The School of Greatness - 919 Live Your Passion, Use Your Voice, and Own Your Story with JoJo

Episode Date: February 24, 2020

You have the power to change your story. Have you ever felt like your life story was not your own?There's always the pressure to become someone who you aren't. Maybe you're comparing yourself to the people you see on social media. This is so easy to do. We often just post the best of ourselves on the internet, and then the illusion is that everyone is living these perfect lives.But we know that isn't true. You can't compare your real life to a filtered version of someone else's.Sometimes the pressure comes from within, and other times, it comes directly from the mouths of other people. It's easy to let the outside world dictate who you are supposed to be. People love to tell people what to do and who to become.But you have your own voice in this world. People can try to shout over it, but it's up to you to make a stand for who you are.On this episode of The School of Greatness, I had the pleasure of talking with JoJo, a pop-icon, who shares about battling comparison, asserting her voice, and writing her own story in the midst of extreme pressure.JoJo is a pop and R&B singer, songwriter, record producer, and actress. She released her first album, JoJo, in June 2004, and the album's first single, "Leave (Get Out)," was No.1 on the US Billboard Pop Chart. She was only 13 years old - the youngest solo artist in history to ever top the billboard charts. She’s also starred in movies like Aquamarine and RV (with Robin Williams) and in TV shows like Hawaii 5-0 and Lethal Weapon. In 2006, she released her second studio album, The High Road, which was also a great success, but her third album, Mad Love, was delayed due to record label disputes. She realized she didn't have power over her own voice, and this was non-negotiable. In 2008, JoJo founded her own record label, Clover Music, and re-released her previous albums. Her fourth studio album, good to know, will drop in spring 2020, and in April she will kick off an international tour.JoJo was offered her first record deal at six years old. From a young age, she has felt immense pressure from music industry to become who they want her to be, but JoJo made a stand for herself.Join me on Episode 919 with JoJo to learn how she owned her story and how you can too.Where do you think your life would be if you’d had social media early on in your career? (1:20)Did you dream of being a superstar when you were a kid? (7:40)When did fear come into your life as a creative? (9:15)How did you learn to create your own self-worth? (19:45)What challenges do you face being in an intimate relationship? (25:39)What were the most powerful moments you’ve experienced on stage? (34:57)What are some lyrics that define the decades of your life? (47:05)What it was like when JoJo didn’t own her own music (3:15)The lessons JoJo learned from her early success and from then til now (16:05)How to learn how to be happy by yourself (32:10)The value of facing your fears regularly (39:40)How to make yourself proud (44:40)Plus much more...If you enjoyed this episode, show notes and more at http://www.lewishowes.com/919 and follow at instagram.com/lewishowes

This is episode number 919 with pop star and R&B singer JoJo. 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. Walt Disney said, first think, second dream, third believe, and finally dare.

I am excited about this one because I've been a fan of JoJo since back in the day when she released her first album in 2004 called JoJo. U.S. Billboard pop charts, and I was an instant fan. She had so much energy, passion, charisma, and she was magnetic at such a young age. She went on to do movies like Aquamarine and RV with Robin Williams, TV shows like Hawaii Five-0 and Lethal Weapon, and has done some amazing things over the years. And in this episode, I really wanted to dive in and talk about her entire transformation because she became so big out of the gate. She was huge for five years, and then she had some challenges and some struggles. And then she's come back. And I'm just so excited to talk about this with you.

I'm so excited for you to hear this message and this story because sometimes we can make it big and then things happen and we'll take a fall and we'll come back, we'll grow, we'll learn, we'll develop and it's just life's journey. And in this episode, we talk about what it was like growing up in the public eye and being so famous as a young girl and as a teenager. Her past struggles with record labels and how she overcame those challenges, the power of owning your story and the ability to change it at any point in your life and not be stuck to some story from the past that is hurting you. Also, advice that Jojo has for young girls and women growing up in social media with constant comparison and other challenges. And as a very special treat, I asked Jojo to sing a few answers to some of my questions.

And I think you're going to love her singing. So I really hope you enjoy this. Make sure to share this with a friend, lewishouse.com slash 919. You can text to someone, you can post it on social media, and I'm sure Jojo would love to see that you're listening to this or watching this as well. So make sure to tag Jojo over on Instagram so she can see that you're connecting and watching this as well. All right, guys, I'm super excited about this. I've been following Jojo for a long time, but I've been following her on social media for the last year and a half, and I really love her message and what she's creating with her life.

So without further ado, let me introduce to you the one and only JoJo. All right, welcome back to more of the School of Greatness podcast. We have the inspirational and iconic JoJo in the house. Thank you. So glad you're here. I'm so happy to be here. We've been connected on Instagram for probably a year or two, at least. And Billie Jean connected us.

One of my besties in the world. One of your besties, a guy that I've been getting close with over the last three years, good guy. And we're finally here. So I'm super excited. I'm so excited because I've been subscribed to this podcast for a long time and I just I love all the little jewels of inspiration and wisdom that I get from not only you but the guests you have on and it's just It's so delicious to me. It's soul food soul food. That's what it's about. I'm so excited

Do you listen to a lot of podcasts? I do I love podcasts whether I'm working out or I'm getting ready or driving. And I love sharing them with my friends and family. It's awesome. Now, you have an amazing story. And you remind me a little bit of Leanne Rimes. Okay. When I had Leanne on, she talked about how when she was a teenager, she became so world famous pre-social media. Yeah.

And this kind of happened to you as well. You were a young teen that was a superstar before social media if there was social media then Where do you think your life would be if it was like not only all over the press but then all over Everyone's social media channels. Oh Well when I came out myspace is really where we launched through my my music So myspace was like a huge huge deal for for me and connecting with my fans. But I mean, I think now if you're just first coming out, you have to really take advantage of all the different platforms. And it's not that you have to, it's fun, but you just kind of have

to be more spread out. I didn't really have to do that as much. You had one platform there. You just had MySpace. Yeah, so into that. Pre-Facebook, pre-all that stuff. Yeah, people were on Facebook, but it was college kids. And I wasn't a college kid. You couldn't even get on there.

Couldn't even get on there. I mean, I was 12 when I recorded my album, 13 when it came out, and when my life changed. So I dig social media right now and I'm actually quite glad that it wasn't such a big part of my early teenage years because it must be so hard being a younger person and like feeling that that is what validates you. And being in the music industry is weird enough. It's already weird enough. But so many kids, their teens are getting their self-worth from likes. Yeah. Engagement,

everything like that. Do you feel like your life would have been more screwed up? Not that it was screwed up, but do you feel like it would have been much more harder

to being, you know, a celebrity, famous, on tour, all this stuff happening as a teenager and...

I think so, actually. Why do people like this or I need to be more sexual or whatever it is. I think so. I think so. Because it's really hard to resist the temptation of reading all the comments and seeing what the feedback is. So I think that if I was a young teen, like I was when I came out, and I had that, it would very much shape how I felt about myself and influence who I became.

How do you feel about yourself now? I dig myself. Yeah. Have you always digged yourself? No. No. There were times I did not dig myself. It's such a journey of... I think because I had such incredible success at a young age that gave me a sense of self that was like related to

a number one and related to adulation and acclaim and applause and attention. Awards. Yeah, all of that. And I needed to define myself outside of that when I was tied up in a legal situation with my former label to where I couldn't release music. And I wasn't shutting down malls anymore. And I wasn't the most famous person wherever I'd go. People had surpassed me. That used to open for me. How does that feel? It felt embarrassing. Really? I mean, there are other words too, but that's like the first one that comes to mind, if I'm just being honest. When you're the main attraction, when you're the lead, and then other people are just excited

to be there and open for you, and then they, now they're the lead and you're opening or you're not even there. It made me feel awkward, embarrassed, and like, because I felt like my career at that point was out of my control. I hated that feeling so It made me just kind of want to retreat because because this is those things because this is still a time when Independent artists weren't putting out music on their own

This is like pre Macklemore pre like all these individuals who are having control of their music, right? This is pre Spotify. So you really had to rely on the record label. I'm assuming well pre-Maplemore, pre-all these individuals who are having control of their music, right? This pre-Spotify. So you really had to rely on the record label, I'm assuming. Well, it was unfortunate because I wished that I could be independent at that time. But contracts are legally binding. So I did not own my voice. I could not make decisions on what to do with my recorded voice. That's crazy.

So I could tour. So I stayed afloat doing that. I connected with my fans. And it kept me feeling energized because otherwise I just felt so isolated, not being able to release new music. So you kept singing the same songs. Singing the same songs. To the same audience sizes or smaller intimacy?

It kept getting more intimate. It kept getting more intimate. And I needed to find the, like how, really what I realized is that I have some ride or dies. Fans. Yeah. Super die hard. Yeah.

But like you mentioned, independent artists weren't as, as poppin' as they are right now. But I was able to do something that, I took a page out of what I saw people in hip-hop doing a lot more, and I put out mixtapes for free, and I just put them directly on the internet,

whether it was SoundCloud or whatever. Was it Napster back then? Not Napster. I'm not that old, but it was definitely... SoundCloud. SoundCloud. So I had a few mixtapes,

and I was able to speak directly to my fans that way. For free? For free. The first one being called Can't Take That Away From Me, which was a statement of just like, okay, label or powers that be, you can't take away this relationship that I've built with my fans and music and my love for it. And then Agape, which means unconditional love. And then a Love Joe series of just like a few songs here and there. Wow. Have you been to Agape?

I haven't. The church? Have you? I've been there once. Michael Beckwith. I love Michael Beckwith. He's amazing. He came on the show earlier this year and I went and watched it.

Oh, I have to hear that. I can't believe I haven't heard that. Oh, it's mind-blowing. Yeah. I have a lot of respect for what they do over there. You should go sing over there. Oh, do they have like? Oh, yeah.

They have a whole choir and different performers come and sing. It'd be amazing for you. Oh, that's right up my alley. On a Sunday, it's like all soul food. That's right up my alley. Just do some jazz or do one of your songs, whatever you want to do. You can just be creative there. That's cool.

I'll make an intro if you want. Please do. That's cool. You have a song called Agape. I have an album called, a project called Agape because my dog's name is Agape. Oh, my gosh. Because I just love that word. It's a great word.

It means unconditional love. And that's what I feel for music. I really don't care for the industry. It's just, it's mad yucky, but I love music so much. Did you, when you were pre-12, did you have this dream that this is the life that would unfold for you? Like you were going to be the superstar, your songs were going to be out there in the world. Yes. And then there would be this control over you. No, didn't envision that part. That wasn't part of my vision.

But you dreamed of like, I'm putting my music out in the world, my creativity. I was so, I saw it so clear in my mind. It was just, I knew from a young age. I feel so lucky because some people don't know what they're passionate about. I never had to really think about it that much. I had other interests. I liked dinosaurs and I liked, you know, cats and stuff. But no, like music was just always.

Like when did you have that vision? Oh, as long as I can remember. Like four or five years old. Exactly. You're like, I'm going to get my songs on stages. I'm going to be in the radio. I saw Mariah Carey performing. God, she's so good. You were like, I'm going to get my songs on stages. I'm going to be in the radio. I saw Mariah Carey performing and just being so glamorous and exceptionally talented.

And I was just like, I want to be a diva. I wanted that. I loved entertaining family friends who would come over and anybody who would listen. My aunt would go to the nail salon. I would ask the ladies what their favorite songs were. And I just always wanted to perform. Would you perform at the salon? Yeah.

Really? I mean, we would go into, I'm from south of Boston. So I would ask my mom from the age of like seven if we could go into the city because I saw people putting out hats. Busting, yeah. And I would put out hats and sing on the street. I swear to God, my parents were not stage parents. I was a weird, precocious little kid. You would go by yourself?

No, no. My mom would come with me. Would she film ever? No, we didn't film. That would be amazing if you had some footage. I know. I was such a fearless little girl. Wow.

Because I think that's what it takes to especially have such an early entrance into it yeah just need to just love it did you ever feel like you were afraid after you became this yes when did that happen yeah fear came into my life I think um probably when I was making my second album because I had so much success with the first one and it was just a difference of a few years 12 recording the first one and then 14 recording the 14 15 recording the second one but i was like it's that sophomore thing of how can i i don't think i wanted to top it but i i wanted to have another hit match and thankfully yeah and thankfully i did we had a huge song with too little too late and that took me around the world once again and and that was that was dope um but fear really like crept in after I turned 18

and I'm like wow look at the clock ticking like I feel like I lost time yeah 18 because I think I had seen so much from a young age that as I started to not be the youngest in the room anymore, it just started to freak me out. And it took me years to change my perspective on that and to not compare my journey to others. Isn't that interesting? I remember in high school, I was always on varsity sports teams as a freshman, sophomore. I was the young one. Right. Right? And I would always start, and I was always on varsity sports teams as a freshman, sophomore. I was the young one, right? And I would always start and I was always the youngest starter. So all the juniors and seniors

would play and then the young one. And I was one of the better athletes. So I was always kind of an all-star on the team at a young age. And I remember becoming a senior and having more fear because I didn't have, I don't know what it was. It was like a cushion or something where I had to be the one that had to perform all the time. Yes. And had to deliver every time. And there was a lot more pressure on me. Because now you were a young OG. And I always felt like the youngest.

But now I wasn't the youngest. Right. So now it's not, it's also not as like glittery and exciting because there was like all this shine on you. I know. For being the youngest. And now it's like, oh, I just need to be excellent now. I got to be better and better. Yes. I got to reach this potential from a young age. Yeah. So you have, how did this, how long did this fear stay with you after 18? How many years were? A good 10 years. I'm just

shaking it now. Really? Yeah. Yeah. Did it get worse? Yeah. Every year? I can't say it was every year, but there's so many ups and downs because I developed what I would call a situational depression that I've kind of ridden the wave of. When I filed my lawsuit for the first time against my record label so I could get the rights to my voice back and be able to continue on with my career since they weren't a functioning label anymore. So give people context for don't know what happened. How old were you? I was 18 when I sued them for the first time because they were in breach of contract. We weren't able to... I had delivered several versions of a third album to them and there was just no... They didn't was just no they didn't want it or they want to put it out they didn't have the means to put it out they

didn't have distribution anymore and it was just a whole bummer of a situation I really thought that we would just ride off into the sunset together because these were my father figures they were my uncle's mentors they were my mentors so I never wanted to like who wants to be in a lawsuit that it sucks so um we tried to work it out for a while but i was tied up in a legal battle with them for about five years so at 23 i think that's when i i took i took a lot on i i was like what could i have done differently? But it really did. I don't want to be overdramatic about it, but it was a bit traumatic for me.

It's very traumatic. Because I felt so out of control. And nothing's really in our control. But I was just so disappointed and so hurt that we couldn't make things work and do all these great things together. Because all I've wanted to do since I was a little kid is work and perform and connect with people. And I felt like that was taken away from me. So I was very upset. Because you couldn't release your art to the world because of the contract. Right, right. And it wasn't just about creative control because I wasn't like putting a hard line of sand and being like, no, I want to make a, um, you know, a jazz record. Right. I want to do some left stuff. It wasn't, it wasn't that I was like, I was really down to try, um, at least from my perspective. So anyway, thankfully

that is not going on anymore, but it created a lot of like agitation within me and upset and and again like i mentioned seeing people that had told me that i was the reason why they started singing and that they you know grew up learning how to sing through listening to my songs and stuff and then seeing them reach the heights of their career while I'm, I felt like this caged bird. So you saw young superstars become mega stars and say to you, you're the reason I started this. Yeah. And that's obviously like such an amazing thing to hear. It's inspiring, but you also want to see yourself. Correct. I wanted to. Yeah. Yeah. I was like, I really don't like being this thing that like this kid that can't play in this playground that I love.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, yeah. And I was just not comfortable with being a afterthought. Gosh. I feel like Olympic gymnasts, I feel like have some of the hardest lives. Who are like Olympic gold medalists when they're 15, 16. Very similar to your situation. When you're on this global stage as a teenager

and you reach the top. It's like, where do you go? Where do you go for the next 80 years of your life? Right. It's like, I think that's one of the hardest things to overcome. I'm not saying it's, I mean, poor them for having a gold medal, but it's a different type of adversity you have to face. Right, right.

And it's not a... It adversity you have to face. Right, right. And it's not a... It's a first world problem. Exactly. But the inner battles that you face are extreme when you reach those levels. But I think that the payoff that can come if you are able to change your perspective and have a new idea of what success is, or just keeping your blinders on and saying, okay, so I, that's amazing. I've accomplished that, but what's next? Just not.

Not focusing on the past so much. Yeah. It sucks. What was the biggest lesson for you from, I guess, 12 to 18 when it was, you know, this explosion of attention and acknowledgement and hits and opportunities? What was the lesson for you during that time? And then what was the lesson from 18 to now? Hmm. Hmm. Like as you're rising to the top and then as you're transitioning from figuring out this lawsuit to reinventing yourself to identity to everything. The biggest lesson in my teenage years, I guess, was you can't take things personally.

I think I learned that pretty young. That everybody's going to do what's best for them and things are going to make sense in their mind. No one's a villain in their own mind. People are doing what seems like the right thing to them, in my opinion. And you just can't take things too personally. I think I did learn that. I also learned that…

Did you take a lot of things personally? Yeah, yeah, because everything was about me. I felt like i was the center of my universe i was you know i was not only like this young girl but i was a product and i was a brand and um a business yeah so it was just interesting to think about all that but i also learned that people will say they love you and you need to be able to use your discernment to realize when that's true and when it's not. I don't know if it's as much in your industry, but you live out here in LA and people just love to

throw that around. And that can be a painful thing, especially when you come from a broken home and you want love and you want family. And you feel it as true. When they say, I love you, you're like, okay, this means something. Yeah. Deeper than just a love you friend. Yeah. Friendly thing.

Or I love you if this continues to be lucrative for me or whatever. So I guess that plays into what I said about not taking things personally, but discernment, like developing discernment, I think, from a young age. I feel like you just have to go through heartache to experience and learn discernment. Yeah. It's hard to be discerning without going through the challenges, I feel like. I agree. Without people hurting you or disappointing you or expectations not being met.

I agree. You've got to go through it. Unfortunately, you have to go through it at an extreme level of probably betrayal and backstabbing and who knows what. And then to answer your question, I think the lesson that I've learned from 18 to now in the last 10 years is nobody is…you have to save yourself. Like, you can change your story. You can change your narrative whenever you want like you can be

you can be a victor you can have victory over your circumstances and you don't have to be a product of your family of origin or whatever cards were dealt to you you create whatever type of life you want and it can be amazing do you feel like no one was there to save you you can create whatever type of life you want and it can be amazing. Do you feel like no one was there to save you, you mean? Or no one was there to really had your back or was going to help you? You had to help yourself? I do feel like I needed to help myself, yeah.

I think that maybe there was a lack of, I didn't feel supported in my situation. By who? By friends, family, industry industry people by more industry people I think they just felt like it was this thing that I was never going to get out of so they just were like she's a smart girl maybe she'll go off to college and she had a nice run yeah and we're on to the next on to the next the next young product exactly Exactly. Wow. Yeah. That probably makes you feel a little used. I guess so.

Yeah, it just made me feel, what is my worth if I'm not that? So how did you learn to create your own self-worth when people in the industry didn't think you were as valuable for a period of time? I had to so much trial and error and introspection and seeking God in different ways. And I think focusing my energy in different places, whether it was like learning how to be in a relationship or exploring different interests of mine or working on myself, becoming a student again of voice, like studying how to sing properly for the first time because things had come naturally to me. I needed to be proud of myself in different areas. I needed to have little things that I could be like,

okay, I'm making progress in this area. Or even like I was asthmatic as a kid. And over the past few years, I've gotten really into fitness and wellness. And now I can, this is a thing for me. Now I can run a mile and that's good. And I eventually want to do a 5K and maybe one day do a marathon. Like I have to just have these incremental goals that make me feel like I'm capable. And really whatever I put my mind to, I can see. For young girls, you know, teenagers or preteens in the social media world that deal with a lot of

comparison, that deal with a lot of, they're not sexy enough or good enough or talented enough. What advice would you have for them to develop self-worth throughout their teens and twenties? Comparison is the thief of joy. Yeah. Einstein's, right? He say that, I think. I think so. I love Einstein. It robs you. It robs you of joy so much. We, we, we get to make a choice about how we see things. And I think social media can be really detrimental,

especially to an impressionable mind. And I'm, I'm not, um, I'm not above that about like, I'm still have the capacity to be hurt by things and have impressions laid on me, but particularly for younger girls, I would say turn off the comments maybe. You cannot have your self-worth attached to the number of likes you get or to what boys respond to or what girls respond to or you have to find a way to feel good about yourself. How can they do that? I know, I know. If you could go back to 14, 15, 16 JoJo,

what would you say to her about developing self-worth that wasn't attached to accomplishments, likes, boys flirting with you, all those things? Is it mastering of a new skill? Like you said, it's finding a goal and seeing yourself overcome something challenging. It's like when you make a commitment to yourself about something, it's seeing that through, honoring that. Being a good person, I think, is the most rewarding feeling.

Being a good friend, knowing that you are somebody who people can rely on and lean on. And making yourself proud, though. Like, I don't think that girls are really feeling proud of, like, sexualization of them. Of, like, I don't think that makes them, it's not going to bolster your self-worth. So whatever that might be, work on things outside of the exterior, whether it's you finding a hobby that you love or reading or

religion spirituality whatever try to just really cultivate all the parts of you that that make you unique because it's so much doper to be yourself. Like that radiates in such a wonderful way. When you get to know yourself, when you spend time in solitude, um, and I, as a teenager, you probably don't want to spend time in solitude. You want to be social and stuff, but you gotta like who you are. And again, I guess I don't really have the best advice as to how to do that, but journaling is a great idea, a great stream of consciousness. See what's in your mind.

And it's okay if some insecure thoughts come in, but you can take responsibility for that second thought and say, that's not true. Comparison is the thief of joy. I still do it sometimes, but I really check myself now. I pay attention to what thoughts are coming in my head, and I try to replace them with something else. Really?

Did you always do that? No. Did you just allow negative thoughts to kind of run your mind for a while? Yes. And I've been on this journey of trying to just consume inspiring stuff, like your podcast and um i love oprah's super soul conversations i love uh reading wayne dyer i love tony robbins i mean all this stuff is are really great tools and i don't know that i would have utilized it as much as a teenager

i think that just with time i was just, I really want to take more responsibility for my projection of how I see myself and what I want for myself in the future. So these are just tools that I've tried to adopt through listening to people who I respect, who have done great things, and I guess modeling what they're talking about. modeling what they're talking about. What is the challenge you face with being in an intimate relationship? As someone with fame and touring and opportunities, how do you navigate that being in relationships? I can be a really great girlfriend and I can also be very selfish. You have to be if you want to achieve something at this level, right?

I think so. You have to be selfish to put time achieve something at this level, right? I think so. I think a little bit. You have to be selfish to put time and energy into mastering your craft, touring all the things you got to do. Yeah. So there's periods of time where you've got to be really selfish. And that can be a challenge when you're trying to cultivate something meaningful. So how do you do it? I have made so many mistakes along the way.

And I think I'm just learning how to be in relationship with myself. I think Emma, I forget her last name, but she plays Hermione. And she said that she's self-partnered. Watson. Watson, there you go. Emma Watson, yeah. She's amazing. I love what she said about being self-partnered.

She said she's in a self-relationship, right? She's self-partnered. It's amazing. Because I didn't trust myself in relationships. So I'm single right now and I'm self-partnered. But I didn't trust myself because I knew that I was, because of the insecurities that I mentioned a little bit, that I had developed and the anxiety about not being as desirable in the marketplace or whatever, I knew that I had the potential to seek validation through the attention of other men.

Wow. Because it feels good. Because it feels good. It made me feel high. And it's not that I would, well, even if this was what I did, this just wasn't what I did, but even if I was sleeping with a bunch of people, which wasn't the case, it was just like, I would allow myself to entertain when it wasn't appropriate. And I learned that that's really not cool. It's not cool. It's not something I can look at myself in the mirror and feel good about. So how do I balance? I think, I'm sorry. FaceTime

is a game changer, as I'm sure you know being in a long distance. I was just in a long distance relationship for like 10 months and she just moved in. Okay. Like a week ago.

Woo! Yeah, Christmas Day actually. Merry Christmas. FaceTime was a game changer. It was like every day for,

you know, a few times a day we'd check in for 10, 20 minutes or whatever and I don't think we'd be together without FaceTime.

Yo, thank God for FaceTime. i was um i love to tour i love being on the road and it was really nice to when i was in my last relationship be able to like take him with me when he couldn't you know be there all the time yeah here's my sound guy earth says what's up like you know and just he was able to develop relationships with my crew even when he wasn't there and that's so meaningful to me because i love to integrate my my worlds like my friends and family and my boo and you know all of it that's great yeah so facetime is a game changer do you feel like in the future i don't know you've probably seen relationships with musicians, most of

them not work and some of them maybe they do work. Do you have to almost tour with people for periods of time in order to make it work or does that make it worse? Oh, you mean if you're dating a person and you guys are like on a tour together? Do you need to be like, if you're on tour for a year and you only see them like two months or something, is that going to work or does a person need to go on tour with you for periods of time

if you're going to make this work what have you seen with other people in the industry because it seems like most musicians don't work out

I know it's really tough are there any I mean I don't even know Jay Z maybe and Beyonce right right and they you know

co-headline tours together it's so ill I mean the fact that they're able to bring their family with them. They have the kids. I mean, that's ultimate goals. But who else is married after 10 years? I mean, Faith Hill and Tim McGraw.

It's really, really cool. But they probably travel a little bit too, don't they? Or no? I don't know. I don't know what their touring life is. But I think that anything you really want to dedicate yourself to, if you're really committed to it, you'll figure it out. But I don't want to go.

I personally don't want to go six weeks without seeing my person. I can't go more than two and a half. It's about the limit for me. Two weeks. That's what I did. Every two weeks we would visit. I would visit Mexico City a lot. I was there 15 times this last year.

Wow. See, y'all made it work. And then she was able to come out towards the end of her job. She had some time off, so she came to visit me more. But it's rough. After three weeks, it's kind of like out of sight. It gets like… It can get really prickly.

And then I don't like being on the phone. I'm like sick of holding it. I don't like being on the phone either. I don't want to be on long. I don't like being on the phone, but I need to feel connected. And I need that skin-to-skin contact too. I need to be able to hold your hand and like, are you a real person? So I think that when I think about my future, my ideal situation,

I would love for them to be able to come out a few times. But also, he needs to have his own, his total own thing in life. Because if he's just torn with you and just there. I don't respect that. It's not sexy. It's not sexy. You want him to have his own thing. Yes, yes.

So you want to respect, respect is one of the most powerful things in a relationship. Once you lose respect, it's over. I feel like. It's true. And you respect someone based on how they're following their career or their dreams or how they're taking care of themselves, not because they need you. Exactly.

Even if they establish boundaries and they're like, I won't be able to come see you because I'm finishing this project or I have to be over here or whatever. As annoying as it is, that's hot. Yeah. I like that. Sexy, right? Yeah. You're like, dang, go do your thing.

And it's inspiring. Yeah, go do your thing. That's cool. So it's, but until then, until that moment, that self-partnership is something I'm really working on because I just want to feel totally comfortable with, in this skin and date myself, like take my, you know, I take myself to go hear live music or to the opera or I'm honoring what feels good. That's amazing. And that feels nice. I remember in my 20s, I was afraid to be alone for a long time.

I tell you, I've been a serial monogamous. I needed to be in a relationship or with someone constantly. And then there was a period of time where I just said, this is crippling me. It's crippling me, like the insecurity of being alone. So for a couple of years, I said, I'm going to be alone for everything.

I'm going to go to the movies alone, dinner alone, lunch alone. Wow, you took it to the extreme. And I do everything extreme. Yeah, it's like I'm going to do this Wim Hof thing. Right. And it was the best time. The first few months was the most miserable. But then after six months, a year, I just wanted to be alone all the time.

Yeah. I fell in love with my thoughts, with just connecting with people out, but not needing a partner. I know. I think I know exactly what you mean. It's an amazing feeling. A few years ago,

I started taking these solo retreats, kind of self-guided. And the first time I did it, I went to, I just went to the beach just right here, rented an Airbnb and was silent for the week. Wow. No phone? No phone.

I was just journaling, reading and listening to music. And like I got all my groceries and just like ate everything in, just was in nature. And it was a really, it was a gift to myself and then i started doing that at least once a year so i went to sedona um that's like my favorite place to go do that and joshua tree i love these places that feel real energetic um but while i was making this this album that's coming out this year i was actually committed to not dating anyone and being abstinent. Really? And just, I was like...

For how long? For like 10 months. Wow. Because I wanted to prove to myself that it was all good. It was cool to do. It was all good. It was cool to do. And I also think that maybe more so as a woman, or me as a me,

I just didn't want to share any power with anybody else. I wanted all my creativity and all my sensuality and all that passion to be channeled into music. I didn't want it to be split up at all. How do you think it worked out? I think it's great. I love this music and I think it was it made me feel even more feminine actually to not be with anybody into like I Just loved saying yes to dates, but saying no to anything else. Yeah, you'll have fun and hang out and I could be friends and stuff, but I just

Really wanted to keep that to myself for a while. And I think it helped the music, actually. I have friends who've gone years or months without sex, right? And they always seem to create the most beautiful works of art in that time of channeling their energy towards that thing and not spreading it around in other ways, whether it be sex or drugs or alcohol, like everything, right? I think it's really powerful when people can do that because you can create some great stuff. Yeah.

I'm curious, when was the moment or moments that were the most powerful for you on stage? Do you remember like, I don't know, New York City or Sydney or wherever? You were just like, wow, it was electric. You came off the stage. You thought you had your best vocal performance, your best emotional performance. Are there any of those that you have?

Yeah, there's a couple that I want to highlight. When I was a teenager, I was in Brazil. It was my first time playing a stadium. It was a festival, my first festival. Like 100,000 people, 50,000 people? Yeah, like a soccer stadium, however many that is. And what was so moving for me was just the power of music and how, because it wasn't like Rio. It wasn't one of the major cities. It was a smaller,

it was a big city, but it was a smaller city where not everybody spoke English. And just to hear the audience singing the words of my songs back to me. Really? Yeah. They didn't speak English, probably. Yeah, I mean, I didn't, I certainly don't speak Portuguese. I was just so moved that even like the deeper cuts from my albums, they were singing. I was just like, wow, music is so powerful, bringing people together from all around the world. And it just feels good. You don't even know what it means necessarily.

Like there's this artist, Rosalia, and she sings in, pretty sure she sings in Spanish. And I don't know what she's saying, but it's just so good and so moving. And then a very special moment I had a couple of tours ago. My father had just passed

and I was just starting a tour and I was just so devastated. I wasn't sure how I was going to put on any type of good show like at all. Cause I was just so fragile. I just wanted to cry constantly. And I have this song that's about my dad that I was performing in my set. And when I did break down for the first time. On stage? On stage. How do you even sing it, right? You're like.

I didn't sound good. I sounded like a turkey, like dying. And so I just took a moment and the audience sang it for me, to me. No, they did not. Shut up. And it was just like out of a movie. Like I just saw Judy, the movie about Judy

Garland. And I think she, she got choked up on stage and in the audience and someone was saying that seems so unrealistic. I'm like, it's not, it's not unrealistic. It happened. And it's happened a few times. Like if I've lost my voice, if I've, you know, overdone it or something with the schedule and that's just, they'll sing it for you. My fans are off the chain. They are so amazing. So I'll never forget that because I, they kept me going during that time. And I was able to finish the tour because during the meet and greets, they would come up to me and share their stories and the connection, just the humanness.

I just love being, I love this human experience. It's so wild. Yeah, people are really beautiful. Beautiful people. I'm curious. So this was what, 15, 16 in Brazil? Yeah. And then.

16, 17. What, 26? Yeah, 25. So a 10 year gap, essentially. One is at the height of your career. One is at a low moment in your personal life. What was the routine like on both of those days, if you remember? Like the two hours before or the morning of to have this massive experience in Brazil

and also this emotional experience. So that was my first time to the country of Brazil and trying to think of the routine. It felt very standard. You know, you'd go in for sound check, you do, the musicians are doing their thing and meet and greet and... Before, right? Yeah, meet and greet before, doing your radio obligations and stuff. I was much less, I took like my vocal

health a lot less seriously as a teenager because it just came to me. It was like, I can just sing whatever. Yeah. 10 minutes to warm up. I didn't work out. It was nothing like that. So whatever dairy you're, yeah, I was just doing whatever I wanted. So my, my preparation now before shows looks a lot different. Like I really like to hype myself up I like to work out when I'm on the road I like to find a local coffee shop these are just things that ground me and make me feel happy and I do warm-ups before and then I warm down after and that's just something that because routine is important and because I didn't have like a normal childhood, I didn't really have routine. So I've learned about routines actually through watching other people, watching people on YouTube.

Like, what's your healthy nighttime routine? Because I'm still looking at my phone. You know, I just had to like develop these things. But what's a non-negotiable for you on a day of a performance? Non-negotiable is getting my heart rate up. Like a workout? A workout is ideal. But even if I can't get a full workout in, I will watch something on YouTube and follow that.

And even if it's just some push-ups and sit-ups, I have to feel strong. Really? I have to feel physically capable. I have to stretch. Yeah, I think feeling physically strong because as a singer it's a muscular thing as well. And I just feel more powerful when I feel strong and agile and flexible. I'll tell you what, there's something about singing that when you... I started taking vocal lessons last year.

Who are you training with? Someone out here? Yeah. Gosh, what am I forgetting her name? Valerie More. Who are you training with? Someone out here? Yeah. Gosh, what am I forgetting her name? Valerie Morehouse? Is it Morehouse? Valerie. Is it Val? Hold on.

I think I've seen her. Yeah, she works with Sia. Does she do vocal manipulation? Or maybe it's someone else. Oh, my gosh. Well, good for you. Are you trying to get into voiceover? Are you singing? No, no.

I just wanted to challenge myself. Okay. Because I'm afraid to sing in public, and I never do it. Ooh, I can't wait. So I was like, okay, I want to overcome. Because I think that building self-worth is when we challenge ourselves on our fears. So every year I try to do something new that I'm afraid of or just not fully comfortable or confident with.

And singing has always been something where I can play like campfire songs on, you know, guitar a little bit and not that good. But it's never felt like I had control over my voice. And the more I use it on the podcast, like I start to lose it after a couple hours, like two or three interviews in a row. I feel like a scratchy. Yeah. So let me just go do some lessons and see what I can learn.

And I need to get back in those muscles around. So I was like, let me just go do some lessons and see what I can learn. And I need to get back there. Strengthen those muscles around. So I need to go back and start doing it. I probably did it for three months. And it was powerful because I recorded every session I have on my phone. The first few, I'm like dripping sweat, so nervous singing to this teacher. And then by month three,

I just have so much more confidence and poise and grace and control. Good for you for subjecting yourself to that. It's not like you had something coming up where you're like, I need to prepare for this. No. That's cool. I just want to challenge myself. I love the idea of facing fears too because then it just, the way, if you do this in one area, you can do it in any area.

So my friend asked me if I wanted to go skydiving and like, no, no, I don't. But like I should. And no, we were going to go. He's super sick right now, but we're, we're going to go. I'm going to do it. I'm terrified, but I want to do it because you know, just want to take that leap. That's scary. My girlfriend wants to do it so bad. And I'm like, I'm like, I don't want to do it. Why? I think it's... But you want to go climb the Alps with Iceman? You're crazy. It's just much more of a... I think it's just... It's a bigger risk of a fear.

I feel like... Skydiving? It's more of a risk. What if it doesn't open up? And I also get really nauseous with like roller coasters. I get really dizzy, seasick. You don't want to throw up all of yourself in the sky. Here's the thing.

I faced a big fear two years ago. I went on Blue Angels, like a Navy jet, which is like this, you know, we went like 6G. Like they're going upside down. It's like a crazy jet in no space bubble with a pilot in front of me like from Top Gun. Like a jet like that. So I went in one of those. And it was the most miserable. I did it because it was a fear of mine.

And it was the most miserable. You regretted it. For three days afterwards, my equilibrium was off. I couldn't. I was just laying in the fetal position because it took so much energy out of me. The dizziness. I threw up twice in the plane. It was just like, get me out.

So I just don't want to put myself through something like that. I don't blame you. Yeah, you know yourself. You know it's not going to be worth it. It's like I tried it, you know, but I think one day I'm going to have to jump out of a plane. I just don't want to die not trying it. I just don't know if it's this year.

You also don't want to die trying it. I don't want to die trying it. I want to do some more stuff in my life first. So we'll see. She really wants to do it. But maybe when die trying it. I don't want to die trying it. I want to do some more stuff in my life first. So we'll see. She really wants to do it. But maybe when you do it, I'll be inspired by watching your video. I'm definitely hoping that there's a GoPro strapped to me

and that when I pass out, it'll be chronicled. But yeah, I just want to face those fears and push through because I really believe in pushing through. What is the goal for your new decade? You're about to hit 30 in a year. Yeah. And it's a new decade.

It's a new decade in the world, but it's almost a new decade for you. Yeah, this is the last year of my 20s, so better make it count. What's the vision moving forward? You've had so much in your teens and 20s, ups and downs. The vision moving forward is to put out the best music of my career and to touch as many people as possible through my music and then find

a way to to make things a little bit less about me in other areas of my life I really want to get involved in volunteering with with charity and and I want to do it in a meaningful way other than just singing at an event or lending money. And I need to get clear on what that is. And for me, it's about making myself proud, like I mentioned. What would it take for you to make yourself more proud? Well, preparedness is a big thing. And I love to prepare.

I love to feel good about that. But I want to be impressed with my performances. I want to be impressed with my performances. I want to be impressed with my voice. And I want to do everything I can to set myself up to be happy with it. Because I am so hard on myself. You have one of the best voices in the world. How are you not impressed? Thank you for saying that.

I'm not. You're not impressed with your voice? Most times I'm not. I mean, I will walk off stage and be like, God, why do I suck so much? Yeah, yeah. walk off stage and be like, God, why do I suck so much? Really? Yeah, yeah, because I just don't think about, because I'm able to celebrate the greatness of other people.

Like, I'm like, oh my gosh, the voice on this woman, and her stage presence, and blah, blah, blah. Who's got the best voices out right now? Best voices. That you admire. I mean, all around, Beyonce is the strongest entertainer and singer that's alive. I just think she's so incredible.

There are a lot of great voices right now. I think Ariana Grande has an amazing voice. She's amazing. I think there, I mean, my girl Tori Kelly. Tori is unreal. Demi Lovato, Jessie J. There are some great, great voices. Jessie J, yeah.

Sia. Yeah, Sia. So many. So I can just, when people are like, oh, it's not a good time for music or people aren't singing, I'm like, are you listening? Because there's some dope stuff going on. So anyway, I want to be proud of what I'm putting out. And I want the music to reach as many people as possible.

So I want to tour more internationally. I want to tour more here and continue to make myself proud. I'm going to throw something at you and see if you're into it. Okay. Would you be open to sharing from your teens, your 20s, and now into the next decade, three different lyrics that define those decades for you? Oh, wow. So from your teen decade, what's like a sentence or a line from one of your songs or a song

that you like in the world that defines that decade? Then another song line or chorus or whatever for 20s. And then your vision for what you want to create whether this is a song that you have or a you know beyonce song or whatever that's the next decade and would you be open to singing them yeah does that have to be the whole song but just like a line or like a chorus or i would think that my teenage years were like i mean this song will probably never it's always going to be with me but it would probably be get up right now because because i had to i feel like that chapter was defined by that song, and too little too late as well, but trying to move away from it

and then also having to actually have that lawsuit and get things out of the way. And then for this current decade that I'm in? 20s. 20s. What has that been? That has been like maybe a Joni Mitchell lyric. Oh, man. Case of You is my favorite Joni Mitchell song. I drink case of you.

I got it to sing. Still be on my feet. I will still be on my feet. What a song. Love Joni. Gosh. Her song with River too. Oh, I would... You know River? Oh my gosh. I wish I had a river. Love Joni. Gosh. Her song with River too? Oh, I would. Oh my gosh.

I wish I had a river. Oh my gosh. To skate away on. I made my way. She's so good. Wow. Maybe. Okay.

I think I've just like come to terms with. I love this lyric from Freeman in Paris, which is like. from Freeman in Paris, which is like, um, The way I see it, you say you just can't win it. Everybody's in it for their own gain. You can't please them all. There's always somebody calling you down.

I do my best and I do good business. There's a lot of people asking for my time, trying to get ahead, trying to be a good friend of mine. But I was a free man in Paris. I felt unfettered and alive. Anyway, it's about finding freedom, finding your personal freedom, your personal sanctuary. For her, that's Paris.

For me, that's Sedona, or that's like driving to the beach. Just kind of realizing that people are going to do what they're going to do, but like you can put yourself in a bubble and find freedom, even if you feel like a caged bird. Wow. And my vision for the future would be... We will rock you.

I don't know, the first thing that comes to mind, and this is probably silly, but it's like Beyonce, I'm feeling myself, I'm feeling myself, I'm feeling myself. You know, I just want to, want to continue to sink into who I am. And I hear that the thirties are even better. You know, as I'm approaching the end of my, you know, my twenties, I'm getting more comfortable and I'm giving less Fs and I just want to, you know, I want that confidence to, I want to keep riding that wave. I love those. Those are good. I love those. Thanks.

Um, imagine this is your last day on this planet and you're a hundred and something years old and your voice is even better. Oh, my, man. It gets better every year and stronger and more feminine and powerful, everything. And the entire world puts on headphones, and they get to listen to you for 30 seconds. And you have to sing something that would be a reflection of your entire life or something that you would want the world to listen to you for the last time,

what would be something that you would sing that if everyone put the headphones on and they got to listen to you for 30 seconds in one moment of time, and it's your last day, what would you want the world to hear? That is a really hard question. I want to say the right thing and really consider this.

What would it be? Maybe…I would want people to feel the love that I have for other people and for music. And the first thing that comes to mind is the song I have from my album Mad Love, which is called Music. And the chorus is like, Tell me who, who would I be without you? No matter how much we lose, every night I bet my life on you. Tell me who, who would I be without you? Who would I be without you?

Who would I be without you? No matter how much we lose, every night I bet my life on you. Who would I be without you? I can't disconnect my life from music and from how it saved me so many times. That I would want to share with people the gift that music can be and just remind them that it's always there for them and that even when you feel like you're completely alone or misunderstood, there is someone who has had the same feeling that you've had. And that's one of the most powerful things about music.

That's powerful. What's your biggest fear going into the next decade? Not realizing my potential. Yeah, I think that's my biggest fear. What is your biggest fear going into the next decade? Not realizing my potential. Yeah, I think that's my biggest fear. What is your potential? Endless. I know that whatever I really focus my energy on, I can see to fruition. And it's just about getting really intentional and writing things down and following through.

So I guess it would be being too scattered around to where I don't really check all the boxes and cross all the T's and dot all the I's and stuff. That's like the creative artist way, right? Yeah, because you get too excited about things. So hard. So I just want to see things through to the end. I want to finish. What would help you get to that next level for you in the next decade?

Is it the right team? Is it a skill that you take on for yourself? Is it, what is that thing, do you think? That's going to really set you up for the potential you want to reach? I think I'm on the right path. I think I'm equipping, I have a great team around me, wonderful, positive people who we all encourage and inspire one another. And we're all great in our own

respects when I'm thinking about my managers and my agents and those who work with us and stuff. But I think that just strengthening my mind-body connection, getting deeper into my connection with God, spirituality, I think that that will help bring more clarity because sometimes I can get just excited about ideas but not know exactly how to execute it. So continuing to ask for help, knowing that I have so much more to learn in other things. I'd like to be more of a businesswoman than I have been. I have a joint venture right now, a partnership with Warner. My label is called Clover.

And I want to be instrumental in other young artists' careers. I want to maybe help them avoid some of the challenges that I've gone through. So I want to really walk the walk and just be more about it, I guess. Be more about it. Feeling yourself. I like that. This question is called the three truths. So again, imagine it's your last day again.

You're saying your song, but now you get to leave behind three lessons that you want to share with the world. Three things that they would have to remember you by if they had no access to your music or content you put out there anymore, but you could share three things that would be your truth for the world. What would you say are yours?

Everybody has their own unique gift and it's one of our responsibilities in this life to find out what that is and cultivate it and to be as true to it as possible so i would i would say that that everybody has something very special and unique if you're here there's a reason why you're here yeah so never question that you know just just keep seeking if you don't know and just follow what you're passionate about maybe maybe you'll find it in that yeah secondly it's not the end of the world until it's the end of the world like you can always dust yourself off and try again you can always keep going you know if you think there's a there's a period turn it into a comma like it doesn't need to be the end and lastly surround yourself with people who light you up.

Like we can't accomplish, we can accomplish a lot on our own, but it is so much more wonderful to have people who you're strengthening each other. And if you're lucky enough to have even just one person who you can be honest with and who will hold you accountable, I think that you have something that's really valuable, something very priceless. So don't compromise just to have a friend in your life if they're not giving you that, if they're not really building you up and believing in you and helping you be your best self. Yeah. You're great.

I love those. Simple but practical. I love it. I like practical stuff. I love that. How can we support you moving forward? How can we connect with you? The album's coming out. Yes. So I actually just did something kind of weird last year.

I re-recorded my first two albums because they weren't available on streaming. That's crazy. So go check those out in the meantime. I made them as close to the original versions as possible. And I just did it out of necessity because they weren't there. So the producers and writers weren't getting compensated. Nobody was making money from what wasn't there. So you weren't making any money from those songs? They weren't available for streaming or download. What about like for TV or film or commercials? Nothing. So you couldn't make money off of your IP. Exactly. That's crazy.

Right. So now I own that, that IP. The newer version. Yes. I own these masters. And so you will be supporting me directly by listening. And I mean, I, I love social media. I love connecting with people like Instagram is probably where I'm most active. So follow me. It's I am Jojo and it's the same on Twitter. I am Jojo. Um, and come see me on tour. Like that is where I'm most active. So follow me. It's IamJojo. And it's the same on Twitter, IamJojo. And come see me on tour. Like that is where I feel so electrified. I can't wait for you to come. We will take care of you.

You're going to do it in LA? Yeah, do it everywhere. LA, San Diego, San Francisco. We're routing tours right now. So 2020, I just can't wait to get back out on the road. Is that this summer coming up or when is that? Probably be spring, summer that I'll start really getting out there. Okay, so a few months. Where can they go to get tickets or learn about that? Honestly, just follow me on social media.

It's all there. I think it's much, I think that's the easiest way to do it. I mean, like websites, like that's cool. Yeah, yeah. I want to acknowledge you for a moment, Jojo, because you've been through so much emotionally. I just think it's really hard for a teenager to get that much fame and get that much success and attention. And to figure out who you are in the process is very, very challenging. I feel like I'm 36. I'm still going through figuring out who I am. But to do it as a teenager is really challenging. And for you to come out more graceful, loving, kind, and human and not a negative, bitter person speaks volumes of you and your character. So I want to acknowledge you for everything you've done to overcome the adversity,

the challenges, the lawsuits, the betrayal. Because I know how that feels. And it's really dark inside sometimes, especially on a platform of your size. So I acknowledge you for gracefully moving through it and coming out on the other side in a beautiful way. Thank you. That made me feel so warm inside. I received that. Yeah, of course.

Is there any questions you have before we do the last question? Any questions I have? Or anything you want to share before we do the last question? Well, as we're having this conversation, I don't know when this will come out, but like, did you make any resolutions? What are you resolving to do? You know, I feel like resolutions are very challenging because I try to make a resolution in a moment throughout the year. Anytime throughout the year where I feel like something's stuck or off. Yeah, you can do that anytime. Then I recommit to a new vision. So I don't like to wait till the end of the year and just be like, I'm going to be

sloppy for six months and then now I'll start. So I think I started making resolutions before New Year's, you know, a couple months ago. But for me, it's, I'm in a relationship with someone who's Mexican. She speaks Spanish. She's learning, she's pretty fluent in English, but I've always wanted to learn Spanish. And now you have every incentive to do that. Since I was a teenager, I was studying it for many years and I never picked it up. And I started salsa dancing hardcore 15 years ago. And I've toured all around the world to the best salsa clubs. Oh, wow.

And trained with the best people for like street salsa, salsa club style, not ballroom salsa, which is very different. That sounds fun. And like you said, music has been a huge influence in my life. My brother is the number one jazz violinist in the world. So I've watched him growing up play jazz violin with Les Paul in New York City and the best around the world. And my sister would sing Joni Mitchell on the guitar when I was growing up. My parents were opera majors at Ohio State. Oh my God, I didn't realize how musical your background is.

I learned guitar at 18 because I felt so ignorant to be the only member of my family not talented. Because it's a language. You want to speak the language a little bit. I want to at least have some basic, you know, knowledge. I respect that. That's cool. Because I appreciate it and I listen to it a lot. So I have a basic knowledge, but I couldn't play anything. Like I took a week of piano and I was like, I want to go play sports. You know, it's just not my thing. So I taught myself guitar when I was 18. I started doing vocal lessons last year just for myself. And this year it's all about Spanish. So I've been actively looking and I know what I need. I need someone to come to me a few days a week and teach me. I've tried apps. I've tried going to places. I need someone to come to me from my

schedule. So I'm looking for someone who can come and teach me that I can hire three days a week and get going. So that's one thing that I'm committed to. That's the main thing. That's the main thing. Health is always like a top priority, but it's just reevaluating constantly. What do I need? But it's always fitness and mindset. And then this podcast is so transformational for so many people in the world. We get emails all the time about when someone listens, someone's going to listen to your story and they're going to email me in six months and say, you have no idea how that supported my life. And they're going to come back to me in six months and say, this one thing that Jojo said, I started taking action on. And six months later, here I am.

Thank you. I mean, that's what I get from your podcast. I was telling you that I listened to your interview with Sarah Blakely. That's her last name? Yes. Just so many great tidbits. She's amazing.

So the goal is to double the show's size by the end of this year. That's the resolution. It'll be seven years coming up at the end of this month that we started this. We've reached 150 million downloads total on the audio platform, more on video. But the goal is how do we double the audience size by the end of this year? So that's like a mission for the business.

It's figuring out whatever it takes to be a maniac on a mission for that. So that's the resolution. How exciting. 2020 vision. 2020. Going all in. And being in a new relationship, living with someone is How exciting. Yeah. 2020 vision. 2020. Going all in. So, and being in a new relationship, living with someone is, you know, learning that. Yeah.

So, just trying to... I think patience for me is like the big thing this year. Big one for me too. It's, you know, just... Because I want it to happen faster. I totally get what you mean. I want to be back on top, right? Yeah.

I want to be back on top or I want to make this relationship work or whatever it is. And it's... But just trusting that you're doing all you can. If you're impeccable with your intention and your word and all that, we can only control what we can control. So one day at a time, I really try to live by that. I grew up being very close to AA, being very close to people who were working the steps actively.

So I feel like that's a religion in itself, the 12-step program. So I think that, I mean, this is one of my favorite tattoos. God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, wisdom to know the difference, and patience in one day at a time is so essential for how we just continue. Focusing on now. Yeah. That's the resolution too.

Every day. Just being grateful for every day. So that's what I'm working on. Okay. I got one question left for you. It's what's your definition of greatness? My definition of greatness is falling down and never staying down. down is constantly is resilience is just just an unshakable spirit of seeking and learning staying open I think growth is greatness yeah yeah just keeping at it

yeah Jojo appreciate you girl thank you best thank You're the best. Thank you so much. Powerful. My friend, it's all about owning your story and committing to your dream. I don't care what stage of life you're in. This might be an upstage for you. This might be a relaxed state. This might be a stage of your life where you're declining. You're going backwards

and you're wondering, how do I get back to that place I once was? Wherever you are, I hope this message, I hope this story, I hope these lessons inspired you to keep moving forward and to not beat yourself up no matter what state or stage of life you're in. We all go through phases.

We all go through seasons, and it's okay. It's natural to progress, to learn, to go up, to go sideways. You know, this life is not a linear life. And that's the beauty of it. So I hope you enjoyed this. If you did, make sure to text a few friends of yours right now, lewishouse.com slash 919. Say, hey, you got to listen to this episode with Jojo on the School of Greatness.

Check it out. Post this on your social media, on your Instagram story. I know Jojo would love to hear from you and love to see who is following, who is connecting with her, who's engaged in this interview. So make sure to tag her on social media as well. I truly hope you enjoyed this. And I love this quote by Walt Disney. He said, first, think, second, dream, third, believe, and finally, dare. You know, sometimes we forget to think and dream. We forget to stay still and allow our minds to wander into an imagination state. When we allow ourselves to have imagination, then we can truly dream about why we're supposed

to be doing what we're doing in our life. And when we start to dream, then we need to start to believe like he says. We need to believe that we're supposed to be doing what we're doing in our life. And when we start to dream, then we need to start to believe like he says. We need to believe that we're capable. We need to believe that we can learn the skills in order to become capable to achieve that dream. And then the last thing, we must dare to pursue that dream. We must dare to put our voice out there, to let our voice be heard, dare to put our voice out there, to let our voice be heard, to let our face be seen, to let our bodies move and experience our dreams fully. Just don't allow the fear to cripple your mind, to cripple your thoughts, to cripple your dreams, to cripple your belief, and to cripple your ability to dare. Continue to move confidently towards your dreams, even in the face of fear, and allow

yourself to see what magic you can create. I hope you enjoyed this. If this is your first time here, please subscribe. Please leave us a review over on Apple Podcasts, over on Spotify. And as always, you know what time it is. It's time to go out there and do something great.