The School of Greatness - 129 How to Find Joy in the Journey (when everything sucks)

Episode Date: January 23, 2015

"You were born for greatness, but it doesn't happen overnight. So you must find joy in the journey." - Lewis Howes If you enjoyed this episode, check out show notes and other episodes at www.lewishowes.com/129.

This is 5-Minute Friday! You were born for greatness, but it doesn't happen overnight, so you must find joy in the journey. Thanks everyone for joining me on this 5-Minute Friday. The other day I was having lunch with my good friend Adam Braun, who's the founder of Pencils of Promise, and we were talking about our dreams and our goals for the year, what he's been up to lately, how they're just building so many schools over at Pencils of Promise, and what he's up to with solving the education problem in the world in general.

And as we were wrapping up lunch, it was so great to connect with them as we were wrapping up. We were walking out and this lady came up to us and said, are you Lewis Howes and Adam Braun? I listen to the podcast every day on the way to work to Manhattan. And I just read your book, Adam, a couple weeks ago. This is incredible running into both of you at the same time because I literally listened to you and I just read your book. We had this awesome conversation and she

was telling us how she hasn't been happy and really fulfilled in her life and in her career. And she wasn't sure about what she wanted to do. And she just felt like she wasn't achieving the greatness that she was born to achieve. And I don't know if anyone else has felt this or if anyone else is feeling this in the moment right now. If you are feeling this right now, go ahead and tweet me and say, yes, I am feeling this at Lewis Howes on Twitter. Let me know because I'm going to share with you guys a story. You know, when I was in high school, it was extremely painful for me every day of class. Let me rephrase that. When I was in school in general for my entire life, it was

always really painful in class. It was a struggle. I was not achieving greatness. I was completely out of excellence in class and in my homework and tests and everything. And it wasn't until after school or recess when I was able to find joy in my journey. So I was able to figure out how to be great at something in this extremely painful process, which was called school for me for 22 years, basically. I was in school, miserable, because it was so challenging for me to get ahead in school and to be successful. It was just whatever I did did not work. But I found joy in my journey through sports. And so I was able to get excited about that and really enjoy it and focus on those moments

throughout the painful process. And even after school and after I did achieve my dream of playing professional football, I spent a year and a half in limbo, not making any money and sleeping on my sister's couch. For those that know my story, I got injured playing professional football and then was literally trying to figure out what I was going to do with my life. Again, I didn't have good grades in school, so I didn't have a degree yet. I didn't have like a backup plan. It was just football and that was it.

yet. I didn't have like a backup plan. It was just football and that was it. And I had to find joy in that process for a year and a half, miserable, not even feeling like a grown man because I couldn't afford my own food or my own rent, literally the opposite of greatness. I found joy in the journey and the process. I found a mentor that basically gave me kind of a paid internship. He paid me $500 a month, which I was extremely grateful for because that was the only money I was making. And he didn't have to do that. But it wasn't like I was the CEO of the company right away. I was doing these odd jobs. I literally had a desk in a cubbyhole of the kitchen of the office. There wasn't even space for me in the office itself. They put me in the kitchen.

Again, I'm extremely grateful for the opportunity, so I'm not complaining. I'm just telling you about my journey. It was not all $100 bills all up in my pocket and wheeling and dealing with CEOs. pocket and wheeling and dealing with CEOs, I was literally on the phones all day or stuffing envelopes or doing whatever odd jobs that they needed me to do and they needed me to handle. And I took that process. It wasn't like the most fun process every day. It wasn't like, yay, I get to be on the phone for six hours and cold call people about pitching these products. It was a journey though, where I got to learn and I got excited about the 20 minutes where I got to spend with my mentor a few days a week, where we would go for a walk around

the park and I could pick his brain and learn about his business. So for me, I had to put in the hard work, the things that I didn't really love doing in order to find joy in those little moments where really I could then master those moments and continue to grow in those moments and learn from those opportunities. I had to learn how to master my craft and most importantly, learn how to master myself. So during this process of a year and a half, I took on Toastmasters. So every week, I would get excited for one hour every week where I was practicing my speech. I was a horrible speaker, horrible. For those that know me who were at the Toastmasters, I had to stand behind the podium and I had to type out my speech word for word. I couldn't look up at

anyone in the eyes, in the audience, because I was so terrified. And I literally would just type it out. I would be sweating weeks before I had to speak a five-minute speech in front of 20 people. I'd be sweating constantly when I'd think about it. And it's a process. It's a journey to mastering my crafts, mastering myself. The same thing with salsa dancing. I was taking on public speaking. I was taking on salsa dancing because I was trying to find joy in my journey with little things, little moments that I could have fun in.

Even if my career wasn't fun or what I was doing with my job wasn't fun or I wasn't fully fulfilled in sleeping on my sister's couch, which I don't know wasn't fun, or I wasn't fully fulfilled in sleeping on my sister's couch, which I don't know who would be. And I wasn't happy with myself because I wasn't making any money. Even though I was in that process for again, a couple of years, and wasn't making money for a while, and didn't have an identity really for a while. And it was a struggle. Even though I was doing that, I was able to find things, passions that created joy for me, that supported me along the struggle. And I want everyone to think about this. And I appreciate the woman who came up to us and talked to us the other day, because it really brought this out of me. And right now, I've got a lot of great things going on.

I feel like I'm growing constantly. And I've got my basic needs met. My team is taken care of. My family is good to go. But just five years ago, it was not that way for me. And it's a process. It takes time. Malcolm Gladwell says it takes 10,000 hours really to master your craft.

I don't think it takes that long. I think you can master it in a short amount of time to get to about 80, 90% of being extremely dangerous in what you do in a good way, obviously. And it takes time, guys. It takes time. I get a lot of people saying, I really could use the money right now. I remember telling my mentor after about a year of working with him, I was still broke. And I said, man, I could really use some money right now. I'm pretty broke, man. And he goes, I feel your pain. And he said, the money will come to you when you're ready for it.

And I remember saying to him, you know, I'm really ready to make some money because I'm so broke right now. I could really use it. I think I'm ready. And he was like, the money will come in and you're ready for it. And I didn't really understand that until I actually started making money because I realized I probably would have just blown it, not have known what to do with it. Or, you know, I would have done the wrong things with the money or I wouldn't have known how to handle it. And when it did start coming to me,

it was like the right amount came at the right time when I was ready for it. And when it did start coming to me, it was like the right amount came at the right time when I was ready for it. And still today, the right amount comes at the right time based on my level of readiness for it. This is what it's all about, guys. It's all about finding joy in your journey. If you're not fully fulfilled with what you're up to right now, find something that you can get excited about in the process. If that's after work, you're up to right now, find something that you can get excited about in the process. If that's after work, you're doing something extracurricular, you're finding a hobby, a passion that you can then learn to master. When we move towards the things that we love and we start to master and become passionate experts about the things that we love,

money starts to come when you learn how to capture the value around that passion. So that's what this is all about, guys. And I'm going to give you guys an exercise for the week. And it is to write in a journal or on your phone or your computer or something, but write in a journal each day for the next seven days and a one-page minimum about what the journey means to you, why the journey is so important, and what you can do to find joy in your journey. So again, guys, the exercise for this week, every day, write in a journal and write down what the journey means to you, why the journey is important, and what you can do to find joy in your current journey right now. I hope this has been helpful. Again, this is a five-minute

Friday. Every Friday, we're doing an inspirational message for a minimum of five minutes, maximum of 15 to take you into the weekend. So thank you guys so much for joining me today. Please spread the message over on Facebook and Twitter about this finding joy in the journey. Hope you enjoyed it. Love you guys so much. You know what time it is. It's time to go out there and do something great. Hello? Hello? Yeah, that's right. I'm still here. Are you still here? Are you still listening? Well, if you are, it's probably because you love the music choice and I love the music as well. So make sure to continue to listen all the way to the end because you never know what's going to happen or what I'm going to say. But I want to let you guys know that the journey is all about having the right support group around you.

And the right community of people that can inspire you and uplift you when all the hard, messy, not fun stuff is happening. See you later. Outro Music I'll see you next time.