How to Use Humility and Self-Awareness to Win

0:00Jeanniey Walden:Never choose money, it's always wrong. Obviously you have to put a roof over your head and provide for your chill, I get it. But I do not understand why people put other people, often strangers, on pedestals and don't put themselves on a pedestal. A lot of times when someone gives you some feedback and you know it's true, you fight against it because you don't want it to be true. And the second you say it is true, well then you're on to the other side.

0:24Gary Vaynerchuk:This is the Gary Vee Audio Experience. Hey Gary, welcome to Liftoff. Thanks so much for being on the show.

0:32Jeanniey Walden:Thanks for having me.

0:33Gary Vaynerchuk:I am so excited to have you on the show because we've had such incredible guests this season, but you are an inspiration to us all. I've got three quick questions for you because I know you are always busy and always creating something amazing. The first one is about self-awareness. You know, you often emphasize self-awareness as a cornerstone of success. Tell everybody that's listening what practical steps someone can take to develop a deeper understanding of their strengths and weaknesses because you've done such a great job of leveraging this in your daily life.

1:03Jeanniey Walden:Yeah, this is a great question. So thanks for starting off with a fire one. I actually think there's an amazing relationship with humility and self-awareness, right? So I've thought a lot about this because one of the most challenging questions in my career because you're right, I've talked a lot about it. It's like, okay, Gary, how do I get more self-awareness? and I'm like, man, that's tough. You know, like how do I crack that? And one of the ways that I've been able to articulate this that's brought value to people is really going to the people you spend the most time with and being hyper aggressive with your words that you're asking for feedback and that even if you've had a 30 year track record of being horrible at taking feedback and overreacted and been negative, that there is never a bad time to start being different and being better.

1:53Jeanniey Walden:And so to answer your question, Jacob, I think it goes to going to the people closest to you and saying, hey, listen, what do you think I'm good at? What do you think I'm bad at? And having a relationship with your self-esteem that allows you to lean into humility and to hear the feedback. Because a lot of times, you know this as a human, because I know it and all of us know this. A lot of times when someone gives you some feedback and you know it's true, you fight against it because you don't want it to be true. And the second you say it is true, well then you're on to the other side. And most of my childhood I had a good enough self-esteem that I was able to say that is true.

2:33Jeanniey Walden:There was definitely things that, you know, candor with people I loved was one that I struggled with and when people would poke at it, I would cloak it, I would avoid it. and finally in my early to mid 40s, I finally got to a place where I'm like, I need to own this and I started talking more publicly about struggling with candor with people I love. Gary Vee in this interview is the best at candor but as a human, it was hard for me and these are the journeys we all go through.

3:01Gary Vaynerchuk:I love that you talk about staying authentic and that you talk about going through journeys throughout your entire life because that's a lot of what Liftoff is focused on. So in this crazy world, and it's getting crazier every minute, how are you balancing your personal growth with your professional ambition?

3:19Jeanniey Walden:By not overjudging myself. My relationship with myself is extraordinary. I'm a human being. I think I have extraordinary amounts of shortcomings, but I also have a plethora of great attributes about me. I think too many people shit on themselves. I don't know how else to say it. I do not understand why people put other people, often strangers, on pedestals and don't put themselves on a pedestal. I think that the way I'm navigating it is very comfortably, which is I don't want to become delusional and I never want ego to seep in, but my relationship with me is good because I know what my intent is.

4:00Jeanniey Walden:I have good intent and I'm trying to get better every day and that's all we can ask.

4:07Gary Vaynerchuk:and really that's all we should be looking at and asking too and you know there's there's this activity that I do when I'm working with teams where I have everybody else write down what you think that person's top three strengths are and it's always mind-blowing to the person when they see how they're perceived and all of the strengths that other people feel they have that they would not even think that they have for themselves. So that's fabulous. So to wrap this up, you've built an incredible brand by staying authentic to yourself. What are a couple pieces of advice you would give to an emerging leader, especially in today's world, struggling to align their personal values with their professional goals that might be navigating challenges and setbacks?

4:54Gary Vaynerchuk:What would you say to them?

4:55Jeanniey Walden:Never choose money. It's always wrong. Obviously you have to put a roof over your head and provide for your children, I get it. But most people regret money decisions. Always start leaning more and more into your intuition. Choose peace of mind and lightness over anything that is fancy. Again, money, things. I'm just fascinated that people continue to believe a nicer car or a nicer handbag or a nicer watch or a nicer home is some unlock to this peace of mind. I think we're starting to get to the early stages of people realizing it's the wrong game. I love ambition. I love building. I'm trying to build the biggest stuff of all time, but I'm not looking to have money close the gaps of my emotional shortcomings, right?

5:45And I think that, you know,

5:47Jeanniey Walden:for people that are navigating this, like, I think people compromise. I think they compromise their values, and I think they compromise their peace of mind for the perception that something tangible or financial is some greater journey. And I think it's very clear that it's not. And I hope that even one person was inspired by someone who's outwardly very financially and professionally successful. You know, I think you'd be blown away by how detached I am from my professional success, from my notoriety. I do not get my validation from my monies or my followers or my fame or my accolades publicly or privately.

6:26or digitally or physically.

6:30Jeanniey Walden:I get them from knowing who I am, how people talk about me behind my back that actually know me. And that level of like 1950s simplicity has made me financially successful, not the other way around. And I hope that people rewind these last two minutes out of my mouth because they are the golden nuggets that I was taught by my elders and society at its best. And it is the message I want people to, absorb.

6:58Gary Vaynerchuk:Well, I hope they do and there you have it. Authenticity, inspiration, and relatable conversations with Gary Vee. Thank you so much for being a liftoff.

7:07Jeanniey Walden:Thanks for having me. That was awesome. It was action-packed.

7:12Gary Vaynerchuk:There you go. Easy peasy. Yeah, action-packed. Yep, I'm good. You're good?

7:17Jeanniey Walden:Take care.

7:18Gary Vaynerchuk:Thank you so much.

7:18Jeanniey Walden:Bye-bye.

7:23Jeanniey Walden:That was good, that little rant. Yeah, that whole thing was good.

7:28Gary Vaynerchuk:It was quick.

7:29Jeanniey Walden:Yeah, it was. Yo. Hey everybody, if you enjoyed this podcast, please go back and look at the prior episodes. They're loaded. I appreciate your attention and thanks for being part of this journey. See you later.