The School of Greatness - 707 How Champions Win

Episode Date: October 17, 2018

FIND THE WINNING BALANCE. You hear so often that people get to the top of the mountain and realize that the summit isn’t the answer. To be a champion, you have to know that there is so much more to ...success than a final outcome. If you focus on the goal without being connected to your joy and larger purpose, you will get burnt out. But when you’re coming from a place of passion, the results will fall into place. To explore this topic further, I gathered parts of conversations with four world-class champions who’ve visited The School of Greatness in the past: Julianne Hough, Ray Lewis, Shawn Johnson, and Novak Djokovic. Julianne Hough is a two-time winner of ABC’s Dancing with Stars and now sits as a judge on the show. She’s one an Emmy for Outstanding Choreography and has appeared in many movies and TV productions like Footloose (2011) and Grease Live on Fox. Ray Lewis is a former NFL linebacker. He is a two-time Defensive Player of the Year, Super Bowl MVP and played his entire 17-year career with the Baltimore Ravens. Shawn Johnson is a gymnast who won a gold medal in the 2008 Olympics for balance beam and a silver medal in floor exercise and all-around. She’s also a five-time Pan American Games gold medalist. Novak Djokovic is a Serbian tennis player is currently ranked third in men’s singles. He’s won 14 Grand Slam singles titles and four Wimbledon titles among many more. These athletes have achieved the immense success in their fields and have all realized that being the best is not enough of an end goal to give them purpose. So learn how these champions get in the mindset to win on Episode 707. In This Episode You Will Learn: Why being content won’t ruin your drive (10:30) What Ray Lewis learned from joining ESPN (13:40) Why Ray Lewis thinks he was able to play football for so long (14:10) What people can do to win even if they get second (14:56) What helped Novac Djokovic get through a breakdown (21:04)

Transcript
Discussion (0)
Starting point is 00:00:00 This is episode number 707 on how champions win. 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. Sammy Davis Jr. said, you always have two choices, your commitment versus your fear.
Starting point is 00:00:43 And I want to ask you this question. Are you allowing your fears to control and consume your life on a daily basis? Does your fear of success, failure, or your fear of judgment hold you back in a major way of taking the actions you need every single day to build that momentum, to build that belief, that confidence in yourself to get out there and achieve what you want in your life? If your fears are holding you back, it's time to eliminate those fears. It's time to actually embrace them, move into them, and say, you know what? It's okay if I fail because that's where I'm going to learn. That's where I'm going to get the lessons to improve things. That's where I'm going to get the feedback I need to take a different action towards success. And it's okay if I do succeed because some of us are afraid of success, the weight, the
Starting point is 00:01:28 pressure, the responsibility that success comes with. It's okay because you were born to succeed. You were born to achieve. You know, when you just live a mediocre life, that's saying that you don't believe you're here for a reason and you are here for a reason. And the fear of judgment, if that's holding you back, if you're afraid for a reason and you are here for a reason. And the fear of judgment, if that's holding you back, if you're afraid of what other people are going to say about you, that they're going to say, I told you so, that they're going to make fun of you,
Starting point is 00:01:53 or you're going to be embarrassed, that judgment, you're focused on your ego more than on impact. So you've got to stop focusing on the fears and start focusing out. Focus on how can I make the biggest impact on the people around me. And when you come from that place, that mindset, that's how you build a foundation to be a champion. That's how you develop a winner's mindset and allow you to win at the things that you're going after in life. And today we have an incredible episode where I've got some of my favorite guests who are talking about this championship mind and how champions win and why losers lose.
Starting point is 00:02:33 And we've got Julianne Hough. We've got pro bowler Ray Lewis. We've got Olympic gold medalist Sean Johnson and the man who is on fire right now, Novak Djokovic, one of the greatest tennis players of all time. And in this episode, we talk about why you need to take the time to appreciate the moment and the process. So many of us are focused on the end result and we allow all this fear and insecurity and doubt to hold us down as opposed to focusing on one step at a time. We're also going to cover the reason you need to be proud of yourself.
Starting point is 00:03:10 I hate when people are constantly doubting themselves. They do something that they should be proud of and they say to themselves, well, it wasn't that big a deal. Or they can't take a compliment or they can't receive when someone says you did a great job. And if that's you right now, then this is important for you. And how being proud of yourself will actually bring you more opportunities your way. We talk about how fear and doubt will keep you from making the choices that will lead you to success. If you are suffocated by fear or doubt or insecurity, you are unable to achieve what you want. Self-esteem is one of the most important factors to success. If you have no self-esteem, if you doubt yourself constantly, why would anything good come your way?
Starting point is 00:03:58 You're just going to sabotage yourself if you have no self-esteem. We talk about the reason you shouldn't be keeping score and why what you feel is what matters the most. I am so excited about this one. And make sure to share with your friends, lewishouse.com slash 707. Tag me on your Instagram story as well, because I want to connect with you if you resonate with this as well. Again, a big thank you to our sponsors. And without further ado, let's dive into this episode on how champions win. I was thinking about like why I wanted to be an entertainer when I was a kid and like why I wanted to be an entertainer now. And the meaning
Starting point is 00:04:41 was so different. What was it when you were a kid? When I was a kid, I was like, it's so much fun. I was like, this is awesome. This is so fun. And like, people are laughing and like, we're just having a good time and we're being creative. And then like, as I got older, I realized it was like, I wasn't having fun anymore. I was just trying to get the next thing and like what the next part of my career was going to do for my career and the success of that and like being the most important person and like all those things where I knew underneath, I still love to do everything that I did, but I was doing it for a different reason. A lot more pressure it seems like. Oh my gosh. And I never felt successful in anything that I did and I was never good enough and like all these different things. And, and people would find that hard to believe. And I'd be like, well, yeah, but I'm not there
Starting point is 00:05:28 yet. And they're like, but look at what you've done. And I'd be like, yeah, but it's not, it's not enough. So how would you feel when you would, you know, you won Dancing with the Stars a number of times or you come out with a new record. How would you feel when you released something or you won something or you checked it off the list or the movie came out, how would you feel? What's next? Yeah. So it was never like appreciating the moment, like being grateful for this and excited. It was like, this isn't enough. Yeah. Well, I mean the, you know, when I went dancing with the stars, trust me, I was on a high. I was like, a day later I was like, okay, what's next? And like, I have to have my music career and I have to have my acting career and I have to have this and that and that. And when I got through all that and I realized what I was doing it all for and then I kind of came back to my 10-year-old self, which was like, let's go have fun and enjoy it and like have a good time.
Starting point is 00:06:20 I ended up feeling like the most successful person. And like, I was like, wow, look at everything that I've done. And like, I'm so proud of myself. And like, and I think that's really hard for people to say because, you know, like it's hard to say that you're proud of yourself. And one, because you're like afraid of what people are going to think. Are they going to think that I'm cocky? And it's like, screw everybody else when they think of me.
Starting point is 00:06:43 I'm like, am I proud of myself? Yeah, I'm proud of myself. That's good. So, yeah. I like it. And everything is just better now. And I find that I'm getting more things that are just coming in. And it's that kind of energy where you're just being and you're just living and you're just enjoying things.
Starting point is 00:07:05 living and you're just, you're just enjoying things. And then you find that you're, you're attracting more things that come your way and, and more success or whatever, however you define it. But yeah, life is just great right now. I'm excited for you. Yeah. But it comes across that way too. It doesn't seem like you're stressed or you have any weight on your shoulders. You're just like, let's have fun. Well, yeah. And I would notice that a lot. I'd be like, and I'd always take deep breaths, like I'm overwhelmed and like, I need, fun. Well, yeah. And I would notice that a lot. I'd be like, and I'd always take deep breaths. Like, I'm overwhelmed. And like, I need to do this. And like, why am I not that person?
Starting point is 00:07:29 That's that, you know, like I would compare myself to people all the time. Like, why am I not there? And they're there. Like, I'm doing what I can. And I'm trying so hard. And I'm like, that's the point. You're trying. I'm trying so hard.
Starting point is 00:07:41 Just be. Yeah. Just be and like being authentic and real. And like, I know it's hard. Just be. Yeah. Just be and, like, being authentic and real. And, like, I know it's easy to say that, but when you can find it and you feel that feeling, you don't ever want that feeling to go away. Yeah. Like, that's almost, like, the addiction now for me is, like, it's not that I've lost my drive, but, like, it's the, like, I used to hate. Sorry, I'm all tangenty right now. Do it. Go on. Go on. But it's, like, I used to hate, sorry, I'm all tangenty right now. Do it.
Starting point is 00:08:05 Go on. Go on. But it's like I used to hate feeling satisfied. I used to like, I used to say that if I ever felt like I was, you know, content, that was the worst thing in the world. And so then I would, like last year, I started feeling content. And I was like, oh, does that mean my drive's gone? Your hustle's gone. Yeah, my hustle.
Starting point is 00:08:27 And like, you know, because I used a lot of like the negativity that has happened in my life to prove myself, to show what I've gone through. And I got rid of that. So I was like, is my drive gone? Like, do I not have the same? I just want to relax on the weekends. Yeah. And what I realized was that like it didn't go away it actually just made me more calm and peaceful so that I was more able to go and be really passionate
Starting point is 00:08:49 about the things that I loved when I needed to do that and then I could turn off wins and losses come a dime a dozen but the battle will never be different and that is you versus me and when a man physically feel you thrust into them they know what intention you come with right so every night wow i had to get to a point of releasing worry. Wow. Releasing doubt. Releasing fear. That's why I studied so much.
Starting point is 00:09:33 I studied so much because when I go, I'm gone. You can call it how you call it. But when I go, I'm gone. And that's what, you know, it started to become such a spiritual battle because when people used to, guys, I used to be playing with guys. They used to be like, come on, Ray, don't talk to me like that. I ain't got no other choice. Out here, this is pure battle. Wow.
Starting point is 00:10:01 You know, this ain't no disrespect to war. War and battle is different, right? But it is. It pure battle. Wow. You know? This ain't no disrespect to war. War and battle is different, right? But it is. It's battle. Like, it's you taking your body. I've been through nine surgeries. Ugh. Right?
Starting point is 00:10:13 So it's like you taking your body, and you're saying, I'm going to go try this one more time. And one more time. And one more time. Play after play after play after play. 17 years. Oh, bro. Oh, bro. And so my, I used to go in hotel rooms, and people would tell you, I don't leave my hotel room for nothing. Walk downstairs to the meeting, back upstairs to my room.
Starting point is 00:10:38 Oh, wow. I don't need to see the city. I don't want to go out in the city. Wow. My head is down. I don't need, this is what's crazy that's that's what i'm telling you i no disrespect to the game sure i cheated life so much because i was so serious about the game that i walked in i never forget it cincinnati pittsburgh
Starting point is 00:10:59 all these places i walked in these places and i promise you while I was playing, I never knew what they looked like. The cities, yeah. Never. My head is down the whole time. You got the headphones on. You're just... Everything.
Starting point is 00:11:11 The hoodie. Everybody out. I'm tuning everybody out. Wow. And only until I joined ESPN for a few years that I started to travel
Starting point is 00:11:22 in these cities. I'm like, wow, Cincinnati is beautiful. This is why people live here. Right? And then I started to realize. I'm like, wow, Cincinnati is beautiful. This is why people live here. Right? And then I started to realize, like, man, there is more to life. Like, Ray, you got to come out of this shell.
Starting point is 00:11:33 And my oldest daughter said something to me one time. She was like, she was like, daddy, you finally let go. I was like, what do you mean? She says, you laugh all the time now. Because when I was playing.
Starting point is 00:11:48 You didn't smile much at all. Man, my kids, man. I took my kids to a lot. Because my kids was like, dad pissed off. Always. Dad pissed off. Dad is always pissed off. Wow.
Starting point is 00:12:00 And I played with them. Yeah, yeah, of course. It wasn't a thing, but. It wasn't a sense of free joy. It was like, because I knew that every week I had raised them and trained them to never be outworked. Never be outworked. Lewis, I didn't stay around because of my athletic ability. I stayed around purely because my effort was way higher than everybody else's.
Starting point is 00:12:34 How can people going into big events or big goals that they have, obviously we have expectations of winning or we want to win, but how can they set themselves up to win even if they lose or get second? What are some things they can do emotionally or psychologically, do you think, that you've learned people can do? Well, I think something that kind of saved me and kept me sane through that whole process is I grew up with my coach. And I started training with him when I was five. Jeez. And he taught me from day one that nothing was ever about a score.
Starting point is 00:13:07 So when I competed, I was never allowed to look at a score. I was never allowed to look at rankings, scoreboards, nothing. I mean, I studied those afterwards, just learning the science and kind of the math behind the sport. But it should never, or he taught me it should never drive your performance. Interesting. And so when I got to the Olympics, having that kind of ingrained in me, the scores didn't
Starting point is 00:13:33 necessarily matter, but that final result of the medal, I wasn't used to. So it made me kind of look at the scores and reflect on how I was judged, but that made me go against everything I've been taught my whole life. And so when I kind of learned to push that away and go back to, it's not about the scores, but it's about how you felt you did, how much effort you put out, your performance,
Starting point is 00:13:56 I could go back and look and say, I did the best I possibly could. And my validation as well was finishing my last routine and seeing 50,000 people in the arena on possibly could. Right. And, you know, my validation as well was finishing my last routine and seeing 50,000 people and they ran on their feet. I mean, it's things like that that mean more than a score,
Starting point is 00:14:12 a medal, but. You just got chills. Yeah. You know in your heart too, I mean, how well you've done, how hard you've worked. There's no greater reward
Starting point is 00:14:21 or judge than your conscience. Sure. Sure. Man. Well, how has it affected you in the decisions you've been making since then? Like, have you been ever second-guessing yourself when you're doing anything? You know, you did Dancing with the Stars. Were you guessing yourself in that? When you went back to compete, did you second-guess yourself?
Starting point is 00:14:41 Was that the London? No, what Olympics was that? London. London Olympics? I don't think it's changed anything in the way of second guessing, but I would say I feel like I've made every decision differently than I would have had I gotten a gold. Really?
Starting point is 00:14:58 Kind of. How so? Because it's no longer about winning to me. I feel like, and I use the word winning in the sense of like, it's not about money. It's not about being the top at a business. It's not about living in the biggest house. It's just, I kind of took that away from my life
Starting point is 00:15:16 because I got there and realized that didn't matter. And so, you know, I butt heads with some people sometimes, some friends, some agents, all these people who are still driven by that. But for me, it's about the worth that I feel in my heart anymore, which again is a lesson I learned back then. It's about the balance, it sounds like. Yeah. The winning balance, right? The winning balance. The winning balance, right?
Starting point is 00:15:42 The winning balance. I've definitely rearranged a lot in my life just over the past few years, just trying to get more things in my life that made me feel good instead of just trying for a reward that didn't mean anything. What have you done? What have I done?
Starting point is 00:15:58 For me, I've tried to, on a daily basis, just admit, openly admit that I'm not 16 anymore i'm not at the olympics i'm not that person i feel like a lot of the perfectionism issues i have is comparing myself now to who i was then interesting and it was six years ago right yeah six years ago, right? Yeah. It was six years ago today. Today? Today. The Olympics were today? My gold medal was six years ago today.
Starting point is 00:16:31 Shut up. It was not. It was. Oh, my gosh. August 19th. Shut up. Yeah. How serendipitous.
Starting point is 00:16:39 I know, right? Wow. I just got four chills. That's my lucky number by the way 19 because I won the gold medal on the 19th
Starting point is 00:16:49 I was born on the 19th and I won Dancing with the Stars on the 19th wow interesting right but you were 16 when you won it
Starting point is 00:16:55 but I was 16 yeah I would say just like what I've done is over the last six years over the last six years you've admitted that you're not
Starting point is 00:17:03 that same place anymore yes and that I I never will be i mean and that's fine again and to accept that that's normal and that's good is kind of been my progress yeah you know back when i was 16 every little thing about me back then was was judged by a coach or someone, an individual. And me now, comparing myself to when I was 16, I see those same qualities. I'm like, well, I need to be thinner. I need to look what I looked like when I was 16 to be able to be accepted by the world, which is kind of what you're taught back then.
Starting point is 00:17:40 So kind of learning to put that aside and admit that past is past. And the only thing you can better of yourself right now is who you are right now and who you're going to be tomorrow. Because you can't change yesterday. I had this upward kind of spiral and trajectory in my tennis career, in my life, and everything was great. And then all of a sudden I had this period of two and a half, three years where I didn't win a slam. Really? I was managing to be three, four in the world, but I struggled a lot. And for me, being number three of the world wasn't enough
Starting point is 00:18:25 I just I was not satisfied with that and I just I always go back say wait okay when I was
Starting point is 00:18:30 seven eight years old my dream my life goal was always to be number one and win Wimbledon that's it
Starting point is 00:18:36 and I need to achieve that no matter what but then I reached the kind of mentally low point in my career I think it was after Roland Garros you know one of the four slams my career. I think it was after Roland Garros,
Starting point is 00:18:45 you know, one of the four slams. And I lost. I was two sets to love up. I lost in five sets in quarterfinals against a guy called Jürgen Meltzer. He was top 10 of the world. Very good player. But I had him.
Starting point is 00:18:56 I mean, I had a match and I just lost. I just had a breakdown. I remember going first to my parents and, you know, talking about this and that. And I just, I cried. And I like, I don't know if this is worth it. I don't know if I should keep going. And, and my father was like, tough enough, tough enough, you know, no, no, no, no, you know, like, but it wasn't, it wasn't enough. Like I felt I needed to think about it more. I felt I needed to share more. So I went to my coach at that time, Marian Vajda and my, one of my best friends in
Starting point is 00:19:24 life and my former physiotherapist, Milan, and I was in their room and I remember sitting on the floor. Again, I had another breakdown and I was saying, I don't know, you know, and they were like, okay, take your time. Let's first, okay, breathe and let's calm down. Let's look back. And they were really, really wise for telling me like, let's go look back first why did you start playing this sport and the whole thing do you love it you know leave aside what you want to achieve yeah what you want to do passion for you know but do you really like holding record in your hand and then i'm like actually i i do i really i love holding a record in my hand whether
Starting point is 00:19:59 it's a grand slams center court finals whatever or it's just the normal, you know, public court, I still like playing for the sake of playing. They're like, well, that's your source. That's what you need to tap into and let's take
Starting point is 00:20:11 a little bit of time and literally, they thought it's going to take a few weeks. Next day, I'm like, okay, I'm back on track.
Starting point is 00:20:16 Let's go. Let's keep going. And I never looked back ever since that moment. I remember the next tournament was Wimbledon Pro. We played semifinals
Starting point is 00:20:24 and then after that, I won Davis Cup with my country, with my guys, end of that 2010. That was one of the highlights of my career. And then after that, I went into having 43 matches, win in a row, and I had that streak. I became number one. How long is that for? It's like almost six months.
Starting point is 00:20:43 Six months, you didn't lose one match. Yeah, yeah, yeah. You lost a set, but not a match, right? Not like almost six months. Six months. You didn't lose one match. Yeah, yeah, yeah. You lost a set, but not a match, right? Not a game. Yeah. Holy cow. It was McEnroe and myself, we hold the record for longest streak of history.
Starting point is 00:20:52 You tied him? Okay, so this is... If you go online... So, wait, wait. So, if you go online, you'll say John McEnroe, 42, Novak Djokovic, 41. Oh, no. Why? Because they didn't count the two matches of the guys that retired the matches to me so they didn't count them as wins and I would have the
Starting point is 00:21:13 fourth but okay okay John okay John you have it you have it John okay you have it so it's John yeah that's kind of feel it man you were just in the zone it was unbelievable and it just gave me it gave me wings I mean I just I felt all of a sudden that I started to play and play freely. Between winning the first slam and that moment, it was three years and I felt like I was playing for the wrong reasons. I was playing because I wanted to achieve. I wanted to do this. I wanted to lift trophies. I wanted to do this and that. And that's okay. But that's secondary. Primary, so to say, motivation needs to be what inspired you to start playing.
Starting point is 00:21:52 What made you fall in love with the sport? And that is the love, the joy, the passion for it, to play it. I all of a sudden became the kid that I was when I started. I felt so much power and energy. And I just, exactly. So I never looked back after that. There you have it, my friends. I hope you enjoyed this episode,
Starting point is 00:22:14 how champions win. I thought this was powerful. If you loved it, then message me and post this on your Instagram story right now with the link lewishouse.com slash 707. You can tag me at Lewis House. I want to hear from you. I want you to share this with your friends. Text it to a couple of friends you think will find it powerful as well. Again, Sammy Davis Jr. said, you always have two choices,
Starting point is 00:22:37 your commitment versus your fear. Create a new commitment today. Be committed to overcoming that insecurity, that doubt that you have and put yourself out there. It may feel painful. You may get embarrassed. You may fail. You may fall flat on your face and it's going to sting and hurt. But the only way you're going to grow is through failure. That's the key, guys.
Starting point is 00:23:01 That's the answer. The one who can experience more embarrassment and more emotional pain than the other is the one that typically learns how to overcome that challenge and be secure with themselves when they realize that, the more I fail and put myself out there, I'm going to inspire more people around me because at least I did something. So do something today, make a commitment versus living in your fear. And as always, you know what time it is. It's time to go out there and do something great. Outro Music

There aren't comments yet for this episode. Click on any sentence in the transcript to leave a comment.