How to Reignite a Dream After You've Lost Everything | Shaun White

14:48Shaun White:Tell us how the run was. And I can barely talk. And all I remember is being in the airport. And, you know, scar tissue, you need to break it down. So I'm sitting there, like, on my phone in tears because my physical therapist has got her hand in my mouth. And she's just, like, grinding down the scar tissue. And people are walking by, like, what the? You know, this is before COVID, so you could put your hand in people's mouths, you know,

15:19Lewis Howes:randomly. Damn.

15:20Shaun White:But, yeah.

15:21Lewis Howes:Did you say 60 stitches?

15:22Shaun White:Yeah, like 62. I cut my forehead and through my lip and nose and I bit through my tongue.

15:28Lewis Howes:Did you have to do any, like, dental surgery? No, thankfully.

15:32Shaun White:The only thing that was, like, an issue was, you know, they kind of let me out of the hospital. And then that whole night I felt like I was kind of drowning. I was like, what's going on? I thought maybe from the procedure it was the tube they put down, something. And I went back and they're like, let's just take a quick x-ray. And my lungs were just full of blood. Oh, my gosh. Because of the impact that had bruised them. And so they threw me straight back to the urgent care area. And I had to sit there with this little bucket and like get clear of the lungs. Really?

16:00Lewis Howes:Does that come out a tube that takes it out? Or does it come straight?

16:02Shaun White:It was just me breathing in like a humidifier to kind of like loosen the blood. Oh, my gosh, man. Yeah, it was just like a whole thing. so to come back from that i was like okay well now i gotta like do the trick that i that put me in the hospital and like my my coach's like you got it i'm like i i know but i was pretty sure i had it the last time and so anyways i had to like make this pack with myself i was like okay i'm not gonna do the trick until like i'm ready to do it and the conditions are perfect because i try to force it yes yeah and so i waited and then man like acts of god happened it was like it was like you know show up to the event and like you know the pipes not built for the first two days because it was a really bad winter so it was pretty dry and like they're like oh there's only one day of practice like literally like all these weird things like i show up for this practice session and then the machine that builds the half pipes broke oh man flew to canada and then the canada like a giant storm blew in and then i was like okay well we got to go back to mammoth mountains i could fly to mammoth mountain i got there and um i got really ill like i just got a flu or something and so all these weird things getting close to the olympics yeah literally it's two weeks away at this point and you still haven't done the trick i haven't done i i did it i did the trick like twice i think i i finally just like got it done but i hadn't done like repetition and i had it you know it's a routine so you would do a trick into that trick into another trick you hadn't done that i hadn't done it and i'm flying to the olympics like well i guess

17:32Lewis Howes:we'll just do it when we get shut up really yeah so you didn't do you didn't practice a full routine

17:37Shaun White:until the olympics the second run oh my gosh that's the first time i ever tried that run so i of course i fell and now deja vu i'm sitting where i was at the last olympics last guy to go there's one more run and i was just like i want to win this i don't know i just just like i felt it the other way i was like i'm gonna win this thing for sure there's no way i'm not going to make this run and i just remember thinking like i can picture it because i was like you know enjoy it because this is you're going to win this thing and wow i remember the orange of the the outfits we were wearing all the all the um banners and flags and things were orange and then they had a big flag at the top um and the flag was down meaning no wind and like this it was kind of overcast that day and it started to open up a little bit and i was like this is perfect moment and like a song came on i recognize it's like some post malone's and i was like and uh man nailed it to win it you know and um and so that's why at the end of that olympics like i don't know if i've ever really broken down that much but it's such an emotional journey to get to that yeah man to like from the family stuff to you know instagram whatever all these things that i changed in my life and then to have that bad accident and really question everything only to get there and win it was just such like a overwhelming is of you know joy and and all that so yeah i remember watching i remember watching it live and just yeah you had so much

19:06Lewis Howes:emotion but hearing the full story now i could see why yeah so it was heavy and trust me getting

19:12Shaun White:to that point where i'm like wow i'm just gonna do it when i get there like that's nuts i've been plotting for over you know for actually four years at this point for this one moment i'm gonna show up unprepared like how did this happen how did i get to this point well unprepared but 25 years of

19:28Lewis Howes:preparation for sure for sure so like i know how to compete i know these things but like you know

19:34Shaun White:you want to be ironclad of course you're kind of winging it yeah and at this point i'm like all right well let's see what happens and so that was very unnerving and so and did you know that

19:43Lewis Howes:going into it like this is a winning combination like if i can land this perfectly or close to

19:49Shaun White:perfect it's a winner pretty much i mean the only thing is that the other competitor's name's uh ayumu is a japanese snowboarder he he had a very similar run and so um you know i was like okay like not only do i have to do this run but just do it bigger and better than he did it so i was

20:07Lewis Howes:like okay um he's a lot younger than you yeah he's a lot younger more fearless maybe didn't just

20:12Shaun White:smash his face a month ago and you know and i was in that pressure spot of like okay like it's make or break like everyone's watching am i gonna do it or not and um and all that stuff clicked in and

20:24Lewis Howes:i was like i'm gonna do it and you knew right when you finished you knew you wonk not exactly i knew

20:29Shaun White:that was the best chance i had for sure of winning you know you did your best it was so it was so intense and like it's all connected so i don't really remember specific moments so i'm watching the screen going like okay i feel like i killed it but did i touch a hand somewhere did i land kind of flat and not notice it is it you know it's so you're so wound up yeah and then um man so everybody at the top celebrating because the score came in right away like i had one boom nbc held the score for like a dramatic pause you didn't see it until you're on camera i was just like and i'm watching and they had they had the other athletes here so i don't want to like go near them because i just i don't know i didn't want to look in their faces and and and you know And so then the judges booth's right in front of me, and I swear I look up in the booth and some guys doing like a, playing limbo with my fate, you know.

21:24Shaun White:And so I'm like, and then the crowd and TV cameras here, so I'm just kind of like panning around, and finally the score hit, and I was just like, I lost it. It was so amazing. And then just seeing my family and, you know, Jake Burton, the owner of Burton's Newports, who sadly passed away. You know, amazing moment with him. He was like, how the F do you do? Every time. Because, you know, he's congratulated me after every, you know, big win and even there when the upset happened, you know. So amazing to see like familiar faces and all that. but I was so proud of that all those little steps I took actually paid off they got me to that place where I was sitting in the same position and I'm like I'm going to win rather than I'm not there so that was I think what I was the most proud of after that Olympics

22:18Lewis Howes:have you ever had another moment before a run where you're like I don't think this is going to go well but it did go well like you said to yourself this is a tough one we'll see it's 50-50 and then you just nail it still

22:31Shaun White:There was one. It was actually the qualifier to get to that Olympics. We were in Aspen, the mountain of snow mass, and kind of similar situation where I show up. I'm so excited. You get three runs for final. The first run, I was way too excited. I overamped, and I shot out, and I was like, oh my God. And my coach was like, what happened? I was like, I don't know. I'm sorry. I got too pumped. And as the mountains, as the day goes on, these clouds. start rolling in and it's getting colder. So the temp drops, so the snow hardens, it's going faster and it's like, it's getting scarier. And, you know, the second run, perfect.

23:13Shaun White:Nailed it. The whole way down and on the last hit, I like washed out. And I'm like, oh my God, you know? And at this point we're panicking because we're a couple qualifiers deep. We still need to make the team. Like the commercials are airing that I'm going to the Olympics. I haven't made the team.

23:30Lewis Howes:we had to qualify every time pressure man so i'm sitting there going like okay like

23:35Shaun White:you know one more run and so i'm talking to yeah i got one more run i'm the last guy to go same deal and i talked to my coach and he's like you know i'm like what do i do i'm like in the start game i'm like what are we doing for that last hit the one that i fell on i'm like are we going for this big it's the 1260s called and i was like are we going for the 12 or should i dial it back to a nine or should like what are we doing and he was just kind of like you know i'm talking to him

24:00Lewis Howes:about it and out of nowhere he's like do the 14 which is which is you know uh it's all just degrees

24:07Shaun White:of rotation more rotations more yeah and i was like do we do 12 or not he said yeah do the 14 and i was like what do you mean he's like on the first hit we were talking about the last hit on the first drop he's like do the 14 you've practiced it so much you're ready just do the 14 and i was like and i remember looking at him being like sure okay yeah right like seconds before you go And the guy's literally telling me to go at this point. He's like, go. And I was like, so what are we doing? He's like, I don't know. I was like, well, I kind of got to go. We're having this argument. And he's just, and the guy's like, come on, like, right already, like, go.

24:42Shaun White:And so I remember, like, giving him the, like, fine. Basically, like, saying, like, if it doesn't work, it's your fault. It's your fault. Nailed it. I fully nailed it. And it gave me the second win. And then I start hammering the run. best part is I'm on the last hit and I was like we never decided what we were going to do the last hit because we only talked about the first hit and so I was like

25:07Lewis Howes:three seconds to decide

25:09Shaun White:well I'm already on the heater I might as well go for the 12 the harder trick let's just do it and boom I went from like I think I was in like second to last place on the roster to like winning i won with that run but i got a perfect hundred score like i nailed it like i nailed the run and that's only been handed out once before which was actually for me at the x games event so this is you know but it meant a lot to me because that x games judging and the actual

25:41Lewis Howes:olympic judging is a little bit different so it was like oh i felt harder it felt even more official

25:45Shaun White:maybe i shouldn't say that it was just as amazing either way but um like went from dead last to like Like, you know, winning the competition, perfect 100 score, making the Olympic team all in, like, a couple seconds there. And 20 seconds before, you didn't know what you were going to do. I didn't know the run. Yeah, I didn't know what we were going to do.

26:05Lewis Howes:But did you go into it when you dropped? Were you like, I'm screwed in your mind? Were you like, I got this. I'll figure it out.

26:12Shaun White:I think a part of me was like, you know, who cares? Because, you know, it's on him. you know and i i'm a firm believer in in you ever played ping pong and like all of a sudden you're up 10 points or something and then you go oh i'm up 10 points i should really focus now and then

26:31Lewis Howes:you just start blowing it yeah so it's your head yes but like that bit of not caring probably

26:37Shaun White:allowed me to go crush that run because i i was in a state of like well well heck with it like i'm gonna i'm gonna just go for it you're loose yeah and then as i started nailing the tricks that's when things like the tunnel vision happened and I was like oh I'm actually killing it like stay stay focused yeah and I got like a second wind in the middle of my run and that's when I threw because at this point like it's dragged on like I said the clouds had moved in I'm tired I'm exhausted so when he's like telling me to do the 14 I'm already like I'm ready for bed I told him like let's just wrap it we'll go to the next event and try to win that thing but anyways so that was like an amazing situation where like i was pretty convinced i wasn't going to do well and somehow pulled it out nailed it there's been so there's been a couple of those there was one there's one where i actually set the record for the highest air out of the half pipe um and the best part of the story is is that the morning of i had i think i was fighting a cold and so like you know if you work out or you do something strenuous like your body's fighting the cold not repairing the muscles So I woke up and I could barely walk.

27:44Shaun White:I was so tired. And I call my coach, different coach at this point. He comes over and shows up with giant bags of ice. And like we fill the bathtubs, hot water and cold water. And I just start going back and forth. I'm like, okay, I got maybe like three runs, four runs in me max. So let's do like a pretty simple warmup run and then just try to do it in the contest and get it done. And I drop in.

28:09Lewis Howes:This is your Michael Jordan moment. Yeah. This is your flume game. I drop in, I can't stop.

28:14Shaun White:My leg is so tired and so warm that if I can't use it to break, like there's not, like it would have folded on me. And so I went so big because I couldn't stop. I like shot out the top of the pipe. Huge air. I forget the height. At that point, I think like 23 feet was probably the biggest air ever done.

28:35Lewis Howes:This is a 20 foot.

28:36Shaun White:22 foot pipe. So I'm out about About 20-something feet above that. On top of that. Yeah.

28:41Lewis Howes:But what, you're looking down to the ground 45 feet down. Yeah, yeah.

28:44Shaun White:Well, because I'm landing higher than the 20 feet. But you're up there.

28:48Lewis Howes:If you look at another, that's scary, man.

28:50Shaun White:Yeah, so the idea is to be in this side of the pipe. Catch the wall. And so I'm flying, and I'm thinking, like, wow, I've never really gone this big. If I could just finish this run, I'm going to win. And I've somehow pulled it together and nailed it.

29:06Lewis Howes:That's terrifying, man.

29:07Shaun White:I may have even bowed out on my last run because I couldn't do it. Yeah, I was too tired.

29:13Lewis Howes:I'm curious about, I mean, you've rarely lost a competition, right? It's a rare day for you if you lose or get second or whatever. Have you learned how to put your self-worth not on winning or losing, but just to put it on who you are as a human being? Or have you struggled in the past with, man, I suck today and I'm no good? as a person as well like how do you wrap your self-worth around your competition yeah and separate it from just who you are as a human no it's a great question because like i would say

29:48Shaun White:i'm so much cooler with losing now than i ever was before i mean it it would just tear me apart i and it's so weird because i probably had won 10 competitions straight going into this one and got second by a point and a half or something and i was just devastated like how did this happen and And, you know, that kind of self-worth being derived from those situations is difficult. You know, it drives you to be better, but it's unsustainable. You know, if your happiness is just hanging in the balance of winning.

30:20Lewis Howes:Yeah. Yeah.

30:20Shaun White:And it's a judged event. It's like, you know, it's opinions of who did better. And so, yeah, I mean.

30:27Lewis Howes:How do you manage that now then? I wish I could say I had a good grasp on it when I was younger.

30:32Shaun White:I mean, something about, I guess nowadays it's twofold. I mean, not to pat myself on the back, but I've won a lot of events.

30:44Lewis Howes:So I don't feel as much I have to prove as much of my, hey, I'm the best.

30:52Shaun White:I don't feel like I have to prove as much. So I'm content with like, even I've been at events where I'm just like, I'm not competing today because it's unsafe or it's this. or I'm not feeling it. Like, you know, if you actually look at my track record, like I've pulled out of a lot of events. Really? It's just unsafe at times. I look at it as a marathon. It's not a sprint. It doesn't matter. Today's, that's cool, but it'll go by and I'll be there next year. And maybe the conditions will be better and more favorable and I'll be healthy and ready to do it. So I like to think of my career as that long game.

31:29Shaun White:And so nowadays it helps knowing that like, okay, well, I'm going to lose this event. I know it's not going to go well, but I know that this is the goal.

31:41Lewis Howes:So it's not the one event. Yeah.

31:43Shaun White:Like it's not, it's not this event. It's that one. So like qualifying for that last Olympics, like I showed up at the first event knowing I was going to lose. And I was like, oh, this would be great. I'm going to show face, see what everyone's doing. And I'll get a clear picture of like, okay, here's where the level's at. And here's where I need to be. Or where am I at? And I didn't show my cards. So I was like, okay, we'll see what happens and play it. And so there's strategy too involved. And it changes over the time. I mean, I used to just, I had to win everything. And if you kind of challenged what I was doing, then I would run off and do whatever else.

32:22Lewis Howes:Now you're okay with losing an event that's not as important as the main event.

32:27Shaun White:Like, but did I hit my markers? Did I get my points toward making the team? Did I, you know, did I save my body? Did I, you know what I mean? And so even like we kind of mentioned in the waiting room, it's like after the Olympics, I take a season off. So if you extrapolate that over the years, I've, you know, five, almost five Olympics now, you know, so that means four years I've taken off. That's four years that I've been able to kind of like let the body rest and my head rest and all these things. and so it definitely stretched my career out yes you know and and i hate to admit i'm the oldest competitor but yeah at this point it's it's really funny because i i remember dropping in and being the youngest competitor and that's funny they're like i'm the oldest competitor dropping like oh you still feel like the young guy or no i still feel like you know i mean i don't feel like the young guy but i feel like like it could be my game you know it's my it's my competition to win or lose.

33:26Shaun White:I still feel that way. I don't know. I think if I was clinging on to 10th, 11th, my family would be like, it's time. Or it would naturally, there'd be a tell at some point. But yeah, so nowadays I just kind of manage it that way. And then honestly, I did a bunch of just kind of like, I don't know what you call it, I guess work on myself. I went to

33:55Lewis Howes:a lot of what did that look like was that therapy was i workshop was it's all of the above i i was

34:00Shaun White:talking to therapists and then i was um you know reading some really you know eye-opening books and then which which books impacted you one was called the new earth it was eckhart tolle yeah he's great yeah it's it's worded pretty you know it's it's very i don't know what you'd say it's spiritual exactly it's it's intense but if you really take the time to read and remember to to reread pages. I'm like, wait, wait, what are they saying? So that was an amazing book that really opened my eyes up to a lot of different things and the way my brain works and the thought process and how I've been kind of like assessing the situation and the events that happen, they happen.

34:43Shaun White:It's how I interpret them is what's like driving me and fueling me. And if it's something I interpret to be a bad thing, then I'm gonna act and these emotions will stir from that. And so it really made me understand that. And then another book I read was called Loving What Is by Byron Katie.

35:00Lewis Howes:She's great. We had her on the show. She's awesome.

35:03Shaun White:And I swear I saw her somewhere. I've got all fan girls.

35:11Lewis Howes:She's amazing, man. She came on here and she pretty much did like live therapy with me. I was like, it's incredible. Yeah. So you read those two books. Those were the impact.

35:19Shaun White:Yeah, those were really heavy. There's a couple others, but those were the main ones. um and then i i honestly i i got a phone call from tony robbins to come down to his house um and do like a speaking engagement he does the uh paid speaking the platinum partner things totally it's like you know just and i do those sometimes which was cool and he called me up and

35:39Lewis Howes:i go down there and in florida right yeah i was at his home i've been there and the panel was myself

35:44Shaun White:michael phelps and mcgregor on brady yeah yeah i think that was the next year's one i was like oh this is cool i went first and then and then i'm listening to michael speak and i was like wow it really blew me away to hear like a fellow athlete talk about the struggles of like how you feel after an event and like even if you win it doesn't mean that like all these other things are great in your life you know it doesn't mean that the dog's gonna like listen to you it doesn't mean that like you know these people are gonna care for you more your business isn't in a better situation place like all these things that like yeah winning is amazing but it doesn't fix everything and and um and a lot of that stuff gets pushed to the side in order to win and so it was really eye opening to hear him speak and then afterward tony was like look you know we do this little you know he calls it a prayer it's nothing religious at all but it was kind of this like meditation quick meditation thing he's like michael's gonna we're all gonna do it i was like okay and it's basically the concept of like stacking you know you go through the day and you kind of like oh uh whatever the the sofa i ordered is back ordered now i thought it was going to be here this week it was not it's going to be next month they're like so let's stack that and then like oh i got the phone call from so and so that the the event got canceled because like you know great and then you start stacking these things and so it's just a simple process uh his prayer is a which i understand later but it was the idea of like you know hey let's go and just take a minute to stack all these really great things that happen because you don't really take

37:19Lewis Howes:the time to do that not to focus on all the negative things totally or like just take a

37:22Shaun White:moment to be like oh man like hey when did something like really just work out like you said that run in aspen like it just worked out you know i was thinking oh it's probably not going to be my day and boom it hit it just worked out and like hey let's like what an amazing win where something just kind of went my way and like let's take something that I really worked hard for and that actually happened and like oh what by chance you know like a person you met that became a lifelong friend or you know just these things you I remember leaving feeling like like I was so pumped up and I just really you know at the time needed something like that um anyway so I I leave and that feeling kind of fades a little, obviously.

38:04Shaun White:And a couple months go by and randomly he called me.

38:09Lewis Howes:Tony.

38:10Shaun White:Yeah. He's like, we're doing an event. And I was driving. You know when you click your phone and it comes through the car speakers?

38:16Lewis Howes:Yeah, it's loud. That huge voice of his was like,

38:18Shaun White:we're doing an event. Come out. That's it. It's an invitation, not an expectation. It's whatever you want. Send a family member, whatever. And so I was like, you know what? let's do it and so I I remember just like I was like I'm gonna go I'm gonna go so my first instinct was to send family members that I cared about I was like oh maybe I'll send my dad or my mom or my sister somebody close to me that like would benefit from this and then and I remember hearing him on the phone they're like it's kind of like the plane's crashing do you take the mask and put it on someone no you got to save yourself so you can save the others or whatever and and and you And then I was like, I'm just going to go and I'm going to go alone.

39:00Shaun White:I went solo. Wow.

39:01Lewis Howes:It was UPW or Day with Destiny? This was UPW.

39:05Shaun White:It's powerful, man.

39:05Lewis Howes:So you were walking on fire and stuff? Yeah, it was the whole thing. It's crazy, isn't it? Yeah, so you went. I've been there.

39:12Shaun White:Okay, so it was just awesome. And it really got me thinking differently. And I remember thinking like, wow, if I felt pretty great after, it was just like my thought process of why I should work out. I was like, well, I feel better after. Well, why not? We'll go to something like this. And so I did the event. it was crazy eye-opening really amazing and then after that i went to a financial seminar he had up in canada as like a thank you um he was like hey why don't i come like snowboard with your guests and that's cool and i'll take the course yeah yeah yeah so did that and then um you know had some other interactions with him and then ended up doing the day with destiny in florida so i haven't done that one yet after you know multiple hits of this you know you really it starts to sink in and that was really awesome because it's it's something about like it's nice if somebody you know they can tell you hey feel better about this or do that you know but it's such a different thing when you come up with the idea yourself yeah and it's it's you know you're like that aha moment of like oh wow i've been doing this and now i realize this is a better way and not only that but like here are the tools to help you so like with these books like the first book a new earth like got me thinking differently but the loving what is kind of took that same kind of thought process and and made it like appliable to my life so i could go through my life and i like anytime something arises now it triggers and i go oh let me they do this thing where they katie does a i'm sure you you spoke with her you kind of break it down and you kind of question

40:43Lewis Howes:you have these like four questions and you're just like okay like how do i really feel about

40:48Shaun White:this like you start going through the questions and at the end it just takes all the the life out of it you know it takes all the that meaning and that sort of you know emotion that's drawn from the meaning that you're giving this thing you're giving it all this life and it's nice it's nothing

41:03Lewis Howes:do you remember four questions i can't remember them fully they're like is it true yeah and then

41:07Shaun White:the second one is it really true is it really true the first one is it true yeah the second one Is it really true? And then pretty much every time the answer's no. And then it's like, how do you feel or how do you react when you hear that or believe that lie?

41:25Lewis Howes:Yeah.

41:26Shaun White:Yeah. And then the fourth part is you turn it around, which is a little confusing to me. But it's still, it's like you kind of start saying it differently. Yeah. Perceiving it differently. Yeah. Just by saying it differently, though, is like, oh, this person did this. Well, I did this. You know. Right. Or my thinking of this was wrong. Or this. And just you kind of saying it goes, oh, yeah, okay. But it's a really powerful thing because it really stops you in your tracks. And now when something arises where it's not that I walk on sunshine every day, but when problems do arise and like, you know, I'm like getting flack from the guy at Airbnb.

42:06Shaun White:Like about to write this crazy text.

42:08Lewis Howes:I'm like, whoa, is this true? Is he really upset?

42:10Shaun White:You know, and you kind of like when something really upsets you, it's it's those are the signs. Yeah. Something's off. What do you think? Which is really cool.

42:19Lewis Howes:What do you think? What's your biggest trigger in your life or what has been your biggest trigger in the past that you've had to learn how to process better?

42:28Shaun White:Well, that's that's the whole part of it is that the triggers are something basically that you're you're seeing it through a lens of your past.

42:34Lewis Howes:Right. Right.

42:35Shaun White:So it's not that you came in and said you didn't like my shirt. at some point someone else said I didn't have good style and now I'm hearing you say you don't like my shirt now I'm freaking out you know because I'm adding all this other stuff that you don't know about but you were just not into the color whatever or were giving me a you know hard time you know what was amazing is that everything really boils down to these like I'm butchering this but they're Tony's not listening but they boil down to these simple things of like i'm not enough or or you know yeah i'm not enough or this isn't good enough or you know i won't be loved you know and as simple as it is it's like okay well you know like like losing a contest you know well why what's it what's the meaning behind it like oh i wanted to win to show that i'm great well why did you want to show you that you're great well i i was told kind of i wasn't going to amount to much in a sport that was not in the olympics that x games

43:32Lewis Howes:had just started like there's no future in the sport so for years and years the teachers and

43:36Shaun White:friends and people are like you're going to amount to nothing you're a joke like your sport's a joke and um and we'll see in the future when you're asking for change you know and so that's kind of embedded in me so there was this fight to prove that i was you know something important or special or whatever and so it's all boils down to like that like oh i'm i'm not good enough or i fear that i'm not enough and so once you kind of realize you're you're you're pulling from this place you know you go well okay take all this aside like man like what are the basics like am i there for my friends when they need me like for sure am i you know like like what are my strengths outside of all this other stuff and you kind of really get to know yourself a lot more and that was really amazing for me and so eye-opening because i was just like ever since i can remember i've been competing and doing this and that and win after win you know how do we go bigger and more and and um you know i never really took the time to just go oh wow like hey i i tend to like do well at a dinner like i can i make people laugh i'm good all right you send me in i'm good you know like that's a great quality to have to be able to like be social and to strike a chord with people and easily start conversation, make people laugh.

44:59Shaun White:And that's a great quality to have. And the simplest fact of like, oh, okay, if I knew someone like that, I would like just to have them around just for that basic fact that they're enjoyable to be with. You know what I mean? Just the simplest things. And then once you have that kind of foundation of understanding of like, gosh, well, I'm getting that sort of I am enough and I will be loved and all these things from all this, then everything else is just like, oh, well, and if I win the event, I'm like, oh, that was it. You know, so, but that's what's so weird is I was worried that it wouldn't like keep me motivated, but I'm still driven.

45:37Lewis Howes:And this was all in the last couple of years you started doing this work, right?

45:40Shaun White:Yeah, this was like 2018 pretty much, yeah.

45:43Lewis Howes:So in the last three years, as you started to do kind of more of the emotional, inner mental work,

45:49Shaun White:Yeah.

45:50Lewis Howes:What would you say to your, you know, 13 year old self getting into the journey of this?

45:55Shaun White:Yeah.

45:55Lewis Howes:This career for the last 20 years or whatever, 20 plus years. What would you say to him, knowing what you know now about what the real champion's mindset is?

46:05Shaun White:Yeah. No, it's tough. I mean, I've thought about that, but there were so many situations where maybe I needed that drive. You know what I mean? I'm a firm believer in like you kind of. i don't know i've just been like leveling up consistently through my career so maybe i i you know didn't need that lesson at that time um i definitely would have told myself to really like

46:28Lewis Howes:stop and enjoy the like the little things just because you know you don't realize that things

46:35Shaun White:just keep going on you know i remember signing this deal when i was really young and it's like this 10-year contract i was like i'll be playing golf by then i was like i'll be 30 can you imagine and 30 came around i was like wow i still feel so driven and youthful and i got all this stuff in front of me and um so so yeah i don't know i don't know what i would say exactly but i definitely enjoy the the little things and just go back and take the moment to like like man we had this big win let's go celebrate that with this yeah let's just take an extra minute to do that not already move on to the next yeah oh for sure because you know it was just like i had my my and and i don't think it would have gotten in the way it would have just been like really enjoying or like a big

47:20Lewis Howes:deal i signed or something like yeah celebrating it yeah those things but now that you've done i guess the the deeper inner work that you're talking about do you have a um you know a routine or a mindset or a mantra that you have going into events now that like you think about beforehand or before you're going up to the uh dropping in or or is it just keep doing the same you've been

47:41Shaun White:doing no it's pretty much the same that's what's so great about it is it's like it's just giving new meaning to the same way that i feel already what's that meaning just that that it's it's all a bonus it's all like you know what i mean it's it's all icing on top of the the cake i mean look at this long career i've had to this point it's all you know and and like why not like i still feel great i still am motivated i still am these things and like let's embrace that but not put the extra you know emphasis on like well if it all doesn't work out then nothing's good yeah or just that like nothing's great you know and then you're at your beach house you're like crying watching these whales you know but um but that's you know i don't know i i i fear i'm coming off preachy or something like that it's something that worked for me and really helped me but you know to each his own and you know there is a time to push and to push through the the frustrating parts and then there's a time to kind of go oh wow like is this is this just a time for a course adjustment rather than you know so i think yeah as i've gotten older and maybe maybe it's just with age like i don't know if i would have listened at that point right you were so

48:58Lewis Howes:I was like, I got a Lamborghini. Let's go. What feedback would you give to someone out there, whether they're an athlete or they're just going after life in a big way, they have big goals, big dreams, whether maybe it's business or career or something.

49:12Shaun White:What feedback would you give them on the path of wanting to accomplish

49:16Lewis Howes:massive big goals, being at the top of their field without hurting themselves along the way?

49:21Shaun White:Well, again, I think, you know, definitely don't, this thought of like the delayed happiness is where you get in trouble. If this happens, then I'll be happy. If I can only get the raise, then I'll be happy. If I could just win one more Olympics, then I'd be happy. One more.

49:38Lewis Howes:You know, if I could just, so you got to kind of, which is hard because, you know, you picture this place in your mind and you want to get there.

49:46Shaun White:And I'm very like, I visualize everything. So like I can picture it. I can see the, you know, the red carpet rolling. I can picture, no, I'm kidding. But you know what I mean? Like in your mind, they're throwing flowers at me. You know, you can picture what it would be like. And like, gosh, if I just had this amount of money, I wouldn't worry about money. You know, like there's all these things and there's a way to enjoy it along the path. It doesn't have to be all or nothing. And that's something that took me a while to learn. and I think I would have had a much more enjoyable process getting to where I am in my life and career and still had that motivation if I would have been able to yeah kind of you know like Tony says at his event he says what was it you know success without fulfillment is the greatest failure it's true and it's so funny because you you meet people and you'll have very famous people at that event they stand up and like I won my Oscar and I was like well I better win another one and then i made this much money and i was like well i better double it and then and i just kind of sat there with my doubled money and my thing and went well what's next you know and it's you have to find the enjoyment otherwise you get to that place where you get the you know you finally get that goal and it's not every in many ways it is what you'd hope but it's not exactly what you pictured and so um and that's hard you know to get to that point and it's it's frustrating because you bank you put so much emphasis on this moment being this way um and if it doesn't work out exactly and picture exactly how it's going to go you know you're left kind of hanging right so um it's getting rid of that and then i'm just a huge believer in kind of like the little steps as well it's like what little thing can i do that my competitors are probably not doing that might help me like what i don't know just i remember i remember winning the event and And it just dawned on me that all my competitors would probably, this is when I kind of went to the gym.

51:48Shaun White:It dawned on me that all my competitors were probably going to go celebrate.

51:52Lewis Howes:Like drink alcohol. Yeah, go party all night, for sure.

51:55Shaun White:And I was like, what if I just hit the gym? Just why not? Just something that would, why don't I just like push when they're going to not push? And, you know, just little things that I might be able to do, get to that place.

52:08Lewis Howes:And so I always, and goal setting was huge.

52:13Shaun White:And I hesitate to talk about it just because I feel like it's talked about so much. But I don't really believe that people do it in the right way. You know, like, yeah, it's great to have a huge goal, but is that like really what you want? Because it's like there's so many times, like I said, I really wanted to win the Olympics in Korea. And then I'm sitting in a hospital with my face ripped open. And I was like, how bad do you really want this? and and it thankfully i really really wanted it and that was the goal and i was like you know and that helped me get there oddly enough but it's like it's like really finding like what that is and knowing it wholeheartedly like this is it and then you start that little pro that process of getting there if it's like you know are we selling t-shirts well one extra shirt sold is this or like maybe if i drive the car instead of shipping it right we're gonna move the needle like any little thing I could do to like move the needle in the right direction um and so like having that big goal and then having like a bunch of fun little goals on the way and something that would be obtained by getting to the big goal so um so it sounds like you know the universe is going to

53:25Lewis Howes:ask you do you really want this with the obstacles it puts in your way oh for sure yeah and people

53:30Shaun White:will question it and you'll question it and you know and then and then the people within your inner circle because you don't kind of listen to everybody else people will question it and you got to really you know know what you want you got to listen to yourself which is really hard yeah um but once you find it and know it wholeheartedly then okay boom that was a huge hurdle to clear and then it's like well how can we get there and i've always i heard something a long time ago where you know instead of saying oh we can't do that that really shuts the doors like how could we how could we do it and that's that was me sitting after the olympics in russia when i lost and i was like okay well if i was gonna win again how would i do it and then i started like well i'd have to have a coach that you know did this for me and i'd have to have the pt you know and i started to build this scenario and i was like wow that actually seems doable you know and then i had like fun little goals along the way so like at the one olympics my goal was to um i wanted to be on the cover of Rolling Stone, which had happened after the one Olympics, the first one I went to.

54:35Shaun White:I was 19. And my goal was like, well, if I win again, they might call me and I'll be ready this time. You know, and because I remember taking the photo, I'd just flown in from wherever. I was like, they're like, take your shirt off. I'm like, I never take them. I'm so white. And I remember the photos coming out. I was like, I don't know how I feel about this. And anyway, so I was like, if it happens again.

54:59Lewis Howes:I'm going to be shredded. I'm going to be in shape. Yeah, this will happen, and I'll do this and this.

55:03Shaun White:And I remember watching, like, I got really into Guns N' Roses, and Axl did a show where he's in these tiny American flag shorts. Yeah, yeah. I was like, well, I can't run that. But what if I had pants? And so, like, I had these pants made, and it became all about, like, trying to get on the Rolling Stone cover and to wear these pants rather than, like, winning the Olympics. So it kind of changed the goal to something fun and funny rather than this daunting task of winning the Olympics. But obviously winning the Olympics would mean I got to wear the pants or whatever. So it literally all happened.

55:36Shaun White:I won the Olympics. Rolling Stone called. I had the pants. We shot the photo. And then this actually all started because I was at the Hard Rock Casino probably on my birthday or something. We did my 21st there. And I remember seeing all the jackets. I love music and guitar and rock and roll. and I was like, God, how do I get something of mine into the hard rock? Because it's all rock and roll memorabilia. And I was like,

56:02Lewis Howes:well, if I was on the cover,

56:04Shaun White:so like those pants and the board, all the stuff from the cover got displayed at the hard rock. So it was like a full circle. So even now I'm like planning my little, so I'll tell you, I'll tell you, well, obviously to win the next Olympics would be wonderful on many levels. 2022. But the 2022 and my fun goal, this is a good one.

56:28Lewis Howes:Let's say I'm excited for this.

56:29Shaun White:My fun goal is that I'm hoping that after five Olympics that I'm so well-known as a snowboarder that it's so famous and well-known that they're forced to change the EmojiCon snowboarder to look like me. That'd be sweet.

56:50Lewis Howes:That'd be great.

56:51Shaun White:I was like, I could maybe make that happen. I know they have like a David Bowie one. I was like, God, all they'd have to do is put some like long red hair on that guy.

56:59Lewis Howes:That'd be cool. Blowing out the back of a helmet or something.

57:01Shaun White:Because I keep picturing like, hey, it's me. And then throwing the emojis. That's cool. Hey, new number. It's me.

57:10Lewis Howes:Yeah, yeah, yeah. Snowboarding like this in the air.

57:12Shaun White:Yeah, that's my big goal. I like that. The emoji. Yeah.

57:18Lewis Howes:Showing what emoji. I like it.

57:19Shaun White:Gotta do it for the emoji.

57:20Lewis Howes:That's the future, man.

57:21Shaun White:Yeah, yeah. So.

57:23Lewis Howes:Not the legacy of being a five-time Olympian.

57:25Shaun White:The legacy of having an emoji. Being on everyone in the world's phone.

57:30Lewis Howes:There you go. That's great, man.

57:32Shaun White:So, you know, but that's what's fun is it's, you know, every time is different. It changes. I mean, look at this curveball we were thrown. COVID. I mean, I can't go train in Canada. We can't go to, you know, Australia or New Zealand right now. Like, it's very strained, limited practice time. Everybody's trying to make it work. and you know like we're all in the same boat together so it's not like it's unfair or anything but we're all you know it's just a new challenge it presents itself in a new way and there's new goals and new hopes and um yeah it's exciting it's been good amazing journey man um a couple

58:06Lewis Howes:final questions for you and then i respect your time here but this is a very inspiring uh before i ask the final questions i want people to check you out i love your stuff on instagram man sean on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, your website, seanwhite.com. The recent post of you skateboarding, I think it was Switzerland or something. I was like, this is a dream world, man. So you've got really cool stuff over there. You also have a new line coming out. You can talk a little bit about that.

58:30Shaun White:Yeah, I won't give away the name and all of it. But yeah, I've always dreamt of having my own snowboard brand. And so just like I set my goals and things. I remember after the last Olympics being like, gosh, if I come back here, I'm going to be on my own equipment. How cool would that be, you know, to try to make that podium with my own?

58:49Lewis Howes:Because you've always been sponsored by someone else.

58:51Shaun White:Yeah, and it's been amazing, and I wouldn't change that for the world. But, you know, as time goes on, I'm like, I've had a hand in product development, obviously, and design and had my own lines in places. I was like, gosh, it's time. Let's do it. And so, but it's really exciting because I used to work with my brother, and we made all sorts of products and things, and we stopped working together for some time. and now we're working together again. That's cool. And it feels amazing. That's good, man. And he's fired up and I'm super excited and just testing the products. It just feels like old time.

59:21Shaun White:That's cool, man. Yeah, so that'll be dropping. The soft goods of it all will be, unfortunately, next season because of the timelines. But the hard goods will be dropping this next winter. Before the Olympics. Next year, yeah, right before. Wow. Right before, yeah.

59:36Lewis Howes:So we can follow you on your socials, seanwhite.com. Do you have a newsletter there too or somewhere to opt in?

59:43Shaun White:If we don't, I'm going to go get it. Add it there. Yes, yeah.

59:45Lewis Howes:But in the meantime, if they just follow you on any of these accounts, they'll be up to date on all that stuff. So make sure to follow Sean and support him. I'll be getting some stuff. I haven't snowboarded in like three years. So I got to get some gear and then I'll start getting back on it.

59:59Shaun White:Yeah, for sure.

1:00:00Lewis Howes:You might need a big board though. I'm a big board. Yeah, I'm a big dude. I remember I kind of like, kind of an accident like maybe seven years ago. I was in six years seven years ago. I went to Whistler for the first time. Yeah, and it's just a bigger mountain It's a big mountain I went down just like a normal Whatever, but it was just like so much wind and so and I was just like I have to stop three times just to get to the bottom

1:00:22Shaun White:Because my legs are so long

1:00:24Lewis Howes:It's a big place and I hit like my edge and want to like look back and hit the back of my head I didn't have a helmet on I remember thinking like I need to have a helmet the rest of my time I'm doing this because I was on the ground like for five, 10 minutes. Like that was, man. Yeah, that was rough. Yeah.

1:00:39Shaun White:And it comes quick when it snags. Boom.

1:00:41Lewis Howes:I thought I was falling. I never thought of it. Boop. No. Yeah.

1:00:45Shaun White:It doesn't happen to me nearly as often, but on occasion, like I'll just, it's when you're not paying attention. That's what happened to me. Like I'll do the crazy trick and then fall like in the lift line. That's what happened to me. Yeah. Yeah.

1:00:56Lewis Howes:This is a question I ask everyone at the end. It's called the three truths. So I'd like you to imagine a hypothetical scenario. It's your last day on earth, many, many years away. You get to live as long as you want to live. And you accomplish all your dreams. Five more Olympics, you know, your own line, relationships, life, all these things happen. Emoji. Emoji. That's the most important thing.

1:01:17Shaun White:I'm listening. Emoji.

1:01:19Lewis Howes:The emoji is on the cover of the Rolling Stones. Yeah, yeah. That's the cover. But for whatever reason in this hypothetical scenario, you've got to take all of your content with you. So all the interviews you've done, the spoken word, videos, written word, it's all going to go with you somewhere else. Again, this is many years away. And all you get to leave behind is three lessons to the world that you've learned from your life. And this is all we would have to remember you by are these three truths, I call it.

1:01:48Shaun White:Okay.

1:01:49Lewis Howes:What would you say would be the three truths you would leave behind? I don't know.

1:01:53Shaun White:I think my gut goes to, I mean, immediately goes to the like, enjoy the little things. Enjoy the moments because they're fleeting and you think they're going to last forever, but they don't. You know, so many countless hours wasted going over what could have happened in the past that I can't change and what I should do in the future and just completely missing the amazing situation I'm in currently. So enjoying the moment. I think being true to who you are, honestly, because there's so much time spent, at least in my life, thus far, has been, you know, there's so many. There's the person I am and then there's the person that I think I should be sometimes.

1:02:38Shaun White:And it's so much just better to be who you are. Yes. Not try to put on the show or who are you pleasing or, you know, who are you trying to impress? And if you need to impress somebody, then it's somebody not worth you even having your time with. So, you know what I mean? I remember reading, I think it was, What Would Keith Richards Do? And it literally, like, one of the first or second things was, like, he was like, know yourself. He's like, I could party all night. I could do this and I could do that. And I got up and I was fine. And I did it because I could do it. I know a lot of guys that tried to do it because they thought that's what they're supposed to do, but they couldn't.

1:03:17Shaun White:You know what I mean? and he's like i'm not advocating for this for anyone but for me it worked this was my life you know it's like watching the last dance with yeah with rodman they're like he's just that guy we gotta send him out he gets a little crazy he comes back but he's our he's our crazy you know so know who you are and be true to that and don't don't be swayed i mean those are the things that kind of hold for me um and the third you know they're thick and thin through it all like you You know, when I've had crazy wins or I've had, you know, a breakup or, you know what I mean? Like my family's always been there.

1:03:52Shaun White:And like I can only hope that I'm that for, you know, my family or my, you know, in the future. It's such a, I mean, I didn't drive myself to the mountains. My parents got up every morning and drove me like, God, that's so awesome. You know what I mean? And what an amazing thing to have in common with your family when you're growing up, you know, because so many families grow apart. That was something we had together. But just the selflessness they had for me and my siblings growing up, it didn't matter if it was me and snowboarding and my sister wanted to play soccer. We're out selling candy bars trying to get on the team and get the new uniform.

1:04:29Shaun White:It didn't matter whether it was what I wanted. We kind of gave 100 % for each member of the family. And snowboarding just happened to be the thing to take off. But nothing can really replace that. And I think at times I remember thinking like I loved obviously the family unit I had and it got strained a bit as obviously like the growing pains of like becoming more successful and having to travel and having, you know, the obligations and the media and things. And it's like and you go, oh, well, this is my life and this is my world. And you kind of get sucked up into it. And I remember at some point thinking that the family wasn't as important.

1:05:07Shaun White:but it truly is because when all that goes or whatever happens you know like they're they're there for you and what we talked about earlier in the basic simplest of ways that like they like you right right for who you are yeah then he you know like oh cool you won the uh that's great so we're gonna go see spider-man or we got you know whatever they they care um on that that deeper level and um you know at least i can only speak for my family's been that amazing that's

1:05:38Lewis Howes:cool man support group for me so yeah that's great man i love these truths i hope i i won that those are good those are good i've got my final question uh before i ask you i just want to acknowledge you sean for the way you've shown up for the last couple decades of inspiring so many of us you know you constantly show up and dedicated to your mastery of your craft and And you go big. You know, you go big. You're relentless. Even when you crash, getting back up, like you're just a symbol of inspiration to so many people.

1:06:09Shaun White:Thank you.

1:06:10Lewis Howes:And I love your commitment to your craft and you have fun with it. And I also really acknowledge you for the last couple of years, like doing the inner work. I think it's really hard to look within ourselves and see, hey, something's off. And to do that work, it's been a journey I've been on for a while as well. and to be talking about it as a you know a global athlete icon like you and phelps to be really talking about these things is really helping a lot of men especially who are maybe struggling in their inner world so i really acknowledge you for opening up and everybody's got their thing

1:06:42Shaun White:and that's why i i didn't realize you know you look at instagram and people and you go oh they got that guy's got it together right and like oh he doesn't he's got a crazy uncle he's got it you know what I mean like everybody's got something and for sure I know you're not alone in that but I appreciate it thank you man thank you inspiring it's been a it's been a learning for sure and it's still going and that's I think that's the exciting part is I feel like I still have so much more ahead of me you know beyond competing beyond everything and right right I'm just like yeah I'm

1:07:12Lewis Howes:so excited for what's next that's great man yeah final question what's your definition of greatness

1:07:17Shaun White:Ooh, thought I was done with the three. I was like, I killed it. No way. Definition of greatness. Gosh, I mean, if you spoke to me like a couple of years ago, I had a different answer. But I think now is, I mean, something I've always carried with me was being just, I don't know, being different, I guess. I don't know how to describe it. It's like when you looked at athletes throughout history and, you know, it was like, oh, Mike Tyson would show up. And he wouldn't just win. He would win in a certain fashion. He would win in a certain way. And he would deliver when he had to. And he wore the black trunks and he showed up.

1:07:56Shaun White:Or like, you know, Muhammad Ali had the mouth and the word. You know, he had so much charisma and all these things. And, you know, something that defined who they were. And it's kind of like, I don't know. I've always thought, I look at everything, a lot of things in form of music.

1:08:13Lewis Howes:So like the greatest accomplishment usually for a musician is, yeah, obviously to win an award or Grammy or something like that, but it's to find your sound.

1:08:23Shaun White:Like what's your sound? Yes. And for me, like I just kind of like, I feel like I naturally fell into it. Like I looked different. I had red hair, so I kind of like leaned into it. I got huge red hair and then, you know, and I would show up in a certain manner. in certain things so i don't know i feel like you know greatness can be taken in so many ways but i really feel like it's just it's like seeing the same instrument but playing it your way like you know taking a sport and doing it just different yeah you know what i mean it's like it's the same thing but he just did it a little different than everyone else and i think that's what i strive toward even to this day it's not so much about like what trick am i going to do it's like what am i going to wear what am i going to listen to how is the run going to go down what would i say where's the you know there's so much that wraps around it other than just like showing up doing the tricks and trying to win yeah so i really try to like match all of that but um finding your sound yeah finding my sound so i think that's that's greatness in any way whether it's it's sports or it's music or you you just finding your own path i think it comes in many forms it doesn't

1:09:30Lewis Howes:have to be in the form of a gold statue or something sure sure it doesn't need to be a

1:09:36Shaun White:a trophy of any sort. Right, right. Love, man. Right on. Appreciate it. Thank you. Appreciate it.

1:09:42Lewis Howes:I hope you enjoyed today's episode and it inspired you on your journey towards greatness. Make sure to check out the show notes in the description for a full rundown of today's episode with all the important links. And if you want weekly exclusive bonus episodes with me personally, as well as ad-free listening, then make sure to subscribe to our Greatness Plus channel exclusively on Apple Podcasts. Share this with a friend on social media and leave us a review on Apple Podcasts as well. Let me know what you enjoyed about this episode in that review. I really love hearing feedback from you and it helps us figure out how we can support and serve you moving forward.

1:10:19Lewis Howes:And I want to remind you if no one has told you lately that you are loved, you are worthy, and you matter. And now it's time to go out there and do something great.

1:10:35you