688 Maria Shriver on Reflections for a Meaningful Life

“Everybody wants to be great, but I advocate that people already are great.” Things move much faster than they used to. The world is 24 hours a day, and people feel like they have to keep up. We have to post, we have to read, we’re comparing ourselves to each other on social media. Wayne Dyer says, “Peace is the result of retraining your mind to process life as it is rather than as you think it should be.” It’s so important that we take time to step back and reflect, so we don’t lose sight of what really matters. When we accept ourselves and everyone around us, we can experience a fuller life. On today’s episode of The School of Greatness, I dive deep into a lot of things that have inspired an incredible mother and human being: Maria Shriver. Maria Shriver is a journalist, author, and former first lady of California. She has received a Peabody Award, been a co-anchor on CBS and NBC, and is an emmy-award winning producer. Maria is a New York Times Bestselling Author a few times over. She works with Alzheimer's and helps with so many charities around the world. Maria’s been through a lot in her life, but she still shows up for all of us. I’m so excited about this one, guys. So get ready to learn all about faith, love and family on Episode 688. Some Questions I Ask: Do you think we’re doing too much as a society? (3:30) You’ve spent time with the most amazing individuals- are they typically happy? (8:50) How can parents raise conscious children to live meaningful lives? (12:20) Who has been your greatest teacher (19:00) Do you think we should be putting more women in leadership, or do you think that they should earn it on their own? (29:54) In This Episode You Will Learn: How social media affects your children (3:35) Benefits of church vs. the benefits of meditation Why successful people are more complicated than anyone else What to do when you’re triggered emotionally by someone next to you The greatest lesson Maria learned from her mom (15:20) The number one thing Maria thinks will heal society (27:30) Why faith, love, and family are the most important things in life (45:30) Get more from Lewis! Get my New York Times Bestselling book, Make Money Easy! Get The Greatness Mindset audiobook on SpotifyText Lewis AIYouTubeInstagramWebsiteTiktokFacebookX

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

• 0:00Lewis Howes?

  This is episode number 688 with New York Times bestselling author Maria Shriver.

• 0:07Lewis 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.

• 0:32Lewis Howes?

  Wayne Dyer said, "Peace is the result of retraining your mind to process life as it is, rather than as you think it should be." I am so excited about our guest. Maria Shriver is a journalist, author, former First Lady of California. She has received a Peabody Award and been a co-anchor on CBS and NBC. She's an Emmy Award-winning producer, multiple-time New York Times bestselling author. She works with Alzheimer's. She helps so many causes and charities around the world. And she is an incredible mother and again, human being. In this episode, we dive in deep on a lot of things that has inspired her along her life.

• 1:14Lewis Howes?

  We talk about the benefits of church versus the benefits of meditation. We talk about why successful people are more complicated than anyone else. Also, how parents can raise conscious children in today's world. And some of the biggest lessons she's learned as a mother in today's society. What to do when you are triggered emotionally by someone close to you. And why everyone has earned the right to contribute. That and so much more. I'm so excited about this. Make sure to share this out with your friends on Instagram. Take a screenshot of your podcast that you're listening to right now. And tag me and Maria Shriver over on Instagram, lewishowes.com/688

• 1:57Lewis Howes?

  for the full interview with the video, the show notes, and everything else where you can get Maria's new book and learn more about her as well. Again, a big thank you to our sponsors. And this one is a powerful episode, guys. Make sure you guys take your notes, share with your friends. And without further ado, let me introduce to you the one, the only Maria Shriver.

• 2:24Lewis Howes?

  It's a great day and it's a yippee moment. We've got Maria Shriver in the house. Thank you so much for being here.

• 2:30Speaker 01

  Thank you.

• 2:30Lewis Howes?

  Very excited about this.

• 2:31Speaker 01

  You gave me a hug out there, now you're shaking my hand.

• 2:34Lewis Howes?

  Well, I can't jump over.

• 2:34Speaker 01

  Okay, I see how it is, okay.

• 2:36Lewis Howes?

  I'll give you a bigger hug when you leave.

• 2:37Speaker 01

  Okay.

• 2:38Lewis Howes?

  You've got a book out called "I've Been Thinking: Reflections, Prayers, and Meditations for a Meaningful Life." A very inspiring book. I read most of it, I haven't finished it, but my audience knows that I've rarely finished books.

• 2:50Speaker 01

  Really?

• 2:50Lewis Howes?

  But just the point that I got through most of it was very inspiring.

• 2:53Speaker 01

  Oh, that is, really?

• 2:54Lewis Howes?

  I was committed. It's hard for me to read and stay focused. It's hard for me to get through.

• 2:59Speaker 01

  Well, the goal of this book is that you can pick it up and put it down, pick it up and put it down, and it's done in kind of spurts. So there's a reflection, there's a quote for inspiration, and then there's a prayer at the end of every chapter, so to speak. But it was done conscious of people's attention span, conscious of the speed at which people are going in life, and it's designed to slow you down. It's designed to get you thinking, it's designed to get you to be reflective about your own life, about what I'm talking about. Do you agree, not agree? Does it resonate? Do you have something different to say about it? Because they're all really kind of chapters about what constitutes a meaningful life.

• 3:39Lewis Howes?

  Yeah. Do you think we're going too fast right now?

• 3:41Speaker 01

  Oh, for sure. For sure.

• 3:44Lewis Howes?

  We're doing too much?

• 3:45Speaker 01

  Well, I think that the world is, you know, 24 hours a day, right? And people feel, I think, that they have to keep up, they have to post, they have to read, they have to see what everybody else is doing, so everybody's comparing each other to the other person. And so I think that, and I think that's really of all ages, actually.

• 4:03Lewis Howes?

  Really?

• 4:03Speaker 01

  I think, yeah, I think it's, you know, certainly acute for young people, kids who are in, you know, even grade school, middle school, high school, college. It's cute for people who are coming into the workplace to see kind of how they're comparing to people they went to school with, or are they going to be as successful as Mark Zuckerberg when he was 30? What's wrong with them that they didn't come up with the bird? So it's all of that.

• 4:24Lewis Howes?

  Bird scooters, you mean?

• 4:24Speaker 01

  The bird scooters, right?

• 4:26Lewis Howes?

  Those are amazing.

• 4:26Speaker 01

  Yeah. So it's, so young people are thinking about that, women are worried about their careers, their families, are they going to have a kid, are they not, what's going to happen? And so I think there's a lot... of that going on and so I advocate for really a moment in everybody's day to step back, step off, to reflect, because I think all great thinkers and all great people had a practice of stepping out and stepping back because that's the only way you could actually have an original thought.

• 4:54Lewis Howes?

  Yeah, I think growing up, you know, I used to go to church all the time and then at some point in my twenties, I kind of stopped doing that. And I think there's a lot of young adults who kind of stopped that tradition from, from my experience at least. And then they don't have the time to reflect. They don't have the time to think like you're talking about.

• 5:10Speaker 01

  Right.

• 5:10Lewis Howes?

  And that's why I think that meditation has got this big movement right now. Where it's like the new prayer for some people that maybe don't believe in religion or church or for whatever reason, they're not going anymore. It's their opportunity to, to sit and just be as opposed to constantly do, right?

• 5:26Speaker 01

  Right, but I think the benefit of church is that it's communal, right?

• 5:29Lewis Howes?

  Absolutely.

• 5:29Speaker 01

  You're in community, so you're gathering and you're part of something larger. I'm a big advocate of meditation, but it's singular. It's alone again, right? So I think the, myself, I think people are gravitating to that because they're like anxious, they're high strung, they, they need relief and meditation provides that. But I think really what ultimately provides that is connection, right? It's being in community, in connection with another person, making a real life friend. Knowing that real life friend will pick you up if you get a flat tire or if your bird gets stuck on the side of the road. But that's a real person, right? And that-

• 6:09Lewis Howes?

  As opposed to social media person.

• 6:10Speaker 01

  Well, or, you know, and I think there are great communities on social media, but there, it's different than someone who will sit with you at the doctor's office. It's different than someone who will come over when you're really hurting. Those are different people, those people can become bad. But I think that so many of the people of all ages that I talk to know that there's something wrong with the way we're all living. That it's going so fast and so they're looking for alternative ways to live. Meditation offers that, right? People look- To exercise, to offer that. They look to be of service to offer that. So I think that we're human beings and connection is what we need.

• 6:53Speaker 01

  And we, you know, whether you want to call it love, community, connection. I think all of us want to live a meaningful life. I think everybody wants to be great. And I advocate that people already are, just by their being.

• 7:07Lewis Howes?

  Yeah.

• 7:07Speaker 01

  And I think we mistake oftentimes that you have to do something to be great.

• 7:12Lewis Howes?

  So just being alive.

• 7:14Speaker 01

  I think you're divine by being alive. I think you are, you know, if you're a good person, that's great. If you are being a great daughter, a great son, a great brother, sister, a great, you know, partner, whatever that is, that's great. I think we put so much pressure on each other to quote, achieve something so we can be in the school of greatness, or we can be viewed as great by others. And so often, those people don't feel great themselves, right? That they're just rushing through life. So I've come to find that the people, what makes me feel great is really being in connection with other people.

• 7:51Lewis Howes?

  You've been surrounded by some of the most celebrated people of our lifetime. You've, you've spent time with people like that. Are those individuals, you don't have to name names, but are those individuals typically happy and feel like they're living meaningful lives? Or is it kind of split where some of them are miserable, but they look like they're achieving a lot?

• 8:12Speaker 01

  Well, I think that's always, you know, everybody has their own path. And I grew up around people who did really great things. Moved societies, moved countries, moved. They had a great deal of restlessness about them, a great deal of drive about them, a great deal of rage and anger about some kind of injustice. And that's what propelled them. I've also been around other people who lived their lives in different ways. And I think they characterize success differently than maybe people I grew up with. And I think so, I think it's always. Different, I think people have such different paths. I've found that people get to a certain place in life where they do wonder like, am I on the right path?

• 8:57Speaker 01

  Is this all there is? Maybe I should switch it up. I think the first part of life is different than the middle and different from the end of it. I think that's super interesting. And I think really great, great people that we meet, you know, that are super, super successful people are complicated by and large.

• 9:15Lewis Howes?

  Why is that?

• 9:17Speaker 01

  It's complicated to be, you know, I don't know how you're defining great. But, you know, if you're, I guess, trying to run for president of the country, you know, if you're Putin, those people are complicated, right? So I think.

• 9:32Lewis Howes?

  Are there any people that are extremely driven and say have achieved great things or achieved big things that aren't complicated?

• 9:40Speaker 01

  Well, I don't know. It depends on the person. Certainly, what I know of, like the Dalai Lama or Bishop Tutu, and I had the good fortune to meet Mandela. I would say that, you know, at the point when I met him, perhaps he was less complicated than had I met him when he was a young man and he.

• 9:56Lewis Howes?

  Was driven and.

• 9:57Speaker 01

  Yeah, and he was on his way to prison. And then you meet somebody who's on their way out. They're a very different person, right?

• 10:02Lewis Howes?

  Right.

• 10:03Speaker 01

  I'm always interested in people who grow and evolve because I think that's why we're here. You know, I think sometimes people say, well, so and so said I changed. I'm like, thank God. Because who wants to be at 50 exactly the same you are at 20? I've always said that about politics. You know, we penalize political leaders for evolving and for changing their opinion. We say like, you said 20 years ago on this day that you felt like this. And now you're changing your mind. And that, to me, is always a good sign because that means life impacted you. You opened your eyes. You allowed yourself to evolve and to change. And in this book, I write about some of the things that I was wrong about, where I have reevaluated my opinion on that.

• 10:46Speaker 01

  And I think that's a good thing to think differently all the time, right? Steve Jobs said, think different. I'm interested in people who think outside the box, as I know you are too.

• 10:58Lewis Howes?

  Absolutely.

• 10:58Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 10:58Lewis Howes?

  What's the one thing, if there is anything, that you would change in your life?

• 11:02Speaker 01

  Nothing.

• 11:03Lewis Howes?

  Nothing?

• 11:03Speaker 01

  Nothing.

• 11:04Lewis Howes?

  Any regrets?

• 11:05Speaker 01

  No.

• 11:06Lewis Howes?

  No?

• 11:06Speaker 01

  No. I think, you know, that doesn't mean there haven't been painful

• 11:10Lewis Howes?

  Experiences.

• 11:11Speaker 01

  Experiences, but I think you grow from them.

• 11:13Lewis Howes?

  Yeah.

• 11:14Speaker 01

  You know, you evolve from them. I grew up in a kind of great family, but there's a lot of trauma and, you know, and so I think that shaped me. I was really pleased to go into journalism, but it was tough and competitive. I fell in love at 21 and had four great children out of a long relationship. I'm on my own doing different things now. I have a great relationship with my kids, so that's an interesting, as having adult kids versus young kids. So I don't look back and say, I regret this. There are some things I wish had turned out differently that might have taken a right instead of a left or might not have happened, but I don't regret the things that have happened in my life.

• 11:56Lewis Howes?

  How do you think parents can raise conscious children to live meaningful, fulfilled lives in today's society with all the comparison and judgment and desires that I guess kids or young adults have?

• 12:11Speaker 01

  Well, I think it's challenging, right? I think you have to first know your kid, right? I think you have to be in conversation with your kid because as any good parent knows, your kids change a lot.

• 12:24Lewis Howes?

  Yeah.

• 12:25Speaker 01

  Right? And they talk about changing opinions and changing needs and changing wants.

• 12:29Lewis Howes?

  It's every day.

• 12:30Speaker 01

  Changing people, you know? So I think setting aside time to be with that child, setting aside time to have family activities. I think all of that's super important. Letting children know that they're loved and that they don't have to be, quote, you know, on the cover of a magazine or

• 12:49Lewis Howes?

  In a movie.

• 12:49Speaker 01

  In a movie or whatever that is, that they're loved. They don't have to earn your love. I think it's a really powerful thing that a parent can give.

• 12:57Lewis Howes?

  Is there anything your kids could ever do or say that would make you not love them?

• 13:00Speaker 01

  No. No.

• 13:02Lewis Howes?

  No matter what it is.

• 13:03Speaker 01

  No.

• 13:03Lewis Howes?

  If they disappointed you at the highest level, or...

• 13:06Speaker 01

  I don't even know what that is. What is the highest level?

• 13:09Lewis Howes?

  Not sure. Maybe they committed crimes, or did something immoral, or they went to prison, or who knows?

• 13:15Speaker 01

  Yeah, well, I think, yeah, I think everybody, you know, I would, you know, wanna be able to offer them a place of safety and sanctuary and work through, whatever that is. I'm not scared of people who have dark sides, or who make mistakes, cuz I think we all have that. I think we all are imperfect. We all have darkness. We all have light. We all have complexity. We all have simplicity. We all fall down. We all need to be raised up. So I think that, you know, no, I can't, I can't really imagine what that would be. I hope, because I would think that whatever, you know, caused that or happened, there must be some reason, and I should work through it with...

• 13:58Lewis Howes?

  Yeah. What's the dark side of you?

• 14:00Speaker 01

  Oh, I'm restless. I'm complicated. I'm driven. There's a lot there. And there's a lot of good. There's a lot of light. There's a lot of complexity. I was saying to my brother the other day, "I'm a lot. I'm a lot." He goes, "You've always been a lot. It's okay." He goes, "Don't be afraid of your a-lotness." But I'm curious. I'm indefatigable. But I'm also fun. I'm really fun. I'm adventurous. I'm curious. So I think, you know, the good and the bad, right? It's, and I don't like to look at it as bad, but I, I think of like, that maybe my a-lotness might scare some people, but I'm interested in people who are a lot too, so...

• 14:42Lewis Howes?

  And who was the most influential person for you growing up? Was it your mom?

• 14:45Speaker 01

  My mom, definitely, influenced me tremendously. My kind of...

• 14:53Speaker 01

  Family influenced me tremendously.

• 14:56Lewis Howes?

  The greatest lesson you think you learned from your mom?

• 14:59Speaker 01

  Life is a marathon, not a sprint. You're gonna have it, you know, over a lifetime, but not all at once. And don't judge yourself at that moment that you haven't done X, Y, or Z. And so I really now, I practice kind of visualization of where I wanna be, kind of towards the end of my life, or in 15 years from now. Who do I want around me? What do I want that picture to look like? What do I wanna be able to look back on and say? That I did the company I kept. And so I work towards that vision. I call it, and I write about it in the book. I call it the open field. And so I visualize that that's where I wanna go. I visualize getting there.

• 15:42Speaker 01

  I visualize who will be at the table with me. And I visualize, and then I concentrate on making sure that those people in my present day feel loved, feel seen, feel that I have time for them. Because I want them to be there for me at the end.

• 16:01Lewis Howes?

  I think I heard you say that the open field is a place beyond fear and resentment and guilt and shame and insecurity, where you can be your most authentic loving self.

• 16:10Speaker 01

  Yeah, and beyond political affiliation, beyond net worth, beyond zip code. Just where your divine self is there and you're accepted. And nobody's asking you what you do, or what you did, or how much money you made, but, or who you voted for. They're just thrilled that you're there. And I think that that's, that's an image that has brought me hope in my life when I felt like, oh, my God. And I think that's also, everybody feels like that at some point, right? And they're like, ah, you know? And then I visualize that, and then I'm like, okay, I know where I'm going.

• 16:46Lewis Howes?

  Yeah.

• 16:47Speaker 01

  I know where I'm going. And I've also never been afraid to go to kind of unknown places with no plan. So I moved out here unknown. You know, I went into journalism unknown, you know? And so I've done things that kind of in my own family were like, what? You know, what are you doing? And I was like, I don't know, I'm just going here. I'm just going there. I'm just gonna try this. And so.

• 17:15Speaker 01

  That's good. It's given me a great life.

• 17:19Lewis Howes?

  What do you think's been the greatest decision you've made in your life?

• 17:22Speaker 01

  I don't think there's any quote "one" greatest decision that I've made. I think certainly having children was a great decision. I was scared to do that because I was like, "Oh, my God, there's no women in journalism that are doing that. How am I going to be able to do that?" You know, now, of course, everybody in journalism is having a kid. But at the time that I was doing it, it was being at the network and having a kid was like... You couldn't see it, so I didn't know how it would work and all that sort of stuff. But, you know, it turned out to be a great thing for me. So Arnold and I have four kids and they love each other and they have fun with each other and they're there for each other. And I've tried to instill in them that, you know,

• 18:06Speaker 01

  these siblings of yours are going to be your best friends through life. So take care of that. You can have a fight, but you can't peace out.

• 18:13Lewis Howes?

  Hold on to it.

• 18:14Speaker 01

  You can't peace out. You've got to peace in.

• 18:16Lewis Howes?

  Who has been your greatest teacher in your adult life besides your mom? Because I'm sure she influenced you for your adult life.

• 18:22Speaker 01

  Different people. Certainly, you know, my mom died nine years ago. So she was a big teacher of mine. My father taught me different things. I've learned things from friends.

• 18:39Speaker 01

  I've learned a lot from my children.

• 18:41Lewis Howes?

  Really?

• 18:41Speaker 01

  I've learned a lot.

• 18:42Lewis Howes?

  What about?

• 18:42Speaker 01

  I've learned about patience. I've learned unconditional love from my children. I've learned about how different they are and how they want to be treated like individuals. I've learned about patience from my children. I've learned, you know, about acceptance from my children. I've learned about...

• 19:05Speaker 01

  Letting go from my children.

• 19:07Lewis Howes?

  Mm hmm.

• 19:08Speaker 01

  I've learned.

• 19:08Lewis Howes?

  What's been the hardest thing to let go of?

• 19:10Speaker 01

  Them.

• 19:11Lewis Howes?

  What do you mean?

• 19:11Speaker 01

  Well, you know, they get older and they start their own lives and they have their own opinions and they go off to school and you've, you know, devoted your whole self and then you're supposed to be thrilled that they're up and leaving you and that's supposed to be just the best news of all. And so you have to let go and then.

• 19:27Lewis Howes?

  Cause they're not living with you anymore at your home.

• 19:29Speaker 01

  I have one boy who's in school, so he comes home in the summer, but, and I do family dinners, so they all come home, but they're, you know, they're on their own path.

• 19:40Lewis Howes?

  They've moved on.

• 19:41Speaker 01

  No, they haven't moved on, but they've moved to their own beat. And so in order to allow for that, you have to step back and step off, right? So I think that.

• 19:55Lewis Howes?

  And not be attached to what it used to look like or?

• 19:57Speaker 01

  Yeah, not be attached, not to think that they're, you know, six and seven and you're in control. Yeah, cause you're not.

• 20:03Lewis Howes?

  You're not in control anymore, huh?

• 20:04Speaker 01

  You're not in control anymore. So that's.

• 20:06Lewis Howes?

  Is that challenging?

• 20:07Speaker 01

  Yes, I think it's challenging if you've been in control of something and it's all gone the way you laid it out and then people get up and go like, yeah, I'm going over here now and.

• 20:18Lewis Howes?

  Do my own thing.

• 20:18Speaker 01

  I'm gonna do that. And, uh, but I think that that's a really great lesson because you, it teaches you that, you know, you really have so little control over everything and trying to be a control freak is never a good idea.

• 20:29Lewis Howes?

  Mm hmm.

• 20:29Speaker 01

  You know, in this book, I write about letting go. I write about grief. I write about death. I write about, um, separate identities. I write about all of these things that, um, life presents to itself. Life is a journey, right? And it's constantly asking you to step in and step out, to hold on and to let go.

• 20:51Lewis Howes?

  Yeah.

• 20:52Speaker 01

  And I think that's what, I think we don't talk enough about that, that we all think it's a linear path. We're gonna go to here, go there, get a picket fence, do well, you know? And I think it's, it's so much more complex than that. And knowing that.

• 21:09Speaker 01

  I think is a relief.

• 21:10Lewis Howes?

  Mm hmm.

• 21:10Speaker 01

  Knowing that you could be.

• 21:11Lewis Howes?

  Just the awareness of it.

• 21:12Speaker 01

  Yeah, that you can be happy or that when you're really depressed and sad, that's not the end of the world. It's a wave. But I don't think, you know, like certainly when I was growing up, nobody talked about that. So I try to say to my kids, you could have all of those feelings in one day. And that's okay. You can be incredibly depressed, you can be full of grief, you can be angry, you can be elated, you can be hopeful, you can be sad, you can be excited. And that could be one day.

• 21:39Lewis Howes?

  Wow.

• 21:40Speaker 01

  And so I think knowing that that's common, normal, that that's life, takes some of the fear out of it because when we get depressed or we get desolate and we're like, oh, my God, oh, my God. But then you know if that's a wave. And obviously for some people who have, you know, serious medical depression, it's not a wave and they should get medical treatment and be in good therapy and stuff like that. And but for many people, it's a wave. And that's life.

• 22:11Lewis Howes?

  Yeah, I think a former coach, I think his name is Jimmy V, there's a Jimmy V Foundation.

• 22:16Speaker 01

  Yes, I know Jimmy.

• 22:17Lewis Howes?

  His quote, like his speech where he said that, you know, I think a good day is when you laugh and cry and smile and hug all in the same day. He's like, that's a good day.

• 22:27Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 22:27Lewis Howes?

  Laugh and cry.

• 22:28Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 22:29Lewis Howes?

  It's a great day.

• 22:30Speaker 01

  But I I could do without the cry. But yeah, but I like a good week.

• 22:33Lewis Howes?

  Joyful.

• 22:34Speaker 01

  Maybe a good week.

• 22:35Lewis Howes?

  Yeah, exactly.

• 22:35Speaker 01

  You're gonna have some crying in the.

• 22:36Lewis Howes?

  Is there any pain or challenges that you're still holding on to that you haven't?

• 22:40Speaker 01

  Oh, yeah, but I'm not gonna tell you.

• 22:43Lewis Howes?

  Okay.

• 22:45Speaker 01

  Yeah, I think there's, you know, there's always stuff that you're working, for me anyway, that I'm working on, working through. I think the goal, as I said, is when you get there, you've lost whatever anger, pain, resentment, all those things. And sometimes that takes longer than other stuff. And but it's your responsibility to work it through.

• 23:03Lewis Howes?

  Why do you think you still hold on to some of those things?

• 23:06Speaker 01

  Because you're human. I think sometimes you're still sad that you lost your mom and you're still in grief and you wish you could get over it quicker. Or you're still really angry about something that happened X two years ago and you want to get through it. And you haven't gone at the pace or you haven't done the work or. I have to say, I feel really at peace in my life. I feel good. I feel joy filled, I feel connected, I feel on purpose.

• 23:35Lewis Howes?

  Do you think, you don't have to share if you don't want to. Do you think if you were able to let go of some of these things, whatever these things are that you're holding on to still are working through, do you think if you're able to work through them and let them go quicker, that something new would open up in your life?

• 23:50Speaker 01

  No, I think I'm like some days.

• 23:51Lewis Howes?

  Or be available, or you think you're exactly where you need to be?

• 23:52Speaker 01

  Yeah, I think I'm exactly where I need to be. And I don't think there's a lot that, you know, on some, some week you're, you're working on something you didn't even know.

• 23:59Lewis Howes?

  Yeah.

• 23:59Speaker 01

  You were working on, right? So it's like, wow, I didn't even know I was still dealing with that. Or you feel like, oh, I'm feeling like I'm not dealing with anything. I don't have any pain, I don't have any regret. And then all of a sudden a trigger thing happens and you're like, gotta do some more work on that.

• 24:14Lewis Howes?

  Yeah, I mean, I think we talked about this before when we connected that, you know, even though five years ago I started to heal and let go of trauma from being sexually abused as a kid and, and never telling anyone about it and kind of always feeling this defensive trigger when someone did something that I felt was abusive towards me.

• 24:31Speaker 01

  Right, right.

• 24:32Lewis Howes?

  Even though I feel like I'm at peace and I've healed it, you know, five years later and I'm constantly working through it, there are still moments where I get triggered and I get defensive. And I'm like, okay, well, I haven't fully let this go, I guess.

• 24:44Speaker 01

  Yes, that's what I, I think, and I think, but being self-aware, that's your job, as I try to say to my kids all the time. Whatever somebody else is triggering in you is your work. That's you. You have to figure out, you know, what is it that they, what button did they press in you? And what can you do to heal yourself in that space? What can you do to understand yourself, right? We like to blame other people for, they yelled at me or this. It's like, okay, that might be their issue. What's your responsibility in it? And I think that that's an empowering way to look at your life. So if I had talked to you six or seven years ago, you might've said, I have no problems or whatever. And then something came up and you're like, holy, that's a whole part of my life I put over there and I never dealt with.

• 25:29Lewis Howes?

  Never talked about, never.

• 25:30Speaker 01

  Yeah, and so, but maybe last week you would've felt like, oh, my God, everything's perfect or great. And then this week something happened and you're like, gosh, I need to work on that more. And I think as opposed to that being bad, I think that's good.

• 25:43Lewis Howes?

  Yeah. What do you think we as a society can do more of that we're not doing to, to overcome the biggest challenges that we're each facing in our own life?

• 25:52Speaker 01

  I mean, that's obviously a huge question. I think that if we could look at people less as others and more like ourselves. I went to this retreat that Richard Rohr, who's a Franciscan priest, and he wrote that, you know, if you have a heart and soul, so does that person that's pushing your buttons. So does that person that is a different political party than you. And if you want love and forgiveness and understanding, that person is entitled to it, too. So I think perhaps, you know, looking at people less as other, looking at people less as someone who's of a different color skin or a different experience, but just being curious about their life. I talk a lot about we can all be more compassionate, caring,

• 26:36Speaker 01

  and conscious towards one another. And I don't believe that that's kind of, we're talking, I think that's hard work.

• 26:44Lewis Howes?

  Being compassionate, caring, and conscious.

• 26:46Speaker 01

  Yeah, I think, you know, you don't see it in our political world. You don't see it being discussed by this president. You don't even see those words coming out of his mouth and/or you don't see it coming out of the mouths of people who are talking in Washington. It's very combative, it's competitive.

• 27:03Lewis Howes?

  Why is that? Why are we focused on that?

• 27:04Speaker 01

  I don't know. And yet, if you look at, you know, whether it's all the people that we admire or that people admire, whether it's, you know, Mandela, that's Gandhi.

• 27:14Lewis Howes?

  Martin Luther King.

• 27:14Speaker 01

  Martin Luther King.

• 27:16Lewis Howes?

  Those that have a true legacy.

• 27:18Speaker 01

  Yeah, all spoke about that, right?

• 27:20Lewis Howes?

  Talk about compassion, love, caring for humanity, right?

• 27:23Speaker 01

  And I thought, you know, former President Obama spoke about that last week in South Africa on the anniversary of Mandela's birthday, where he talked about the need for more love, where he talked about the need for more women to be in leadership positions, where he talked about the legacy of a man like that. Where, and I think that that kind of dialogue, President Macron in France has spoken about leading from a place of love. You do hear some leaders talking about it, but I don't think enough and I don't think we pay it enough attention.

• 27:59Lewis Howes?

  Yeah.

• 27:59Speaker 01

  We more respond to the, what he called, "strong men politics," right? Strong arms, strong men, that's like, you know.

• 28:09Lewis Howes?

  Sure, sure.

• 28:10Speaker 01

  Beating your chest and like, "You come near me, I'm gonna..."

• 28:13Lewis Howes?

  Defend myself, protect myself, whatever.

• 28:15Speaker 01

  Yeah, whatever.

• 28:16Lewis Howes?

  Now, you mentioned women in leadership and more women in leadership. Do you think we should be putting more women in leadership as companies, societies, politics placing women there? Or do you think that it should be because they earned it for whatever reason?

• 28:33Speaker 01

  I think everybody earns. I think everybody wants to earn.

• 28:37Lewis Howes?

  Right.

• 28:38Speaker 01

  Their place. And I think even women who, you know, companies that say, we want to have a certain amount of women on our boards, those women have earned it. I think it's really helpful for companies to say, we want to have, you know, a diverse board, whether it's women, people of Latinos, African Americans, it's better if our company's board is diverse. I think that's good. And I think it's, you know, important. I think it's important, you know, I do a lot of work in the Alzheimer's space and women's space is to go into doctors and researchers and say, you know, we need to focus attention on women because we haven't tested these drugs on women. We haven't looked at how women are aging. We haven't looked at women's health the same way. That's not against men.

• 29:19Speaker 01

  It's just earning the right to be equal in terms of how we're treated in the medical profession or how we're treated in any profession. But I think there are more women running for office. I don't think running for office is for every person, but I think women who are jumping in, they feel they've earned it. They've earned the right. And I think, by the way, everybody's earned the right, right? You have a story, you can tell it. If you have an idea, put yourself out there, make your way and see what happens. But I think that, you know, women can lead at home. They can lead in communities. They can lead. You don't have to be on the board of a Fortune 500 company to be great.

• 29:59Lewis Howes?

  I think moms are the most influential people.

• 30:01Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 30:01Lewis Howes?

  Because really, as, you know, a young boy growing up, I was so, I was influenced by my dad as well, but my mom was there more. You know, my dad just happened to be working longer hours and so I was around my mother more and she had the ability to really influence me and the way I think, the way I treat people, the way I act, everything. And so I think moms.

• 30:22Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 30:23Lewis Howes?

  Whether they're pursuing a big career or they're moms by themselves.

• 30:28Lewis Howes?

  That have the most influence, in my mind.

• 30:31Speaker 01

  Right.

• 30:31Lewis Howes?

  They have massive influence.

• 30:32Speaker 01

  They do have massive influence, and I think it's also time that we recognize the incredible work of motherhood.

• 30:40Lewis Howes?

  Absolutely.

• 30:40Speaker 01

  You know, I meet so many women, certainly when I was First Lady, women would come up to me all the time and introduce themselves, and they would say, "I'm just a mom." And I had a whole thing like, "Let's eliminate the word 'just,'" because it, I think, women very often feel like, "If I'm not doing X, Y, and Z over here, and I'm just a mom, that you're not going to be interested in me. I'm not going to be great. I'm not going to be invited on the show." And I think society is telling people, "That's not enough to just be a mom," when it is, in fact, then we say, "Oh, but it's the most important job in the world." But we're also saying, "It's really not, I'm not going to talk to you at dinner if I could sit next to Louis. I want to talk to him because you're just a mom."

• 31:25Speaker 01

  So I think we have a lot of conflicting messages we put out there. And so we say, "Oh, my gosh, you know, school teachers are so important." And then they ask for a raise or help, and we're like, "How dare they?" Or we say, "We really value our firefighters and stuff, but we don't want to support them." Yeah, so I think we, as a society, are very often hypocritical in what we say and actually in what we do. And we want to, you know, be of service. We think everybody should be of service, but then we're not of service. And I have a friend who's like, "Oh, my God," about the environment, and she doesn't recycle. So I think, you know, it's, I think we could all do well to check our own house.

• 32:08Speaker 01

  Get that. We're all pontificating about everybody else's house a lot. I think it's good to, like, make sure you're in your lane, focused on your house.

• 32:16Lewis Howes?

  Absolutely. Before you criticize anything.

• 32:17Speaker 01

  Yeah, exactly.

• 32:19Lewis Howes?

  Make sure you're in order, yeah.

• 32:20Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 32:21Lewis Howes?

  I've only got a, I'm taking notes because I'm curious of this question, because I know you're constantly seeking information, ideas. You're constantly learning and growing.

• 32:31Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 32:31Lewis Howes?

  And sharing that through your books and journalism and everything. What's the question you've yet to answer for yourself?

• 32:38Speaker 01

  I don't know, and that's a good question. What I've yet to answer from, I have a different question for myself almost.

• 32:44Lewis Howes?

  Every day.

• 32:45Speaker 01

  Daily, you know, I'm.

• 32:46Lewis Howes?

  But is there like, you know, have you answered the question of why you think you're here? Or what this world is? Or what the purpose of it all? Have you answered these questions for yourself?

• 32:55Speaker 01

  I don't, yeah, I have this, and I write about this in the Sunday paper because I'm taking August off, so this is taped, I'm not lying. But, you know, there's this great Rumi poem that, I'm a big fan of Rumi. And it's like, what you're looking for is looking for you. And I think that that is really, I think ultimately, we're all looking to be loved. And I think everybody is looking for love. And they exercise their way of getting that in different ways. But I think ultimately, you know, maybe that's what is looking for you, is love at the end of the day. And so, I'm aware of that.

• 33:39Speaker 01

  So I don't think there's a question, I think it changes as in my decades, you know, what am I here for? What am I doing? I ask myself a lot of that, why am I doing everything that I'm doing? But then when I'm quiet, I know why I'm here. I know what I'm doing. It's only when I get like, oh my God, what am I doing? And I do get that. I do like, am I in the right place? Am I doing the right thing? Can I focus it more? Can I do it better? My mother was a lot like that, so I think I do have a little bit of that. But if I come up with one question at the end that I could never figure out, I'll have to let you know. I don't think, is there one question that you?

• 34:21Lewis Howes?

  Hmm, that's a good question, that's why I asked it. Why are we here?

• 34:27Speaker 01

  Why are we here?

• 34:28Lewis Howes?

  That's my question, why are we here?

• 34:30Speaker 01

  I know I'm here, because my parents had me.

• 34:32Lewis Howes?

  I mean, why are we as, why, human beings, why are human beings here?

• 34:37Speaker 01

  To connect, to collaborate, to show compassion. Why not?

• 34:42Lewis Howes?

  Yeah.

• 34:43Speaker 01

  Yeah, why not? Where else would we be?

• 34:45Lewis Howes?

  Why were we created? You know, why wasn't it just animals? Or why was there life in general?

• 34:50Speaker 01

  There were animals, there was animals, there are animals. And perhaps they evolved and I happen to believe in God. I believe that God, that we're all divine and that we're all here for our own unique divine purpose.

• 35:03Lewis Howes?

  Absolutely.

• 35:03Speaker 01

  And I like to believe that.

• 35:05Lewis Howes?

  I like to believe that as well.

• 35:07Speaker 01

  Yeah, I like to believe that because...

• 35:09Lewis Howes?

  But I wonder what the real reason is though.

• 35:10Speaker 01

  But what if that is the real reason?

• 35:11Lewis Howes?

  That might be.

• 35:12Speaker 01

  Yeah, let's just say that it is.

• 35:13Lewis Howes?

  Oh, perfect.

• 35:16Lewis Howes?

  This is called the three truths question.

• 35:20Speaker 01

  Three truths question.

• 35:21Lewis Howes?

  I like to ask this at the end of people, so...

• 35:23Speaker 01

  You like, all these people that you have on the board have answered this.

• 35:28Lewis Howes?

  I think almost all of them, yes.

• 35:29Speaker 01

  Almost all of them. Lewis has pictures of all the great people.

• 35:33Lewis Howes?

  The wall of greatness, which will be up there soon.

• 35:35Speaker 01

  What is it that about greatness that is so intriguing to you? So attractive to you?

• 35:40Lewis Howes?

  I think, like you talked about, we're all here to connect, to create, to evolve, to see what we can do with our lives and how we can become greater, I think. And you said that over your life, your early childhood, there was a different mission and a purpose than when you were a teenager and then when you're in your twenties and thirties. And now that you're 41, it's completely different, right? So for me, we're all here to grow into something.

• 36:09Speaker 01

  Right.

• 36:09Lewis Howes?

  We're growing.

• 36:10Speaker 01

  Right, evolving.

• 36:11Lewis Howes?

  We're evolving.

• 36:12Speaker 01

  Yes.

• 36:13Lewis Howes?

  And what is it we are evolving for? Are we evolving to stay the same from when we were children? Or are we evolving to create something in the world? Create connection, create a positive energy, create an invention to solve a problem? And I'm fascinated with people who evolved to create something for good and create something that inspires one person, 10 people, the world to...

• 36:39Lewis Howes?

  Grow themselves.

• 36:40Speaker 01

  Do they have to create a thing? Or can they're just being?

• 36:44Lewis Howes?

  They can just be.

• 36:44Speaker 01

  Yes.

• 36:44Lewis Howes?

  And a lot of it is their way of being.

• 36:46Speaker 01

  Yeah, I think that is we're all kind of creatures of doing. And so if we were actually just being.

• 36:53Lewis Howes?

  Absolutely.

• 36:53Speaker 01

  And our being is what made us great.

• 36:56Lewis Howes?

  Absolutely.

• 36:57Speaker 01

  As opposed to what do you do? It's I always wish that people come up to me all the time and they say, you know, I do this or I know so and so and I stop and I go, do you have a name?

• 37:08Lewis Howes?

  Right.

• 37:09Speaker 01

  And who are you? Who are you?

• 37:13Lewis Howes?

  What would you say if I said, who are you?

• 37:15Speaker 01

  I'd say I'm a fun woman. I'm a girl who lives in Brentwood, California. I'm a mom of four. I'm a divine light and I'm here to get to know you. And.

• 37:28Lewis Howes?

  If I said, what are you most excited about?

• 37:30Speaker 01

  Getting to know you.

• 37:31Lewis Howes?

  Yeah. Is that what you're about? Getting to know people?

• 37:33Speaker 01

  Getting to know people, being in connection. How can I help you? Is anything I've learned or done in life? Is it of any value to you? How can I support you? But I'm here to know you. I want you to know me, not the book I wrote, the family I came from, but me, Maria. So I'm interested in who you, Lewis, are. I'm less interested in your school of greatness. I'm here because you have it and you invited me, but I'm not really interested in it. I'm more interested in you and your being. And I think that that's the challenge.

• 38:09Lewis Howes?

  Not the actions we take, but.

• 38:11Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 38:11Lewis Howes?

  Our ways of being.

• 38:13Speaker 01

  Who are we?

• 38:13Lewis Howes?

  Our generous hearts, our loving nature, our fun, our spontaneity.

• 38:18Speaker 01

  Yeah. Are you the kind of person I could call when I have a flat tire? I want to know that about you. I want to know about your struggles.

• 38:26Lewis Howes?

  It'll take me a long time to change a flat tire, but I could call someone to fix it for you.

• 38:31Speaker 01

  That's good.

• 38:32Lewis Howes?

  I can make it happen.

• 38:33Speaker 01

  Yeah, I think we live in unfortunate layer fortunately, you know, that's why I called this. I've been thinking, I want to know what you're thinking. I don't want to know.

• 38:42Lewis Howes?

  What you're doing.

• 38:43Speaker 01

  Yeah, I'm less interested in that, and I think that that puts people off. I see oftentimes, you know, when I go out with my kids, people go, what do you do? To them, and they're like, well, I'm doing this, and like, but what do you really want to do? And right away, I can see they're like, well.

• 38:58Lewis Howes?

  Your kids do say this?

• 38:59Speaker 01

  No, people say that to them. They'll be like, well, what are you doing? What do you really want to be doing? Are you, what is your person, you know? And there's no like, what's your name?

• 39:08Lewis Howes?

  Who are you?

• 39:09Speaker 01

  Who are you? What do you enjoy? You know, what brings you, you know, happiness? Why are you here? I'm so happy to meet you.

• 39:19Lewis Howes?

  Yeah, I usually leave with two questions. What are you most excited about? And what are you grateful for?

• 39:23Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 39:23Lewis Howes?

  I think when people, when you ask, what are you excited about? For whatever reason, it unlocks people where they always look up, or they just smile. Because they think about the thing that brings them most joy. And then I say, what are you grateful for? And again, it unlocks something else in their heart where they're like, man, I'm just grateful to be alive. I'm grateful I got to see my mom and have lunch.

• 39:42Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 39:42Lewis Howes?

  Go to church with my mom this last Sunday.

• 39:44Speaker 01

  I would love to be able to do that.

• 39:46Lewis Howes?

  Right?

• 39:47Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 39:47Lewis Howes?

  Yeah.

• 39:48Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 39:48Lewis Howes?

  Grateful for these moments. And I think that's a better way to start a conversation than what do you do?

• 39:52Speaker 01

  Yeah, amen.

• 39:53Lewis Howes?

  It's very boring.

• 39:54Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 39:54Lewis Howes?

  What do you do?

• 39:55Speaker 01

  Well, I think it oftentimes puts people on, they like, because whatever I do.

• 39:59Lewis Howes?

  You're going to judge me?

• 40:01Speaker 01

  What you think I should be doing, or maybe I don't really like what I do. I don't know if what I'm doing is going to be interesting to you. But I meet so many people all the time, as I said, who come up to me, who never even say their name. They'll, they'll say like, you know, I know so and so who knew you, or I know, or I work over at a thing like this. And then I always say like, do you have a name? And they're always like, stopped. And I go, do you have a name?

• 40:25Lewis Howes?

  Yeah.

• 40:26Speaker 01

  And they'll be like, oh, yeah, my name is, I was like, okay, great. Now, tell me who you are.

• 40:30Lewis Howes?

  Yeah, I'm trying to impress me.

• 40:32Speaker 01

  Yeah, no, or just, and I think we all do it.

• 40:35Lewis Howes?

  No.

• 40:35Speaker 01

  And you know, somebody was interviewing me today, and she said, okay, just for the record, can you say your name on this tape and put your title on the tape? And I was like, okay, my name is Maria Shabrin, I have no title. And she's like, what do you mean you have no title? I said.

• 40:49Lewis Howes?

  Human being.

• 40:50Speaker 01

  No title.

• 40:50Lewis Howes?

  Yeah.

• 40:51Speaker 01

  I don't know what, how to answer that. What is your title?

• 40:54Lewis Howes?

  Yeah.

• 40:55Speaker 01

  What is your title?

• 40:56Lewis Howes?

  I would say a passionate, loving, wise man.

• 41:01Speaker 01

  Good.

• 41:03Lewis Howes?

  Human.

• 41:04Speaker 01

  Yeah, human.

• 41:05Lewis Howes?

  Yeah. This is called the three truths.

• 41:07Speaker 01

  Okay.

• 41:07Lewis Howes?

  So imagine it's your, um, your final moment on earth.

• 41:11Speaker 01

  My final moment, yeah.

• 41:12Lewis Howes?

  And it's this, whenever you want it to be, as many years out, it could be hundreds of years, you choose a day, you've achieved and you've been the person you want to be for the rest of this time, right? You've created all the books and the events and anything you wanted to do, you've done it. Or anything you don't want to do, you haven't done it, whatever. It's up to you. You've lived the life of your dreams.

• 41:34Speaker 01

  Okay.

• 41:35Lewis Howes?

  But for whatever reason, everything you've created, you've got to take with you. So there's no more access to books that you've written, or words that you've said, or videos. You've got to take it all with you. And everyone's there on your bedside. Your family, your kids, everyone that you care about is there. And it's a celebration. And they give you a piece of paper and a pen to write down three things you know to be true about your entire existence. Everything you've done, been, everything.

• 42:01Speaker 01

  They're giving me a pen and a piece of paper.

• 42:03Lewis Howes?

  A pen and a piece of paper.

• 42:04Speaker 01

  And I'm lying on my deathbed and everybody's there. Is that the picture we got?

• 42:07Lewis Howes?

  Yeah, but it's a, it's a celebration.

• 42:09Speaker 01

  Okay, it's a celebration.

• 42:10Lewis Howes?

  You've got a few days to, to end it until you, you call, call it quits, right?

• 42:13Speaker 01

  Right.

• 42:14Lewis Howes?

  But they say, we really want to know like the three things you know to be true about everything you've done. You've had so many incredible experiences.

• 42:20Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 42:20Lewis Howes?

  From all the people you've met, the things you've done.

• 42:23Speaker 01

  Faith, love, family.

• 42:24Lewis Howes?

  Faith, love, family.

• 42:25Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 42:26Lewis Howes?

  What about those three?

• 42:27Speaker 01

  What about them? That's what I tell you, you need.

• 42:30Lewis Howes?

  You need faith?

• 42:31Speaker 01

  You need love and you need family.

• 42:33Lewis Howes?

  Faith, love, family.

• 42:34Speaker 01

  Yeah. I've thought about it.

• 42:36Lewis Howes?

  There you go.

• 42:36Speaker 01

  There you go.

• 42:37Lewis Howes?

  What happens when we don't have family?

• 42:40Speaker 01

  I think you feel alone, you feel, you know, disconnected, you feel... I'm just speaking for myself. You know, I think, I mean, I can't imagine, because I grew up in a big family and family to me. And I always like to also broaden that concept of family, because your children bring people into family and... I think even if you're separated in a marriage or divorce, that person is still always family. So I think family is, for me, I have four brothers, I have nieces and nephews. And if my brother said to me, walking out of here, I need you in Boston tomorrow, done. I just feel for me, that's a sense of like stability, grounding in the world.

• 43:25Speaker 01

  I think for me, having faith gets you through the tough times, which everybody inevitably is going to have. As I say to my children all the time, don't think you're going to be immune from really challenging stuff. Because everybody has really challenging stuff. And how you navigate that, how you hold yourself in it, how you get through it. I think it would be hard to get through it without faith.

• 43:50Lewis Howes?

  Yeah, just because you're so and so's kids and you might have more money than other people or something.

• 43:56Speaker 01

  I think there's a lot of people with money who with terrible pain and no family and who are sad and alone. Money is not, you know, I don't like, I don't put my three things, money.

• 44:07Lewis Howes?

  Right.

• 44:07Speaker 01

  I think, you know, they've done actually a lot of studies about that, that it's a certain amount of money where people feel like that they have a roof over their head, they can put food on the table. But there's no difference between that. I think the last number of that, I think, was, as I did a story on that, I think the number was a hundred thousand or seventy thousand dollars or something. There was no differentiation between that and like

• 44:29Lewis Howes?

  Millions.

• 44:29Speaker 01

  Millions. And that people really, it's that they're loved, that they have family and that they have faith. And

• 44:38Lewis Howes?

  Yeah.

• 44:39Speaker 01

  Really, I don't know.

• 44:43Lewis Howes?

  That's the next book title.

• 44:44Speaker 01

  What?

• 44:45Lewis Howes?

  Faith, Love and Family.

• 44:46Speaker 01

  Faith, Love and Family.

• 44:47Lewis Howes?

  I like that.

• 44:47Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 44:48Lewis Howes?

  Before I ask you the final question, I want to acknowledge you for a moment, Maria, for being a stand for humanity. Because in a world where so many people are doing and need to accomplish, you're doing, but you're also constantly reminding us to be loving, compassionate.

• 45:03Speaker 01

  Thank you.

• 45:04Lewis Howes?

  For your example as a mother to raise incredible children who are all being compassionate, kind individuals. I'm sure they have

• 45:12Speaker 01

  They better be.

• 45:12Lewis Howes?

  I'm sure they have their challenges and moments, but I think you've gone through a lot in your life and to to still be here showing up with so much love in your heart for all of us is really inspiring and I want to acknowledge you for all that you do and the way that you're being with me and always.

• 45:29Speaker 01

  Thank you.

• 45:30Lewis Howes?

  Make sure you guys.

• 45:31Speaker 01

  Thank you for doing that.

• 45:31Lewis Howes?

  Of course, of course. Make sure you guys get the book. We'll link it up. Go grab a copy. It's been on the New York Times Bestseller List for

• 45:37Speaker 01

  And that is me on the cover. That's me.

• 45:41Lewis Howes?

  You're 41.

• 45:42Speaker 01

  Who is that on the cover?

• 45:43Lewis Howes?

  41 on the cover.

• 45:44Speaker 01

  My son took that picture.

• 45:46Lewis Howes?

  Right.

• 45:46Speaker 01

  Yeah, that's me. You know what's funny? Is that I have a picture kind of like this of Georgia O'Keeffe on my bulletin board. And I pulled it out and it is a picture of her looking out at the desert. And she's got her hair in a bun and she's got a paintbrush and it's about letting go of everything in your life to actually create the life you want. And I was always attracted to her and attracted to the way she lived her life and her independence and her creativity. And I, subconsciously, when I, you know, they wanted me to do this book cover with just my name and have it white and everything. I was like, no, no, that's not right. That's not right.

• 46:26Speaker 01

  And my son took my kids to Utah and he took this picture. I'm like, there's my cover.

• 46:32Lewis Howes?

  That's it.

• 46:32Speaker 01

  That's it. And then I realized when I was sitting there with it, I was like, oh, my God. It's the same as the Georgia O'Keeffe.

• 46:38Lewis Howes?

  Yeah.

• 46:39Speaker 01

  Picture.

• 46:39Lewis Howes?

  And it's close to an open field.

• 46:41Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 46:42Lewis Howes?

  With some boulders in there, but it's pretty close to an open field.

• 46:45Speaker 01

  You gotta get over the boulders to get to the open field. Trust me.

• 46:48Lewis Howes?

  Where can we connect with you online or your website or your?

• 46:51Speaker 01

  You can sign up for the Sunday Paper, which is the newsletter and I put, I've been thinking out every week. You've been in the Sunday Paper.

• 46:58Lewis Howes?

  Thank you.

• 46:59Speaker 01

  And I'd love to have you back.

• 47:00Lewis Howes?

  Yes.

• 47:01Speaker 01

  It's all, it's a newsletter for people with passion and purpose. And so we put people who have, we put news above the noise in there. We put views above the noise. And people who are really trying to move humanity forward, move us in a positive direction because I believe there are way more people like that. Then there are those who want to divide us and, you know, promote hate and negativity. And I don't think that's soft. I don't think that's, you know, oh, aren't you in denial? I think that's the reality of the world.

• 47:33Lewis Howes?

  Yeah.

• 47:33Speaker 01

  I just came from the 50th anniversary of Special Olympics, the program my mom started. And there are cops there and teachers there and parents there and local citizens and Knights of Columbus. And the numbers of people who want to be of service, who want to live lives of passion and purpose, lives of greatness, lives of meaning, is way more than the people who want to divide us, gaslight us, scare us and make us nuts.

• 48:03Lewis Howes?

  Yeah.

• 48:03Speaker 01

  So I think it's where you put your attention that matters. And if you put your attention where the insanity is, you're gonna go insane. And if you put your attention where people are lying and gaslighting you, you will go insane. Or you can put your attention to all the good in the world and the people who are promoting inclusion and women's rights and men's rights and trying to make the world better. You will rise up.

• 48:29Lewis Howes?

  Yeah. Yeah, and for me, you know, greatness is about really reaching your full potential and living in service at the same time.

• 48:34Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 48:35Lewis Howes?

  Because if service is not in your life, I don't think you're really doing something great.

• 48:39Speaker 01

  Right.

• 48:39Lewis Howes?

  You might achieve things, but it's not really that great for me unless it's really impacting humanity on some level.

• 48:45Speaker 01

  Yes.

• 48:46Lewis Howes?

  But I'm curious, as the final question is, what is your definition of greatness?

• 48:50Speaker 01

  I think somebody who's living their life, who's like, secure enough to do their own journey, to chart their own course, pave their own path, get to the open field.

• 49:00Lewis Howes?

  Mmm.

• 49:02Speaker 01

  That's great.

• 49:03Lewis Howes?

  Appreciate you.

• 49:03Speaker 01

  Thank you.

• 49:04Lewis Howes?

  Appreciate it.

• 49:04Speaker 01

  Thank you.

• 49:05Lewis Howes?

  We'll do another hug in a second. Appreciate you. You're welcome.

• 49:08Speaker 01

  School of greatness.

• 49:15Lewis Howes?

  There you have it my friends, I hope you enjoyed this episode and if you did, if you're inspired by anything that Maria shared, make sure to tag her over on Instagram in your Instagram stories, check her out over there, over on Twitter and Facebook as well, and tag me also @lewishouse. Share this with your friends over on Instagram, on social media. Again, this is all about the reflections for a meaningful life and so much more. The episode is lewishouse.com/688. You can link that up on your social media and share it with your friends. You can watch the full video interview as well. Make sure to get Maria's new book, powerful book. I love reading it right now also. And there's so much more that

• 49:55Lewis Howes?

  she is up to. Check out her show and everything else that she has over at lewishouse.com/688. I appreciate you guys so very much. And I want to remind you that you are a powerful gift in this world. You have something to contribute, even if you feel stuck in your life, even if you feel like you're in a place that you don't want to be in right now, even if you feel like you don't know where the path is heading, or you're not sure what your passion is. I'm telling you, just start taking baby steps every single day towards something, because some path is better than no path. And when you start down that path, you're going to start to swerve and swiggle and move around and start figuring out what you don't

• 50:37Lewis Howes?

  like and what you do love. And you're going to start leading a path that inspires you and inspires those around you. You were born for greatness, you were born for incredible things, but you've got to be willing to put yourself out there, overcome your fears, and do the work every single day. The best way to learn is to grow through giving and service. Continue to show up with a grateful heart, show up with a positive attitude, show up with a smile on your face, so that you reflect that inspiration on others and be the light that others are looking for. I love you. And you know what time it is. It's time to go out there and do something great.