FEEL Lucky! | 10 Steps to Overcome Down Days

Next question is, Evan and Steven, what do you do when you are depressed?

Wow, that's a great question. Um, do you know what? I'm pretty lucky, I guess, because if— if I had bad days, we talked about those, but I tend to have some optimistic people around me. Um, and I say, you know, this is it, and I share vulnerabilities and I have an honest conversation. And I always think that actually, you know, the thing that grounds me most of all is just how lucky I am. And I never forget that, you know. I came from nothing in terms of when I started life. I know I end with nothing because we all go the same way, and we're just on a journey where we've got to do the best we can, make a difference, and follow our North Star. So when I look at, you know, you look across Europe at the moment and the stuff that's happening and the people who are kind of leaving their homes and picking up their bags and their kids and you think, wow, Stephen, you're depressed for a nanosecond, just slap yourself hard and just think of some of the other people out there. Switch CNN on and you'll think, wow, Stephen, you're a lucky boy. And I came to this job and said, I said it when I joined here, I said, honestly, dream job, luckiest boy in the world, and I never forget that. I always hang on to that. I think if you're an entrepreneur, you're following your dreams, doing what you love, building something special and sustainable, serving the people you really care about. Wow, that's— it's a huge privilege and a responsibility. And there's just so many people you can look over your shoulder down any Main Street and think, there's thousands of people less fortunate than me. And that's the biggest kind of injection of optimism that kind of leaves depression behind.

Yeah, I love the idea of injecting more gratitude. It's something I feel like I could do a better job of as well. I think depression is a big word. That's a heavy word. And I honestly don't think I really get depressed because I've created an environment that supports me, right? I'm doing things that I love. I'm surrounded by people who I love. And who love me, who are optimistic, who are trying to do things, both in my personal and professional lives. And that's been by design. And so because I have that support system and I'm doing something that I love, I don't really get depressed. Now, I do have bad days, and I can get down. And what honestly helps me is you guys. Looking at my YouTube comments. If I ever am down, I had a bad day, I'll just go to my YouTube comments and see all of the awesome things you guys are saying about the videos that we're making and how it's impacting you. And that makes me feel like I'm doing something meaningful and I'm having an impact on the world somehow. And so I call those the little whys. And maybe there's a correlation somehow in your business to look at who are some individual customers that you've helped out, you know, you know that you've had a meaningful impact on them, whether it's reviewing all the emails or having a phone call with somebody just knowing that you're making a difference and an impact can really help you kind of rise up a little bit and not be as sad. But if it's like hardcore depression, then I think there's something wrong with your environment. You're either not doing something that you love and/or the people around you aren't supportive of what you're trying to do.

Yeah, I think Evan and I would probably both feel we're both very lucky, because if I have a bad day like Evan, I'll probably go down to the gym, I'll get on the treadmill, I'll listen on my iPhone to The Killers, and I'll come out of that gym feeling, wow, you're a lucky boy, just go for it. But we would totally recognize if people have got serious kind of clinical depression, then we're not the guys to come to. They should go and help, get help, get medical help, get counseling support, because I think that's, outside the scope of this Hangout, but we're talking about bad days. But we're totally sympathetic if folks generally have medical depression. That's a different field.