Pod Insights The School of Greatness 48 A Conversation on Poetry, Life, and the Vulnerability of Pursuing Dreams with IN-Q About this episode Los Angeles based rapper, actor, teacher, songwriter, and award winning spoken word artist, In-Q is a unique voice in entertainment. His work has been featured on HBO's Def Poetry Jam, two seasons of Verses & Flow, the Discovery Channel, the Disney Channel, Nickelodeon, EA Sports, ABC, NBC, and A&E. In-Q is a National Poetry Slam Champion The School of Greatness. Get more from Lewis! Get my New York Times Bestselling book, Make Money Easy! Get The Greatness Mindset audiobook on SpotifyText Lewis AIYouTubeInstagramWebsiteTiktokFacebookX
Transcript Speaker names marked ? are inferred from speaking time and the show’s known hosts — they are not voice-verified.
0:00 Lewis Howes? This is episode number 48 with Poetry Slam Champion in Q. 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.
0:33 Lewis Howes? Hey, what's up everyone? Welcome back to this show, The School of Greatness. And I am back in Los Angeles this week. And I got a chance to sit down with a new friend of mine, extremely talented guy, a guy that I was immediately drawn to because I saw him do a live Poetry Slam session at an event. And his art form, his stage presence, his performance, his lyrics were just so inspiring to me that I said, hey, man, I gotta get you on the show. So luckily, we got him here in the studio. His name's Adam in Q. And he's a really interesting guy. He is a Los Angeles-based rapper, actor, teacher, songwriter, and award-winning spoken
1:18 Lewis Howes? word artist. And his work has been featured on HBO's Def Poetry Jam, two seasons of Verses in Flow, the Discovery Channel, the Disney Channel, Nickelodeon, EA Sports, ABC, NBC, and A and E. And again, he's the National Poetry Slam Champion. So I'm very excited to dive into this. We're going to cover a lot of different things. You're also going to get to hear a couple of his works of art, which I think were pretty cool when he starts and dives into those. And you're going to learn a lot about the difference between poetry and music, how to see every human being as a mirror of yourself, to utilize the power of working openly with
1:59 Lewis Howes? people and creatively, and what poetry teaches us about life and business. So I'm very excited about this episode. And if you haven't tuned into the previous ...episodes, specifically the last two, where the one with my brother Christian Howes, who talks about his, uh, his lessons from prison and what he learned on how to be a successful businessman and jazz violinist, based on his experience in prison, then make sure to tune into that one after you listen to this one with Adam in queue. And with that, guys, I'm very excited about this episode, and let's dive in with the one and only Adam in queue.
2:51 IN-Q? I'm a bird that wants to be a plane. I know that sounds insane, but every living thing deserves to dream. I watch them take off from the island on the side of the runway lane and curse my feathered wings. I'm jealous of these giant metal kings, how their engines sing, floating off the ground, leaving smoke clouds in perfect iridescent streams. I've tried to follow them, hoping that they would take the lead, but they don't notice me and I can't keep up with their speed. I always wind up somewhere in between, and as their trail disappears into thin air, it's hard to breathe. I really wish they'd let me join their team.
3:35 IN-Q? My breaking heart is on my sleeve, so I open up my beak to speak, but no one ever hears my screams. To them, I'm chicken feed, because they don't understand what I aspire to achieve. I have higher needs indeed, beyond the pretty paws and the subtlety of swaying reeds. I want to kiss the moon, cutting rain clouds over endless seas, bend the breeze, let it freeze, elements are of no consequence when you're forever free.
4:00 IN-Q? But instead, I'm me. I can't undo my pedigree, but that don't mean that I'll accept defeat or ever let it be. So every time they weave into a straight line, I intervene, because one of these days, I swear I'm gonna find the strength to leave, and I don't give a cluck, because I'm the type to still believe, the type to scream into a storm from the highest tree, the type to chirp until I die, because it's in my genes, the type of bird to be a plane.
4:32 IN-Q? You just wait and see.
4:36 Lewis Howes? Yeah, I love it, man.
4:38 IN-Q? Thanks, man.
4:39 Lewis Howes? So I'm joined at the studio in Los Angeles with Adam in queue.
4:43 IN-Q? What's up?
4:44 Lewis Howes? I'm super pumped. We just had a moment that neither of us have ever had in our lives.
4:49 IN-Q? It was epic. Speak on it.
4:50 Lewis Howes? For thirty, probably thirty minutes at least. Adam comes up here in the studio and I'll post a picture in the show notes at lewishouse.com. And we see this in the distance, a small little rainbow.
5:04 IN-Q? It was.
5:04 Lewis Howes? It was wide. It was wide, but it was like an inch, let's say, if you're looking out in the distance. Some girth. It was girthy. And then we were like, look at this amazing rainbow. We don't see it that often in Los Angeles. You've been here for how many years?
5:18 IN-Q? Um, I'm gonna go with my whole life.
5:19 Lewis Howes? Your whole life? A number of years. I've only been here a year and a half. I've never seen a rainbow. And we go out, I show them the place, we look on the balcony and this rainbow erupts.
5:29 IN-Q? Yeah.
5:30 Lewis Howes? From the distance, almost just over downtown. And then slowly but surely, we're like taking pictures, we're amazed at this little teeny rainbow. And then it starts to grow, you know, bigger and bigger. Then there's one strand. And then I start to see a bend. And about ten minutes later, we see the full rainbow.
5:46 IN-Q? It literally arced across the sky. It was like a halo over Los Angeles.
5:51 Lewis Howes? From downtown to the valley.
5:53 IN-Q? Yeah, perfect moment.
5:54 Lewis Howes? Right over the hills. It was unbelievable. There's no ordinary moments, that's for sure. So I'm very excited to be introducing you guys to someone that inspires me. And we actually only hung out a couple of times and talked for like ten minutes total. But I met Adam at Summit Series on a mountaintop. And heard a poem similar to the one you guys just heard. And it really moved me and gave me chills.
6:16 IN-Q? Thank you, man.
6:17 Lewis Howes? And whenever I get the moment to feel chills, I know I get to savor that moment, just kind of like during the rainbow. So I got double chills today. I feel pretty good.
6:25 IN-Q? Double rainbow, double chills.
6:27 Lewis Howes? But I'm excited, man. And I want to talk about poetry and spoken word and kind of its lost art form, I guess. And what your intentions are for being a creative source of energy for the world.
6:41 IN-Q? Right.
6:41 Lewis Howes? Of inspiration and bringing it back. And also, I just want to talk about what it means to you and how people can apply this type of lost art form in their own business, life, relationships, things like that. So let's talk about how you got into it. First off, you used to be a rapper, right?
6:57 IN-Q? Absolutely. Started out as a rapper. Hip hop is still, uh, kind of the foundation of my art, I would say. And I wanted to be an MC like, you know, at the highest level more than anything else in in the entire world and I was completely obsessed. And I spent all of my time, you know, trying to make that a reality. And it never really happened the way that I wanted it to, but you know, I put in my 10,000 hours and I wound up at a spoken word spot in Los Angeles called The Poetry Lounge. And I came in at the inception of it, which it's become basically like the biggest spoken word spot in the nation.
7:36 Lewis Howes? Wow.
7:36 IN-Q? It's gotten 350 people for the last 14 years. And I got a chance to work with some of the best poets in the country. And I was spitting my rapping a cappella and people called me a poet and I wanted a platform to express myself and I didn't correct them. And and I continued to try to make it as a rapper and then one day I looked up and I realized that I was more of a poet than a rapper.
8:00 Lewis Howes? Hmm.
8:01 IN-Q? Yeah.
8:01 Lewis Howes? Amazing. And when did that start?
8:03 IN-Q? Um.
8:04 Lewis Howes? When you was at?
8:04 IN-Q? Twenty one.
8:06 Lewis Howes? Okay.
8:06 IN-Q? Um, so, I don't know, 2001, maybe?
8:10 Lewis Howes? Gotcha. Okay, cool.
8:11 IN-Q? Yeah, when I when I started to to visit The Poetry Lounge and speak.
8:15 Lewis Howes? Who else was there? What other people we know of that were kind of like starting out as artists or poets or?
8:21 IN-Q? Sheehan, Sheehan the Prototype was there, a guy named Seku the Misfit, Javon Johnson, Omari Hardwick.
8:28 Lewis Howes? Seku was there back in then?
8:29 IN-Q? Yeah.
8:29 Lewis Howes? Wow.
8:30 IN-Q? Maybe not in 2001, he came maybe three or four years later, but we're a part of the same spoken word community.
8:35 Lewis Howes? Wow. Yeah, he's really powerful as well.
8:37 IN-Q? He's amazing.
8:37 Lewis Howes? He's like, just got that energy, you know?
8:40 IN-Q? Yeah.
8:40 Lewis Howes? I would say you're more of like a
8:43 Lewis Howes? like a soft spoken rhythmic artistic poet where where you bring the passion sometimes.
8:49 IN-Q? No, it's okay. I'm taking it in.
8:51 Lewis Howes? He's more of like the la, you know, like from what I've experienced of at least. Maybe he's got some softer moments as well, but.
8:58 IN-Q? Oh, I'm gonna let him speak on that. But yeah, he's an incredible poet and, you know, definitely somebody who's been inspirational, you know?
9:06 Lewis Howes? And what's the difference between poetry and music?
9:11 IN-Q? I mean, it's a different genre, you know, so you could just start there.
9:18 Lewis Howes? Right.
9:19 IN-Q? You know, when I write music, it's a totally different process for me than when I'm writing a poem.
9:26 IN-Q? But both, I think, start with finding a place that's true and then trying to build off of that. And, you know, I like exploring the things that happen in my life through my poetry. And then the music side, since most of the stuff that I write is songs, is trying to find a way to take a concept and make it simple and digestible. Poetry is very rhythmic for me.
9:53 Lewis Howes? Right.
9:53 IN-Q? And music is kind of round. And so there's concepts and then there's like just the actual like spacing of the words and how you go about attacking a project.
10:03 Lewis Howes? There's a lot more structure in music, at least for sellable music, I guess, right? When you're being commissioned or writing songs.
10:09 IN-Q? Absolutely.
10:09 Lewis Howes? You've got to have a certain structure or else it's not gonna, yeah.
10:12 IN-Q? Yeah, B section.
10:13 Lewis Howes? Exactly.
10:14 IN-Q? Chorus, verse, B section, chorus, bridge, chorus.
10:18 Lewis Howes? Now, you've written some songs for some big names, right? Who have you written for?
10:22 IN-Q? Yeah, I work with a company called Rock Mafia. And so I've co-written songs for Selena Gomez and Miley Cyrus. And a bunch of Disney stuff. And then a guy named Allo Black, who has a song out called Ticking Bomb right now, who's a friend of mine and an amazing artist. You should definitely check him out if you're not up on his stuff.
10:42 Lewis Howes? I Need a Dollar, right?
10:43 IN-Q? I Need a Dollar, yeah, Wake Me Up.
10:45 Lewis Howes? I met him at some of his series a couple of years ago, too. He sang there.
10:48 IN-Q? Yeah, he brought me out.
10:49 Lewis Howes? Oh, did he? Okay, yeah, that's awesome. He's a pretty inspiring guy as well.
10:53 IN-Q? He's incredible.
10:54 Lewis Howes? So you write with him?
10:55 IN-Q? We wrote together on that song, yeah.
10:57 Lewis Howes? Wow.
10:57 IN-Q? Yeah, and we've worked over the years, so.
10:59 Lewis Howes? Amazing. And how did you get into writing for music, for artists, when you were originally just doing poetry a lot of the time?
11:08 IN-Q? Well, you know, when I finally realized that I wasn't gonna make it as a rapper the way that I thought I was going to make it. And that's like really kind of an important distinction.
11:17 Lewis Howes? What did you think, like Eminem style or what?
11:20 IN-Q? I thought I was gonna be like Gangstar from Santa Monica. You know, and um, and I think that the industry changed out from under me from when I really like dreamed of doing it. And then also the lowest common denominator became really popular. And that wasn't really what I was selling. And then I think I was still trying to find my voice as an artist. And so all of those things were happening simultaneously. And now. I can look back and I'm so glad that it didn't happen the way that I so badly wanted it to happen. Because I'd be crazy right now. I know that for a fact. Like I didn't really come into my own skin. Until like last Wednesday or something. So like. You know, fame and fortune and all that stuff. It can be great if you know who you are and you know how you wanna shape your career, but if you don't.
12:05 IN-Q? You're gonna wind up searching externally for something that you don't have yet on the inside. And so. Uh, I think I basically woke up one day and I realized that my dreams had changed. And I think that's interesting too, because I think oftentimes people don't acknowledge or recognize that their dreams have changed. So they keep on trying to make something happen and they don't realize they've actually moved on from that. Um, and so I woke up and I went, wow, like I am more of a poet now than I am a rapper. And, you know, I would rather pursue something. And try to create a market for something that doesn't really fully exist. Then, you know, be one person in a marathon, you know, trying to reach the finish line, especially when I'm not as passionate about it anymore. And.
12:50 IN-Q? You know, I guess acknowledging that and pursuing that is one thing, but figuring out how to make money right away off of it was another. And um, so I just kinda kept performing and kept getting out there and. Uh, caught the eye of Rock Mafia and they kind of, I think, figured at the time that it would be good to. Uh, bring a different voice into their crew and see if they could add some poetic. Uh, words into some of these pop songs and, and uh, it's been a great collaboration ever since.
13:19 Lewis Howes? What's the difference between realizing that you don't, you're not passionate about your dream anymore? And moving on between that and giving up or quitting? And what if someone's like, well, I don't like to quit?
13:32 IN-Q? Yeah.
13:32 Lewis Howes? So I'm gonna like finish this till the end because that's what I like. If I just keep going on from dream to dream to dream, then I'll never finish anything.
13:38 IN-Q? Well, what are you, what are you doing anything for? You're doing it for yourself, you know? So like whatever preconceived notions you have, I like, I don't want to see myself as a quitter. Well, if that stops you from acknowledging your new truth, then you're getting in your own way.
13:52 Lewis Howes? That's true.
13:53 IN-Q? Yeah. So I think it's a personal thing for everybody. And only people who can look inward can figure out the answer to that for themselves.
14:03 Lewis Howes? Yeah. I feel like just your energy and your, your poetry, it sounds to me like you've done a lot of work in yourself.
14:10 IN-Q? Thank you.
14:11 Lewis Howes? And I don't know if that's true or not, but it really.
14:14 IN-Q? Get some forty, son. We're going out.
14:17 Lewis Howes? It sounds like you're extremely grounded. Like you've been through a lot of different experiences that have shaped you to be like, all right, I know what I'm about, I know what I want.
14:25 IN-Q? Yeah.
14:26 Lewis Howes? And I'm very, you seem centered and grounded.
14:28 IN-Q? Yeah, I, I feel that way. We're all gonna die, man.
14:31 Lewis Howes? Yeah.
14:32 IN-Q? Seriously.
14:33 Lewis Howes? Yeah.
14:34 IN-Q? We're all gonna die, dude. So it's like, we, what are you gonna spend time like thinking about what someone might imaginary? Like have thoughts about you or judgments or like, no, dude, just be authentic, show up, be open. You know, um, I try to, uh, try to find something to like about every moment that I'm in.
14:53 Lewis Howes? Sure.
14:53 IN-Q? And, uh, try to find things to be grateful for.
14:56 Lewis Howes? Yeah.
14:56 IN-Q? And, uh, and then even within that, you can decide who you want to spend your time with and who you don't want to spend your time with.
15:02 Lewis Howes? Right.
15:02 IN-Q? You set your own boundaries, but like, you know, in general,
15:08 IN-Q? in general, I don't waste my time thinking about what other people might be thinking about me.
15:12 Lewis Howes? Sure. What's been your greatest moment so far?
15:15 IN-Q? This one, best moment ever. Yeah.
15:18 Lewis Howes? Okay, what's been your biggest accomplishment that you set out to?
15:21 IN-Q? This this one.
15:22 Lewis Howes? Okay, I like it.
15:23 IN-Q? Best moment ever.
15:24 Lewis Howes? I like it.
15:24 IN-Q? Full full on rainbow outside.
15:26 Lewis Howes? That's pretty good.
15:27 IN-Q? You know, I mean, uh, I saw Louis C K in an interview one day and he said, uh, you always think you're making it in your career. Like you'll have a moment and you'll be like, I made it. And then you wake up the next day and you're like, damn, I gotta make breakfast. You know, like it was something similar to that. And and the idea of it is that you're always evolving. You're always in a new moment. You know, and you're always striving for something else and you always have to be kind of grateful for where you are. So for me, when you ask that, my real answer is right now.
16:00 Lewis Howes? Yeah.
16:01 IN-Q? Yeah.
16:01 Lewis Howes? Cause you're not guaranteed another minute.
16:02 IN-Q? I'm not. And this is amazing.
16:04 Lewis Howes? Yeah.
16:05 IN-Q? You know, it's amazing if you want it to be amazing.
16:07 Lewis Howes? Right.
16:07 IN-Q? And if you don't, then it won't be. I I was at uh Century City the other night and um I came down from watching The Hobbit.
16:16 Lewis Howes? I saw it last week. It's so good, man.
16:18 IN-Q? Yeah, it's great. It's cute. It's like a cute movie.
16:20 Lewis Howes? Yeah.
16:21 IN-Q? Um, and fun and like, you know, uh, Lord of the Rings were my shit, you know, but uh, but this still does the trick and I was happy I saw it.
16:29 Lewis Howes? Yeah.
16:30 IN-Q? So I walked out and someone had hit my car.
16:33 Lewis Howes? Hmm.
16:33 IN-Q? Which is weird too, because like Century City in general, like if you've ever been there, it's just like a normal parking structure. It's like someone had backed up like fifteen feet or something to hit my car. And it's like, what possibly could they have been thinking? And uh, you know, I was like, oh, wow, interesting. Like, look, look at this moment.
16:54 Lewis Howes? Hmm.
16:54 IN-Q? You know, interesting. You know, I could choose to get really angry at that. Or I could choose to just be uh, present and try to solve the problem.
17:04 Lewis Howes? Hmm.
17:04 IN-Q? And I think that's often something that I try to do too, is I try to be solution oriented rather than problem oriented. Um, but that's not always easy because you have emotions. I mean, I wasn't unhappy that somebody had hit my car, you know?
17:15 Lewis Howes? Right.
17:16 IN-Q? And I was broke for so long, you know, I I I spent all this time getting enough money to buy my car, like this cool, you know, to have this car. And then
17:26 Lewis Howes? It's beat up.
17:27 IN-Q? And you're like, what the, you know, so I like walked all the way upstairs and I talked to the security guard to see if there was cameras and stuff like that. But I was really nice, you know? And he was on the job. He's been on the job for twelve years and he has to stay up all night. And so instead of thinking about my own, I was like trying to like, you know, have a conversation with him and be present.
17:44 Lewis Howes? Connect, yeah.
17:46 IN-Q? And uh, and then I came back downstairs and he was taking pictures of the car. And because I was not angry, I noticed on my windshield. You know, I had had all those things from valets, you know? Well, underneath one of the things from the valets, the guy had left his card and information, which was awesome of him to do that.
18:06 Lewis Howes? Perfect.
18:06 IN-Q? But I promise you, five years ago, I would have been so angry that I wouldn't have seen the card. I know that to be the case. I know to be the case that I would have left. And then I would have seen that and I would have grabbed it and I would have thrown it in the trash. Before I even acknowledged that anything else was there. And I think you see what you focus on consciously or unconsciously in your life. So I try to focus on the good things and therefore this is the best moment of my life.
18:36 Lewis Howes? There you go. That's great. Let's talk about poetry, man. Why, what's your vision for poetry, spoken word, or all that stuff?
18:47 IN-Q? Uh, I think, I think it needs to be broken in popular culture. I think that.
18:51 Lewis Howes? Why?
18:53 IN-Q? Because I think people are looking to connect right now. Um, I think that with uh, the expansion of technology, I think it's wonderful, but it's also isolating. So there's a real dichotomy there.
19:04 Lewis Howes? We're so connected, we're disconnected.
19:05 IN-Q? That's exactly it. And um, and, and yet like, you know, we can take a picture. And put it up, you know, of this rainbow or whatever, and then somebody in Beirut could see, I mean, really.
19:16 Lewis Howes? It's pretty cool.
19:17 IN-Q? It's amazing that that exists. And it allows us to see everyone's experience on a very matrixed level that we've never had in the history of the world before. So there is something very connecting about that. And there is also something very isolating about that. And so I think that within that, people are seeking out communities. Uh, that are immediately in front of them or trying to create communities more differently than they have in the past. And this particular genre is all about vulnerability. It's all about uh hopes and dreams and disappointments and being human and really showing up. And so I think that there's a lot for people to explore within the artists that are out there as poets right now.
20:02 IN-Q? But also, I think that once it's broken as a genre and there are platforms for exposure on a larger level. Um and it's seen like any other popular genre and it's monetized. That people will want to do it themselves, which is also an opportunity for them to self-explore. And anytime you're doing work on yourself, you're doing work on the world.
20:26 Lewis Howes? That's true.
20:27 IN-Q? And I believe that.
20:28 Lewis Howes? That's true.
20:29 IN-Q? Yeah.
20:29 Lewis Howes? Interesting.
20:32 Lewis Howes? So where do you see it going then? Where do you see this trend moving towards? And where do you see yourself in it? You want it to be mainstream, but like, how?
20:39 IN-Q? Uh, you know, I say that I want it to be mainstream, but even within that, like. I don't want it to be mainstream uh at the expense of its integrity or or my integrity. I think. Every artist brings their own truth to the table and um, you know, I've worked. Long enough to figure out what that truth is.
21:00 Lewis Howes? Right.
21:01 IN-Q? Um where I wanna be true to it. I wanna be true to my truth. You know, and um, and that being said, I I, you know, I think that uh. I think that it can be as big as anything else. I think that poets can have sitcoms. I think poets should be on late night. I think uh. Poets should have their own HBO specials. You know.
21:23 Lewis Howes? It's kind of like the new comedian.
21:24 IN-Q? Absolutely.
21:25 Lewis Howes? Comedian going from shows to then movies to music to everything else, right?
21:30 IN-Q? Yeah, and I think, in fact, I don't think, I know it's going to happen. It's just a matter of time and it's a matter of opportunity and it's about. Uh making sure that uh whoever's in the driver's seat at at that point seizes it. And once people know it's possible, then all the dominos will will fall on its own.
21:47 Lewis Howes? What's your perfect day look like?
21:50 IN-Q? Uh, just waking up, man. Just waking up. I mean, I I could get more specific of of being with people that I that I love and care about, doing things that I have fun doing, you know, ha- having adventures, doing things that I've never done before. I mean, that's always great.
22:05 Lewis Howes? Yeah.
22:05 IN-Q? Um, yeah, before I would say that I was probably more scared of life than anything else, but I didn't really uh, acknowledge that to myself or to others. So I had a very, I think, tough veneer. You know, in terms of how I would look at everything, how I would look at people, how I would look at uh, situations. And in that, I wasn't interested in adventure. I wasn't interested in doing things that I had never done before because it's just fucking scary. And it sucks to do some shit that you're not good at. Why not just stick to the shit you're good at? Well, that feels good. You know, it feels good to do some shit that you're good at. You know, why do you wanna do some shit you're not good at? But that's the whole thing is like, how do you grow? You do shit you're not good at.
22:47 IN-Q? And it's it's not even like necessarily in that thing, like whatever you choose to do that day. Like, if you wanna go indoor skydiving, you know, let's say you're not the best indoor skydiver, you know what I mean? You don't have to become a professional indoor skydiver in order to learn from the experience of indoor skydiving. No, it's like there are all sorts of lessons in, you know, putting yourself in uncomfortable situations socially, putting yourself in uncomfortable situations physically, emotionally, pushing your own boundaries. So I would say that and then uh, just being with people that I care about and
23:22 Lewis Howes? Yeah.
23:22 IN-Q? uh, have love for and um, exploring new ideas and continuing to test test this physical reality, this bizarre bizarre fucking human experience that we're all in, man.
23:34 Lewis Howes? Amazing.
23:35 IN-Q? Yeah.
23:35 Lewis Howes? Let's get back to vulnerability.
23:37 IN-Q? Okay.
23:37 Lewis Howes? So.
23:38 IN-Q? That, I'm out.
23:41 Lewis Howes? Vulnerability has been something I've been really working on myself for the last year and really allowing myself to be vulnerable in any moment at any time.
23:52 IN-Q? Yeah.
23:52 Lewis Howes? As opposed to put up a wall or barrier or a shell. And for myself, when I've been working on it, I'm not working on it, just being vulnerable.
24:03 IN-Q? Right.
24:03 Lewis Howes? And allowing myself to be that. It's really powerful, the type of connections I'm able to create.
24:09 IN-Q? Totally.
24:09 Lewis Howes? And the type of empathy I'm able to have with other people and they're able to have with me. And it's like, almost like if I meet someone in a few minutes and we get vulnerable really quickly. It's like we've known each other, we trust each other instantly.
24:20 IN-Q? Yeah.
24:23 Lewis Howes? Do you feel like you're always bringing vulnerability when you're writing and performing these poems? And why do you want to be vulnerable when you're writing poetry?
24:34 IN-Q? Um, well.
24:36 Lewis Howes? Is it to create that connection with the audience instantly? Or is it to make them feel deeply? What is that purpose for you?
24:45 IN-Q? That's interesting. Well, I think that we're all mirrors.
24:48 Lewis Howes? Hmm.
24:49 IN-Q? And I think that's what we're doing here. We're just kind of mirroring the human experience back to each other. And so what I try to do through my work is I try to explore my own human experience in the most honest way that I can. And then kind of give that window away to the audience to look at life through my perspective and then inquire about their own lives. Um, and I've always been honest in my writing. But I think in my performance, um, I have not always been honest.
25:26 Lewis Howes? Why not?
25:27 IN-Q? Uh, because I wasn't comfortable being vulnerable. I was being conceptually vulnerable.
25:32 Lewis Howes? Think you were performing more than actually being vulnerable?
25:35 IN-Q? Yeah, I was telling.
25:36 Lewis Howes? Vulnerability as opposed to?
25:37 IN-Q? That's right.
25:37 Lewis Howes? Living it?
25:38 IN-Q? I was telling, not showing. And, uh, I didn't really have the ability to do that at that time. And I'm still learning how to do that now. I mean, you know, there'll be shows that I do where, you know, I get on stage for an hour and a half sometimes. And I'll be flying. And then there are other shows that I do where I feel pushback from different pockets of the audience at different times. Because I explore so many different concepts and different than comedy. In comedy, you can kind of hide behind the laughs. My stuff is funny, but it's not mostly funny, so.
26:14 Lewis Howes? Every once in a while.
26:15 IN-Q? Yeah, it's like sixty forty or seventy thirty or something like that, so like. Since I don't have that to hide behind and since I don't have music to hide behind and it's just.
26:24 Lewis Howes? It's raw.
26:24 IN-Q? And it's not even some other writer's words or some story that I'm putting my truth into, it's me. You know, it's hard not to take personally how people respond to it. And that's an interesting life lesson for me, so. If I feel pushback from an audience, my first instinct is just to fucking kill the poem. Cause I go into like, well, then watch, I'm fucking good, watch how good I can be, which is all bullshit.
26:51 Lewis Howes? Kill the poem, you mean, stop it or like.
26:53 IN-Q? No, no, like crush the poem, like crush the shit out of it, like I'm about to murder this.
26:57 Lewis Howes? Yeah, I'm gonna show you.
26:59 IN-Q? Yeah, I'm gonna show you.
27:00 Lewis Howes? Yeah.
27:00 IN-Q? Yeah, let me, let me show you.
27:02 Lewis Howes? Ego comes out.
27:03 IN-Q? Yeah, and that's all stupid, man, and it's not really what I'm trying to do, what I'm trying to do is communicate. And I'm trying to communicate in a way where I don't need anyone else to respond in any way in order to validate my truth.
27:19 IN-Q? But.
27:20 Lewis Howes? Don't you want a response?
27:21 IN-Q? Well, interestingly enough, the more I can get into that mentality, whatever the response is, is okay. And it makes me lean in farther to go deeper into the vulnerability of the piece.
27:33 Lewis Howes? Cause you've detached your ego.
27:35 IN-Q? Right.
27:35 Lewis Howes? From your body.
27:37 IN-Q? Right.
27:37 Lewis Howes? So you don't care what the result is.
27:39 IN-Q? Right, and then sometimes it's a grind and it comes in and it comes out and it comes in and it comes out. And I could sit here in front like that doesn't happen, but what, what good would that do? How, how does that help my process in being vulnerable as an artist?
27:50 Lewis Howes? Right.
27:51 IN-Q? Like I, I, I was talking to somebody the other day about heroes in general. And they were saying that because of privacy and technology, they were saying that there are no heroes anymore. And I was saying the definition of a hero needs to change. A hero shouldn't be invincible anymore. If you think your celebrities are invincible, you're crazy dude. We're all just trying to figure this shit out. Nobody really knows why we're here. All we have is our own truth and our own experience, which is constantly changing, you know? So it's like all you can really do is like show up. And I think that as a hero or as somebody who's in the public eye, you should be honest with with your faults and allow people to see that mirror.
28:33 IN-Q? So they they can kind of go farther in themselves um and and raise their own vibrational level, you know?
28:41 Lewis Howes? I think it's important to think about for sure. Do you feel like over the next five years as as technology continues to open up and people are gonna get caught messing up or being, you know, not perfect all the time or being invincible? Do you think this definition will change?
28:57 IN-Q? I don't know. I mean, I I know that some of the heroes that we've had in the past wouldn't be heroes in this age. We love to build people up and tear them down. You know, so I I mean, I don't claim to be perfect, man. I love my flaws. I love working through them. You know, and if anybody is gonna look up to me for anything, it should be for that, you know?
29:22 IN-Q? And and trust, I'm looking up to other people in the process. And I'm always looking to learn from the moment, you know, and whoever it is I'm I'm dealing with. Cause there's a reason I feel like I co-created it. I'm I'm here for a reason. You know, and it's a it's a give and take. You know, and uh that's the other thing. I think celebrities in general, there there's this like, you know, society makes them bigger than everyone else. And sometimes they buy into that. And they're not, man. Nobody is any better than anyone else, like, you know, and I think if we all had that mentality and we realized we could learn from each other no matter what, I just think it would be more of a human shift.
30:04 Lewis Howes? Now, do you think everyone should open up and be vulnerable all the time? In their business, in their life, and just like lay it all out there? Or is this sense of like? Personal branding, building a perception around your image? Does that have some valid to it as well?
30:22 IN-Q? I definitely think it does. I'm probably the wrong person to ask because I'm not really good at building my brand. And that's why I know what my brand is. I know who I am. But I've actually had to bring other people in now to start to do that for me. Because that's not the way that my mind thinks. And I think it's probably unrealistic to walk around, you know? Floating on a rainbow all the time. I'm not, I'm not saying you should do that either. I mean, you have to connect to what's actually happening. You know, there's dangerous in the world. You know, there's, there's people who are an obscurity of the divine that, you know? That could definitely, you know, threaten and all of that stuff. But I just, I don't walk around and operate from that place. You know, and if someone's playing chess with me, they're playing chess with themselves.
31:07 IN-Q? Because if I don't respond that way. Then they're not, they're literally, there's no interaction here other than their own. And I'm getting better at that. And then there are times when I, you know, slip up. I think you'd have to ask somebody who does branding for a living. I think they would probably say that branding is, is very important. And, and I agree with that.
31:29 Lewis Howes? Right, right, right. Let's talk about poetry in the business world. How can someone apply poetry to? I guess, marketing? Copyrighting? Applying it to their business to attract more customers? What do you think? You have any thoughts on that?
31:45 IN-Q? Can I say one more thing, actually? Before I go into that? I just had a conversation on the way over here where I was talking to somebody. And. The the business relationship had shifted. And so, you know, we were having that conversation and it was a good conversation. And in the end of the conversation, he said that he's had to reestablish certain things in different parts of his own business. And he said that uh those relationships were shifting as well. And he said, some people can't hear the word no.
32:18 Lewis Howes? Hmm.
32:18 IN-Q? And I said, how people take no determines whether or not I want to work with them in the future.
32:25 Lewis Howes? He said that?
32:26 IN-Q? No, I I think I said that, but but I think we were on the same page when we were discussing it because.
32:31 Lewis Howes? How people take no?
32:33 IN-Q? Yeah, it kind of determines.
32:35 Lewis Howes? If you want to work with them in the future.
32:36 IN-Q? Whether or not I want to work with them in the future. And I think that the same thing goes to the vulnerability thing that we were talking about a second ago, which is like, personally, I want to work with people that I can be real with.
32:44 Lewis Howes? Right.
32:45 IN-Q? I'm not gonna cry to somebody on it. I mean, that that's not what I'm talking about, but be real about what's going on, what I want, where I want to take this.
32:53 Lewis Howes? Right.
32:53 IN-Q? You know, what I think the obstacles are. And I want to have like an open communication with whoever I'm working with on the other side, you know, and and I want them to feel like, you know, they have an open door to say whatever they need to say. Rather than feeling like there are land bombs, you know, uh, every other step or something. So I think that's important as well.
33:14 Lewis Howes? Yeah.
33:14 IN-Q? Yeah.
33:15 Lewis Howes? I like it.
33:16 IN-Q? Cool.
33:18 Lewis Howes? So on the business side of things.
33:19 IN-Q? Sure.
33:20 Lewis Howes? How can someone apply poetry or tap into their poetic creativity when they're in business, opposed to just being so like straightforward all the time? Do you feel like this poetic language could benefit someone?
33:35 IN-Q? Hmm, um, I think language is really important.
33:38 Lewis Howes? Hmm.
33:39 IN-Q? In general, always try to choose my words carefully. Uh, I always try to think about
33:46 IN-Q? uh, what I actually want to say. I want to express, not impress, which is uh, an interesting balance sometimes because sometimes you really do want to impress, but even within that, you just got to make sure you're saying what you truly mean, you know, check in with yourself. And I think clarity in business is good. And I think.
34:09 IN-Q? I think creating open lines to talk about real things and real connection with whoever it is that you're working with can lead to a better business and a better product. And I think poetry helps to do that, you know?
34:27 Lewis Howes? What's poetry talking about life?
34:31 IN-Q? Just pay attention. Pay attention to everything that's going on around me, what's going on, going on inside of me. And trust my instincts, you know? And also, I think it goes back to what we said before, which is, everybody's gonna die, man, don't be scared. Don't be scared of anything, man. You know, or, or you're gonna, you're gonna have fears, but don't operate from your fears, man, just, you know? Challenge yourself, go, go farther, dig deeper. You know?
35:02 Lewis Howes? When you were learning to hone in on your poetic skills.
35:06 IN-Q? Yeah.
35:07 Lewis Howes? And performance skills.
35:09 IN-Q? Which I still am.
35:10 Lewis Howes? Right, right. Let's just say 10 years ago, when you started learning about these things. What were some lessons you learned from some of the bigger poets at the time, who were better than you at the time? What were some lessons you learned from their performance, or their structure, or their vulnerability?
35:27 IN-Q? I would say I learned the most from a guy named Shi Han.
35:31 Lewis Howes? What did, and what did he teach you? Or what did you learn from just watching?
35:34 IN-Q? Well, I had never really thought about doing longer shows, and I had a lot of material, but I didn't know how to put it together in a way that would be entertaining. And a lot of people perceive poetry as like a three-minute art form. And it's really, it can be digested in that way, but I don't think that that's the best platform for it. And so what I do now is I take the different pieces that I have, and then I string together, like, stories about my life that give you context to why I wrote the piece and, and what it's about. For example, the bird piece that I did earlier, the reason that I wrote that was because I was coming home from a show and I was on a plane, and we were delayed, and I looked
36:19 IN-Q? out the window, and there was a bird, like, like one single bird, and he was literally looking at the plane, and he was just looking back and forth at this plane, like he was jealous. And I thought, that's a bird that wants to be a plane.
36:37 IN-Q? And that's where that poem was born out of. And I think that when people have context to who I am and what my life is, it allows them to connect to my poetry in a more deep way. You know, and, and so I think that's what Shi Han taught me is, is watching him, going on tour with him, different colleges and stuff like that. I would see how he would incorporate stories about his life and his family and how he would use humor. And, um, you know, he's, he's one of my best friends and so it was easily adopted into my own style.
37:06 Lewis Howes? Sure. Interesting.
37:07 IN-Q? Yeah.
37:08 Lewis Howes? I love it. Well, I'd love to finish with a poem if you have something.
37:14 IN-Q? Uh, sure. I have to think about what I would do.
37:18 Lewis Howes? Something that brings it all together. If you have a story you want to talk about first, feel free to add that as well.
37:25 IN-Q? That's funny. You know what? I'll do a new poem.
37:28 Lewis Howes? Perfect. The thing that's impressive about you is you memorize all these poems.
37:33 IN-Q? I do.
37:33 Lewis Howes? Majority of them, which are six, seven, eight minutes long, correct?
37:36 IN-Q? Some of them are longer, yeah.
37:37 Lewis Howes? That's a whole other conversation about how you memorize these long stories.
37:42 IN-Q? I think it's like anything else, you know? You just do it long enough and then, you know.
37:46 Lewis Howes? You break it down piece by piece, memory, memorize each piece or?
37:49 IN-Q? No, I just, it's weird. I don't even really think about it anymore. Memorization is the, the least thing that I, that I think about.
37:55 Lewis Howes? It's amazing.
37:56 IN-Q? I more think about the next line and making sure that, uh, it's saying what the poem wants it to say, basically.
38:03 Lewis Howes? Delivered the right way.
38:05 IN-Q? No, just even written in the right way.
38:07 Lewis Howes? I see what you're saying.
38:07 IN-Q? In the creation of it, but I guess delivered too. Yeah.
38:10 Lewis Howes? Yeah.
38:14 IN-Q? We are all mirrors, co-creators of this human experience. So this is not my voice that you're hearing, it is ours. I'm here as a reflection to remind you of your inner power. In my next life, I'll be a sunflower. See, we belong to the world. It's not the other way around, but it's hard to keep your head inside the clouds and your feet on solid ground. The stimulus is infinite in and out. It's easy to forget what this is all about.
38:43 IN-Q? What is this all about? If all that counts is the numbers in our bank accounts, happiness cannot be found by having an amount. It's what we do that counts. It's who we are to the people that we care about. It's who we are to the people we don't care about. Because everyone could be someone you could care about. What if humanity had grown up in your parents' house? What if everyone you see is family? Think about how much you love the people that you love and love the people with the same capacity. Compassion is an action. And actually, so is atrophy. It takes as much effort to create as it takes to pass your time passively. Yesterday is the future. Tomorrow is the past. This moment is an instant.
39:27 IN-Q? It's over in a flash. Our bodies turn to ash. We're cycled by the dirt. The only thing that really lasts is the energy on Earth. Because when we breathe out, plants breathe in. Then the plants breathe out, and the cycle starts again in a human chess match against the Constitution. I used to focus on my problems. Now I'm open to solutions. Technology can be the catalyst for revolution. Community is as important as an institution. I am my own pollution. Eighty-five percent of me is water and the other fifteen is an illusion. We're only using five percent of our brains. The other ninety-five is in hibernation, a snooze-button nation waiting for a dreamer to come wake us up. This is not about me. It's about us.
40:10 IN-Q? But it's comfortable inside the comforter. Wrapped up in insecurity blankets? Pretending someone else will be the one to change? The truth is, we're the only ones here. See, I'm trying to be clear, but I'm only a mirror. And I don't want to write a poem just to make a crowd cheer. I want to write a poem that will make the crowd share, stand up on their chairs, scream into the atmosphere. Life is not fair, but at least we're here. We could be anywhere, and anywhere would still be here. Do you hear? Are you here? The people aren't over there. Over where? There is only here. The map is not a square, rain dancing in a storm, trying to drink God's tears. What we are doing now is the next hundred years.
40:53 IN-Q? So ask yourself if you're prepared to operate from fears. I dare you to be beautiful, but first be aware, however you perceive is the way that you appear.
41:04 IN-Q? We don't have to make money or make change. See, we can make both. We can take the blame and transform it into hope. Cause I have faith that our mistakes will be our greatest growth. And we are so close, so close your eyes.
41:21 IN-Q? And visualize the ways that you can give. Now, open up your mind and live the life you're meant to live. Open up your heart and live the life that you were meant to live. Open up your soul and live the life that you were meant to live. Open up yourselves and live the life that you were meant to live. Open up your eyes.
41:39 IN-Q? It's right here in the present tense.
41:48 Lewis Howes? It's a great finish.
41:49 IN-Q? Thank you, man.
41:50 Lewis Howes? When did you write that one?
41:52 IN-Q? Uh, maybe three weeks ago.
41:54 Lewis Howes? Wow, powerful. I appreciate it. Where can we find you online right now?
41:58 IN-Q? Uh, you can go to Twitter, INQ Life, INQ Life. I'm on Instagram, INQ Life, Facebook, INQ Life.
42:06 Lewis Howes? Everywhere INQ Life.
42:08 IN-Q? Everywhere is INQ Life, but you spell it I-N dash Q.
42:11 Lewis Howes? I-N dash Q.
42:12 IN-Q? But INQ Life, that's it.
42:14 Lewis Howes? Amazing. I appreciate it. And uh, when's your next show gonna be? When can we, when can we watch you live a performance? You did Cirque du Soleil once, right?
42:22 IN-Q? Yeah, I'm doing Cirque next year.
42:23 Lewis Howes? Okay.
42:24 IN-Q? I'm doing Cirque at the Mandalay Bay in March. Um, and uh, gonna do shows in LA and New York. Haven't figured out when. We just did a run in Venice that was amazing, sold out, awesome. Awesome vibes, so we're gonna recreate that. Hopefully in New York, uh, again in LA and then Miami. And then I travel around, you know, so you, you can always go to the website and check out where I'm gonna be next.
42:48 Lewis Howes? IN dash Q dot com, right?
42:49 IN-Q? IN dash Q dot com and then just INQ Life on all the social media.
42:53 Lewis Howes? Appreciate it, brother. Thanks so much.
42:54 IN-Q? Thank you, man.
43:01 Lewis Howes? And there you have it, greats. I love getting to know people like this and really diving into their heart, their soul, tapping into their creative talent and bringing it forward to you guys on this podcast. So if you enjoyed this episode, please share it with your friends over on Facebook or Twitter. And you get all the show notes back at LewisHowes.com. You'll see Adam's info there on the show notes. Some awesome videos actually of him performing live. If you want to watch him actually perform, go back to the show notes and watch a couple of the videos. And really, again, share it with your friends if you enjoyed this. Subscribe on iTunes and SoundCloud and Stitcher if you're liking the show. And it means a lot to me.
43:45 Lewis Howes? I've been getting so many positive feedbacks from people lately. I spoke at an event a couple of weeks ago, New Media Expo, and so many people came up to me and said specific things on, in specific episodes that really inspired them and motivated them to take action in their business, their life, their relationships. So keep sending your information my way over on Twitter, over on Facebook, or shoot me an email through my website at LewisHowes.com. And I've got some big episodes coming up in the next few weeks. So again, stay tuned for that. Make sure to subscribe on the newsletter at LewisHowes.com so you are always up to date on the newest episodes. And you guys know what time it is.
44:27 Lewis Howes? It's time to go up there and do something big today and make it great.
45:09 Speaker 03 That's right. I have rouseled with a alligator. I done tussled with a whale. I done handcuffed lightning, throwed thunder in jail. That's bad. Only last week, I murdered a rock. Injured a stone. Hospitalized a brick. I'm so mean, I make medicine sick. Bad dude. Bad. He knew that. Fast, fast, fast. Last night, I cut the light off my bedroom. Hit the switch, was in the bed before the room was dark. Incredible. Fast. Incredible. And you, George Fulman, all of you chumps are gonna bow when I whip him. All of you, I know you got him. I know you got him, dick. But the man's in trouble. I'm gonna show you how great I am.
Previous 47 Life After Prison: Journey to Becoming the World's Best Jazz Violinist with Christian Howes Next 49 Josh Shipp: How to Build an Empire of Impact Page updated October 25, 2026 · transcript and summary are machine-generated
