How to Reignite a Dream After You've Lost Everything | Shaun White

Shaun White admits that losing at the 2014 Sochi Olympics had nothing to do with his body and everything to do with his heart not being in it. That honest reckoning launched a years-long process of rebuilding from the inside out, patching broken relationships, ditching a fake social media persona, and assembling a team that actually shared his vision. Then a training crash in New Zealand left him with 62 stitches and lungs full of blood just months before the 2018 Olympics, forcing a gut-check question: how badly do you really want this? His answer carried him to a third gold medal and the most emotionally charged finish of his career. Whether you are chasing a world record or a business breakthrough, Shaun's approach to mental resilience, goal-setting, and self-discovery applies directly to your life. Buy a copy of Shaun’s book Shaun White: Airborne In this episode you will: Discover why raw talent is never enough to win when your heart is not fully committed to the goal Learn how resolving personal and relational friction off the field can unlock peak performance on it Understand why pairing a massive goal with small, specific, even playful sub-goals keeps motivation alive Recognize the trap of delayed happiness and how to find fulfillment along the path rather than only at the finish line Build a mental framework for separating your self-worth from outcomes so loss stops defining you For more information go to https://lewishowes.com/1895 For more Greatness text PODCAST to +1 (614) 350-3960 More SOG episodes we think you’ll love: Amy Purdy Lindsey Vonn Mikaela Shiffrin Get more from Lewis! Get my New York Times Bestselling book, Make Money Easy! Get The Greatness Mindset audiobook on SpotifyText Lewis AIYouTubeInstagramWebsiteTiktokFacebookX Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

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

• 0:02Lewis Howes?

  Welcome back everyone to School of Greatness. We've got the legendary Shaun White in the house. My man, so good to see you.

• 0:08Speaker 01

  Thanks for having me.

• 0:09Lewis Howes?

  Been following your career for a long time. We've got a lot of mutual friends and it's inspiring to see what you're able to do at 35 years of age. Three Olympic golds, is that right now?

• 0:21Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 0:21Lewis Howes?

  Three Olympic golds.

• 0:22Speaker 01

  Four Olympics, three golds.

• 0:24Lewis Howes?

  Three golds. You're going back for another one. And I'm curious, how do you continue to stay so disciplined at this age with your body, your mindset, your training to continue preparing at this level after so many years competing?

• 0:41Speaker 01

  You know, it's tough. Honestly, you know, as you get older, there's just more things that interest you. You're enticed by this, you know, starting a company, you know, even just normal life things.

• 0:52Lewis Howes?

  Relationships.

• 0:53Speaker 01

  Yeah, going on a birthday party, moving home, you know, like just anything like that. And I found that like oddly enough for me, like taking the time to do those things actually makes me better at snowboarding. Because I have the, you know, the muscle memory and I've done it my whole life. So it's like, you know, it's like riding a bike, you know it, you know, it's just like how enthused are you once you get there? So if I'm really motivated when I get to the mountain, then I'm dangerous because I'm pumped, I want to learn the new tricks and I have the ability to do that. It's just when I get there and I maybe don't want to be there and that's when it's really hard. So I think after the, not the last Olympics, but the one before that, after I lost in

• 1:35Speaker 01

  Sochi in Russia, you know, I missed the podium and I remember standing there, I had the winning run. I mean, I had all the tricks to do it, I just couldn't, I just in my head, I just knew I wasn't going to do it.

• 1:46Lewis Howes?

  Really?

• 1:47Speaker 01

  Which is really, you know, a horrible feeling. You're like watching a movie, you can't really.

• 1:51Lewis Howes?

  Why don't you think you could do it? Why did you not think you could do it well?

• 1:55Speaker 01

  You know, I don't know, it's just something was just off and I just, all I can chalk it up to is that my heart just wasn't fully into it and I didn't think that that fully mattered at the time. I was like, I can just kind of.

• 2:07Lewis Howes?

  Wing it.

• 2:08Speaker 01

  I could bone it in, I got the tricks. I mean, just something in me didn't want it. I couldn't, I couldn't get to that place. And I was in that pressure cooker situation where I was like the last guy to go. It's one run, that's it, I'm closing it out and I was like. Okay, this is this is gonna go well.

• 2:27Lewis Howes?

  So you studied yourself beforehand, this may not go well.

• 2:30Speaker 01

  Yeah, so, oh, for sure. I just kind of had a feeling, which is awful. And it's hard to just snap out of that last second. And, and so after that Olympics, everything I did at, after that was like, okay, well, it wasn't a physical thing that kept me from winning, it was a mental thing.

• 2:46Lewis Howes?

  Interesting.

• 2:47Speaker 01

  And so I'm like, what do I do now? Because it's easy to go, I wish it was physical. I'd go do some sit-ups, I'd go learn the new hard trick. I could do whatever. It was mental. It was like, okay, how do I make myself like, or fall in love with this thing again? Like, how do you make yourself, you know, love somebody else even? Like, you know what I'm saying? In that, in that same wheelhouse, it's like, it's not an easy thing to do. And so I, or, or, or, you know, reignite that excitement. And so I literally did everything that had nothing to do with snowboarding. I was like, okay, like, ah, I gotta patch this relationship with my brother. Like, he worked for me, he stopped working for me. We were good, but we never really talked. You know what I mean? I was like, ah, like, I hate how I'm

• 3:27Lewis Howes?

  It was fake good.

• 3:27Speaker 01

  Yeah, I was like, I hate how I'm portrayed on Instagram. Because all of a sudden, it went from like, a way to be in touch with my friends, to like, being like puppeteered by a sponsor. Like, you're obligated to do these posts, and you have to say these words. And this is before you would put ad on there. So everybody just thought like, oh, Sean's really into that, you know, whatever it is. Um, just little, like, all these little things. And, um, as I started peeling them away, you know, like, I just had like, less and less, you know, burden on me. And I was just kind of like, a happier guy in general.

• 3:59Lewis Howes?

  And you started addressing these things.

• 4:01Speaker 01

  Yeah, the things that were around. I was like, oh, what's going on with my relationship I'm in? What's going on here? You know, like, yeah, I would love to take a vacation. I would love to, you know, um, you know, play music, or do, you know, other interests and passions and things. And, um, and in turn, so like, even working out, like, I, I went to the gym because I, I knew that after I work out, I just feel better. You know, I just like, I'm like, I accomplished something today. I just, I knew that that would make me feel good. So I, you know, started going to the gym regularly. And then obviously you get the benefits of working out regularly.

• 4:34Lewis Howes?

  Yeah, yeah. You're in shape.

• 4:36Speaker 01

  It's ridiculous because in 2014, I really started hitting the gym. I kinda, that I did before, but I was, you know, I, I was getting by. I was.

• 4:44Lewis Howes?

  Right. So you didn't work out or lift before then?

• 4:46Speaker 01

  I did a little, but I, I.

• 4:48Lewis Howes?

  You were just on the slopes?

• 4:49Speaker 01

  I was a professional skateboarder as well as snowboarder. So all summer long, like I'm competing and pumping the ramp and like, I, I never had a break. So like all the guys that just like kicked it in Thailand or wherever. You know, I was like in the hunt still, you know, having to be in a pressure situation, competing, exercising, all the things. So, um, yeah, it wasn't until like 2014, I, I really started working out. And then a big one was, um, you know, I had found a new manager. I found a new, you know, um, publicist to work with. I found amazing physical therapist that was just like super, like I started building my little team of everybody that was like really, you know, on the same page and, and knew my goal and help,

• 5:32Speaker 01

  you know, could help me get there and, and not kind of get stuck in their own. You know, because it's, it's a very selfless sort of position to be in, to assist somebody else.

• 5:41Lewis Howes?

  Right.

• 5:41Speaker 01

  And to help them and be part of that team to get to this place. And so, you know, they're missing birthdays and they're missing, you know, uh, uh, events and things. And their relationships are strained, like all that stuff to, you know, help me get my goal. Um, so, you know, really wonderful people in my corner. Um, um, and then a really awesome coach, this guy named JJ Thomas.

• 6:03Lewis Howes?

  Hmm.

• 6:04Speaker 01

  And he was a ex-professional snowboarder. I saw him at the mountain. We had fun hanging, riding. And I was like, hey man, you wanna like team up and do that? And it just, the rapport was there. And so like I had this awesome little team around me. And then when I found myself at the mountain, I was just like excited to be there. And the little things that used to bum me out or, you know, put me in a bad state of mind were just gone.

• 6:25Lewis Howes?

  Where do you think you would have been had you not addressed the maybe things in your life that you weren't fulfilled with yet or kind of finalized or resolved with relationships or, and without having the team to support you?

• 6:38Speaker 01

  Hmm.

• 6:39Lewis Howes?

  Where do you think you'd be if you didn't do those two things?

• 6:41Speaker 01

  Well. Gosh, I mean, I don't think, I, I, I think I probably would have just quit. Really? I'm assuming, yeah, I mean, if, if, you know, why do something if it's not enjoyable in the end? And, and, you know, there's, there's a level of fun and then there's a level of like fulfillment. Yes. So it's not that I'm just like there to have a good time. Like, sure, there's moments of like, oh, this is really fun. We're in, we're in Austria, we're in Switzerland, we're getting, you know, reading Schnitzel and doing whatever. You know, like, sure, it's fun, but then like, you know, the fulfillment comes when you like have a goal and you actually like, you know, make strides to get to that place and, and achieve that goal or come close and then re, you know, uh, reformulate and come back at it and try it again, you know?

• 7:25Speaker 01

  And you, and you finally get to that place, it's fulfilling. And so that's something for me that like has always been there in the sport. And that's why competing and, and, you know, doing the Olympics, all these things, it's always been so fulfilling is that there was that goal, there was a prize at the end. Absolutely. You know, something to be obtained. But yeah, I, I, I think, you know, and I don't even know. I mean, it's hard to say and there's so much what if, but I, I, I don't know. I could have easily cruised into a third, a, a three P and, and maybe retired at that point. And like, alright, you know, but I, I got to the Olympics, it didn't go my way. I was upset, I was frustrated and I was like, wow, okay, well, this is probably here to teach me something. Hmm.

• 8:10Speaker 01

  And I remember, it's so funny, I can see it clear as day, but I was at my home, I had a, a home in Malibu and I was sitting on the bluff, it was like on the water, I was sitting on the bluff, like trying to feel really bad for myself. And you're like, I'm in Malibu, on the ocean. Yeah, no, so like, literally, I'm like tearing up, like, oh, you blew it, you blew it, you're an idiot. You know, you, you, you, you're like, I could have done this or why didn't I do that? And all these what ifs and, you know, your, your brain can just do numbers on you. So I'm sitting there spiraling and I look out and this whale just like jumped in the air and I was like, oh, my God. You're right. Is that a whale?

• 8:49Speaker 01

  So majestic.

• 8:51Lewis Howes?

  You had some perspective in that moment.

• 8:53Speaker 01

  It just broke the whole like, I was like, wow, well, things aren't so bad. You know, I'm here, this is, this is a beautiful life I've made for myself and.

• 9:01Lewis Howes?

  I've won two gold medals already.

• 9:03Speaker 01

  And, and you know, but up to that point, I'd never been to an Olympics and lost. So I was kind of like, oh, it's all over. It's done. Like, I just, I just thought that, you know, it doesn't matter. The, the other medals are, you know, erased if this doesn't happen.

• 9:18Lewis Howes?

  Interesting. That's how you felt?

• 9:19Speaker 01

  Yeah, that's kind of how I operated for a while. Like, I just like, cause you, you, you have to stay in the hunt for the next big win. So I'd always like, oh, cool, the trophy. Okay. And then like, you know, and, and you've got multiple events and so. And it's literally the first question they ask you. Are you going to the next Olympics? Right at, you're literally right at the end.

• 9:39Lewis Howes?

  Really?

• 9:39Speaker 01

  Literally, you're like, you're trying to catch your breath. They're like, so you go to the next one? And it's, it's heavy. So. So yeah, so I remember sitting there thinking like, okay, like, I know how I feel inside and there were things that didn't go my way. And yeah, I had my plan, you know, which, what does that mean at this point? And I remember thinking the thought of, okay, I'm going to make this the best thing that's ever happened to me.

• 10:04Lewis Howes?

  Losing.

• 10:04Speaker 01

  That was.

• 10:05Lewis Howes?

  You mean, you mean the losing part?

• 10:06Speaker 01

  Yeah, losing. I was like, I make this the best thing that's ever happened to me. And that's, and that's when I started with that mindset of like, okay, well, if, if this was the best thing, then what is the outcome? Like, oh, well, you know, I wasn't doing the big media spree, so I have time to do this now. Like, I actually just spent time at my house. It's like, oh, I, I have time to reconnect with family or friends or what, you know, I have time. I went on, I was in a band for like a while and, you know, the band went on tour because we had time to do that. Like, did a bunch of fun things. And so. So yeah, and then, and then that whole sort of like, well, if I'm going to go again, what would be the perfect situation? And then I started filling in the pieces of like, the puzzle of like, oh, well, who would my coach be?

• 10:47Speaker 01

  And gosh, you know what? Instead of just calling random people to get massages wherever I'm at or physical therapy, like. What if we just locked in somebody that traveled with me?

• 10:56Lewis Howes?

  You knew what you were gonna get every time.

• 10:57Speaker 01

  What if that person's great and they know my body so well? And it's almost embarrassing to say that I hadn't had that for years. You know, it's not something that's really taught as much. Nowadays, it's more spoken about, but like.

• 11:09Lewis Howes?

  Now you hear LeBron saying he's spending, you know, million dollars a year on his body.

• 11:13Speaker 01

  Sure, and you don't really think about it. I remember hearing that, like, oh, that's cool, like, you know. And the sport of snowboarding, like, it was pretty lame to have a coach even. For like a long time, yeah, you know, it's like.

• 11:25Lewis Howes?

  Wasn't cool or something?

• 11:26Speaker 01

  Yeah, like to have an agent or to have a coach or to, you know, care or to want to win.

• 11:31Lewis Howes?

  It's like you're sold out or something.

• 11:32Speaker 01

  It's like high school, yeah, it's like, you know, like, oh, he cares, it's lame. You know, so, so it all kind of happened later. And then, once I built the team, I was like, how did I even? It's like you get in a pet or something, you're like, how did I? I don't remember my life before this, like, how did I get this far? So, yeah, having the team was amazing. And then, I guess, basically, I was on my journey to that next Olympics. And I had my plan, I love my plans.

• 12:02Speaker 01

  Everything's going to plan. I was crushed, everything's going great, I'm feeling strong and motivated, I got my team. And I'm in New Zealand and I'm like, heck it, I'm gonna go for this trick that I've been trying. I've been procrastinating, putting it off, like, let's just get it done, today's the day. Throw the trick, clip the top of the pipe, fly to the bottom. The wall is 22 feet tall, so I clip the top, then I bounce. And the sun was, I forget what time it was, it was maybe midday. So the sun was here, meaning that like this wall's in the shade. And this wall's sunny and soft, so it was the icy wall. I clipped the top, fly to the bottom, and I caught the edge of my board in the snow. And it put my face into the snow. And, you know, next thing you know, I'm like in a helicopter flying to the hospital.

• 12:45Speaker 01

  I'd like rip my face open and 62 stitches and I had like pulmonary lung contusion. It was just like a really bad crash. And I was like, okay, well, this wasn't part of my plan.

• 12:56Lewis Howes?

  That was a couple of months before the Olympics, wasn't it?

• 12:58Speaker 01

  This was literally right before, yeah. And I was just like, okay, like, you know, is this a sign that I should stop? Is this, what is this? And I really had to sit with myself and think about it and go, okay, well, this is in my way for some reason, like, what's to be learned from this?

• 13:16Speaker 01

  You know, and it just really kind of straightened everything out for me, as strange as that sounds like basically, yeah, I'd been telling myself I'd be great to win the Olympics and oh, this would be nice and oh, I could do this afterward and you know, I mean, I had all my plans and and then I had this horrible crash and I was like, okay, well, how badly do you I know you've been saying you want it, but how badly do you really want it because going back out on the snow means in some small percentage, but there is a percentage that I'm willing to let this happen to myself again.

• 13:46Lewis Howes?

  Again.

• 13:47Speaker 01

  And it was horrible and my face is hanging open. I'm trying to eat, you know, yogurt or whatever I could and.

• 13:54Lewis Howes?

  I just had three implants in two weeks ago.

• 13:57Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 13:58Lewis Howes?

  And and a bone graft in one place because I had teeth removed when I was 18 that I never got fixed.

• 14:03Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 14:03Lewis Howes?

  So I had these kind of gaps.

• 14:04Speaker 01

  Okay.

• 14:05Lewis Howes?

  For 20 years.

• 14:06Speaker 01

  Okay.

• 14:06Lewis Howes?

  My mouth is like kind of collapsing and so I don't, I don't know your pain, but I know the pain of like getting those implants was like 10 days of eating yogurt every day and soup is miserable.

• 14:16Speaker 01

  And it's your face too. So like me looking in the mirror and all I remember is the sweetheart angel of a person, this, this, this woman named Esther, who's my physical therapist.

• 14:28Speaker 01

  Cause I had to do my interviews. They're like, well, we need a live hit for the today show.

• 14:31Lewis Howes?

  Oh, man, you're like.

• 14:32Speaker 01

  So there I was, I was in the air and I dropped in and I hit the top and like, cause I couldn't, you know, scars, they, they're stiff when they heal and, and it only hurts when you're in the cold, although I'm a snowboarder, so always freezing at the bottom and they're like, can we get a hit? Like, tell us how the run was and I can barely talk and all I remember is being in the airport and you know, scar tissue, you need to break it down.

• 14:57Lewis Howes?

  Yeah.

• 14:58Speaker 01

  So I'm sitting there like on my phone in tears because my physical therapist has got her hand in my, in my mouth and she's just like grinding down the scar tissue and people walking by like, what the, you know, this is before COVID. So you could put your hands in people's mouths. Randomly.

• 15:19Lewis Howes?

  Very bad.

• 15:20Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 15:21Lewis Howes?

  Did you say sixty stitches?

• 15:22Speaker 01

  Yeah, like sixty-two. I cut the, my forehead.

• 15:25Lewis Howes?

  Oh my gosh, man.

• 15:26Speaker 01

  And through my lip and nose, and I bit through my tongue.

• 15:28Lewis Howes?

  Did you have to do any like, uh, dental surgery?

• 15:31Speaker 01

  No, thankfully.

• 15:32Lewis Howes?

  Gosh, man.

• 15:33Speaker 01

  The only thing that was like, issue was, you know, they kind of let me out of the hospital. And then that whole night, I felt like I was kind of drowning. I was like, what's going on? I thought maybe from the procedure, it was the tube they put down, something. And I went back and they're like, let's just take a quick x-ray. And my lungs were just full of blood.

• 15:49Lewis Howes?

  Oh my gosh.

• 15:49Speaker 01

  Because of the impact, it had bruised them. And so they threw me straight back to the urgent care area. And I had to sit there with this little bucket and like, get clear of the lungs.

• 15:59Lewis Howes?

  Really? Does that come out a tube that takes it out of the?

• 16:02Speaker 01

  It was just me breathing in, um, like a humidifier to kind of like loosen the blood.

• 16:07Lewis Howes?

  Oh my gosh, man.

• 16:08Speaker 01

  Yeah, it was just like a whole thing.

• 16:12Speaker 01

  So to come back from that, I was like, okay, well now I gotta like, do the trick that I, that put me in the hospital. And like, my, my coach was like, you got it. And I'm like, I, I know.

• 16:22Lewis Howes?

  But.

• 16:22Speaker 01

  I was pretty sure I had it the last time. And so anyways, I had to like, make this pact with myself. I was like, okay, I'm not gonna do the trick until like, I'm ready to do it. And the conditions are perfect. Cause I tried to force it.

• 16:34Lewis Howes?

  Yeah, it's not, yeah.

• 16:35Speaker 01

  And so I waited and then, man, like acts of God happened. It was like, it was like, you know, show up to the event and like, you know, the pipe's not built for the first two days, because it was a really bad winter. So it was pretty dry and like, they're like, oh, there's only one day of practice. Like, literally, like all these weird things. Like I show up for this practice session and then the, the machine that builds the half-pipe's broke.

• 16:57Lewis Howes?

  Oh man.

• 16:57Speaker 01

  Or it flew to Canada. And then the Canada, like a giant storm blew in. And then I was like, okay, well we gotta go back to Mammoth Mountains. I go fly to Mammoth Mountain. I got there and, um, I got really ill. Like I just got the flu or something. And so all these weird things kept me.

• 17:11Lewis Howes?

  It's getting close to the Olympics, yeah, yeah.

• 17:12Speaker 01

  Literally, it's two weeks away at this point.

• 17:15Lewis Howes?

  And you still haven't done the trick?

• 17:15Speaker 01

  I haven't done, I, I did it, I did the trick like twice, I think. I, I finally just like, got it done, but I hadn't done like repetition and I hadn't. You know, it's a routine, so you would do a trick into that trick into another trick.

• 17:28Lewis Howes?

  You hadn't done that.

• 17:29Speaker 01

  I hadn't done it. And I'm flying to the Olympics like, well, I guess we'll just do it when we get there.

• 17:33Lewis Howes?

  Shut up, really?

• 17:34Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 17:35Lewis Howes?

  So you didn't do, you didn't practice a full routine until the Olympics?

• 17:38Speaker 01

  The second run.

• 17:40Lewis Howes?

  Oh, my gosh.

• 17:40Speaker 01

  That's the first time I ever tried that run. So I, of course, I fell. And now deja vu, I'm sitting where I was at the last Olympics. Last guy to go, there's one more run. And I was just like, I want to win this. I don't know, I just, just like I felt it the other way. I was like, I'm going to win this thing for sure. There's no way I'm not going to make this run. And I just remember thinking like, I can picture it because I was like, you know, enjoy it because this is, you're going to win this thing.

• 18:07Lewis Howes?

  Wow.

• 18:07Speaker 01

  I remember the orange of the outfits we were wearing, all the, all the banners and flags and things were orange. And then they had a big flag at the top. And the flag was down, meaning no wind. And like this, it was kind of overcast that day and it started to open up a little bit. And I was like, this is

• 18:25Lewis Howes?

  Perfect.

• 18:25Speaker 01

  moment. And like a song came on, I recognized. It's like some Post Malone stuff. And I was like,

• 18:32Speaker 01

  And man, nailed it to win it, you know? And, and so that's why at the end of that Olympics, like I, I don't know if I've ever really broken down that much. But it was such an emotional journey to get to that.

• 18:44Lewis Howes?

  Yeah, man.

• 18:45Speaker 01

  To like, from the family stuff to, you know, Instagram, whatever, all these things that I changed in my life. And then to have that bad accident and really question everything only to get there and win. It was just such like a overwhelming as of, you know, joy and all that. So, yeah.

• 19:02Lewis Howes?

  I remember watching, I remember watching it live and just, yeah, you had so much emotion. But hearing the full story now, I could see why.

• 19:09Speaker 01

  Yeah. So it was heavy. And, and trust me, getting to that point where I'm like, wow, I'm just going to do it when I get there, like.

• 19:15Lewis Howes?

  That's nuts.

• 19:16Speaker 01

  I'd been plotting for over, you know, actually four years at this point for this one moment. I'm going to show up unprepared. Like, how did this happen? How did I get to this point?

• 19:26Lewis Howes?

  Well, I'm prepared, but 25 years of preparation.

• 19:29Speaker 01

  For sure, for sure. So like, I know how to compete. I know these things, but like, you know, you want to be ironclad when you get there.

• 19:36Lewis Howes?

  You're kind of winging it.

• 19:37Speaker 01

  Yeah. And at this point, I'm like, all right, well, let's see what happens. And so that was very unnerving. And so.

• 19:42Lewis Howes?

  And did you know that going into it, like this is a winning combination? Like if I can land this perfectly or close to perfect, it's a winner.

• 19:50Speaker 01

  Pretty much. I mean, the only thing is that the other competitor's name's Ayumu, it's a Japanese snobber. He had a very similar run. And so, um, you know, I was like, okay, like, not only do I have to do this run, but just do it bigger and better than he did it. So I was like, okay.

• 20:08Lewis Howes?

  He's a lot younger than you.

• 20:10Speaker 01

  Yeah, he's a lot younger.

• 20:11Lewis Howes?

  More fearless, maybe. Didn't just smash his face a month ago.

• 20:13Speaker 01

  Oh, for sure. And, you know, and I was in that pressure spot of like, okay, like, it's make or break. Like, everyone's watching. I'm gonna do it or not. And, um, and all that stuff clicked in. And I was like, I'm gonna do it.

• 20:25Lewis Howes?

  And you knew right when you finished, you knew you won?

• 20:28Speaker 01

  Not exactly. I knew that was the best chance I had, for sure, of winning.

• 20:32Lewis Howes?

  You knew you did your best.

• 20:33Speaker 01

  It was so, it was so intense. And like, it's all connected. So I don't really remember specific moments. So I'm watching the screen going like, okay, I feel like I killed it, but did I touch a hand somewhere? Did I land kind of flat and not notice it? Is it, you know, it's so, you're so wound up.

• 20:49Lewis Howes?

  Yeah.

• 20:50Speaker 01

  And then, um, man, so everybody at the top celebrating, because the score came in right away.

• 20:55Lewis Howes?

  Really?

• 20:56Speaker 01

  Like, I had won. Boom. NBC held the score for like, a dramatic pause.

• 21:00Lewis Howes?

  You didn't see it until you're on camera.

• 21:02Speaker 01

  It felt like an eternity. I was just like, and I'm watching, and they had, they had the other athletes here. So I don't want to go near them, because I just, I don't know, I just didn't want to look in their faces. And, and, you know, and so then, and then the judges booth's right in front of me. And I don't want, I swear, I look up in the booth with some guys doing like, uh, like, playing limbo with my face, you know, and, and so like, and then the crowd and TV cameras here. So I'm just kind of like, panning around. And finally, the score hit. And I was just like, I lost it. It was so amazing. And then just seeing my family and, you know, Jake Burton, the owner of Burton's Snobber, who sadly passed away.

• 21:43Speaker 01

  You know, amazing moment with him. He was like, how the F do you do?

• 21:48Lewis Howes?

  Wow, man.

• 21:51Speaker 01

  Cause you know, he's congratulated me after every, you know, big win and even there when the upset happened, you know? So amazing to see like familiar faces and all that. And but, but I was so proud of that. Like all those little steps I took actually paid off. They got me to that place where I was seated in the same position and I'm like, I'm gonna win. Rather than like, I'm not there. So that was, I think, what I was the most proud of after that Olympics.

• 22:18Lewis Howes?

  Have you ever had another moment before a run where you're like, I don't think this is gonna go well, but it did go well? Like you said to yourself, like, ah, man, this is a tough one. I don't know. We'll see. It's 50 50. And then you just nail it still.

• 22:31Speaker 01

  There was, there was one. It was actually the qualifier to get to that Olympics.

• 22:36Lewis Howes?

  Oh, wow.

• 22:36Speaker 01

  We were in Aspen, the mountain of snowmass and like, kind of similar situation where I show up. I'm so excited. You get three runs for final. The first run, I was way too excited.

• 22:48Lewis Howes?

  Yeah.

• 22:48Speaker 01

  And like overamped and I like shot out and I was like, oh my God. And my coach's like, what happened? I was like, I don't know. I'm sorry. I just like, I got too pumped and like, and as the, you know, it's the mountains. So as the day goes on, these clouds start rolling in. It's getting colder. So the temp drops. So the snow hardens. It's going faster and it's like, it's getting scarier. And you know, the second run, perfect. Nailed it. The whole way down and on the last hit, I like washed out and I'm like, oh my God. And at this point, we're panicking because we're a couple qualifiers deep. We still need to make the team. Like the commercials are airing that I'm going to Olympics and like, I haven't made the team. We have to qualify every time.

• 23:32Lewis Howes?

  Pressure, man.

• 23:33Speaker 01

  So I'm sitting there going like, okay, like.

• 23:35Lewis Howes?

  You got one more run.

• 23:36Speaker 01

  And so I'm talking to, yeah, I got one more run. I'm the last guy to go. Same deal. And I talked to my coach and he's like, You know, I'm like, what do I do? I'm like, in the start gate, I'm like, what are we doing for that last hit? The one that I fell on, I'm like, are we going for this? Big, it's the 1260 is called. And I was like, are we going for the 12? Or should I dial it back to a nine? Or should, like, what are we doing? And he was just kinda like, you know, I'm talking to him about it. And out of nowhere, he's like, do the 14.

• 24:02Lewis Howes?

  Which is?

• 24:03Speaker 01

  Which is, you know, uh, it's all just degrees of rotations.

• 24:07Lewis Howes?

  More rotations?

• 24:08Speaker 01

  More, yeah. And I was like-

• 24:09Lewis Howes?

  Do we do 12 or 9? He said, go more!

• 24:12Speaker 01

  Yeah, do the 14. And I was like, what do you mean? He's like, on the first hit. We were talking about the last hit.

• 24:17Lewis Howes?

  On the first drop, go ahead.

• 24:18Speaker 01

  He's like, do, do the 14. You practiced it so much, you're ready, just do the 14. And I was like, and I remember looking at him being like, sure, okay, yeah.

• 24:27Lewis Howes?

  Right, like, seconds before you go.

• 24:29Speaker 01

  And the guy's literally telling me to go at this point. He's like, go. And I was like, so what are we doing? And he's like, I don't know. I was like, well, I kinda gotta go. We're having this argument. And he's just, and the guy's like, come on, like, ready or ready, like, go. And so, I remember like, giving him the like, fine. Basically like saying like, if it doesn't work, it's your fault. It's your fault. Nailed it. I fully nailed it. And I, and it gave me the second win. And then I start hammering the run. Best part is, we, I'm on the last hit. And I was like, we never decided what we were gonna do the last hit.

• 25:03Lewis Howes?

  You didn't know what you were gonna do.

• 25:04Speaker 01

  Cause we only talked about the first hit. And so, I was like-

• 25:07Lewis Howes?

  You have like, three seconds to decide.

• 25:08Speaker 01

  Yes. I'm like, well, I'm already on the heater. I might as well go for the 12. The harder trick. Like, let's just do it. And boom, I went from like, I think I was in like, like, second to last place on the, on the roster, to like, winning, I won with that run, but I got a perfect 100 score. Like, I nailed it. Like, I nailed the run. And that's only been handed out once before, which was actually for me at the X Games event. So this is, you know, but it meant a lot to me because that X Games judging and the actual Olympic judging's a little bit different. So it was like, oh, I felt, it felt even more official, maybe? I shouldn't say that. It was just as amazing either way. But, um, like, went from dead last to like-

• 25:52Speaker 01

  You know, winning the competition, perfect hundred score, making the Olympic team, all in like a couple of seconds there.

• 25:58Lewis Howes?

  And 20 seconds before, you didn't know what you were gonna do.

• 26:01Speaker 01

  I didn't know the run. Yeah, I didn't know what we were gonna do.

• 26:05Lewis Howes?

  But did you go into it, when you dropped, were you like, I'm screwed in your mind? Or were you like, I got this. I'll make, I'll figure it out?

• 26:12Speaker 01

  I think, I think a part of me was like, you know, who cares? Because, you know, it's on him.

• 26:19Lewis Howes?

  Hmm.

• 26:20Speaker 01

  You know, and I, I, I'm a firm believer in, in, you ever played ping pong?

• 26:24Lewis Howes?

  I love ping pong.

• 26:25Speaker 01

  And like, all of a sudden, you're up 10 points or something? And then you go, oh, I'm up 10 points. I should really focus now.

• 26:30Lewis Howes?

  And then you mess it up.

• 26:32Speaker 01

  Yeah, so.

• 26:33Lewis Howes?

  You have to stay loose.

• 26:34Speaker 01

  Yeah, so like, that bit of not caring probably allowed me to go crush that run. Because I, I was in a state of like, well, what the heck with it? Like, I'm gonna, I'm gonna just go for it.

• 26:44Lewis Howes?

  You were loose.

• 26:44Speaker 01

  Yeah, and then as I started nailing the tricks, that's when things like the tunnel vision happened. And I was like, oh, I'm actually killing it. Like, stay, stay focused.

• 26:54Lewis Howes?

  Yeah.

• 26:55Speaker 01

  And I got like a second wind in the middle of my run. And that's when I threw, because at this point, like, it's dragged on. Like I said, the clouds had moved in. I'm tired. I'm exhausted.

• 27:05Lewis Howes?

  End of the day.

• 27:05Speaker 01

  So when he's like telling me to do the 14, I'm already like, I'm ready for bed. I told him like, let's just wrap it. We'll go to the next event and try to win that thing. But anyways, so that was like an amazing situation where like, I was pretty convinced I wasn't gonna do well and somehow pulled it out.

• 27:20Lewis Howes?

  Nailed it.

• 27:20Speaker 01

  There's been, there's been a couple of those. There was one, there's one where I actually set the record for the highest air out of the halfpipe.

• 27:29Speaker 01

  And the best part of the story is, is that the morning of, I had, I think I was fighting a cold. And so like, you know, if you work out or you do something strenuous, like, your body's fighting the cold, not repairing the muscles. So I woke up and I could barely walk. I was so tired. And I call my coach, different coach at this point. He comes over and shows up with giant bags of ice. And like, we fill the bathtubs, hot water and cold water. And I just start going back and forth. I'm like, okay, I got maybe like three runs, four runs with me max. So let's do like a pretty simple warm-up run and then just try to do it in the contest and get it done. And I drop in.

• 28:09Lewis Howes?

  This is your Michael Jordan moment.

• 28:11Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 28:11Lewis Howes?

  This is your flu game.

• 28:12Speaker 01

  I drop in, I can't stop. My leg is so tired and so worn that if I, I can't use it to break. Like there's not, like it would have folded on me. And so I went so big because I couldn't stop.

• 28:25Speaker 01

  I like shot out the top of the pipe. Huge air. I forget the height. At that point, I think like 23 feet was probably the biggest air ever done.

• 28:35Lewis Howes?

  This is a 20 footer.

• 28:36Speaker 01

  22 foot pipe. So I'm out about 20, 20 something feet above that.

• 28:40Lewis Howes?

  On top of them.

• 28:40Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 28:41Lewis Howes?

  What about you looking down at the ground 45 feet down?

• 28:44Speaker 01

  Yeah, yeah. Well, because I'm landing higher than the 22, but you're, you're up there.

• 28:48Lewis Howes?

  If you look at other, yeah, that's scary, man.

• 28:50Speaker 01

  Yeah. So the idea is to be in this side of the pipe, catch the wall. And so I'm flying and I'm thinking like, wow, I'm, I'm, I've never really gone this big. If I could just finish this run, I'm going to win. And I've somehow pulled it together and nailed it.

• 29:06Lewis Howes?

  Terrifying, man.

• 29:07Speaker 01

  I may have like even like bowed out on my last run. Because I couldn't do it. Yeah, I was too tired.

• 29:13Lewis Howes?

  I'm curious about, I mean, you've rarely lost a competition, right? It's like, it's a rare day for you if you lose or get second or whatever. Have you learned how to put your self-worth not on winning or losing, but just to put it on who you are as a human being? Or have you struggled in the past with, man, I suck today and I'm no good as a person as well? Like, how do you wrap your self-worth around your competition?

• 29:42Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 29:42Lewis Howes?

  And separate it from just who you are as a human?

• 29:45Speaker 01

  No, it's a great question because like I would say I'm so much cooler with losing now than I ever was before. I mean, it, it would just tear me apart. I, and it's so weird because I probably had won 10 competitions straight going into this one and got second by a point and a half or something. And I was just devastated. Like, how did this happen? And like, and you know, that kind of self-worth being derived from those situations is, is difficult. You know, it drives you to be better, but it's unsustainable. You know, if your happiness is just hanging in the balance of.

• 30:19Lewis Howes?

  Winning, yeah.

• 30:20Speaker 01

  Yeah. And, and, and it's a judged event. It's like, you know, it's opinions of who did better. And, and so, yeah, I mean.

• 30:27Lewis Howes?

  How do you measure that now then?

• 30:28Speaker 01

  I wish I could say I, I had a good grasp on it when I was younger. I mean, something about, I guess nowadays.

• 30:38Speaker 01

  It's twofold. I mean, not to pat myself on the back, but I've won a lot of events. So I don't feel as much I have to prove as much of, you know, of my, you know, hey, like I'm the best or I've been, you know, like I don't feel like I have to prove as much. So I'm content with like, even I've been at events where I'm just like, I'm not competing today because it's unsafe or it's this or I'm not feeling it. Like, you know, if you actually look at my track record, like I've pulled out of a lot of events.

• 31:09Lewis Howes?

  Really?

• 31:10Speaker 01

  It's just unsafe at times. I look at it as a marathon. It's not a sprint. It doesn't matter. Today's, that's cool. But yeah, it'll go by and I'll be there next year and maybe the conditions will be better, more favorable and, and I'll be healthy and ready to do it. So I, I like to think of my career as that, that long game. And so nowadays it helps knowing that like, okay, well, I'm going to lose this event. I know it's not going to go well, but I know that this is the goal. So.

• 31:41Lewis Howes?

  It's not the one of that.

• 31:42Speaker 01

  Yeah, like it's not, it's not this event. It's that one. So like qualifying for that last Olympics, like I showed up at the first event knowing I was going to lose. And I was like, oh, this would be great. I'm gonna show face, see what everyone's doing and I'll get a clear picture of like, okay, here's where the level's at and here's where I need to be or where am I at? And I didn't show my cards. So I was like, okay, we'll see what happens and, you know, play it. And so, so there's strategy too involved and, you know, and it changes over the time. I mean, I used to just, I had to win everything and like, and if you kind of challenged what I was doing, then I would run off and do whatever else, but.

• 32:22Lewis Howes?

  Now you're okay with losing an event that's not as important as the main event.

• 32:27Speaker 01

  Like, but did I hit my markers? Did I get my points toward making the team? Did I, you know, did I save my body? Did I, you know what I mean? And so even, even like we kind of mentioned in the. Waiting room, it's like after the Olympics, I take a season off. So if you extrapolate that over the years, I've, you know, five, almost five Olympics now, you know, so that means four years I've taken off. That's four years that I've been able to kind of like let the body rest and my head rest and all these things. And so it definitely stretched my career out.

• 32:59Lewis Howes?

  Yes.

• 32:59Speaker 01

  You know, and I hate to admit I'm the oldest competitor, but yeah, at this point, it's really funny because I remember dropping in and being the youngest competitor.

• 33:08Lewis Howes?

  Isn't that funny?

• 33:09Speaker 01

  They're like, I'm the oldest competitor dropping. I'm like, oh.

• 33:12Lewis Howes?

  You still feel like the young guy or no?

• 33:13Speaker 01

  I still feel like, you know, I mean, I don't feel like the young guy, but I feel like, like it could be my game, you know, it's my, it's my competition to win or lose.

• 33:26Lewis Howes?

  Yeah.

• 33:26Speaker 01

  I still feel that way, you know, where, I don't know, I think if I was like clinging on to like 10th, 11th, you know, my family would be like, it's time.

• 33:36Lewis Howes?

  For sure.

• 33:37Speaker 01

  Or, you know, it would just, it would naturally, something would, there'd be a tell at some point.

• 33:42Lewis Howes?

  Yeah, yeah.

• 33:43Speaker 01

  But, um, but yeah, so nowadays I just kind of manage it that way. And then honestly, I did like a bunch of just kind of like, I don't know what you call it. I guess work on myself or just kind of, you know, I went to a lot of.

• 33:55Lewis Howes?

  What did that look like? Was that therapy? Was that workshops?

• 33:58Speaker 01

  It was all of the above. I was talking to therapists and then I was, um, you know, reading some really, you know, eye opening books and then.

• 34:07Lewis Howes?

  Which, which books impacted you?

• 34:09Speaker 01

  One was called A New Earth. It was Eckhart Tolle.

• 34:12Lewis Howes?

  Yeah, he's great.

• 34:12Speaker 01

  Yeah, it's, it's worded pretty, you know, it's, it's very, I don't know what you'd say.

• 34:18Lewis Howes?

  Spiritual.

• 34:19Speaker 01

  Exactly. It's intense, but if you really take the time to read and remember to like reread pages, I'm like, wait, what are they saying? So that was, that was, you know, an amazing book that really opened my eyes up to a lot of different things and the way my brain works and the thought process and how I've been kind of like assessing the situation. And, and, you know, the events that happen, they happen. It's how I interpret them is what's like driving me and fueling me. And if it's something I interpret to be a bad thing, then I'm going to, you know, act and these emotions will stir from that. And so. It really made me understand that. And then another book I read was called Loving What Is by Byron Katie.

• 35:00Lewis Howes?

  She's great. We had her on the show. She's awesome.

• 35:02Speaker 01

  And I swear I saw her somewhere. I got all fangirl.

• 35:11Lewis Howes?

  She's amazing, man.

• 35:12Speaker 01

  So.

• 35:13Lewis Howes?

  She came on here and she pretty much did like live therapy with me. I was like, it's incredible. Yeah. So you read those two books. Those really impacted you.

• 35:19Speaker 01

  Yeah, those were really heavy. There's a couple others, but those were the main ones. And then I honestly, I got a phone call from Tony Robbins to come down to his house and do like a speaking engagement.

• 35:31Lewis Howes?

  He does the platinum partner things.

• 35:34Speaker 01

  Totally. It was like, you know, just, and I do those sometimes, which was cool. And he called me up and I go down there and.

• 35:41Lewis Howes?

  In Florida, right?

• 35:41Speaker 01

  Yeah, it was at his home. And the panel was myself, Michael Phelps and Tom Brady.

• 35:47Lewis Howes?

  Yeah, yeah.

• 35:48Speaker 01

  I think that was the next year's one. I was like, oh, this is cool. I went first and then, and then I'm listening to Michael speak. And I was like, wow. It really blew me away to hear like a fellow athlete talk about the struggles of like, how you feel after an event. And like, even if you win, it doesn't mean that like all these other things are great in your life. You know, it doesn't mean that the dog's gonna like listen to you. It doesn't mean that like, you know, these people are gonna care for you more. Your business isn't in a better situation, a place, like all these things that like, yeah, winning is amazing, but it doesn't fix everything. And, and, um, and a lot of that stuff gets pushed to the side in order to win. And so, it was really eye opening to hear him speak. And then afterward, Tony was like, look, you know,

• 36:33Speaker 01

  we do this little, you know, he calls it a prayer. It's nothing religious at all, but it was kind of this like, meditation, quick meditation thing. He's like, Michael's gonna, we're all gonna do it. I was like, okay. And it's basically the concept of like stacking, you know, you go through the day and you kind of like. Oh, uh, whatever. The sofa I ordered is backordered now. I thought it was gonna be here this week. It's gonna be next month. They're like, so let's stack that. And then like, oh, I got the phone call from so and so that the event got canceled because of COVID, you know, great. And then you start stacking these things. And so it's just a simple process. Uh, his prayers is a, which I understand later, but it was the idea of like, you know, hey, let's go and just take a minute to stack all these really great things that happened.

• 37:18Speaker 01

  Cause you don't really take the time to do that.

• 37:20Lewis Howes?

  Not to focus on all the negative things.

• 37:21Speaker 01

  Totally. Or like, just take a moment to be like, oh man, like, hey, when did something like really just work out? Like you said, that run in Aspen, like, it just worked out. You know, I was thinking, oh, it's probably not gonna be my day and boom, it just worked out. And like, hey, let's like, what an amazing win where something just kinda went my way. And like, let's take something that I really worked hard for and that actually happened. And like, oh, what, by chance, you know, like a person you met that became a lifelong friend? You know, just these things, I remember leaving feeling like, like I was so pumped up. And I just really, you know, at the time, needed something like that. Um, anyway, so I leave and, you know, that feeling kinda fades a little, obviously.

• 38:04Speaker 01

  And a couple of months go by and randomly he called me.

• 38:09Lewis Howes?

  Tony.

• 38:09Speaker 01

  Yeah. He's like, we're doing an event. And I was driving and I, you know, when you click your phone, it comes through the car speakers?

• 38:16Lewis Howes?

  Yeah.

• 38:16Speaker 01

  That huge voice of his was like, we're doing an event. Come out.

• 38:22Speaker 01

  It's an invitation, not an expectation. It's whatever you want, you know, send a family member, whatever. And so I was like, you know what? I'm, I'm, let's do it. And so I, I remember just like, I was like, I'm gonna go, I'm gonna go solo. My first instinct was to send family members that I cared about. I was like, oh, maybe I'll send my dad or my mom or my sister, somebody close to me that like would benefit from this. And then, and I remember hearing him on the phone. They're like, it's kinda like the plane's crashing. Do you take the mask and put it on someone? No, you gotta save yourself so you can save the others or whatever. And, and, and, you know, and then I was like, I'm just gonna go and I'm gonna go alone. I went solo.

• 39:01Lewis Howes?

  Wow.

• 39:01Speaker 01

  And just kinda like-

• 39:02Lewis Howes?

  Was it UPW or Day with Destiny?

• 39:04Speaker 01

  This was UPW.

• 39:05Lewis Howes?

  It's a power man. So you were walking on fire and stuff?

• 39:07Speaker 01

  Yeah, it was the whole thing.

• 39:08Lewis Howes?

  Yeah, it's cool. It's crazy, isn't it?

• 39:10Speaker 01

  Yeah, so you went-

• 39:11Lewis Howes?

  I've been there.

• 39:12Speaker 01

  Okay, so, so it's just-

• 39:13Lewis Howes?

  It's amazing.

• 39:14Speaker 01

  It was just awesome. And it really got me thinking differently. And I, and I remember thinking like, wow, well, if I felt pretty great after, it was just like my thought process of why I should work out. I was like, well, I feel better after. Well, why not? I'll go to something like this. And so did the event. It was crazy, eye-opening, really amazing. And then after that, I went to a financial seminar he had up in Canada as like a thank you. And I was like, hey, why don't I come like snowboard with your guests?

• 39:37Lewis Howes?

  Wow, that's cool.

• 39:38Speaker 01

  And I'll take the course.

• 39:39Lewis Howes?

  Yeah, yeah, yeah.

• 39:40Speaker 01

  So did that and then, um, you know, had some other interactions with him. And then ended up doing the Day with Destiny in Florida.

• 39:47Lewis Howes?

  I haven't done that one yet.

• 39:49Speaker 01

  After, you know, multiple hits of this, you know, you really, it starts to sink in. And that was really awesome because it's, it's something about like, it's nice if somebody, you know, they can tell you, hey, feel better about this or do that, you know? But it's such a different thing when you come up with the idea yourself.

• 40:06Lewis Howes?

  Yeah.

• 40:07Speaker 01

  And it's, it's, you know, you're like that aha moment of like, oh, wow. I've been doing this and now I realize this is a better way. And not only that, but like here are the tools to help you. So like with these books, like the first book, The New Earth, like got me thinking differently. But The Loving What Is kinda took that same kind of thought process and, and made it like applicable to my life.

• 40:31Lewis Howes?

  Hmm.

• 40:31Speaker 01

  So I could go through my life and I like, anytime something arises now, it triggers and I go, oh, let me, they do this thing where they, Katie does a, I'm sure you, you spoke with her. You kind of break it down and you kind of question. You have these like four being questions and you're just like, okay, like how do I really feel about this? You start going through the questions and at the end, it just takes all the, the life out of it. You know, it takes all the, that meaning and that sort of, you know, emotion that's drawn from the meaning that you're giving this thing, you're giving it all this life and it's nice.

• 41:02Lewis Howes?

  It's nothing. Do you remember the four questions? I can't remember them fully.

• 41:05Speaker 01

  They're like, is it true?

• 41:06Lewis Howes?

  Yeah.

• 41:06Speaker 01

  And then the second one-

• 41:07Lewis Howes?

  How do you know it's true or something?

• 41:08Speaker 01

  The second one is, is it true? Is it really true?

• 41:12Lewis Howes?

  The first one, is it true, right?

• 41:13Speaker 01

  The second one is, is it, is it really true? And then- Pretty much every time that the answer is no. And then it's like, how do you feel or how do you react when you hear that or believe that lie?

• 41:25Lewis Howes?

  Yeah.

• 41:26Speaker 01

  Yeah. And then the fourth part is that you turn it around, which is a little confusing to me, but it's still, it's like, you kind of start saying it differently.

• 41:34Lewis Howes?

  Yeah, perceiving it differently.

• 41:36Speaker 01

  Yeah, just by saying it differently though is like, oh, this person did this. Or I did this, you know?

• 41:43Lewis Howes?

  Right.

• 41:43Speaker 01

  Or my thinking of this was wrong or this. And just you kind of saying it goes, oh yeah, okay. But it's a really powerful thing because it really stops you in your tracks. And, and now when something arises where it's, not that I walk on sunshine every day, but when problems do arise and like, you know, I'm, I'm like getting flack from the guy on Airbnb. Like about to write this crazy text. And I'm like, whoa, is this true? Is he really upset, you know, and you kind of like, when something really upsets you, it's, it's, you, those are the signs.

• 42:15Lewis Howes?

  Yeah.

• 42:16Speaker 01

  Something's off.

• 42:18Lewis Howes?

  What do you think?

• 42:18Speaker 01

  Which is really cool.

• 42:19Lewis Howes?

  What do you think, what's your biggest trigger in your life? Or what has been your biggest trigger in the past that you've had to learn how to process better?

• 42:28Speaker 01

  Well, that's, that's the whole part of it is that the triggers are something basically that you're, you're seeing it through a lens of your past.

• 42:34Lewis Howes?

  Right, right.

• 42:35Speaker 01

  So it's not that you came in and said, you didn't like my shirt. At some point, someone else said I didn't have good style. And now I'm hearing you say you don't like my shirt. Now I'm freaking out, you know, because I'm adding all this other stuff that you don't know about, but you were just not into the color, whatever, or were giving me a, you know, a hard time. You know, what was amazing is that everything really boils down to these like, I'm butchering this, but there's, Tony's not listening. But they boil down to these simple things of like, I'm not enough. Or, or, you know, yeah, that I'm not enough, or this isn't good enough, or, you know, I won't be. Loved, you know, and as simple as it is, it's like, okay, well, you know, like, like losing a contest.

• 43:18Speaker 01

  You know, well, why, what's it, what's the meaning behind it? Like, oh, I wanted to win to show that I'm great. Well, why did you want to show that you're great? Well, I, I, I was told kinda I wasn't gonna amount to much in a sport that was not in the Olympics. That X Games had just started, like, there's no future in the sport. So for years and years, the teachers and friends and people are like, you're gonna amount to nothing. You're a joke, like, your sport's a joke. And, um, and we'll see in the future when you're asking for change, you know? And so that's kinda embedded in me. So there was this fight to prove that I was, you know, something important or special or whatever. And so it's all boils down to like that, like, oh, I'm, I'm not good enough. Or I feared that I'm not enough.

• 44:01Speaker 01

  And so once you kinda realize you're, you're, you're pulling from this place, you know, you go, well, okay, take all this aside, like, man, like, what are the basics? Like, am I there for my friends when they need me? Like, for sure. And am I, you know, like, like, what are my strengths outside of all this other stuff? And you kinda really get to know yourself a lot more. And that was really amazing for me and so eye opening, cause I was just like, ever since I can remember, I've been competing and doing this and that and win after win. And, you know, how do we go bigger and more? And, and, um, you know, I never really took the time to just go, oh, wow, like, hey, I, I, I tend to like do well at a dinner. Like, I can, I make people laugh, I'm good.

• 44:45Lewis Howes?

  Right, right.

• 44:46Speaker 01

  You send me in, I'm good. You know, like, that's a great quality to have, to be able to like be social and to, you know, to, um, you know, strike a chord with people and, and, and easily start conversation, make people laugh. And like, that's a qual, that's a great quality to have. And, and, and the simplest fact of like, oh, like, okay, if I knew someone like that, I would like just to have them around just for that basic fact that they're enjoyable to be with.

• 45:11Lewis Howes?

  Yeah.

• 45:12Speaker 01

  You know what I mean? Just the simplest things. And, and then once you have that kind of foundation of understanding of like, gosh, well, I'm getting that sort of I am enough and I will be loved and all these things from all this, then everything else is just like, oh, well. And if I win the event?

• 45:26Lewis Howes?

  That's great, yeah.

• 45:29Speaker 01

  You know, so, but it, but that's so weird is I was worried that it wouldn't like keep me motivated, but I'm still driven.

• 45:37Lewis Howes?

  And this was all in the last couple of years you started doing this work, right?

• 45:40Speaker 01

  Yeah, this was like 2018, pretty much, yeah.

• 45:43Lewis Howes?

  So in the last three years, as you've started to do kind of more of the emotional inner mental work,

• 45:49Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 45:50Lewis Howes?

  what would you say to your, you know, 13-year-old self getting into the journey of this,

• 45:55Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 45:55Lewis Howes?

  this career for the last 20 years or whatever, 20-plus years? What would you say to him, knowing what you know now, about what the real champion's mindset is?

• 46:05Speaker 01

  Yeah. No, it's tough. I mean, I've thought about that, but there were so many situations where maybe I needed that drive, you know what I mean? I, I, I'm a firm believer in like you kind of, I don't know, I've just been like leveling up consistently through my career, so maybe I, I, you know, didn't need that lesson at that time. I definitely would have told myself to really like stop and enjoy the like, the little things, just because, you know, you don't realize that things just keep going on, you know? I remember signing this deal when I was really young and it's like this 10-year contract. I was like, I'll be playing golf by then. And I was like, I'll be 30, can you imagine?

• 46:46Speaker 01

  And 30 came around, I was like, wow, I still feel so driven and youthful and I got all this stuff in front of me and, so, yeah, I don't know, I don't know what I would say.

• 46:57Lewis Howes?

  Exactly.

• 46:58Speaker 01

  But definitely to enjoy the, the little things and just go back and take the moment to like, like, man, we had this big win, let's go celebrate that with this. Let's just take an extra minute to do that.

• 47:09Lewis Howes?

  Not already move on to the next thing.

• 47:11Speaker 01

  Yeah, oh, for sure, because, you know, it was just like, I had my, my, and, and I don't think it would have gotten in the way, it would have just been like really enjoying or like a big deal I signed or something like.

• 47:21Lewis Howes?

  Yeah, celebrating it.

• 47:22Speaker 01

  Yeah, those things.

• 47:23Lewis Howes?

  But now that you've done, I guess, the, the deeper inner work that you're talking about, do you have a, you know, a routine or a mindset or a mantra that you have going into events now? That like you think about beforehand or before you're going up to the uh dropping in or or is it just you're doing the same you've been doing?

• 47:41Speaker 01

  No, it's pretty much the same. That's what's so great about it is it's like it's just giving new meaning to the same way that I feel already.

• 47:49Lewis Howes?

  What's that meaning?

• 47:50Speaker 01

  Just that that it's it's all a bonus. It's all like, you know what I mean? It's it's all icing on top of the the cake. I mean, look at this long career I've had to this point. It's all, you know, and and like, why not? Like, I still feel great. I still am motivated. I still in these things and like, let's embrace that, but not put the extra, you know, emphasis on like, well, if it all doesn't work out, then nothing's good.

• 48:15Lewis Howes?

  That I'm worthless.

• 48:16Speaker 01

  Yeah, or just that like, nothing's great, you know, and then you're at your beach house.

• 48:21Lewis Howes?

  You're like, yeah, crying, watching these whales.

• 48:26Speaker 01

  You know, but um, but that's, you know, I don't know. I I I I fear I'm coming off preachy or something like that. It's something that worked for me and really helped me, but, you know, to each his own and, you know, there is a time to push and to push through the the frustrating parts. And then there's a time to kind of go, oh, wow, like, is this is this just a time for a course adjustment rather than, you know? So I think, yeah, as I've gotten older, and maybe and maybe it's just with age, like, I don't know if I would have listened at that point.

• 48:57Lewis Howes?

  Right, right. You were so focused.

• 48:59Speaker 01

  I got a Lamborghini. Let's go.

• 49:01Lewis Howes?

  What feedback would you give to someone out there? Whether they're an athlete or they're just going after life in a big way. They have big goals, big dreams, but maybe it's business or

• 49:10Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 49:11Lewis Howes?

  career or something. What feedback would you give them on the path of wanting to accomplish massive big goals, being at the top of their field? Without hurting themselves along the way?

• 49:21Speaker 01

  Well, again, I think, you know, definitely don't, this this thought of like the delayed happiness is where you get in trouble. If this happens, then I'll be happy. If I can only get the raises, then I'll be happy. If I could just win one more Olympics, then I'd be happy. You know, if I could just, so you gotta kind of, which is hard, because, you know, you picture this place in your mind and you want to get there. I'm very like, I visualize everything. And so like, I can picture it. I can see the, you know, the red carpet rolling. I can picture, no, I'm kidding, but you know what I mean? Like, in your mind, yeah, they're throwing flowers at me at the, you know, like. You know, you can picture what it would be like and like, gosh, if I just had this amount of money,

• 50:05Speaker 01

  I could, I would, I wouldn't worry about money. You know, like, there's all these things and there's a way to enjoy it along the path. It doesn't have to be all or nothing. And that's something that took me a while to learn. And I think I would have had a much more enjoyable process getting to where I am in my life and career. And still had that motivation if I would have been able to.

• 50:27Lewis Howes?

  Yeah.

• 50:28Speaker 01

  Kind of, you know, like Tony says at his event, he says, what was it? You know, success without fulfillment is the greatest failure. It's true and it's so funny because you, you meet people and you'll have very famous people at that event. They stand up and they're like, I won my Oscar. And I was like, well, I better win another one. And then I made this much money and I was like, well, I better double it. And then, and I just kind of sat there with my doubled money and my thing and went, well, what's next? You know, and it's, you have to find the enjoyment. Otherwise you get to that place where you get the, you know, you finally get that goal and it's not every. In many ways it is what you'd hoped, but it's not exactly what you pictured. And so, and that's hard, you know, to get to that point.

• 51:12Speaker 01

  And it's, it's frustrating because you bank, you put so much emphasis on this moment being this way. And if it doesn't work out exactly and picture exactly how it's going to go, you know, you're left kind of hanging.

• 51:23Lewis Howes?

  Right.

• 51:23Speaker 01

  So it's getting rid of that. And then I'm just a huge believer in kind of like the little steps as well. It's like, what little thing can I do that my competitors are probably not doing that might help me?

• 51:36Lewis Howes?

  Like what?

• 51:37Speaker 01

  I don't know, just, I remember, I remember winning the event and I just, it just dawned on me that all my competitors would probably, this is when I kind of went to the gym. It dawned on me that all my competitors were probably going to go celebrate.

• 51:52Lewis Howes?

  Like drink alcohol.

• 51:53Speaker 01

  Yeah, go, go party all night for sure. And I was like, what if I just hit the gym? Just, why not? Just something that would, you know, why don't I just like push when they're going to not push? And, you know, just little things that I might be able to do, get to that place. And so I always, and, and goal setting was huge.

• 52:13Speaker 01

  And I hesitate to talk about it just because it's, I feel like it's talked about so much. But I don't really believe that people do it in the right way. You know, like, yeah, it's great to have a huge goal, but is that like really what you want? Cause it's like, there's so many times, like I said, I really wanted to win the Olympics in Korea. And then I'm sitting in a hospital, my face ripped open and I was like, how bad do you really want this? And thankfully, I really, really wanted it and that was the goal. And I was like, you know, and that helped me get there oddly enough. But it's like, it's like really finding like what that is and knowing it wholeheartedly like this is it.

• 52:56Speaker 01

  And then you start that little, that process of getting there. If it's like, you know, are we selling t-shirts? Well, one extra shirt sold is this or like, maybe if I drive the car instead of shipping it. We're gonna move the needle, like any little thing I could do to like move the needle in the right direction. And so like having that big goal and then having like a bunch of fun little goals on the way. And something that would be obtained by getting to the big goal. So.

• 53:23Lewis Howes?

  It sounds like, you know, the universe is gonna ask you, do you really want this with the obstacles it puts in your way?

• 53:28Speaker 01

  Oh, for sure. Yeah. And people will question it and you'll question it and, you know, and then, and then the people within your inner circle. Cause you don't kind of listen to everybody else. People will question it and you gotta really, you know, know what you want.

• 53:43Lewis Howes?

  You gotta listen to yourself.

• 53:44Speaker 01

  Which is really hard. But once you find it and know it wholeheartedly, then, okay, boom, that was a huge hurdle to clear. And then it's like, well, how can we get there? And I've always, I heard something a long time ago where, you know, instead of saying, oh, we can't do that. That really shuts the doors. Like, how could we, how could we do it? And that's, that was me sitting after the Olympics in Russia when I lost and I was like, okay, well. If I was gonna win again, how would I do it? And then I started like, well, I'd have to have a coach that, you know, did this for me and I'd have to have the PT. You know, and I started to build this scenario and I was like, wow, that actually It could work. doable, you know? And then I had like fun little goals along the way. So like at the One Olympics,

• 54:27Speaker 01

  my goal was to, um, I wanted to be on the cover of Rolling Stone, um, which, which had happened after the One Olympics, the first one I went to, I was 19. Uh huh. And my goal was like, well, if I win again, they might call me and I'll be ready this time. You know, and, uh, cause I remember taking the photo, I'd just flown in from wherever, I was like, they're like, take your shirt off. I'm like, I never take, I'm so white. And I remember the photos coming out, I was like, I don't know how I feel about this and anyway, so I was like, if it happens again. I'm gonna be shredded. I'll be, yeah, this will happen and I'll do this and this and and I remember watching, like, I got really into Guns N' Roses and Axl did a show where he's in these tiny American flag shorts. Yeah, yeah. I was like, well, I can't run that.

• 55:13Speaker 01

  But what if I had pants? And so like, I had these pants made and it became all about like, trying to get on the Rolling Stone cover and to wear these pants rather than like winning the Olympics. So it kind of changed the goal to something fun and funny rather than this daunting task of winning the Olympics, but I, obviously, winning the Olympics would mean I got to wear the pants or whatever. And so it literally all happened. I won the Olympics, Rolling Stone called, I had the pants, we shot, we shot the photo and then, um, and this actually all started because I was at the Hard Rock Casino, probably on my birthday or something. Uh, we did my 21st there and, um, I remember seeing all the jackets, I love music and guitar and rock and roll.

• 55:55Speaker 01

  And I was like, God, how do I get something of mine into the Hard Rock? Cause it's all rock and roll memory. And I was like, what? But it was on the cover. It'd be cool. So like those pants and the board, all the stuff from the cover got displayed at the Hard Rock. Nice. It was like a full, a full circle. So even now I'm like planning my little, so I'll tell you, I'll tell you, well, obviously, obviously to win, to win the next Olympics would be wonderful on many levels. Um, 2022. The 2022 and

• 56:26Speaker 01

  My fun goal, this is a good one.

• 56:28Lewis Howes?

  Let's see, I'm excited for this.

• 56:29Speaker 01

  My fun goal is that I'm hoping that after five Olympics, that I'm, I'm so, I'm so well-known as a snowboarder that, that is so famous and, and well-known that they're forced to change the emoji on, uh, snowboarder to look like me.

• 56:47Lewis Howes?

  Ooh, that'd be sweet. That'd be great.

• 56:51Speaker 01

  I was like, I could maybe make that happen. I know they have like a David Bowie one.

• 56:55Lewis Howes?

  Really?

• 56:56Speaker 01

  All they'd have to do is put some like long red hair on that guy.

• 56:58Lewis Howes?

  That'd be cool. Blowing out the back of a helmet or something, yeah, just like.

• 57:02Speaker 01

  Cause I keep picturing like, hey, it's me. And then throwing the emojis.

• 57:06Lewis Howes?

  That's cool.

• 57:08Speaker 01

  Hey, new number. It's me.

• 57:09Lewis Howes?

  Yeah, yeah. Snowboarder like this in the air.

• 57:12Speaker 01

  Yeah, that's my, that's, that's, that's my big goal.

• 57:15Lewis Howes?

  I like that. The emoji.

• 57:17Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 57:18Lewis Howes?

  Shaun White emoji. I like it. That's the future, man.

• 57:21Speaker 01

  Yeah, yeah. So.

• 57:23Lewis Howes?

  Not the legacy of being a five-time Olympic. The legacy of having an emoji.

• 57:28Speaker 01

  Being on everyone in the world's phone.

• 57:31Lewis Howes?

  There you go. That's great, man.

• 57:32Speaker 01

  So, you know, but, um, but that's what's fun is, is, you know, every time is different. It changes. I mean, look at this curve ball we were thrown. Covid. I mean, I can't go train in Canada. We can't go to, you know, Australia, New Zealand right now. Like it's very strained, limited practice time. Everybody's trying to make, make it work. And, you know, like we're all in the same boat together. So it's not like it's unfair or anything, but we're all, you know, it's just a new challenge. It presents itself in a new way and there's new goals and new hopes and, um, yeah.

• 58:02Lewis Howes?

  It's exciting, man.

• 58:02Speaker 01

  It's been good.

• 58:04Lewis Howes?

  Amazing journey, man. Um, couple of final questions for you and then I respect your time here, but this is a very inspiring, uh, before I ask the final questions, I want people to check you out. I love your stuff on Instagram, man. Shaun White on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, your website, ShaunWhite.com. The recent post that you skateboarding, I think it was Switzerland or something. I was like, this is a dream world, man. So you've got really cool stuff over there. Um, you also have a new line coming out.

• 58:28Speaker 01

  Dude.

• 58:29Lewis Howes?

  If you can talk a little bit about that.

• 58:30Speaker 01

  Yeah, I won't give away the, the name and all of it, but, um, yeah, I've always dreamt of having my own, you know, uh, snowboard brand. And so. You know, just like I set my goals and things. I remember after the last Olympics being like, "Gosh, if I come back here, I'm gonna be on my own equipment." "How cool would that be?" You know, to try to make that podium.

• 58:49Lewis Howes?

  Because I've always been sponsored by someone else.

• 58:51Speaker 01

  Yeah, and it's been amazing, and I wouldn't change that for the world, but as time goes on, I'm like, I've had a hand in product development, obviously, and design, and had my own lines and places. I was like, "Gosh, it's time. Let's do it." And so, but it's really exciting because I used to work with my brother, and we made all sorts of products and things, and we stopped working together for some time. And now we're working together again, and it feels amazing. And he's fired up, and I'm super excited, and just testing the products, it just feels like old times.

• 59:21Lewis Howes?

  That's cool, man.

• 59:22Speaker 01

  Yeah, so that'll be dropping, the soft goods of it all will be unfortunately next season because of the timelines, but the hard goods will be dropping this next winter.

• 59:33Lewis Howes?

  Before the Olympics?

• 59:34Speaker 01

  Next year, yeah, right before. Right before, yeah.

• 59:36Lewis Howes?

  So we can follow you on your socials, seanwhite.com. Do you have a newsletter there too? Or somewhere to opt in?

• 59:43Speaker 01

  If we don't, I'm gonna go get it.

• 59:44Lewis Howes?

  Add it there, yes, yeah. But in the meantime, if they just follow you on any of these accounts, they'll be up to date on all that stuff. So make sure to follow Sean and support him. I'll be getting some stuff. I haven't snowboarded in like three years, so I gotta, I'll get some gear, and then I'll start getting back on it.

• 59:59Speaker 01

  Yeah, for sure. You might need a big board, though.

• 1:00:01Lewis Howes?

  I have a big board. Yeah, I'm a big dude. I remember I kind of like, kind of an accident, like maybe seven years ago, six years, seven years ago, I went to Whistler for the first time.

• 1:00:11Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 1:00:11Lewis Howes?

  And it's just a bigger mountain.

• 1:00:13Speaker 01

  It's a big mountain, yeah.

• 1:00:14Lewis Howes?

  I went down just like a normal whatever, but it was just like so much wind and so, and I was just like...

• 1:00:20Speaker 01

  I have to stop three times just to get to the bottom because my legs are burning.

• 1:00:24Lewis Howes?

  It's so long. So long.

• 1:00:24Speaker 01

  It's a big place.

• 1:00:25Lewis Howes?

  And I hit like my edge and wanted like the back and hit the back of my head. I didn't have a helmet on. I remember thinking like, "I need to have a helmet the rest of my time doing this." Because I was on the ground like for five, 10 minutes, like that was, man, yeah, that was rough.

• 1:00:38Speaker 01

  Yeah, and it comes quick when it snags, yeah.

• 1:00:41Lewis Howes?

  I thought I was fine, having fun in it.

• 1:00:43Speaker 01

  Yeah. I, I, it doesn't have to happen to me nearly as often, but on occasion, like, I'll just, it's when you're not paying attention.

• 1:00:51Lewis Howes?

  That's what happened to me.

• 1:00:52Speaker 01

  I'll do the crazy trick and then fall like in the lifeline.

• 1:00:54Lewis Howes?

  That's what happened to me, yeah.

• 1:00:55Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 1:00:56Lewis Howes?

  Um, this is a question I ask everyone at the end, it's called the three truths. So I'd like you to imagine a hypothetical scenario. It's your last day on earth, many, many years, many years away. You get to live as long as you want to live.

• 1:01:08Speaker 01

  Mm-hmm.

• 1:01:08Lewis Howes?

  And you accomplish all your dreams. Five more Olympics, you know, your own line of relationships, life, all these things happen.

• 1:01:15Speaker 01

  Emoji.

• 1:01:16Lewis Howes?

  Emoji, that's the most important thing.

• 1:01:17Speaker 01

  I'm listening.

• 1:01:18Lewis Howes?

  Emoji, the emoji is on the cover of the Rolling Stones.

• 1:01:21Speaker 01

  Yeah, yeah.

• 1:01:22Lewis Howes?

  That's the cover.

• 1:01:23Speaker 01

  Mm-hmm.

• 1:01:24Lewis Howes?

  But for whatever reason, in this hypothetical scenario, you've got to take all of your content with you. So all the interviews you've done, the spoken word, videos, written word, it's all gonna go with you somewhere else.

• 1:01:36Speaker 01

  Mm-hmm.

• 1:01:37Lewis Howes?

  Again, this is many years away.

• 1:01:38Speaker 01

  Mm-hmm.

• 1:01:39Lewis Howes?

  And all you get to leave behind is three lessons to the world that you've learned from your life. And this is, all we would have to remember you by are these three truths, I call it.

• 1:01:48Speaker 01

  Okay.

• 1:01:48Lewis Howes?

  What would you say would be the three truths you would leave behind?

• 1:01:53Speaker 01

  I don't know, I think my gut goes to, I mean, immediately goes to the like, enjoy the little things.

• 1:01:59Lewis Howes?

  Yeah.

• 1:01:59Speaker 01

  Enjoy the moments, because they're fleeting and you think they're gonna last forever, but they don't.

• 1:02:05Lewis Howes?

  Mm-hmm.

• 1:02:06Speaker 01

  You know, so many countless hours wasted going over what could have happened in the past that I can't change and what I should do in the future and just completely missing the amazing situation I'm in currently. So, enjoying the moment. Um, I think, I think being true to who you are.

• 1:02:24Lewis Howes?

  Mm-hmm.

• 1:02:25Speaker 01

  Honestly, because there's so much time spent, at least in my life was, thus far, has been, you know, there's so many, there's the person I am and then there's the person that I think I should be sometimes. And it's so much just better to be who you are.

• 1:02:41Lewis Howes?

  Yes.

• 1:02:41Speaker 01

  Not try to put on the show, or like, who are you, who are you pleasing, or, you know, who, who are you trying to impress?

• 1:02:48Lewis Howes?

  Yeah.

• 1:02:49Speaker 01

  If you need to impress somebody, then it's somebody not worth you even having your time with, so.

• 1:02:55Lewis Howes?

  Yes.

• 1:02:55Speaker 01

  You know what I mean? I remember reading, I think it was, uh, what would Keith Richards do?

• 1:03:02Speaker 01

  And it literally like one of the first or second things was like, he was like, know yourself. He's like, I could party all night. I could do this and I could do that. And I got up and I was fine. And I did it because I could do it. I know a lot of guys that tried to do it because they thought that's what they're supposed to do, but they couldn't, you know what I mean? And he's like, I'm not advocating for this for anyone, but for me, it worked. This was my life. You know, it's like watching The Last Dance with Rodman. They're like, he's just that guy. We gotta send him out. He gets a little crazy, comes back, but he's our crazy, you know? So know who you are and be true to that and don't be swayed. I mean, those are the things that kind of hold for me.

• 1:03:40Lewis Howes?

  The third?

• 1:03:40Speaker 01

  You know, through thick and thin, through it all, like, you know, when I've had crazy wins or I've had, you know, a breakup or something, you know what I mean? Like my, my family's always been there and like, I can only hope that I'm that for, you know, my family or my, you know, in the future. It's such a, I mean, I didn't drive myself to the mountains. My parents got up every morning and drove me like, God, that's so awesome. You know what I mean? And what an amazing thing to have in common with your family when you, when you're growing up, you know, because so many families grow apart. That was something we had together, but like just the selflessness they had for me and my siblings, you know, growing up.

• 1:04:21Speaker 01

  It didn't matter if it was me and snowboarding or my sister wanted to play soccer. We're out selling candy bars, trying to get on the team and like, get the new uniform. Like it, it didn't matter whether it was what I wanted or, you know, we kind of gave a hundred percent for each member of the family. And snowboarding just happened to be the thing to take off, but you know, nothing can really replace that. And I think at times I remember thinking like, I loved obviously the family unit I had and it got strained a bit. As obviously like the growing pains of like, Becoming more successful and having to travel and having to, you know, the obligations and the media and the things and it's like, and you go, oh, well, this is my life and this is my world and you kind of get sucked up into it.

• 1:05:03Speaker 01

  And I remember at some point thinking that the family wasn't as important, but it truly is because when all that goes, or whatever happened, you know, like they're there for you. And what we talked about earlier in the basic, simplest of ways that like, they like you.

• 1:05:21Lewis Howes?

  Right, right. For who you are.

• 1:05:23Speaker 01

  Yeah, they, you know, like, oh, cool. You won the, that's great.

• 1:05:27Lewis Howes?

  But we care about you.

• 1:05:28Speaker 01

  So are we gonna go see Spider-Man or are we gonna, you know, whatever? They care on that deeper level and, you know, at least I can only speak for my family. It's been that amazing support group for me. So, yeah.

• 1:05:40Lewis Howes?

  That's great, man. I love these truths.

• 1:05:42Speaker 01

  I hope I won that.

• 1:05:43Lewis Howes?

  Those are good. Those are good. I've got my final question before I ask you. I just want to acknowledge you, Sean, for the way you've shown up for the last couple of decades of inspiring so many of us. You know, you constantly show up and dedicated to your mastery of your craft. And you go big, you know, you go big, you're relentless. Even when you crash, getting back up, like you're just a symbol of inspiration to so many people.

• 1:06:09Speaker 01

  Thank you.

• 1:06:10Lewis Howes?

  And I love your commitment to your craft and you have fun with it. And I also really acknowledge you for the last couple of years, like doing the inner work. I think it's really hard to look within ourselves and see, hey, something's off. And to do that work, it's been a journey I've been on for a while as well. And to be talking about it as a, you know, a global athlete icon like you and Phelps, to be really talking about these things is really helping a lot of men especially, who are maybe struggling in their inner world. So I really acknowledge you for opening up.

• 1:06:41Speaker 01

  And everybody's got their thing. And that's why I didn't realize, you know, you look at Instagram and people and you go, oh, they got, that guy's got it together.

• 1:06:48Lewis Howes?

  Right.

• 1:06:48Speaker 01

  And like, no, he doesn't. He's got a crazy uncle. He's got, you know, like, everybody's got something. And I know you're not alone in that, but I appreciate it. Thank you.

• 1:06:57Lewis Howes?

  Yeah, man. It's inspiring.

• 1:06:58Speaker 01

  It's been a learning journey.

• 1:07:01Lewis Howes?

  For sure.

• 1:07:02Speaker 01

  And it's still going. And I think that's the exciting part is I feel like I still have so much more ahead of me, you know, beyond competing, beyond everything.

• 1:07:10Lewis Howes?

  Right, right.

• 1:07:11Speaker 01

  I'm just like, yeah, I'm so excited for what's next.

• 1:07:13Lewis Howes?

  That's great, man. Final question. What's your definition of greatness?

• 1:07:17Speaker 01

  Ooh, thought I was done with that. The three, I was like, I killed it. No way. Um, definition of greatness, I mean, if you spoke to me like a couple of years ago, I had a a different answer, but I think now is, is, I mean, something I've always carried with me was, was being just, I don't know, being different, I guess. And I don't know how to describe it. It's like when you, when you looked at athletes throughout history and, you know, it was like, oh, Mike Tyson would show up and he wouldn't just win. He would win in a certain fashion. He would win in a certain way. And he would deliver when he had to and he wore the black trunks and he showed up or like,

• 1:07:57Speaker 01

  you know, Muhammad Ali had the, the, the mouth and the word, you know, he had, he had so much charisma and all these things. And, you know, something that defined who they were. And it's kind of like, I don't know. I've always thought, I, I, I look at everything, a lot of things in, in form of music. So like the greatest accomplishment usually for a musician is, yeah, obviously to win an award or Grammy or something like that. But it's to find your sound. Like what's your sound? Yes. And, and for me, like, I just kind of like, I feel like I naturally fell into it. Like I looked different for, I had long, I had red hair. So I kind of like leaned into it. I got huge red hair and then, you know, and I would show up in a certain manner and certain things. So I don't know.

• 1:08:40Speaker 01

  I feel like, you know, greatness can be taken in so many ways, but I, I really feel like it's just, it's like seeing the same instrument, but playing it your way, like, you know, taking a sport and doing it just different. Yeah. You know what I mean? It's like, it's the same thing, but he just did it a little different than everyone else. And I think that's what I strive toward even to this day. It's not so much about like, what trick am I going to do? It's like, what am I going to wear? What am I going to listen to? How is the run going to go down? What would I say? Where's the, you know, there's so much that wraps around it other than just like showing up, doing the tricks and kind of win. So I really try to like, Match all of that, but um. Finding your sound. Yeah, finding my sound. So I think that's greatness in any way, whether it's sports

• 1:09:25Speaker 01

  or it's music, or you just finding your own path. I think it comes in many forms. It doesn't have to be in the form of a gold statue or something. It doesn't need to be a trophy of any sort. Right, right. Love, man. Appreciate you. Thank you. Appreciate it.

• 1:09:42Lewis 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. And

• 1:10:26Lewis Howes?

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