Lewis Howes: Vous comptez

0:00 Woj Kwasi You're listening to episode one, where we chat with entrepreneur, author, and athlete Lewis Howes. Humans and robots, welcome to WojCast. My name is Woj, founder of Kwasi. Thanks for joining me today. I interview digital marketing and branding superstars to find out what it means to have empathy in digital. What is digital empathy anyway? Let's find out together. So since this is the first episode, I think it's the perfect time to introduce myself and the reason why I decided to start a podcast in the first place. It all started with a single question that I couldn't let go of.

0:39 Bobby Bot When are you gonna tell them about me, Woj? Is it time?

0:42 Woj Kwasi Whoa. I thought I might wait a little while, Bobby, and let the audience listen to an interview or two first.

0:48 Bobby Bot This is not optimal, Woj. You have already said the word robots twice so far. Your target audience will get confused, and WojCast will have an unacceptable bounce rate. You should take advantage of my artificial intelligence. May I propose an activity user one? Why?

1:04 Well, are you going to close the pod bay door?

1:07 Error. I do not have access to the security functions in Plasmos. Would you like me to search for a service that can make the necessary technical adjustments? Speak quicker.

1:16 Woj Kwasi No, thanks.

1:17 Bobby Bot User search result for tanks, stored in favorites, reference WojCast, episode 1. Recommendation command. I have an idea. I will ask you some questions so that the listeners can meet both of us at the same time.

1:27 Woj Kwasi That's funny. Usually it's for humans asking the robots questions. Hmm, imagine a day in the life of a search bar. Okay, well, let's get started.

1:36 Bobby Bot Yes, of course. My first question is, what is WojCast?

1:41 Woj Kwasi Excellent question Bobby. Thanks for asking. WojCast is a podcast series I'm putting together to teach humans and robots to love one another and to curb the threat of creating machine overlords without a conscience. To do that, I've put together a series of conversations with inspirational people and some of the top thought leaders in digital marketing and branding with a focus on search engine optimization and user experience.

2:05 Bobby Bot Advanced machine learning with emotional literacy. Excellent. My second question is, why are you opening the series with Lewis Howes?

2:14 Woj Kwasi Put simply, Lewis Howes is a superman. What he's achieved over the course of his athletics and media careers is quite extraordinary. After injury quickly derailed his professional football career with the NFL, Lewis was forced to seek out new ways to earn his keep. After a long, tough period of reflection, Lewis turned his attention to business and marketing. And as they say, the rest is history. Since making his remarkable career change, Lewis has become a New York Times best-selling author, owner of a multi-million dollar online company, a regular speaker all over the world, and the host of a hugely popular podcast series, The School of Greatness. With over 500 episodes of a podcast now complete, the ex-all-American football star and current member of the USA Handball team isn't afraid of hustle. In fact, he hustles like few of us could even imagine.

3:07 Bobby Bot It would appear that I have much to learn from him. Perhaps some semi-ironic cultural references in order to Woj, to draw in the modern multimedia consuming demographic.

3:17 Woj Kwasi Look in the sky. It's a bird. It's a plane. No, it's Lewis Howes. Let's get started.

3:22 Lewis Howes for about a year and a half, two years. I was on my sister's couch trying to figure out what I was gonna do next with my life after my identity was kind of gone. I put all my eggs in this basket. My whole dream was to play professionally. And then, when the dream was no longer available, I remember I always had my father as a backup plan. My dad was starting to become successful in business. And he said, go live your dream. And when you're done, you can come work with me in the insurance business. And so I kind of always had that in the back of my head. Like, I don't have to figure anything else out because I'll have that. And then my dad got in a really bad accident and got in a car accident in New Zealand actually and was in a coma for three months. We didn't know if he was gonna make it or not. And when he came back, he finally woke up and came back to the States. We had to teach him how to write, how to talk, how to read again, how to just do functional movements. But he ha he's alive today, but he still has a lot of amnesia and he can't work anymore.

4:15 So he's not really available to mentor me or to guide me in any way. And so I think after a couple of years, I just said, you know, I don't have this backup plan anymore. Yeah. My father's not there to support me emotionally, financially, you know, spiritually.

3:57 Woj Kwasi Yeah. Okay. Yeah. And you looked up to him a lot.

4:33 Lewis Howes Yeah, of course. I mean my dad.

4:34 Woj Kwasi Without the security of his father's support, Lewis found that the only way to move forward was to meet the challenge head on and improve himself day by day.

4:44 Lewis Howes At that point, I just said, I have a choice. I can continue sleeping on my sister's couch, which I was doing for a while, and not make anything of my life, or I can discover who I want to be and the impact I want to make in the world moving forward. And I just knew that there was something inside of me that was like. I was supposed to do something. I just wasn't sure what it was. So I went on a journey of discovery and I started taking on multiple challenges for myself to grow. I did public speaking every week. I started salsa dancing. I was like just trying anything that I could. I was learning about online marketing. I was reading books. That's cool. Watching videos, just consuming as much information as possible about what I'm curious about, what I like, what I want to do next in my life. And. I think it was just that feeling of I want to matter in the world. I want to leave an impact on other people and at that time I didn't feel like I was doing anything.

5:22 Woj Kwasi Mm. Ultimately, for Lewis, it was his commitment to self-love, forgiveness, and constant growth that led him to one of his greatest achievements to date: his podcast for School of Greatness. But this lifestyle change and committing to the path towards creating the podcast was not

5:54 Lewis Howes not without its challenges. I was so focused on making money because I didn't have any For a long time. And I just never wanted to feel scarcity again financially. I didn't want to feel like I couldn't provide for myself, which was my basic needs, which is paying for rent, food, whatever I wanted to do. And also, I just wanted to be able to make sure that I would never go broke again. So I was so fixated on making money. And. Saving and investing in, and just seeing it grow in my bank account because I just didn't want to be broken. I didn't want to rely on anyone else's help financially. You know, I still reach out for support constantly in other ways, but I didn't want that holding me back from creating a life of my dreams. So I spent all day, all night. It was like I was doing finals in school.

6:41 College finals week for like years. You know, it was just like every night I was up till 4 a.m. or pulling an all-nighter and then just working all day and eating whatever I wanted to. And as an a former athlete, you know, I used to eat like this, but I was training really hard too. So my body was able to burn it off. Yeah, I was able to burn it off. So I wasn't training as hard and I gained like, I don't know, 30-40 pounds. And I remember just, I moved to New York City. Mm-hmm.

6:35 Woj Kwasi Yeah. Yeah. Mm-hmm. Yeah, so my body was

7:09 Lewis Howes And it saw like my underwear just kind of roll over and my gut and just get better. And I was like, and I was just like, this is unacceptable, you know? If I wanna live, if I wanna be great in this life or if I wanna be an example of inspiration to people, then that means I get to work on all areas of my life, not just my finances and like making sure I grow there, but also in my body, make sure that I'm growing in health wise. Not growing like this, but growing like in a good way. Yeah. And that meant, okay, I took a challenge. I took a new challenge. I said for 30 days, I'm going to do no sugar, no gluten. And I lost 30 pounds in 30 days, about 28 pounds in 30 days. And And I just kind of like started researching and learning. I said, how can I grow to learn, relearn about food and working out? Because my whole life, I thought that pizza was healthy. I thought that french fries were good for you. I thought that, you know, chicken fingers were good. You know, all these things, fried food, I thought were good for you. Like bread, I thought was good. Bread and cheese, I was like, yeah, that's good.

8:13 I just was not educated growing up in the Midwest and the U.S. So for me, I had to re-educate myself. So I started surrounding myself with all the health experts, reading the books, listening to the podcasts, things like that. And then doing things that I didn't like doing. You know, I didn't like giving up foods that I liked. Yeah. I didn't like eating vegetables and green juice. I hated green juice. I didn't even want to try it. But I said, okay, this is something that I get to do to master my health. And I'm still not.

7:13 Woj Kwasi Yeah, if you mine. Yeah. growing like in a good way. Yeah.

8:14 Educated. Yeah. Yeah.

8:40 Lewis Howes Exactly, where I want to be all the time. Like this last week, I was in Brazil eating a bunch of junk food up all night. But I think at the same time, I'm very aware of how I can turn it on and turn it off.

8:50 Bobby Bot Bobby Bots' only dietary requirement is quality content and data.

8:55 Woj Kwasi That's nice Bobby, I'll keep that in mind. Eventually, the balance and mastery Lewis was searching for by improving his health led him to discover new paths of fulfilment.

9:04 Lewis Howes I saw what wasn't working in my life. I think at all times I'm always looking at what's not working, what's missing. At that moment, having a healthy lifestyle was missing. So I said, okay, how can I learn and grow? And that's really when the School of Greatness podcast. ideas started to come around. It was like after all this, I was like, I just want to continue to grow and learn and do something that's really fulfilling for me and that's learning from the best. You know, I like to grow and learn. So Tony Robbins says that uh the key to fulfillment is growth and contribution. So if we're not growing we don't feel fulfilled. If we're not contributing we don't feel fulfilled at the highest level. And for my for the podcast, for me, I get to do both. I get to personally grow and learn and connect with other people, and then I get to give that information to someone else and contribute back to the world.

9:14 Woj Kwasi Yeah. The highest level. Mm-hmm. Drawing on the life lessons from his time in sports, Lewis began to recognize parallels in the world of business. These would eventually lead him to develop many helpful insights.

10:05 particularly on the role of belief.

10:07 Lewis Howes I mean, I just feel very grateful that I've played sports my whole life because Man, I just don't know people who haven't experienced sports as much, I just feel like they don't understand at the same level what hard work really looks like. Unless they've done some type of manual labor or something where they've physically gone through hard work. I feel like when the body is under extreme stress. Then you're able to move through life in a more effective way, I think, when you've experienced that type of stress. I don't say you have to do that your whole life, but if you experienced it for some amount of time, physical strain and stress and constant pressure. Yeah. In sports, every day in practice, there's pressure. In games, pressure. And so when you have a business, when you're starting out,

10:57 When pressure situations come up, if you haven't experienced them for a period of time, it's hard to just step into being your best self. Yeah, it's hard to step into being a powerful leader in the world and just say, oh, this is too hard. I've never experienced this before. So I feel like, not saying it can't be done, but just the background of it, pressure situations my entire life I've had like businesses.

10:32 Woj Kwasi Mm-hmm. Yeah. Mm-hmm.

11:03 Lewis Howes Yeah, easy to give ourselves. Yeah.

11:10 Woj Kwasi Yeah.

11:19 Lewis Howes Seemed easy. Yeah. I mean, it wasn't all easy. It was still hard, but it just seemed like, oh, this is an easier transition. It's easy to hustle. Yeah. Yeah, it was like, I can do this because I've done this my whole life. Or I feel like some people who haven't done sports or some type of, whether it's music or whatever, some type of practice of something with pressure situations, it's hard to go and run a business on your own. That's it. And I think a lot of people don't have that mindset. So yeah, belief is one thing. When you put yourself through a lot of these challenges, physically, mentally, emotionally, and you can get on the other side, you finish the 7K, you build the belief. And that's something that I've been doing my whole life.

11:57 Woj Kwasi On his journey to personal success, Lewis had to balance relationships, work, health and fitness as well as everything else he takes on. Thinking about goals in terms of seasons helps Lewis find his balance.

12:11 Bobby Bot Seasonal weather report, windy with rain developing in the evening.

12:15 Lewis Howes Yeah, it's all seasons. I mean, I think I'm constantly in my business. Of the year, I say, here are the three or four things that I want to accomplish this year, the big goals. So I work towards each one of those and I time them out throughout the year of when I want them to happen or create them. So I don't do them all at once. I space it out. I give myself time to research, learn, create, launch. Research, learn, create, and launch for each thing that I want to create. And around that, I am building in my lifestyle around that. So I'm I'm following my morning habits, routines, workouts. And it also depends on my sport. If I'm playing handball and there's a USA tournament coming up, then I put more attention into that for eight weeks leading up to it. Work out more, do physical therapy more.

13:05 Less with the business, you know, and the same thing with my relationship. I'm in a relationship right now, and you know, some weeks are incredible, and other weeks I don't know if it's going to last, you know. And it's, there's a lot of uncertainty, you know, if I'm being honest. So it's like I give more attention when I need to, and I try to maintain balance throughout. And other times it's. Doing amazing. So it's just a matter of being aware. And I think when we take time every single day to, whether it's five, ten minutes, either in the morning or at night, to say, okay, how am I showing up in my life? What's working for me well this week? What's not working? My health isn't working. I feel like lethargic. I feel tired. I feel out of shape. I'm not comfortable with the way I look. So let me put more attention there. My finances, my business isn't working. Okay, so let me put more attention into generating sales. What do I need to do to generate this much more income in the next 30 days? And how can I sustain that system? So I think he's constantly evaluating the important areas of our lives for me and listening to my body, listening to

14:05 What's like, what am I rejecting in the world? What am I not feeling good about? And just listening. And I think when we set up a ritual, a routine, a practice,

12:33 Woj Kwasi Mm-hmm. Uh-huh. Mm-hmm.

13:16 Lewis Howes Yeah.

13:26 Woj Kwasi Yeah. Yeah. I feel Mm-hmm.

14:01 Lewis Howes For me. This journaling in the morning at night, we can receive that feedback very clearly. Yeah. What we liked, what we didn't like throughout the day.

14:23 Woj Kwasi Structure turns out to be a major component of Lewis's plan towards achieving and maintaining a more positive and productive lifestyle. Where things might have been pushed out to the sidelines in the past, his new approach is much more about sticking to the big picture and scoring one victory at a time.

14:40 Bobby Bot Structure. Yes. Structural integrity is important when constructing dwellings. Does Lewis require additional calcium in his diet lodge? Supplement search and process.

14:51 Woj Kwasi We're talking life structure, Bobby. Like a program. Think of it that way. Lewis didn't have a program. I didn't have a structure. Yeah, I didn't have to.

14:58 Lewis Howes I didn't have the structure. Yeah. I think we create the we create freedom in the structure. And, you know. So, it's a matter of setting a schedule for yourself every day and scheduling in the things that are important. So, schedule in your workout. Don't just say, I'm going to work out today. Say, okay, this morning at 8 a.m., and then have the whole week mapped out of when you're going to work out. Yeah. And set yourself.

15:16 Woj Kwasi Mm-hmm.

15:22 Lewis Howes To win the things that are challenging. Maybe you need to have a trainer come to you. Maybe you need to go somewhere to do it. Maybe you need to have an accountability partner who says, okay, we're going to run together.

15:31 Woj Kwasi With a New York Times best-selling book under his belt, Lewis has experienced his fair share of success. And in an era where everyone else wants to shift focus on what's next, Lewis challenges all of us to recognize the importance of celebrating now, to pause and reflect.

15:45 Lewis Howes to pause and reflect. and really appreciate the achievement. During my book tour last year, Everyone asked That question: What's next? What's next? And I was just like, I'm focusing on what's now. And I think we forget about the now. And my whole life, I always focused on what's next. Like, when I'm going to achieve this thing, and then what's Yeah. After that, and then it's not good enough, and the next basket. Yeah. Yeah, and so I mean what's next is all is what's now and that is writing and researching a new book that I'm writing about with about masculinity. I'm also want to really create a better, a deeper, more intimate community or bringing together of my community. So I'm hosting an event here in the next six weeks and that'll be my first kind of like big gathering that I'm producing event kind of like where we're at right now. Yeah.

16:32 And so I'm really excited about the daily process of figuring it out and producing both a book and an event. And thinking of it from a way of just like, how can I create the most value in every page and every minute of this event and every part of this experience? How can I just.

16:32 Woj Kwasi Yeah.

16:53 Lewis Howes Learn how to Facilitate impact without me having to do the work. How can I structure a book or an event so that every moment there's impact? So, just going to the Olympics, I was just at the Olympics for a week in Rio, and I was just like, you know, I'm very aware and in tune of how I feel. Feel in every experience. And I say, how can I recreate that? Kind of like steal it like an artist, you know, and get that book or whatever. Yeah. So there was a thing that happened in the Olympics. I was like, gosh, this is an incredible experience. That this Holland house, there's like these country houses that they have where the athletes can come and relax and do parties. And this house for the Netherlands did this incredible experience.

17:39 Celebrate acknowledgement for any medal winner at the end of the night. Nice. And it just gave me the chills.

16:59 Woj Kwasi Mm. Mm-hmm. Maybe that book or whatever. Yeah.

17:41 Lewis Howes for any medal winner. Yeah. And I was like, I want to recreate that for my speakers coming on stage and acknowledge them. Yeah. Yeah. about every aspect of what I'm creating.

17:56 Woj Kwasi For Lewis, an entrepreneur's greatest asset is their time, and it shouldn't be sacrificed developing a product or service that people don't want or need. Since most people are willing to invest in something they really want, even if it doesn't exist at that particular moment, it might be worth launching an idea prior to spending the time

18:15 Lewis Howes to make the actual product or service. So many people are want to launch something but they They don't see if people want it first. And so I say, see if people want it, see if they'll buy it first before you create it. And that way it saves you a lot of time and energy of like trying to think what people want as opposed to saying, hey, I'm going to offer this. Do you want it? If so, buy it for an extreme discount right now and I'll deliver it in a couple weeks. I'll deliver part of it at a certain time whenever you can, especially with an online course, coaching, some type of service. That doesn't take a long time to create. It's not like a physical product. And that is a great test market to see if people want what you're offering. And if they don't buy, then you don't have to create something for six months and waste all your time and energy. So many people will focus on the creation of it before they know if people want it. So make sure people want it with, not just by saying, doing a survey and people saying, yes, I want it. Yeah. Yeah.

19:11 Woj Kwasi Mm.

19:12 Lewis Howes When they put the money down, then they want it. But if they just say, yeah, that sounds cool, I would buy that. No, okay, give them an offer to buy it right now. If they don't buy it, don't create it.

19:20 Woj Kwasi Early in his career, Lewis saw the value of this approach. He went to market when he didn't even have a product yet.

19:27 Lewis Howes You know, when I first Started it. No, I launched my first course that I launched to someone else's list. Right. So I didn't even. Do it. It was my first webinar. I didn't have a course. And I said, here's something I'm going to come out with in the future. If you guys want it, here's buy it for$150. Here's a PayPal link. And I'll send you more information later. And people bought it. And I was like, oh, okay, now I can develop it. Now I can create it and then start delivering it. And I've done that for a lot of my courses. You know, now I kind of know what people want, and I've done it so much that I know it's going to work for a lot of things, but I still appreciate it. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. sell a lot of things before I create it.

20:02 Woj Kwasi Having early success doing your own thing authentically is great, but it comes with several unique challenges. Should you scale up a production with new equipment to create a wow experience or stick with using the iPhone that got you traction in the first place? It's a bit like in Wayne's World 2 when the show gets corporate sponsorship from an arcade tycoon but the soul gets sucked out for the duo.

20:22 Bobby Bot Yeah. Media Reference Command. Party on Woj.

20:28 Woj Kwasi For Lewis, investment in branding will help with things like perception, but his challenge is to prevent overproduced content that compromises authenticity, risking the loss of the human connection.

20:41 Lewis Howes I think if it's you, I think whatever you represent, then that's the way it should be. And if it looks polished, then that's just who you are. I think quality is always better than Average or just like whipping it together. Yeah. You know what I mean? Interesting. I think being intentional and quality is more powerful than on your iPhone. Because I know sometimes I do it on my iPhone. Interesting. Because I know sometimes I do it on my iPhone because it's just like I need to as last minute. Yeah. But looks like you care, right? Yeah, you're. Yeah. Yeah, you're intentional. You're taking the time. Intentional. And I don't know if Apple. Anti-human Just kind of threw things together on an iPhone, would you buy it? You know, or are you like so amazed of the intentional quality of thought they put into each element of the design of the phone and you know, whatever it may be? So why? Yeah. Exactly right. So.

21:28 I think, um, yeah. And you can always evolve with branding, you know. But yeah. I think it's just gotta be you. If it doesn't speak to who you are, if it doesn't say yes, that's that person, then then it doesn't work. Are you like so?

21:25 Woj Kwasi Yeah.

21:26 Lewis Howes Yeah. Exactly right. So I Then then it doesn't work. Yeah, it's a good point. Makes sense. Yeah, if you're trying to be someone you're not through branding doesn't make sense. You can enhance who you are.

21:48 Woj Kwasi Even with excellent branding and quality production, Lewis still has to find a way to stand out in a crowded market.

21:55 Bobby Bot A GPS device or high visibility clothing would be helpful.

21:58 Woj Kwasi Lewis is trying to stand out in his actions and how he treats people Bobby.

22:04 Lewis Howes I think you gotta really show people you care about them.

22:09 I think because You know, let's just speak for the podcast right now. I mean, there's what almost a half a million podcasts out there. And I was just talking with a friend yesterday. I was just like, gosh, it's Hmm. I don't know how people are launching them so much and thinking that they're going to get big quickly. It's just going to take time. Okay. And the only way that I can think about it is like I really care about my audience. I say no to a lot of people that want to come on who are like friends of mine or just like pitching me constantly that I feel bad saying no to. But I'm like, you know what? I'm really trying to think of my audience here. Yep. And not just like say yes because. And your community. Yeah, my community. Yeah. You got to put some boundaries. Exactly. And so. Yeah, my my community, yeah. I think showing my community that I care, but also when I have guests on, I really care about them as well. I'm very intentional about.

22:58 Woj Kwasi Mm-hmm.

23:01 Lewis Howes the people that I have on and making sure that I'm giving to them my full energy and sh acknowledging them for giving me that time and for giving my audience that time. Because most people don't I don't know anyone that does that.

23:15 Woj Kwasi Never want to gloss over the details, Lewis always makes the time to thank and connect with members of his robust audience. He believes that person to person connection makes all the difference.

23:27 Lewis Howes Well People say, like, I appreciate the way you acknowledge people at the end of the podcast. You can see you can almost hear in their voices, you know. People. Yeah. At the end of the pike. If People can't. People can't they don't even know how to receive it. People are almost. Receive it. People are like almost. That's embarrassed or in shock or just like overwhelmed. Like, I see it in people's eyes when I'm acknowledging them. I started interviewing people only in person, and man, it's like a lot of people are just like so appreciative. Yeah. And I see that. And I think it's the human element of caring and seeing people for who they are is what we really want. I've been able to manage it in a way that works for me. But there's definitely moments from like, gosh, what could I create today if I wasn't posting for that hour of time or checking or responding?

24:14 I think one of the reasons my audience has grown is because I continually show up in social media and respond to a lot of people. Yeah. Like on Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, I try to respond as many comments as possible. People send me direct messages all the time on Snapchat and Instagram, and I try to respond as much as possible. And that takes time and energy. Yeah. But it also shows that I care. And people are always like, I can't believe you're applied. But I care and that they want the information. Yeah. Someone coming to me, like, I want to have what I have. Continuing the conversation, I want people to keep coming back because there are so many sub-distractions, so much going on, and I want them to be like, Oh, at least I don't want to go to Lewis, like, he's got a reply, or someone's going to reply, or. It's like

24:01 Woj Kwasi Mm-hmm. Yeah.

24:26 Lewis Howes Mm.

24:36 Woj Kwasi Mm. Mm-hmm. Hmm.

24:54 Lewis Howes Or maybe he'll reply because he has before or something, you know. I think the challenge for me is like this, that doesn't, it's hard to do that if it keeps growing. Like, it's not, I don't like the word scalable, but it's not, it's not, you know. Yeah.

25:08 Woj Kwasi As Lewis' commitment to his authenticity and accessibility only deepens, it requires him to explore new ways to bring new energy into his business and personal life. Building a strong team has made a real difference.

25:23 Lewis Howes So, I think finding a way to create a win-win where I bring someone on my team to really Be like a community relationship builder where they're replying to everyone. So these people know that someone's going to reply to them. And that way I can just focus on posting the things that I need to post that only I can do. You know, no one else can insta story or Snapchat for me. They can tweet or Facebook or whatever, but just creating better systems, please. You know, I've got a full-time video person now, full-time podcast editor I've had for years. And you know, who manage specific elements of social media so I don't have to sh do it all. I mean, years ago, I knew I s like five, six years ago, I wanted to have like virtual assistants from the Philippines actually. And then I realized I needed more people like local, just for me, for what I needed, for what I like. I like fast, I like be able to talk to someone right now. I don't wanna wait a day to talk to someone.

26:19 And I just said, what are the things in my life that would make me happier if I didn't have to do? You know, that's what I want us to feel like. Flexibility, freedom, fulfillment, happiness as often as possible. And cooking is just not like I enjoy it when I want to do it, but I just don't want to do it that much. And I don't want to do all these personal tasks that take me leaving away from my business or creating or doing what I do best. So I just started bringing on people. And I knew that there's no way I could build, you know, the financial wealth that I wanted to, the, uh

25:38 Woj Kwasi Yeah. only I can do. Yeah. Okay. Mm. Yeah.

26:44 Yeah.

26:44 Lewis Howes Create. The impact on people building a community that I wanted to all by myself. You know, Apple wasn't built just by Steve Jobs. Yeah, he had tens of thousands of employees because he could have not done any of it on his own. Yeah, so the only way to build any type of mega-imact business is with a team. Yes, that's it. Unless you're on Instagram, I guess, and you can do fifteen, twenty people. But I've only got ten people on my team right now, so it's not like I have to have all these people, but I think we've got to figure out what how many people do you want on your team to take away the jobs that you don't want to do that are going to help you grow. Because as an entrepreneur or business owner, we we only need to be focusing on a revenue generation.

27:00 Woj Kwasi Oh. Yeah.

27:22 Lewis Howes 15, 20 people, but I've only got 10 people.

27:27 Woj Kwasi Mm.

27:41 Lewis Howes If that's what we're good at, because no one else can do that on our team. So that should be the only thing we focus on: is how come I can continue to make money to pay for the team and pay myself.

27:43 Woj Kwasi Mm-hmm. Yeah. One of the most challenging subjects for any man to talk about is his own sense of identity. For Lewis, making time for the kind of serious, honest reflection was vital to finding his true self. Revisiting the deeply personal spaces that started him on his journey of self-discovery has yielded a new book called The Mask of Masculinity.

28:15 Lewis Howes A few years ago, I went through a workshop where I started to reveal and kind of let go of the things from my past that I was holding on to my whole life. And as I was writing the School of Greatness book, a lot of this stuff kind of came up for me, just like talking about it through the book. And then during my book tour, I was just doing all QA and this same topic of just like being true to yourself, being vulnerable as a man, and what does that mean? What does that look like? And what does that really give us when we can drop the walls? You know, because I had masks and walls, barriers, whatever you want to call it for many years. To portray an image that I wanted to be. And when I released that for myself, I just felt freedom. And I felt like deeper connection with people. And I felt my business started growing, and relationships started growing. And I just was kinder to myself and other people. And I wasn't as resistant and reactive. And I was just like, wow, what an amazing thing! Like, drop the mask. Yeah. There's a lot of.

29:17 Suffering and pain that men are going through from things that I don't think they're able to express, able to let go of. That's what they're expected to do in society. I mean, just from my own, this is all my own personal experience. It's like I realized this is what was happening to me. And the more I talk with men, I realize there's a lot of pain that men are going through. Obviously, women are going through a lot of pain and suffering as well in their own way. But I feel like there's never been an open conversation for men to be vulnerable and be okay, at least in American society. Yeah. And so.

28:47 Woj Kwasi Yeah. Uh-huh. Yeah.

29:20 Lewis Howes Okay. they're expected to do in society and Yeah.

29:49 Woj Kwasi Yeah.

29:53 Lewis Howes I just feel like it's something that's the reason I'm doing it is because it's something that scares me to talk about because I have to be vulnerable and it's you know constantly pushing me to go there when it's not always the easiest thing. The easiest thing is to not be vulnerable, you know? Yeah. And And wear a mask and try to look good and all these things. So, okay, constantly grow myself and push myself.

30:08 Woj Kwasi Yeah. Lewis found that the issues surrounding gender identity and the difficulties it imposes on men are often overlooked and ignored and are subjects in need of serious unpacking.

30:22 Lewis Howes I think it's just really how can I impact more people and this is a way to do that. You know, my school of greatness is going to continue growing and it's going to build, but I want to focus on another topic as well that can be a standalone piece to give to people that women can read and and connect with their boyfriend, their sons, their fathers, their brothers who are guarded where they feel like they can't ever talk to them. Or like when this subject comes up, like they shut down. So what do you do in that situation? So you don't make them feel bad or wrong or you don't emasculate men. And then for men to read it as well so they can have tools to process some of these things in a comfortable, safe place when they're ready. Yeah. And not pressure them to like have to do something or be something. Yeah. So just, yeah, I want to figure that out.

30:37 Woj Kwasi And Yeah. Uh-huh. Yeah. Of all the interviews Lewis has conducted, his meeting with Tony Robbins had the greatest impact on him.

31:14 Lewis Howes His story is really powerful. Maybe it's too obvious because he's just so well known, but he's just created such an incredible A legacy and he's created, he's developed himself into the person he always wanted to be. That's a movement as well. And he's impacting millions of people in the process. And for me, that's something that excites me. Yeah. It's like developing myself into the vision of who I want to be, and in the process, being a symbol of inspiration for others and providing resources and support for other people. So his story of just you know being home his mother like abusing him and essentially abandoning him and yeah, he's a big guy. He's a big guy, but you know, the thing is, it's he was like, I look back and I'm so grateful and love my mother for this.

32:03 Because she made me who I am. She taught him a lot. Well, he's like, I wouldn't have this much compassion. I wouldn't have this much drive. I wouldn't have this much whatever belief in myself if I wasn't able to overcome that much tragedy at an early age. So he's like, if she was the most beautiful, loving mother that I could have ever wished for, I'd probably be like selling cars or something, you know, or whatever. Yeah. So. Easy way out. Yeah. So for me, it's like I can relate to that because. Of the things that I went through personally as a kid, just like a lot of a lot of things. And you know, we all go through our own things. Not saying mine's worse or easier than other people or whatever, but we all go through our own things that affect us in our way. And so for me, I related because, you know, I felt like There was something I was born to do similar in my own way. And it just took some time for me to kind of overcome a lot of those things. So, yeah.

31:31 Woj Kwasi Okay. Mm-hmm.

32:08 Lewis Howes Hmm. at an early age. whatever. Yeah.

32:37 Woj Kwasi Yeah. Yeah. After producing over 500 podcasts that explore a range of themes from business to inspiration, health and relationships, Lewis Howes' journey has been a fruitful one, delivering a wealth of experience and understanding to a global community in search of bettering themselves. After all the conversations, highs and lows, failures and successes, Lewis identifies three of the greatest life lessons he has learnt.

33:24 Lewis Howes You know, I'm gonna keep it simple. I think the common theme is lead with love. Lead in every situation with love. I think that's kind of like a universal truth: when we think, lead, believe in that, then things work out at some point. So lead with love. I'd say the second thing is. She believes it. Yeah. I think. The most important thing we should do To discover and pursue our dreams. I think what is the point of life if we don't have a dream? Yeah. Why be here if we aren't going to at least discover that and then pursue it? Whether we achieve it or not is, in my mind, irrelevant. But it's, as you know, the journey which inspires others. And then if we reach the

33:57 Woj Kwasi Mm-hmm.

34:18 Lewis Howes Destination and achieve it, awesome. And so many people say, like, once you reach.

34:23 Woj Kwasi Who was it? That was, I think it was Lionel Richie. Maybe I heard it on your podcast. But there was a, you know, he got to a point where he was smashing at MV80s and he got to the top of the mountain. He goes, you know what sucks? There's no one else here. No one else there. Yeah, yeah. So, you know, people forget to, you know.

34:36 Lewis Howes Yeah yeah. So Yeah. celebrate with journey. Absolutely, and every single day there's something magical that happens. Experience life another day, and that's why I start and finish and process the entire day with gratitude because it's like, wow, there's so much good. Even if you know I'm going through a challenging time with my girlfriend, and it's like, man, there's a lot of tears right now, and there's a lot of uncertainty, and there's a lot of crying. Arguing and front and not clicking, but it's like, God, this is beautiful. We're both like up against our walls and our buttons, and there's so much messy uncertainty, but something beautiful is going to unfold. Yeah, and I want to trust the process of our lives, you know. It's like, yeah, okay, be in gratitude. But I think the dream is so important because.

35:22 Woj Kwasi Yeah.

35:29 Lewis Howes I don't know. Life just isn't as fun without dreams. And I think we forget about dreams. We focus on making money or doing things we're supposed to do or whatever. Gosh, dreams make me feel a lot. And that's what we did as kids before there was any barriers. So there's any barriers. Makes me feel alive. So pursue and follow our dreams. Yeah. The third one, hmm. The third one's you matter. I think a lot of people don't think they're worth it. And we were all chosen to be here.

35:58 Woj Kwasi Mm-hmm.

36:02 Lewis Howes That alone, you matter. Thank you. Of course. It's true. Yeah, it is.

36:07 Woj Kwasi Yeah, it's true.

36:09 Lewis Howes Yeah, it is. But for years I didn't think I mattered. Yeah. You know. And I s I I strived to achieve so much so that I could be acknowledged that I would matter. Yeah. And I remember I would achieve everything and I was like, I'm still not fulfilled or happy. Like why like I don't feel like I matter still. Yeah. And it's'cause I didn't just choose and decide that I matter. Mm-hmm. Like I was waiting for everyone else to validate. Even when they did, even when they did validate, I still did. Not in

36:20 Woj Kwasi Wouldn't matter. Yeah.

36:32 Lewis Howes Mm-hmm. Like I was waiting for everyone else to validate. Even when they did vote it, I still didn't believe it. Yeah, you love a well decided. Yeah, you never will decide. Exactly. And I was just always unfrustrated and un unfulfilled. Yeah. And um I just you know, we were chosen for whatever reason to be on this planet. I I don't know. I don't know if I'll ever know.

36:51 Woj Kwasi As the school of greatness continues to grow and evolve, Lewis's definition of greatness has also evolved.

36:57 Bobby Bot Evolving definition of greatness, I'll update the language function.

37:01 Lewis Howes Yeah, when I was younger, I think it was my definition was like being a professional athlete or like just achieving my goal as an athlete would be greatness. And then I think at one point it was probably like make a lot of money, like make a lot of money and be able to provide for my family or something, you know. And now it's to discover and pursue your dreams. Right. And Make the maximum impact on people you can in that pursuit. I think that's again, it comes back to dreams. I don't know what the point of life is without a dream. Or and maybe at some point we're not going to know what our dream is, but discovering and pursuing to figure it out and then impacting people living in service in that pursuit.

37:30 Woj Kwasi Mm-hmm. As impressive as Lewis' journey and success are, they are just the beginnings of his story. As his inspirational creativity spreads worldwide, it's clear that just like Superman, Lewis is creating a legacy that comes from the heart.

37:58 Lewis Howes You know, I can say what I see myself, but I'm so open to like whatever anything could happen any day. So I'm open to going where I feel like I'm called to go to make the biggest impact right now. But if I can draw anything out and make it happen and will it myself, and it's supposed to happen, I want to be.

38:08 Woj Kwasi Mm-hmm.

38:26 Lewis Howes the biggest curator in the world of ideas, people, and products. Nice. I want to be um I don't need to be the expert or whatever, but I want to be the one that Knows the people, knows the things or the products that I'm like, yeah, that is quality. That's gonna help a lot of people. Like, I can see how this will support people. Yeah. And then have the platform to give that to people. Yeah. Okay. Yeah. Kind of like what Oprah has created. Yeah. But I want to be the biggest curator or facilitator in the world. Yeah.

39:00 Woj Kwasi That was awesome. I really want to thank Lewis for taking the time out to contribute to the first episode of WojCast. You can find out more about Lewis on his website where you can find links to his book, his podcast, and yeah, I really recommend checking out some of his videos. I've listened to full 500 of those episodes of the School of Greatness and it's very very insightful. You'll agree that there's definitely something in there for everyone, even you, Bobby Bot.

39:27 Bobby Bot The conversation was the perfect compliment to the 1,000 Go matches I had on simultaneously. Very inspiring. I did have. a few more questions for you Woj what is the most important lesson you have learned from lewis' journey

39:37 Woj Kwasi I think the most important thing that I I've learned from Lewis is that I can get through anything, and sometimes your own problems aren't as big as the world.

39:47 Bobby Bot What do you hope to achieve with WojCast?

39:49 Woj Kwasi I want to learn about digital empathy and I want to spread the word and have more contributors and have more people understanding about the fact that there are people on the other end of the keyboard and we have to empathize with them when we're dealing with them online. And what is your definition of greatness? It's constantly learning. It's growing and yeah. bettering yourself day by day. Thanks again for listening everybody. Be sure to tune in next week for the first half of a two-part interview with the inspirational leader and bona fide master of ceremonies, Mr. Mike King.