168 Trust the Process

"Every day, allow yourself to stumble." - Lewis Howes If you enjoyed this episode, check out show notes and more at www.lewishowes.com/168. Get more from Lewis! Get my New York Times Bestselling book, Make Money Easy! Get The Greatness Mindset audiobook on SpotifyText Lewis AIYouTubeInstagramWebsiteTiktokFacebookX

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

• 0:00Speaker 00

  This is Five Minute Friday.

• 0:11Lewis Howes?

  What up, gang? This is episode number 168. Thank you, guys, so much for joining me today on this Five Minute Friday. And I want to share a story with you during this episode. I'm currently in Philadelphia. Just flew in from Los Angeles. And I've only been to Philly two other times. Now, the first time I was here was almost seven years ago. Now, at this time, I was sleeping on my sister's couch, Catherine, who was incredible for a year and a half, let me crash on her couch when I was trying to figure out what I was going to do with my life, because I was stuck. I'd lost my dream. I had no clue what I was going to do next with my life. I didn't have any money, and she supported me.

• 0:52Lewis Howes?

  And I was spending all of my time on LinkedIn, connecting with people, specifically in the sports industry at that time, because that's what I was most interested in then, just coming off playing professional football. And I met a guy who responded to me and was really connected to me. He always responded and gave me support and gave me advice. His name is Ben Sterner, and he's the CEO of a company called Leverage Agency in New York City, one of the top sports sponsorship companies there is around, and just a guy with a huge heart and also a guy who hustles his face off. I've never seen a guy hustle as hard as Ben, but also just so loving and giving of his time and energy.

• 1:34Lewis Howes?

  Now, he said, "You've got to come to this sports film festival thing that's happening in Philly, and there's going to be all these great executives and business leaders, and there's going to be a great place for you to network and meet some potential people that you could connect with for your goals, for your dreams." And whatever he did, or however he said it, I'm not sure exactly how he convinced me, but somehow he convinced me to go. And I took a Greyhound bus back then and took a bus with a little carry-on baggage that I rolled onto the bus, and I had a number of stops to get to Philly from Columbus, Ohio. And I remember, I didn't have much money. I think I maybe had

• 2:16Lewis Howes?

  like a hundred bucks. And I remember I was staying for two nights, and I needed to stay at a hostel because I didn't have any friends in Philly at the time. So I found a hostel online. I booked this hostel for two nights. And I remember getting there, putting my stuff in a little locker, so no one would steal it. And the first night, I went to this event, I met Ben for the first time, and all these other great people that he introduced me to. We went out and had fun, partied after the event. And then it was like 3:00 AM or 4:00 AM, and then I went back to my hostel. Now, I was sleeping on a bottom bunk, a bunk bed. And there was probably twenty bunk beds in this one big room. It was literally full

• 2:57Lewis Howes?

  of like twenty European guys, right? And I come back, and the first thing I noticed is throw-up all over the door, walking into the room where we're sleeping. The second thing I noticed is there's throw-up all over the floor leading up to my bed, and then there's just a big pile of puke right at the base of my bed. And now I'm disgusted. Everyone's snoring, everyone's asleep, and it smells rancid puke. I go into the bathroom to try to brush my teeth. There's puke all over the sinks, all over the door handles. It's like a puke vest in here, right? And I probably have one of the most uncomfortable sleeps of my life, just because everyone's sleeping and it smells like puke right in

• 3:40Lewis Howes?

  my face. But I get up and I go to the event again, because I think it was a two or three day event. So I go to the second day, I'm hanging out with Ben, I'm also networking with people, I'm connecting with them, I'm asking questions. I have like a little flip cam that I'm carrying around and interviewing people that I'm using for a sports blog that I had at the time. And I remember, we go out afterwards again, and then I get caught up in a different party or hanging out with different people, and I text Ben and say, "Hey, let's meet up later." And he says, "Yes, no problem. Come hang out." I end up going back to my hostel to get a few things. And they they told me that my bed had been, you know, sold or that there was no more beds for that night.

• 4:26Lewis Howes?

  And I had already booked it. So I was like, what am I gonna do? I have no place to go. You know, it's like midnight at this point. And I'm trying to get a hold of Ben to see if I can crash in his floor of his hotel or wherever he's staying. And there's no answer. He ends up losing his phone or he lost his phone charger or something, but he. He didn't get back to me until the next day and he apologized because he lost his phone. And so I'm literally, I have to get my things, get out. Um, I have a little bag and I'm carrying it around in the streets of Philadelphia. I'm strolling around for like two or three hours. Trying to figure out what am I gonna do? I'm trying to find other hostels, but I don't have any money left. And I'm just like, am I gonna be up all night or sleeping some in some park in the middle of the city I've never been in?

• 5:09Lewis Howes?

  And then have to wait all day to go on my bus back home. And I remember just thinking myself. Man, this was a great experience. I met some incredible people, but reality hit me. I'm still broke. I'm about to, yeah, I have no place to stay. I might be homeless for the night. And I'm about to head back on a Greyhound bus back home. And I remember I'm I was like, I'm gonna find a place to stay tonight. Whatever it takes, I'm gonna find a place. That was my mission, my my goal that night. And I remember walking down the street and I don't drink. So I remember going into a bar and thinking, what am I gonna do and how am I gonna convince someone to let me crash on their couch? And then I end up meeting a guy with his girlfriend.

• 5:54Lewis Howes?

  And we have a conversation and then I just say, hey, listen, guys, you know, I'm leaving him all morning, but I don't have a state, a place to crash tonight. Do you guys happen to have, you know, a living room that I can crash on a floor or a couch or something? And I don't know how I did it, but I convinced this couple to let me crash on their futon. And say, I stayed at their place and I left in the morning and I went back on the bus back home. And I'll never forget this experience. Because it really humbled me. And it gave me this incredible sense of drive and ambition. It showed me. Uh, I got introduced to all these really successful people. And I had a couple of people who were just so nice and generous to me that wanted to support me. And that uh, said, you know, if I ever have any questions, follow up.

• 6:39Lewis Howes?

  You know, Ben was one of those guys that just said, if you ever have any questions, if you're ever in New York. Make sure to hit me up and uh, we'll see how I can support you. And I, I'm back now in Philadelphia and I was, I got off the plane. I got uh, checked into a really nice hotel. Uh, and I walked around the streets by myself. And I was remembering this moment again, almost seven years ago, I was remembering. What it was like literally strolling around a little carry on luggage. Bag late at night, three in the morning, walking around these streets. Uncertain, scared, wasn't sure what I was gonna do. I was literally looking at different benches of where I was gonna sleep on. Cause I had no clue what I was gonna do. And I didn't have any money. I didn't have a credit card.

• 7:22Lewis Howes?

  At the time to really use to get a hotel, cause I did, I thought spending a hundred fifty bucks was ridiculous on a hotel at that time. And it's so interesting. To come kind of full circle now. The reason I'm in Philadelphia right now is cause tomorrow I'm meeting with about fifteen of the top editors. To pitch my book. And to pitch why they should feature my book when it comes out later this year. A story about my book and my message. And it's just so interesting that. You know, seven years ago, I'm here broke, wandering around on the streets, not able to find a place to stay, don't have a, you know, enough to pay for a hostel. And now I'm staying in a beautiful hotel room right now as we speak. I'm gonna be, you know, driving to.

• 8:06Lewis Howes?

  This headquarters to meet with all the executives and editors of these magazines tomorrow morning. And I've got my book coming out later this year that I signed an incredible deal with at the end of last year. And I remember having this vision when I was here. I remember this vision of. You know what, whatever I need to do, whatever I need to figure out, I'm gonna figure out how to get to the next level. And each day, I've been taking that approach for the last seven years. It's figuring out how to take my vision full circle, and how to follow through on my vision and make them come true. And I remember, you know, seven years ago, I had dreams of writing a book, and being a bestseller, and selling thousands of copies. And I had dreams of speaking in front of millions of people,

• 8:51Lewis Howes?

  and impacting millions of people with my message, with my story. And every day, I'm on that path. I'm still not where I wanna be. You know, I'm still struggling in a lot of areas of my life. I still don't have it figured out. I still have a lot of fears and doubts. Uh, you know, I'm still scared of a lot of different things. In my relationships, in my family, in my business. Things come up for me constantly. But I'm always brought back to the place of, man, I am just so blessed and grateful for being able to have a clear vision, and at least stepping up and taking the risks and going for it.

• 9:32Lewis Howes?

  You know, if I never went on that bus and trusted Ben's advice of going to that event, spending the money to get there, and sleeping and puke, uh, and figuring out where to crash on someone's couch that night, I would have never built the relationship I had with Ben, and the incredible connections I've met through Ben over the last seven years, and the business we've done together, and the amazing experiences we've had together. And each step, each day, is all part of your journey. Even when you're on the couch, or trying to find a place to sleep at night, or you're broke and you're, you lost your job, or you just have no clue what to do in your life, or you've ended a relationship, whatever it may be. Each step.

• 10:16Lewis Howes?

  Is a step towards your vision and to making your vision come full circle. And it's time to appreciate all of those steps, even when you're in your darkest moments. Take a moment to look at recognizing that this is part of the process. And one of my coaches recently said, you know what? Cause I've been going through a little bit of, uh, you know, some, some down cycles. I've been scared of and, you know, I've been uncomfortable. I've been stepping up into a new game in many areas of my life. And, uh, I told my coach, I was like, you know, I've kind of been freaking out a little bit. I've been scared of and living in, you know, kind of a breakdown here and there. And he said, you know, you've got to trust the process.

• 10:57Lewis Howes?

  And if you're not feeling uncomfortable, or if you're not on the brink of a breakdown, then you're really not doing anything meaningful or doing anything worth talking about. If you're staying in your comfort zone at all times, then it's hard to really break through and get to the next level. So he said, unless you're feeling scared, unless you're feeling uncertain, unless you're feeling like you're about to hit a breakdown, then you're really staying in a comfort zone and you're never going to get to the next level. And I thought that was really interesting and it allowed me to take a big, take a breath and take it easy on myself for a moment and recognize that it's all part of the bigger picture. It's all part of the marathon.

• 11:39Lewis Howes?

  You know, seven years ago, I remember thinking, gosh, I would love to have a couple hundred thousand dollars in the bank right now. And, uh, one of my other mentors said at the time, you know, money will come to you when you're ready for it. And I wasn't ready for it, but I was ready for that exact experience that I was having. And it gave me the insight. It gave me the wisdom. It gave me the courage. It gave me the experience to then apply that to the next day, in the next moment, in the next opportunity that came to me. And I was able to leverage those experiences, those challenges, those breakdowns to create incredible breakthroughs in my life and my business and my health and in my wealth. And it doesn't have to be perfect, guys.

• 12:24Lewis Howes?

  It doesn't have to look perfect. You know, this, this recording alone isn't perfect. I, I had my travel mic and everything ready to go, ready to record this five minute Friday episode. And then I realized that my memory chip and the, and the microphone recorder, uh, I left it at home, you know? And this is not a perfect sounding audio. But sometimes you've got to stumble along the way and allow your vision and your message to come through anyways, even if it's not perfect. You know, every day allow yourself to stumble, allow yourself to dream big and go after those dreams. It's just interesting to be able to talk about, you know, things coming full circle with vision and I'm gonna, I'm gonna be talking about this a lot more when my book comes out

• 13:08Lewis Howes?

  later this year because the things that have been happening are just so incredibly inspiring to me to know that when you dream big and you have a big vision and you do the right things and you follow through and you give value to others first without asking for anything, but you just give and give and give first, that it will come back to you abundantly and your visions will come true. And it's so cool to be able to live them and experience closing the loop of the visions that I have. And being in Philadelphia right now is a great reminder of that and there's a lot more great things to happen in the near future and I'm sure there's gonna be a lot of scary moments for me as well and that's all good, it's all part of the process.

• 13:53Lewis Howes?

  So, I'm not exactly sure what the title of this is gonna be, what my concluding message is here. Uh, you know, I've been doing different episodes lately with music, you know, writing them out and being more inspiring and this one I wanted to bring it back to one of the original styles of the Five Minute Fridays and just rap for a minute about bringing your vision full circle and trusting the process and doing the steps every single day that are uncomfortable, which will support you in getting the experience you need to getting to the next level.

• 14:31Lewis Howes?

  There you have it guys, that's my spiel for this Five Minute Friday. You guys are incredible, I feel so blessed that you show up each week and listen to this episode, uh, and this podcast and uh, thank you for tuning into Five Minute Fridays. They've been a joy for me to create and produce for you guys and I'm constantly listening to your feedback and. I want to make them better every time for you. So, thank you guys so much from the bottom of my heart for showing up, for spreading the word of greatness, for telling your friends about this podcast. You guys know what to do. It's time to go out there and do something great.

• 15:12Speaker 00

  I'm giving you love. You're my love. I'm giving you love. You're my love.

• 15:39Speaker 00

  I'm giving you love. You're my love.

• 15:49Speaker 00

  I'm giving you love. You're my love. You're my love. I'm giving you love.

• 17:09Speaker 00

  You are my love

• 17:13Speaker 00

  I'll give you life You are my love You are my love

• 17:25Speaker 00

  I'll give you life