Lewis Howes? A 10, you couldn't have beat her.
34:02 Speaker 01 And I couldn't have beaten her.
34:03 Lewis Howes? Wow.
34:03 Speaker 01 So standing there getting ready to finish my last routine of the all around, knowing gold was no longer in my sights, that everybody in the world already knew this.
34:12 Lewis Howes? Really?
34:12 Speaker 01 They were announcing it.
34:13 Lewis Howes? Cause they were talking about it on.
34:15 Speaker 01 I already felt like a little bit that I disappointed the world because every headline out there said she has to be the all around gold medalist.
34:21 Lewis Howes? Oh my gosh.
34:22 Speaker 01 So standing there is a weird confliction of in 30 seconds, by the way.
34:27 Lewis Howes? It's like, how do you go forward happy and excited?
34:29 Speaker 01 Yeah. And it was this debate of like, well, do I just go through it? Because like, what's the point now? Or, you know, do I finish? And I remember looking over at my coach and he seemed unfazed, even though I knew he knew as well. And he gave me the same look and nod that he always did before my performance. And it seemed like everything was normal. And I remember thinking exactly in my head, something that he had told me. And then that I repeated to myself and I said, if, if you can't get the gold medal, at least go out there and prove to the world that you deserved it.
35:04 Lewis Howes? Oh God, I just got chills again. Oh my God. This is awesome.
35:07 Speaker 01 And so I went out on the floor and no joke, I mean, every performance I've given in my entire life, I've never done something better than that routine. And I believe it's because in that moment, it, it wasn't for anything. It wasn't for a reward. It wasn't for a score. Because that was already out of the question. It was just for me, for fun. And I felt more kind of like invigorated and free and weightless throughout that routine than anything. And I remember finishing the routine and I was bawling my eyes out just because I was done.
35:43 Speaker 01 And that's when I stood up and I saw everybody in the arena, you know, even Chinese, Russians, Canadians, everybody waving American flags on their feet screaming and it just, that was my gold. So, I don't know, it was a great experience.
35:58 Lewis Howes? I just feel like you just recreated that experience and I was in the stadium watching you. That was amazing. Yeah. I've told, is that up on YouTube anywhere?
36:05 Speaker 01 Yeah.
36:06 Lewis Howes? I want to get that video. So I just search like all around Olympics, Shawn Johnson.
36:10 Speaker 01 Yep.
36:11 Lewis Howes? Floor, whatever. I want to post that on the show notes. Um, man, this is good stuff. So that was the biggest, that was a big lesson for you. Gosh, I don't even know where to take this because I'm just, I have so many things I want to dive into your, your mind about all this, but let's go back to your heart. Actually, let's get out of your mind and get in your heart.
36:32 Speaker 01 Oh dear.
36:32 Lewis Howes? And um,
36:35 Lewis Howes? I just want to know so much. I want to know how, what's next for you? Like, with all these lessons you learned, what, what's your like, what's your vision for yourself in the world? Like, what do you want to create? What do you want to be a part of? What do you want to see happen? I know you're doing this speaker series. You've done this in the past where you're really supporting people that, you know, on this topic. And helping people manage expectations and all these things, but what's, what do you really want moving forward?
37:04 Speaker 01 It's a good question. Um.
37:07 Lewis Howes? Do you know what you want yet?
37:09 Speaker 01 I don't know if I want, know what I want in the end result, I guess. I know little things I want here and there. Um, I don't know. I just started college. We had this conversation that I want to become a nurse someday. And you're like,
37:20 Lewis Howes? That's crazy.
37:22 Speaker 01 No, I think it's amazing.
37:23 Lewis Howes? Yeah, it's cool. I mean, it's cool you want to give. I just think that there's some other thing, other plans for you.
37:29 Speaker 01 Yeah. Um, I'd love to be a mentor. I've always kind of had this dream of like, having a business where I was actually, like that girl, that the little girls text every day just to kind of have a big sister, but the girls were actually competing in the Olympics.
37:45 Lewis Howes? Really?
37:46 Speaker 01 Um, they don't offer anything like that. They don't offer a mentorship and
37:52 Speaker 01 because I'm studying psychology, which is kind of where the inspiration came from. Being able to have a professional that kind of knows how to deal with issues, but a big sister at the same time, I think would be cool.
38:04 Lewis Howes? Just like listen to you and support and.
38:06 Speaker 01 Yeah.
38:07 Lewis Howes? And why don't you create that then? Why don't you just mentor like two athletes?
38:10 Speaker 01 But I kind of need to get a degree.
38:12 Lewis Howes? No, so who? You're Sean Johnson. You got a degree in, in gymnastics already.
38:17 Speaker 01 Um, I'd like to write a book, another one.
38:20 Lewis Howes? About?
38:21 Speaker 01 Kind of everything we just talked about.
38:22 Lewis Howes? Yeah.
38:23 Speaker 01 Um, let's see. I want to start a foundation. Don't ask for what, because I don't know yet.
38:29 Lewis Howes? Okay.
38:29 Speaker 01 I just want to be able to give back.
38:31 Lewis Howes? You want to give. You're a big lover. You got a big heart. You want to give. So you got the book idea. So any publishers listening.
38:40 Lewis Howes? Be be aware that there's gonna be a book coming your way soon. Uh, what's it gonna be called? The secret to getting silver?
38:46 Speaker 01 Our silver sucks.
38:47 Lewis Howes? Silver sucks?
38:50 Speaker 01 But it would be a good message. I don't know.
38:52 Lewis Howes? The success of silver, something like that, huh?
38:55 Speaker 01 I don't know. We'll have to think about it.
38:57 Lewis Howes? I like it though. I like the idea. Okay, the foundation. What else? You're in a relationship now?
39:02 Speaker 01 Yes.
39:03 Lewis Howes? Yes.
39:05 Lewis Howes? And that's going well?
39:06 Speaker 01 It's going very well.
39:08 Lewis Howes? Yeah. What's that do for you? What's having a relationship? Cause you probably couldn't have a relationship when you were in the Olympics. Like you're just training 24 hours a day and.
39:15 Speaker 01 I think I actually dated one person before the Olympics and I hope he's not saying.
39:19 Lewis Howes? When you were 12?
39:20 Speaker 01 He's awesome. And I was 16, but you're so emotionally detached and it's not like there's emotion involved. No. Um, but what does a relationship do?
39:31 Lewis Howes? What's it like now being able to have a life outside of gymnastics and have a relationship? You know, you were in order to have these things for a number of years.
39:38 Speaker 01 Yeah.
39:39 Lewis Howes? Um, so what does this do for you? Having, you know, feeling love from in a relationship? A whole different level, not just love for a sport, but love for a person.
39:51 Speaker 01 It well, it's one of the greatest blessings ever, especially coming from Olympic level athletics. It's, you know, the first kind of relationship that you can have where it's not about a score. It's not about working towards something, you know? No one's judging. It's just kind of genuine. I feel like a lot of my friends that I talked to and just former elite gymnasts and stuff, it's or elite athletes for that matter. You, you're kind of ingrained. I don't know, ingrained in your mind growing up is this a perfectionist attitude?
40:27 Lewis Howes? Especially gymnast, right? Cause it's the perfect, the perfect tab. You've gotta get the tab, right?
40:32 Speaker 01 And you're always taught, it's just nothing's ever good enough, you know? And, you know, when you transfer that into a relationship, it's something that is really hard to break. But I catch myself having that attitude, you know, I don't feel like I'm ever good enough. I always have to be working to be better for someone.
40:48 Lewis Howes? You don't feel like you're good enough?
40:50 Speaker 01 No, because that's what we're taught growing up. You know, especially in our sport, you're.
40:57 Speaker 01 I don't know if I'm actually getting in details. It's like you're you're never thin enough. You're never strong enough. You're never powerful enough. You're too emotional. You're too emotionally weak. Or I mean, it's it's all these things that you have to work on to be more of a machine. So when your life is centered around that going into a relationship is very hard. Just trying not to sound like a psycho person to a guy.
41:20 Lewis Howes? Of course.
41:20 Speaker 01 Huge. And then you and then you add into it the whole like title of the Olympics that takes on the whole trust issue of can I trust people I meet, you know?
41:29 Lewis Howes? Right, of course.
41:31 Speaker 01 But I think I found a good one who is good with everything. So.
41:35 Lewis Howes? So are you guys competitive?
41:38 Lewis Howes? Do you keep scores? Is that?
41:40 Speaker 01 Well, he's another. He's another athlete. So we compete with a lot of small things.
41:46 Lewis Howes? It's more playful. It's not like this is for real. You're.
41:48 Speaker 01 No, he's actually he's. He's a very gentle soul, which I think is really good for me because coming from the perfectionism attitude and competitiveness, it's just he kind of takes me back to the Olympic thing we're talking about of what's important and what's not. And so getting caught up in the Hollywood lifestyle and the red carpets and everything that I thought I had to do just because of it's kind of the path they put you on. He just kind of remind me it's not important and just to do what I love. So.
42:21 Lewis Howes? So you don't feel judged by anything?
42:23 Speaker 01 Not at all.
42:24 Lewis Howes? That's gotta feel amazing. The first time you've never felt judged.
42:27 Speaker 01 Yes.
42:28 Lewis Howes? No one's keeping a score and telling you what you need to improve on.
42:30 Speaker 01 Yeah, it's a safe zone. It's a comfort.
42:33 Lewis Howes? I'm sure he's probably supportive in supporting you grow in what areas you want to grow, but not saying you need to get better at this or anything, right?
42:41 Speaker 01 Definitely. And he's also got that safe opinion of he'll tell me if something doesn't seem right for me, which I agree with. And it's not, you know, a point the finger. It's an actual conversation.
42:53 Lewis Howes? Sure.
42:54 Speaker 01 Which again is different from gymnastics because if you do something wrong, they'll point it out in a very negative manner.
43:01 Lewis Howes? Interesting. Now, do you still beat yourself up on stuff if you feel like you're not the perfect person or doing something perfectly like in gymnastics?
43:08 Speaker 01 Oh, yeah. I mean, all the time. I mean, I'm working on it. I I'm I feel like I'm a lucky one that. Consciously is aware of all of that. Um, you know, there's unfortunately people who aren't aware of like
43:21 Lewis Howes? Yeah.
43:22 Speaker 01 The severity of perfectionism. But I work on trying not to beat myself up and to let myself be average and normal and not, you know.
43:32 Lewis Howes? Well, it's not about being average, but it's about becoming the best version of yourself without beating yourself up.
43:36 Speaker 01 Exactly.
43:37 Lewis Howes? Right? It's growing and getting to the next level, wherever you want to take it.
43:40 Speaker 01 I'll catch myself doing little things where I'm like, oh, I shouldn't have done that. Or I feel like that was the wrong choice and.
43:47 Lewis Howes? Now, what's something that a former gymnast, wink, wink, could do to, or anyone who's a perfectionist? Cause I'm sure of lots of perfectionists listening in. Um, you know, I'm one of them myself. What's something that we can do to let go of the perfectionism? And the beat up phase of conversation of we're not good enough, we're not worthy enough, we're not skinny enough or strong enough. What's something we can do that you've learned? Um, so that doesn't happen, that we actually appreciate what we're creating and continue to get better.
44:22 Speaker 01 Um, well, it's a former gymnast, wink, wink.
44:28 Speaker 01 From what I've observed and learned from teammates of mine, from my past and history and many generations of gymnasts that I've been around and worked with.
44:40 Speaker 01 I don't think it can come from them, which sounds weird and probably.
44:45 Lewis Howes? What do you mean it can't come from?
44:46 Speaker 01 It can't come from themselves, which sounds weird.
44:50 Lewis Howes? What can't come from themselves?
44:52 Speaker 01 Um, that ability to, to kind of fix the perfectionism.
44:59 Lewis Howes? Oh, so you're saying you can't fix it yourself?
45:02 Speaker 01 I think you can, I think you can make a difference. I think you can actively work towards it. But if you, if you think about gymnasts, you know, we started gymnastics when we were three. That's normal. I mean, we're in like a developmental stage.
45:16 Lewis Howes? Crazy.
45:16 Speaker 01 So as a kid, as a baby, you know, when you have these things repeated to you on a weekly, daily basis, you know, that, that doesn't just become a thought that becomes your DNA. That becomes what's your foundation of everything. So to put that on a person to say, oh, if you just try hard enough, you'll fix it. That's a lot to ask.
45:38 Lewis Howes? Yeah.
45:40 Speaker 01 From my personal experience, I'd say the best and easiest way, even though it's never easy, to kind of change those habits and that kind of makeup is to center yourself around people who can actively see what you're doing, but they're supportive in it. I mean, to have a person that could say, you know, if you're talking about someone who doesn't, I don't know, I can't think of an example, but thinks they're not perfect enough. You know, truly showing them on a daily basis that you love them just the way they are, gives them a worth and a kind of habit to ingrain that in them and not the negatives.
46:19 Lewis Howes? Not saying this won't change, but what if that doesn't change over time? Where someone doesn't see their worth, they don't see that they are perfect how they are. You know, obviously, it's like, we want to improve on certain things, but it doesn't mean you're not perfect if you're not the best yet. So how would someone start to shed away that habit that doesn't serve them to feel a certain way about themselves? If it's taking years and years and no change? Because obviously, at some point, there's got to be a change or evolution to start loving yourself and start being like, okay, I am perfect where I'm at, but I want to improve, but I can still love myself, you know, not beat myself up emotionally. So what's?
47:00 Speaker 01 Um, that's hard.
47:04 Lewis Howes? What have you done?
47:05 Speaker 01 What have I done? For me, I've tried to, on a daily basis, just admit, openly admit, that I'm not 16 anymore, I'm not at the Olympics, I'm not that person. I feel like a lot of the perfectionism issues I have is comparing myself now to who I was then.
47:28 Lewis Howes? Interesting.
47:29 Speaker 01 And...
47:30 Lewis Howes? It was six years ago, right?
47:32 Speaker 01 Yeah, it's six years ago today.
47:35 Lewis Howes? Today?
47:35 Speaker 01 Today.
47:36 Lewis Howes? The Olympics for today?
47:37 Speaker 01 My, my gold medal was six years ago today.
47:40 Lewis Howes? Shut up, it was not.
47:42 Speaker 01 It was.
47:42 Lewis Howes? Oh, my gosh.
47:44 Speaker 01 August 19th.
47:45 Lewis Howes? Shut up.
47:46 Speaker 01 Yeah.
47:47 Lewis Howes? How serendipitous.
47:48 Speaker 01 I know, right?
47:49 Lewis Howes? Wow, I just got four shells.
47:53 Speaker 01 But, that's my lucky number, by the way, 19. Because I won the gold medal on the 19th, I was born on the 19th, and I won Dancing with the Stars on the 19th.
48:01 Lewis Howes? Wow, interesting. But you were 16 when you won it.
48:04 Speaker 01 But I was 16. Yeah, I would say just like what I've done is
48:10 Lewis Howes? Over the last six years.
48:11 Speaker 01 Over the last six years.
48:12 Lewis Howes? Admitted that you're not that same place anymore.
48:14 Speaker 01 Yes, and that I I never will be. I mean, and that's
48:17 Lewis Howes? Never again.
48:18 Speaker 01 And to accept that that's normal and that's good is kind of been my progress.
48:26 Lewis Howes? Yeah.
48:26 Speaker 01 You know, back when I was sixteen, every little thing about me back then was was judged by a coach or someone, an individual. And me now comparing myself to when I was sixteen, I see those same qualities. I'm like, well, I need to be thinner. I need to be, need to look what I looked like when I was sixteen to be able to be accepted by the world, which is kind of what you're taught back then.
48:48 Lewis Howes? Hmm.
48:48 Speaker 01 Um, so kind of learning to put that aside and admit that past is past. And the only thing you can better of yourself right now is who you are right now and who you're going to be tomorrow. Because you can't change yesterday. So it's hard. It's a daily battle and I see that with a lot of people, a lot of my teammates, I guess, but I don't know.
49:10 Lewis Howes? Do you have any rituals like in the morning or at night or throughout the day? Like if something comes up for you where you're like, um, you know, you realize like you're beating yourself up about something or you're being a perfectionist. Is there something you go through where you're like, remind yourself, you say to someone to remind you? Do you write in a journal at night? Do you listen to music to like kind of support this? What are, what are some things you do?
49:31 Speaker 01 I'd say going back to the whole centering yourself around people.
49:34 Lewis Howes? Yeah.
49:34 Speaker 01 Who can openly see your flaws and help you with them.
49:39 Lewis Howes? Flaws.
49:40 Speaker 01 Not flaws. Yeah, flaws is the wrong word.
49:42 Lewis Howes? Things that don't serve you.
49:44 Speaker 01 Yes, things that don't serve you. Flaws is the old bad way. Um.
49:49 Lewis Howes? That's you beating yourself up.
49:50 Speaker 01 That's it. Yeah.
49:51 Lewis Howes? Yeah.
49:52 Speaker 01 Um, I would say my, my tradition, my habit is I have a girlfriend of mine that I grew up with. We started training together when we were six years old.
50:02 Lewis Howes? Hmm.
50:03 Speaker 01 And she's just kind of my go to and I'm her go to. And if I'm ever beating myself up with anything, I'll literally send her a text saying like what it is. And then she'll send something back and it's just kind of. A reminder of, she kinda just keeps me in check.
50:20 Lewis Howes? Yeah, that's cool. And I would say if you're in a relationship and you are a perfectionist and you have the tendency to beat yourself up, but don't think you're worthy, think you're look a certain way that you shouldn't be looking, whatever it may be. My request for you guys who are like that is to communicate with the person you're in the relationship with and say lovingly, calmly, and openly, like, here's what I'm working on right now in my life. And this is how I used to be and it's been a progress. So if I ever get into a place where I'm beating myself up, here's my request of you. And give like an open, clear, communicative request.
50:55 Speaker 01 And I would say in my relationship, that's also something that I've done. I've been very open.
51:00 Lewis Howes? That's good.
51:00 Speaker 01 Which is very difficult for me.
51:02 Lewis Howes? I'm sure.
51:03 Speaker 01 You even said that one time, you're like, I don't think I've been a more guarded person. I actually was open and shared, you know, my past and what kind of what I've gone through and stuff. But something else that I think in relationships, people can do is remind themselves on a daily basis that the person you are is the person your, you know, your boyfriend, your girlfriend fell in love with. It's not who you were. And, you know, that's a big reminder.
51:30 Lewis Howes? He didn't know you when you were 16?
51:32 Speaker 01 No.
51:32 Lewis Howes? He didn't care?
51:33 Speaker 01 No.
51:33 Lewis Howes? I mean, it's probably cool that like you achieved something such a, on such a big level that he's proud of.
51:38 Speaker 01 Yeah.
51:38 Lewis Howes? But he's like, he didn't know you then.
51:40 Speaker 01 Yeah, and it's not like people fall in love with people, I mean, someone else that looked differently when they were younger or older and looked a different way. It's just kind of how it is.
51:50 Lewis Howes? Yeah, yeah, definitely. I mean, and I would say also, you know, definitely make the request, be open about it. Again, that's great. I mean, obviously, you know, the reason why I probably said that you were so the most guarded person ever is because everyone wants something from you. So you've been used to this, like, everyone wanting something from you since you were 16 and wants a piece of you. You know, we're out in. Doing aqua yoga in like a little private park and people are like stopped parking their cars like waving at you. The ranger comes over and gets a picture. So I completely understand. But that's cool. You're able to let that guard down in a relationship and I'm sure it feels really comfortable and safe.
52:27 Speaker 01 It does. And especially it's very difficult because like you said, I've been kind of in the public eye since I was 15. And I learned back then to kind of put on my public face and it's not like it's different than who I am.
52:41 Lewis Howes? Yeah.
52:41 Speaker 01 But it's guarded. It's a face that is appropriate for everybody.
52:46 Lewis Howes? Say the right things.
52:47 Speaker 01 And you know, in the public eye, people don't understand that, you know, the public isn't accepting to a bad day.
52:55 Lewis Howes? They're not.
52:56 Speaker 01 They're not accepting to a frown or everything. Yeah. So I don't share anything personally. I don't, I don't let anything below the surface come out and you know, when you're in a relationship and you have to get past that, that's very hard.
53:12 Lewis Howes? It's against.
53:12 Speaker 01 It's terrifying.
53:13 Lewis Howes? Yeah, I can imagine.
53:15 Speaker 01 I don't know. It's also awesome. It's awesome.
53:18 Lewis Howes? That's cool. Okay. Well, I could always talk to you forever, Sean.
53:23 Speaker 01 Can always talk to you forever.
53:24 Lewis Howes? I love our conversations and I appreciate your wisdom with the relationship I've been in.
53:29 Speaker 01 With your girlfriend.
53:31 Lewis Howes? Yes, my special lady friend.
53:32 Speaker 01 Girlfriend. Come on, you have to say it.
53:34 Lewis Howes? With my lady, with my special girlfriend.
53:37 Speaker 01 There we go.
53:39 Lewis Howes? Who is a former gymnast as well. So you guys have a lot in common, both incredibly sweethearts. So I'm very grateful for you guys' past.
53:48 Lewis Howes? Last two questions.
53:50 Speaker 01 Oh dear.
53:51 Lewis Howes? The first one is, what are you most grateful for recently?
53:55 Speaker 01 Most grateful for recently?
53:56 Lewis Howes? Yeah. What are you most grateful for, just recently? This year, last couple of months, last couple of weeks, like what's been on your mind that you're really grateful for?
54:06 Speaker 01 This is gonna sound cheesy, but it's my boyfriend.
54:09 Lewis Howes? Oh, okay. I like it.
54:11 Speaker 01 Yeah.
54:11 Lewis Howes? Big shout out to your man.
54:13 Speaker 01 Yeah.
54:14 Lewis Howes? What's his name again?
54:15 Speaker 01 Andrew.
54:16 Lewis Howes? Andrew, alright. Big shout out Andrew if you actually listen to this. Um, okay, cool. And final question, which I asked you last time. It's what I ask all the guests. So maybe your answer is different. Who knows? Cause you're a different person today.
54:28 Speaker 01 Okay.
54:28 Lewis Howes? What I was gonna say before I ask you this is that, you know, we get the choice every single day. We have a choice. We can even choose to go back to our default of beating ourselves up, whatever it may be, or we can choose to set a new habit, a new pattern. And we can always fall back into stuff, but every day we have a choice. And it was like you've been making some great choices lately. So congratulations on that.
54:49 Speaker 01 I still make bad ones. Like I got work on them.
54:52 Lewis Howes? There you go. Beat yourself up again.
54:56 Speaker 01 No, I'm just admitting that I'm not perfect.
54:58 Lewis Howes? Sure, yeah, yeah. Of course. I mean, if I was perfect, I don't know where I'd be. But, um, last question. I'm gonna videotape it.
55:07 Speaker 01 Oh dear.
55:07 Lewis Howes? So I can post it on the...
55:09 Speaker 01 I feel like this is like pressure.
55:10 Lewis Howes? The Instagram. There's no pressure.
55:11 Speaker 01 What's coming?
55:12 Lewis Howes? You already know it's coming. It's what is your definition of greatness?
55:16 Speaker 01 Oh, yeah. Don't start videoing yet, cause it'll take me forever to figure it out.
55:20 Lewis Howes? It's okay. I'll edit it up.
55:21 Speaker 01 Um, definition of greatness. Um.
55:32 Speaker 01 Having the courage to step outside of society's standards. How about that?
55:39 Lewis Howes? I like it.
55:40 Speaker 01 Okay.
55:42 Lewis Howes? Shawn Johnson, everyone. Make sure to go to shawnjohnson.net. Uh, buy her book. It's called The Winning Balance, right?
55:50 Speaker 01 Yes.
55:50 Lewis Howes? I'll have it, I'll have the link back up on the show notes as well. And I'll tell you where that will be in the, uh, the outro here in just a second. You've got, uh, a series coming up. It's the nation's only gymnastics series. Four qualifying events, one team championship in Louisville, Knoxville, Atlanta, and Charleston, right?
56:09 Speaker 01 Yes.
56:09 Lewis Howes? Am I allowed to talk about that?
56:10 Speaker 01 Yes.
56:10 Lewis Howes? Okay, cool. So, um...
56:12 Speaker 01 I'm also making a little debut on a little show here soon.
56:16 Lewis Howes? A show on a, on a big network that we can't talk about yet.
56:19 Speaker 01 You can see the network. NBC.
56:21 Lewis Howes? NBC. So make sure to DVR every show on NBC coming out in the next few months and you'll be able to see Shawn or just follow her on Instagram at Shawn Johnson, Twitter at Shawn Johnson, Facebook at Shawn Johnson. She's got like millions of followers everywhere and she'll be posting all this stuff. Uh, when the, the gymnastics series comes out, when the TV show comes out, her next book, where she's speaking at colleges. So make sure to follow her, check her out, love on her, tell her how much you love her. And, uh, I appreciate you so much, Shawn, for coming back on. You are a sweetheart. You're amazing. You're a gem. So thank you so much.
56:59 Speaker 01 You as well. Thank you.
57:10 Lewis Howes? And I hope you guys enjoyed this episode with Shawn. Again, such a sweetheart, such a gem of a human being. I'm, I'm very grateful for her opening up and sharing this wisdom because I feel like it could be very supportive for a lot of people out there who are, have experienced the same type of feelings, the same type of emotions, the same type of pressure, um, on how to still take care of yourself, love yourself, and, uh, know that giving your best is what really matters the most and having fun and being playful and enjoying the journey, not worrying about the outcome is really what it's all about. So thanks again to Shawn. She's such a gem. Make sure to say hi to her over on Twitter, on Instagram, Facebook. She's at Shawn Johnson everywhere. Post a picture on Instagram and tag her of
57:55 Lewis Howes? where you're listening to this episode. I'm sure she would love to see those pictures and tag hashtag School of Greatness. Share this with your friends over on Twitter and Facebook and, and Instagram and, and Google Plus and everywhere online that you can. Get the message out about Shawn Johnson and about the School of Greatness podcast. And it means so much to me that you guys are supporters and subscribe to the show on iTunes and listen and leave comments over on the, the show notes at lewishouse.com. It means a lot to me. So make sure to check out the show notes over at lewishouse.com slash eight six. That's episode number 86. I'm going to have the Video that we talked about with Sean, uh, right before she's about to do her final performance at the Olympics.
58:38 Lewis Howes? I'm gonna show some other images and some links back to her. So check out lewishouse.com/86 for more. I appreciate you guys so much for listening. You know what time it is. It's time to go out there and do something great.
59:12 Lewis Howes? You sure?
59:12 Speaker 01 I will talk about anything.
59:14 Lewis Howes? Okay. You sure? I have that recorded.
59:17 Speaker 01 Okay.
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