919 Live Your Passion, Use Your Voice, and Own Your Story with JoJo

You have the power to change your story. Have you ever felt like your life story was not your own? There's always the pressure to become someone who you aren't. Maybe you're comparing yourself to the people you see on social media. This is so easy to do. We often just post the best of ourselves on the internet, and then the illusion is that everyone is living these perfect lives. But we know that isn't true. You can't compare your real life to a filtered version of someone else's. Sometimes the pressure comes from within, and other times, it comes directly from the mouths of other people. It's easy to let the outside world dictate who you are supposed to be. People love to tell people what to do and who to become. But you have your own voice in this world. People can try to shout over it, but it's up to you to make a stand for who you are. On this episode of The School of Greatness, I had the pleasure of talking with JoJo, a pop-icon, who shares about battling comparison, asserting her voice, and writing her own story in the midst of extreme pressure. JoJo is a pop and R&B singer, songwriter, record producer, and actress. She released her first album, JoJo, in June 2004, and the album's first single, "Leave (Get Out)," was No.1 on the US Billboard Pop Chart. She was only 13 years old - the youngest solo artist in history to ever top the billboard charts. She’s also starred in movies like Aquamarine and RV (with Robin Williams) and in TV shows like Hawaii 5-0 and Lethal Weapon. In 2006, she released her second studio album, The High Road, which was also a great success, but her third album, Mad Love, was delayed due to record label disputes. She realized she didn't have power over her own voice, and this was non-negotiable. In 2008, JoJo founded her own record label, Clover Music, and re-released her previous albums. Her fourth studio album, good to know, will drop in spring 2020, and in April she will kick off an international tour. JoJo was offered her first record deal at six years old. From a young age, she has felt immense pressure from music industry to become who they want her to be, but JoJo made a stand for herself. Join me on Episode 919 with JoJo to learn how she owned her story and how you can too. Where do you think your life would be if you’d had social media early on in your career? (1:20)Did you dream of being a superstar when you were a kid? (7:40)When did fear come into your life as a creative? (9:15)How did you learn to create your own self-worth? (19:45)What challenges do you face being in an intimate relationship? (25:39)What were the most powerful moments you’ve experienced on stage? (34:57)What are some lyrics that define the decades of your life? (47:05)What it was like when JoJo didn’t own her own music (3:15)The lessons JoJo learned from her early success and from then til now (16:05)How to learn how to be happy by yourself (32:10)The value of facing your fears regularly (39:40)How to make yourself proud (44:40)Plus much more... If you enjoyed this episode, show notes and more at http://www.lewishowes.com/919 and follow at instagram.com/lewishowes Get more from Lewis! Get my New York Times Bestselling book, Make Money Easy! Get The Greatness Mindset audiobook on SpotifyText Lewis AIYouTubeInstagramWebsiteTiktokFacebookX

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

• 0:00Lewis Howes?

  This is episode number 919 with pop star and R&B singer JoJo.

• 0:08Lewis 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.

• 0:34Lewis Howes?

  Walt Disney said, "First think, second dream, third believe, and finally dare." I am excited about this one because I've been a fan of JoJo since back in the day when she released her first album in 2004 called JoJo. And her big single Leave, Get Out was number one on the US Billboard Pop Charts. And I was an instant fan. She had so much energy, passion, charisma, and she was magnetic at such a young age. She went on to do movies like Aquamarine and RV with Robin Williams, TV shows like Hawaii 5-0 and Lethal Weapon,

• 1:20Lewis Howes?

  and has done some amazing things over the years. And in this episode, I really wanted to dive in and talk about her entire transformation because she became so big out of the gate. She was huge for five years, and then she had some challenges and some struggles. And then she's come back and I'm just so excited to talk about this with you. I'm so excited for you to hear this message and this story because sometimes we can make it big and then things happen. And we'll take a fall, we'll come back, we'll grow, we'll learn, we'll develop, and you know, it's just life's journey. And in this episode, we talk about what it was like growing up in the public eye and being so famous as a young girl and as a teenager.

• 2:03Lewis Howes?

  Her past struggles with record labels and how she overcame those challenges, the power of owning your Story and the ability to change it at any point in your life and not be stuck to some story from the past that is hurting you. Also advice that JoJo has for young girls and women growing up in social media with constant comparison and other challenges. And as a very special treat, I asked JoJo to sing a few answers to some of my questions. And I think you're gonna love her singing. So I really hope you enjoy this. Make sure to share this with a friend, LewisHowes.com/919. You can text to someone, you can post it on social media,

• 2:45Lewis Howes?

  and I'm sure JoJo would love to see that you're listening to this or watching this as well. So make sure to tag JoJo over on Instagram so she can see that you're connecting and watching this as well. Alright guys, I'm super excited about this. I've been following JoJo for a long time, but I've been following on social media for the last year and a half, and I really love her message and what she's creating with her life. So without further ado, let me introduce to you the one and only JoJo.

• 3:16Lewis Howes?

  Alright, welcome back to Morning School Greenness Podcast. We have the inspirational and iconic JoJo in the house. So glad you're here.

• 3:24Speaker 01

  I'm so happy to be here.

• 3:25Lewis Howes?

  We've been connected on Instagram for probably a year or two, at least. And Billie Jean connected us and

• 3:33Speaker 01

  One of my besties in the world.

• 3:34Lewis Howes?

  One of your besties, a guy that I've been getting close with over the last three years, good guy. And we're finally here. So I'm super excited.

• 3:40Speaker 01

  I'm so excited because I've been subscribed to this podcast for a long time. And I just, I love all the little jewels of inspiration and wisdom that I get from not only you, but the guests you have on. And it's just, it's so delicious to me. It's soul food.

• 3:55Lewis Howes?

  Soul food. That's what it's about. I'm so excited. Do you listen to a lot of podcasts?

• 3:59Speaker 01

  I do. I love podcasts, whether I'm working out, or I'm getting ready, or driving. And I love sharing them with my friends and family. It's awesome.

• 4:06Lewis Howes?

  Now, you have an amazing story, and you remind me a little bit of LeAnn Rimes.

• 4:12Speaker 01

  Okay.

• 4:12Lewis Howes?

  When I had LeAnn on, she talked about how when she was a teenager, she became so world famous, pre-social media. And this kind of happened to you as well. You were, you know, a young teen that was a superstar before social media. If there was social media then, where do you think your life would be if it was like, not only all over the press, but then all over everyone's social media channels?

• 4:36Speaker 01

  Well, when I came out, MySpace is really where we launched.

• 4:40Lewis Howes?

  That's true.

• 4:40Speaker 01

  My, my music. So MySpace was like a huge.

• 4:43Lewis Howes?

  Huge.

• 4:44Speaker 01

  Deal for, for me and connecting with my fans. But, um, I mean, I think now, if you're just first coming out, you have to really take advantage of all the different platforms. And it's not that you have to. It's, it's fun, but you just kind of have to be more, more spread out.

• 5:04Lewis Howes?

  Yeah.

• 5:04Speaker 01

  I didn't really have to.

• 5:05Lewis Howes?

  You had one platform there.

• 5:07Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 5:07Lewis Howes?

  MySpace.

• 5:08Speaker 01

  Yeah, so.

• 5:09Lewis Howes?

  Pre-Facebook, pre-all that stuff.

• 5:11Speaker 01

  Yeah, people were on Facebook, but it was college kids.

• 5:13Lewis Howes?

  Yeah.

• 5:14Speaker 01

  And I wasn't a college kid.

• 5:15Lewis Howes?

  You couldn't even get on there.

• 5:16Speaker 01

  Couldn't even get on there. I mean, I was 12 when I recorded my album, 13 when it came out. And when my life changed. So I, I dig social media right now and I'm actually quite glad that it wasn't such a big part of my early teenage years because it must be so hard being a, a young, a younger person and like feeling that that is what validates you. And being in the music industry is weird enough, so.

• 5:41Lewis Howes?

  It's already weird enough.

• 5:42Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 5:43Lewis Howes?

  But so many kids, their teens are getting their, their self-worth from likes.

• 5:47Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 5:47Lewis Howes?

  Engagement, everything like that. Do you feel like your life would have been more screwed up? Not that it was screwed up, but you feel like it would have been much more harder to being, you know, a celebrity, famous, on tour, all this stuff happening as a teenager and.

• 5:59Speaker 01

  I think so, actually.

• 6:00Lewis Howes?

  Why didn't people like this? Or I need to be more sexual, or whatever it is.

• 6:03Speaker 01

  I think so. I think that if I was, because it's really hard to not, I mean, to resist the temptation of reading all the comments and seeing what, what the feedback is. So I think that if I was a young teen, like I was when I came out and I had that, it would very much shape how I felt about myself and, and influence who I became.

• 6:26Lewis Howes?

  How, how do you feel about yourself now?

• 6:28Speaker 01

  I dig myself.

• 6:29Lewis Howes?

  Yeah. Have you always digged yourself?

• 6:31Speaker 01

  No, no. There were times I did not dig myself. It's such a journey of. I think because I had such incredible success at a young age, that gave me a sense of self that was like related to a number one and related to adulation and acclaim and applause and

• 6:54Lewis Howes?

  Awards.

• 6:55Speaker 01

  Yeah, all of that. And I needed to define myself outside of that. When I was like tied up in a legal situation with my my record, my former label to where I couldn't release music. And I wasn't shutting down malls anymore and I wasn't the most famous person wherever I'd go like people had surpassed me that used to open for me.

• 7:20Lewis Howes?

  How does that feel?

• 7:21Speaker 01

  It felt embarrassing.

• 7:22Lewis Howes?

  Really?

• 7:24Speaker 01

  I mean, there are other words too, but that's like the first one that comes to mind if I'm just being honest.

• 7:28Lewis Howes?

  When you're the main attraction, when you're the lead and then other people are just excited to be there and open for you and then they now they're the lead and you're opening or you're not even there.

• 7:38Speaker 01

  It made me feel awkward, embarrassed and like because I felt like my career at that point was out of my control. I hated that feeling. So it made me just kind of wanna retreat. Because of all those things.

• 7:54Lewis Howes?

  Because this is still a time when independent artists weren't putting out music on their own. This was like pre-Mapplemore, pre like all these individuals who are having control of their music, right? This is pre Spotify. So you really had to rely on the record label, I'm assuming.

• 8:09Speaker 01

  Well, it was unfortunate because I I like wished that I could be independent at that time, but I was, you know, contracts are legally binding. So I like could not, I did not own my voice. I could not make decisions on what to do with my recorded voice.

• 8:23Lewis Howes?

  That's crazy.

• 8:23Speaker 01

  So I could, I could tour. So I stayed afloat doing that. I connected with my fans and it kept me feeling energized because otherwise I just felt so isolated, not being able to release new music.

• 8:36Lewis Howes?

  So you kept singing the same songs.

• 8:38Speaker 01

  Singing the same songs.

• 8:39Lewis Howes?

  To the same audience sizes or smaller, intimacy?

• 8:42Speaker 01

  It kept getting more intimate. It kept getting more intimate and I needed to find the like how really what I realized is that I have some ride or dies.

• 8:52Lewis Howes?

  Fans.

• 8:52Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 8:52Lewis Howes?

  Super diehard.

• 8:54Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 8:54Lewis Howes?

  Yeah.

• 8:55Speaker 01

  But like you, you mentioned independent artists weren't as As poppin' as they are right now. But I was able to do something that I took a page out of what I saw people in hip hop doing a lot more. And I put out mixtapes for free. And I just put them directly on the internet, whether it was SoundCloud or whatever.

• 9:13Lewis Howes?

  Was it Napster back then?

• 9:14Speaker 01

  Not Napster, I'm not that old. But it was definitely.

• 9:18Lewis Howes?

  SoundCloud.

• 9:18Speaker 01

  SoundCloud. So I had a few mixtapes and I was able to speak directly to my fans that way.

• 9:23Lewis Howes?

  For free.

• 9:24Speaker 01

  For free. The first one being called Can't Take That Away From Me, which was a statement of just like, okay, label or powers that be, you can't take away this relationship that I've built with my fans and music and my love for it. And then Agape, which means unconditional love. And then a Love Joe series of just like a few songs here and there.

• 9:44Lewis Howes?

  Wow, have you been to Agape?

• 9:45Speaker 01

  I haven't.

• 9:46Lewis Howes?

  The church?

• 9:46Speaker 01

  Have you?

• 9:47Lewis Howes?

  I've been there once, Michael Beckwith.

• 9:49Speaker 01

  I love Michael Beckwith.

• 9:51Lewis Howes?

  He's amazing. He came on the show earlier this year and I went and watched it and there's a.

• 9:54Speaker 01

  Oh, I have to hear that.

• 9:55Lewis Howes?

  Oh, it's mind blowing, yeah.

• 9:57Speaker 01

  I have a lot of respect for what they do over there, but.

• 9:59Lewis Howes?

  You should go sing over there.

• 10:01Speaker 01

  Oh, do they have like?

• 10:02Lewis Howes?

  Oh, yeah, they have a whole choir and different performers come and sing. It'd be amazing for you.

• 10:06Speaker 01

  Oh, that's right up my.

• 10:07Lewis Howes?

  On a Sunday, it's like all soul food.

• 10:09Speaker 01

  That's right up my.

• 10:09Lewis Howes?

  Just do some jazz or do one of your songs, whatever you want to do. You can just be creative there.

• 10:13Speaker 01

  That's cool.

• 10:13Lewis Howes?

  I'll make an intro if you want.

• 10:15Speaker 01

  Please do.

• 10:16Lewis Howes?

  That's cool, you have a song called Agape.

• 10:18Speaker 01

  I have an album called, a project called Agape, because my dog's name is Agape.

• 10:21Lewis Howes?

  Oh, my gosh.

• 10:22Speaker 01

  Because I just love that word.

• 10:24Lewis Howes?

  It's a great word.

• 10:24Speaker 01

  It means unconditional love and that's, that's what I feel for, for music. I really don't care for the industry. It's just, it's mad yucky, but, but I love music so much.

• 10:36Lewis Howes?

  Did you, when you were pre-12, did you have this dream that this is the life that would unfold for you? Like you were going to be the superstar, your, your songs were going to be out there in the world? And then? There would be this control over you.

• 10:51Speaker 01

  No, didn't envision that part. That wasn't part of my vision.

• 10:54Lewis Howes?

  But you dreamed of like, I'm putting my music out in the world, my creativity.

• 10:57Speaker 01

  I was so, I saw it so clear in my mind. It was just, I knew from a young age. I feel so lucky because some people don't know what they're passionate about. I never had to really think about it that much. I had other interests. I liked dinosaurs and I liked, you know, cats and stuff, but no, like, music was just always.

• 11:15Lewis Howes?

  Like, when did you have that vision?

• 11:17Speaker 01

  Oh, as long as I can remember.

• 11:18Lewis Howes?

  Like, four, five years old.

• 11:19Speaker 01

  Exactly, yeah.

• 11:20Lewis Howes?

  You're like, I'm gonna get my songs on stages, I'm gonna be in the radio.

• 11:23Speaker 01

  I saw Mariah Carey performing and just being so glamorous and exceptionally talented. And I was just like, I wanna be a diva. I wanted that. I loved entertaining family, friends who would come over and anybody who would listen. You know, if my aunt would go to the nail salon, I would ask the ladies what their favorite songs were. And I just always wanted to perform.

• 11:48Lewis Howes?

  Would you perform at the salon?

• 11:49Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 11:50Lewis Howes?

  Really?

• 11:51Speaker 01

  I mean, we would go into, I'm from south of Boston, so I would ask my mom from the age of like seven if we could go into the city because I saw people putting out hats.

• 12:00Lewis Howes?

  Busting, yeah.

• 12:01Speaker 01

  And I would, I would put out hats and sing on the street. I swear to God, I had, my parents were not stage parents. Like, I was a weird, precocious little kid.

• 12:09Lewis Howes?

  You'd go by yourself?

• 12:10Speaker 01

  No, no. My mom would come with me.

• 12:12Lewis Howes?

  Would she film ever?

• 12:13Speaker 01

  No, we didn't.

• 12:14Lewis Howes?

  That'd be amazing if you had some footage.

• 12:15Speaker 01

  I know. I was such a fearless little girl.

• 12:18Lewis Howes?

  Wow.

• 12:19Speaker 01

  Because I think that's what it, that's what it takes to especially have such an early entrance into it.

• 12:24Lewis Howes?

  Yeah.

• 12:25Speaker 01

  Just need to just love it.

• 12:26Lewis Howes?

  Did you ever feel like you were afraid after you became this?

• 12:29Speaker 01

  Yes.

• 12:30Lewis Howes?

  When did that happen?

• 12:31Speaker 01

  Yeah, fear came into my life, I think, probably when I was making my second album because I had so much success with the first one.

• 12:40Lewis Howes?

  Gosh.

• 12:40Speaker 01

  And it was just a difference of a few years, 12 recording the first one and then 14 recording the, 14, 15 recording the second one. But I was like... It's that sophomore thing of how can I, I don't think I wanted to top it, but I, I wanted to have another hit.

• 12:58Lewis Howes?

  Match.

• 12:59Speaker 01

  And thankfully, yeah, and thankfully I did. We had a huge song with Too Little Too Late and that took me around the world once again and, and that was, that was dope. Um, but fear really like crept in after I turned 18 and I'm like, wow, look at the clock ticking. Like, I feel like I lost time. Yeah.

• 13:20Lewis Howes?

  At 18.

• 13:20Speaker 01

  Because I think I had seen so much from a young age that as I started to like not be the youngest in the room anymore.

• 13:28Lewis Howes?

  Yeah.

• 13:29Speaker 01

  It just started to freak me out and I needed to, it took me years to change my perspective on that and to not compare my journey to others.

• 13:38Lewis Howes?

  Isn't that interesting? I remember in high school, I was always on varsity sports teams as a freshman sophomore. I was the young one.

• 13:45Speaker 01

  Right.

• 13:45Lewis Howes?

  Right? And I would always start and I was always the youngest starter. So all the juniors and seniors would play and then the young one. And I was one of the better athletes. So I was always kind of an all-star on the team at a young age. And I remember becoming a senior and having more fear because I didn't have, I don't know what it was. It was like a cushion or something where I had to be the one to have to perform all the time.

• 14:08Speaker 01

  Yes.

• 14:09Lewis Howes?

  And had to deliver every time. And there was a lot more pressure on me.

• 14:12Speaker 01

  Cause now you were an O, a young OG.

• 14:15Lewis Howes?

  And I always felt like the youngest, but now I wasn't the youngest.

• 14:18Speaker 01

  Right. So now it's, it's not, it's also not as like glittery and exciting because there was like all this shine on you for, for being the youngest. And now it's like, oh, I just need to be excellent now.

• 14:27Lewis Howes?

  And I gotta be better and better.

• 14:29Speaker 01

  Yes.

• 14:29Lewis Howes?

  I gotta reach this potential from a, from a young age.

• 14:32Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 14:33Lewis Howes?

  So you have, how did this, how long did this fear stay with you after 18? How many years were?

• 14:38Speaker 01

  Hmm, a good 10 years. I'm just shaking it now.

• 14:41Lewis Howes?

  Really?

• 14:41Speaker 01

  Yeah. Yeah. I just.

• 14:43Lewis Howes?

  Did it get worse?

• 14:44Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 14:44Lewis Howes?

  Every year?

• 14:45Speaker 01

  I, I can't say it was every year, but there's so many ups and downs because I, I developed what I would call a situational depression that, that has, you know, that I've kind of ridden the wave of. When I filed my lawsuit for the first time against my record label so I could get the rights to my voice back and be able to continue on with my career since they weren't a functioning label anymore.

• 15:07Lewis Howes?

  So, give people context for don't know what happened. How old were you?

• 15:11Speaker 01

  I was eighteen when I sued them for the first time because they were in breach of contract. They, we weren't able to, I had delivered several versions of a third album to them and there was just no.

• 15:26Lewis Howes?

  They didn't want it or they didn't want to put it out?

• 15:28Speaker 01

  They didn't have the means to put it out. They didn't have distribution anymore. And it was just a whole bummer of a situation. I really thought that we would just ride off into the sunset together because these were my father figures. They were my uncles.

• 15:41Lewis Howes?

  Mentors.

• 15:42Speaker 01

  They were my mentors. So, I never wanted to like, who wants to be in a lawsuit? It sucks. So, we tried to work it out for a while, but I was tied up in a legal battle with them for about five years. So at twenty-three, I think, was when I I took, I took a lot on. I was like, what could I have done differently or but it, it really did. I don't want to be over dramatic about it, but it, it was a bit traumatic for me.

• 16:08Lewis Howes?

  It's very traumatic.

• 16:09Speaker 01

  I felt so out of control and nothing's really in our control. But I was just so disappointed and so hurt that we couldn't make things work and like do all these great things together. Because all I've wanted to do since I was a little kid is work and perform and connect with people. And I felt like that was taken away from me. So I was very upset.

• 16:33Lewis Howes?

  Because you couldn't release your art to the world because of the contract.

• 16:37Speaker 01

  Right, right. And it, it wasn't just about creative control because I wasn't like putting a hard line of stand and being like, no, I want to make a, you know.

• 16:46Lewis Howes?

  A jazz record.

• 16:47Speaker 01

  Right, I want to do some left stuff. It wasn't, it wasn't that. I was like. I was really down to try, at least from my perspective, so. Anyway, thankfully, that is not going on anymore. But it created a lot of like agitation within me and upset. And, and again, like I mentioned, seeing people that had told me that I was the reason why they started singing and that they, you know, grew up learning how to sing through listening to my songs and stuff and then seeing them reach the heights of their career while I'm, I felt like this caged bird.

• 17:26Lewis Howes?

  So you saw young superstars become mega stars?

• 17:29Speaker 01

  Yes.

• 17:30Lewis Howes?

  And say to you, you're the reason I started this.

• 17:32Speaker 01

  Yeah, and that's obviously like such an amazing thing to hear.

• 17:37Lewis Howes?

  Inspiring, but you also want to see yourself.

• 17:39Speaker 01

  Correct.

• 17:40Lewis Howes?

  Up to the top too.

• 17:41Speaker 01

  Yeah, yeah, I was like, I really don't like being this thing that like this kid that can't play in this playground that I love.

• 17:49Lewis Howes?

  Yeah, yeah, yeah.

• 17:49Speaker 01

  Yeah, yeah, and I was just not comfortable with being a afterthought.

• 17:54Lewis Howes?

  Gosh, I feel like Olympic gymnasts, I feel like have some of the hardest lives. Who are like Olympic gold medalists when they're fifteen, sixteen, very similar to your situation. When you're on this global stage as a teenager and you reach the top.

• 18:09Speaker 01

  It's like, where do you go?

• 18:10Lewis Howes?

  Where do you go for the next eighty years of your life or whatever? It's like, I think that's one of the hardest things to overcome. I'm not saying it's, I mean, poor them for having a gold medal, but it's, it's a different type of adversity you have to face.

• 18:23Speaker 01

  Right, right, and it's, it's not a.

• 18:25Lewis Howes?

  It's a first world problem, but the inner, the inner battles that you face are extreme when you reach those levels.

• 18:32Speaker 01

  But I think that the payoff that can come if you are able to like change your perspective and have a new idea of what success is or just keeping your blinders on and saying, okay, so I, that's amazing, I've accomplished that, but what's next, just not.

• 18:54Lewis Howes?

  Not focusing on the past so much.

• 18:56Speaker 01

  Yeah, it sucks.

• 18:57Lewis Howes?

  Yeah, it does.

• 19:00Lewis Howes?

  What was the biggest lesson for you from, I guess, twelve to eighteen? When it was, you know, this explosion of attention and acknowledgement and hits and opportunities? What was the lesson for you during that time? And then what was the lesson from eighteen to now?

• 19:21Lewis Howes?

  Like as you're rising to the top and then as you're transitioning from figuring out, you know, this lawsuit to reinventing yourself, to identity, to everything.

• 19:31Speaker 01

  The biggest lesson in my teenage years, I guess, was you can't take things personally. I think I learned that pretty young, that everybody's gonna do what's best for them and things are gonna make sense in their mind. No one's a villain in their own mind. Like, people are doing what seems like the right thing to them, in my opinion. And you just can't take things too personally. I think I did learn that. I also learned that-

• 19:59Lewis Howes?

  Did you take a lot of things personally?

• 20:02Speaker 01

  Yeah, yeah, cuz everything was about me. I mean, I was, I felt like I was the center of my universe. I was. You know, I was not only like this young girl, but I was a product and I was a brand and-

• 20:15Lewis Howes?

  A business.

• 20:16Speaker 01

  Yeah. So it was just interesting to think about all that. But I also learned that people will say they love you and you need to be able to use your discernment to realize when, when that's true and when it's not. I mean, I don't know if it's as much in your industry, but like, you know, you live out here in LA and people just love to throw that around and that can be a painful thing, especially when you come from a broken home and you want love and you want family and-

• 20:47Lewis Howes?

  And you feel it as true. When they say, "I love you," you're like, "Okay, this means something."

• 20:50Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 20:51Lewis Howes?

  Deeper than just, "I love you, friend."

• 20:53Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 20:54Lewis Howes?

  Friendly thing.

• 20:54Speaker 01

  Or, "I love you if this continues to be lucrative for me," or whatever. So I guess that plays into what I said about like not taking things personally, but discernment, like developing discernment, I think, from a young age.

• 21:08Lewis Howes?

  I feel like you just have to go through heartache to experience and learn discernment.

• 21:12Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 21:13Lewis Howes?

  It's hard to get, be discerning without going through the challenges, I feel like.

• 21:17Speaker 01

  I agree.

• 21:17Lewis Howes?

  Without people hurting you or disappointing you or expectations not being met.

• 21:21Speaker 01

  I agree.

• 21:21Lewis Howes?

  You gotta go through it. Unfortunately, you had to go through it at an extreme level of probably betrayal and backstabbing and who knows what.

• 21:28Speaker 01

  And then to answer your question, I think the lesson that I've learned, like, from 18 to now in the last 10 years is- Nobody is.

• 21:39Speaker 01

  You have to save yourself, like you. You can change your story, you can change your narrative whenever you want, like. You can be. You can be a victor, you can have victory over. Your circumstances and you don't have to be a product of. Your family of origin or. Whatever cards were dealt to you. You create whatever type of life you want and it can be amazing.

• 22:06Lewis Howes?

  Do you feel like no one was there to save you, you mean, or no one was there really had your back or is gonna help you? You had to help yourself?

• 22:12Speaker 01

  I do, I do feel like I needed to help myself, yeah, I think. That. Maybe there, there was a lack of. I didn't feel supported in my situation, like.

• 22:23Lewis Howes?

  By who? By friends, family, industry people?

• 22:26Speaker 01

  By more industry people, I think they, they just felt like it was this thing that I was never gonna get out of. So they, they just were like. She's a smart girl, maybe she'll go off to college and.

• 22:35Lewis Howes?

  She had a nice run.

• 22:37Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 22:37Lewis Howes?

  And we're on to the next.

• 22:39Speaker 01

  On to the next.

• 22:39Lewis Howes?

  And the next young product.

• 22:41Speaker 01

  Exactly.

• 22:41Lewis Howes?

  Wow.

• 22:42Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 22:43Lewis Howes?

  Probably makes you feel a little used.

• 22:45Speaker 01

  I guess so. Yeah, it just made me feel. What is my worth if I'm not that?

• 22:54Lewis Howes?

  So how did you learn to create your own self-worth? When people in the industry didn't think you were as valuable? For a period of time.

• 23:02Speaker 01

  I had to. So much. Trial and error and introspection and. Seeking God in different ways. And. I think. Focusing my energy in different places, whether it was like. Learning how to be in a relationship or. Um, exploring different interests of mine.

• 23:26Speaker 01

  Working on myself, becoming a student again of a voice, like studying how to sing properly for the first time because things that come naturally to me. I needed to be proud of myself in different areas. I needed to have little things that I could be like, okay, I'm making progress in this area. Or even like, I was asthmatic as a kid and um, over the past few years, I've like gotten really into fitness and wellness and now I can, this is a thing for me. Now I can run a mile and that's good. And I eventually want to do a 5K and maybe one day do a marathon like I have to just have these incremental goals that um, that make me feel like

• 24:11Speaker 01

  I'm capable and really whatever I put my mind to, I can

• 24:18Lewis Howes?

  Yeah.

• 24:18Speaker 01

  see.

• 24:19Lewis Howes?

  For young girls, you know, teenagers or pre-teens in the social media world that deal with a lot of comparison, that deal with a lot of they're not sexy enough or good enough or talented enough. What advice would you have for them to develop self-worth throughout their teens and twenties?

• 24:37Speaker 01

  Comparison is the thief of joy.

• 24:38Lewis Howes?

  Yeah. Einstein's right. He said that, I think.

• 24:41Speaker 01

  I think so. I love Einstein.

• 24:43Lewis Howes?

  It robs you.

• 24:44Speaker 01

  It robs you of joy.

• 24:45Lewis Howes?

  So much.

• 24:46Speaker 01

  We, we get to make a choice about how we see things and I think social media can be really detrimental, especially to an impressionable mind. And I'm, I'm not um, I'm not above that. Like I'm still have the capacity to be hurt by things and be, you know, have impressions laid on me, but particularly for younger girls, I would say turn off the comments maybe like you cannot have your self-worth attached to the number of likes you get or to what boys respond to or what girls respond to or you have to find a way to feel good about yourself and

• 25:29Lewis Howes?

  How can they do that?

• 25:30Speaker 01

  I know, I know.

• 25:32Lewis Howes?

  If you could go back to fourteen, fifteen, sixteen, JoJo, what would you say to her about developing self-worth? That wasn't attached to accomplishments, likes, boys flirting with you? All those things. Is it mastering of a new skill like? Like you said, is finding a goal and seeing yourself overcome something challenging?

• 25:51Speaker 01

  It's, it's like When you make a commitment to yourself about something, it's seeing that through, honoring that.

• 26:01Speaker 01

  Being a good person, I think, is the most rewarding feeling. Being a good friend, knowing that you are somebody who people can rely on and lean on. And making yourself proud, though. Like, I don't think that

• 26:21Speaker 01

  girls are really feeling proud of like sexualization of them, of like, I don't think that makes them, it's not gonna bolster your self-worth. So whatever that might be, work on things outside of the exterior, whether it's you

• 26:43Speaker 01

  finding a hobby that you love, or

• 26:47Speaker 01

  reading, or religion, spirituality, whatever.

• 26:54Speaker 01

  Try to just really cultivate all the parts of you that make you unique, because

• 27:02Speaker 01

  it's so much doper to be yourself. Like, that radiates in such a wonderful way. When you get to know yourself, when you spend time in solitude,

• 27:14Speaker 01

  and as a teenager, you probably don't wanna spend time in solitude, you wanna be social and stuff, but you gotta like who you are. And again, I guess I don't really have the best advice as to how to do that, but journaling is a great idea, a great stream of consciousness. See what's in your mind, and and it's okay if some insecure thoughts come in, but you can take responsibility for that second thought and say, "That's not true." Comparison is the thief of joy. I still do it sometimes, but I really check myself now. I pay attention to what thoughts are coming in my head, and I I try to replace them with something else.

• 27:53Lewis Howes?

  Really? Did you always do that?

• 27:55Speaker 01

  No.

• 27:55Lewis Howes?

  Did you just allow negative thoughts to kind of run your mind for a while?

• 27:58Speaker 01

  Yes, and I've been on this like a journey of trying to just consume inspiring stuff like your podcast. And I love Oprah's Super Soul Conversations. I love reading Wayne Dyer, I love Tony Robbins. I mean, all this stuff is are really great tools. And I don't know that I would have utilized it as much as a teenager. I think that just with time, I was just like, I really want to take more responsibility for my projection of like how I see myself and what I want for myself in the future.

• 28:30Lewis Howes?

  Yeah.

• 28:31Speaker 01

  So, these are just tools that I've tried to adopt through listening to people who I respect, who have done great things, and I guess modeling what they're they're talking about.

• 28:43Lewis Howes?

  What is the challenge you face with being in an intimate relationship? As someone with fame and touring and opportunities, how do you navigate that? Being in relationships?

• 28:55Speaker 01

  I can be a really great girlfriend, and I can also be very selfish.

• 28:59Lewis Howes?

  You have to be if you want to achieve something at this level, right?

• 29:03Speaker 01

  I think so.

• 29:04Lewis Howes?

  You have to be selfish to put time and energy into mastering your craft.

• 29:09Speaker 01

  Right.

• 29:09Lewis Howes?

  Touring, all the things you've got to do.

• 29:12Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 29:12Lewis Howes?

  So there's periods of time where you've got to be really selfish.

• 29:14Speaker 01

  And that can be a challenge when you're trying to cultivate something meaningful.

• 29:18Lewis Howes?

  So how do you do it?

• 29:20Speaker 01

  I have made so many mistakes along the way. And I think I'm just learning how to be in a relationship with myself. I think what was Emma, I forget her last name, but she plays Hermione. And she she said that she's in a self, she's self-partnered. Watson, there you go.

• 29:38Lewis Howes?

  Emma Watson, yeah. She's amazing.

• 29:40Speaker 01

  I love what she said about being self-partnered.

• 29:42Lewis Howes?

  She said she's in a self-relationship, right?

• 29:44Speaker 01

  She's self-partnered.

• 29:44Lewis Howes?

  It's amazing.

• 29:45Speaker 01

  Because I didn't trust myself in relationships. Because, so I'm single right now and I'm self-partnered. But I didn't trust myself because I knew that I was. Because of the insecurities that I was, that I mentioned a little bit, that I had developed and the anxiety about not being, you know, as desirable in the marketplace or whatever, I knew that I had the potential to seek validation through the attention of other men.

• 30:10Lewis Howes?

  Wow.

• 30:11Speaker 01

  And

• 30:12Lewis Howes?

  Because it feels good.

• 30:13Speaker 01

  Because it feels good. It made me feel high. And it's not that I would, well, even if this was what I did, this just wasn't what I did, but even if I was sleeping with a bunch of people, which wasn't the case, it was just like, I would allow myself to entertain. When it wasn't appropriate.

• 30:30Lewis Howes?

  Yeah, yeah.

• 30:31Speaker 01

  And I, I learned like, that that's really not cool. It's not cool. It's not something I can look at myself in the mirror and feel good about. So, how do I, how do I balance? I think, so I'm sorry. FaceTime is a game changer, as I'm sure you know, being in a long distance.

• 30:46Lewis Howes?

  I was just in a long distance relationship for like, 10 months. And she just moved in.

• 30:50Speaker 01

  Okay.

• 30:51Lewis Howes?

  Like a week ago.

• 30:52Speaker 01

  Woo!

• 30:52Lewis Howes?

  Yeah, Christmas Day, actually.

• 30:54Speaker 01

  Merry Christmas.

• 30:55Lewis Howes?

  FaceTime was a game changer. It was like every day for, you know, a few times a day, we'd check in for 10, 20 minutes or whatever. And I don't think we'd be together without FaceTime.

• 31:04Speaker 01

  Yo, thank God for FaceTime. Like,

• 31:06Lewis Howes?

  Game changer.

• 31:07Speaker 01

  I was, um, I loved to tour. I loved being on the road. And it was really nice to, when I was in my last relationship, be able to like, take him with me when he couldn't, you know, be there all the time. Yeah. Here's my sound guy, Erz says what's up, like, you know, and just, he was able to develop relationships with my crew even when he wasn't there. And that's so meaningful to me because I love to integrate my, my worlds, like my friends and family and my boo and, you know, all of it.

• 31:35Lewis Howes?

  That's great.

• 31:36Speaker 01

  Yeah, so FaceTime is a game changer.

• 31:37Lewis Howes?

  Do you feel like, in the future, I, I don't know, you've probably seen relationships with musicians, most of them not work and some of them, maybe they do work. Do you have to almost tour with people for periods of time in order to make it work? Or does that make it worse?

• 31:54Speaker 01

  Oh, you mean if you're dating a person and you guys are like, on a tour together?

• 31:58Lewis Howes?

  Do you need to be like, if you're on tour for a year?

• 32:00Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 32:01Lewis Howes?

  And you only see them like, two months or something, is that gonna work? Or does a person need to go on tour with you for periods of time? If you're gonna make this work? What have you seen with other people in the industry? Because it seems like most musicians don't work out.

• 32:15Speaker 01

  I know, it's really tough.

• 32:16Lewis Howes?

  Are there any? I mean, I don't even know.

• 32:18Speaker 01

  Two.

• 32:18Lewis Howes?

  Jay-Z maybe and Beyonce?

• 32:20Speaker 01

  Right, right, and they, you know, co-headline tours together. They, it's so ill. I mean, the fact that they're able to bring their family with them. They have the kids. I mean, that's, that's ultimate goals.

• 32:30Lewis Howes?

  But who else is married after 10 years?

• 32:33Speaker 01

  I mean, Faith Hill and Tim McGraw. It's really, really cool.

• 32:36Lewis Howes?

  But they probably travel a little bit too, don't they? Or no?

• 32:38Speaker 01

  I don't know. I don't know what their, their touring life is. But I think that anything you really want to dedicate yourself to, if you're really committed to, to it.

• 32:48Lewis Howes?

  You'll figure it out.

• 32:48Speaker 01

  You'll figure it out. But I, I don't want to go, I personally don't want to go six weeks without seeing my person.

• 32:54Lewis Howes?

  I can't go more than two and a half. It's about the limit for me. Two weeks, that's what I did. Every two weeks, we would visit. I would visit Mexico City a lot. I was there 15 times this last year.

• 33:03Speaker 01

  Wow. See, y'all made it work.

• 33:05Lewis Howes?

  And then she was able to come out towards the end of her job. She was had some time off, so she came to visit me more. But it's rough. After three weeks, it's kind of like.

• 33:14Speaker 01

  I know.

• 33:15Lewis Howes?

  Out of sight, it gets like.

• 33:16Speaker 01

  It can get really prickly.

• 33:18Lewis Howes?

  And then I don't like being on the phone. I'm like sick of.

• 33:20Speaker 01

  I don't like being on the phone either.

• 33:21Lewis Howes?

  I don't want to be alone.

• 33:23Speaker 01

  I don't like being on the phone, but I need to feel connected. And I need, I need that skin-to-skin contact too. I need to like be able to hold your hand and like.

• 33:30Lewis Howes?

  Hug you.

• 33:31Speaker 01

  Are you a real person? So I think that like when I think about my, my future, my ideal situation, I would love for them to be able to come out a few times. But also, he needs to have his own, his total own thing in life.

• 33:45Lewis Howes?

  Because if he's just touring with you and just there.

• 33:47Speaker 01

  I don't respect that.

• 33:47Lewis Howes?

  It's not sexy, it's not.

• 33:49Speaker 01

  It's not sexy.

• 33:49Lewis Howes?

  You want him to have his own thing.

• 33:51Speaker 01

  Yes, yes, so.

• 33:53Lewis Howes?

  You want to, respect is one of the most powerful things in a relationship. When you lose respect, it's over, I feel like.

• 33:59Speaker 01

  It's true.

• 33:59Lewis Howes?

  And you respect someone based on how they're following their career or their dreams or how they're taking care of themselves. Not because they need you.

• 34:07Speaker 01

  Exactly. Even if they establish boundaries in their life. I won't be able to come see you because I'm finishing this project. Or I have to be over here or whatever. Like, as annoying as it is, that's hot.

• 34:19Lewis Howes?

  Yeah.

• 34:19Speaker 01

  I like that.

• 34:20Lewis Howes?

  Sexy, right?

• 34:21Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 34:21Lewis Howes?

  You're like, dang, go do your thing.

• 34:22Speaker 01

  And it's inspiring, yeah, go, go, go do your thing.

• 34:24Lewis Howes?

  That's cool.

• 34:25Speaker 01

  So, it's, but until then, until that moment, that self-partnership is something I'm really working on. Because I just wanna feel totally comfortable with, in this skin. And date myself, like, take my, you know, I take myself to go hear live music, or to the opera, or I'm honoring what feels good.

• 34:46Lewis Howes?

  That's amazing.

• 34:46Speaker 01

  And that feels nice.

• 34:47Lewis Howes?

  I remember in my twenties, I was afraid to be alone for a long time.

• 34:51Speaker 01

  I tell you, I've been a serial monogamist, like.

• 34:53Lewis Howes?

  I needed to be in a relationship or with someone, like constantly. And then there was a period of time where I just said, this is crippling me.

• 35:01Speaker 01

  Yes.

• 35:01Lewis Howes?

  It's crippling me, like the insecurity of being alone.

• 35:04Speaker 01

  Yes.

• 35:04Lewis Howes?

  So for a couple of years, I said, I'm gonna be alone for everything. I'm gonna go to the movies alone, dinner alone, lunch alone.

• 35:11Speaker 01

  Wow, you took it to the extreme.

• 35:12Lewis Howes?

  And I, I do everything extreme, yeah. It's like, I'm going to do this Wim Hof thing, right? And it was the best time, the first few months was the most miserable. But then after six months, a year, I just wanted to be alone all the time.

• 35:24Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 35:24Lewis Howes?

  I fell in love with my, my thoughts, with, like, just connecting with people out, but not needing a partner.

• 35:32Speaker 01

  I know, I think I know exactly what you mean.

• 35:34Lewis Howes?

  It's amazing feeling.

• 35:35Speaker 01

  A few years ago, I started taking these solo retreats, kinda self-guided. And the first time I did it, um, I went to, I just went to the beach, just right here, rented an Airbnb and was silent for the week.

• 35:47Lewis Howes?

  Wow.

• 35:48Speaker 01

  And just.

• 35:48Lewis Howes?

  No phone, or?

• 35:49Speaker 01

  No phone, I was just journaling, reading, and listening to music. And, like, I got all my groceries and just, like, ate everything in. Just was in nature, and it was a really, it was a gift to myself. And then I started doing that at least once a year. So I went to Sedona, um, that's like my favorite place to go do that. And Joshua Tree, I love these places that feel real energetic. Um, but while I was making this, this album that's coming out this year, I was actually committed to.

• 36:25Speaker 01

  Not dating anyone and being abstinent and just I was like.

• 36:31Lewis Howes?

  For how long?

• 36:33Speaker 01

  For like ten months.

• 36:34Lewis Howes?

  Wow.

• 36:35Speaker 01

  Um, because I wanted to prove to myself that it was all good. It was cool to do. And I also think that um, may- maybe more so uh as as a woman. Or me as a me, I just didn't wanna share any power with with anybody else. I wanted all my creativity and all my sensuality and all that passion to be channeled into music. I didn't want it to be split up at all.

• 37:02Lewis Howes?

  How do you think it worked out?

• 37:03Speaker 01

  I think it's great. I love this music and I think it was, it made me feel even more feminine actually to not be with anybody and to like, I just loved saying yes to dates but saying no to anything else.

• 37:17Lewis Howes?

  Yeah. So you go have fun and hang out and.

• 37:19Speaker 01

  Yeah, I could be friends and stuff, but I just um, really wanted to to keep that to myself for a while and I think it helped the music actually.

• 37:26Lewis Howes?

  Hmm, I have friends who've gone years or months without.

• 37:31Speaker 01

  God bless them.

• 37:31Lewis Howes?

  Sex, right? And they always seem to create the most beautiful works of art in that time of channeling their energy towards that thing and not spreading it around in other ways, whether it be sex or drugs or alcohol, like everything, right? I think it's really powerful when when people can do that because you can create some great stuff.

• 37:50Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 37:51Lewis Howes?

  I'm curious, when was the moment or moments that were the most powerful for you on stage? Do you remember like, I don't know, New York City or Sydney or wherever you were just like, wow, it was electric. You came off the stage, you thought you had your best vocal performance, your best emotional performance. Are there any of those that you have?

• 38:11Speaker 01

  Yeah, there's a couple that I wanna highlight. When I was a teenager, I was in Brazil. It was my first time like playing a stadium. It was a festival, my first festival.

• 38:20Lewis Howes?

  Well, like a hundred thousand people, fifty thousand people.

• 38:22Speaker 01

  Yeah, like a soccer stadium, you know, however many that is.

• 38:24Lewis Howes?

  Oh my gosh.

• 38:25Speaker 01

  And what was so moving for me was just the power of music and how it, cause it wasn't like Rio, it wasn't one of the major cities. It was a smaller, it was a big city, but it was a smaller city. Where not everybody spoke English and just to hear the audience singing the words of my songs back to me.

• 38:43Lewis Howes?

  Really?

• 38:44Speaker 01

  Yeah, like.

• 38:45Lewis Howes?

  They didn't speak English probably.

• 38:46Speaker 01

  Yeah, I mean, I didn't. I certainly don't speak Portuguese. I was just so moved that even like the the deeper cuts um from from my albums, they were singing. I was just like, wow, music is so powerful, bringing people together from all around the world. And it just feels good. You don't even know what it means necessarily. Like, there's this artist, Rosalia, and she sings in, I'm pretty sure she sings in Spanish. And I don't know what she's saying, but it's just so beautiful and so moving. And then a very special moment I had a couple tours ago, um, my father had just passed, and I was just starting a tour. And I was just so devastated.

• 39:28Speaker 01

  I wasn't sure how I was gonna put on any type of good show, like, at all, because I was just so fragile. I just wanted to cry constantly. And I have this song that's about my dad that I was performing in my set. And when I did break down for the first time.

• 39:47Lewis Howes?

  On stage?

• 39:48Speaker 01

  On stage.

• 39:49Lewis Howes?

  How do you even sing it, right?

• 39:50Speaker 01

  I didn't sound good. I sounded like a like a turkey, like dying. And so I just took a moment and the audience sang it sang it for me to me. And it was just like out of a movie. Like, I just saw Judy, the movie about Judy Garland, and I think she she got choked up on stage and and the audience. And someone was saying, that seems so unrealistic. I'm like, it's not. It's not unrealistic. It happened. And it's happened a few times. Like, if I've lost my voice, if I've, you know, overdone it or something with the schedule. And that's just

• 40:24Lewis Howes?

  They'll sing it for you.

• 40:25Speaker 01

  My fans are off the chain. They are so amazing. So I'll never forget that because I I they kept me going during that time. And I was able to to finish the tour because during the meet and greets, they would come up to me and and share their stories and the connection.

• 40:44Speaker 01

  Just the humanness. I just love being, I love this human experience. It's so wild.

• 40:48Lewis Howes?

  Amazing.

• 40:49Speaker 01

  Yeah, people are really beautiful.

• 40:51Lewis Howes?

  Beautiful people. I'm curious, so this was what, fifteen, sixteen in Brazil?

• 40:55Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 40:56Lewis Howes?

  And then?

• 40:57Speaker 01

  Sixteen, seventeen.

• 40:58Lewis Howes?

  What, twenty-six?

• 40:59Speaker 01

  Yeah, twenty-five.

• 41:01Lewis Howes?

  So a ten-year gap essentially. One is at the height of your career, one is at a low moment in your personal life. What was the routine like on both of those days, if you remember? Like, the two hours before or the morning of to have this massive experience in Brazil? And also this emotional experience?

• 41:24Speaker 01

  So, that was my first time to the country of Brazil. And trying to think of the routine. It felt very standard, you know, you'd go in for soundcheck. You'd do, musicians are doing their thing and meet and greet and...

• 41:38Lewis Howes?

  Before, right?

• 41:39Speaker 01

  Yeah, meet and greet before, doing your radio obligations and stuff. I, I was much less, I took like my vocal health a lot less seriously as a teenager because it just came to me.

• 41:50Lewis Howes?

  It was like, I can just sing whatever.

• 41:51Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 41:51Lewis Howes?

  Ten minutes to warm up.

• 41:52Speaker 01

  I didn't work out. There was nothing like that. So...

• 41:55Lewis Howes?

  Eat whatever, dairy, you're, yeah.

• 41:57Speaker 01

  Exactly. I was just doing whatever I wanted. So my, my preparation now before shows looks a lot different. Like, I really like to hype myself up. I like to work out when I'm on the road. Um, I like to find a local coffee shop. These are just things that ground me and make me feel happy. And I do warm-ups before and then I warm down after. And that's just something that, because routine is important. And, and because I didn't have like a normal childhood, I didn't really have routine. So I've learned about routines actually through watching other people, watching people on YouTube. Like, what's your healthy nighttime routine? Because I'm still looking at my phone, you know? I just had to like develop these things, but...

• 42:40Lewis Howes?

  What's a non-negotiable for you on a day of a performance?

• 42:45Speaker 01

  A non-negotiable is getting my heart rate up.

• 42:48Lewis Howes?

  Like a workout or?

• 42:49Speaker 01

  A workout is ideal, but even if I can't get a full workout in, I will watch something on YouTube and like follow that. And even if it's just some pushups and situps, like I have to feel strong. I have to feel physically capable. I have to stretch. Yeah, I think feeling physically strong because as a singer, it's a muscular thing as well. And I just feel more powerful when I feel strong and agile and flexible.

• 43:16Lewis Howes?

  I tell you what, there's something about singing that when you, I started taking vocal lessons last year.

• 43:22Speaker 01

  Who are you training with? Someone out here?

• 43:24Lewis Howes?

  Uh, yeah. Um, gosh, what am I forgetting her name? Valerie Morehouse? Is it Morehouse?

• 43:29Speaker 01

  Valerie.

• 43:30Lewis Howes?

  Is it Val?

• 43:31Speaker 01

  Hold on, I think I've seen her.

• 43:33Lewis Howes?

  Yeah, she was like Sia.

• 43:35Speaker 01

  Does she do vocal manipulation? Or maybe it's someone else.

• 43:38Lewis Howes?

  Oh, my gosh.

• 43:39Speaker 01

  But good for you. Are you trying to get into voiceover?

• 43:41Lewis Howes?

  No, no, I just wanted to like, challenge myself.

• 43:44Speaker 01

  Okay.

• 43:45Lewis Howes?

  Because I'm afraid to sing in public and I like never do it.

• 43:48Speaker 01

  Ooh, I can't wait.

• 43:49Lewis Howes?

  So I was like, okay, I want to work, because I, I think that building self-worth is when we like, challenge ourselves on our fears. So every year I try to do something new that I'm afraid of or just like not fully comfortable or confident with. And singing has always been something where I can play like campfire songs on, you know, guitar a little bit and not that good. But it's never felt like I had control over my voice. And the more I use it on the podcast, like I start to lose it after a couple hours, like two or three interviews in a row, I feel like a scratchy.

• 44:20Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 44:21Lewis Howes?

  So I was like, let me just go do some lessons and see what I can learn.

• 44:23Speaker 01

  And strengthen those, those muscles around.

• 44:26Lewis Howes?

  So I need to go back and start doing, I probably did it for three months. And it was powerful because I recorded every session. I have it on my phone. The first few, I'm like dripping sweat, so nervous singing to this teacher. And then by month three, I just have so much more confidence and poise and grace and control.

• 44:44Speaker 01

  Good for you for subjecting yourself to that when it's not like you had like something coming up where you're like, I need to prepare for this.

• 44:52Lewis Howes?

  No.

• 44:52Speaker 01

  That's cool.

• 44:53Lewis Howes?

  I just want to challenge myself.

• 44:54Speaker 01

  I love the idea of facing fears too, because then. It just, the way, if you do this in one area, you can do it in any area.

• 45:02Lewis Howes?

  Yeah.

• 45:03Speaker 01

  My friend asked me if I wanted to go skydiving and like, no, no, I don't, but like, I should.

• 45:07Lewis Howes?

  Did you do it?

• 45:08Speaker 01

  No, we were gonna go. He's super sick right now, but we're, we're gonna go. I'm gonna do it.

• 45:12Lewis Howes?

  You are?

• 45:13Speaker 01

  Terrified, but I wanna do it because, you know, just wanna take that leap.

• 45:18Lewis Howes?

  That's scary. My girlfriend wants to do it so bad.

• 45:20Speaker 01

  Are you gonna do it?

• 45:21Lewis Howes?

  I'm like, I don't wanna do it.

• 45:22Speaker 01

  Why?

• 45:23Lewis Howes?

  I think it's-

• 45:24Speaker 01

  But you wanna go climb the Alps with Iceman? You crazy.

• 45:28Lewis Howes?

  It's just much more of a, I think it's just, it's a bigger risk of a fear. I feel like-

• 45:33Speaker 01

  Skydiving?

• 45:34Lewis Howes?

  There's more of a risk. What if it doesn't open up? And I also get really nauseous with like roller coasters. I get really dizzy, seasick.

• 45:42Speaker 01

  You don't wanna throw up all of yourself in the sky.

• 45:45Lewis Howes?

  Here's the thing, I did, I faced a big fear two years ago. I went on Blue Angels, like a Navy jet, which is like this, you know, we went like six G, like they're going upside down. It's like a crazy jet. And no space bubble with a pilot in front of me, like a, like from Top Gun, a jet like that. So I went in one of those. And it was the most miserable, I did it because it was a fear of mine. And it was the most miserable-

• 46:13Speaker 01

  You regretted it?

• 46:14Lewis Howes?

  For three days afterwards, my equilibrium was off. I couldn't, I was just laying in the fetal position. Because it took so much energy out of me. The dizziness, I threw up twice in the plane. It was just like, get me out. And so I just don't wanna put myself through something like that.

• 46:29Speaker 01

  Yeah, you, you know yourself. You know what's not gonna be worth it.

• 46:32Lewis Howes?

  I tried it, you know, but I think one day I'm gonna have to jump out of a plane. I just don't wanna die not trying it. I just don't know if it's this year.

• 46:40Speaker 01

  You also don't wanna die trying it.

• 46:41Lewis Howes?

  I don't wanna die trying it. I wanna do some more stuff in my life first. So we'll see. She really wants to do it, but maybe, maybe when you do it, I'll be inspired by watching your video.

• 46:49Speaker 01

  I'm definitely hoping that there's a GoPro strapped to me and that when I pass out, it'll be chronicled. But, but yeah, I just like, wanna, I wanna face those fears and push through because I really believe in, in pushing through.

• 47:03Lewis Howes?

  What is the goal for your new decade? You're about to hit thirty in a year.

• 47:07Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 47:08Lewis Howes?

  And it's a new decade. It's a new decade in the world and it's almost a decade for you.

• 47:13Speaker 01

  Yeah, this is the last year of my twenties, so better make it count.

• 47:15Lewis Howes?

  What's the, what's the vision moving forward? You've had so much in your teens and twenties, ups and downs.

• 47:21Speaker 01

  The vision moving forward is to put out the best music of my career and to touch as many people as possible through my music. And then find a way to, to make things a little bit less about me in other areas of my life. I really want to get involved in volunteering with, with charity and, and I, I want to do it in a meaningful way, other than just singing at an event or lending money. And I need to get clear on what that is. And, and for me, it's about making myself proud, like I mentioned.

• 47:54Lewis Howes?

  What would it take for you to make yourself more proud?

• 47:56Speaker 01

  Well, preparedness is, is a big thing and I, I love to prepare. I love to feel good about that, but like, I want to be impressed with my performances. I want to be impressed with my, my voice and I want to do everything I can to set myself up to, to be happy with it because I am so hard on myself.

• 48:12Lewis Howes?

  You have one of the best voices in the world. How are you not impressed?

• 48:14Speaker 01

  Thank you for saying that. I'm not. I am, I don't think.

• 48:16Lewis Howes?

  You're not impressed with your voice?

• 48:17Speaker 01

  Most times I'm not. I mean, I will walk off stage and be like, God, why do I suck so much?

• 48:23Lewis Howes?

  Really?

• 48:24Speaker 01

  Yeah, yeah, because I, I just don't think about, because I'm able to celebrate the greatness of other people. Like, I'm like, oh my gosh, the voice on this woman and her stage presence and blah, blah, blah.

• 48:34Lewis Howes?

  Who's got the best voices out right now?

• 48:36Speaker 01

  Best voices.

• 48:37Lewis Howes?

  Then you admire.

• 48:39Speaker 01

  I mean, all, all around Beyonce is the strongest entertainer and singer that's alive. I just think she's so incredible. There are a lot of great voices right now. I think Ariana Grande has an amazing voice.

• 48:50Lewis Howes?

  She's amazing.

• 48:51Speaker 01

  I think there, I mean, my girl Tori Kelly.

• 48:55Lewis Howes?

  Tori is unreal.

• 48:56Speaker 01

  Demi Lovato, Jessie J. There are some great, great voices.

• 49:00Lewis Howes?

  Jessie J, yeah. Sia.

• 49:01Speaker 01

  Yeah, Sia. So many. So I can just.

• 49:05Speaker 01

  When people are like, "Oh, it's not a good time for music," or "People aren't singing," I'm like, "Are you listening? Because there's some dope stuff going on." So, anyway, I want to be proud of what I'm putting out, and I want the music to reach as many people as possible. So, I want to tour more internationally, I want to tour more here, and continue to make myself proud.

• 49:27Lewis Howes?

  I'm gonna throw something at you and see if you're into it.

• 49:30Speaker 01

  Okay.

• 49:31Lewis Howes?

  Would you be open to sharing, from your teens, your twenties, and now into the next decade, three different lyrics that define those decades for you?

• 49:44Speaker 01

  Ooh, wow.

• 49:45Lewis Howes?

  So, from your teen decade, what's like a sentence or a line from one of your songs or a song that you like in the world?

• 49:53Speaker 01

  Okay.

• 49:54Lewis Howes?

  That defines that decade? Then another song, line, or chorus, or whatever, for twenties?

• 50:03Speaker 01

  This is cool.

• 50:04Lewis Howes?

  And then, your vision for what you want to create? Whether this is a song that you have, or a Beyoncé song, or whatever, that's the next decade for you? And, would you be open to singing?

• 50:15Speaker 01

  Singing them, yeah.

• 50:17Lewis Howes?

  Does that have to be the whole song? But just like a line, or like a chorus?

• 50:20Speaker 01

  I would think that my teenage years were like... I mean, this song will probably never... It's always gonna be with me, but it would probably be, "Get up right now," because I had to... I feel like that chapter was defined by that song, and a little too late as well, but trying to move away from it, and then also having to actually, like, have that lawsuit and get things out of the way. And then, for this current decade that I'm in?

• 50:59Lewis Howes?

  Twenties.

• 50:59Speaker 01

  Twenties.

• 51:00Lewis Howes?

  What is the...

• 51:01Speaker 01

  What has that been? That has been like, maybe a Joni Mitchell lyric.

• 51:04Lewis Howes?

  Oh, man. "Case of You" is my favorite Joni Mitchell song.

• 51:08Speaker 01

  I drink case of you.

• 51:16Lewis Howes?

  Still be on my feet.

• 51:17Speaker 01

  I would still be on my feet.

• 51:20Lewis Howes?

  What a song. Gosh. Her song with River too?

• 51:23Speaker 01

  Oh, I would.

• 51:25Lewis Howes?

  Oh my gosh.

• 51:26Speaker 01

  I wish I had a river.

• 51:27Lewis Howes?

  Oh my gosh.

• 51:32Lewis Howes?

  She's so good.

• 51:33Speaker 01

  Maybe, okay, I think I've just like come to terms with, I love this lyric from Free Man in Paris, which is like,

• 51:44Speaker 01

  "The way I see it, he say you just can't win it. Everybody's in it for their own gain, you can't please them all. There's always somebody calling you down. I do my best and I do good business. There's a lot of people asking for my time, trying to get ahead, trying to be a good friend of mine. But, but I was a free man in Paris. I felt unfettered and alive." Anyway, it's about finding freedom, finding your personal freedom, your personal sanctuary. For her, that's Paris. For me, that's Sedona, or that's like driving to the beach. Just kind of realizing that people are gonna do what they're gonna do, but like,

• 52:30Speaker 01

  you, you can put yourself in a bubble and, and find freedom even if you feel like a caged bird.

• 52:37Lewis Howes?

  Wow.

• 52:38Speaker 01

  And my, my vision for the future would be.

• 52:42Lewis Howes?

  We will rock you.

• 52:45Speaker 01

  I don't know, the first thing that comes to mind, and this is probably silly, but it's like Beyonce, "I'm feeling myself, I'm feeling myself, I'm feeling my, I'm feeling myself." You know, I just wanna, wanna continue to sink into who I am, and I hear that the 30s are even better. You know, as I'm approaching the end of my, you know, my twenties, I'm getting more comfortable and I'm giving less Fs. And I just wanna, you know.

• 53:11Speaker 01

  I want that confidence to, I want to keep riding that wave.

• 53:13Lewis Howes?

  Hmm, I love those. Those are good. I love those.

• 53:16Speaker 01

  Thanks.

• 53:18Lewis Howes?

  Imagine this is your last day on this planet and you're a hundred and something years old. And your voice is even better.

• 53:27Speaker 01

  Oh my man.

• 53:28Lewis Howes?

  It's, it gets better every year and stronger and more feminine and powerful, everything. And the entire world puts on headphones. And they get to listen to you for 30 seconds. And you have to sing something that would be a reflection of your entire life or something that you would want the world to, to listen to you for the last time. What would be something that you would sing that if everyone put the headphones on and they got to listen to you for 30 seconds in one moment of time and it's your last day? What would you want the world to hear?

• 54:08Speaker 01

  That is a really hard question. I want to have, I want to have them, I want to say the right thing and really consider this.

• 54:18Speaker 01

  What would it be? Maybe, I would, I would want people to feel the love that I have for, for other people and for music. And I, the first thing that, that comes to mind is the song I have from my album Mad Love, which is called Music. And the chorus is, it's like, "Tell me who, who would I be without you? No matter how much we lose, every night I bet my life on you. Tell me who, who would I be without you? Would I be without you?

• 55:03Speaker 01

  No matter how much we lose, every night I bet my life on you. Who would I be without you?" I can't disconnect my life from music and from how it saved me so many times. That I would want to share.

• 55:24Speaker 01

  With people, the gift that music can be and just remind them that it's always there for them and that even when you feel like you're completely alone or misunderstood, there is someone who has had the same feeling that you've had.

• 55:35Lewis Howes?

  Yeah.

• 55:35Speaker 01

  And that's one of the most powerful things about music.

• 55:39Lewis Howes?

  That's powerful. What's your biggest fear going into the next decade?

• 55:43Speaker 01

  Not realizing my potential.

• 55:45Lewis Howes?

  Hmm.

• 55:46Speaker 01

  Yeah, I think that's my biggest fear.

• 55:48Lewis Howes?

  What is your potential?

• 55:50Speaker 01

  Endless. I know that whatever I really focus my energy on, I can, I can see to fruition. And it's just about getting really intentional and writing things down and following through. So I guess it would be being too scattered around to where I don't really check all the boxes and cross all the Ts and dot all the Is and stuff.

• 56:15Lewis Howes?

  That's like the creative artist way, right?

• 56:16Speaker 01

  Yeah, because you get too excited about things and I don't... So I, I just want to see things through to the end. I want to finish.

• 56:23Lewis Howes?

  What would help you get to that next level for you in the next decade? Is it the right team? Is it a skill that you take on for yourself? Is it, what is that thing, do you think? That's going to really set you up for the potential you want to reach?

• 56:38Speaker 01

  I think I'm on the right path. I think I'm equipping, I have a great team around me, wonderful, positive people who we all encourage and inspire one another and we're all great in our own respects. When I'm thinking about my managers and my agents and those who work with us and stuff. But I think that just strengthening my mind-body connection, getting deeper into my connection with, with God, spirituality, I think that that will help bring more clarity because sometimes I can get just excited about ideas but not know exactly how to, how to execute it.

• 57:17Speaker 01

  So continuing to ask for help, knowing that I have so much more to learn in, in other things. I'd like to be more of a businesswoman than I, than I, than I have been. I have a joint venture right now, a partnership with Warner. My label is called Clover. And I want to be instrumental in other young artists' careers. I want to maybe help them avoid some of the... Challenges that I've gone through. So I wanna really walk the walk and be more about it, I guess.

• 57:47Lewis Howes?

  Be more about it. Feel in yourself. I like that. Uh, this question's called the three truths. So again, imagine it's your last day again. You're, you're, you say your song, but now you get to leave behind three lessons that you'd wanna share with the world. Three things that they would have to remember you by if they had no access to your music or content you put out there anymore, but you could share three things that would be your truth for the world. What would you say are yours?

• 58:13Speaker 01

  Everybody has their own unique gift. And it's one of our responsibilities in this life to find out what that is and cultivate it and to be as true to it as possible. So I would, I would say that, that everybody has something very special and unique. If you're here, there's a reason why you're here. So never question that, you know, just, just keep seeking. If, if you don't know, just follow what you're passionate about, maybe, maybe you'll find it in that. Secondly, it's not the end of the world until it's the end of the world. Like you could always dust yourself off and try again. You can always keep going, you know? If you think there's a, there's a period, turn it into a comma. Like it doesn't need to be the end.

• 58:58Speaker 01

  And lastly, surround yourself with people who, who light you up. Like we, we can't accomplish, we can accomplish a lot on our own, but it's so much more wonderful to have people who, um, you, you're strengthening each other. And if, if you're lucky enough to have even just one person who you can be honest with and who will hold you accountable, I think that you have something that's really valuable, something very priceless. So don't compromise just to have a, a friend in your life if they're not giving you that. If they're not really building you up and believing in you and helping you be your, your best self.

• 59:39Lewis Howes?

  It's great. I love this. Simple but practical. I love it.

• 59:42Speaker 01

  I like practical stuff.

• 59:43Lewis Howes?

  I love that. How can we support you moving forward? How can we connect with you? The album's coming out?

• 59:49Speaker 01

  Yes, so I actually just did something kind of weird last year. I rerecorded my first two albums because they weren't available on streaming.

• 59:57Lewis Howes?

  It's crazy.

• 59:58Speaker 01

  So, go check those out in the meantime. They, I made them as close to the original versions as possible. And I just did it out of necessity because they're, they weren't there. So, the, you know, the producers and writers weren't getting compensated. I, nobody was making money from what wasn't there. So...

• 1:00:14Lewis Howes?

  You weren't making any money from those, those songs?

• 1:00:16Speaker 01

  They weren't available for streaming or download.

• 1:00:18Lewis Howes?

  What about like for TV or film or commercials? Nothing? So you couldn't make money off of your IP?

• 1:00:24Speaker 01

  Exactly.

• 1:00:24Lewis Howes?

  That's crazy.

• 1:00:25Speaker 01

  So now I own that, that IP.

• 1:00:27Lewis Howes?

  The newer version?

• 1:00:28Speaker 01

  Yes, I own these masters. And so you will be supporting me directly by...

• 1:00:32Lewis Howes?

  Listening.

• 1:00:33Speaker 01

  By, by listening. And, I mean, I, I love social media. I love connecting with people. Like Instagram is probably where I'm most active. So, follow me. It's IamJoJo. And it's the same on Twitter. IamJoJo. And come see me on tour. Like that is where I feel...

• 1:00:49Lewis Howes?

  I want to watch you live.

• 1:00:50Speaker 01

  So electrified. I can't wait for you to come. You, we will take care of you. Yes.

• 1:00:54Lewis Howes?

  You're gonna do it in L.A. or...

• 1:00:56Speaker 01

  Yeah, do it everywhere. L.A., San Diego, San Francisco. We're, we're routing tours right now. So, 2020, I just can't wait to get back out on the road.

• 1:01:03Lewis Howes?

  What, is that this summer coming up or when is that?

• 1:01:05Speaker 01

  Probably be spring, summer that I'll start really getting out there.

• 1:01:08Lewis Howes?

  Where can they go for, to get tickets or learn about that?

• 1:01:11Speaker 01

  Honestly, just, just follow me on social media. It's all there. I think it's much, I think that's the easiest way to do it. I mean, like websites, like, it's cool.

• 1:01:18Lewis Howes?

  Yeah, yeah. I want to acknowledge you for a moment, JoJo, because you've been through so much emotionally. I just think it's really hard for a teenager to get that much fame and get that much success and attention. And to figure out who you are in the process is very, very challenging. I feel like I'm 36, I'm still going through figuring out who I am. You know, it's, but to do it as a teenager is really challenging. And for you to come out... More graceful, loving, kind, and human, and not a negative bitter person is speaks volumes of you and your character. So I want to acknowledge you for everything you've done to overcome the adversity, the challenges, the lawsuits, the betrayal, because I know

• 1:02:03Lewis Howes?

  how that feels and it's really dark inside sometimes, especially on a platform of your size. So I acknowledge you for

• 1:02:11Speaker 01

  Thank you so much.

• 1:02:11Lewis Howes?

  gracefully moving through it and coming out on the other side in a beautiful way.

• 1:02:17Speaker 01

  Thank you. That made me feel so warm inside. I received that.

• 1:02:20Lewis Howes?

  Yeah, of course. Is there any questions you have before we do the last question?

• 1:02:25Speaker 01

  Any questions I have?

• 1:02:27Lewis Howes?

  Or anything you want to share before we do the last question?

• 1:02:29Speaker 01

  Well, as we're, as we're having this conversation, I don't know when this will come out, but like, did you make any resolutions? What are you resolving to do?

• 1:02:37Lewis Howes?

  You know, I feel like resolutions are very challenging because I try to make a resolution in a moment throughout the year, anytime throughout the year where I feel like something's stuck or off.

• 1:02:49Speaker 01

  Yeah, you can do that anytime.

• 1:02:50Lewis Howes?

  Then I recommit to a new vision. So I don't like to wait till the end of the year and just be like, I'm gonna be sloppy for six months and then now I'll start. So I think I started making resolutions before New Year's, you know, a couple of months ago. But for me, it's, I'm, I'm in a relationship with someone who's Mexican. She speaks Spanish. She's learning, she's pretty fluent in English, but I've always wanted to learn Spanish.

• 1:03:16Speaker 01

  And now you have every incentive to do that.

• 1:03:19Lewis Howes?

  Since I was a teenager, I was studying it for many years and I never picked it up. And I started salsa dancing hardcore 15 years ago. And I've toured all around the world to the best salsa clubs.

• 1:03:31Speaker 01

  Oh, wow.

• 1:03:32Lewis Howes?

  And trained with the best people for like street salsa, salsa club style, not baller of salsa, which is very different.

• 1:03:38Speaker 01

  Sounds fun.

• 1:03:38Lewis Howes?

  Very fun. And like you said, music has been a huge influence in my life. My brother is the number one jazz violinist in the world. So I've watched him growing up play jazz violin with Les Paul in New York City in the best

• 1:03:51Speaker 01

  Oh my goodness.

• 1:03:52Lewis Howes?

  And my sister would sing Joni Mitchell on the guitar when I was growing up. My parents were opera majors at Ohio State.

• 1:04:01Speaker 01

  Oh my God, I didn't realize how musical your background is.

• 1:04:03Lewis Howes?

  I learned guitar at 18 because I felt so ignorant to be the only member of my family not talented.

• 1:04:09Speaker 01

  Because it's a language, you wanted to speak the language a little bit.

• 1:04:12Lewis Howes?

  Have some basic, you know, knowledge.

• 1:04:15Speaker 01

  I respect that, that's cool.

• 1:04:16Lewis Howes?

  Because I appreciate it and I listen to it a lot, so I have a basic knowledge, but I couldn't play anything. Like I took a week of piano and I was like, I want to go play sports, you know, it's just not my thing. So I taught myself guitar when I was 18. I started doing vocal lessons last year just for myself. And this year it's all about Spanish. So I've been actively looking and I know what I need. I need someone to come to me a few days a week and teach me. I've tried apps, I've tried going to places, I need someone to come to me for my schedule. So I'm looking for someone who can come and teach me, that I can hire three days a week and get going. So that's one thing that I'm committed to. That's the main thing. That's the main thing. Health is always like a top priority, but it's just reevaluating constantly, what do I need?

• 1:04:58Speaker 01

  Yes.

• 1:04:59Lewis Howes?

  But it's always fitness and mindset. And then this podcast is so transformational for so many people in the world. We get emails all the time about when someone listens, there's someone's going to listen to your story and they're going to email me in six months and say, you have no idea how that supported my life. And they're going to come back to me in six months and say, this one thing that JoJo said, I started taking action on. And six months later, here I am, thank you.

• 1:05:25Speaker 01

  I mean, that's what I get from your podcast. I was telling you that I, you know, listened to your interview with Sarah Blakely, that's her last name?

• 1:05:31Lewis Howes?

  Yes.

• 1:05:32Speaker 01

  Just so many great tidbits, so.

• 1:05:34Lewis Howes?

  She's amazing. So the goal is to double this show's size by the end of this year. That's the resolution. It's like, it's been, it'll be seven years coming up at the end of this month that we started this. We've reached 150 million downloads total on the audio platform, more on video. But the goal is how do we double the audience size by the end of this year? So that's like a mission for the business. It's figuring out whatever it takes to be a maniac on a mission for that. So that's the.

• 1:06:00Speaker 01

  How exciting. 2020 vision.

• 1:06:02Lewis Howes?

  2020, going on in. So, and being in a new relationship, living with someone is, you know, learning that.

• 1:06:08Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 1:06:08Lewis Howes?

  So just trying to, I think patience. For me, it's like the big thing this year.

• 1:06:12Speaker 01

  Big one for me, too. It's, you know.

• 1:06:14Lewis Howes?

  Because I want it to happen faster. It's like for you, too. You're like, I want to be back on top, right?

• 1:06:18Speaker 01

  Yeah, I want to be back on top, or I want to make this relationship work, or whatever it is. And it's, but just trusting that you're doing all you can. If you're impeccable with your intention and your word and all that, we can only control what we can control. So, one day at a time, like, I really try to live by that. I grew up being very close to AA, being very close to people who were working the steps actively. So, I feel like that's a religion in itself, the 12-step program. So, I think that, I mean, this is one of my favorite tattoos. God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, wisdom to know the difference, and patience and one day at a time is so essential for how we just continue.

• 1:07:02Lewis Howes?

  Well, because you got now.

• 1:07:04Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 1:07:04Lewis Howes?

  That's the resolution, too, every day. Just being grateful for every day, so that's what I'm working on. Okay, I got one question left for you. It's, what's your definition of greatness?

• 1:07:14Speaker 01

  My definition of greatness is, is falling down and never staying down. Is constantly, is resilience, is just, just an unshakable spirit of seeking and learning, staying open. I think growth is greatness.

• 1:07:36Lewis Howes?

  Yeah.

• 1:07:37Speaker 01

  Yeah, just keeping at it.

• 1:07:39Lewis Howes?

  Yeah. Jojo, appreciate you, girl.

• 1:07:41Speaker 01

  Thank you.

• 1:07:42Lewis Howes?

  Do your best.

• 1:07:43Speaker 01

  Thank you so much.

• 1:07:43Lewis Howes?

  Powerful.

• 1:07:47Lewis Howes?

  My friend, it's all about owning your story and committing to your dream. I don't care what stage of life you're in. This might be an upstage for you. This might be a relaxed state. This might be a stage of your life where you're declining, you're going backwards, and you're wondering, how do I get back to that place I once was? Wherever you are, I hope this message, I hope this story, I hope these lessons inspired you to keep moving forward and to not beat yourself up, no matter what state or stage of life you're in. We all go through phases. We all go through seasons, and it's okay, it's now. Natural to progress, to learn, to go up, to go sideways. You know, this life is not a linear life.

• 1:08:28Lewis Howes?

  And that's the beauty of it. So I hope you enjoy this. If you did, make sure to text a few friends of yours right now. LewisHowes.com/919. Say, hey, you gotta listen to this episode with JoJo on the School of Greatness. Check it out. Post this on your social media, on your Instagram story. I know JoJo would love to hear from you and love to see who is following, who is connecting with her, who's engaged in this interview. So make sure to tag her on social media as well. I truly hope you enjoyed this. And I love this quote by Walt Disney. He said, "First think, second dream, third believe, and finally dare." You know, sometimes we forget to think and dream. We forget to stay still and allow our minds to wander into an imagination state.

• 1:09:14Lewis Howes?

  When we allow ourselves to have imagination, then we can truly dream about why we're supposed to be doing what we're doing in our life. And when we start to dream, then we need to start to believe, like he says. We need to believe that we're capable. We need to believe that we can learn the skills in order to become capable to achieve that dream. And then the last thing, we must dare to pursue that dream. We must dare to put our voice out there, to let our voice be heard, to let our face be seen, to let our bodies move and experience our dreams fully. Just don't allow the fear to cripple your mind, to cripple your thoughts, to cripple your dreams, to cripple your belief,

• 1:09:57Lewis Howes?

  and to cripple your ability to dare. Continue to move confidently towards your dreams, even in the face of fear, and allow yourself to see what magic you can create. I hope you enjoy this. If this is your first time here, please subscribe. Please leave us a review over on Apple Podcasts, over on Spotify. And as always, you know what time it is. It's time to go out there and do something great.