What 2,000 Episodes Taught Me About Greatness and Consistency | Lewis Howes

Lewis Howes, host of The School of Greatness and author of Make Money Easy, marks 2,000 episodes of the show with lessons on consistency and service. Greatness comes from using unique gifts to serve others, and showing up consistently matters more than feeling ready. Named touchpoints include The Mask of Masculinity, The Greatest Mindset, the Summit of Greatness, and his years on the USA National Team in team handball.

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

• 0:01Lewis Howes?

  You ever grab the healthier snack, take one bite and immediately wish you'd pick something else? If a habit feels like punishment, you're probably not going to stick with it. Look, committing to yourself starts with building habits that you can stick to. That's where Stars and Honey comes in. Their protein bars have 15 grams of protein and only four grams of sugar. Toss one in your gym bag, keep one in the car, or bring one to the office. And you don't have to choose between nutrition and taste. Try Iced Lemon Cookie, Mint Chocolate Chip, Red Velvet, or Peanut Butter Mousse. Order Stars and Honey Protein

• 0:42Lewis Howes?

  Bars at StarsAndHoney.com, or find them at Target stores nationwide. That's StarsAndHoney.com, or pick up a box on your next Target shopping trip. When it comes to sleep, consistency matters. Instead of having a bedtime routine you'll actually stick with, Hatch Sleep Clock makes it easier. It tracks your sleep right from your nightstand. No wearable required. Instead of just getting a sleep score, you'll get personalized insights to understand your sleep, plus recommendations to build a routine that works for you. Try Hatch Sleep Clock, the sleep tracker designed to get you to sleep. Available now on hatch.co and Amazon.

• 1:28Lewis Howes?

  Growth doesn't happen in a straight line. Life throws challenges your way, priorities shift, and sometimes you have to just adjust your plan. And that's why having a plan that works with you is so important. With ChatGPT, you can do more than just get answers. You can get things done. I use ChatGPT work to research guests for the School of Greatness, organize information, and create reports that help me make better decisions and stay focused on my goals. With the work toggle enabled, I can take all that information and turn it into something actionable. You can also connect your personal calendar, add your goals, and ask ChatGPT to create a realistic roadmap with weekly actions and monthly milestones that fit your life. When life throws you a curveball, ChatGPT helps

• 2:12Lewis Howes?

  you adjust your plan so you can keep moving forward. Because becoming a better version of yourself starts with having a plan you can actually follow. Get started at ChatGPT.com. You've probably been told that if you want something savvy enough that you have to chase it. Work harder, push harder, want it more, and the harder you chase, the further away it feels. And I've lived that way for years throughout my entire school life. No matter what I did, I never felt like my effort paid off. And I hated school. I dreaded going to school. I found every excuse I could to not go to school. And I know I talk about

• 2:53Lewis Howes?

  this quite a bit, but today, I'm going to show you the proof of how much I actually hated school. And last week, my mom gave me a gift. I didn't even know she had this. But this is a little poetry book from probably first or second grade that she gave me. And I'll show it up on the screen. You can even see it says poem on the back. And it's about poetry week that we had. I don't remember this. But when I go through this, it shows the poem from each of the kids in our class. One says about friendship. Friendship is a special thing. It's like, "Life on a golden ring. Friendship is a silver star shining

• 3:37Lewis Howes?

  that I see real far." This is not me. This is another kid's poem. Someone's talking about Easter. Easter and having candy is lots of fun. You run and you play and you have fun. I see another one about spring. "Spring has come. Spring is a beautiful place." I see another one about my cat. I have a cat. His name is Pat. He sat on a mat. And I can't forget, he has a hat. All these different things that people are sharing their poems about their interpretation of life, their experience at that time. Someone's talking about springtime. Someone's talking about poems. All these different things by all these

• 4:18Lewis Howes?

  amazing classmates, talking about friendship, sunshine, and everything else. And then I go to my poem. And you can see my poem here. I'll put it up on the screen. It says "School" by Lewis Howes. "I hate school. I hate school. I hate doing homework. I hate doing papers. I hate school." And that was my poem for this class assignment. Now, for me, it was, again, it was like this dread. Getting up and going to school was an exhaustion. And

• 4:59Lewis Howes?

  it was almost like I wish that eight hours a day, I was able to learn something that I felt like would be more meaningful to my life. Now, you know, not all school is bad. I had some great teachers throughout that time. I had some great moments throughout school. But the feeling of school didn't seem to work for me, or at least my personality or way I thought, the way I felt, and the way I moved through the world and interpreted the world. And it was more of like the system didn't work for me. And funny enough, when I fast forward my life, little did I know that I would actually launch a school, the School of Greatness. I didn't ever think that I would want to go back to school because

• 5:40Lewis Howes?

  of so much I tried to get out of it. But in 2013, I actually did it. I sat down in my living room with an iPhone and I started a podcast called The School of Greatness. I had no studio, no team, no audience, no experience of doing a show. But I stopped making my life about me. And I said, how can I make life about serving others? How can I start asking questions from people who are extremely smart, people who have experience, people have gone through horrific times and overcome those challenges, people who have dealt with extreme adversities, people who have made big mistakes and learned lessons from those mistakes as well. And I wanted to learn from the best. I wanted to create

• 6:24Lewis Howes?

  the thing that I wish existed when I was a kid. When I wrote this poem, "I hate school." And again, for me, I wish I learned things growing up that would help me understand navigating life better. I wish it taught me about how to overcome failure, how to deal with rejection, how to deal with my own insecurities and my embarrassments, how to deal with my shame, how to deal with relationship dynamics, how to deal with understanding money, how to make money, how to manage money, how to deal with navigating nutrition and my health. All these things that I started learning with our own school, The School

• 7:09Lewis Howes?

  of Greatness. And it worked. And today, The School of Greatness has over a billion downloads on audio on YouTube. And it has been an incredible journey. It's aired on public television across America. It's on airplanes now. And it reaches people in almost every country around the world. And throughout this time, I also didn't know that I would become an author and a writer, and a New York Times bestseller. And we've written four books over these 2,000 episodes. Four books. It's crazy to me to think about. The first one, being over a decade old, The School of Greatness, our first New York Times bestseller, that really was distilling the information that I learned from all these great thinkers and

• 7:54Lewis Howes?

  leaders and individuals that we had had on the show for many years. The School of Greatness was the first one. Then, my second one was probably the one that I'm most proud of is The Mask of Masculinity. This is actually not a New York Times bestseller. Who knows? Maybe one day it'll get on that list. But it was the one where I started to reveal a lot about myself and open up about a lot of my insecurities, a lot of my shame, my weaknesses. And I wanted to put them out there in the world so that they would not have power over me. Because I learned early on by doing the show, my definition of greatness within the first couple of years shifted after the first couple of years. Because

• 8:36Lewis Howes?

  for me, it was more about success, results, winning, accomplishment, achievement. That was what my original idea of greatness was. When I was growing up, that was kind of what I thought about. If I can be successful, if I can accomplish my dreams and my goals and get big results, and people can pay attention to it, then I have made it. But I quickly realized through my sports journey and in my early business journey, that accomplishing more did not make me feel better about myself. And when I started to go through the healing journey through this show, by starting to interview different experts, healers, spiritual

• 9:18Lewis Howes?

  leaders, that's when I said, oh, there's a lot of things that are blocking me from feeling like I'm enough, from knowing that I'm enough, and from feeling a deeper sense of peace and acceptance within myself, even though I know all of the things that I'm ashamed of from my past or my childhood or my insecurities. And once I started to learn how to heal and go in that process, it was one of the most impactful things that I'd ever done. And early in The School of Greatness, I did an episode opening up about being sexually abused by a man that I didn't know. And I thought the show was over. I thought my business would be over. I thought all my relationships would be done and no one would like me or

• 10:01Lewis Howes?

  be friends with me. And I recorded this episode after I'd started doing my own healing journey. And I waited on it for about six months because I was so afraid about putting it out there. And when I finally put it out there, I was at this place of acceptance and peace, knowing that like, hey, this is going to be the most you're ever going to be judged in your life, or maybe one of the most times you'll ever be judged in your life for something in your past. And I kind of came to peace with it being like, alright, if I lose all my relationships, if I lose my following, if I don't have any more money, but I feel that peace within me. And if I can help one man heal from their journey, or one woman heal from their journey

• 10:45Lewis Howes?

  of going through something similar like this, it would be worth it. It would be worth it to me. If one person was impacted in a positive way, they felt a sense of peace, they felt a sense of healing, they felt a sense of self-love that they'd never felt before. They didn't have to keep chasing accomplishments to feel enough. Then I would say that this would be worth it. And so that's where the Mask of Masculinity came from. And it's all about how men can embrace vulnerability, create strong relationships, and live their fullest lives. This was scary for me. It was scary for me to put out there because it meant I got to continue to dive deeper into the things that I was ashamed of.

• 11:26Lewis Howes?

  And there was still a lot that I was working through and still have been working through since this book, which was nine years ago now. So this was the second book that I felt like, and still feel like, this is probably the most important book that we've put out there so far in terms of helping men heal and helping women understand the men in their lives and why maybe they're not fully open or fully vulnerable and why, so you can understand the men in your lives. Then we wrote The Greatest Mindset. Unlock the Power of Your Mind and Live Your Best Life Today. And this is probably the book that I wish I had when I was 16. So this was after 10 years of working on The School of Greatness.

• 12:09Lewis Howes?

  This is the book that I wish, it's like, okay, I've learned so many different things now. What's everything I wish I had when I was in school and high school that they wish they taught me? This is that book. And it's really a book about healing, but it's teaching you the lessons on how to optimize your life at the highest levels. And I just think this is really inspiring from all the neuroscientists, all the leaders, all the sports figures that was in this book, and it was a New York Times bestseller. And one of the, you know, a lot of the episodes that we do here on the show is around money. How to make money, how to invest money, how to spend money wisely. And we have had a lot of experts come and talk about these topics.

• 12:54Lewis Howes?

  And again, these are things that they don't teach us in elementary school, middle school, high school, or even college. They don't really teach us how to understand money, how to make money, how to create value from something for money, how to negotiate with money, how to sell, how to do copywriting to generate sales. They don't teach us these things. So we've had these experts on for years. I've studied this myself for years. I'm still learning. There's different levels to understanding money. And it's one thing to be rich, it's a different thing to be wealthy. And some people are rich, but they are extremely poor internally. So it's understanding and navigating the relationship around money and around the difference between rich, poor, and wealthy.

• 13:39Lewis Howes?

  And that's where we created Make Money Easy, which is all about creating financial freedom and living a richer life. And so this is more about understanding your psychology and emotional relationship with money. Can you understand your money identity, your money values? And if money was a person and it walked into the room right now, wherever you are, watching and listening to this show, if money was a person who walked in the room, how would you respond? How would you think? How would you feel? What would your body respond to money if it was a person and it walked in the room right now? Based on your response to that, if you really sat with that, it would tell you a lot about

• 14:24Lewis Howes?

  your relationship with money. And so this book was more understanding the emotional, psychological, and relationship that we all have with money, how it impacts our decisions, how it impacts our relationships with others, friends, colleagues, intimate partners, and how we navigate our life in the process of this. These books have been kind of recaps of different themes that we have had on this show. And again, for me, it's really about understanding, live your best life, but not by always chasing more, but through healing, through acceptance, through awareness, through understanding yourself

• 15:07Lewis Howes?

  and navigating the messiness of this world that we're all living in. And trying to navigate, understanding something that is hard to understand. We don't know why we were brought into this body with the parents that we have and the city that we were born. We don't know why we were born at this time. It's already confusing. We don't have the clear answers. And a lot of our life is figuring out how to make the most of this life and how to navigate the challenges and the adversities and the uncertainties that life brings us all. We don't have the answers. And school, growing up for me, it just felt like I'm exhausted, I'm drained, and I'm

• 15:51Lewis Howes?

  so bad at this thing called school that I am a bad person, I'm a bad kid because I'm so bad at this thing. So my identity became tied to my results. And when eight hours of my life every single day for 15, 20 years was tied to school, being there in this system, it was hard for me to get out of the negative feelings I had around myself because I was doing so poorly in something that was most of my life. That's why sports became such an outlet for me to express myself.

• 16:29Lewis Howes?

  It was my way to be an artist through my body, through my actions, in a, in a container outside of school, whether it be a basketball court, you know, track and field, a football field, a soccer field, a baseball field as well, wherever it might have been, wherever I was playing sports. It allowed me to express myself and allowed me to understand human dynamics. And those were kind of my greatest lessons, my greatest teachers, being with coaches, learning from them, and learning how to interact with other athletes and being across other competitors as well. That's where I kind of got my human lessons from. And I wanted more of that.

• 17:11Lewis Howes?

  After sports was done with me, you know, I got injured playing arena football. You can see the arena football right here that I used to play with. I got injured and my identity was tied around sports now because I used that as my way to get validation. Since I couldn't do well in school, sports became the way for me to get validation and earn self-respect and self-worth. Once I got injured playing football, arena football, broke my wrist, for about a year and a half, I was sleeping on my sister's couch, trying to figure out, who am I? What am I meant to do in this life? Why did this happen to me? Why am I struggling? Why do I not have any money? Why am I living on my sister's couch? What am I supposed to do with my life? I've got no skills, I've got no identity now.

• 17:55Lewis Howes?

  And it's interesting because around that time, I found a new dream, something else opened up. And in 2008, I saw handball for the first time ever on the Olympics, the Beijing Olympics in 2008, and I saw this sport and it unlocked a new possibility in my mind that I've been on an 18-year journey where I moved to New York City, I made the USA national team. And during the time of making the USA national team, maybe a year or two after that, I started the School of Greatness. So I was pursuing a dream around a sport called Team Handball before the School of Greatness. Then I launched the School of Greatness almost 14 years ago now.

• 18:37Lewis Howes?

  Episode one, continued playing on the USA national team for many years during the first eight years of the School of Greatness. And I'm recommitted to this dream as well, pursuing it at this season of my life, almost 14 years in on the School of Greatness, 2,000 episodes in. I just got back from Egypt where we played, our Los Angeles handball team played at the Club World Championships. So there are these different seasons and different dreams that I've been pursuing while being consistent on this show, The School of Greatness. And I've had the incredible fortune to sit across from amazing guests like Tony Robbins,

• 19:20Lewis Howes?

  like Kobe Bryant, Michelle Obama, Kevin Hart, Matt Damon, Matthew McConaughey, Joe Dispenza, so many other great scientists and experts that are teaching me and teaching all of us how to optimize that area of life that we're struggling in. And today is episode 2,000.

• 19:46Lewis Howes?

  You ever grab the healthier snack, take one bite and immediately wish you'd pick something else? If a habit feels like punishment, you're probably not going to stick with it. Look, committing to yourself starts with building habits that you can stick to. That's where Stars and Honey comes in. Their protein bars have 15 grams of protein and only four grams of sugar. Toss one in your gym bag, keep one in the car, or bring one to the office. And you don't have to choose between nutrition and taste. Try Iced Lemon Cookie, Mint Chocolate Chip, Red Velvet, or Peanut Butter Mousse. Order Stars and Honey Protein Bars at StarsAndHoney.com

• 20:30Lewis Howes?

  or find them at Target stores nationwide. That's StarsAndHoney.com or pick up a box on your next Target shopping trip. At Staples, easy means professional looking prints, ready as fast as same day. Plus 25% back in points on custom print orders of $100 or more now through October 31st. From signs and banners to business cards and presentations, Staples prints it all, so you can get more time back in your day. Don't choose hard, choose Staples. Exclusions apply. See Staples app for details. If you're a small business, you know one great hire can change everything. And maybe

• 21:14Lewis Howes?

  it's someone to keep the day running smoothly, find the right producer, or take work off your plate so you can focus on what you do best. Finding that person matters. Indeed Sponsored Jobs gets you quality candidates when you need them most. Join the 3.3 million employers worldwide that use Indeed to connect with quality talent that fits their needs. Listeners of this show will get a $75 sponsored job credit to help get your job the premium status it deserves at Indeed.com/podcast. That's Indeed.com/podcast. Terms and conditions apply. Hiring now, then this is a job for Indeed Sponsored Jobs.

• 21:58Lewis Howes?

  Over 13 years, we have never missed a week. 2,000 episodes, and underneath every one of them is the same question. What does greatness actually mean? That's the underlying theme. Obviously, at the end, I ask everyone, what is your definition of greatness? But what does it actually mean? And that's something I wanted to learn early on. What is greatness? What is this? Is this something we can all have? Is this something only chosen for a select few who are willing to grind their life out for some big goal or big accomplishment? Like, what does it actually mean? And that's what I set out to answer. Discover for myself

• 22:41Lewis Howes?

  and learn from others. And by the end of this episode, I'm going to give you my answer. But first, what I want to do is I want to give you four key lessons from the 2,000 episodes of what these episodes taught me about building a life that pulls you and pulls your dreams closer to you. And so that's what this is all about. I can't do 2,000 lessons. If you want to go back and listen to a lot of these episodes, you'll get great lessons from each episode. And I always love getting emails from people that say, hey, you know, I've been listening to you from the beginning, or I started listening to you six months ago, and I've been going back through the old episodes and just trying to get through all of them. And for me, that inspires me so much. I'm so grateful that

• 23:26Lewis Howes?

  you are here. I'm so grateful that you're here, building in this life with me, on this journey with me. A lot of you have seen me go through ups and downs. If you've been with me since the beginning, or maybe you've come and gone over the last 13, 14 years, it's been a lot. You've seen me go through, again, writing multiple books. We had lots of different kind of businesses within the School of Greatness. We've done 10 years of the Summit of Greatness. You've seen me do my USA National Team journey towards handball and my dreams there. You've seen me been through lots of different relationships. You know, I've been in a lot of different relationships from 13, 14 years ago till now. And now I'm

• 24:10Lewis Howes?

  married. I've got twins. I'm a father. I've got different seasons of life that I've personally gone through that this school, this School of Greatness has guided me. And you've also seen me make mistakes. You've seen me be an imperfect human being throughout this entire time. I don't always say the right things. I don't always do the right things, personally, professionally, on this show, off the show, et cetera. But I've always shown up. I've always said, how can I continue to improve and be better? And I'm going to continue to make mistakes. So are you, or human beings. So we're flawed. But as long as we have the awareness, the responsibility and the accountability for our lives, I think that's what we can

• 24:52Lewis Howes?

  give to ourselves, and that's what we owe others as well. So there's going to be a couple of parts to this episode. Part one, I'm going to share with you the four lessons of the last 2,000 episodes. And lesson number one is show up until it shows up. So what does this mean? Well, most people quit right before things start coming to them. They are a little too impatient. Maybe they're distracted. Maybe you've got too many different ideas, so it's hard for you to focus on one. And I spoke with a wealthy friend recently who wanted to start a podcast, for example. And he came to me and said, Lewis, what's the secret to launching the show? You've done this, you know, almost 2,000 episodes now.

• 25:36Lewis Howes?

  What's the secret? How do I be successful really fast? How do I get it out there, make money, get lots of views right away, and make it a hit? And I literally told him, do not launch a show unless you could do it for the next three to five years, every single week, knowing that you may get zero listeners, zero viewers, and make zero dollars. And why did I say this to him? Because most people have an expectation, especially if you're already successful. You're like, I don't want to start something unless I know it's going to work out. Well, news flash, not everything works out just because you want it. Maybe it'll work out, maybe it won't. What are you willing to do? How much are

• 26:17Lewis Howes?

  you willing to commit to something to show that it can come to you more effortlessly? It'll come to you, the more you show up for it. And just because you have an idea that you want to do something, doesn't mean you should do it. I have lots of ideas. You know, just because I could launch a shoe company, doesn't mean I should launch a shoe company. I could sell toothbrushes. Just because I can sell them, doesn't mean I should sell them. Is it serving my greatest gifts, my greatest talents? Is it serving this season of my life? Is it a distraction from me giving the most to this podcast and other things that I'm working on? Or is it in alignment with that? And so just because you have an

• 26:58Lewis Howes?

  idea you want to do something, doesn't mean you should. But it also, maybe it means you should do something. And this is why I like to question and ask people like, okay, if you want to do a show like this, or something on your own that you really want to do, are you willing to show up for it consistently? Are you willing to do it because you're truly curious and passionate about it? And I decided this early on when I started out. It allowed me the freedom to really keep trying, keep growing, and allow the consistency of showing up to pull my dreams closer to me. And this is what I did. The first year of the School of Greatness was an experiment. A lot of people said, it's not going to work. What's a podcast? This was way before podcasts. No one knew what a podcast was. No one knew.

• 27:43Lewis Howes?

  I had to explain people over and over again, how to go click just to find and listen to the show. There was no video, nothing. There was no virality. You had to send people a link one by one to get people to listen. And this was hard. It's very easy to get more virality a day with short clips, but it was hard back then. And it was a struggle. You had to educate people first on what a podcast was. But I said, I'm going to do this because I want to build relationships. I want to learn from experts. I want to make it about others, not about me. That's why I said I'm going to do this every single week for a year. And then from there, I'll reevaluate. And that's what I did. I did

• 28:26Lewis Howes?

  it every single week for the first year. And I got, I made no money, nothing, but I got so much value. And the return of that time, that energy paid dividends for my soul, for my life, for my business, for my relationships. And I didn't know what the podcast would become when I started it. But I knew it was something that was calling me. It was like, my heart was being pulled in this direction to go experiment with this thing called a podcast that I came up with called The School of Greatness. When I was stuck in traffic in LA, driving around, I was going through a challenging time in my life through a breakup.

• 29:09Lewis Howes?

  I was stuck in traffic. And I realized a lot of people around me were also frustrated. I could see people, you know, honking their horns and screaming that they were stuck in traffic. And I thought to myself, oh, this isn't just me. Other people are stuck as well. Sure, I'm going through my own internalization of breakdowns in my relationships, but other people are frustrated in life and stuck as well. What if there was a way that I could...

• 29:38Lewis Howes?

  Create something that I'm excited about to help me learn, but to help other people become unstuck also. That was literally the idea the School of Greatness came about in a car in Los Angeles, stuck in traffic and stuck in my life. I didn't know what it would become, but I knew I felt called to do it. And I knew I wanted to give it a full year of consistency. And from there, the feedback that I got from others and the joy that I gained from doing it, made me want to continue the second year. Then I think it was year three or four, when it finally started to make a little bit of money. I mean, maybe like 10 grand, 20 grand.

• 30:17Lewis Howes?

  And I was like, but the value that I was gaining, like I would have done it for free forever. Right. It was giving me so much value and I was enjoying it. And I could see the value and the, the feedback from, from you, listeners, viewers of the impact. And I was like, oh, this is something bigger than me. And that's one of the reasons why I kept doing it. Never that I know that it would reach a billion downloads, be one of the biggest shows in the world, help us write, you know, multiple New York Times bestselling books, help me connect with some of the most influential individuals in the world that I'm either have a relationship with or friends with a lot of these individuals or friendly with them.

• 31:01Lewis Howes?

  And it's, it's been a game changer. Now, there's been lots of ups and downs. The one thing has been me and our team showing up, us showing up consistently. And we're not always perfect, but we show up consistently. I'm not always perfect, you know, I've been through multiple breakups. I've gone through health challenges. I've gone through financial burdens during the last 13, 14 years. Um, you know, online criticism, humiliation, embarrassment, loss. I lost my father a number of years ago during this time. And there's been a lot of sadness too. But one of the things that we've done is, is being consistent, even when it's not easy,

• 31:44Lewis Howes?

  even when it's not convenient, even when it's not fun sometimes. There's definitely been months where I said, I don't want to do this. I don't want to, I don't want to work. I don't want to get out of bed. I don't want to have to get dressed in a certain way. I don't want to have to shave. I don't want to have to put myself on like I'm a happy person right now. There's been months and seasons where I did not want to do that. And I'm telling you what, there's been a lot of times where I, I wasn't my best. Or I wasn't fully present, sitting next to a person where my mind would wander. Where I was worried about what's going on in my personal life or some other challenges or the business. And, and I want you to know, like, it's not always going to be the perfect environment for you either, in whatever you're looking to create in your life.

• 32:29Lewis Howes?

  It's not always going to be the perfect health, the perfect relationships, the perfect financial situation for you. But if you can learn to show up consistently and not beat yourself up for not being perfect. Cause I know I haven't been every time I'm on this show. I mean, you do something, 2000 episodes, you're going to have some off days. You know, the Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, they weren't great every single game that they ever played. They've struggled and lost games as well. To keep showing up, it's not always easy, but that's the point. It's the key and it's learning how to be consistent from episode one till now, episode 2000. And a lot of people ask me like the key to my success and our success in this show.

• 33:14Lewis Howes?

  And I tell people a lot of the time, listen, I have the proof. My mom showed me this now, and I think I have some, some grade cards somewhere. I gotta find that proof too, on how bad I was in school. But I have the proof. I wrote a poem during poetry week in first or second grade that says, "School. I hate school. I hate school. I hate doing homework. I hate doing papers. I hate school." Funny that I said, I hate doing papers and that we've written multiple books. So these are like, you know, hundreds of papers in a book. I just had to be, I started to figure out how I could like learning. I hated school, but I love to learn. I hated school, but I love being coached.

• 33:57Lewis Howes?

  And so it's learning how to learn in a different way for me. And a lot of people say like, about the success of this show. And I'm, and I tell people, I was in the bottom of my class. I hated school. I was not a good student. It was a struggle every single day to go to school and pay attention. It was exhausting. It was like a drain, a drag. It was like anything I had to do to get out of it, I tried to do it. But something that I've learned is how to be consistent. And the more consistent I can be, the better I will be. So I'm never going to be smarter than you. I'm never going to be more talented than you in a lot of ways. I'm never going to have those gifts that you have. But something I've learned is how can I just be consistent?

• 34:42Lewis Howes?

  How can I show up curious? How can I show up excited? How can I show up interested? And if I can do that, then I can do it consistently. And as long as I'm enjoying the process, you know, I hated school, but I love learning. And so as long as I continue to learn and I feel like I'm benefiting it, you're benefiting it. The community is benefiting as well. Humanity is benefiting and the world is benefiting. Then it's something I'll, I'll keep doing as long as I feel that way. And there have definitely been weeks, if not months, I have wanted to skip. And a lot of the stuff for me was, I didn't know how to navigate like breakups and emotional stuff and relationships in the past.

• 35:24Lewis Howes?

  The first probably six or seven years of the show, I was going through different breakups and different challenges. And that was hard. It was just hard because I didn't learn how to navigate my emotions. And so there'd be certain days where I would just be like, I don't want to do this. And I would show up and I would just do my best, but I wasn't always my best. And I think the difference was me doing it anyways, doing it sad, doing it hurt, doing it emotional, doing it not my best, doing it with a three out of a 10, rather than a 10 out of a 10 and showing up consistently either way. Because I think if I would have taken like six months off or a year off or a couple of years off, it wouldn't be where it is today.

• 36:08Lewis Howes?

  I'm not saying you have to do that, but I'm just saying, look at your life and see where can you be more consistent in showing up either way. And that is the first lesson for me. The second lesson is stop making it about you. The fastest way to become someone people want to be around is to be of service to others. Relationships will take you further than your ego ever will. There's something that I was struggling with in my twenties. My life was about me. You know, I wanted to be a professional athlete and I went out and did it. I got injured and I said, why is this happening to me?

• 36:52Lewis Howes?

  I wanted to go make money and I went out and I did it. But then I wasn't happy with the money I was making and I was dealing with all these struggles. And everything was thinking about me focused, me, I'm going to go do this. Why is this happening to me? Why aren't getting what they have? It was all me, me, me, me, me, me. And it was so self-focused. And I'm not saying self-focused is a bad way to live life. I am still in a lot of ways self-focused around certain areas of my life. I want to be self-focused around how I think and feel in a positive way so that I can impact others more positively. I want to have some self-focused and self-interest to take care of my health,

• 37:35Lewis Howes?

  to be a good husband, to be a good father. I want to have some self-focus, but when it's all about me and not about others, then life just loses its fulfillment, right? So it's not about not focusing on you. Cause I think there's a lot of people that only focus on others and they neglect themselves. They neglect their wants, their desires, their needs, their health, to put all the energy on others. And I think that's not the best way to serve yourself and others as well, when your cup is not even half full. My friend, I hope you're enjoying this episode. And the School of Greatness drops new conversations every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Around money, mindset, healing, manifestation, and relationships.

• 38:19Lewis Howes?

  And if you're not yet following the show, then you're missing all of them. Please tap the follow button right now and you'll get notified the moment every new episode drops, because the next one might be exactly what you need. Now let's get back to the conversation. At Staples, easy means professional looking prints, ready as fast as same day. Plus 25% back in points on custom print orders of $100 or more now through October 31st. From signs and banners to business cards and presentations, Staples prints it all. So you can get more time back in your day. Don't choose hard, choose Staples. Exclusions apply. See Staples app for details.

• 39:03Lewis Howes?

  If you're a small business, you know, one great hire can change everything. And maybe it's someone to keep the day running smoothly, find the right producer, or take work off your plate so you can focus on what you do best. Finding that person matters. Indeed sponsored jobs get you quality candidates when you need them most. Join the 3.3 million employers worldwide that use Indeed to connect with quality talent that fits their needs. Listeners of this show will get a $75 sponsored job credit to help get your job the premium status it deserves at indeed.com/podcast. That's indeed.com/podcast. Terms and conditions apply.

• 39:46Lewis Howes?

  Hiring now, then this is a job for Indeed sponsored jobs. But I knew I was in an inflection point before launching the School of Greatness, because I felt stuck. I told you that I was stuck on traffic and I was going through different relationship breakdowns in my life, business relationships, friendships, intimate partner that I was in a relationship with at the time. And I realized, oh, the common denominator is me. I can't blame everyone anymore because I'm at the center of all my problems. It's about me, the choices I'd made. And I think that was the first time that I really took responsibility for my life, if I'm honest, it was my late twenties. Sure, I was responsible towards other things, but I like, I would blame, I would put, you

• 40:30Lewis Howes?

  know, would try to play the victim in certain areas and say, no, they didn't do something they should have done. And at this point I said, oh, this is all about me being at the center of these problems. And I started to have awareness around that. And a lot of people said, okay, if you're going to do a podcast, you got to make it your name, because other people were doing like their name as their show. It's nothing against other people have their name as their show. But I was just like, the Lewis Howes show at this season of my life doesn't make sense, because that's all about me still. So I said, how can I make this about others? So the School of Greatness came to mind as a show topic, because I was like, man, I

• 41:12Lewis Howes?

  struggle in school, but I wish there was a school that could actually like teach people something about life and relationships and money. I was like, like a school of like greatness. And then it, I was like, I like that. I like the sound of that. That sounds more interesting. That sounds like a school that I would love to attend. That sounds like a school that I would love to be a part of. And, and so the name came to me and I said, all right, yeah, I like this better than the Lewis Howes show, because that just seems so self-focused. Maybe later in my life, like, okay, I can switch it up, but School of Greatness with Lewis Howes feels better. And I want to put the light on someone else. I want to do interviews with others where it's all about them, not about me. Sure, I'm going to be asking the questions.

• 41:56Lewis Howes?

  It's going to be my show, yada, yada. I'm facilitating the conversation, but it's not all about me, me, me, me, me, me, the whole time. Now, over the, after the first couple of years, a lot of you said, Lewis, we want more of your perspective. So I started to do solos like this one. But the core of the show, 80, 90% of it is still interview focused, is about others and gaining insights and intel and information, research frameworks from other people, lessons to share with you.

• 42:29Lewis Howes?

  And so my life really transformed after launching the show, because I just became obsessed even more so with other people and learning about their story. And when you ask an interesting question, you shut your mouth and you let people answer, they will reveal incredible things about their spirit and their soul. And if you become a space for them to, to share these things, they will have hopefully a positive memory, a positive moment. And life is really about two things, memories of people that you spend time with and moments with those individuals.

• 43:09Lewis Howes?

  And if you can have good moments with people, then you're going to build quality relationships with them. So we have relationships and moments that you get to share with certain people. That's really the makeup of our life, the people you interact with and the moments you make with them. And some of us make miserable moments with good people. Some of us make miserable moments with bad people in our life. And that becomes our life, the memories of those moments we made with the people that we experience them with. And I really believe that our life should be, how do we get to surround ourselves with more empowering and inspirational individuals in our lives and make good moments with them?

• 43:54Lewis Howes?

  So that we have better memories. Because a lot of our pain is stemmed from memories that we interpret in a negative way. The memories from the past that we hold on to block our heart, block our mind from having a growth, an abundant life, or a stagnant and stuck life. It's how we interpret the memories of the moments with the relationships of our past. Think about it. A lot of things that hold you back today, you know, for me, a lot of my childhood was around proving people wrong who picked on me, proving the bullies wrong, proving teachers

• 44:39Lewis Howes?

  wrong, proving coaches wrong, who didn't think I would amount to much. And holding on to that memory from those relationships in a negative way, instead of interpreting it differently and showing up differently in my life. And maybe you've gotten into a relationship based on a certain memory or certain thing that you felt like you were supposed to do. Maybe you got out of relationships. Maybe you got into a career because of certain things. Maybe you've blocked your heart. Maybe you've opened a heart. Whatever it is, is based on memories of moments you had with other people. When I started to make this about others, it doesn't mean I wasn't selfish at different times, like, listen, I'm a human being, I've made mistakes, but my intention was how do

• 45:24Lewis Howes?

  I make this about other people? My curiosity shifted towards others rather than self. And throughout the 2000 episodes, this just allows me to keep learning, because I still make it about other people. And it's been a beautiful, beautiful lesson. Lesson number three, build it for the people who need it. Build it for the people who need it. From day one, the mission of the show has been to serve 100 million lives every single week. We're still going after that mission, but it's what has brought me the right audience. And when you're clear on what you're building and who it's for, the right people will find you and want to be a part of it. They'll want to be a part of the community.

• 46:09Lewis Howes?

  They'll want to conspire to support you in accomplishing that mission as well. And every single week, someone tells me an episode changed something in their life or impacted them because of this show. A hard conversation that they finally had, a business that they finally started, a habit they finally broke. The numbers are incredible, but the person on the other side of the screen or other side of the, of the, who's listening is the reason why we do this. You know, reaching a billion downloads is crazy. 2000 episodes is amazing, but none of these 2000 episodes wouldn't happen if it wasn't for you, for you deciding to show up, for you deciding to be a part of this community.

• 46:53Lewis Howes?

  And it's just been incredible. Literally, I was just in Egypt a couple of weeks ago, again, playing with the Club World Championships for handball. And we took a day off to go to the pyramids, the great pyramids. And we were, you know, trekking through the middle of the pyramids, probably took 20 minutes to climb up through this tiny little tunnel and go into the pyramids. And in the middle of the pyramids in Egypt, someone stopped me and said, you're Lewis Howes. I love your show, the School of Greatness. It's made a big impact in my life. And it's just like, it blows my mind that in the middle of the pyramids in Egypt, that

• 47:34Lewis Howes?

  someone is a, is a fan, is a listener of the show and talking about how it's impacted them. I meet people all the time, meet people all the time who have been impacted by this, who have talked about listening to a certain episode or being a consistent listener or viewer of the show was an inflection point for them and helped them stay consistent in someone in the area of their life. We had a, you know, after I wrote the, the Mask of Masculinity. I was touring on it. I did a book tour and I was really passionate about this book.

• 48:12Lewis Howes?

  Still am. But I went to a prison visit one day because I got invited to go to a prison and meet with a group of men. With Common, actually. Common went in and brought me in a group of other people here in LA to a prison. Just outside of LA, maximum security prison, but then had a group of inmates who had committed to not, you know, doing bad things in prison. So a group of inmates who were supposed to be in there for life. But had special privileges inside of this section of the prison because they said they weren't going to get in fights. They were going to have, do the right things. They were going to have good behavior and they were trying to improve their life in prison.

• 48:57Lewis Howes?

  And within 30 minutes of going into this prison, someone comes up to me and goes, an inmate, you know, an inmate's out, uh, uniform, comes up to me and says, you're Lewis Howes. And I was like, I thought I was getting punked for a second. He said, you're Lewis Howes. Now, this was nine years ago. He said, you're Lewis Howes. I go, yeah. And he goes, I have your book, The Masked Masculinity, and I've been teaching a men's class in prison with the exercises in this book. And I, and I was kind of like at shock. I go, no way. You don't have my book. He said, I'll prove it. He literally went to his cell,

• 49:35Lewis Howes?

  came back and showed me this book. Now, the interesting thing, he, we didn't have a paperback at that time. But he had, you know, they, someone had sent him the book. They took out the spine. So it couldn't be used as a weapon. So it wasn't hard. But he still had the cover and the whole book and it was marked up with notes. And I was like, this is crazy. So I took a photo with him and the book inside the prison and I'll put this on the screen right here so you can see it. And maybe a few months later, he said, listen, I'd love for you to come back and watch a workshop that I lead with the inmates with the messages from your book. And this is probably the most rewarding

• 50:19Lewis Howes?

  five hour experience that I've ever had. One of the most rewarding was going back and co-leading a workshop with an inmate who'd have been there for 20 something years, who was supposed to be in there for life for something he did as a teenager. And his name is Lee. And it was one of the most healing experiences of my life. With a group of about 20, 25 men and I brought a few other guys from outside the prison walls to come in and help co-lead this. And it was the most vulnerable, real thing that I've ever experienced. And so healing to hear the things that these men had been through before prison, in prison, and what they were committed to creating

• 50:59Lewis Howes?

  for their lives, whether they stayed in prison for the rest of their lives, or if they ever had the chance to get out. And to know that you may be stuck in a prison for the rest of your life. And yet you're going to commit to overcoming your past. You're commit to overcoming the pain you've experienced, the pain you've caused, and the harm you've done. And to learn about the, the lives that they had, the environment that they grew up in. Not acknowledging that any of the acts that they did were okay. But to also have compassion for the extreme abuse, the extreme poverty, the extreme

• 51:37Lewis Howes?

  drug addiction that their parents went through, the lack of love, care, or support that they got compared to what a lot of us get. To realize, okay, this, this type of environment may cause harm to this person who may cause harm on other people. I can still not be okay with certain things that got them in prison, but also understand the things that caused them to react the way they did under extreme circumstances. And then also acknowledge the beauty of the healing journey that they've been on for 10, 20, 30 years, some of these guys. And the vulnerability, the lessons that they're learning about themselves. Even though there may be no hope in sight for the future to get out.

• 52:22Lewis Howes?

  And it was a beautiful experience. And I was like, man, even if all this book that took a couple of years of me to write and work on, even if all that did was help these 20 to 25 men in prison start to heal, start to overcome their past, start to have a different relationship with their lives, to try to create a brighter future for themselves, even though there may not be a lot of hope for their future. This was worth it. The show was worth it. The book was worth it. Everything was worth it. Even if it doesn't make me any money, it was still worth it. And beautiful thing, a couple of years after this moment,

• 53:02Lewis Howes?

  this inmate who had my book in prison, who I went back to lead a workshop with, actually got out. And there's a photo of us with him in prison and there's a photo of us in my old studio, which I'll put that photo up on screen right now, of him out as a free man. And it just shows the power of what he was also able to overcome while in prison to transform his life. To eventually get out. And now he's doing great things for, for a lot of people who are getting out of prison as well now. And he's transformed his life. And for me,

• 53:45Lewis Howes?

  it, none of this would have happened without this show, without you all being interested in this work, in the lessons, in the guests that we have on, in the books that we create for you that have exercises and, and more lessons and teaching as well. And it's just one example of the impact. And it's something I'm so grateful for. It's just a, been a beautiful, beautiful journey. And the lesson here is you want to build it for the people who need it. And when I launched this, I was building it for myself because I needed a lot of help. I needed a lot of work to heal my journey, but I was also thinking of others.

• 54:28Lewis Howes?

  And when I was healing through my own stuff, through my own men's vulnerability stuff, little that I know, Lee in prison would find this and would be leading workshops for men in prison as well. You know, we created the Summit of Greatness, 10 years of the Summit of Greatness since 2015, I guess it was, 2015, 2016 is our first year. And we said, how can we bring this community online to life? So we created a Summit of Greatness. And these are some of the greatest weekends every single year that we would do, bringing the podcast to life. And so many people from these events created incredible friendships.

• 55:10Lewis Howes?

  Some people got married, you know, from these events. There's couples, couples that got married that have kids now who met at the Summit of Greatness, people who've created business partnerships and launched businesses and made impact. And I think it's just been a powerful journey to know that everything that we do now, I was telling our team this, this morning, that the work we do now has the ability to impact people next year, five years, 10 years, 50 years in the future. And I want to make this and continue to make this for you, for what you're going through. And this is why we really lean into your comments and see what is the biggest challenge?

• 55:52Lewis Howes?

  Where's the pain point that you have in your life? And where do you feel stuck? I'm still looking for growth in certain areas of my life, so I'm curious about how to get to next levels. And yet I know you might be experiencing some stuckness as well. So I'd love to hear from you in the comments if you can. If you can share one thing that has impacted you from this, uh, from this show over the last 2,000 episodes, whether you've been here since day one, or this is your first day. What is one thing that you've gained from the School of Greatness? If you can share specifically in the comments below, it'd mean a lot. And also, what's one area of your life where you feel stuck still? Where are you trying to grow? Where would you like to improve?

• 56:36Lewis Howes?

  Share that in the comments below. Okay, so lesson number four, your inner world determines your outer world.

• 56:45Lewis Howes?

  Or inner peace is the new rich. You can build everything on the outside and still push it all away from the inside. And the inner work that I've done and continue to do on myself is what finally let the good things stay with me. This has been a journey, guys. Not only the show, but the show has brought me to other things. From emotional intelligence workshops to therapy, to meditation, retreats, coaches, gratitude practices, breath work. And I've learned that peace is the highest currency there is. Inner peace, without it, you are a poor human being if you do not have inner peace. You could have all the money and all the

• 57:27Lewis Howes?

  wealth and all the luxury in the world, but if you don't have inner peace, you are not living a rich life. A lot of these things I try on. A lot of the experts who, who come on here, I try on. From breathwork to meditation, I went to India and did a week-long retreats, doing meditation and breathwork, extremely powerful and profound at that season of my life. That allowed me to create a lot more peace when I was struggling in a lot of chaos internally. I took a group of 12 or 13 men, friends of mine, I took them to Poland and did a week-long retreat. This was about six years ago now, with Wim Hof at the time, where we were immersed ourselves in breathwork,

• 58:10Lewis Howes?

  meditation, and a lot of ice and freezing cold therapy training to overcome the chaos in our minds and inside of us. And we were sitting in, you know, frozen ice tubs, you know, 10, 12 of us at a time, for 10 minutes breathing. We jumped into frozen rivers. We climbed a mountain half naked for almost five hours in the snow. It was freezing, but we learned how to overcome it with techniques and strategies during the day on opening ourselves up to peace. Some of the most beautiful things happened with the men in this group during that time. Dr. Joe Dispenza, I had on here many times, ended up, you know, he would guilt me almost every time, when are you going to come to my retreat?

• 58:55Lewis Howes?

  And me and Martha finally went to his seven-day retreat and it was life-changing, it was incredible. And, you know, I learned so much about myself during that. I had a, you know, they put a headset on my, my whole head, mapping my brain during one of the meditations. We did all these healing exercises, it was so profound. And for me, it's not just about how do I do an interview and just move on with my life? It's how do I immerse myself in the experience the best way possible with the time I have available at that season of my life? And I've tried to do that over this process. And a lot of you have as well, I've seen you do this. And peace today looks a lot different to what it did at episode one and episode 1,000, and now at episode 2,000.

• 59:38Lewis Howes?

  Peace feels a lot different because I have the tools. It doesn't mean every day I'm perfectly peaceful, but I'm a lot, in a lot more harmonic state of being with, because I practice these tools. I've done the work. And it doesn't mean I'm finished and I'm going to be fine forever. It's a continual process of living in that state. There's so many guests over the years that have inspired me to continue to do the work. And I'd love to hear from you as well in the comments, what guest inspired you to do the work on yourself the most so far? Now, there's a second part to this episode that I wanted to start with here.

• 1:00:19Lewis Howes?

  And part two is what we're building towards. So I just shared the four kind of key lessons from 2,000 episodes and it's been a journey from talking about, you know, poetry from a kid of what I hated, you know, my early thoughts and my early relationship to life, to handball journey, to writing multiple books, New York Times bestsellers, to all the different kind of experiences and lessons of healing and growth towards this show, 2,000 episodes. But I want to share what we're building towards. At the 10-year mark, I said it felt like we were just getting started. You know, we're coming up on 14 years in the next few months, but at 10 years, I remember saying,

• 1:01:01Lewis Howes?

  "We are just getting started." And I feel that even more today. We're constantly reinventing. We're diving in deeper as a team, myself also. I'm at a different season of life, you know, I'm married with kids. And I'm thinking about different things than I was day one, episode 1,000, 10 years in, et cetera. And the next 1,000 episodes, for me, I just keep thinking about how can I be of service in greater ways? Where will I be called? I'm so open to where I'll be called for the next 1,000 episodes.

• 1:01:38Lewis Howes?

  That I want to be a channel, I want to be clear, and I want to be consistent towards that call. Right now, I feel called in a certain way to continue to do the things we're doing to reach 100 million lives every single week.

• 1:01:58Lewis Howes?

  In business, there's the easy way with Staples or the hard way. Hard means waiting too long for custom prints when your business needs them now. Easy means banners, business cards, and more, ready as fast as same day. Hard means unfortunate printer errors. Easy means quality, professional-grade print solutions. Don't choose hard, choose Staples, in-store, online, or through the app. If you're a small business, you know one great hire can change everything. And maybe it's someone to keep the day running smoothly, find the right producer, or take work off your plate so you can focus on what you do best. Finding that person matters. Indeed sponsored jobs get you quality candidates when you need them most.

• 1:02:43Lewis Howes?

  Join the 3.3 million employers worldwide that use Indeed to connect with quality talent that fits their needs. Listeners of this show will get a $75 sponsored job credit to help get your job the premium status it deserves at indeed.com/podcast. That's indeed.com/podcast. Terms and conditions apply. Hiring now, then this is a job for Indeed sponsored jobs. But I feel like there are certain things that have been shifting as well for me over the last year. And I want to continue to lean into service at the highest level for you.

• 1:03:22Lewis Howes?

  In some ways, that means creating boundaries in my life. In some ways, that means shifting content in a certain way to serve you, which I think will be a best of service for our future together. And I want the show to be known for making a true impact. Because there's a lot of people that have come and gone in creating shows, in creating podcasts. And there's no right or wrong, good or bad here. There's a lot of people that do things a certain way to chase views, or chase money, or chase certain things that they're going after at certain times. It's not right or wrong, good or bad, because there's certain times where I was doing certain things as well.

• 1:04:00Lewis Howes?

  But for me, it's thinking about how can we serve? What are the things that we can do to help deeper, serve deeper? And in some ways, that may be saying no to certain types of money. That may be saying no to certain types of content, even though it might perform better or earn more, does it serve greater? So it's figuring out how do we continue to serve you by listening more to you, by asking you more questions, by seeing your comments and engagement of what you're responding to, and diving in deeper of service, service, service. And one of my biggest goals is how can I continue to stay my healthiest? My health journey has gone up and down. Sometimes it's really peaked really well, and then other times have fallen off

• 1:04:44Lewis Howes?

  over the last 13, 14 years, 2,000 episodes. But my goal now, more than ever, is how can I continue to live the healthiest way I can to be of service to you? Because it's hard for me to serve you if I'm not taking care of me. Also, how can I continue to serve my marriage at the greatest level? My family at the greatest level? My dreams at the greatest level? You know, at 10 years, I talked about wanting to keep my childlike joy. Now that I have kids, I get to experience this childlike joy every single day. They bring it to me. So I want to continue to live a life of play. Remember, that doesn't have to be serious and grinding and hard.

• 1:05:25Lewis Howes?

  It can be like a light discipline. It can be a discipline that also has joy, playfulness, childlike energy, you know, jokes, all these different things. And I think that's what will allow me or allow anyone to sustain anything for a long time, being disciplined and consistent while also bringing as much play and joy to your day-to-day life. And that's what the future looks like for me. And the funny thing is that 2,000 episodes, I don't know if like we've arrived, you know? What is 3,000 episodes going to feel like? I don't know if it's going to feel like we've arrived then also. It's a constant journey. It's a constant flow of saying, how can we make a big difference on the world? And how can we make a difference to you?

• 1:06:09Lewis Howes?

  And if we continue to think about you as the individual every single day, every single episode, thinking about what your needs are, what you're going through, and speaking to you directly through these conversations, then the impact will do what it needs to do on the world. But the more I focus on you, what you are specifically going through, I think the better it'll be. And that's one of the things that I think about for the next 10 years, the next 1,000 episodes, et cetera. And a lot of people ask me, Lewis, what does greatness mean to you? You know, you ask this question all the time to others. You ask about people's definition of greatness. And in 2,000 episodes, this is the question underneath all of them.

• 1:06:52Lewis Howes?

  What does greatness actually mean? And what is your definition of greatness? Again, I've asked my guests that question for years. My answer to this question has changed as I've evolved. Early on, I think it was more about accomplishment. It was about winning. It was about success. It was about being the best. But it's definitely changed today. And so my definition of greatness today is discovering your unique gifts and talents inside of you that God has given you and only you, and pursuing your dreams with those gifts and talents. And in the pursuit of those dreams, making a difference on the people around you.

• 1:07:34Lewis Howes?

  And I truly believe that is greatness today. Maybe that changes in the future. Maybe I get a different perspective and something changes. And there's also a difference between the gifts and the talents you have and your calling. So maybe this will be a future edit or adjustment to the definition for me. You know, because right now, it's about discovering the unique gifts and talents inside you to pursue your dreams. And in that pursuit, making the maximum impact on the people around you. But I'm assuming in the future it'll be Uh, you know, around pursuing your dreams, but then really pursuing your calling. And dreams are not necessarily our calling. And the gifts that you have aren't always going to be your calling because me, my, my gifts early on

• 1:08:19Lewis Howes?

  that I discovered were around sports, playing sports, you know, that was like a gift. But then when the dream of being a professional athlete ended, I was like, oh, well, who am I? What are these gifts? Are these gifts still relevant? Are these talents still relevant if the dream is gone? And so I think those, those gifts and those talents don't necessarily mean it will be the calling that you end up doing, then you're end up pursuing or being a part of. So for me, this is a part of my gifts and my talent. But I also believe this is part of my calling as well. But I didn't know like, oh, I was going to do like a podcast or make this show that have thousands of episodes. I didn't know that was going to be my life.

• 1:09:04Lewis Howes?

  I knew I wanted to make an impact and I feel like I've used gifts and talents in order to do that with this show. But there might be a greater calling and I think that will be a part of greatness as well. For the next thousand episodes. And the thing that inspires me is that everyone has a different definition of greatness, you know, and I ask people. Uh, sometimes I'm surprised by people's responses and I'm like, oh, that's a really unique definition. And it also tells you about what is meaningful to the person that you ask as well. And there's no right or wrong here, no good or bad, but for me, it's, it's all seasons of life. And I think I've just been inspired because I'm curious about other people. It lets me see behind the curtain of how other people think when they share their definitions.

• 1:09:50Lewis Howes?

  And one of the questions I typically ask towards the end as well is what are your three truths? Something I ask at the end of almost every interview before the definition of greatness. Is I ask if, you know, if, if all your content were erased and it was your last day, but you could share three lessons behind to the world. And this is all we would have to remember you by, what would those three lessons be? Or what would those three truths be? And this has evolved for me as well after 2000 episodes. But I want to keep it as simple as possible for you because I think simple is always better. Uh, but for me, truth, number one would be live a healthy life. Um, live a healthy life in the total sense of the word.

• 1:10:31Lewis Howes?

  Physical health, mental health, emotional health and spiritual health. And if you can focus on living a healthy life, being healthy, then you're going to be able to make a bigger impact, bigger difference on your friends, your family, loved ones, communities, classmates, peers, careers you work in, teams that you work with. You're going to make a bigger impact on the people around you by living a healthy life. You're going to be more inspiring to the people around you. You're going to be able to help them more. You're going to be able to serve them more. You're going to be more clear minded. When you have clear health. No one's going to be perfect. We're going to go through our challenges and ups and downs, but

• 1:11:16Lewis Howes?

  live a healthy life would be my first one. Because it will make everything else better when you are healthy. Second truth.

• 1:11:26Lewis Howes?

  Live a peaceful life. This is probably a newer one for me because it's hard to, a lot of people say love. For one of their truths, which I agree with as well. But I truly believe that if you don't know how to live a peaceful life, it's hard for you to give love and receive love because you're always living in chaos within yourself. This connects to health in certain ways. But when you live a peaceful life, you're going to live a loving life. And the third one. Once you have the first two, that's when you can truly do the third one, which is to live a life of service.

• 1:12:03Lewis Howes?

  The greatest reward is not in what we gain, it is what we're able to give to others. That doesn't mean you have to give money or donations or you know, possessions to people. But if you can give them presents, if you can give them a sense of peace, if you can give them time, attention. If you can give them your love, your support. Whatever it is that you can give. It's a beautiful thing. It's not about what we gain, it's about what we give to others that makes a difference. And I truly believe that the greatest feeling of success is when you are able to give to another and improve the quality of their life. And that's something that we're trying to do here on the School of Greatness.

• 1:12:48Lewis Howes?

  Every single day, every single episode is how can we support you? How can we help you improve the quality of your life? Because if we can improve our life and you can improve your life, then humanity as a whole is better. And imagine a world where everyone was thinking and acting and living this way. There would be a lot less chaos in families, a lot less chaos in relationships, a lot less individual chaos. There would be a lot less chaos in communities, cities, countries. There'd be a lot less war. There would be less domestic violence, less sexual abuse, less suffering in the world. If we're able to live by these three truths and this definition of greatness. And now I want to end

• 1:13:33Lewis Howes?

  this 2000th episode, the way my interviews do as well. Cause at the end of all the interviews, I asked those two questions, but I also acknowledge my guests.

• 1:13:44Lewis Howes?

  For 2000 episodes, I've tried to see the person in front of me and tell them what they mean to me and our interaction into the world. And today, instead of the guest being the person in front of me, the guest is you, the person is you. And everything that came to me over these 13, almost 14 years, came through people, came through me interviewing people,

• 1:14:07Lewis Howes?

  asking them questions, following up with them, reading through the lines, reading their body language to try to gain some information to give to you to help you. And I've always called this show our show. So today I want to have, I want to give you the last word actually. And so if you can go in the comments, I've already asked you to comment a couple of times, but if you can go to the comments and tell me what this show has meant to you. Maybe that episode that changed something for you that you really remember. Maybe there was a quote from someone that you wrote down that you, that you still think about daily. Maybe you remember where you were when you saw an episode or saw something

• 1:14:47Lewis Howes?

  that got you through a challenging time. I'd love to hear from you what your biggest takeaway was. And I want to thank you for being a part of this 2000th episode. I can't wait for the next one and the next 1,000 to go. And I want to acknowledge you for showing up in your life, for showing up today, for being a part of this episode, for caring enough to stick around to the very end, to caring enough to show up consistently here. And to care enough to lean into the messy stuff that we share here. A lot of this stuff is not light, it's not superficial, it's not, you know, on the surface.

• 1:15:30Lewis Howes?

  I like to go a little deeper and I'm sure I can continue to go deeper as we go. So I want to acknowledge you for showing up, for doing your best to do the work, for doing the best to reflect and be aware of your own life, the mistakes you've made, the shame, the challenges that you've been through, reflecting on them. And giving yourself permission to accept the past and improve who you are today. For what matters in your life, whether that's your friends, your family, your kids, your spouse, your parents, whatever it might be for you, what matters to you, the dreams that you want to bring towards your life as well. I acknowledge you for showing up, for being consistent, for taking care of yourself,

• 1:16:13Lewis Howes?

  for consuming information and content that is empowering for your life. And if no one has told you lately, I want to remind you that you are loved, you are worthy and you matter. And I can't wait to see you in the next episode. My friend, I hope you're enjoying this episode right now because we are on a mission to impact 100 million lives every single week. And every follow here on this podcast helps us reach more people. Make sure to hit the follow at the top of this show's page right now. It's the single biggest thing that you can do to support the show and the impact of us reaching you every single time we have new episodes. I appreciate you and I can't wait to see you in the next episode.

• 1:16:58Lewis Howes?

  I hope you enjoyed today's episode and it inspired you on your journey towards greatness. Make sure to check out the show notes in the description for a full rundown of today's episode with all the important links. And if you want weekly exclusive bonus episodes with me personally, as well as ad free listening, then make sure to subscribe to our greatness plus channel exclusively on Apple podcasts. Share this with a friend on social media and leave us a review on Apple podcasts as well. Let me know what you enjoyed about this episode in that review. I really love hearing feedback from you and it helps us figure out how we can support and serve you moving forward. And I want to remind you, if no one has told you lately that you are loved, you are worthy and you matter.

• 1:17:42Lewis Howes?

  And now it's time to go out there and do something great.

• 1:17:55Lewis Howes?

  It's time to level up your education and Columbia Southern University makes it easy. Earn an accredited degree 100% online with 24 seven course access, zero dollar textbooks and monthly start dates. So you can truly earn your degree on your schedule. Plus you can compare their costs to more than 1,500 online degree programs. It's free and only takes a few seconds. Visit columbia southern.edu/schoolofgreatness to learn more.

• 1:18:27Speaker 01

  Does it feel like it's getting really hard to figure out the best way to save for retirement? Fidelity can help you find clarity so you can save the best way for you. With a free personalized plan, goal tracking and timely insights. You'll be set to take on retirement your way. Get started at fidelity.com/future. Expenses charged by your investments and other costs and fees associated with trading or transacting in your account apply. Fidelity Brokerage Services, member NYSE, SIPC.