In this vlog, Lewis Howes documents a 14‑hour nonstop flight from Los Angeles to Cairo, where he and the Los Angeles Handball Club explore the Great Pyramids and the Sphinx before competing in the Club World Championships – the first time the club has qualified for the event. The video interweaves on‑the‑ground footage of the historic sites with candid moments inside the pyramid, team banter, and reflections on the club’s year‑long journey. Howes and teammates discuss their original vision to win national and North American titles, qualify for the world stage, and ultimately pursue an Olympic handball dream that has spanned 18 years. They recount the opening loss against a seasoned host team, a decisive 10‑goal victory over Sydney, Australia, and a final 9th‑place finish, emphasizing the learning gained from adversity. Throughout, Howes delivers motivational commentary about manifesting goals, the importance of creating meaningful moments and nurturing relationships, and how his Airbnb hosting helps fund his athletic pursuits. The tone shifts from adventurous travelogue to reflective mentorship, underscoring themes of perseverance, community, and the value of experiences over outcomes.
Chapters
The next 14 hours, we're about to hop on a plane. It's a nonstop from LAX to Cairo. And 14 hours later, we have officially landed in Cairo, Egypt.
We are here at the Great Pyramids visiting the Sphinx. And so many of the amazing historical sites here in Egypt. And the entire Los Angeles team is here.
Are you kidding me? Are you kidding me? We have to go straight up.
Watch your head. Climbing in the middle of the pyramid. I don't think this is how the kings lived back in the day. It's too hot in here. This is their off day. This is where they're resting. But we are sweating. Oh, thank goodness. Holy cow. What the heck? Wow.
What's amazing to you? You are Lewis. Hey, Lewis. I follow you and your wife. Hi, nice to meet you. How are you?
In the middle of a pyramid. Life is crazy. Mike Schmiedel. Oh, I am dripping sweat. Literally in the center. Pyramid life. This is me after the pyramids.
Oh my gosh. We're at the Club World Championships for the first time in Los Angeles Handball Club's history. We finally qualified.
LA on 3. 1, 2, 3.
We had a clear vision. We've manifested it. We don't know what's gonna happen. We're gonna play to win, but these are the best teams in the world that play together every single day, so we don't know what to expect, but we're gonna come with all of our passion, all of our heart, all of our fun to give our best and see what we can do.
At the beginning of the year, this was the dream. It was to win the national championship, win the North American championship, and then qualify for the Club World Championship. I think one of the biggest things that people struggle with the most in their life is wanting things to happen now, wanting things to happen fast. That's one of the things that I struggle with is I have a vision or I have a goal or an idea and I want it to happen now. And this is one of the journeys that I've been on for one of my dreams and goals for the last 18 years now, to play in the Olympics. It didn't happen in the first few years of training for handball. It didn't happen in the first It's taken nearly 2 decades with lots of challenges, lots of adversity, and a lot of criticism throughout this entire time. We lost the first Game. Unfortunately, we didn't play our best. We just finished our first game here with a rowdy crowd behind us. The Club World Championship, tough first game. We had one practice and it's tough to play against a team that just practices every day on the home court with their home fans. So it's a great first experience. Let's go do a better job next time. When we walked into the pyramids, the entryway, it says, man fears time, but time fears the pyramids. And this place has been visited by millions of people a year and it's been around for 4,000 or 5,000 years. And people are still here admiring what this is all about. And something that a lot of people regret later in life is that they never did the thing that they really wanted to do. And when you set out in your mind to create a dream, to create a goal, to create a vision, and to want to manifest something, it's not always going to work according to plan. And that's really what we're here to learn, is how to overcome adversity, how to overcome challenges. You know, if you want to become fitter, stronger, smarter, more successful in your career, the world is going to put obstacles in your way for you to learn how to overcome those things and grow into the person you need to become in order to create and manifest those things you want. Now, there's a season and a time for everything, and not every goal is meant to be pursued at every moment of your life. That's not what I'm saying. But when something is on your heart, you have to— got to be willing to at least go for it. I can live with the fact of failing at something. I can live with it. It's not enjoyable to fail. I don't like failing, but I can live with it by knowing that I went for it. And usually it's not really about whether you win or lose or accomplish the goal at the end or not, or if you're the best-selling author or whatever, people watch your content. It's not really about that. It's the lessons you learn. It's the people you meet. My life has transformed by pursuing so many different goals from Books to the podcast to my business, I've met so many people over almost 2,000 episodes. I've had so many incredible conversations because of the podcast, because of a goal, because of a dream. The handball journey I've been on has been 18 years, and I still haven't accomplished my goal of going to the Olympics yet.
LA on three, one, two, three.
In the second game, we won. We won by over 10 goals against Sydney, Australia, and we started to finally gel together as a team. So I think the first game we just had some nerves, some jitters. You know, we'd only had one practice together, and now the second game we have some more momentum, more fluidity. Life is all about creating memories, making magic, and experiencing life at the highest level. And the only way to win in life is when you create a win-win experience. We're at the Club World Championships for the first time ever in club history. It's been a year-long journey to get here, and it's something we visualized and we manifested, putting in the work and experiencing this. And now we're getting to enjoy the fruits of our labor. And all the guys went inside the pyramid just a few moments ago, and now we're checking out the Sphinx and other cool historical places here by the pyramids. And again, the only way to win in life is when you create a win-win experience at all moments. And that's one of the reasons why I love Hosting and listing my space on Airbnb, because when I'm away, I can list my space at home so that others can come experience adventures and magic and wonder in my space. And I can also earn some extra cash to support my dreams out here playing in the Club World Championships with the guys to make sure that they're experiencing things at the highest level as well. So it's one of the things I love the most about being able to host and list on Airbnb is you get to create magic, you get to create memorable moments for other people, And allow other people to experience the magic of where I live and my community and the restaurants and all the different things that are happening in my city as well. So it's something that I love to do, something I highly recommend with others as well, because it's just so cool to be able to experience these moments and create magical memories. We're at the World Championships and we don't know if we're going to win or lose, but just creating it, doing it, it's about who you become. It's about the memories you make, and it's about the people you get to connect with along the journey.
Congratulations about 9th place in this tournament. Very important tournament for you. 9th place
is good. I wish we would have won the last game here at the end. Uh, the first year getting here for our club, which is a big accomplishment, so we made history with our club. It's a huge victory to be here, to get a win for an American team, and hopefully keep building for the next year.
You have 2 things in life: you have moments and you have relationships, and we can either We either create a vision for our life that is exciting around making beautiful moments come true. And you can either make the most of these moments, or you can focus on all the negative things that are happening in your life, all the things that you're not getting, all the things that are unfair, whatever it might be, and ruin the moment and lose the moment. And the second thing we have are relationships, the people in our life. You know, we don't get to choose We don't get to choose the family we're born into, but as adults, you get to choose how you mend certain relationships, how you make certain relationships, and how you make the most of all the relationships in your life as well. From people you meet for the first time who you'll only get to say hi to for a few seconds, to the most intimate relationships we have. You know, my wife, my kids now. And figuring out how to pour into those relationships with more beauty, with more care, with more thoughtfulness. And I think the fear for a lot of people is, am I gonna waste my life by ruining the moments by going for the dream and it not coming true? But that's not really the focus. It's about making the most of the moments while you pursue your goals and dreams with the people around you. I'm a big believer in the power of community. When you do that, you win. Even if you lose, even if the goal doesn't come true, you win. You win.
