The School of Greatness - 607 Use Your Voice to Change the World with In-Q

Episode Date: February 26, 2018

"MEDITATION IS JUST A GYM FOR THE MIND. When I was growing up I always knew I wanted to be a professional athlete. Like many people, and probably you as well, my life changed in a very unexpected way. There is no way any of us can know where our life will go, and today's guest took his life in a very different direction. Jay Shetty grew up thinking he would he an art director and loved design. As a teenager he was a troublemaker. He never would have thought his life of drugs and stealing cars would turn into the life of a monk. He made it to college and did well, but as soon as he graduated, he decided to go to India to spend three years studying how to find inner peace with monks. After three years Jay was asked to leave the monk hood. He was told he could do more good sharing to the world than staying in the monastery. Heartbroken, Jay left and eventually found the power of YouTube. He has gained amazing international success sharing the lessons he's learned from his time as a monk teaching ancient wisdom on modern platforms. You will be surprised at how much of these lessons don't just apply to life but also to business. He's mastered the power of video marketing and storytelling and on this episode, he shared his insights on how to create powerful impact with media. We discussed the lessons he learned from spending time as a monk, what motivates people to take action, and how to find your purpose in the world. Discover all of that and much more, on Episode 608. Some Questions I Ask: Why did you decide you wanted to be a monk in the first place? (7:34) How many summers did you spend with them before you decided to join? (14:54) How would you commute? (21:27) Doesn't personal growth also come from experiencing life? (25:32) Why are we wired for service? (32:42) Are there any weeds in your life right now? (40:06) What was the conversation like when your mentor said you had to leave? (43:24) When did you realize it started to take off? (55:28) Do you think every brand should be using video? (1:01:26) What's the thing that makes someone want to share and leave a comment? (1:05:23) What's something most people don't know about you that you're really proud of? (1:10:15) Is there anything you do during your day that you're not proud of? (1:13:57) In This Episode You Will Learn: Why he fell in love with being a monk (13:46) What a typical day as a monk is like (16:14) How a monk detaches themselves from having a sex life (24:00) What he noticed the most about the outside world (27:54) The greatest lessons he learned being a monk (37:58) The thing he wants to create the most (41:40) When he realized he wanted to start creating videos (48:22) What people don't understand about using videos for their business (58:34) How his wife went from student to master (1:12:26) And much, much more"

This is episode number 607 with NQ. Welcome to the School of Greatness. My name is Lewis Howes, a 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. Pablo Neruda said, poetry is an act of peace. And we have a very special guest,

one of my favorite human beings in the world today. His name is NQ. And he is one of the most talented individuals I know on getting a message out into the world and impacting change and resonating a feeling inside people's hearts so that they think differently and start to act differently. Such a powerful interview today. And make sure to take a screenshot of this, powerful interview today. And make sure to take a screenshot of this, post it on social media, tag me at Lewis Howes and the link lewishowes.com slash 607 as this is about to blow you away. NQ is a national poetry slam champion and multi-platinum songwriter. Recently named one of Oprah's Super Soul 100 thought leaders. His groundbreaking performances include selling out the largest one-man poetry show in Los Angeles history, being the first spoken word

artist to perform with Cirque du Soleil, and being featured on HBO's Deaf Poetry Jam and A&E's Look Closer campaign. As a songwriter, NQ's hit single, Love You Like a Love Song by Selena Gomez went multi-platinum. He has also written with renowned artists like Aloe Blacc, Miley Cyrus, Mike Posner, and Foster the People. Leading organizations including Google, Facebook, IBM, Nike, Spotify, Lululemon, Shazam, Live Nation, the Grammy Foundation, and many more have brought NQ in to lead his creativity and storytelling workshops and motivate their teams through his performance. Every time I surround myself with NQ, I am inspired. Every time I hear him speak, every time I hear him perform, it moves me in ways I've never been moved before.

And in this interview, we talk about what happens when artists realize they are entrepreneurs. We also talk about whether the art or the artist is more important. The difference between an inspiration and an assignment. Also, the role insecurity plays in our lives and how to understand it in a healthy way and the difference between going through dark times and choosing to suffer. We cover all of this, plus NQ performs a few poems that will bring you some powerful insights and inspiration. I promise you are going to love this. Again, big thank you to the fan of the week and to our sponsors who are constantly supporting us take this podcast to the next level. And without further ado, guys, let's dive into this. I'm super pumped for you to have

access to this information with the one, the only, MQ. welcome back everyone to the school of greatness podcast my dear friend mr nq is in the house so happy to be here so pumped to be here man i just got the information that it was four years ago this month you were on episode 48 i think we're on episode almost 600 now crazy it's been four years since you were on it. And we were just having a conversation about how when you came up here, we were in this room standing on the balcony, and there was this massive rainstorm that hadn't happened. We didn't get rain for years or something.

And then there was this big rainstorm and a huge double rainbow. It was gargantuan. It was amazing. We have a photo of us in the double rainbow. It was fun. But you. It was amazing. We have a photo of us in the double rainbow. It was fun. But you've done so much since then. There's a lot of people that don't know about you who are listeners of the podcast. The podcast has grown tremendously since that time.

And you've grown tremendously. You didn't really have a social media presence. Now you're doing monthly videos that have millions of views. Some of them have over 30 million views. Or over 30 million views combined, and they continue to just take off. So you've done so much in the last few years, and congrats on everything.

I'm pumped to have you back in here, man. I'm really happy to be here. And part of that was because of you kind of pushing me in that direction, so I have you to thank for that. Yeah, of course, yeah. You got a good team. Good manager, good team is helping as well.

And you spoke at the Summit of Greatness and just blew everyone away last year, a year and a half ago. I believe our intention is that you're going to be doing something again this year if we can make it work. But you also sold out the Ace Theater, Ace Hotel Theater, and you're doing an annual event yourself here in L.A. now, which has like 2,000 people at it. And you're just blowing people away, man. Everything you're doing continues to elevate. Not many people are doing spoken word the way you're doing it. You're trying to make it sexy, mainstream.

You're trying to give it legs, right? Because it's kind of like a lost art form. People are maybe doing, but it's more of like the underground places, right? Yeah, I mean, I think it's time for a renaissance for what poetry can be. I come from an amazing community in Los Angeles called the Poetry Lounge, and still they get 350 people every Tuesday night,

and they've been doing that for 17 years. So the community is strong, and being there every week and putting up my art, it's like church without religion. So there's an appetite for this, and I think it's time to bring it to mainstream culture in a way that nobody's really ever seen. Do you go every week still or as much as you can?

I don't just because I'm so busy now, but that place has my heart, and that's where I learned to, I guess, find my own voice and my own style. Yeah. I feel like you're one of the best that there is at how you do it. Are there a lot of people that are talented like you, that are spoken word artists, who can perform the way you do, that just no one knows about because it's not me?

Absolutely. Really? Yeah, there's incredible, incredible people out there. So there's tons of them like you. I don't want to say tons. But there's a lot of people. There's a lot of people who can, and there's a lot of people that do,

and then there's a lot of people that will. So that's one of my dreams, is I want an eight-year-old kid to be like, I want to be a poet when I grow up. That doesn't really exist right now, or at least it's few and far in between. And I think if you monetize it and you expose it in popular culture

and you spark people's imaginations and you give them an opportunity to tell their story through this particular genre, I think it's going to spread like wildfire. Right. Well, because you originally wanted to be a rapper, isn't that right? Yeah.

And then you realized you couldn't be a rapper, so you settled to do poetry instead, or how did that work out? That's like a real simplistic way of saying it. I wanted to be Nas from Santa Monica, basically, and that just didn't work out. And so I kept making albums, and I wound up at the Poetry Lounge when I was like 19. I started doing my rapping a cappella.

So you were singing with music yeah yeah creating your own music just like creating demos or like full albums yeah like demos full albums when I was like a kid my dream was to basically like meet an A&R it was like oh if I could only meet an A&R give them my yeah give them, you know? The middleman was the only way that you could wind up having success. You couldn't really create it yourself at that point. And so I didn't even realize that I was an entrepreneur. I just thought of myself as an artist. And it was many, many years later that I realized that an artist is an entrepreneur. And that kind of transformed how I think about my career. So anyway, so I started going to the Poetry Lounge every single week.

And I was putting up my work. And I ended up being on HBO's Deaf Poetry Gym. And we won the National Slam Poetry Championships. I realized I was more of a poet than a rapper and had to figure out how to make a living after that. So I started doing pop music, got some pretty big success in that, and then used that to leverage getting back into poetry.

Really? Which is what I really love. It's kind of like the actors that go mainstream and do big Hollywood movies and then they go and do their own Broadway show to get back into the thing they really love. Right. It's like you've got to make it big first in mainstream culture and sell out a little bit I guess. Right.

And then you can come back, as an artist would say, like, well I have to go sell out a little bit, I guess. And then you can come back, as an artist would say, like, well, I have to go sell out a little bit, make a ton of money and get famous and go do the thing I really want to do, right? So people will watch me. Yeah. And to be honest, when I was doing that selling out in quotation marks, I didn't feel good about it. Like at the time, I felt like I was, yeah, I mean, I was just like hip hop and poetry were so important to me that the idea of writing pop music felt disposable. But ultimately it was

one of the best things that ever happened to me, not only because of the success and the finance, but because of the experience of using my imagination and simplifying my craft, I ended up getting tools as a songwriter that I never had as a rapper and a poet. And when I applied that back to my own craft, I was way better than I had ever been. So I have a lot that I owe to songwriting, and I'm very, very grateful for it. Wow. And I still do it now. Songwriting, yeah. Yeah, less very, very grateful for it. Wow. And I still do it now. Songwriting, yeah. Yeah, less, but I still love it.

When did you first start writing songs with or for other artists? What age range were you? I was like... In your 20s or... Late 20s. Late 20s, got you. Yeah. Nice.

I want to get into a poem first to give people a taste of what you do. So I'm curious, is there one you have in mind about life in general? Sure, yeah. I had to contemplate it a little bit. Maybe a poem that, one that you really enjoy that just encompasses who you are and something that you really like to talk about

or anything like that. I'll tell the true story that happened. Perfect. This one time I saw a dude who worked for Vons collecting stacks of shopping carts in the parking lot with only one arm. Now I should say that on this particular day I had been feeling down about myself. Depressed about some stupid shit. Complaining in my head that I'm not as far along as I would like to be. That life is victimizing me and mind you I was

buying food at the time. To put into my car. To put into my house. To put into my fridge. To put into my mouth. And that's when I saw him, ten carts deep, pushing them with one arm down the street, whistling. Now, I swear he was whistling. Do you know how happy I would have to be to spontaneously pucker up my lips like I was about to blow a kiss, then open up a bit and push some air from my esophagus into a higher pitch?

Shit. Really, really happy. I mean, totally ecstatic. Anyway, back to this dude. First thought I had I'll admit was a bit rude, but hear me out before you boo. See, I was confused because if I was in his shoes and I got to choose a job, this would not be the job I'd choose. And I know that sounds hardcore, but honestly, this is one of the jobs that I would want two arms for. Now that being said, this particular dude was a gangster. The arm he had looked like it was strong enough to be the anchor on an oil tanker, like he could have been Arnold

Schwarzenegger's trainer back when he was starring in the Terminators, and it woke me up like the scent from a cup of Senka, so I went home and I wrote this poem as an ode to thank him. See, it really got me thinking about my situation. Why the heck am I complaining? Our world is full of people maintaining. No matter who you are or where you're from, we all have to wake up every day and accept the fact that we don't know where we'll go or why we've come and that can be confusing so we distract ourselves and focus on amusement instead of self-improvement a mutually agreed upon collective delusion

but with this much stimulus and this little understanding it's no wonder we don't all just completely freaking lose it. Genius and insanity are closer than they seem. Your perspective is the difference between your nightmares and your dreams. Because if everything is energy and my body is a vessel, then my struggle is unique. then my struggle is unique. But my problems aren't so special. And this dude here, he has the guts to up and whistle with a fistful of shopping carts that he guided like a missile and it blew me away like a sneeze into a tissue

that someone who has seemingly so many issues could be unequivocally so blissful while someone who's as lucky as I am could be self-creating problems by the listful. So from this point on, if my thoughts start thinking that they're important, or my feelings start feeling too distorted, I'm going to sort them into categories

to see if I can change them. If I can, I'll simply make the moves to rearrange them. If I can't, I'll acknowledge them but I won't engage them. I look them square into their eyes with courage as I face them. Clap it up. Oh, man, I love your work. Thanks, man, I love your work. Thanks, man. There's something about your thoughtfulness, your intention behind every word, not only making it melodic. Is that the way you pronounce it?

Yeah, yeah. Melodic. But also the way that you shape the words, the way that they rhyme, the way that they have meaning, it all connects into like a beautiful harmony for so many people, always has for me. So appreciate your ability to tell a story

in the way that you do. And how do you even come up with these ideas? Do they just come from like you saw an idea and it just, it comes to you or? Yeah, I mean, that was exactly what it was right i was at vons and i saw this dude right and i was in a shitty mood i don't have to retell the poem but i was kind of in my own head about stuff and i saw this guy and his energy was so present and bright and joyful and yeah it affected me so I always try to write from either moments or statements that move me.

I think that's always the best place to begin something, is thinking about what actually moves you. And if I start a poem from that place, then the poem will almost write itself if I give it time and space. As long as I start with something that's inspiring to me. So when people ask me how I write, that's usually what I say. How long does it usually take to write a poem on average? A poem like that, is that like an afternoon, the idea comes to you

and you start taking down notes, you start maybe voicing notes and then shaping and forming over the next week or two, or long does it usually take that one happened pretty quickly so i had the idea yeah uh because of the experience but i didn't know that i wanted to make it a poem immediately i just knew that it affected me yeah and then a couple of days later i was like this one time and i just started to explain what happened and then it came out very quickly after that really yeah like a couple days or no I think it that was one one sitting a few hours four hours and then you're just figuring out you know how to make it interesting and tie it together and the rhyming and everything I think the poem has something that it wants to say. You know what I mean? Yeah. And I feel like I'm the vehicle for that thing,

but I can also be an obstacle to it. Like my ego can make me want to do something that's dope but not right. So I constantly am like re-evaluating, okay, it's not whether this is dope, it's whether it's right. Is this what the poem wants to say? And what's interesting is I think I'm really good at doing that when I'm writing,

and that's always been something I'm very grateful for. It's come naturally to me. But as a performer, I still think I have a lot to learn about getting out of the way so that I can actually express what the poem wants to express because I think there's a lot deeper ways that I can actually express what the poem wants to express. Because I think there's a lot deeper ways that it can resonate with my audience. I think that has to do with me kind of dropping my own ego. What do you think, because I see you perform a lot, I don't feel like you're in your own way,

but what do you think is holding you back from allowing it to flow effortlessly, whether it be the performance, the words, the sound, like how loud it is. What's the ego in the way, you think? Well, I think your ego is your humanity. So you're never going to completely lose your ego while you're here. It's a part of our identity. But I think not needing to be validated, just allowing it to be about the art. I have a philosophy that the art is more important than the artist. I also have a philosophy that the art is more important than the artist. I also have a philosophy that my life

is more important than my art. Some people have different versions of that. Some people think the art is more important than the artist, period. And they're willing to sacrifice their life for that. I'm not. But when I'm doing my art,

I would like to be of service to that and be of service to the audience as much as possible. Do you ever get scared on stage anymore? Yeah, it depends upon what the situation is. I think if I know it's going to be something that's seen by a lot of people, I have a tendency to be in my mind about how I would like that to be. And that's another thing, expectations. Letting go of expectations so you can continue to be in the moment.

So that's one of the reasons that I meditate, is that I can kind of accept that fear, embrace it, let it flow through me like rain, and then reconnect to the next breath so that I can hopefully do service to the poem and the audience. That's cool. This is probably the best place I've ever seen you in. Thank you. Be honest. I appreciate it.

You know, when you walked in or when I saw you coming in here, I was like, there's an energy about you that I haven't experienced in a while. Even though I'm like a little under the weather and you're like a little traveling a lot, there's still like a calmness about you that I've never felt. Thank you. Not that you're not calm usually, but I think you just have like a sense of like everything's gonna be okay. It is. Yeah. I mean it really is. Most artists never feel that. Why do you think that is? I think most artists from my perspective

are like constantly in scarcity mode or stressed out of like, I'm gonna make enough money or I'm gonna earn or people of like, how am I going to make enough money, or how am I going to earn, or are people going to like my stuff, or want to get my art featured in a studio, or whatever it might be, or people are going to watch it. Am I going to stay relevant if I don't keep putting out hits?

I don't feel that for me right now. I think that's understandable, but it's also like, oftentimes cheap fuel to get me where I want to go. Like for me to even be sitting here I thought about quitting a million times. I mean I basically like have tried to be a part of a very small movement that's creating a market that doesn't exist out of poetry. You know we don't even have products yet, which we're starting to create, you know? But it's been a very, very long road.

And... How long have you been working on this craft for, professionally? Well, I knew that I wanted to be an entertainer, basically, when I was, like, 13 or something like that. Right. And I started taking hip- hop very seriously at that time. And it was not a joke to me.

You were all in, like rapping every day. Yeah, completely. Doing cover songs or whatever, just like... Not cover songs. Making your own stuff up. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Battling, doing the whole thing. You were battling a lot. Yeah, yeah.

Wow. Like the real Eminem. That was just me, man. Yeah. Were you like going Like the real Eminem. That was just me, man. Yeah. Were you like going to the back of like, was there like outsource in the street? Was it in the streets you were battling or was it like you'd go to a location once a week?

Everything in between, man. Anywhere? You know, yeah. But it was fun. It was a really, really amazing, amazing time for hip hop specifically because it was no rules really and people were being celebrated for having their own voice and for being different I'm starting to feel that come back around again and it's it's really

incredible to watch but that was like a really really cool time to fall in love with music and so I did so I I knew that I wanted to do that for the rest of my life yeah and then as I said it kind of like very naturally over time moved into the poetic scene. Yeah. How many years would you say poetry has been full time for you? I mean, I've been doing it full time since I was 19. Poetry. Yeah, but I think that like.

When did you make your first chunk of money from poetry? Like you got paid to like do a poem or your corporate performance? Oh man, I mean... Do you remember what year that was? No, I mean I definitely know that we were making, me and my community, small amounts here and there, but I remember doing a show at a club and this dude was supposed to give me $50, and he didn't.

And I went to his house. Oh, man. Like, I needed that $50. Of course. Like, that was all of my 20s. And so I started to make money in, when I was like, I think 29 or 30. Wow.

And, uh. How old are you now? 39. Yeah. So really, so 10 years you've been going hard. Yeah, it was a grind for sure. Wow. So in your 20s you really were making scraps at it. Nothing, yeah.

But you were writing songs and doing other pop stuff as well? No, that's where I started to make money really was writing pop songs. I was lucky enough I got a publishing deal with this production team called Rock Mafia. And that became kind of a second family for me. And I did, you know, I co-wrote Selena Gomez, Love You Like a Love Song, Miley Cyrus, ultimately, Aloe Blacc, who's a good friend. Yeah, he's dope. He's amazing.

I co-wrote Foster the People's single last year. And a lot of Disney stuff. Like, oh man, like 30 or 40 Disney songs over the years. Really? I didn't know that about you. Yeah, I don't really talk about it very often. Yeah, but I was doing it, and I needed to have the experience, and I needed to have a financial foundation

to be able to refocus my energy on poetry. Which Disney song? Is there any popular ones that... I've done so much crazy shit that no one has any idea. Like, even this year alone, I co-wrote three of the songs that were on a movie for TV called The Descendants 2. Uh-huh.

I mean, billion streams online. Wow. I mean, something crazy like that. So you're part of a writing team that's like... Yeah. You're not the sole writer, but you're... No, no. And it's amazing.

There's kids who know every single lyric, and they sing them. And then I was even rapping over things, and they would slow down the track, and I'd rap over it slow, and then they'd speed it back up, and I'd sound like a chipmunk. And I came up with like a moniker Nevermind and Nevermind had like a gold album or a gold single on like a Disney top ten radio and all sorts of crazy shit like that. So yeah, man, just very, very weird stuff over the years

that kind of kept me afloat. And that's what allowed me to transition and focus on poetry the way that I've been doing in the last five, six years. That brings in consistent income for you as well on the side. Yeah, but now poetry exceeds it. Yeah. Yeah. It's amazing.

Would you say that using your voice and sharing your truth is the only way that an artist can be successful for a long term? I don't think it's the only way, but it's the only way that I want to do it. Yeah. I mean, look, there's a difference between an inspiration and an assignment. You can have inspiration within an assignment, but there's still a difference between the two of those things. I want my poetry to come from my inspiration. And I think if you're not inspired by life,

you're not paying attention. There is so much to be inspired by in every single moment. And art is alchemy. So it's like taking all of the emotions that we're going through on a daily basis and transforming them into art that mirrors your humanity back onto the world. It's beautiful.

And I'm so grateful that I get to do it for a living. And that hopefully I get to go out there and speak my truth and it makes people feel a little bit less alone. Yeah, that's powerful. I love that one. Do you have a poem about sharing your truth or using your voice? Yeah. That you can share? Sure. Every single time I'm like, okay, well, let me see.

What am I going to do? Learned fear can be overcome when you realize the voice inside your head is not yours. It's an imitation of the voices from before repeating on a loop inside your quiet core receiving since your youth when your choices weren't even yours perceiving was the proof but reality has many doors so why are we still fighting other people's wars? Learned fear can be overcome when you realize the voice inside your head is not yours It's an imitation of the voices from before repeating repeating repeating on a loop inside your quiet core and you can't tell the difference because it sounds the same but trust me when I tell you

most of what you think is from somebody else's brain. They have us trained, shackled by imaginary chains, imaginary rules for imaginary games but they don't know the reasons either, so it's hard to place the blame. And who is they anyway when we're all the same? Our parents had parents, and their parents had... Parents. Apparently it hurts to see, so I'll be trans.

Parent. The world is so much bigger than our insecurities. And they don't speak on your behalf without your soul's authority. The world is so much bigger than our insecurities. And they don't speak on your behalf without your soul's authority. The world is so much bigger than your culture or community, and they don't speak on your behalf without your soul's authority. Because if it's all a story,

then nobody else can tell it for me since I'm always transforming. I defy a category. If you do the same thing the same way, it's habit forming. But nothing in this land of mortal man is mandatory. It's all just transitory. Our world's a laboratory. Experimenting on today can change tomorrow morning. You have a choice. Are you living someone else's life? You have a voice.

Does it haunt you in the dead of night? Would you fly if you weren't convinced that you were afraid of heights? And who convinced you anyway? They had no right. Right? No one can dim your light You shine within so bright That you could blind the sun from sight And scare him back into the night

No one can dim your light I said it twice Because you're greater than the circumstances That surround your perfect life I want to buy a house Where I can make memories in every room that surround your perfect life. I want to buy a house where I can make memories in every room, plant a garden in my backyard and watch the flowers bloom. It will be big, but not so big that one would get lost.

It will be nice, but not so nice that everybody whispers, what it called. It will have nice, but not so nice that everybody whispers, what it called? It will have gorgeous views, but being higher doesn't mean superior. I've learned not to judge a house by what's on the exterior. It's what's on the interior, and I don't mean design because a house is not a home unless the people are aligned. I used to want a mansion because I thought that bring me joy. I went and bought a lot of stuff that I had no time to enjoy.

I was working for a living but it wasn't working because I wasn't living and a life without living is unfulfilling filling up the empty space with all the things that I was getting yet I could never get enough or give enough to be enough and that was constantly upsetting. Value is a funny thing. Is it something that we own or is it something that we bring? Experience is priceless, and that doesn't cost a thing. Because once you make your minds up, you can accomplish anything. Even if it seems impossible. Impossible is possible.

We take for granted that defying gravity is illogical. Intend what you desire, and your will will be unstoppable. You could buy an island with a climate that is tropical or fly your helicopter off the coast of the Galapagos while eating avocado toast. All right, that was a joke. But even if I was flat broke, I wouldn't rely on hope. Because hope can be despair in disguise. So instead I decide, then I watch as my reality realigns. After all, what is time if it's different in a different place? We're all in one place,

floating out in outer space. They'll never bottle time. We can't buy anymore. And if we could, it'd be sold out at every corner store. So lately I've been thinking, what if less is really more? If my mortality is what I'm really living? I want to slide in socks across Italian marble floor. I want imported art to fill up every corridor. I want my kids to use my bed like it's their trampoline. To walk on top of my couch like it's their balance beam. I want to use my things so they aren't using me.

After all, the most important things in life are... Great. I did a show once and this woman was like, Me? We only borrow land. We only borrow time. We only borrow love. But you can borrow mine. Mi casa, su casa. Come over anytime. If you're a friend, you'll have a permanent vacancy sign. Community is what our culture is lacking.

We pretend that we're connected, but mostly it's just unscripted acting. We isolate ourselves and hide from our emotions, then pack our schedules as an excuse to stay in motion. I'm living by the beach and yet I never see the ocean because it's always out of reach in the midst of the commotion. God forbid I'd have to sit alone without distraction. It's hard to notice thoughts if you're constantly in action. No matter what your status is, that isn't your satisfaction. So I don't only care what you do. I care that you're doing it with passion. It's why we all need to share our gifts

and cultivate compassion because the fastest way to bliss is through a meaningful interaction. And since I'm not even sure that we exist, I've started asking if this world of form is merely the illusion of attachment. If I could let it all go, my roof would be the stars. My floor would be the earth. My doors would be a jar. My walls would be the wind. My walls would be the wind. My seat would be a stone. My bed would be the clouds. My heart would be my home. But since I want a family and I don't live this life alone, I'm gonna buy a house where

I can make memories in every room. Yeah. Yeah. Mmm. in every role. Yeah. Yeah. I've heard that a few times from you and every time it moves me. You know, every time you continue to deliver like it's the first time every time with your poems, which I love. It seems like they never get old for you, you know.

Maybe they do, but you don't, you fake it well if they do. You've probably said that hundreds of times, right? Yeah, maybe. I mean, first of all, like I combined two poems there. So I always will keep it fresh for myself because otherwise, I guess, it at least has the possibility of getting boring. Unless I'm doing things to surprise myself. So as an artist, I think you always want to continue to surprise yourself because that's a direct way to make it new for you. But then the other thing is that I'm rediscovering it in real time.

From a new perspective, too. Because I'm different. From a new perspective, yeah. Every single time I do the poem, I'm different. Yeah. Have you ever done that poem where you're like, wow, like something opened up for you in a different way? Even though you already knew what you were going to say, but you're like, wow, I just discovered something new about myself because of an experience I just had. And my poem just reminded me of that.

A hundred percent. Really? Yeah. My poems are either me purging or praying or both. Yeah. So I say the things that I need to hear. Mm-hmm. And I'm reminding myself of them

as I'm reminding my audience. Right. That's why I don't take myself very seriously. Yeah. Like a lot of people will have various responses to my work and some people are very moved and they'll like put that on me. It has nothing to do with me. People take whatever they need to hear from the poems that they've been saying to themselves.

And it just becomes magnified when they hear someone else say it to them in this particular art form. when they hear someone else say it to them in this particular art form. So it's as beneficial for me to share as it is for other people to hear it. Yeah. Now the first half of that poem, when did you write that one? And what were you going through in your life

when you wrote that one? So the first half, I was in Greece when I started that. I just like that line of the world is so much bigger than your insecurities. It's powerful. Because it really is, man. You know, we get so trapped in our own minds. And we think that we're the world.

We're not the world. I mean, we're the world. But the world is bigger than just like our fears. And like once you recognize that, like once you recognize that and once you recognize that your fears they were learned yeah consciously or unconsciously and that's your environment it's your parents it's you know situations that you've gone through we get into survival mode you know and then we move into the world and we continue to project this out onto reality. And we wonder why the same shit keeps happening to us over and over again.

We're creating it. But once you realize the world is bigger than your fears, you're choosing your fears over and over and over again. And so it's like that was a realization for me when I was in this foreign land where I didn't speak the language and the food was different and people looked different. And the world is huge.

Get out there. Surprise yourself. Yeah, I just had a Gary Vaynerchuk on and he talked about insecurity is a poison for the mind. And it's the biggest thing that holds people back from living their dreams is their insecurities. Yeah. These little things that we choose to have. Yeah.

We can choose not to have, just like you said. And I find that's a lot of the people that come to me who are trying to build a business or something. They're always insecure about something. They're living in fear about it, but they're making that choice. And once we remove that from our minds, it allows us to have a clear path of just trying something and putting ourselves out there and sharing our voice, sharing our truth.

It may not work for people. It may not be successful or whatever, but I think that's really the only path, is to free ourselves from insecurities so that we can share our truth. Yeah, embrace them, which then can free them from being us, you know, rather than just being something that moves through us. And one of the reasons that I very much respect you, I mean, you're my brother, you know. reasons that I very much respect you. I mean, you're my brother, you know? But when I step outside of our friendship

and I look at what you've created in the world, I think that this hero worship that we have in our society where we build people up on pedestals and people build themselves up on pedestals, and then society kind of tears them down when they don't live up to that, that's not what you're about. You're about making real people into heroes so that it's not like so far removed where it winds up being discouraging.

Like when I look at people who are spiritual teachers who are actually like so far removed from being human beings, then what they tell me, it doesn't wind up being inspirational. It's almost discouraging to me because I'm like, I'll never be able to reach that. But the reality is, is like when you show people that we're all going through it and yet we're choosing to do it anyway, that can be really, really inspiring for people wherever they are, whatever it is that they want to create in the world. And I think this is one of the platforms and these are two of the platforms where you bring that into the world and it's a beautiful thing. So thank you for that. Appreciate it. Yeah. Thank you. What would you say is the insecurity that's holding you back from getting your message out there more or just being more of who you want to be? Your message out there more or just being more of who you want to be?

I don't think that I'd point to one thing specifically, but I would say that just this conversation is what it is. Whatever comes up in real time, I have to acknowledge, accept it, and let it go, and then choose to live my life to the fullest anyway. So I think people watch The Secret, for example, which is great. It's awesome. You know, what you think is what you attract, of course. But I think that they see that and they think everything's amazing. Like, okay, I'll just make everything amazing all the time. You know, it's amazing. Isn't it all amazing? It's not, dude. The world is beautiful and ugly. Yeah. And beautiful because it's ugly. Yeah.

It's an amazing place with mortality, everything. It makes life so special. It makes it vibrant. We're right here right now. If we didn't have that, you know, the stakes would be different. But you can't walk around just like making everything perfect all of the time. Then you're actually like suppressing things, not acknowledging things that are real and you trap them inside of you. And that becomes other stuff. So I think what I'm trying to do is acknowledge things in real time,

So I think what I'm trying to do is acknowledge things in real time, whatever my emotions are, accept them, let them move through me, and then use them to alchemize into art for other people to do the same thing and choose to live my greatest life anyway. I do poetry workshops all around the world. Yeah. And one of the things I talk to people about is like getting outside of their comfort zone. But once again, I'm talking to myself too. Yeah. So I get people writing poems and I get them up and being vulnerable from a place of strength and sharing their story.

And it's a celebratory environment. People don't even know that they are poets, but everyone is a poet. They're amazing, yeah. Yeah, they're unbelievable. Yeah. And so that's one area that I do that, but that's an area that I'm comfortable in. So for other people, when I go around—

What are you uncomfortable in? Well, okay, for example, like I started boxing recently. Yeah. You know what I mean? Yeah. And, like, I've been in the class, and it's f***ing hard, man. Boxing's hard, you know? It's really hard. It's fun but it's it's difficult and so i'm a student at that and trust me there's moments when you're a student at something especially like if you've

worked all your life to become great at something what do adults do you basically like work yourself into a position where you become great at something, so you get validated and paid for it, and it feels good, and then you just stay there. You never do anything else. But to be a student of life is the way to grow in every area. And I promise, being a student in boxing is going to make my poetry better. So literally, my boxing teacher hasn't said a thing to me for like two months. He hasn't said two words, right? The other day in class, he goes,

he goes, you're getting sharper. Like that. That's it. And outside I was like, thanks man. You know, and inside I was like, yes! A little sharper. So, me not only taking the medicine and giving it to other people,

but taking it myself. Wow. It's powerful. In all areas. What do you think is the greatest lesson you still need to learn? Wow. Okay, I have something. And if it wasn't you, I definitely would not talk about it. Bring it. I need to learn how to love people without taking responsibility for their emotions.

I still take on people's emotions. And that can lead itself to co-dependence. And I don't want to be co-dependent with the people that I love. I want to allow them to stand on their own and love them unconditionally for who they are and who they're showing up as in the moment doesn't mean i have to like it yeah but to love them through that and that's a lesson that i'm still learning so does that mean when someone has emotions you take it on and you embrace it as yourself or you try to fix it or you try to i have have no f***ing idea what it means. Right, right. But it's not good. It's just something I'm working on.

You know that it's... You don't respond in a way that you wish you would respond. Is that right? Or the feelings don't feel good? I don't know, baby. I don't know if I told you this, but I was coming out of my therapist's office one day

and sitting in the waiting room was my old therapist. It was like my... The therapist I had when I was coming out of my therapist's office one day and sitting in the waiting room was my old therapist. It was like the therapist I had when I was... I was just like, you know, we're all just going through this human shit together, you know? Yeah. There you go. Yeah, working on it.

I hear you. Do you feel like as an artist, you almost need to feel those emotions to come up with something great or that's moving and inspiring? And then if you detach to feel those emotions to come up with something great or that's moving and inspiring. And then if you detach yourself from those emotions, that you wouldn't be able to create great art anymore. Well, I've definitely gone through it.

So whatever I need to pull from, I have. You can tap back into it. I have the whole thing. I did the whole dance, dude. Yeah. I really did. Like, I look back on, I really, like, I did the whole dance. And I own that.

I feel like, I mean, I take responsibility. I feel like I chose all of those things because I can relate to more people now. I don't usually feel like I'm sitting down with somebody that I can't see myself in or vice versa, you know. Right. And it's because I've been through a lot of different things. Yeah. So I see the humanity. Do you want to continue to go through those darker times

or do you feel like you don't need to anymore? Because you've been through it all, you can tap into it whenever you need to. I think that I will have to go through dark times because that's life. I don't think that that ends. But I think how I deal with it will dictate whether or not it becomes suffering. If something happens, I look at it. I could perpetuate it.

I could blame other people. I could victimize myself. But if I don't do those things, I feel through it. Right. You'll still be hurt. You can grieve. All of that. Yeah. Yeah. But if I don't do those things, I feel through it. Right. You'll still be hurt. You can grieve. All of that. Yeah. Yeah. But it doesn't have to live with you for 20 years. No, and I don't have to take it so seriously.

Right. You know, it's a moment. It's passing. Or it's many moments depending upon the tragedy. But even if there's a tragedy, there's an opportunity within the tragedy. And it's very, very easy to say that from the outside. And when you're in it, depending upon what that thing is, it can feel unspeakable to even begin to take responsibility for it or celebrate the pain. But that's the way through yeah well that you know it is yeah no matter what it is yeah yeah i want to finish uh with your 85 poem in a second but i want to ask you if you i want to end with that as like drop the mic cut us off but i want to ask you a couple questions before that because this is a poem that you wrote that went viral online, and I want people to hear it if they haven't heard it yet.

It's one of the most beautiful poems and very moving. I won't build it up until you hear it. But I never asked you this question last time because I didn't start asking this question until a couple of years ago. This is called the three truths question imagine you've lived your life exactly the way you want it to be from here on out and it's your last day whenever you want to die it's your time to die you choose it could be 100 years from now whatever you want and you do everything you want to do you've got all your products your poetry is mainstream, everyone listens to it. Whatever you want to do, it happens. You've got kids or you don't, whatever.

But for whatever reason, everything you've created, all your poetry has been erased. Your videos are gone, books, content. No one has access to your words anymore. But you have a piece of paper and a pen to write down three things you know to be true about your life. The lessons you've learned, your experiences. And this would be the only thing that people have to be reminded by you. They don't have access to your stuff anymore.

What would you write down as your three truths or three lessons? Oh, shit. That's deep. The first thing that came to mind is I just wrote this poem recently and the first line is, right before I die I'm gonna tell a joke. So, I love that piece because I love that concept and I really have decided that that's what I'm gonna do. If I had any control over knowing round about

when I was gonna die, and I was like on a death bed and I had a week left or something, I promise you I'll be researching jokes. Really? I will find the right joke. Right before you go. And every day before I go to sleep, I'm just gonna fucking say it to the people around me.

Wow. Cause I think in the end we should find a way to laugh at all of this. Okay. So maybe that's just one of the lessons is learning how to laugh through life. I like that. Yeah. Number one. God, number two, follow your enthusiasm.

Elliot Bisnell is a good friend of mine. He came on the podcast, and he said something to me the other day. He said, follow the path, and the path will lead the way. I really, really like that, and I think that's similar to follow your enthusiasm. It's just like, I think that's something that Paulo Coelho. Paulo Coelho. Coelho, sorry. Who knows how to pronounce it?

But he talked about that on something with Oprah or whatever. And that really is something that I try to live by is, like, think about what it is that you're enthusiastic about and, like, go towards that thing. And life will show you the way after that. Yeah. A lot of times people are thinking about what they think they're supposed to do. And they don't pay attention to what they actually want to do. So like, turn the volume down on all the other voices and sit and connect with what you're enthusiastic about and follow the path and the path will lead the way. That's good. Okay.

Number two. Number three, learn math when you're young. Just spend time with people that inspire you and challenge you to be a better version of yourself as much as you possibly can because I think who you spend your time with will open up your mind and your heart to the possibilities of life. And to expand on that, try to live solution-minded rather than problem-oriented. Yeah, I like that. Yeah. That's powerful. Those are great. This just came to me, this question. If you could ask any question to someone who's not around anymore, who would that person be when I ask a question and what would the question be? I mean, I'd like to sit down with Bob Marley.

I don't know what I would ask him necessarily, but he's probably the artist that I respect more than anyone else because of his ideals and because of his integrity and because of how he was able to fuse love into his music. I mean, when I listen to Bob Marley, I feel like I'm listening to the sound of freedom. It's really remarkable. And I feel love when I listen to his music and that someone tried to assassinate him and shot him in the f***ing arm because they didn't want him to play a concert and he ended up getting up on the stage and playing with his arm in

a sling knowing that they could try to kill him again because he believed that much in unity that's somebody sacrificing for something that they believe in for a larger cause than themselves and whenever I get emotional or whatever it's usually like the idea of sacrifice or the idea of redemption. Somebody standing up for other people and being willing to put themselves at risk. So he's somebody that I highly respect. Just to sit down with him, I wouldn't do very much talking. Yeah, right. And what about someone you could sit down with and ask one question who's alive? Could be anyone.

Both of my people are artists, but I really respect Kendrick Lamar. I think he's transforming modern hip-hop. From here, isn't he? L.A.? He's from Compton, yeah. He's a spiritual teacher as far as I'm concerned. Same thing with Bob, like what he's infusing into his music. You know, he's definitely an alchemist. Yeah.

And I'm excited to see kind of how his career progresses over time, so if I could sit down with him and chat with him about his life philosophies and how he is the way that he is and where he wants to go, that would be really interesting. Yeah, that'd be cool. Yeah. Nice.

Well, before we get to the poem, I want to make sure people follow you online. You're at in-q? Well, so it's in-q.com. Yes. But, you know, for all the social media, it's inqlife. inqlife. Yeah, inqlife.

On Instagram, Facebook, Twitter. Yeah, yeah. Awesome. But in-q.com and they can get tickets to your, the poetry workshops are amazing. Thank you.

So if you guys, I don't know if you have them up right now where they can get information. I did like a half a day one with you and it was, I didn't know I could

write poetry either until that moment. So you called it out of me and I was like, damn, if I actually spent some time with this, like it could be

a dope poem, you know. Yeah, you crush it. I was like, this could be interesting. Yeah. I want to go back and finish it sometime, but I really liked that idea.

So I recommend you guys go to one of the workshops. Also, you're doing your big event at the end of the year. I'm not sure if the tickets are available yet or if there's a wait list, but go on in-q.com to get tickets. It's going to be a game changer. Is there anything else on the website they can sign up for or learn more about? Yeah, I mean, I just literally travel all around the country and the

world performing at events or for companies or corporations or on private shows or public shows that we put up tickets for. So we'll definitely have the A a show at the end of this year again and we sold out the peppermint club on uh wednesday night so that'll be fun and then right after that hopping on a plane to go to guatemala with you so yeah um always on a plane always but if you guys want to bring uh inq in for your corporations or events you can email the web on the website yeah there's all the information on the website you guys can get them I highly recommend it if you want someone to wow your audience bring this guy in it's going to be a game changer

before we get to the poem I want to acknowledge you for a minute brother because I just appreciate you and your energy and your spirit and every time I'm around you I feel inspired I love being around artists in general because I feel like it's the stuff I'm not that good at.

I want to be around and just learn from. But you have a gift that just continues to inspire me and so many people. And I'm always very grateful to be around you and just to hang out. Whether you're doing poetry or not, I just love your energy. And your caring nature for humanity. your caring nature for humanity. You're very thoughtful in the way you deliver a message that allows people to connect and open their heart. So I really appreciated it about you, man.

Thank you, man. Yeah, of course. I love you, brother. Love you too, man. Yeah, yeah, appreciate it, man. I'm excited for the journey ahead. And when I get to the last poem, this one is about love, right? Yeah. It's called 85? Mm-hmm.

Yeah. I want everyone to hear this one, and then we'll end it when InQ is done with this. We'll end the podcast. But make sure to share this out with your friends and send a message to InQLife on Instagram, Twitter, to let them know what you think about any of these poems that he's shared today. So go ahead. Thank you for having me, man. Yeah, of course.

I want to fall in love at 85. Go on shuffleboard dates and dance to hip hop from 95. We would also listen to the song Staying Alive, but only for the message. Otherwise, we'd keep away from disco. It's depressing. We'd rock matching tracksuits and rope gold chains. We'd look like Run-D.M.C., but in their old age. We'd take aerobics classes and wear bifocal glasses and eat at IHOP and hold hands at Sunday Masses and when it comes to the bedroom.

at IHOP and hold hands at Sunday Masses and when it comes to the bedroom, well nothing much would happen in the bedroom because we're 85. But we would still be down to take a walk or take a drive or sit and talk or have a drink and watch the pastors by and ask each other why and how and who and where and when and then we'd laugh and cry again about the people we had been. And I would touch her withered skin and comment on how thin it is to keep in something infinite. And she would smile, sweet and blush, then tell me that I think too much. She's right, I think too much. It's always been a problem. But then again, that's how I made my green like the goblin. When I was in my 20s, I was eating Top Ramen, counting up my pennies, saving up to go food

shopping. But now I'm 85, and somehow I feel more alive. I turn my hearing aid up and bump Jurassic 5. I read the sports page while she peruses classifieds. We like antique stores, garage sales, and barter buys. And when it comes to the bedroom, well hopefully, every once in a while, she lets me knock her boots into the floral patterns of our bedpost, then hold her head close like death isn't chasing us, planning on erasing us and replacing us with better

versions of us, reshaping us, remaking us, then recreating us with new identities so we can make new memories. Hush little baby, learn to walk and talk and think and lie and feel and fight and fuck and die and never get the answers why. She dips a joint of grass and wheat grass and we get high. Her hair is silver as the moon in the LA sky. We still pop pills, but it's not the Molly anymore. Whenever we can't sleep, we listen to the ocean floor. She got a sound of the CCD for me from the Brookstone store.

And ever since, I've been snoring like a really good metaphor for snoring. Sorry, I go blank sometimes. What? I'm 85. I'm not complaining. I'm just happy that I'm still alive and happy that I have my better half by my side. Superfly. She doesn't look a day over 65.

When I first saw her, I was totally in awe. She was classical. So I was like, yo, yo, ma. And that was all it took. A single look and I was shook. I fell for her like some loose shingles from our Spanish roof. And I'mma love her till she loses every last root and has to glue dentures to her gums to chew solid food.

Ooh. Now that's real love, dude. That's some push comes to shove love not when it's convenient love hospital bed love feed her ice chips love never leave the room love sleeping in the chair love Sleeping in the chair, love. Prayed up above, love. Have to pull the plug, love. Miss her in my bones, love.

Everything about her, love. Die within a month, love. Can't live without her, love. Love. live without her love. Love, the only reason that we are alive and none of us should have to wait until we're 85. There you have it, my friends. I hope you enjoyed this episode. If you did, take a screenshot of this podcast on your app right now on your phone and post it on your Instagram story.

Tag me, tag NQ, and the link is lewishouse.com slash 607. Tell your friends to go listen to this. Check it out on the podcast. The full show notes is back at lewishouse.com slash 607. Tell your friends to go listen to this. Check it out on the podcast. The full show notes is back at lewishouse.com slash 607. You can watch the full video as well. And just make sure to share it out with your friends. The more people that get access to the information, the more they can be inspired to live a better life

and change the world in the process. Use your voice to change the world. NQ is a powerful force and is going to continue to be making an impact for many, many years. So make sure to send him some love as well. Big thank you again to our fan of the week, Darcy Rogers. Again, if you want to be shouted out on the podcast as a chance to be the fan of the week, go over to the app and leave us a review over on iTunes and let us know what you think. I'm so blessed and grateful for all the different individuals we get to bring on here and share their stories.

This is all about giving you insights, information, and inspiration to help you live a better life and make an impact in the world with your passions. Again, it means the world to me that you're part of this community. We've got some amazing things coming up, some big names, big guests, big stories. So stay tuned. If this is your first time here, make sure to click subscribe over on iTunes and check out these podcasts. Every Monday, Wednesday, Friday, we come out with new episodes. Subscribe to our YouTube channel where we have all the videos over there and got over a quarter million subscribers over there. It is growing like crazy and super pumped for all the great video content we're doing on YouTube. And as Pablo Neruda said, poetry is an act of peace.

What type of poems are you putting out in the world? How are you living your life? Are you living a life that is expressing your own form of poetry or are you creating more chaos in the world? Poetry is an act of peace. What type of peace do you bring to the world? I love you so very much. And you know what time it is. It's time to go out there and do something great. Thank you.