50 of the most Successful people in the world share priceless advice!

I’m in meetings a lot my calendar gets
very full with those and then at night
after the kids have gone to bed I’m on
email a great deal I get messages during
the day that’s my chance to give long
responses and then over the weekend I
send a lot of mail as well as well I
take two weeks a year to just go off and
read and think where I’m not interrupted
by work or anything else I’m just
solidly trying to think about the future
and people get to send me things to read
as part of that so-called think week so
it’s nice mix of things about 25% of the
time then I’m out traveling around
meeting with customers Europe Asia and
that sort of helps me think okay do we
have the right priorities what what are
people responding well to and what would
they they’d like to see us do better you
stare at your past and you’ll end up
staying there it’s okay to look back and
admire it but you carry on I’m not I’m
not in the business of staring staring
back at it you know I mean I’m getting
lost back there it’s people say you can
people say a loss can make a break a
fight that but trust me a win can also
make a break a fire because they get
comfortable with it with a win people
can get comfortable with it with a win
and and and slack off then slack off on
the train and slack off on the diet
they’ve won one they’re winners now
that’s not me you know you sleep on a
you sleep on a win and you’ll wake up
with a loss so I just carry on keep
doing what I’m doing and that’s why
these turnaround is so good for me Vegas
straight away
the Fighting Irish head to the fighting
capital it’s it’s perfect continue on
this path the freight train straight to
the top so I get up super early
generally I have this thing where I like
beating the Sun oh not just in terms of
what Sun come down I have to get up and
how do I do it it’s just important to
find balance and I try and do things
really that I really enjoy doing and a
lot of times you know it’s like in life
right life brings like drama and you’re
gonna deal with this person and your
relationship
all these things you try and just kind
of balance them out as best I just feel
like advice that I would that I would
give is just like let yourself be so
consumed in in your art or whatever your
passion is it’s literally the greatest
feeling in the world
it’s like love like it’s you know to
just let yourself be just like swallowed
whole by what makes you feel alive and
what connects you to you know the
universe and that inner voice it there’s
nothing more more beautiful than that
and it’s such a it’s such a selfless
thing to share that you know to share
that with the world because I think I
love that there’s and there’s this quote
I can’t remember it word for word but
this guy’s has something like share your
share your talent and share your dreams
of the world because what the world
needs is more people who come alive
something yeah something along those
lines but yeah because you know by you
just expressing yourself
you kind of ignite you can you know
ignite a fire in somebody else sure to
express myself in some way you know like
and that was just in your said I would
just make us all like so much happier as
people you know what I mean like just do
everything do everything for love and
you’ll you’ll feel so fulfilled I mean
doing the same thing I mean just being
known for like one thing your whole life
it’s a that’s sad you know I there’s we
all have so many interests I’m sure and
so you know to get to make jobs of them
all or jobs if you could call it that
but to make businesses out of them all
and see them on a daily basis in your
light and how you visualize them is
really cool and fun and we can all do it
we all can do it so many people are so
afraid to try something because they’re
like oh like I can’t leave my job
because I’m you know I have to pay bills
or you know it’s like we’ll start small
then but don’t say you can’t because as
many times you say you can’t you’re not
going to if you don’t think you can you
won’t thoughts become things a lot of
people kind of mean they say well I want
to be an entrepreneur and I go that’s
great what’s your idea and they go well
I don’t have one yet
and I say well I think you should go get
a job as a busboy or something till you
find something you’re really passionate
about because it’s a lot of work and I’m
convinced that about
half of what separates the successful
entrepreneurs from the non successful
ones is pure perseverance it is so hard
you pour so much your life into this
thing there are such rough moments in
time that most people give up I don’t
blame them it’s really tough and it
consumes your life I mean if you’re if
you’ve got a family and you’re in the
early days of a company it’s I can’t
imagine how one could do it I’m sure
it’s been done but it’s rough I mean
because it’s a pretty much you know an
18-hour day job seven days a week for a
while so unless you have a lot of
passion about this you’re gonna not
survive you’re gonna give it up so
you’ve got to have an idea or a problem
or a wrong that you want to write that
you’re passionate about otherwise you’re
not going to have the perseverance to
stick it through and I think that’s half
the battle right there it’s hard to
remember how bad it was you know in
1980s with IBM taking over the world
with the PC with Doss out there it was
it was far worse than the Apple – and
they tried to copy the Apple – and they
done a pretty bad job and if you needed
to know a lot and so things were kind of
slipping backwards and Macintosh was you
saw the 1984 commercial you put that I
hope you have that in your archives
you know Macintosh was basically this
this relatively small company you know
in Cupertino California taking on the
Goliath IBM and saying wait a minute
your way is wrong this is not the way we
want computers to go this is not the
legacy we want to leave this is not what
we want our kids to be learning this is
wrong and we are going to show you the
right way to do it and here it is it’s
called Macintosh and this is so much
better that it’s going to beat you and
we are going to do it and that’s what
Apple stood for fashioned believe that I
can
only should expect to make money and
things that I understand and when I say
understand I don’t mean understand you
know what the product does or anything
like that I mean understand what the
economics of the business are likely to
look at look like ten years from now or
20 years of now I know in general what
the economics of say Wrigley chewing gum
will look like ten years now the
internet isn’t going to change the way
people chew gum it isn’t going to change
what you come they chew you know if you
own the chewing gum market in a big way
and you’ve got double mint in the super
mint and juicy fruit those brands will
be there ten years from now so I can’t
pinpoint exactly what the numbers are
gonna look like on Rigby but I’m not
gonna be way off if I try to look
forward on something like that that
evaluating that company is within what I
call my circle of competence I
understand what they do I understand the
economics of and I understand the
competitive aspects of the business so
figuring out the economic consequences
TV
I think there’s I don’t know 20 25
million cents a year sold in the United
States I don’t think there’s one of them
made in the United States anymore I mean
you’d say TV set manufacturer what a
wonderful business side everybody now
nobody had a TV in 1950 or thereabouts
45 to 50 everybody has multiple sets now
nobody is in the United States and made
any real money making the sense that
they’re all out of business
you know the Magnavox is the RCA is all
of those companies radio was the
equipment of the twenty over 500
companies making radios in the 1920s
again I don’t think there’s a u.s. radio
manufacturer at the present time but
coca-cola you know I was at 1884 Jacobs
pharmacy or whatever and fellow comes up
with something a lot of copiers over the
years but now you’ve got a company that
is selling roughly 1.1 billion eight
ounce servings of its product not all
cokes bright and some others daily
throughout the world 117 years later so
understanding the economic
characteristics of a business is
different than predicting the fact that
an industry
going to do wonderfully so I look at the
internet businesses or look at tech
messes I say this is a marvelous thing
and I’d love to play around on the
computer and it now I ordered my books
from Amazon and all kinds of things but
I don’t know who’s gonna win unless I
know who’s gonna win
I’m not interested in the best thing
I’ll just play around on the computer
and defining your circle of competence
is the most important aspect of
investing it’s not how important how
large your circle is you don’t have to
be an expert on everything but knowing
where the perimeter of that circle of
what you know and what you don’t know is
and staying inside of it is all
important Tom Watson seniors started IBM
said in his book he said I’m no genius
said but I’m smart in spots I stay
around those spots and you know that is
the key so if I understand a few things
and I stick in that arena I’ll do okay
and if I don’t understand something but
I get all excited about it because my
neighbors are talking about stocks are
going up everything they start fooling
around someplace else eventually I’ll
get creamed and I should tend to be
incredibly modest in terms of describing
your talents and you you always seem to
belittle your your abilities to a
certain extent when clearly there
there’s a reason why this everything you
do has been working out I was reading
about how you said that to a certain
extent that comes from your your punk
rock roots yep there’s no other choice
in those days there’s no idea of this
makes money there’s no idea like this is
my future it was like a week at a time
they have five shows we’re gonna get to
Sunday and even those days were like
fraught with turbulence and so I never
really saw a future none of us did and
some of us you know didn’t make it some
of them are dead and some of them are
just kind of trying to recreate their
past and so I realized that I have to be
very hard-working
because I don’t have kind of the ease of
talent and I come from that I think it
you know a lot of ways that served me
very well in that I
is kind of hard working as I’ve ever
been completely on without confidence
and I have none I don’t I don’t want any
because I think you turn your back on
the thing and that’s when you get gored
is when you think I got this I never
think I got this I think oh man don’t
screw this up and I go at everything
like including you and I sitting here
right now
I’m trying to be fully engaged and that
intensity I think has served me quite
well but it comes from punk rock
absolutely last boss I ever had was my
boss at haagen-dazs I have my ice cream
shop and to this day he still comes to
my shows and whenever I see Steve who
got me my first apartment who believed I
was living in my car he believed in me
whenever I see him I get all weepy hey
it’s good to see you sir Henry you can
call me Steve I can’t do that sir
because because he trusted me with his
money and and I said let me run your
store I know how to do this I can do
this he’s like well if you screw up
you’re out of your I said I won’t screw
up and I end up being I ran a store and
so um it was but it was anger that said
I’ll be here all damn week I’ll get this
whole thing right I fired his staff and
rehired a bunch of people can really
work and it’s it was out of anger like
I’ll be back in four hours to run this
$3 and 75 cent our job into the ground
and then I joined Black Flag and I
thought I was a hardworking person then
you meet the guys in Black Flag who are
so driven you’d see Greg Ginn work 23
hour days like Greg you’re still on the
phone I know Greg when did you eat I
don’t know
Greg when the last time you showered do
we have a shower like the guy we were
not going to be stopped and I kind of go
at that intensity what kind of anything
I do like you’re very calm good-looking
young man look at me I’m a spaz sitting
next to your I’m doing an interview with
you focus I’m sweating ma’am and so
but I’d like this going to the airport
like ten miles out and so it’s but it’s
anger that has informed kind of my life
and unflatteringly a sense of vengeance
every damn person who said I wouldn’t be
anything I’m crushing them every day
everybody I had to endure in any band I
was in everyday into a powder yeah thank
you and I wish them no ill I just wish
to shine brighter and if it burns my
body to a crisp I’m happy to go right
now so you consider yourself lucky very
lucky but you have to have talent to
meet the luck right somebody hands you
the ball and you run you know I mean and
if you get hit you get hit or maybe you
make it through you never know but tell
me and I I just know that somebody
handed me the ball of a certain point
and I was hungry enough to keep running
and I’m still running I maintain a
hunger but not an ambition you know I
I’m very happy to explore all
possibilities of a character and and
really you know dive in to to the role I
mean even to the point of where you know
Disney wanted to wanted to fire me they
wanted to fire you from Pirates yeah
because they couldn’t understand what I
was doing you know they didn’t
understand the character they were
actually were contemplating subtitling
the film you know have the fearlessness
to really take those shots you know
because you missed those shots then you
have to deal with the criticism you have
to deal with us talking about it right
right right so you know a lot of times a
lot of people kind of be a little
apprehensive about taking their shots
because of that while we mention it
seemed but you start smiling away just
well it’s it’s it’s always it’s always
been a myth to me as to why certain
people don’t really like those
situations because of the the pressure
you know because we’ve all lost games
before so it’s not like by you missing
that shot you’re about to face something
that you will never face again or having
faced in the past you know I mean we’ve
all come up short
it’s you know one time or another so
he’s got to kind of let it all hang out
and you don’t trust your skills and
trust the work that you’ve put in
everyone has a problem with time but the
day is 24 hours and we sleep six now I
know there’s some out there that say oh
whoa whoa whoa
I need eight but I say just sleep a
little faster because the bottom line is
we have six hours of sleep 20 files are
available so if 18 hours now available
to your work your family your hobbies
and also to learn something new or to do
something new which could easily be that
you want to learn a new language or that
you want to read and as a New Year’s
resolution I have to read a book every
week or where you say I’m gonna go and
reshape my party so you’re gonna go and
take this hour out of your schedule and
say I’m gonna train an hour every day so
this is for most people a huge challenge
but it is totally doable I can tell them
because the kind of things that I did
when I came to this country I mean I
went to school I was working in
construction I was working out my five
hours a day I was taking acting classes
from 8 o’clock at night to 12 midnight
I was doing all of those things I wanted
to make sure that out of the 24 hours of
the day that I don’t waste one single
hour those hours were too precious and
so they’re just want to tell people
don’t give me this thing I have a
difficult time of it the time and I
don’t have time for this neither of that
you have time you make the time I find
that levels of success in almost any
industry or area correlate to a person
asking great questions in some cases
they seem absurd in fact the hallmarking
way of great questions is that sound
completely ridiculous so someone might
ask why Peter Thiel why can’t you
achieve your
ten-year goals in the next six months as
a thought exercise that’s a that’s
that’s a good question to answer for
yourself and these types of questions
come up surprisingly often with with
very very impressive folks whether it’s
in business military entertainment or
otherwise and the way you can get better
at questions is by studying interviews
in part so I studied Larry King
I studied Charlie Rose I studied Terry
Gross I studied that that go down the
list
I studied Tony Robbins who does in
person one-on-one interventions at his
events in front of ten thousand five
thousand people and he’s just genius
with how he uses questions to like
pattern interrupt and grab someone’s
attention and divert them in a more
productive productive direction now why
is that relevant relevant because
thinking is the process of asking
questions you’re asking yourself
questions and then you’re answering them
in your own head so if you get better at
asking other people questions you get
better at asking yourself questions
which means you are a you’re improving
your thought performance and level of
thinking yeah I started working at this
video store it was pretty much what
you’re talking about around that time
and and it was great at first cuz I’d
always hated day jobs and stuff and so I
got a day job and it ended up being
pretty good but mentally I was there for
five years at a certain point it was our
narcotic all right I didn’t have to keep
pursuing my dreams because you know it’s
not what I want to do but it’s sort of
kind of close and if I didn’t have an
artist soul burning in me I could have
made myself happy with that i could if i
if i didn’t have an artist soul burning
to get out i could have you know walked
backwards a couple steps and just done
that and i would have been a fulfilling
to anybody else it would have been a
fulfilling life it wouldn’t been for me
because i wouldn’t know and i would have
had something to say that i didn’t get a
chance to say but it did put me to sleep
for a while and and i’ve always just
thought i mean what really got it got
everything kind of truly going for me
you could point out a lot of different
things but the bottom line is the fact
that i realized that the even the group
of people i hung around
with they were all great great great
fellas and great gals but you know I was
easy for me to think that I was doing a
lot because I was doing more to try to
move myself forward than they were but
you know that’s not yeah yeah okay I’m a
big fish in a puddle so what all right
they’re not doing anything so yeah I’m
doing more than them but I realize that
actually I need to get my ass out to
Hollywood and meet other people who are
you know like they were in my category
or or working a little higher and and I
should be the weakest link in my chain
that I have and that’ll make me be
stronger or make me run faster I mean
like an analogy I’ve always used is
alright if you run the hundred yard dash
with a people that can’t run as fast as
ya you’ll win hands down you know that
but if you run with people much faster
than you all right yeah you might come
in last every single time but your time
will be better because they’re making
you run all the faster they’re making
they’re making you dig down just a
little bit more it doesn’t matter that
you and your time is faster and that’s
what I knew I had to do I had to get out
of Loserville and throw myself into a
place where like this is what they do
for a living
one night Chris had gone to bed I’ve
been struggling struggling struggling we
still had all the same problems I we
stalled a lien on the house still facing
bankruptcy still fighting like crazy I
was still unemployed
he still they still hadn’t figured out
like the solution yet for the business
and I was about to turn off the TV and
there on the the TV there was this
rocket launching and I thought oh my
gosh I am gonna launch myself out of bed
like a rocket ship like NASA right here
had launched me out of that bed and I’m
gonna move so fast that I don’t think
hmm I’m gonna beat my brain now here’s a
really interesting point I talked a lot
about your instincts and inner wisdom
and we can get into this a little bit
later but a lot of us talk about the
you have a gut feeling but what all this
research that I’ve done for the book and
and all the speaking that I do what I’ve
discovered that’s fascinating is
actually when you set goals when you
have an intention on something that you
want to change about your life your
brain helps you what it does is it opens
up a checklist and then your brain goes
to work trying to remind you yeah of
that intention that you set and it’s
really important to develop the skill
and I say that word purposefully the
skill of knowing how to hear that inner
wisdom and that intention kicking in and
leaning into it quickly so for me my
brain saying that’s it right there move
as fast as a rocket Mel I wanted to
change my life and I think most people
that are miserable or that are that are
really like dying to be great and dying
to have more we want to change we want
to live a better life we want to create
more for our families we want to be
happier the the desire is there again
it’s about how do you go from knowledge
to actions so the first thing in the
story that’s important is realizing that
the answer was in me and my mind was
telling me pay attention I could have
also been the Bourbon anyway the next
morning the alarm goes off and I
pretended NASA was there it’s a
stupidest story I literally went 5 4 3 2
1 I counted out loud and then I stood up
and I’ll never forget standing there in
my bedroom it was dark it was cold it
was winter in Boston and for the first
time in 3 months I had beaten my habit
of hitting the snooze button I couldn’t
believe it and I thought wait a minute
counting backwards that is the dumbest
thing I’ve ever heard in my entire life
well the next morning I used it again
and it worked the next morning I used it
again and it worked the next morning I
used it again and it worked and then I
started to notice something really
interesting there were moments all day
long all day long just like that
five-second moment in bed where I
ooh knowledge what I should do and if I
didn’t move within five seconds
my brain would step in and talk me out
of it every human being has a
five-second window might even be shorter
for you you have about a five-second
window in which you can move from idea
to action before your brain kicks into
full gear and sabotages any change in
behavior because remember your brain is
wired to stop you from doing things that
are uncomfortable or uncertain or scary
it’s your job to learn how to move from
those ideas that could change everything
into acting on I believe people are
bullied because of the image that they
they projected when I was young had a
lot of a big lack of confidence and in
my school where I used to go there
either the lincoln teenager they used to
pick on the younger kids that were sent
there because they used to dad problem
with their family raised by single
father or mother like alcoholic
somewhere or orphan and you know they
grew up in a bad environment with a lot
of violence so the only way of
communication they had it was true
violence and they used to apply that to
the younger kid in school and I was
victim of that unfortunately so so that
thing is that when I go to do conference
the people why why you get bully
sometimes because the imageview project
if you look down raise their shoulder
and look like a weakling in like in
nature the lion will always go for the
animal who’s weak whose anger in same
thing in society the people will bully
that easy target and when I was young I
had a big problem with confidence you
know I used to people look down you know
I didn’t have older brother or older
cousin to defend myself I was by myself
you know and I got picked on because I
was an easy target like this so what
martial art taught me is to stand up
straight when I look I talk to people I
look in the eye when I shake hand I’m
firm and the way I start to carry myself
the body language transform me it’s that
I stop being bullying not because I
start beating up people right just
because I the way I was starting to
the way I was starting to the the
projection that I give to people change
and that’s what makes it stop it’s not
about being tall now it’s about
presenting an and look tough and look
confident look confident about same
thing in business same thing when you go
ask a girl on a date absolutely good I
am sorry I am I don’t want to bother you
but please could you think you could
come with me Saturday night to Darrell
you know like it wouldn’t work you know
like they go ask you for a raise look
like a loser you don’t you have to be
for you know confident guy you know so
the most important part of getting to a
goal is to start feeling it now is to
start acting as if right if you want to
be that leader if you want to be that
author if you want to be that painter
all it takes is one action and you truly
are in the process of becoming it so
it’s funny that I am literally basically
done with the book and I’m like can I
call myself an author yet I’ve written a
book of course because you have taken
the action you’re doing the actions
there is no final anointing of anyone
there’s no ceremony there’s no fireworks
you just start acting as if and feeling
it and envisioning it and picturing it
and soon enough you become it right so
everybody starts somewhere so whether
you are a famous ballerina or an Olympic
swimmer they all started somewhere they
all had to take that first class they
all had to take that first leap into the
water right and at what point can you
start calling yourself a swimmer a
dancer an author it’s the second that
you start taking action and you start
thinking it and you’re feeling it right
it’s about embodying it so my biggest
tip for you is to start seeing yourself
as that person and start taking the
small actions of being that person that
you want to be that’s the only thing
that is separating you from actually
being it so you have to act as if in
order to
really start getting that ball rolling
and all of a sudden you are obsession
without a core value than anybody else
ever dreamed of
I made my entire life from the very
beginning days was how do I do more for
others than anyone else on earth how do
I give them experiences that are lasting
how do I create change what change was
impossible how do I take somebody from
the therapy for seven years in an hour
produce that result and the way I did
that was by challenging traditional
psychologists and psychiatrists and
getting on national radio and saying
given you were stationed on handle in an
hour which was pretty abrasive you know
as a young kid you can get by with that
stuff but the best part was I backed it
up and so one of the first interventions
I did was in Vancouver British Columbia
Canada on the radio and this
psychiatrist got on the phone and just
on the radio wide I’m just passionate
you are a liar you’re a charlatan people
like you should not be loud on the radio
and I said sir I said I said are you you
know scientists the course of a
physician I said well scientists would
never make it a sumption I said you’ve
never met me right now you’ve never been
quiet snow and you call me a liar on
national radio I said she must be
stating your hypothesis your hypothesis
is that I’m gonna water it off again and
if you’re stating hypothesis and you’re
truly a scientist you gotta be willing
to test it am i right yeah yeah it’s a
great not doing a free guest event the
Holiday Inn tomorrow night anyone
hearing my voice can come I’m going to
do a series of demonstrations and I’m
gonna take one of your clients and turn
around I said share with me somebody
that you’ve never been able to change I
said I’m sure you got plenty of those
you want to play hardball quite harmful
because wait a lot of patients that
aren’t me to change it I said I haven’t
found any course I’ve done 3 therapies
total but I’m simply a long story short
he told me this one we’ve been working
on for seven years what a snake phobia a
phony is not just a fear it’s a funny
controlled response to fear so like she
dreamed the snake would bite her on the
face and then the adrenaline shoots her
body and wake her up and there’s a nap
in four to seven times a night seven
years so you know he was put in the
corner and so he brought her down it
took me about 15 minutes at the end of
it I tested the first one she was
trained in shaking and then I wrapped
the snake around her and that changed my
entire career because in that moment
every
there’s no question everybody on earth
under this woman is transformed I said
you’ve been treated by that psychiatrist
for how many years
yeah then I took on sports stars that I
cannot turn around you know I did some
work with Mother Teresa and Nelson
Mandela
and as the years went by it just built
the doctor though I worked most of my
life in high school there was Stuart’s
cleaners after school would go there I
would put the drape on the hanger the
sleeve on the hanger and the janitor of
all the cleaners clean everything up I
worked for a dollar and a quarter an
hour
the only reason was a dollar in a
quarter in hours because the steward had
to pay that it was required by law or
he’d be giving me 50 cents an hour it
was a very tight very tight wad guy so I
come in one day after school and he says
to me to go to work he says Johnny
c’mere want to talk to us okay taja
stirry says Johnny I was upstairs
yesterday and I napped after I finished
working I was tired and I dropped my
watch on the floor I put on the tape one
on the floor and I went down I picked it
up and I noticed under the cot I was
lying on there was no dust
I moved the cot there was no dust I
looked behind the filing cabinets there
was no dust or whatsoever zero dust you
really are a great janitor I said it’s
my job to do what I do when I do it not
when someone else is looking tie this
guy in the world gave me a 25 cent raise
$2 50 where I went to high school a
highest-paid kid and maybe a dolphin the
neighborhood we didn’t have a lot of
money in those days
what it was was if people if humans can
imagine doing what you have to do when
nobody is watching you you’re doing is
if someone is right there watching you
and in your free time you’re not trying
to elongate something you’re doing what
you should do without people watching
you do it really think creativity is
important whether whatever you do I
think it’s fun to be creative with meals
that you cook or meals that you eat or
vacations that you go on or eights that
you said you know I just think it’s fun
to be creative everyone likes that and I
think authenticity is just super
important I might be hyper aware of it
because
I grew up in an industry that’s wrought
with inauthenticity that people will
look you right in the face and and
totally tell you what you need to hear
at the moment I don’t think that’s
unique to that industry but it’s filled
with it there so I I think transparency
and authenticity is just super important
I don’t mind having conflict with
someone if we can then be done with it
it’s that years spent where you know
that something’s going on and you’re not
talking about it those awful
Thanksgivings with the family of cousins
you’re like hey Jim hey Neela I hate
that I hate that life’s too short for
that stuff I always want to constantly
evolve you know I always want to
constantly grow on everyone that get to
a point where I feel like I got to
figure it out you know I always want to
like kind of I push myself to be better
you know and do and do greater things no
matter what it is I mean I want to be
the best I’m a competitor you know I
like to compete you know like growing
out with you know with the name Michael
Jordan and I’ve always had a certain
pressure pressure on on myself and and
always having to kind of like you know
prove people wrong and
then I just gotta kind of kind of put an
instant chip on my shoulder I want it
just to be great you know and do great
things and um and then and also help
people man I’m really big in the next
generation I feel like that’s all I
thought that’s the only way it’s gonna
get better moving forward as if you know
you gotta leave this world in a better
place than it was when you came in you
know 187 – question mark I don’t know
when I’m gone and I’m saying but I’m
gonna work on my – and I’m saying I
won’t we’re going at that time that I’m
here and it is some and I I could
make it easier for the next round of
filmmakers and the next round of actors
coming up you know that’s it
and I mean then I didn’t yeah
I’ll be I’m continually going out on
that so I’m bringing up this failure
this quit this quitting I’m bringing
this up to you now because I don’t
giving up on that video made me realize
that I need to focus more on my YouTube
videos you know my head’s been really
focused on on beam and on family and all
these other things happening in my life
but I still got all these crazy ideas
and instead of investing a bunch of time
to realize those ideas like I used to I
try to rush them and it always leaves me
with something that that’s
unsatisfactory so I’m just bringing all
this up to you now to let you know I’m
gonna be giving my videos more focus and
more attention because this is kind of
the only thing gives me a tremendous
sense of fulfillment in my career kind
of in my life beyond family and stuff
and I missed that I want to get back to
that really sad to see that people are
disenchanted and nihilistic and
depressed and anxious and aimless and
and perverse and vengeful and and all of
those things it’s terrible and then to
see people question whether that’s
necessary and then to start to rise out
of it it’s like it’s so fun like last
night I was at after my talk it’s
I don’t usually think about these things
but I was I was after my talk last night
and so all these people line up and you
know they have their 15 15 seconds with
me and they’re kind of tentative they’re
excited and a tentative when they come
up to talk to me and then they have you
know 15 seconds of time to tell me
something I’m really listening to them
and they’re hesitant about whether or
not to share the good news about their
life you know and I think it’s often
because when people share good news
about their life people don’t
necessarily respond positively you know
they don’t get encouragement and people
need so little encouragement it’s just
unbelievable and so they tell me
something good and I’m a god that’s so
good you know if somebody says oh I’m
getting along way better with my father
I haven’t seen him for 10 years and now
we get along not great and then the
power of that you can’t overstate the
power of that for individuals to get
their life together the individual is an
unbelievably powerful force and every
single person who gets their act
together a little bit has the capacity
to spread that around them it’s it’s a
chain reaction and so it’s a lovely
thing to see you need to bet on your
strengths and don’t give a about
what you suck at you’re gonna way too
many people in this room are gonna spend
the next 30 40 years of their lives
trying to check the boxes other things
that they’re not as good at and that
you’re gonna waste a load of time and
lose I highly recommend auditing
yourself or if you have no empathy or EQ
or self-awareness then find somebody in
your family or friendship that does and
let them tell you who you are and once
you believe that either for yourself or
someone else told you go directly all
chips all into that because that is the
only possible way in my opinion watching
from the outside that is let me rephrase
that is a very highly likely way of
over-indexing because the truth is if
you want to be an anomaly you’ve got to
act like one you know like and so that’s
it that’s what I got so thanks for
having me just saw this Rumi quote that
I love set your life on fire and seek
those who fan your flames the Phillie
translation of that is don’t be hanging
with no jank ass Jokers
that don’t help you shine the
prerequisite for spending time with any
person is that they nourish and inspire
you
they feed your flame look at your last
five text messages are those people
feeding your flames or dousing your fire
put your phone down for just a second
and look around look to the people
around you are those people throwing
logs on your fire or are they pissin on
it the people that you spend time with
are gonna make or break your dreams
everybody don’t deserve to be around you
you got to defend your light with your
life so who are the people in your life
that are fanning your flames shout them
out tag on below almost 90% of sales
managers say they don’t have truck time
you know and again it goes back to look
if you knew it was gonna bank you money
today would you make time for it
so they would they would make time for
it cuz they make time for the things
that make the money if you if you have a
customer hopefully if you have a
customer and you’re working to deal with
that customer and you got a hamburger in
front of you hopefully you’re going to
push the hamburger aside and work that
deal because the priority is to make
money on in the same in the same
conversation that sales manager does not
believe that sales training converts to
ROI or money so he doesn’t make the time
for it when you say you don’t have time
if the truth is you’re saying I’m not
making it a priority because I don’t
think it makes me money one of the big
challenges for everybody having a unique
idea and then taking it through to
fruition is always hard right it’s never
easy there’s always people are going to
question you and being able to take that
first step and fight through all the
naysayers you know it it it’s a process
but once you start to get traction
whether it’s uber whoever maybe you know
and you’re taking steps that nobody else
has that’s when you really have to fight
and you know now particularly where we
don’t have an administration that’s
particularly tech illiterate I think
there’s going to be new challenges and
so the companies that are emerging today
maybe some of them are here at South by
Southwest you know maybe it’s going to
be a little bit more difficult but still
there’s there’s no
need and it’s no less important you know
it’s as the world changes and I think
it’s going to change more over the next
ten years technologically than has the
past thirty we’re going to need people
to disrupt and make our make the world
better one of the most difficult choices
I have ever faced in life was was in
2008 and I think I had a good but maybe
thirty million dollars left thirty or
forty one dollars left in 2008 I had two
choices I could put it all into one
company and then the other company would
definitely die or split it between the
two companies
and but if I split it between two
companies then both might die
and you know where you put your blood
sweat and tears into creating something
and so it’s like which one am I gonna
let one starve to death I can bring
myself to do it surprise I split the
money between two fortunately thank
goodness
dig with you through why do you
prioritize sleep so highly just curious
of what makes you so committed to that
and the science behind it thank you for
all you do I find that I’m slower when
I’m fatigued so I find myself drifting I
have more symptoms of what we’ll call ad
ad D so that my attention is just drift
drift drifts and then I find I’ll read a
sentence or whatever and be like kind of
to reread the sentence like ten times so
that was just going whoa I’m not as
efficient as I could be and then the
other is I find it a unique form of
misery there is an additional ring of
Hell that is saved just for people who
are fatigued I hate it so much
so it’s misery and I don’t understand
people that live a life that is
miserable I just don’t get it and then
on top of that I think you actually
accomplish less if you’re fatigued so
you’re putting more hours we’re actually
getting less done per hour so if being
fatigued puts you at like 0.6 of what
your output could be and then being just
like incredibly well rested prioritizing
that put
you at you know it’s I guess
mathematically I should be saying just
one then like you have to make up forty
percent of the number of hours and
waking up early just to break even and
then you put misery on top of that so
that that’s my end of one experience is
that I am so deadly efficient when I’m
rested that I just get more done so
comparing those suicide by side I get I
actually accomplish more I believe we
all are raised as fighter jets just we
get neutered by parents by grandparents
because of the filters they had and
viewed life through the experiences they
had teachers who go you don’t want to
disappoint yourself just go to college
go get a good job go to college don’t go
to college today don’t go to college
it’s the worst thing you can do and
that’s going to be a doctor or an
attorney and or accountant or you know
some kind of an architect don’t go to
college you can do a lot more in life
with that go to college and so again
teachers professors will end up
neutering us and when they take they
take that fighter jet that hunger the
claws and fangs they defend us alright
so now we’re crop dusters I don’t want
to take too many risks I just want to
live a good life and they want to be
average and mediocre that’s the crop
duster yet everyone inside has this
hunger see the fighter jet didn’t go
away it’s just been suppressed
you’ve been neutered and that was me
like hey don’t take big grace just go
get a good job go be a smart technician
like that was the advice I was given go
be a smog technician right so I’d be the
guy putting the probe in the tailpipe of
your car and then saying you can go get
your car registered Tom that was it that
was it and so I realized very quickly
that I’ve got this hunger inside me as I
talked to others they got this hunger
inside them ha that’s the fighter jet
trying to get out that’s the cause and
things trying to grow but the society
parents who ever have set the standard
for you to not play it safe take risks
what if you lose what have you lose who
care as long as you don’t die you can
come right back
and so the fighter jet mentality is that
someone who is just determined
relentlessly obsessed in achieving an
outcome in the face of all adversity the
crop duster is someone who’s always
looking for the easiest path the
loophole which what I used to be a
severe crop duster at the crop duster
hits the snooze button every day because
they’d rather take ten more minutes of
mediocre sleep then getting up and
dominating their path every morning on
my nightstand there’s two stacks of
dominoes lined up and at the top of this
stack says you’re a loser the top of
this one says you’re a winner if I hit
the snooze button I’ve hit that first
domino in the loser stack the rest of my
day is gonna suck now with that
mentality am I gonna ever hit snooze
again absolutely not because I’ve sold
myself on the idea that when I hit the
snooze button I’m an absolute loser I’m
scum of the earth I am my day is
destined to be now some people go you’re
being awfully hard on yourself more
people should be hard on themselves we
go around bubble wrapping ourselves
right we leave the training bills on for
too long like be hard on yourself take
the bubble wrap off take the take the
training wheels off no one did that for
me man we came to this country and it
was just like hey go figure it out but
it was don’t take risks to go get a good
job that’d be a fighter jet be a fighter
jet go to battle every day take risks
that’s what a fighter jet does a crop
duster has a routine life and it’s
boring there’s this governor on our
lives and it is a governor and it’s a
it’s your identity it’s this internal
it’s what you think you’re worth it’s
what you think you deserve and the
problem for good people see we all know
someone right now in our life where we
have who’s not ethical who’s not a good
person who’s winning and you’re like I
can’t believe they’re getting it right
why can’t I I’m a good person I treat
people well I’m honest here’s a reason
why by the way the unethical person
eventually karma you reap what you sow
comes home to roost but if you’re a good
person this is so important people
understand this because it took me a
long time a good person in any endeavor
will only take from it what they think
they deserve what they think they’re
worth in other words if there was a
pizza here you’re a good person you
don’t take all 12 pieces a good person
thinks there should be an equitable
distribution layer so I might take seven
or eight arm-wrestle you I don’t know
about your moose butt but long story
short what is is that you a good person
will not take more from the table of
life than they think they’re worth or
they think they deserve and so you have
this Governor on your identity so what
happens is our it’s like a thermostat
our lives get going
we start doing really well if we’re a 75
degree or and our life gets to 85 and 90
degrees unconsciously we go we don’t
know we’re doing
oh we we start to cool life back down to
get it back to where we’re comfortable
that reverse is also true when things
start to go really bad and you’re broke
and you’re struggling you find a way to
heat your life back up to what you think
you’re worth than you deserve so the way
we alter our life is sure we got alter
our behavior and our relationships and
our circumstances but the only way it’s
permanent is that we alter that governor
that thermostat and we start to believe
we’re worth eighty five degrees of life
ninety five degrees of life a hundred
and ten degrees of life and there’s ways
we can alter that how do we alter it a
couple different ways a one is what you
just said is that you put yourself in
circumstances that are demanding if you
pass what you think your capacity is and
when you succeed at them you build a new
water line you do your you throw
yourself out there past where you’re
comfortable and you do an 85 degrees
behavior and you knock it out of the
park and you go hi your brain starts to
believe it repetitiously when you start
doing that you build a new line now
you’re 85 degrees that’s number one
the second way though is Association if
you’re around people and whatever that
endeavor is if it’s a sport you’re in or
if it’s a business or your faith or your
peace if you begin to associate with
people who live in that space at a
higher temperature than you through
association you get heat it up yeah so
if you’re an athlete for example you’re
a 70-degree athlete and you start
training all the time with 85 and 90
degrees your identity through osmosis
goes up if you’re a person is trying to
improve their faith in their life or
their their personal piece about them
you all know this you’ve seen it when
you start to hang around people that are
a little bit more peaceful than you or
meditate a little bit more through that
association over time the thermostat
changes in that area and so it’s both
behaving in certain way and then your
associations yeah I believe that you’ve
lived a life dominated by doubt and fear
that’s how you step in the bravery step
take the step step aggressively towards
your fear and that that step towards
your fear is the step into bravery
because we’re / scared of what we don’t
know and there’s only one way to learn
and to know and that is to confront that
fear you have to step you have to go and
this simple action this simple attitude
it answers so many questions so many
questions how do you get to the gym
every day you step you go how do you how
do you change your diet you step you go
how do you overcome fear of failure fear
of success or or fear of fear itself you
step and how do you face the fear of the
unknown you step don’t wait anymore
don’t think anymore don’t plan anymore
don’t contemplate anymore don’t make any
more excuses or justifications don’t
instead be aggressive take action now
and what is the first action that you
need to take what’s the first step you
need to take the first
step you need to take is just that step
most scared I’ve ever been was being
asked to sing at the MCG for the
Bledisloe Cup and I’m a big rugby fan I
was brought up in Sydney so rugby was my
sport and I said come and sing and I
actually had a panic attack the night
before because all the people I was at a
dinner party and people telling stories
of how careers had finished by singing a
dad doesn’t to her anymore I’ll tell you
that does not happen and that someone
got up and saying it acapella got
off-key got booed literally singing the
anthem and I have never been more scared
than that moment and I what happened to
me in film was it was random it would
appear sometimes and that was something
I never encounter I understand if you’re
scared of heights or always get arts but
some days I’ll be fine and then some
days I would just get nervous and then
to get in my head so I don’t know if you
guys know Anthony Robbins you know the
other motivational motivational do yes
yeah I mean he does motivator he’s not
really motivational guy actually he’s
really quite brilliant in breaking down
how we think the patterns of behavior we
have and so I met him we were mates I
never went to him to I never went to one
of his workshops we were just friends
and I really I said mate I want to come
to you professionally I need to ask you
a question and that’s he said to me what
the biggest mistake people make with
fear is saying I’m scared get I hate
this get it out I don’t want you near my
life this is not helping me and you get
obviously really wound up so he said
you’ve got to remember the times we feel
confident name that character name the
character that feels scared and as
you’re walking on a set realize that the
fear is good that a got you where you
are that it makes you work their fears
sometimes actually goes on I better work
really hard on this film like when I
with lame ears I was really nervous so
he said that fear you embrace it work
really hard and then on that day when
you walk on set Charles Charlie Charles
thanks but I don’t need you right now
and then be frank as in a total asshole
don’t care about it now and that somehow
switch to me in win occasion we get
nervous I’m a perfectionist like if my
b-roll doesn’t look a certain way
there’s a slight camera shake in just if
I’m shooting in 1:20 and it’s a perfect
moving in close and then oh it just it
just kind of goes up its garbage delete
it I don’t even want to see it I’m even
still at the end of my videos like I’m
pretty much always unhappy with my
videos it’s just like I don’t know I
just don’t like my own stuff and it’s
because I’m so hard on myself and such a
perfectionist so it’s kind of like
liberating also challenging doing a
video like this where it’s like I’m not
gonna have any b-roll in it like there’s
no music I can loop for like 30 minutes
if I wanted to go crazy so like I might
not even put music in this video and
just thinking about that stresses me out
it gives me anxiety but I think it’s
good to like do things that make you
feel so uncomfortable I think that’s
that means that means you’re growing
that means as a creative person you are
you know you are expanding that toolkit
that you have and I think the bigger
that toolkit is the more valuable it is
because you just understand everything
better
so this in and of itself is kind of like
us stepping out of our comfort zone and
doing something that is completely
outside the realm of everything we’ve
done before as far as YouTube goes yeah
from the time I was 7 years old
every Saturday I would go for four hours
of acting class every Saturday whoa and
I loved it I just left it till the point
with all the kids graduated and went on
to the other stuff and I started doing
adult acting classes and then I was in
the commercial classes and then I loved
like a hair and makeup classes and just
everything I just couldn’t go enough I
had to understand was that you you’re
not in competition with with anybody but
yourself so those those grudges you know
those those reasons that you may give
yourself a motivation ultimately are you
know they’re they’re pointless right do
you mad at you imma prove you wrong all
right well when I prove you wrong then
what happened
what happens on Sophie right yes I don’t
that there is no winning that so I had
to understand that if I’m gonna stay
true to what I feel that I can do then I
need to be the one to convince myself
that this is what I’m supposed to be
doing but a lot of people care don’t has
that bounce back so you don’t have a lot
of a lot of people that you know make it
to a certain successful point in life
there’s a lot of people a lot of people
can give up is easy to give up yes it’s
easiest thing in the world to do alright
mom I’m done
ain’t goin oh yeah I’m gonna keep going
yeah that’s what I gonna work the one
yeah I’m hazy it’s very easy but what’s
hard is going yo yesterday I got nothing
from working as hard as I could
nothing happened from net I’m gonna do
the same thing again a day but I’m gonna
try to go harder that’s the hardest
thing in the world to get up every day
and give a hundred percent and and be in
the same position that you were each day
but mentally know that you’re trying and
trying to drive that’s that’s a real
that’s a real grind you can’t really
form other people’s opinions of you and
you know I became successful at a very
young age and I like from the first day
after winning Wimbledon you know you
would think like a teenager wins
Wimbledon but not everyone was positive
about it everyone wanted to know the
story and you know blaming my parents
for having their child to go through
this crazy journey and working hard and
not having a normal childhood like
everyone is always going to find
something in your success or in your
story or upbringing that will try to
knock you down like literally whether
it’s their purpose whether it’s a news
outlet whatever it might be you never
know the intention but yeah I I don’t
want to form people’s opinion I just
want to be and live true to who I am
every day and then that’s the only thing
that I can do you can’t really control
what other people think of you or how
how they end up remembering you being an
actor is the first thing that I remember
wanting to do in life
I remember it 14 15 years old watching
some classic films not well spending
months and months watching all the great
classics all the great performers of the
past and being so incredibly inspired by
them and saying to myself one day I want
to come close to doing something that
good so that I think that that thirst or
that drive to just achieve what I
believe is something as good as you know
those heroes that I have is what
continues to make me want to I want to
do this and I had about a year and a
half I would audition and I would get
one call back two callbacks three
callbacks and I and I never got the part
and I remember feeling like I’m too
tight you know what I mean I think maybe
I’m studying too much I remember tell
them I talk to myself maybe I’m studying
too much about the import of the line
and and everything and and you know what
I think I need to go back to doing what
I did when I first started which is I
was just a guy and I improvised so I had
a head of film that I was cast for and I
was playing this on the border Mexican
druglord
and I told myself I said I’m not gonna
look at the side I’m not even gonna read
the script it sit on the border Mexican
drug lord I hear the synopsis if I know
my man then I’ll show up and just
obviously I’ll read it right before I go
on and if I know my man that’ll be like
well that’s exactly what he’d say
foolish I go I go I go to set that that
morning all right I’m just gonna all I
got to do is have a glance at it and
it’ll be like yeah I know I know how to
do it well I look at it right before
about to say action and it was a page
and a half monologue in Spanish oh I
remember I felt this drip of sweat come
up on the back of my head and go down
and I and then for whatever reason I
looked over and I said um kinda okay can
you give me about 12 minutes why I said
12 minutes I don’t know I figured it was
like not long enough to be inconsiderate
but but long enough to maybe get a
little bit of this anyway it was I think
I was horrible in it I stammered through
some Spanish and tried to look at line
so then I was like okay that’s not the
way to go
there’s a blend here of davin do your
due diligence do your studyin but then
being able to go there on the day and
relax and throw it all away some of the
most important discoveries inventions
and innovations cut within a field come
from people who are trained in a much
different field and who have an
outsider’s approach
Louis Pasteur was a classic example of
this he was trained as a chemist in
mineralogist
so he brought amidst a much different
way of thinking to the subject of
Medicine and germs a method that was
infinitely more creative Albert Einstein
was a complete outsider his two most
important discoveries came when he was
working at the Swiss Patent Office
Google itself exemplifies this idea it
is perhaps the most successful business
on the planet founded by two men who are
relatively complete outsiders to
business and who therefore structured
and directed their company in a very
novel and creative fashion I could go on
and on and on with this list including
many great artists there are two
important reasons why Outsiders
generally have a creative advantage
first they are less steeped in and
burdened by the conventions of the field
that they are attacking they ask a
different set of questions they approach
problems from unconventional angles and
second they are often trained in totally
unrelated fields and so can make
interesting and creative connections
between two very different forms of
thinking like science and business or
chemistry and medicine or engineering
and design now we can’t all consciously
follow such a path but even within the
careers that were pursuing we can train
ourselves to think like outsiders and
help loosen up the mind in the process I
want to be great in US I want to be the
best player in the league and I won not
work you know to accomplish that goal
and and what it we’re not so I don’t
know what it takes to
make that a definitive answer and I come
out every night with the same mindset
and and obviously LeBron is a
world-class athlete been doing it for
double-digit years in the league and
playing a you know incredible high level
so there’s a sense of longevity there
and just a sheer talent that you know
that he brings but I’m trying to do it
my way and and help my team can until
you get wins and continue to elevate our
our our status to you know whatever you
want to call it but that that team that
everybody knows about this that comes
out ready to play and if I do my job
then things will take care of themselves
for like an entrepreneur not a
salesperson I’m not just an entrepreneur
we’re looking to start a business well
if you can’t sell if you can’t influence
if you can’t persuade good luck
trying to get your business off the
ground I’m not people just your
customers I’m talking about the bankers
the people are venture capitalists your
vendors your credit card processor the
people who work for you how do you get
people to work for you excited how do
you get them excited to get into want to
buy into your vision at the highest
level what sales really is it’s the
transference of emotion and the emotion
you’re transferring is this emotion of
certainty that don’t feel certain yet
it’s a good thing it’s gonna help me
it’s gonna fill my need when you’re an
entrepreneur you’re trying to start a
business and you’re recruiting people
well you’re selling people on your
vision for the future your vision for
this company if you can’t do that a good
luck trying to get great people to work
for you it’s very it’s almost it’s
nearly impossible which is why you what
we see you know the people if they say
oh he’s a visionary well that’s true but
typically not only are they visionaries
they also possess the ability to sell
the vision to other people to inspire
them to motivate them so selling is not
just like you know people think of
selling although a lot of salesmen I
don’t know well yes you do
you need to learn how to influence how
not trying to get your kids to make
their bed or do their homework or
believe in the value of education how
about trying to get a landlord give you
a reduction on your rent ought to extend
the lease of the way you want how about
trying to negotiate terms you understand
it’s it cuts to everything so I always
looking to say you know what when I say
I cracked the code on influence what I
really did essentially was I just I was
you know by working backwards almost
by saying I’m gonna start the end and go
to the beginning say what has to happen
before someone says yes I was able to
take that and put it into the system
that took the no-name talentless guys
and turn them into millionaires
what does manhood mean to you because
for so many people I think manhood means
a certain amount of masculinity a
certain amount of you know holding that
egg not letting it crack what you said
you know how do you crack that egg when
did you realize that you know a certain
amount of masculine strutting wasn’t the
right way to be for me right like you
said people think about that masculine
thing for me it was exactly the opposite
I had to get in touch with my feminine
side yeah to become a true man because
let me tell you the Marlboro guy he’s
always by himself you know but the
problem is his wife can’t talk to him
his kids can’t talk to him he’s marching
off on the horse by himself and then we
said he goes to the woodshed and he’s
crying at 55 because he’s all alone and
I realized that is what was gonna happen
to me if I did not stop this macho thing
and really just come in and touch with
what my kids wanted and you know cuz I
have four girls and it was hard it was
weird cuz I said hey what’s wrong and
they didn’t want to talk to me you start
to realize man I don’t want that future
you know what I mean I don’t want that I
don’t want them to see me as an
adversary I want them to see me as a
friend and I have to really just stop
and come out of my own world and most
guys they feel like it’s being you know
being soft and being pushy and whatever
but get saw get cushy and understand
that you know really really real
toughness is when you can tell people
you’re hurting real toughness is when
you can tell people you know I’m in pain
I don’t feel good right now you know
there was a time I wouldn’t allow myself
to be sad I used to be like okay all
right we’re gonna do some fun right now
and what’s happened I was blocking out
every bad thing in my life and what I
needed to do was deal with it and some
days I just said how did you deal with
it
it’s weird I mean just by acknowledging
it just acknowledging it talking to you
I talked to my wife about it I’ll talk
to my kids about it when my kids come to
me they don’t have to be happy there you
go dad I just don’t feel good today I
don’t hug them and say you know what
that’s how it is sometimes how do we
define success can a bus driver
on the street be defined as successful
and the guy who’s the CEO of that
business not successful so when I
started out on this journey I had the
same definition of success as almost
everyone which is I thought you know the
more powerful you are the more wealthy
you are the more successful you are you
know the Forbes list idea it wasn’t
until I met Steve Wozniak the co-founder
of Apple computers that he completely
redefined my understanding of success
he helped me realize that you know if
you put Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak
side-by-side most people will say Steve
Jobs is more successful but Wozniak
company realize that success has much
more to do with how you define it how
you look within yourself and ask
yourself what do I actually want what
makes me happy and if what makes you
happy is driving a bus and coming home
at 5:00 p.m. and picking up your kids
and playing catch with them and you’re
the CEO of a company and never see your
kids you’re not successful if you’re
miserable if you’re not doing what you
want to do that’s not success so should
we broaden ideas of what it means as a
definition flawed I believe that the
natural human and really Western
definition of success which is more
money more power more prestige isn’t
right look it might be right for some
people who want that but for the vast
majority of people who want to be you
know a mother and working and helping at
their kids school or a father who wants
to be you know involved with their
community I think the idea of the more
Twitter followers you have and the more
money you have is a flauta model you
have to look within yourself and ask
yourself what you want Pettitte of
mindset precedes excellence and that
competitive mindset is trainable it’s
not just words that we can throw around
there’s actually ways to train it so for
calm one of the ways that you train it
is through breathing if you want to
relax your system just a little bit one
deep breath is the beginnings of being
able to do that
if you know that you get a little too
amped up in some types of situations and
then you say to yourself well I’ll just
breathe when I get there you’re way too
late
and so it’s this this consistent process
of training your mind to train your body
to be able to relax on command and that
takes time and that takes practice and
those of you who who struggle maybe with
public speaking or sharing things that
are intimate this would be a beautiful
practice to begin and it’s not more
complicated than setting your timer for
maybe two three minutes maybe six
minutes and just follow your breathing
and that would also be the beginnings of
a mindfulness practice so you can bridge
the two together so we look when we’re
working with competitors and we’re
looking at how they naturally breathe
just in conversation when they start
breathing up here it’s like they’re
closer to choking than you can imagine
and if you just take a test for yourself
and you if you just took a deep breath
right now so just you can do it
privately and quietly do you start your
breath here or do you start it here
naturally babies will start it here and
it’s the most efficient breath down here
because you get the lower lungs
activated and if we’re getting into the
game of high performance what we’re
efficient with our systems the most
efficient we can be and breathing up in
your upper lungs is really inefficient
and it brings us closer to the
opportunities that where we start to
decelerate our ability to be progressive
in thought and progressive in form and
so we want to accelerate all that by
having effective breathing but you have
to train it just the last 15 minutes of
this podcast was so strong from Monday
morning about like where it all starts
with your mind people don’t really
believe that but it’s true really for me
it started when I said I’m getting into
economy I don’t give my credit bureau I
don’t give a about the credit card
people I don’t you about the bank’s
about what I Drive about what my clothes
on because at the end it doesn’t
unless you’re happy for years I worried
about my job and I gotta have white
sneakers or nothing I have a black shirt
on it who gives up at the end of the day
I wasn’t happy I wasn’t happy I didn’t
get happy till I started driving
cross-country with a pair of shorts on
and stinky sneakers and the t-shirt and
you got three pair of jeans and three
shirts and they’re lasting you all week
dog you got like four pair of socks and
you get on a stage that’s what I really
started getting happy when I started
waking up in the morning and knew I had
to drive 200 miles and I had 30 to 50 in
quarters and I had to get lunch with
that reefer and gas to get me that next
location for some reason I’d be happy a
lot happier than making 1,200 a week and
paying my bills I was like this is what
I like I like this oh it’s food for
thought sometimes it’s not about the
money or the dollars it’s about what
brings a smile to your face and once you
find it let yourself go don’t think
about it don’t look back yeah don’t
compare prices yeah don’t listen to your
uncle about taking that roofing job for
1254 stability yeah you know what
stability is overrated don’t stability
is overrated absolutely I think
happiness is doing what you want sort of
health and even in there Broadway I was
in County for I was in comedy for 12
years before I saw a dime yeah we were
getting paid but nothing to write home
about I could have quit at any time in
those 12 years and found the job I would
had tricked somebody into being an
indoor salesman I didn’t want to do that
I would have rather live on eight
thousand a year and do my own thing and
around at night and smoke pot with your
stupid buddies and get on stage and go
into an office Insurance who gives a
when you think about the insurance
that’s when you need insurance the fifth
4:30 is I ran around with no insurance
that never happened to me I’m only gonna
go as far as you think you’re worthy mmm
I can push you can push you can have the
greatest product but if you don’t feel
worthy you will work hard to sabotage
that relationship you don’t know right
you don’t know you’re doing you think
these are the things I need and you’re
driving that guy away you’re driving
that woman away because your self-worth
says they weren’t gonna stay forever
anyway or self-worth around money you
have a cat that you feel like you’re
worthy of a million dollars you will
always get to 999 thousand and you will
stop because your self-worth says it
what’s a good exercise or process that
we can follow on a daily basis maybe
something simple to enhance our
enrichment absolutely worthiness
absolutely I did this for six months
every single day right after I brush my
teeth
and it’s the ICU exercise and you get in
the mirror now it’s not necessarily
simple because because you deal with
yourself of course and as complicated as
you are will be the degree economics of
the mechanics are very simple yes I
appreciate that distinction I’m you get
in the mirror and you complete three
different sentences you want to write
this down the first sentence you look at
yourself and you say your name so you
would say Louis and you complete this is
I’m proud that you and find seven
different things every day to celebrate
yourself for seven different each day
you can do the same thing you did the
day before
but each they do seven different things
to be proud of the second sentence is
gonna knock you down a little bit it’s
gonna come from your gut Louis I forgive
you for and cut the shackles to blame
shame guilt regret and anger in that
sentence you cut those five shackles not
the first day maybe not the third day
but by the 21st day by the thirteenth
day you’ll feel some relief so Louis I
forgive you for and go back five years
15 years 20 years do that forgive you
fit for that thing don’t nobody know
about but you go ahead and cut those
shackles because if you can still think
about it is still in your energy space
and then the third sentence is Louis I
commit to you that before you make a
commitment to anybody else throughout
your day you make seven commitments to
you so the first sentence is I’m proud
that you you’re celebrating yourself
first we are under celebrated as it as a
society we look for acknowledgement they
enter they interviewed a hundred
executives that all made over a quarter
of a million dollars and said would you
like a five percent raise next year or
would you rather be told thank you more
often
100
percent 100% said keep your money I’d
rather hear thank you so we’re under
celebrated but first celebrate you be
the example when I was on Oprah when she
said what do you do I said I recognize
that I’m the example of how the rest of
the world is supposed to treat me and
it’s my job to give the world the best
example of how I like to be treated
so celebrate yourself forgive yourself
cut the shackles and then commit to
yourself before you commit to anyone
else
that right there powerful that right
there will begin to fill your cup up mmm
to get to your sausage I love that think
I’m right in saying that was sometimes
when you considered quitting music is
that true yeah yeah I I’ve always
thought I there was one time in
particular yeah and I’m sort of going on
studying design or something’s always
been a passion of yours yeah I like a
really love design yeah actually I just
finished making continuum handed it in
and my manager played it for the head of
the label and I was what’d he say what
do you say what do you say and the call
I remember was the call came in and he
said uh he doesn’t hear anything on it
he doesn’t hear a hit Watts wants you to
go back and write some more stuff and I
was just like how can you not hear how
special this record is and I just
thought if I can’t do that if I can’t do
this I’m done you know and the record
went on to be really really successful
and my most successful record date I
think and it taught me a big lesson
which is like listen to someone’s record
twice before yeah you give a point of
view on it so now if anyone ever plays
me a song I go play it again people a
lot of times this assumed what it is
they must be saying you and so but that
that day I thought I’m just gonna go to
Parsons and and I love design and I love
where it’s heading and I want to have
something to do with it and I’m still
amateur at it but and how long did that
feeling sort of a dip of disillusionment
well that specific feeling
disillusionment lasts for a couple days
a carer but then but then you take it
yeah a couple days then you pick
yourself up off the floor but I I didn’t
say like I’m gonna quit music and you
didn’t oh I don’t smoke crack I said I
must quit music and go to school which I
would have promptly dropped out of to
start my own design company because I
have to do those kind of things I can’t
actually follow the curriculum
every single day that we wake up we have
been gifted the opportunity of choice
you can choose to be happy or you can
choose to be sad I don’t care what your
situation is you should never allow your
situation to define who you are as a
person I know I lived out of my car for
two and a half years and you know the
story that I told about myself in my
head every day all day long why does
this person get this why does it why is
this always keep happening to me
why do I keep getting this girlfriend
this kind of girlfriend why does this
happen to me
how come this person got this record
deal and I didn’t how come this person
why oh poor pity me shut up Garin Jones
the outside is the physical
manifestation of what goes on inside the
brain things do not just happen no one
just rear-ends your car you don’t just
become broke broke is a mindset things
don’t just happen your pocketbook is not
just below balance or on zero
you’re not just over just by chance
you’re just overweight things don’t just
happen I wasn’t just living out of my
car for two and a half years the outside
is the physical manifestation of what
goes on inside the brain just like you
can think yourself sad or mad or broke
and all of these things you can also
think yourself happy
I’m telling you coming from a guy that
lived out of his car for two and a half
years I have stuff that I haven’t even
posted online day 1 day 2 day 3 day 4
day month like month year it came it was
so bad that I was numb with emotion numb
with emotions crying myself to sleep cry
myself to sleep in my Jeep how
a guy with so much passion live in his
car for two and a half years it was all
because of me I deserved to live in my
car I deserved to be broke
I deserved not to have the opportunities
that I should have been getting and they
weren’t for me but I’ll tell you what
was for me I woke up every day
with an opportunity to choose different
if you want something different you have
to do something different into that
simple
you want something different in life you
have to do something different I don’t
have to give power not only I do not
have to give power to my negative
thoughts I don’t have to give power to
strangers thoughts like people say dumb
stuff all the time and if you don’t like
the way I look or you don’t like the way
I dress
it still doesn’t affect the fact that
I’m still gonna go and be successful and
I’m still gonna go and be the person
that I’m supposed to be even if you
don’t like me what advice to give to
people who focus on other people’s words
all the time how do they move past that
and not let it affect them I think it’s
just I recommend just it’s a practice
it’s literally a practice and I’ve one
thing I’ve started to do especially on
like social media or even if it’s maybe
I’m out on the streets and someone has
something mean to say I will smile like
and I’ve been working with Yahoo Justin
sue eyes so Justin sua is a like a
sports psychologist and he works a lot
of MLB players and he’s been working
with me and something like he was really
helping me prepare for the regional
because I was already like weeks leading
up like an emotional like a religious
relic I think that I hadn’t quite yet
felt things or let myself feel things
that sorry I’d like touched my chameleon
time let myself feel things that were a
natural response to what I had been
through and I was starting to feel them
like I would be completely fine and then
all
I was like I could I could just like
start crying my body I felt anxiety in
my body like not just in my my heart or
my solar my head it was like physically
in my legs and my arms and something he
talked about was like every time you
know if I have a worry or a stress or
maybe I have like a negative thought
about my own performance or something
come into my head it’s like just like
smile at it and like and let it go and I
do that and I do it physically I think
about it I I remind myself that it
doesn’t it really doesn’t matter and we
have thoughts all day we have thoughts
all the time and one of the best things
someone told me one day as he said you
know think of it as like like okay the
birds do what they say birds that fly
over your head we have no control over
them but what we can control if is if we
let them build a nest in our hair so
it’s like we might have these thoughts
so people might say some things but we
can just let them go mmm
and if we you know pay attention to them
or giving them power that’s when it’s
just gonna start like stirring and she’s
gonna create problems and so I
definitely am practicing it all the time
yeah you know and practicing celebrating
myself a little bit more I’m not super
great at receiving compliments huh or
talking about myself for the matter and
I think that’s also stuff that I dealt
with like what the impostor syndrome
type thing like I knew I know that I’m
doing a lot of really amazing things and
and having great opportunity and it’s
not because it’s just like because I’m a
fluke and people are like for a second
thing I’m you know qualified it’s
because I am doing things it’s cuz I am
good at business it’s because I am good
with people it’s because I I do work
hard for my goals I do want to help
people I do love making people happy you
know I love building businesses and
working with teams of people that want
to be successful and make
change differences that’s all real and
so I’m getting a lot better at not only
letting things go that will only cause
grief even though that grief won’t make
a difference and what if I wake up and
get out of bed tomorrow I might like
that you nuts the thing – it’s like
realizing well is that it’s not gonna
change what you do like tomorrow are you
still gonna get up usually getting out
of bed you’re gonna go to work so
realize that if you you have you haven’t
lost chances to be a better person you
haven’t lost chances to love yourself
you haven’t lost chances to like be
successful because we have all these
moments where you literally can just
just do it just be the person that you
want to be just smile with the people
that wouldn’t they walk down the street
because you do want to be a happy person
you know it’s just you just get to do it
in the 18th century there was something
that spread across Europe and eventually
made its way to America
purple fever also known as the Black
Death of childbed basically what was
happening is women were giving birth and
they would die within 48 hours after
giving birth
this black death of childbirth was the
ravage of Europe and it got worse and
worse and worse
over the course of over a century in
some hospitals it was as high as 70
percent of women who gave birth who
would die as a result of giving birth
but this was the Renaissance this was
the time of empirical data and science
and we had thrown away things like
tradition and mysticism these were men
of science these were doctors and these
doctors and men of science wanted to
study and try and find the reason for
this black death of childbed and so they
got to work studying and they would
study the corpses of the of the women
who had died and in the morning they
would conduct autopsies and then in the
afternoon they would go and deliver
babies and finish their rounds and it
wasn’t until somewhere in
mid 1800s that dr. Oliver Wendell Holmes
father of Supreme Court justice Oliver
Wendell Holmes realized that all of
these doctors who conducting autopsies
in the morning weren’t washing their
hands before they delivered babies in
the afternoon and he pointed it out and
said guys you’re the problem and they
ignored him and called him crazy for 30
years until finally somebody realized
that if they simply washed their hands
it would go away
and that’s exactly what happened when
they started sterilizing their
instruments and washing their hands the
black death of childbed disappeared my
point is the lesson here is sometimes
you’re the problem we’ve seen this
happen all too recently with our new men
of science and empirical studies and
these men of Finance who are smarter
than the rest of us until the thing
collapsed and they blamed everything
else except themselves and my point is
is take accountability for your actions
you can take all the credit in the world
for the things that you do right as long
as you also take responsibility for the
things you do wrong it must be a
balanced equation you don’t get it one
way and not the other you get to take credit when you also take accountability