Most People Die Before Chasing Their Dreams. Don't Be One of Them.

Raise your hand if for the last year you've had an idea for a project, whether it be, I want to write a book, I want to launch a podcast, I want to launch this business, I want to do this thing. It looks like 70, 80% of the room, right? Now watch this. It's going to get interesting.

We just finished a week in Mexico for the handball tournament, but we've got to go catch a bus to get to the airport, then go back to Los Angeles, get in around midnight or 1:00 AM, change, shower, pack, Head to the airport again tomorrow to go to Australia.

I don't know how long that flight is, 13 to 15 hours.

I got asked to speak in Sydney, Brisbane, and Melbourne, and it is the Greatness in Business Series to talk to entrepreneurs to help them really unlock the different challenges that are holding them back from truly stepping into their greatest potential in their business.

I think it's been 16 or 17 years since I've been back here. This is my first speaking tour, Greatness in Business Tour. Excited to really see what the biggest challenges and problems that entrepreneurs in Australia are facing right now. I think it might be similar, but probably some differences to what's happening in USA. Obviously AI is the big thing right now for a lot of people. Probably 99% of people don't understand it and they're not sure how to use it because it's constantly evolving and changing. So they feel so left behind. And I remember the time that I got started in business was around 2008, and I had a big fear of the unknown of just getting into business. I didn't know how to start a business, what the process was. I just got outta college. So it was the fear of the unknown, the uncertainty. And at that time, social media was kind of the new frontier. That was like AI back in the day. And all these business owners and entrepreneurs were afraid of it. They didn't know how to use it. They thought it'd be a fad.

There have been so many times along my journey where I just took massive big chances, and had I not taken those risks, I would not be where I am This is Lewis Howes, and in this video I want to share with you how to— there are a number of different ways to grow your business. How's it going everyone?

Lewis Howes here. And luckily that's kind of where I sunk my teeth in early on, and that helped launch my career. And at the time I didn't have any money, I really didn't have anything to lose, so I could put myself out there and fail over and over again until something stuck. And I think a lot of times when people are already accomplishing something, they already have a set routine or set pattern They're afraid to try something new or go into the unknown. And I think there's a dance and a balance between how to effectively build your personal brand and promote yourself without having to have a big ego or something. And so my intention and my vision while being here in Australia and serving entrepreneurs is finding out where their biggest fears and uncertainties are, and not necessarily teaching them the tools of AI, but teaching them how to master the inner fear inside of them that's holding them back from taking the actions to use AI and other tools to make a bigger difference in their communities.

I think early on in my career, I thought I had to project something in order to be perceived a certain way, and quickly I just realized that's not me. And the more authentic that I can be, the more real, the more vulnerable, the more open, the more honest— once I started to do that, everything started to take off.

Career to a multi-million dollar business enterprise.

And it is risky because you don't have the answers. People are going to make fun of you. They're going to criticize you. And one of the biggest fears that we have as human beings, psychologically, emotionally, spiritually, is we are not going to be loved, liked, or valued. And we all want to be liked by other people. It's part of survival. We think we have to portray something in order to be liked by someone else. But usually that all comes crumbling down, and it's one of the biggest reasons why people don't take a chance. They don't take a risk on their dreams because they're so afraid of what people are going to say or think about them. One of the common themes that I've heard throughout is people living in regret and not wanting to live in regret. And one of the 5 regrets of the dying is, I wish I would have been able to be more authentically myself and not worry about what other people think about me or living a life trying to appease other people.

The one, the only, the man himself, Mr.

Lewis Howes. Most people have been living by a certain type of story their entire lives where they've needed permission for everything.

Most people never actually go for the thing they want because they don't give themselves the word that he said over and over again.

Permission.

So, this event series was really about reminding people and being an interruption for people that you must act now. Otherwise, you will constantly let yourself down. And this is not about anyone else. Giving you permission. It's about you remembering how powerful you are as a human being. Every person that shows up in this room today has walked their own path. They've been on their own journey, they've had their own experiences, and they've shown up today for a reason. And it's my whole goal and intention to bring my experience, to bring my stories, to bring my lessons to hopefully inspiring those attending to take action on their own goals and dreams as well.

Whatever the thing that is exciting inside of your heart that kind of scares you a little bit, that's the thing you got to go for, whatever it is. When I was 22 years old, I was living in a tiny little apartment and it was above a jazz club. Every week they would have a live salsa band.

It was something about the music that was just like, it woke my soul up.

I would sit in the corner and I was So terrified to like get close to the dance floor because I didn't know how to dance. I didn't speak the language. I didn't look Latino. So I was terrified of feeling out of place. My fear crippled me from taking action on something that my heart desired. 3 months in, this one woman finally just takes my arm and like yanks me onto the dance floor. I'm literally trying to pull myself back. My heart wants to go and try it, but my ego is so afraid of what people are going to think about me. Kind of this whole stage right here is probably the size of the dance floor. Packed, and then a live band right in front, just like drumming and singing. I'm in the middle, sweating out of my pits, like so terrified. I'm looking down at this woman's feet. She's trying to lead me at a dance. I'm stepping on her feet constantly. I have no clue what I'm doing. I feel like the biggest loser in the world. She grabs my chin. She like lifts me up, and she says, "Lewis, look around. No one is looking at you." Or you can do the salsa, which both of them did, and then his left foot starts. And it was that moment when I realized, oh, all I needed to do was take one step on the dance floor. You just got to move the hips. You got it.

That's it.

Yeah, you got it.

Allow myself to feel the extreme embarrassment and humiliation that I'm feeling and allow all the fear to just rush from my head all through my body and experience it. And now it's over.

Australia has been a great experience. We got to go to a zoo. We got to pet a koala, hang out with some kangaroos. We took a boat ride under the bridge in Sydney.

Today we got another event here in Sydney. Decided to be up early, see a little bit of the city.

Now we're headed to the Sydney Opera House. The sun is starting to peek out, so we'll catch the sunrise. And one of my favorite parts about traveling is collecting memories and experiences that I'll remember long after the trip is over. And Australia has been full of so many of those moments already. It's also really cool to It's so cool to know that while I'm out here exploring, someone can be making memories in my space back home since I list on Airbnb. And I love being able to play a small part in someone else's trip while I'm out enjoying my own. Today, hopefully I'll be able to show up of service again and read the room and experience what this community here in Sydney is looking for in their entrepreneurial journeys. Of the crowd in Australia, I just felt like the entire audience the whole time was so present with me, so connected. Most of the time when I coach or mentor someone, or I'm speaking at a conference, I like to ask them a question about their entrepreneurial goals and dreams.

I flunked out of English class. I was in the bottom of my my school all through high school. I could barely read and write, and I was one of the first people in my, my high school to ever write a book, and it became a New York Times bestseller.

There's this one exercise that I love doing at events like this that makes people confront their own truth and feel the pressure to take the leap and finally start.

Raise your hand if you've had an idea for a year that you wanted to do something like that. Maybe it's something else. It looks like 70, 80% of the room right now. Watch this. It's going to get interesting. Whatever that project is, that same thing, whether it's the book, I want to write a book, I want to do a podcast, I want to do this thing, whatever it is, raise your hand if you've been thinking about it for 5 years. How many of you have been thinking about that same idea, that dream for 5 years? It's probably about 25% of the room. I hate to do this, but if you have thought about doing that book or project or dream for 10+ years and you haven't done it yet, raise your hand. Raise your hand. And, and now I actually wanted to have you stand up real quick if you've been thinking about it for 10 years. This is the uncomfortable— no one wants to stand up. Stand up, stand up. So this is maybe 8% of the room, I don't know. And so stay standing up, and I want to acknowledge each one of you for standing up. It is so crippling to do something that you're afraid of. It's scary, or you make excuses, or you find all the restrictions that you can of why you shouldn't be doing it. And it's for everyone. I think 80% of the room raised your hand when I said, do you have a dream that you've been thinking about for a year that you haven't done yet? I'm telling you, whatever that is, start it tonight. Don't even wait for tomorrow.

But at the end of the day, you have to be the one to take action. You have to be the one to look yourself in the mirror, in the eyes and say, I'm going to take action even though I'm scared. Even though I doubt myself. Even though I'm not sure of the outcome. Even if people laugh at me and make fun of me, even if it doesn't work out, you will still be proud of the fact that you acted on it. You will be able to look back on your life and say, you know what, I went for it and I failed, but at least I played in the arena. And most people only sit in the bleachers and watch other people play. And at the end of the day, I want to remind you that this is your moment. This is your moment to step up. This is your moment to take a chance. This is your moment to go all out and play big.