The School of Greatness - 291 Lindsey Stirling: The Power of Perseverance to Create Artistic Greatness

Episode Date: February 17, 2016

"Maybe I wasn't ready then, but it didn't mean I was never going to get there." - Lindsey Stirling If you enjoyed this episode, check out show notes, video, and more at http://lewishowes.com/291

This is episode number 291 with Lindsey Stirling. Welcome to the School of Greatness. My name is Lewis Howes, former pro athlete turned lifestyle entrepreneur. And each week we bring you an inspiring person or message to help you discover how to unlock your inner greatness. Thanks for spending some time with me today. Now let the class begin. You were born with potential. You were born with goodness and trust.

You were born with ideals and dreams. You were born with greatness. You were born with wings. You are not meant for crawling, so don't. You have wings. Learn to use them and fly. Rumi. Welcome everyone to this episode. I'm super excited for our guest, but before I introduce her and bring her on, I just want to let you know and remind you that you were born for greatness. You were born to make a difference. You were born to make an impact.

You matter so much more than you might believe. And I hope you guys take this as a daily reminder to always remember how much you matter and how much of an impact you actually make in the lives around you. You know, there are people in your life that are so inspired by you. You have no clue. Your friends, your family, your children, your spouses, they may not say it, but they are inspired by who you are being on a daily basis, by the actions you take. So always remember, no matter how bad things may be, no matter how stressed out you are, no matter how unfortunate a situation may be in your life right this moment, maybe you're

struggling financially, physically, in a relationship, in your business, it does not matter what's happening. There are always going to be people that look at you and are inspired by you. does not matter what's happening. There are always going to be people that look at you and are inspired by you. So remember that every day is an opportunity to wake up and inspire someone else to live a better life. You were born for something great. And I hope you never forget that. Lindsey Stirling is our guest today, and I'm super pumped to bring her on. She is one of the biggest artist development breakthrough stories in recent years. A classically trained violinist, she has entered a futuristic world of electronic big beats and animation. Leaping through the music industry with over 7.5 million YouTube subscribers, over a billion views on her channel.

Billboard chart-topping hits, and sold out tours worldwide. This woman is sensational, and I'm super fortunate that I got to spend some time with her, and I'm so pumped of what she shares in this interview. She reveals a lot, a lot that she's never revealed, and I'm excited for you to take it in and listen to it and to use these strategies and to use the principles she talks about in her story to improve your life, to live a bigger life yourself.

And some of the main things we talk about are how she handles the process of being judged. Now that she has such a huge audience, how she deals with this on a daily basis, the importance of loving yourself authentically before you can love anyone else, the best ways to support a friend who is struggling with a mental disorder, how Lindsay planned for her first YouTube video, how she turned her despair into determination after getting rejected, and so much more.

I think you're going to love this one. I fell in love with Lindsay instantly when she walked into my studio. And make sure to check out the show notes at lewishouse.com slash 291 because there's an extra video that we do doing a little contest together, and you can see which one of us wins at the end. It was pretty interesting and comical at the same time. So make sure to watch the full video interview and our little extra video as well. So without further ado, I hope you guys enjoy this one. Make sure to leave a comment on the blog. Make sure to share this with your

friends. Again, lewishouse.com slash 291. Take a photo of it and post it on Instagram and Facebook. Tag Lindsay on Twitter and Instagram as well. Without further ado, let me introduce you to the one, the only, Lindsay Sterling. Welcome everyone back to the School of Greatness podcast. Very excited about our guest today, Lindsay Sterling is in the house. Thank you so much for being here. Thanks for having me. Yeah, very pumped. And you've got a new book out there. It's a New York Times bestseller. Congratulations.

Yes. Super excited about this. It's The Only Pirate at the Party. Make sure you guys pick this up. It's a very inspiring story. It's a memoir, but it's an inspiring story. Lots of great lessons in here that are educational. I was cracking up on literally every other page. You know, a story about

you at some some college, like lunchroom for 30 people talking about how I need to be more entertaining than to Taco Bell through the reading or something like that. It was. Yeah. My glorious beginning. Exactly. Right.

Right. Right. Somewhere. Exactly. So I'm excited to dive in. And, you know, we have some mutual things in common. My brother's a violinist as well so i've grown up appreciating the arts of violin and when you kind of hit the scene i remember being

like wow this is really cool that someone was able to take something classical and not fun for a lot of people mainstream and make it interesting and fun and something that people want to listen to over and over and i've been addicted to your music. I love like the trance, you know, house type style music. And when I heard yours, I was like, wow,

this is epic. So thanks for all that you do to bring the art into the mainstream media. It's really cool what you're doing. Well, thank you. Yeah. Yeah. And I'm curious because you had an interesting childhood,

you have some great experience. You talk about very non traditional experiences you've gone through. And I'm curious, because you had an interesting childhood, you have some great experience you talk about, very non-traditional experiences you've gone through. And I'm curious, who is the most influential person growing up in your life? And what was the most memorable lesson that you learned from them? You know, I don't know, is it too cliche to say like my dad? No, no. Is that too cliche? But it was absolutely 100% my dad. And the reason that is is because when I was a little girl, he used to tell me bedtime stories every night. And whether it was he was reading Lord of the Rings to me or he would actually also tell me stories from his real life. Okay.

And as bedtime stories and these adventures of places he went and things he did. And, you know, as bedtime stories and these adventures of places he went and things he did. And, you know, and I talk about the book, it always ended with him shaking the hand of like, you know, some awesome person. And I remember as a kid telling him, dad, I want to go places. I want to be like you. And I want to meet people. I want to shake their hands along the way. And, and I, and also, you know, he would also read us his scripts, his, you know, Hollywood scripts he would write back in the day when he wanted to make movies. And so from my dad, I learned that you will be better off by chasing your dreams.

And did my dad get his movies made? No, he didn't. But he had the most amazing stories from his adventures as he tried. And so it just kind of taught me that it's okay if you don't. And so it just kind of taught me that, you know, it's okay if you don't. Like, you know, it was okay if I chased my dreams and didn't become what I wanted to become because I would become something I was proud of the same way my dad did. And I just really attribute my kind of adventure-seeking pirate ways to my dad's stories that he told me as a kid. Right.

And you started when you were five, Violin, correct? When I was six. Six. That's kind of like the typical age to get into Suzuki program, early age like that, right? Right. Yeah. And did you think you would be a violinist or were you more of like, I want to be a dancer? Or what was the dream as a child growing up?

Well, the dream as a child, I actually, my parents used to take my sisters and I to lots of like community events, like orchestra concerts, dance exhibits you know, exhibits. And, you know, they play classical music in our home. And so when I was really little, like five, five or six, I started begging for violin lessons and dance lessons. And so my parents, we were, you know, my dad was a freelance writer and, you know, just living paycheck to paycheck. And so they didn't have money for either, but my mom, you know, took me to a violin lesson and took me to a dance lesson. And then it was like, okay, like we auditioned the two. She was like, you got to choose, you got to choose one. And, um, I chose the violin. And so, um, you know, honestly,

I think it's cause I was able to take something home with me. You know, I was able to hold it and like, you know, create off of it. And, um, or, you know, I probably went to the dance class and came home and was like, well, what do I do next? Right. I learned one move. Yeah, I learned to point my toes. That's great.

The violin, I had this little wooden thing that I could take home and make sounds on and I didn't put it down all week. So I stuck with the violin and my parents sacrificed quite a lot to give each,

my sisters and I, each kind of a talent, a hobby, something that we could love. And my dad even kind of went back and finished up some school and became a teacher so that he could better provide for our family. And so they really sacrificed a lot for us. And so along the way, I really knew that if I did not practice that violin, I would lose it. I wouldn't get lessons, which was kind of the motivation of practice. But yeah, along the way, I'm just a self-taught dancer because I never quite lost that love. Well, you've got a great talent with it too.

Oh, thanks. Even though you didn't take the lessons at an early age, you've come a long way. Isn't it funny how one little decision you made from a moment of like, oh, do I do dance or violin, like change your life forever, essentially? It's so true. It puts you on this path, right? Right. Like if I had chosen to be a dancer, like I couldn't self-teach my, you know, the violin.

So I'm like, yeah, what would I be doing? Isn't that crazy to think about? So crazy. Yeah. Okay. What do you think was the biggest challenge growing up for you? What was the biggest internal challenge that you were facing? Internal challenge? Um, growing up, like as a kid, let's say in your teens and my teens. Oh, um, that's, I mean,

everyone, everyone goes through so many challenges. I was like messed up as a teen. Yeah. Um, you know, I, I have so many fond memories of my teenage years. I was very – I was pretty carefree and like really – you know, I had the most amazing friends and I was kind of this like goody-goody teenager. You know, like we – I remember the worst thing I ever did was my girlfriends and I were having like a sleepover at my house and we snuck out the basement window so we could go teepee the boys' house down the street. My parents totally knew. They're like watching you from the top. Yeah, they're like, oh, there they go. Finally, she's doing something a little crazy.

But let me think. Internal struggle, I think it had to have been – I didn't know I was struggling with anorexia for quite a long time, and it started lightly in my teenage years. with anorexia for quite a long time. And it started lightly in my teenage years. And it's this whole internal struggle that's more than just about food. And we talk about it a lot in the book of it's this desire to just have some sort of control over your life. And I had big dreams from the time I was really little. I saw myself going places. And when you feel like you don't have control necessarily over where your life is taking you, I think that causes people to cope in different ways. And for me, that coping came through a freakish control over my weight and what I ate. And it slowly started in my late teens and then kind of snowballed into my college years.

Right, right. snowballed into my college years. Right, right. And when did you realize that, okay, there's something I need to like go over, I need to move past this, you know, challenge or the struggle you're facing? When did you like realize it was an issue for you? And it was hurting you as opposed to helping you? Yeah. You know, it was when I was, gosh, I was probably 23. And I, it was all kind of realized, it came to my realization when I looked at the relationships I had and I've always been a very much a people person and, you know, relationships have been huge for me. And especially my sister, she's been my best friend growing up and we shared a room together and like, you know, just, we laughed together so much. And

just one day I realized I looked over at her and she was studying. We were roommates in college. She was studying on her bed across the room from me. And I just looked at her and I was like, she's a stranger to me. Like really? Why? I don't know her anymore. And it was because I had become so self-consumed by like my thoughts had completely been controlled by my eating disorder. And slowly I just became this kind of a shell of the person I used to be where like, all I could think about was myself and my worries and like what food is in this room and who's here, who's skinnier than me. Like those are the thoughts that kind of had slowly crept in and become normal in my mind. They started very subtly in high school and then that became all I thought

about and all I cared about. And it became all I talked about. And so it's like, I just became this very one-dimensional person. And you hear a lot that you can't love someone else until you first love yourself. And I learned that firsthand. I didn't love anybody else. I didn't really care about anybody else because I was consumed by these selfish thoughts of worry about myself. Now, were you self-aware of that? Were you like, wow, I'm actually not the best person I should be or not having great relationships? Or did someone confront you and say, Lindsay, who are you?

What are you doing? It's time to change. You know, it really happened gradually. So I was very unaware of it. When something kind of is happening in your mind, It's hard to realize that it's not normal. And I remember, um, you know, I was, I would hear my roommates all laughing and I would then talk to Brooke and just be like, I don't feel like I really fit in with our roommates. And, you know, I don't feel like I, you know, and she would just be like, you're fine. What, you know, but I think she was just

as confused as I was like, what happened to you? And, um, it was that that made me realize like, when did I lose that relationship? And then also talking to my mom on the phone, my mom kept saying, I think there's something wrong. You know, you know, moms know everything they notice and they have this sixth sense. And I kept saying, no, I'm fine. I'm just eating healthy, you know? And then one day I just kind of confided in her, like, I cry for no reasons. I can't get out of bed in the morning. I don't even, you know, and she kind of just said the way, you know, the thoughts you're thinking aren't normal, Lindsay. And my mom had dealt with depression in her life, her whole life.

My older sister dealt with depression and she explained to me like, what you're talking about is depression. And that just really took me back. Like, that's not my battle. That's, that was your battle. That was Jennifer's battle. That's not my battle that's that was your battle that was jennifer's battle that's not what i like i'm not depressed but then i just started to realize i started to recognize that this isn't the way i was and i and i really i just i was ready to fight to be happy again because i was so miserable and um yeah i think it was the memory that i

wasn't always this way finally woke me up and i I was like, if I was once different, I can get back to that. And I just had, I realized I needed to work for it though. It wasn't just something that I could like, it wasn't where I was right away and back to normal. Right. Yeah. I mean, your trailer video for your book, it's like you as this happy child, like dancing and playing and joyful, expressive. It's not like the dark moments. Totally. That's cool that you have a reminder for yourself, at least if you ever forget to watch that video. Totally.

And so what did you start to do? Did you create a game plan for yourself where you're like, okay, I need my mom to keep me accountable. I want my friends to call me out on this. What did you do? And what should other people do? Because I'm sure a lot of people listening have gone through this type of experience or maybe they're, you know, they're feeling something. Right.

Whether it's depression or perfectionism or. Right. Totally. Beating up, whatever it may be. So what did you do to switch it and what do you recommend for others? You know, it all started first with I kind of researched a little bit. Like I wanted to be aware of when I started to finally admit to myself, like, cause my mom was like, you think about food all the time. Like that's not normal. These things, you know, it's all leading up, you know,

I was told you have anorexia and I was like, Oh, that's such a terrible word. Like, I don't want to believe I have that. But I started researching about it. And, um, I went to therapy, like I went to both group therapy and I had an individual counselor and then I did let my mom help keep me accountable. I kind of gave her that because I didn't tell anybody else. It's a very scary thing to admit, first of all, to yourself, then to other people. And so my mom was like my confidant and I kind of taught her the things that were good to say to me because, you know, when she'd see me, she, if I was gaining weight, she would say, you look really good. And to me, that was like, oh no, I'm gaining weight. And so

I, you know, I coached my mom on, these are appropriate things to say. This is a good way to comfort me. This is not. That's great. But also I started listening to the voices in my head and realized that I was so mean to myself. I was really mean to myself. And so I kind of started to divide, almost this sounds weird, divide my personality. There was the eating disorder side of my brain and there was Lindsay and I wanted, and Lindsay had become crushed and covered with this eating disorder side. And so I had to like work on the muscle of Lindsay again. And so I would like talk to my brain and I, when it would tell me really mean things about myself, like you're ugly or you're worthless

because you ate that cookie or, you know, you're not the skinniest girl in the room. That means you're worthless. Whatever these voices said, I would then talk to it and combat it by logic of, I can eat this cookie because I've eaten really healthy this week and I deserve, I deserve a cookie, you know, or, you know, it doesn't mean I'm worthless just because I did this or whatever. Or that you're not the skinniest. Because I'm not the skinniest in the room. You know, and talking logic, like I'm not friends with my friends because they're skinny. That's not what makes me work. Like just actually talking reason and your mind can't argue with reason.

And so I became stronger. And so this eating disorder side of my brain, it's still there. It's extremely small though and it doesn't come up very often. And now that when it does start to come up, like when I get extra stressed or when I start to feel out of control, it tries to like come back and, you know, quote, comfort me in its unhealthy way. It's like an unhealthy relationship. And, um, but I know how to talk to it now and I know how to tell it to go away. And, um, I feel like I live a very normal, happy life. I'm back to the Lindsay that I want to be. And as long as I continue to work at it, I will stay there. Yeah, that's great. I'm back to the Lindsay that I want to be. And as long as I continue to

work at it, I will stay there. Yeah, that's great. I mean, you seem so joyful and expressive, and especially in your videos, it really comes off you being playful. It's like you're back to your 10-year-old self again. That's right. I wanted to get back to the 10-year-old Lindsay. I like that. And what I think was important that you said is that you coached your mom on how she can communicate with you. Because I think some people who have a challenge or something they're trying to overcome, if they're looking for someone to support them but they're not doing it the right way, and if you don't support the person by telling them what you need and you just expect them to figure it out, it's really challenging.

It's like dating a girl and trying to read her mind all the time. Yeah. What? You guys can't read our minds? Exactly, right? Exactly. So I think it's really important to point out that you were coaching your supportive people, your mom, your support group of like, here's exactly what I need in these situations.

Here's what's going to trigger me to be even more frustrated. Right. Well, because it's such a delicate issue when someone's going through any sort of mental disorder, whether it's depression or self-harm. And someone who hasn't gone through it, it's impossible for them to know the triggers. It was interesting. I was a counselor in the middle before I realized I had anorexia. I was actually a counselor for teenage girls in treatment centers.

I was like, oh my gosh, I am struggling with some of these same issues. It's funny that I didn't notice, even as I dealt with it with other girls. How do you, I mean, being a violinist already, you're built and trained to be perfect. Right. You're built and trained as a classical violinist, let's say. You're built and trained to like hit every note perfectly. It's got to look and sound a specific way. You get judged by it constantly. You know, you're going to these competitions where people either vote yes or no or however they grade you. Right.

One out of 10 or whatever it may be. So I think being in that environment growing up your whole life was probably like, I'm constantly being judged for my performance. Right. And how I show up. Do you feel like that was a big factor in getting to this place or with your body and your internal struggle? You know, I think, I'm not even sure.

Like I remember that was one thing when I was going to therapy, all these, you know, counselors were trying and therapists were like really digging for like the why. And, you know, it could have very well been just, you know, perfectionism is a huge cause of, you know, that leads people into these mental disorders. And, and I think, I remember I kept finally being like, don't find a reason. Let's just talk about like where we're at. Because, you know, I had this great childhood. I had, you know, I'd never been like emotionally hurt in any way. And, you know, that was huge. And so it was funny.

I was finally like, let's stop digging because let's just deal with where I'm at. And it was because you never know what it is like that causes it a lot of times. Sure. How do you handle the process of being judged or talked negatively about now? I mean, you've got a huge audience over, I'm thinking it's close to 8 million YouTube subscribers. I think now seven and a half million or something right now.

I know just from my very small audience compared to yours, the negative feedback that I get, how it could affect me. How do you approach it now when you're being judged or someone's leaving negative comments? And I know you talk about it in the book as well, but how do you handle that? You know, it never becomes, I don't think it'll ever be like, oh, I don't care. I don't care anymore because I do care. It's my art. It's my love. It's my passion. And you know, certain comments you're able to like, oh, whatever. But there's some comments that get you in the place that you're a little bit vulnerable.

They trigger you. They trigger you. They get you. Oh, you're like, don't talk about that. That's actually something that I care about. And I'm sensitive to. And so I think it's so important to realize that, especially like in YouTube, there is so much good.

But for some reason, it's easier to focus on the negative because it gets you so much more. You get thousands of positive comments. Right. And they see one negative and you're like, oh, dang it. So it's so true that you only really do have one stage in your mind that you can really focus on at one time. And so the good, the bad, they're going to come. And it's what are you going to focus on? Am I going to sit and stew and respond?

Especially responding. If you respond to the negative, that is a lot of times the one that you going to focus on? Am I going to like sit and stew and like respond, especially responding? Like if you respond to the negative, that is a lot of times the one that you want to respond to. But it's like, or am I going to feed the good? Like, am I going to feed these people who keep coming back and telling me really nice things? Like that's where I should put my energy. That's where I should put my thoughts and focus.

And it does take a lot of like, you know, uh, concentration to do that. Awareness to awareness. That's the word I'm looking for. Um, but I think that's the key is just, there's good and bad all around us everywhere and trying really hard to focus on the good and let that feed you. Now, when you were in college, I read in college, you were mastering your craft more and doing more of these, uh, you were, you're joining bands and things like that. Um, and then you auditioned for America's Got Talent, right? And what year was that? mastering your craft more and doing more of these, you were joining bands and things like that. And then you auditioned for America's Got Talent, right? And what year was that? 2010.

2010. Okay. And were you making any money as an artist before then? Were you like touring or just little side gigs here and there? A little bit. It was definitely the stage of like, don't quit your day job, dear. Like, you know, this is during the time when I was kind of doing the college cafeteria gigs and like, don't quit your day job, dear. Like, you know, this is during the time when I was kind of doing the college cafeteria gigs and like I was being paid, you know, a little bit for it here and there. But this is the era of like sleeping in my car, you know, when I was on the road and, you know, it wasn't uncommon to spend the night in the airport, you know. So it was during that time when I was making money, I was starting to see that this could go somewhere.

But it was, you know, America's Got Talent was like, oh my gosh, if this works, this is going to, you know, kind of save me, save my artistic soul. Because, you know, it's actually, it's really hard. Anyone who's ever done that phase of life, it's really hard to continue on when you kind of don't see a light at the end of the tunnel. Right. And you weren't seeing like a positive growth period. You weren't, you were like, eh, the money's not getting better and the gigs aren't getting bigger pretty much i mean i just felt very

stagnant i i kind of had this you know couples couple songs i had written and like you know a couple people would maybe buy them at the gigs but it was just very like i couldn't see growth and did you have cd physical cds then or you they were like ones I burned myself. Oh, wow. With just a piece of paper on the cover. Like, here you go. Right. Lindsey Stirling. Just I printed it out. Oh, gosh.

Yeah. Okay. So when did you realize, like, okay, something's here. There's something happening in the air. People are excited about it. Was it starting on YouTube? Was it America's Got Talent?

Was it after that? When were you like, oh, people actually like this and more and more showing up? Right. It was definitely, it was when I put my first like real video on YouTube. I went, I met this YouTuber and he, it was Devin Graham. And he taught me that YouTube is this place where you can have your own channel and you can grow an audience. And there are celebrities on the internet. And I was like, what? And I dove in and looked around and was like, oh my gosh, this is great. This is a world where, you know, I can do my own thing. I can make content.

I know how to edit. I know how to direct. And it was, even as he taught about it, like, cause he taught this YouTube workshop in Provo and all these filmmakers came. And as I was sitting in there, it was even before I'd uploaded a video. I just had this feeling inside of like, I was taking notes feverishly because this is it. And I just knew it. I knew that this was what I was going to do and I was going to chase it. And so like, gosh, that the next day I planned my first YouTube video and I, I uploaded it like a week later. And, um, And yeah, that's when people started coming.

And it grew very organically and slowly at the beginning. But it was just this, this is good. I knew it was going to work. Wow. Hey, guys, I wanted to take a quick second to let you know about our sponsor today. Again, that's thrivemarket.com slash Lewis. Listen, I am all about living healthy and making sure it's convenient and saving time and money. Check out ThriveMarket.com slash Lewis.

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Got Talent, I kind of did some other things, tried some other things. I went to Vegas and handed out DVDs to talent agencies and sent my music to labels. And it was just kind of no after no after no. This was after America's Got Talent? Yes. Gotcha. Because I was kind of trying to ride that wave, whatever that wave was. I was like, oh, this is my chance. I can't blow it. But you know, I could just see the wave kind of dissipating and dissipating. And I was like, well, you know, now the wave is gone. What do I do? And that's when I discovered YouTube. Interesting. After it got you. Now, how did you feel like you performed when you, when you got, I guess, cut or X'd out or whatever? How do you feel like you showed up in that performance? You know'm not gonna lie it was not fantastic like i watch it and i don't

know like cringe versus the like judges comments but i'm like oh i don't sound good yeah you know and it's very much due to the fact that this was like this brand new art i had just kind of really made and i was like i'm gonna dance and i'm going to play the violin to these pop tracks. It was like this new idea. You hadn't really mastered it yet. Definitely not. And I practiced so hard. I'd worked so hard for those routines because I wasn't very good at dancing and playing the violin yet.

It's a challenging art. Yes, it was very difficult. Doing one of them is hard. Doing it together is even harder. And so it was so new. And that's why, gosh, like three years later, America's Got Talent had me come back as a guest performer. And I got to go on the show. And I don't think I've ever been so nervous for a performance in my whole life because here I was like, I didn't realize how nervous I would be. But once we started rehearsing, I was on the same stage. I was like getting all these

flashbacks to the worst moment of my life. And I was like, oh my gosh, this is my chance to kind of just full circle, like redo that moment that was one of the hardest things I've ever gone through. And, you know, I've worked, I've honed my craft. I'm ready for that moment now where, gosh, back in 2010, I really wasn't ready for it yet. I wasn't seasoned enough to be in front of an audience of millions and millions of people and, um, you know, doing this new thing. And so, you know, that's why it was so like just holistic and just like healing to do that number and do it the way that back in 2010, that's what I saw that I could be. That's what I knew I could be. And

just, I wasn't quite ready for it. No one could see it yet. It wasn't forced this time. It wasn't forced. Yeah. I was, it was very, it felt right. And it was just so cool to be like, here I am. This is what I knew I could do. And, you know, thank you for letting me come back and do it right. Wow. That's inspiring. It was really cool. Now, what made you, you know, you said that one of the worst moments of your life, what made you continue on the path of pursuing this music when you felt like, oh, maybe I let myself down or everyone's going to judge me or I didn't make it to the end and win? Right. I didn't get my best performance. Did you feel like, how come you continue to pursue the passion as opposed to let it derail

you? Well, I'm not going to lie. It did derail me for a moment. Like, gosh, that night I, you know, I kept it together on stage, but, you know, the judges said some pretty mean things to me. And I remember including that I sounded like drowned rats or strangled rats. That's what it was. And so this is on live TV, but I went back and I just cried for hours in the bathroom of the backstage.

Until they basically told me, like, we're closing up. You have to go home. But I'm hanging with my rat friends. Yeah, I'm just, right. They understand me. I speak their language. But yeah, I went, I remember I kind of took a little break from it for a while, for, you know, a couple months. I didn't perform.

I didn't do any more little college gigs, as glorious as they were. Right. But then, you know, there was, I think it's so important to trust that inner voice. And I attribute a lot of that to, like,, I'm a very like faith driven person. And so I attribute that a lot to my relationship with, with God and just your calling. And I feel like, um, I've been given talents and I was just told by this inner voice and my faith that it's not time to give up yet. There's more. And I just couldn't deny that I couldn't get away from it. And so I stepped back on a stage again and kind of started like literally from square one. And, you know, it was terrifying the first couple of times to get back on a stage after feeling like I'd failed so miserably.

But like I said, I just knew it wasn't over. Do you feel like it was actually meant to happen that way as opposed to if you would have built this confidence on winning or something and i don't know do you feel like you're grateful for that experience now you know very much so like i think that was a very important part of my story one it made me really fight for what i wanted to be it made me really work hard and like kind of like they said i couldn't do it i'm gonna going to prove them wrong. I'm going to work. I'm going to work super hard because it's like that, that despair turned into determination. And, um, you know, it gave me something, gave me something to say and a message to share. And also I love being able to talk to teenagers now. Like I go to school sometimes or, um, and I, I can share, I can show the video and it's

tangibly awkward and painful. And then I can say like, don't ever let anyone tell you who you are or if you're good enough, you know, maybe, maybe I wasn't ready then, but it doesn't mean that I was never going to get there. And, you know, I, and I love being able to like very, you know, like no one can deny that. Like it, it's the facts it's happened. And so I love that. I love that that's a part of my story and, you know, gosh. And gosh, I'm in a much better place now than I would have been if I had won the competition. Just hands down, it was very meant to be. Amazing. And I think I read in the book afterwards, you only had a couple thousand

dollars and you wrote three songs with someone or you produced these three songs. That was the start of putting yourself out there really in a bigger way or trying this new style of music right right and i think and how did those three songs do i think one of those was like one of the big hits right they were actually they're on my first album you know right um which is kind of funny every every song i wrote in the beginning like i just i didn't have enough money to make mistakes and so i had to use every song you, so I made an album of 10 or 12 songs and I, you know, I used every song I wrote, which is I learned later is very uncommon, you know, from usually artists write tons of songs and pick the best, but I just used everyone. So yeah, those three songs, um, they were the first videos I put up on YouTube. They were the ones that kickstarted my career and they're still on, you know, they're still on my albums. They were the ones that kick-started my career, and they're still on my albums. They're amazing, yeah. And so when did you experience your first sold-out crowd or your big hit on YouTube?

Was the first video a huge hit, or was it eventually down the road? The first videos were, you know, they did well. But I remember I'd been doing YouTube for, I think, about nine months. And then I released this dubstep violin video. And it was in this beautiful ice castle. That's amazing. And to this day, I'm known as like, oh, the dubstep ice castle fairy violin girl. It was in Colorado. What?

It's amazing. This guy, he builds them himself. Oh, my gosh. It was his hobby. And then he turned it into this tourist attraction. Now, he builds these beautiful ice castles. And I discovered them himself. Oh, my gosh. It was his hobby, and then he turned it into this tourist attraction. Now, he builds these beautiful ice castles, and I discovered them online. And so I flew out to Colorado. And yeah, it was funny because I was very nervous.

Like, what was the dubstep community going to like this? This new budding art, are they going to hate it? And I threw it up there, and within a day, it had a million views. Wow. And at the size I was at, especially I was a very small YouTuber at the time. And so what's small for you at the time? I think I had like,

I think I had just hit like a hundred thousand subscribers. Right. You know, a million views right away. So yeah, that's, you know, way more views than subscribers,

which was like, what? You know, usually they'd get like 30,000 first day, which is nothing to sneeze at at the time. Um, but yeah, I called my sister and I was like, is this real? Like, is the, is my computer broken? And she's like, Oh my gosh. And, and that was kind of the moment where I was like, I think my life just changed because here's an original song that just, you know, people love and people like what I do. Sure.

No, it's interesting because you don't really fit in a box and you kind of created your art as you went and no one really led the way for you. Was there someone that you were inspired by that was like, oh, I'm going to do exactly how they did it? Like, you know, Madonna, I'm going to do what she did or J-Lo, like here's the path I'm going to follow. Like you kind of created the own path and your own genre it sounds like. So first off is there anyone that you were inspired by you're like i'm going to be like them and if not how did you have the faith or the trust you know like i'm just going to do this and i'm going to create my own way and it's going to happen well i was definitely inspired by

you know there were other violinists that i saw that, you know, like Gina Carter or something or like, do you know Vanessa May or David Garrett? And they didn't do what I do. Like Vanessa May in the nineties did like some techno violin. And David Garrett does like rock violin orchestra stuff. And he's a virtuoso. And I was like, you know, if these people can take the violin and make it their own, like why can't I? And it just really hit me of, why do I have to play the kind of music that's been played for hundreds of years? Like, I can make the violin fit me. And so I started playing the music I loved. And then I just kind of started pairing all of my hobbies with the violin. Like my hobbies were like dressing up and costume design, you know? So I was like, okay, let's bring that in.

And I loved making videos. So let's bring that in. And I loved dance. So I just basically took all my hobbies and kind of combined them into this very weird mixture. And when I put it up, it just worked. Sure. It's amazing. What's the vision moving forward?

What do you see yourself creating now? You're like this phenomenon, fans all over the world, number one songs in all these different countries, you're touring everywhere, sold out. Where do you see yourself going? Who are you trying to become? That's such a good question. I've been asking myself that since I was five years old. I would say, I mean, I love what I do. My favorite part of, I think, the whole thing is I love touring. And that's kind of why I started originally was the YouTube channel, the music, everything was a mode so that I could, like, then go out and share it. Perform. Perform.

Like, I love being on a stage and seeing people smile. Like, there's nothing that, like, gets me alive like that does. And so, I mean, I definitely want to keep touring. And I'm working on my next album right now. Sometime this year. Yeah. That's all I have to say. Sometime this year.

I have my goal date, but who knows if I'm going to make it. I'm hoping for the summer. But yeah, so I'm working on new music and I hope to produce a film someday with my dad, actually. Oh, that'd be cool. You know, that's something. We're actually working on a script lightly right now. But yeah, that's part of the goal. It's been amazing to live my dream,

but also bring the people I love along with me, whether it's like now my tour family, getting to bring them along on the journey has been, you know, amazing. And then also like, you know, writing a book with my sister. And, you know, I work with my other sister, Jennifer, and, you know, hoping to write a script with and, you know, I work with my other sister, Jennifer, and, you know, right.

Hoping to write a script with my dad. That's kind of what makes it so exciting is to do the thing you love with the people you want to be with. Sure. What's the feeling you get when you're on stage? What's explain it to us? Oh, how do you explain it? When I'm on stage and when I'm performing and dancing and, you know, doing the whole thing, I honestly feel like that's what I was created to do. Like this sense of true self of just like,

just empowerment. And, you know, and I look into the faces and, you know, you can always see there's lots of people that are excited to be there, but you can usually find like one or two people in the front row that you can tell they are so happy and that they've been waiting for this for months and being able to look into their eyes and just, just see that is like, I mean, it's, it's so selfishly validating, you know, it's just like, you know, I, I mean, I hope it's not too selfish, but it's amazing to have that moment of connection where you realize that, um, you're connecting with someone that you've never even met and you, you, you have these moments with people that are just amazing. Yeah. That's cool. What's, um, what's the biggest fear for you? Biggest fear, biggest

fear, whether it be, uh, you know, performing on stage or just in your career or life, personal life. Oh, my biggest fear. If we're going to get nice and deep here, gosh, it's being alone. I mean, I think a lot of people have that fear. I have that fear. Dying alone is scary. Yeah, it's a scary thing. And I've invested so much in the past since I started. I've kind of been running full speed ahead and just going after goal-oriented, doing this task, this task, this task. And I finally this year have kind of taken a little time off the road, even though it's my passion, the place I want to be the most.

I've decided to take, you know, a big chunk of time off the road so that I could have a bit of a personal life and make time for people. And whether, you know, it's starting with my family more and then, you know, whether it's my roommates and also just putting myself out there more in, you know, I, I'm great at putting myself out there on the tubes and on stage, but you know, it's a little harder to be vulnerable and put yourself out there as a person is just, just Lindsay. Like this is me. And what's it like, you know, in relationships, like, uh, are you able to have a relationship with someone while you're touring and while you're so oriented and busy and focused on your dream? Is that possible for you at this moment? Or is it something that you put on the back burner for a later time?

Well, it's something that is, it's definitely hard to do when you're on the road. Hence why I am single. But that's, again, why I've decided to kind of take a little bit of time to try to, try to figure that out because it is something that's important to me. And, uh, you know, I want to have a family. I want to, you know, it's a huge part of what I want in life, one of my goals. And so I think it's, it's figuring out the balance. Life is all about balance. And, you know, am I going to set my career like aside for it? No, I think it's important. I think I, I think I can't have both. And I've seen people in my life

that have both. It's just learning to prioritize and make time for it. You have to make sacrifices for relationships and that's what makes them special. Yeah. And I know in the book, you talk about how your friends would set you up on these blind dates in college. Oh, yeah. Is anyone setting you up on blind dates now, or how are you navigating this? Yes, I don't really do blind dates anymore. As you can see, I've had my fair share of stories. But, gosh, now, yeah, that's the big question. Where do you meet people?

I don't know. Where do they hang out? Sure. I'm not much of a nightclub person. And you're not on Tinder, I'm assuming. No, I'm not on Tinder. I'm assuming. No, I'm not. But, um, but yeah, no, I, I mean, I guess it is like a lot of times through friends that you try to meet people or, or whatnot, but yeah, that's what I'm trying to figure out. So if you know

the answer, you let me know. Okay. I will. And tell me about your faith because I know your faith is a huge part of your life and you talk about it constantly and it's what you stand for. Do you find it challenging? You have a chapter in your book that's one sentence long. It's about drugs and alcohol and your past. And it's like, I haven't really done any of this, period, something like that. Right. I've never been drunk or high myself, so I feel like I can relate in some ways.

I've tried some alcohol, but I've never been drunk. like I can relate in some ways. I've tried some alcohol, but I've never been drunk. And why is that so important for you to not even experiment or have a little fun in here in that terms? I don't think it's fun. That's why I don't do it. But why don't you at least try it? Or why aren't you persuaded by it when people are doing it around you or on tour? And why do you think it's so important for you to stay true to that value? Well, it all started, you know, it was the way I was raised. And it was just kind of those are the rules of the house. We don't do drugs and alcohol, you know.

And, you know, and then I went to college at BYU. Again, a very much that type of environment. And, you know, I just made the decision a long time ago that that wasn't something I wanted to do. And that it was something that not only did my parents teach me, but I believed in it and I saw the value in it. And especially now being on tour, I feel like those values have actually really protected me and kept a very good, healthy environment on tour. Cause you know, of course the guys are allowed to go out and get a drink after the show if they want, but we don't allow, you know, anything in the green rooms or on the bus.

And it's just made it for a very, like, there isn't drama. You know, it's just a very healthy lifestyle. And that versus other lifestyles that I've been able to jump into, whether I was, you know, guesting on somebody else's tour for a moment or this or that, it's just, I realize it's not something I want to be a part of. Gotcha. Got a few questions left for you if that's cool.

Yeah. If you could sum up your mission in one sentence, what you're trying to create in the world, what would you say Lindsay Sterling is trying to create or the reason you're here? Sorry to put you on the spot. One sentence. You should have given this question before. Or a phrase, a few sentences. Well, something I believe in is the

phrase that happiness takes work but it's achievable it's achievable for everyone there you go something i that's something i believe in okay cool there's a question i ask at the end of all these interviews that is called the three truths question okay so i'm putting on the spot again oh no but i want to But I want to see what comes up for you in a moment. Okay. So it's many years down the road and it's the last day. And all your music has been gone.

Your book is erased from time. Anything you've ever put out there is gone. For whatever reason. And all the people you love are around you and they say, Lindsay, we don't have anything else that we can tangibly have that you put out there. But we have this piece of paper and a pen. And we want you to write down three truths.

The three things that you know to be so true to you about what you've experienced during your time here in this life. And what we should be focusing on moving forward. We can always look back on this piece of paper and know these were your three truths. Focusing on moving forward. We can always look back on this piece of paper and know these were your three truths. And it's something, it's a way we should live by, you know, something to check out. Do you have three truths that you would write down and what would those be? Oh, first I would probably say having faith in something greater than myself has never led me astray. And I would say relationships bring the most fulfillment and happiness.

Third, I would say, this is so hard. These are the words for the generations. Third, I would say, live your love. Live your life for what you love to do. That's a good one. I think it's really important. Yes. Well, I think so many people don't pursue their passion. They don't go after what really lights them up inside, what makes their heart sing.

Right. They do what they're supposed to do or something conventional or whatever that isn't what lights them up. So I think it's really important. Well, and also, I think some people, you know, it doesn't have to be your day job, what you love. Or what you, you know, yeah, you don't have to necessarily do it for your day job. But even if you can't do your passion, like your passion is like, you know, something that you feel you could never make a living off of, do it anyway. Right. Like keep after it. Don't give up on it just because it can't.

do it anyway. Keep after it. Don't give up on it just because it can't. I know that whether I was doing this for a living or whether it was a hobby, I would still be doing it. I would still be writing music. I would still be playing it because I did do it before it was my job. So yeah, live your love in whatever way you can. I love that. If you had an unlimited amount of money to spend on solving one problem in the world and you could do it in a moment, what would be that one issue or concern or challenge or problem that you would want to solve? And why?

One problem in the world. There's so many problems in this world. You know, recently I've really become attached to this organization called the Underground Railroad and they deal with human trafficking. And I have been, my eyes have been open to this terrible problem. So I would obliterate human trafficking. Okay. I like that. That's great. Okay. Final question before I ask, I want to make sure that everyone goes and gets this book, The Pirate. The only pirate at the party. Make sure to check this out. It's hilarious. I was cracking up on every other page. And you can learn really about your entire life experience growing up and how you made all this happen. I still haven't finished it yet, so I'm excited to see what happens. I won't spoil the ending. finished it yet, so I'm excited to see what happens.

I won't spoil the ending. Yes, exactly. So make sure to go pick this up. It's a New York Times bestseller. And also check out your website, lindsaysterling.com. And where are you hanging out the most on social media these days? Where do you like to spend time? I know you're on Instagram. You know, I've been spending a lot

of time on Instagram and the Snapchat. Snapchat, me too. Snapchat's super fun. It's crazy, right? I just got into it. Yeah, me too. What's your Snapchat? It's Lewis underscore house. I can remember that. I'll have to add you too, yeah.

Yeah, I'll add you. Cool. So check it out there. Your new music's coming out sometime this year, hopefully in the summer. Yay! So make sure to go

download that when it comes out. Is there anything else we need to mention for people to follow you anywhere? Subscribe to your YouTube channel. It's almost 8 million subscribers. It's like one of the biggest. Yeah, come join me on the tubes, everybody.

Get in the rabbit hole of her videos. They're unbelievable. If you want to check out the ice sculptures and all these other things, the ice castle. There you go, yeah. Is there anything else we need to mention? I think you nailed it. Okay, cool. Covered it all.

Before I ask the final question, I want to acknowledge you, Lindsay, every guest I'd like to acknowledge for what opens up for me during the interview. So I want to acknowledge you for pursuing and chasing your passion with 100% love because there's so many people in the world that stop when they get judged or say, no, you're not good enough or you don't look the part. Or your music isn't great. Or whatever it may be. There's so many people that stop. And don't fully go all in. So I want to acknowledge you for going all in. And being such an incredible example. For so many people.

To pursue the unconventional love that they have within them. And I also want to acknowledge you for your faith. And your ability to stay true to what you believe. No matter what anyone says about you, and not be persuaded in any other way. I think it's really important that we have examples of people that live with their values and stay true to those values, especially in the entertainment world where people are always persuaded to go other ways.

So I want to acknowledge you for the incredible gift that you are and that you bring to the world. Oh, thank you so much. You're welcome. Yeah. I like this guy. And my final question is, what's your definition of greatness? Greatness.

I think greatness is courage and having the courage to, hmm, you ask hard questions. Oh, greatness, greatness. I think it's the courage to persevere, you know, in spite of everything. Just because no one ever reached like, you know, you cannot succeed if you haven't failed before. And so I think that's what makes great people is perseverance and courage. Lindsay Sterling, thank you so much for coming on. I really appreciate it. Thank you.

Thanks for having me. This was great. And there you have it, friends. I hope you enjoyed this episode as much as I enjoyed interviewing Lindsay. I had such a great time with her. I learned so much about her and really just inspires me to be bigger and better in my life as well. So I hope you guys took away some great lessons and please share this with your friends, lewishouse.com slash two nine one. If you were inspired, if you were moved, if you're

motivated, share this on Twitter and make sure to tag Lindsay Sterling and myself at Lewis house. Make sure to tag us on Instagram and over on Facebook. Share it far and wide. I appreciate you guys so much. We've got some great guests coming up. If this is your first time being a listener of the School of Greatness podcast, then thank you for being here. Please subscribe to our channel at iTunes slash School of Greatness

over on Stitcher and on SoundCloud. Also, subscribe to the YouTube channel. That's right, youtube.com slash Lewis Howes. Make sure to subscribe there. We're posting interviews twice a week there, video interviews, and other inspirational, motivational videos as well. So subscribe to our YouTube channel and please share those also. I love you guys.

I hope you enjoy what we're creating together in the movement of greatness that we're all spreading. Thank you so very much. And you know what time it is. It's time to go out there and do something great. Outro Music