Jeezy: Escaping the Streets, Building a Music Empire & Manifesting Lessons from Jay Z, Kanye West & Rihanna! EP 1480

24:19You know what I'm saying? So now it's like the love I have for you, I can't allow that to let, you know, me be vulnerable in a certain sense. I know it sounds like, you know, but it's life. How do you have peace, inner peace, emotional peace, and self-belief and self-confidence while also knowing that people that you grew up with or, you know, you're losing friends to death or jail or, and still happening today, how do you feel peace, calm, and confident? Running a business, running your life, traveling with your wife, whatever it might be, how do you feel those things? I feel peace because I know that when it's all said and done, my kids gonna know that their father was a great man.

25:08I feel peace in knowing that there's no better husband in the world than me. You know what I'm saying? Like, I'm that guy. You know what I'm saying? Because this is something I strive for. Like, I wanted these things. I know that when it comes down to my culture, there's nobody that's realer than me, because I'm not a rapper. Like, I'm not, I'm a prophet in my mind. I mean, I'm here to share what I've learned and to share what I know and hoping that it can change lives. Wow. Right, and save lives because that's the only thing I can do at this point. You can give me a billion dollars, I'm going to live the same life.

25:48Of course, I want it. Right, right, right. If I can give you more people, but I'm going to still be the same person. And for me, it's like I get peace in knowing that I got good friends now and I can build with. You know, I just had my homie lost one of his nephews and the other one lost his cousin. But it was a time where as black men, we couldn't even talk to each other about how we felt. I'm in a circle of people now. I can tell them like, man, I don't know how I'm... And we all come together and we talk about this and I ain't judging you. It didn't used to be like that. I used to have to keep all my feelings and everything that I was feeling balled up inside and deal with it myself, you know, which caused me to go outside of my comfort zone to find the answers, which was a great thing.

26:32But now I can call, you know, one of my brothers or somebody and say, hey, look, man, well, you know, my man, I finally, his nephew died. And the next day, my other man's cousin died. And it's just like, now I got to make these calls. But the calls are like, they're intentional. Hey, bro, if you need to process this, you know, You need to just sit down like, you want to smoke a cigar? Let's just talk. You know, and that's a different type of piece. Right? Because now I got an outlet. And then what gives me peace is I started getting mentors, whether it was my, because I had a - Did TD mentor yours?

27:07And Bishop Jakes is a mentor? Yeah, Bishop Jakes is one of my mentors. John Maxwell. Oh, yeah. I just had John on. He's great. Robert Greene. Robert's amazing. Tony Roberts. Yeah, man. You name it. You know, these are my, this is my circle. It's me now. Wow. And for me, it's like, these are people that I can reach out to, to even help me process stuff I need to process for the people that I love. Wow. I want help, right? Because now we all got this. You know what I'm saying? Sure, sure. It's not just mine, right? And what brings me peace is knowing that, you know, my decisions can change lives, right?

27:43Because my decisions have took lives. meaning like I've been a part of things. Wow. You know, but now it's not like I just turned this new leaf and I'm just in a different space. It's like this is who I am. This is who I was evolving to be. I just had to go through the fire. Wow. Right? Just to understand because I can't look at you with a straight face and go, I wouldn't do that. I don't think that's good. And I never did it. I'm going to be like, yo, man, like I've been there. And that's why when my brothers come to me, if they're going through something or whatever, I could sit down and have an intentional conversation about, you know, processing it and understanding where we are.

28:22And then we can, and here's that street sense kicks in again. Oh, you ever thought about this? You should sit down with such and such and y 'all figure that out. Sure, sure. And that's how it works. How old were you when you started to be able to open up and have these types of conversations about your emotions, about your feelings, about your thoughts, as opposed to just with yourself? because I never spoke about any of my emotions until I was about 10 years ago when I hit 30. That's when I started to process and heal and be able to talk about these things that I was like, no one could ever know this stuff.

28:55I would say when I was 40. Really? Yeah, it's less than five years ago. Wow, that's when you started to be able to say, all right, let me start processing or opening up. Well, what happened was I was living in Malibu and my music was changing. Louis Farrakhan hit me. Brother Farrakhan. He was like, Jeezy, Brother Jeezy, your music is changing. The enemy is coming. I'm just like, my enemy is in my neighborhood. He ain't coming where I'm. I'm in Malibu. He's like, I'm just telling you. Get off the phone with him. Next week, I'm on tour with Khalifa. Young man gets killed by my tour bus. And they lock me and my crew up.

29:31So now I'm sitting in L.A. County Jail. $10 million in bail. Oof. You know what I'm saying? Because of 10 people on the bus. Oh, I didn't do anything. First time in my life. I ain't doing it. And I'm sitting there. You're on the bus. Well, actually, I got off the bus. Oh, wow. And went to a hotel room. And then I came. But it was your bus. Going to the bus the next morning. They followed us to the next venue. Oh, man. That's where they got me at. Holy cow. And now I'm sitting in jail, 10 people in jail, million dollars apiece,$10 million. And my team came to get me out the first day, right? And I go, I can't leave them in L.A.

30:06in jail. I cannot. You know what I'm saying? And so let me figure out how to get everybody out, and then we'll get out together. So I got everybody out on bail because we still had to go to court. I had to pay for all that. Wow. Flying everybody back and forth, field of court, whatever. Shout out to my lawyer, Blair. Blair Brad, she killed it. But the thing was that one last time, I was depending on the people that was my people to make sure that my family and my people were straight. and when I got home, when I finally got out, nobody did anything. Really? And I was, because I've been the bad for everybody.

30:44I don't pay for things that ain't got nothing to do. It ain't even my business. Right? And I was just so devastated because I'm like, yo, what if I, what if this would have been it? What if I would have passed? Like, you're not going to make sure my kids agree. I'm not going to check on my daughter's mother. Y 'all are going to do these things. And it's just like, I've done that for y 'all. Right? And I'm not pointing any fingers. I'm just saying like, I know what I would do. Right? And that's when I started to learn I can't put my expectations on anybody. Right. Right. So now I got to do what's best for me because now I feel like I'm all alone.

31:13Wow. So I was it. I cut everything. And then that's when I went on my mission to just start. And one of my business partners, we used to always just sit down and talk, have a bottle of wine, smoke a cigar. And he's like, what do you want to do? I was like, I want to do real estate. And he just went to a real estate. I started doing real estate. That did well for me. I wanted to do spirit. So this is all what we did. So I'm like, why don't I just do that in life? So I, Robert Green, I call Robert Green, we go to the LA Athletic Club, sit down and have tea. I ask him seven questions and he started giving me this game.

31:43Wow. John Maxwell, who came to marry me and my wife. Wow. You know, in my backyard. That's amazing. One of my best friends and me and John talking, he gives me this insight and I just started to move towards the light. You know what I'm saying? Because I just wanted to get a different perspective because I didn't have anybody around me. Right. to give me their perspective. And T.D. Jake's saying thing. And I'm not just saying it because these are established people. These are men that have done well in their lives, in their community. And their relationships. And their relationships that want to share something with me that I didn't have any access to.

32:17Wow. And that's what made me start to open up and start to understand and start to be at peace and start to do all these things because now I know it's okay. Holy cow. So, before five years ago, when you would face a challenge or adversity... I'll say this too though, and I met my wife on set when I went to do her show, because she works in television, to promote an album I was working on. And I told my publicist, I said, yo, I'm gonna marry that woman. But I knew that I had to do some work on myself. Sure, sure. So this is the five years that I woulda got myself together. Then I came back and I was like, yo, I'm actually ready for you.

32:58Holy cow. Yeah. So you met her right around that time, five years ago or whatever. Yep. Wow. So this is fascinating because did you kind of let go of all those people in your, your life around that time? That was. I mean, I want to say let go because it wasn't that easy, but I just think we, we grew apart and things just started to happen differently. They didn't want to go on the same path as you. Yeah. So naturally they're not going to be spending as much time as you. Yeah. And then it just, you know, it got a little crazy for a while. Imagine, man. People don't like watching someone else change and doing things differently, especially if you've known for a long time and you're used to doing certain things with them.

33:35Well, they want you to be the old you because it makes them be uncomfortable. The new you makes people be uncomfortable. And for me, I just kind of felt like the hardest decision I've ever made in my life, hardest decision I've ever made in my life. Was what? Was to walk alone. Hardest decision I've ever made in my life. It was like, I meant for the first, I thought motivation came in. Oh. For the first three albums up until my album The Recession, I had so much survivor's remorse, and I was so, like, in a bad place. Like, I was drinking like you wouldn't believe. Really? Oh, my God. I was 260 pounds.

34:16Skin was bad. I was just like, you know, because I thought I was going to prison. the whole time I'm just because everybody around me started to get indicted so I'm like just waiting it's coming like if me you hanging out and you get indicted I'm like I got Louis that's my man right right you know my school right and it was just like the whole thing so a lot of the music and why was so so strong and the requisite because I just wanted to be heard in my mind I'm just like like I'm gonna be gone so this is my only chance so I really focused on the music put everything in the music because I was I just want to leave this behind if I'm not going to make it out this.

34:51And I was in such a... And this is the thing. I didn't have the verbiage for all these things I was going through. The language. You didn't have to communicate it yet. I didn't know what depression was. I didn't know what anxiety was. Like, I didn't know these things. I didn't have no... Well, you think I can go to the next room with one of my homeboys and be like, I'm feeling crazy. I think it's anxiety. Like, yo, man. Drink this. Smoke this. Hey, chill out, bro, if you bug it. And on top of paranoia. On top of paranoia. One of the cops coming in, one of someone come with a gun. Everybody I would see, I would just think, you know, that they're agents, they're this and that.

35:21Really? All these things are going on. I'm trying to make music. And I was just so depressed. I was just drinking so much. And I was like waiting, waiting to the day. Like I would just go to sleep sometimes. Like, okay, if it's a day, I'm prepared. And mind you, the whole time this is going on, because I'm built the way that I'm built, I'm distancing myself farther away from my family. my sisters and you know my cousins my dad my mom at the time before she passed because i'm i'm preparing right because if i go i don't want to be like i can't be a weak link wow you know because i miss the outside of my mom my family so i'm mentally distancing myself from them because i don't want that to affect me if i got to go to prison holy cow all that's going on and it was one day I never forget I started to work on the recession and um I was dealing with this young lady we had this this breakup she was public she was a public person we had a breakup and I just went in the studio the same night and I didn't come out until I worked the recession and what I was doing was I was um I was reading reading books this is something new for me what year is this this is oh oh eight eight okay oh seven going to oh eight right reading books I was watching the news.

36:41I was working out. Now I'm in the gym. I don't know how to work out because I don't like to be told what to do. So I ain't want to go with a trainer. So now I'm YouTubing videos. You know what I'm saying? You know, YouTube was my best friend and I learned how to eat clean, you know, how to stay hydrated. I wasn't drinking water for like, I would go months without water. Oh my gosh. Yeah. Yeah. It was Chris style. Oh my gosh. Chris style and Waffle House. That was That was my diet. And I was like that. And I lost 60 pounds. And I wrote The Recession, which was one of the best albums in my opinion that I've ever written in life.

37:17Because it was dealing with politics, the world, the things that were going on. I wrote My President is Black before Barack Obama. Wow. This was before he won. This was like six months before he won. And then he won. So that made that song go crazy. I had put on with Kanye West. This was the first verse that he did since his mom passed. and now I'm going to do shows. When I used to do my shows, it used to be like all the gangsters and gang members and the drug dealers in the front row. Now I'm down. I'm like 190, 185, right? And I'm doing shows and it's all women in the front. Really? Yeah. And I go do my first show on the recession tour.

37:52They think they're looking at usher or what? Right, yeah. And I'm doing the show and I come on the stage and all the stuff starts flying on the stage. I'm looking at my security guard. I'm like, yo, what you gonna do with this? He said, boss. I said, what's going on? He said, it's bras and stuff. I was like, oh my God. Panties and bras. Right. You know what I mean? And from that standpoint on, I was like, oh, I can be better. I can look better. I can be better. And this is when I came into stardom. This is when I did myself. Yeah. This is the first time. My third album was the first time in my whole career where I said, you are a bonafide star.

38:27You have to go out here and you got to do what you got to do. And you can't worry about your past. You have to be what you become. And that's when I fell into like Jeezy. Wow. That was the first time I felt like I was worthy. Really? Yeah. Because before then, I'm like, I'm thinking it's a fluke. You know, I'm like, huh? You know, I'm selling a few records, but it ain't the type of money I'm used to. Let's talk about that. You know what I'm saying? And how long was it really going to last? You know what I'm saying? And you're not even really an artist. So, you know, you can write a hit album and be talented and can't write another one.

39:04Right. A lot of people do that. Right. So now I'm starting the process there because I'm like, okay, I got one. What happens now? You know, so now I'm trying to stay in the studio, but I'm not living the same life that I was when I was writing these records. Right. Because I'm on the, I'm transitioning. So I'm seeing things different. And, you know, nobody wants to hear that. So what are you going to do? Right. How many people in the music business that you interact with truly believe that they're worthy of love and peace and success? I can't really speak because... I know for me, I just feel like...

39:44I just feel like I'm just a grown man. I don't group myself in that. Sure, sure. Not that I have any disrespect for it. Right. But it's like, you know, it's like if I go to a golf club and everybody there is, you know, well off, I might want to play golf, but I don't want to be in their group. Right. Right. And I think that it's hard to get to know somebody when they don't know themselves. You know what I'm saying? Like, it's hard, you know, because they're living out who they think they are, who people told them they are. A false identity. Yeah, you know, you can't get to know them because they're going by a name that they made up and that it's who they are, and that's how people perceive them in the world, right?

40:28And, you know, not to say that anybody's a bad person, but it's almost like you go to a wrestling match, you got to know The Undertaker ain't The Undertaker at home. Right, right, right, right. You know what I'm saying? You got to know that, right? But I think that's the difference, because I'm Jeansy at home. I'm Jeansy every day. Like, it ain't got nothing to do with the music. The music just happened to be a part of what I'm doing. So, I mean, the music, you said this earlier, you weren't never trying to be an artist. You were never trying to be a musician, an artist, a rapper, and you weren't trying to...

40:55I loved the music, though. You loved it? That was the thing, because I learned, and I talk about that a lot in the book, I learned a lot from Tupac's core. Because he had morals and values before I knew what they were. He stood for something. He was a revolutionary. I didn't know that you can even have an opinion about this stuff. You see what I'm saying? Sure. He stood on that. He died for it. He's like, you know, what's the difference between him and anybody else that was assassinated? He died for what he believed in. Right. And the things that he believed in gave people like myself some type of moral compass.

41:29Because I knew I couldn't do that because Pox said you couldn't do that. And then I knew I shouldn't do that because he said somebody did this to him. And that's how I was starting to pull things out of the music. So I loved the music. So I was listening to like the Pox and the Master P's and the 8-Ball, MJG's. I didn't listen to the music just to hear it and enjoy it. I listened to the music like servants. Wow. I'm trying to find the word in there. The message. The message. And that's why I love music so much. And it was like... But you weren't trying to be a musician. No. I was trying to be...

42:00Honestly, I was trying to be an entrepreneur before I knew what entrepreneurship was. Because the guys that I saw that was doing it on a major level was the Master P's and the Cash Monies. You know, they were living this crazy life. And I was hustling, trying to get the stuff that they was getting. I bought Lexuses and Rolex watches and all this stuff at that time. Like I was known for that. You know what I mean? Like I had people know, if you know me, I had the latest car, I had the best watch I had. And this was before music. Right. But these were the entrepreneurs. I'm like, well, I can do this.

42:32I just got to go find some talent. So I was... So you're trying to be the label. You were trying to find the talent. I was dealing with some guys out of Florida that I was kind of getting some money with in the streets. and they had a record company that they was building, right? And we went to this Black Spring break in Daytona or something. They had the Winnebago's and the cars with their stuff on, their T-shirts. And I was just like, I could do that. So I went back to Georgia, bought a studio, went to the neighborhood, got some artists. There wasn't artists. There was the homies. You know what I'm saying?

43:07Got artists. And, you know, put everybody down. My man was with me as well. and we put everybody in the studio and we was trying to make records and we was trying to get our name out there and it just didn't go that way. And the charges came down, people started getting real time, so on and so forth. And now we stuck with this studio with no artists and everybody like, well, look, you really lived the life, you might as well talk about it. Wow. I was a little reserved because I'm already, again, good over here. The last thing I want to do is go over here and look corny. Right. Because I don't really truly have talent.

43:44Like, I'm not writing songs every day. However, when I went back to my childhood, I had to realize, my wife is going to kill me about this, but there was a girl in my class when I went to school in Hawaii, right? And she was different than this or whatever. And I was just like, wow. You know, because I had never seen it. This is my first time out of the hood. Like, I've never seen this. Right. So I'm like, so I started writing her poems. Mm-hmm. And then the more I wrote her poems, my dad would come in like, what are you doing? I'm like, I ran into another poem. He's like, nah, come on. So I wrote her poems like every day and then she ended up becoming best friend.

44:20But I realized that the way I can articulate myself when I write was something special there because you're feeling what I want you to feel. Yeah, I'm getting the result. I'm with you now. Right. You know what I'm saying? We're connected. And I just remember that. And then when I started to understand how to put my life into words, it started to be therapeutic for me. Because now it's like, oh, I did deal with that. Oh, that is trauma. Wow, I did go through that. How did I overcome that? And now I'm putting it in my music. And that's why my music has always been about motivation. It's been about inspiration.

44:59It's been about how can I help you with my pain? How can I prevent you from feeling what I felt? And even if you do, how do I make you feel like you're not alone in this? That's where the music came from. Because if you go back to Pac, thug life was a movement. But if you listen to it, you think it's about killing and robbing. It's not. It's about standing for something. Right? It just made it make sense to us. Sure. Because we all feel like we're living the thug life. Wow. So I came back and my first album was Thug Motivation because I wanted to set it up like a class. That's cool. This is something you sit down and you...

45:30And then my second album was The Inspiration. Right? And then my third album was The Recession. So look at the... You know what I'm saying? And the crazy thing is I got the recession from being in a room with these guys. I went to this little private dinner. I'm in a room with all these guys that got all this money. And they were so concerned. It was like, you know, the recession is coming. I'm thinking about selling this and doing that. And I got to get rid of this business. And I'm going like, you guys got a lot of money. Like, what are you worried about? He's like, do you know what a recession is?

45:56I'm like, yeah, but I didn't. So I went back and Googled it. And I'm like, huh. So I'm asking questions now. What happens with this? How does that happen? So when I wrote The Recession, that was me running back to tell the culture what I just learned. Because we know what a drought is. A drought on the street means there ain't nobody working. But a drought on the money is totally different. So that means there's no money nowhere. Wow. Right? So if you think you're living bad now, you're going to live even worse. Right? So that was my intention when I wrote The Recession to tell people what was going on.

46:26And I just caught that moment in time where it hit and that music was like the soundtrack for what everybody was going through. And it was the recession. Right. And right when I dropped it, that's when they announced it. And it was huge. When I say huge, it was crazy. And every interview I did after that, I started to really notice again, hear those words. Because now I'm writing about what I'm learning instead of just what I'm doing. And I'm putting it together. And now my interviews are different. Like people are asking me real questions. They're not asking me, what's up with Lil Ray Ray? It's like now, what do you think about the president?

46:59Have you ever met him before? Right? And I got to tell you a crazy story about that too. So my past, so after I did my president as black, he won the first time, right? So he invites me to a correspondence dinner forever in New York. Go buy a Tom Ford suit from a crew, get myself together. And I fly back to New York and I go to the correspondence I'm watching my peers go in, the correspondents then. And I'm getting out of the car and I see my security talking to Secret Service. And there's like, no, he can't, he cannot. I'm like, can't be around you. Right. And, yeah. So he invited you, but he couldn't.

47:39His team invited me. Right. I couldn't get in. Most embarrassing day of my life. Because now I'm told everybody I'm going. Like, I'm telling everybody, right? And now I'm sitting in this hotel room, in this hotel called London, in New York. And I'm just sitting there and I'm going like, all the good I do. all the things I'm trying to like how you like I'm a good dude like how you gonna like you like this ain't even real like you know I mean my past is my past but I started to understand how big and deep my past was and if they would have dug into it what they would have found right and I never forget I was on tour maybe like so it was year one so this is like maybe like three years before we got back in the office again and my mom called me I'm in London on the tour bus She said, hey, baby, you see what the president's talking about you?

48:27I was like, what? She's like, yeah, the president was just talking about you. I said, no, no way. She said, yes. I said, he's talking about me. She said, yes. I said, okay. She had my sister send me the clip. He was at the next correspondent dinner. He said, my first term, I went with Al Green. My second term, I'm going with Young Jeezy. Wow. Like, plain as day. And he looked at Michelle. He said, she likes when I sing that to her. And that's when I was just like, okay, I get it. He got some ice in his veins. He see me. I can't feel no way. Right. He gave you a shout out. He gave you props. Yeah, yeah.

48:59But here we go. Here go that life again. I had people like that too. I'm in my own light. I'm doing my thing. You can't be right beside me. You're still in the things that don't. You know what I'm saying? So that was his way of showing me I see you. But I can't be. I can't be. It'll be a while before we're able to sit down and just have a cocktail, bro. But I see you. And to me, that acknowledgment, not just because he was the president, and because he saw me, right, publicly. Right. That made me, you know, I was just like, okay, cool. Which I took a page out of that. And even guys that I know from the streets that, you know, we have some history.

49:37I make sure if it's still that type of terms that I still see them. Because sometimes people just want to be acknowledged. Absolutely, man. Wow. Have you got a chance to sit down with him? No, actually, he came to Atlanta to do a rally for Stacey Ambrose. we got a chance to chop it up right quick. I don't think the Secret Service still trusts me yet. I'm just like looking at me up and down. So it's like, all right, we're out. Wow, man. Yeah. This is fascinating. So how did you get the confidence, knowing that you weren't a rapper or an artist or musician, how did you get the confidence to, obviously you're writing down your thoughts with a really poetry in your way and sermons in your way and motivation and teaching.

50:17You're putting it into an album. How'd you sell so many records? and get your name out there coming from the streets, how did you promote yourself and build a brand record after record when you didn't know what you were doing? That's the thing. That's the good thing. That's the golden thing about the streets. You don't got to know what you're doing as long as you do it because there's no, and that's, like I say back to the book, there's no straight path that we're trying to get through. You got to navigate these things. I think what gave me the confidence was survival and that I knew that I was studying before, like, say, for instance, when, again, when people would just be listening to the music, I'd be listening for the word, or I would be a young guy to go sit around a bunch of old guys and just listen to them talk to see what I can learn from them.

51:03And that just kind of was my school. It kind of gave me confidence because I knew more than the average kid my age, right? And I was learning how to move because my older cousins was in the streets before me and they was pretty big. So I watched a lot what they was doing a lot of people that was around them and I'm just like okay And I'm just I'm sponies your brother was performing in the streets No, no my cousin was in the streets gotcha. They was doing this every day. Yeah, yeah They were the guys and I was just watching what they was doing so you observed and then you're right Yeah, it's a sponge a sponge a sponge and that's what gave me confidence because I just felt like I knew more than everybody else Right, and then I wasn't scared to go ask the questions and interesting and then going about building a brand I I watched and studied how music worked.

51:45And even from the cash money era, the Master P, you know, Master P and them had the tanks on and all that stuff. I'm just like, what, what, what is that for me? And I had this mechanism with this big diamond encrusted snowman on it. Right. And, and it was like, it was the craziest thing ever because it started as a chain. Right. And then people started calling me snowman. Right. And now I got a brand. And then when I put out my first album, they took the snowman and put it, shout out to the Shana Ayers, she was helping me with it. They took the snowman and put it on the CD cover. It immortalized it.

52:21And now this snowman is everywhere. And everyone wants to wear a snowman. So the shirts were made for branding and marketing. And I got to go back to how I branded and marketing myself. The shirts was made for branding and marketing and we only made a hundred. It blew up so much we ordered a thousand more. then it out of nowhere I promise you I don't know what happened it went from some shirts that we were sending out to you go anywhere on Harlem anywhere on 125th whatever every store got different versions of snowman shirts this was all around the world wow so now Jay Z calls me because he's the president of Def Jam he's like I'm going to the magic show you should come with me so this is the magic show out there the clothing show in Vegas so they got the Rockerwear booth out there yeah yeah and he's like yo let's just walk through it So me and Jay-Z walk around the magic show.

53:11What year is this? This is like 06, 06. And we just walking around it. And people keep running up to me going, Jeezy? No, I'm with Jeezy. They're like, Jeezy, man, thank you so much. We love you, man. You're the realest. This is great. And I'm just like, so after the fifth person, I look at him, he look at me. He's like, what's going on? No one's saying anything to Jeezy. Yeah, but not even just that, though. We're both looking at each other like, what's going on? Because I don't know what they're talking about. You know what I'm saying? Right. And I asked the guy, I said, yo, what do you mean?

53:42He's like, yo, everybody's making money off these snowman shirts. Because now they sell them in bulk. Oh, man. You know what I'm saying? Because they sell them to all the mom and pop stores. So we went to one guy's shop. He had them to the ceiling. And one of my guys back then told me when I first did it, I should trademark it. Yeah. But I'm still thinking like that. I'm like, nah, it's just whatever. And I never trademarked it. Oh, man. Craziest thing ever. And the crazy thing was, but it's a double-edged sword, so I didn't trademark it. However, I think that made my brand bigger than life. Wow.

54:16Because everybody had access to it, and they were selling it, and they were making money, which means that I was helping them, helped me. Yeah, and they were probably getting out there faster than you could. About 1 ,000%. Wow. Now it goes back to how I started branding myself. So what I would do when I was first trying to figure out where I was going, I was doing these mixtapes with DJ Drama. He's like a big deal in the culture as far as street tapes. So what I would do, people would do street tapes and put them in stores and sell them for$5,$10. What I did was I pressed up like$100 ,000 and gave them all out.

54:50Wow. I went to this club every week on the east side and I gave them out. Then we were around town, gave them out beauty supply stores, beauty salons, barbershops. And I did that. That was the first tape. I saw the needle move a little bit. In Georgia? In the lab. In the lab, yeah. Then my second tape was Trap or Die. Right. So I pressed up 500 ,000 of these. Oh man. And I just started giving them out, giving them out. Best thing I've ever done. Because my grandmother always told me, if you want something from somebody else, give them something first. Right. Best thing I ever said. I could still do those songs right now, any stage.

55:19Wow. Because it was like, it was like grassroots. And now I'm getting everybody starting to know who I am. And then I put this DVD of all the footage of me just running around with the Trap or Die tape. And when I knew it was real, when I used to walk into my, we call them trap houses. So I was going to my friends trap houses or whatever, like my homies or whatever. And I go like, you know, just go through there, holler and whatever. And they would be watching my DVD. Wow. Shut up. In the bedroom room, it'd be like 10 people in there looking at the DVD and you looking like, y 'all know me. It's like, oh, this is crazy.

55:52You know what I'm saying? there watching me and that's how i knew and then it went from there it's because i used to hang out a lot it's being all the premier clubs whatever because i just went my jury driving my cars because that was my that was my marketing like i just looked like the guy who was already successful and i was trying to be successful and i never forget when uh trap or die came out um i was walking in the club and remind you i'm a street guy so i'm not used to people just walking up on me and this is back before you can like just take pictures of anybody and anything and people come up on me like, yo, Jeansy, man, I love what you do, man.

56:24Like the six times somebody came to me, it just felt like somebody was paying them to say this. You know what I'm saying? Because it was weird. I never, you know, and it just started happening more and more. And I'm like, oh, oh, oh, I'm on to something. Interesting. This is, this is, this is real. And then I started to be like, go out like the malls or whatever. And we just doing regular stuff. People come up to me, yo, man, I really love you, man. I love what you do. And I'm just sitting there and I'm going like, this is it I got to focus now wow and I started recording my debut album and while I'm recording my debut album I'm just paying for it myself um and they they come to me about a deal so I take the deal uh with Def Jam and when I'm taking the deal and working on the album that I'm paying for that they're going to reimburse me my money I don't know how to perform and I'm not taking care of myself.

57:17And so now I do this show in Jacksonville at the Super Bowl, like in a club, nightclub. And the system is terrible. And I had problems on my vocal cords already. Oh, man. And I tore my vocal cords. Oh, man. So now I'm one foot in the street, one foot out. I got some buzz as an artist. And I gotta get surgery. Oh, man. And I don't know if I'm... And the whole conversation is, we don't even know if he's gonna sound the same or how he's gonna sound. So now I'm like, it's going down. You know what I'm saying? Like, I don't know what to do, you know? And it was probably one of the scariest moments of my life because now I got to go in there behind you.

57:58I don't even have his shirt. So I paid for my surgery with a brown paper bag. Oh my God. So I paid for my surgery with a brown paper bag. And so I made it through that. And then right after that, I want to make sure I say this word right. because somebody said I didn't say it right last time. I got hit with Bell's palsy. Uh-huh. And now... Wow. My mouth is crooked and my face is... This is like the second thing. After the surgery. After the surgery. Holy cow. So now I'm like, I'm hiding. Because I look crazy. And I was scared. I remember talking to my mom. I was just like, Mama, I don't know what to do.

58:38But then I realized quickly, too, that I wasn't taking care of myself, right? And at the same time, you don't have people around you that are taking care of themselves. They're not. You're drinking, you're eating bad. Not sleeping. No, you can. He was too paranoid. Like, I couldn't, man, I can go off, before these days, I can go off like an hour and a half of sleep. Oh, my gosh. Any day. That was my thing. I sleep when I die. Right. Yeah. Because you couldn't sleep, you know what I mean? Because you got so many things going on and your mind is in so many different places, but you're trying to navigate it.

59:10And that's why I say, you know, the new rich is peace. It is, you know, because, you know, you can have a billion dollars, you know, like my uncle used to say, you can put somebody in the Rose Wars, he's still going to have the same problems. He's going to have those problems in the Rose Wars. And I think once you become in this place where you just have peace with who you are and who you're becoming, and like I said again, I had to give myself permission to evolve. Wow. Because it was almost like I wanted to grow, but I couldn't grow because of my surroundings. These weeds and these things that will hold me back.

59:40when I started to clean that out, I started to grow and bloom and blossom. And I just started to understand, like, wow, the air is different up here. The thought process is different. Yeah. You know, I like getting up at 5 a.m. in the morning. I used to be a time I wouldn't go to sleep until 6 a.m. I know, man. Up all night. Right. Wake up at 2 p.m., yeah. But I love it now because it's like, and even some of my friends, they ask me, like, what are you doing now? And it's crazy because people ask me a lot of things about life and I'm surprised because they're older than me. And they're like, yo, so what are you doing now?

1:00:12I'm getting up at five, I'm doing this. What book you reading? I'm reading this book, I'm reading that. They come over to my house, I give them a copy of the book. It's weird, it's cheesy. Yeah, sure, sure. You know, this guy used to pass you the blood, now he's giving you books, you're like, uh. But I take pride in that because it's my peace. I love when I go through my phone and one of my guys hit me like, oh, no, chapter 10. Oh, my God, it's mind-blowing. You know, again, where do you get chapter 12? But in my mind, that's my peace. Wow, man. And I had to work so hard and do so much work on myself just to even get a taste of that.

1:00:45Yeah. How did you get, I mean, how did you get to a taste of peace? How did you start to even heal your thoughts, your emotions, your body? Because I'm assuming 40 years of some type of psychological or physical trauma, whether it be not sure where you're sleeping at night, mom's pointing a gun in your face, on the streets, who knows what's going to happen every day. sleeping an hour a night, doing that for 40 years. Yes. Seeing friends die, seeing friends go to jail, doing that for that long. Right. Having surgery. Right. There is no peace. There's no healing. There's no time to think about, let my nervous system calm and relax.

1:01:25Let me process these memories of my past from parents to childhood friends to other stuff that maybe you haven't talked about and really allow my body to feel whole. Right. When did that start to happen, and is that still a journey for you? Yeah, it's still a journey. I learned that when my mom passed. I didn't agree with that. Really? Because I'm numb. When was this? My mom passed three years ago. Yeah. I'm numb. I've been through it so much, I don't feel that part. I got to be honest. I don't know how to connect with that. And that's something that I'm working on every day, because it's like when you're going through all these things, it becomes normal life to you.

1:02:06Right and then you have to understand this is what's gonna happen. You got to deal with you got to keep moving Right and when my mom passed I knew that I didn't grieve, right? I was just like something's not right We're sitting on another mission. So to answer your question is how do you get to that? I'm still working on that now And that's why I'm even opening up and being transparent about what I'm going through. I think at some point it's black man We all in that space, man if you didn't come from a certain type of life. And for me, it took me to get around other people to understand that everybody's went through something, right?

1:02:41And you got to be different outlets of how you can, you know, just start to dump some of that stuff off. And the craziest thing is, you know, and I'm not just saying that, even when I started listening to your podcast, John Maxwell's, and, you know, just different people, I just respected their perspective. I started to get a lot of information about how to deal with those things I should reach out to, which is why I'm so passionate about the book because there's information in there, right? There's information in these shows and these episodes that you do that you wouldn't even expect people to pull that from and go, man, maybe I need to, maybe I should sit down with somebody and like, I didn't know what processing mean.

1:03:22Right. You know what I'm saying? I didn't know that something from my childhood could affect me worse in my forties, right? I didn't know all these things, but I'm working on those things every day. I'm working on trust. Wow, man. You know, I'm working on emotions. Like, I love my kids, right? And I'm just making sure I'm intentional about connecting with them. Because I know there's some times with me where I get caught up in my world and I'm thinking about everything that I got going on that I might not be present. But then I didn't know there was a such thing of being present. So now I got to check myself on that.

1:03:53So now I'll be present. You're always hustling for the next thing, probably. So now it's checks and balances. Wow, man. And it's in the information. And that's one thing I do like about social media. At this day, I hate all the other. Like, it's terrible. But there's a lot of information there, if you know how to sort through it. It's like YouTubes, like books, like podcasts. There's information that we need that we just can't get from people that are around us because they're searching for the same thing. And I think that's what helped me get on the mission of healing because it's the thing. I didn't know I needed to heal.

1:04:23I felt like I was Iron Man. You know what I'm saying? Like, I'm good. Like it came, nothing hurt me. I felt like that. And then when I started peeling back the layers, I'm like, I'm like, wow. Like, you know, like, like how somebody don't feel your devotion if they can't, if you're not, you know, it's how people are going to feel you if you're not even being, cause you know, by the way, this is, I would never talk this much. Just go back and look at my first interviews. I'm like, yeah, nah, it was like interrogation. Yes or no. Yeah. It was interrogation. It was like, nah, I don't know about that.

1:04:53But now I feel like, you know, it's my purpose and my responsibility to open up. That's beautiful, man. Because we don't make it to our 40s and 50s, you know what I'm saying? And we don't make it there being us and still being cool and still being successful and still being like, you know, if it's a black man, you get over a certain age, nobody cares about you. Not even your kids. Really? We can't give them no money or do nothing for them. It's like, you know, you just get to a certain age, it's so hard for us, right? So you have to put things around you and put things in place to keep you held accountable and that fulfill you so that you can go out here and be the best that you can be.

1:05:29And for me, that's what keeps me going and keeps me on the journey of healing. I don't got a problem saying that now because I got my friends and people that tell me, you know, things like, yeah, man, I'm really going through this. I'm like, well, I'm here. Like, what can I do? Right. So I'm already knowing they need to heal. Right. and I understand that. So now I give him space to heal, right? Checking in, you know, let's go have dinner or something. Let's just get out for a minute. And because the thing for my coach is when you go through things, you isolate yourself, you know, and that's like the worst thing ever because now you, you know, you in this, you know, and a wall is for real.

1:06:12Yeah, man. You know, a wall can keep people out, but it can also keep you in. You know what I'm saying? So it can keep the bad things out, but it blocks the blessings as well. It does. You know, and I think, you know, I had a wall up for, you know, my first probably, you know, 30-some years of my life. Really? Oh, a big one. I'm talking about like, I'm talking like, no, nothing wasn't getting past that wall because that's how I was surviving. It's different to live for love and to live for survival. And if you ask me, you know, what was the difference? I was living for survival here. Now I'm living for love.

1:06:46Were you able to experience love up until the last five years with that wall? No. Really? No. What does love feel like now that you have the wall coming down or at least partial wall? It feels like trust. Really? It feels like a village. It feels like community. It feels like support. It feels like understanding. It feels like grace. It feels like those things because, again, you never had it. And not to say that it wasn't there, but I wouldn't let anybody in. You weren't allowing yourself to experience it. So now it's just like knowing people. Because, you know, for a while you just feel like nobody really, like, really is down with you.

1:07:23Because when you go through, like, a lot of the stuff I talk about in the book, and you realize how people go left and right, not really down, you kind of just build that up in your head. You're kind of like, okay, all my interactions are like, you know, they're one-offs. I'm not looking to build with you. You know what I'm saying? Not deep, yeah. Yeah, I already know at some point it's going to go left, and you're going to feel a way about something, and there's that, right? But what I had to learn is like, you know, even when I was wrong, you know, I could still go back and have a conversation with somebody who's mentally on the same level as me and be like, you know what, man?

1:07:54I just had a bad day, bro. Like I was doing this and that and going through and you said this and I just kind of felt like I wasn't there. You know what I'm saying? No, it's all good. That's how two men talk. But you coming from a culture where if we don't agree, somebody got to go. Wow. You know what I'm saying? Sure, sure. Oh, yeah. Somebody got to go. And I ain't talking about just leaving. Rob. You feel what I'm saying? Go forever. Yes. Holy cow, man. That's how it's set up. And the thing about it is, what I learned in this world is, there's no conflict resolution in this world. We don't have conflict resolution.

1:08:31We don't have an understanding of how this is supposed to go. There's a resolution, it's just not a healthy one. Right, right. And in this world, there's conflict resolution. There's... I'm wrong. You're right. You know what? Next time I try to starest, you know, you lose somebody, we there for you. You know what I'm saying? You're going through something, you got help. You know what I'm saying? If you're feeling depressed, I want to be the one to call and make you laugh and tell you something crazy. You know what I'm saying? Or if you got some issues with your business, I want to introduce you to my lawyers and my friends and their friends and so on and so forth.

1:09:09You know, if I went on a vacation somewhere, like, man, you know, you should go there. I'm gonna set you up with the people. So now you're like building this community of we all we got, right? And in this community, you all you got. Right. You know what I'm saying? Wow. You know, ain't no way around it. With all the experience you have now from all the stuff and the trauma you went through growing up and the process of healing and the process of trusting in the last five years and processing and all these different things, what would you say is your greatest superpower now? And maybe it's not what people would think it is.

1:09:47And also, what is your biggest weakness still that you're working to overcome that you want to become better at overcoming? My biggest weakness would be dealing with a lot of my childhood trauma. because there's sometimes a little J still comes out. You know what I mean? I have to work on that because EV feels slighted. And again, what I had to kind of come to grips with is that what served me then doesn't serve me now. You know what I mean? And it's like, you know, a violent behavior would serve me then. It protected you. It guarded you. Right. You know, tough demeanor. It's like, ah, you know.

1:10:27and um was it the next one you asked was what am I working on greatest greatest superpower about yeah I say the greatest superpower to me is having a good heart you know I'm saying because I always had it you know I'm saying it just doing things for people makes me feel like it fulfills me right it's almost like you know somebody call me like yo thank you for introducing me such a such or telling that says, you know, start by my business. I'm like, oh, no, you know, I love what you do. That's a good thing for me. And then also, my superpowers, problem solving. Like, I love that. Like, you can put 100 problems on this desk.

1:11:13I'm scanning through them, okay, this is what we're going to do. That's my thing. And just to add something on to that, I think my biggest super, superpowers is integrity. Wow. I just, I have to move correctly because I have to be able to look at myself in the mirror. And there's been some times that I couldn't. Because I didn't move correctly. Your past. My past, definitely. I mean, you know, and based off, like, you know, I would lie if I felt like it was going to benefit me or get me out of trouble. I don't think I can do that today. So I try not to get in trouble because I'm going to be like, yeah, I did it.

1:11:47Right, right, right. But I had learned that a man, that's a real man, doesn't lie under any circumstance. He doesn't. Wow. When did you learn that? When did you start that switch of... I started that around... about my late 30s. Wow. Because I was still trying to figure it out then. And I wouldn't say nothing crazy, but if you asked me something, there was some pressure behind it, meaning I could be in a situation or it might not go my way, then I might lean towards what's gonna work for me. But now I couldn't do that. I couldn't look somebody. There's no peace. Yeah. When you're always telling a white lie or hiding something, you know.

1:12:26Well, also what I learned too, it worked for me because you have to be covert, right? You're coming from this world, you can't tell people everything you're doing. Now you're supposed to tell me the next step because they could be there waiting for you, right? So that was how I lived. But when I started to be more transparent, I started to notice that these quality people that I was bringing in my life became close in me. they embraced me more. Because you got to think, like, I was the guy that talking about coming over your house for dinner. Oh, no.

1:12:59It was... But the more vulnerable and open and honest and integrity and your word that you are consistently, the more people want to support you... ...who have the same values. Right. They say, okay. And the more they want to, you know, even give you a lot of the knowledge that they have. 100%. You know what I'm saying? it's just like, and not even, you know, like really pour into you, like really lean into you. And at first, you know, that was a little weird to me because nobody had ever helped me before. So now I'm trying to figure out what's the catch. Right. What are they trying to get out of here?

1:13:35Right. So now I'm trying to figure out what's the catch. Trying to use me, trying to get something from me. Right, right, right. And it took a while and I'm just like, wait, hold up, wait, wait. So, and then, you know, I'm not good with time. Like I remember the trauma stuff, but like, because of course I lived a crazy life in and out here and there, so you meet people and see people. But then when you see people, you haven't seen them in a while, and they kind of greet you with that love, and they tell you, like, I just really love you. Like, at first, I couldn't believe it, right? But over time, it started to be like, yo, maybe, you know, that's genuine, that's real.

1:14:05Because where we come from, if somebody tell you they love you, you got to be watching your back. Really? Yes, absolutely. One thousand percent. With them? Yes. You out of nightclub, somebody get in your ear, you know how to love it. That's it. You don't want that. Really? Yes, you don't want that. Wow, they could be shooting you the next day or something? 1 ,000%. I've seen it happen more times than you can think. I've seen it firsthand, you know? What is the biggest lesson your wife has taught you? The biggest lesson she taught me in life is that having a partner is having somebody that is on the same wavelength and you and you guys are building the better.

1:14:51They're building together is the best thing in the whole world. My wife is smart, super smart, super savvy, you know, fly, let's say that. And it's just like, that's my partner. Like, we can talk about things and she's there with me, right? And then she can also tell me things that I wouldn't take from anybody else. because there's been times I've been in situations where my wife is like, have you ever thought about? I'm like, no, I have not. Let me get into that. And we sit down, we politic, and we talk, and it's just like we're coming with a plan. And I love that. And she can hold her own, and that's what I really respect about her.

1:15:27She has just as many resources and things as I have, and we always put them together to do things. That's amazing. She's very well-traveled, and I love that. We can go anywhere. She's plugged in, and we live a life together that we both sit down I mean, the first couple months we was together, we sat down and we did a vision board, and it was like this big vision board that was in my condo. And we're just doing all these, you know, it's all these ideas, and we looked up, maybe like a year later, we had done everything. I'm like, yo, man, we got to do another board. That's cool. That's amazing, man.

1:16:04I've got a few more questions for you, that's okay. This has been inspiring, man. I could hear your stories. Thank you so much, brother. I could hear this stuff for a long time, But I want to ask, I mean, you mentioned Jay-Z briefly, but you've worked with a lot of big artists over the years, right? I mean, who are some of the names that you've worked with or either been on tracks with, or they've been on your album or you worked with? Kanye West to Rihanna to Mariah Carey to... Wow, and this goes on. The only people I ain't worked with that I ever wanted to work with is Sade and Tupac. I think everything else I got covered.

1:16:42Wow. Yeah, man. How did you go, I mean, from not being an artist, not being a rapper, not knowing anything really about music, to working with the biggest names in the world? I think it's my connection to the streets and the people and the culture. Because, again, like, you have your community and you have some leadership there. By connecting and collabing, you get to get these people ears that you never would have got because they don't know you or believe you, but they believe me. Mm. Right? So that's the key to it because that's the most reason why people do collabs is to tap into whatever you got.

1:17:19Right? And it's just like, you know, when you got people like Rihanna, we've done records. You got Kanye West. We've done plenty of records. You got people like Jay-Z. I got more records with Jay-Z than he has with Biggie Smalls. Like, just think about that. Holy cow. Right. But that's what I'm saying. So for me, I think we just tap into what each other has and for me my stronghold has been the culture the people like I am the people's champ you know and and and it's way beyond the music like the music is just a vessel and and and and and and and connection to the people but I think it's more life things to have because you can track and see why I was in a bad space you can see why I was trying to figure it out you can see when I started to come out of my rut you can see when I started to think different you see when I started to eat different.

1:18:08You see when I started to dress different. So you're seeing that evolution and you start to go, hold up, I'm from where he's from. I can do that. He's doing like, you know, real estate in Atlanta. Like we're really over the world. Healing right now. Something I always love. I mean, it reminds me of my old life. You buy something, you flip it, right? But it's my thing. And now I got business people coming to me, talking to me about real estate. These are people in the culture that's really excited about going out here and doing these things that they probably wouldn't have never thought that they can do, but they're seeing what I'm doing and they're going like, wow.

1:18:40And now I'm getting these calls from people that I used to know in a whole nother life. Like, man, I just bought this duplex, man. Who can I talk to about managing it for me or whatever, whatever. And it's like, these are the conversations I want to have with you. I don't want to have conversations with you. Right. That are, you know, that are - The old way. Yeah, it's not good. I got three final questions for you. I feel like I could ask you tons of stuff. But I want people to get your book, Adversity for Sale. Yes, sir. You got to believe. Oh, ho. make sure you guys get a few copies of the book, give them to your friends from JGZ Jenkins.

1:19:12This question is what I ask all my guests at the end of our conversations. It's called the three truths. So it's a hypothetical question, hypothetical scenario. Imagine you get to live as long as you want to live. You know, you can extend your life for as long as you want, but eventually it's the last day. But you've created so many vision boards. You've accomplished all your dreams a thousandfold, right? For the rest of your life. You've lived exactly the way you want to live. But for whatever reason in this hypothetical world, no one has access to your content, your information, your music, your books, this conversation is gone.

1:19:55Everything you've ever three lessons. And this is all we have access of your information, the three lessons that you would share with the world. I call them the three truths. What would be those three truths for you? First truth would be, karma is real. I've done some pretty bad things in my life. And I tell you, man, the man upstairs, big G-O-D, he made me, he made me pay. He made me pay. And I'll never go back down that road again. So do right by people and do right by yourself, you know, because karma is real. That would be my first truth. My second truth would be it's never too late for anything.

1:20:43Like, you can be high old or you can be in the worst situation in the world. It's just never too late to turn it all around. It's never too late. Like, if you get started today, you're on your way tomorrow, no matter when. And my last truth would be evolve or die. And I don't mean in the sense of the word, but if you're not evolving, you're not living. And the last thing you want to do is take that with you. And they say, you know, the richest place in the world is a cemetery. Because everybody take all these great things with them. And it's just like you might lose a lot of all of it, but you gain so much more.

1:21:26Right. And you have a whole different respect for yourself because we only got one life and your life has to affect. More than what you can see or touch your life has to affect. I can never thought the end of my life would affect millions. And I'm still continuing to chip away at that. And again, when I'm no longer here, I want my kids to know that their father was a great man. He stood for something. And he wanted to help people the best way he could. He didn't actually come in the best way. But he wanted to help people as much as he could. And I hope and I pray by people seeing me evolve and giving myself the permission to do so on my own terms, at my own time, that that helps them understand that there's no judgment.

1:22:22If you want to do and become better for yourself, your family, your peers, your community, your culture, your people, you got that right. Because when this life is over, it's a wrap. It's done. And what you didn't do, never get a chance to do that, ever. Jeezy, I want to acknowledge you before I ask the final question for your, really your ability to look within over the last, you know, three to five years and say, you know what, I'm going to start talking about things that I never thought I was able to talk about. I'm going to start opening up and being vulnerable, even though I would have been laughed at, made fun of, kicked out of the house or whatever growing up, if I would have done these things then.

1:23:03And I acknowledge you for allowing yourself to start to heal and transform and transmit the message that you've learned from, you know, the karma that you've had to deal with in the past from wrongdoings and mistakes and things that you did that were out of integrity to being the best human you can be. And obviously still no one's perfect, but being on that, that process of service, adding value the way you can creating, bringing people together, collaborating. So I acknowledge you for the man you're continuing to becoming. I received that, brother. The man you're healing into a beautiful man, it looks like, and I hope we get to play some golf sometime, hang out sometime more.

1:23:44Yeah. And I want people, again, to get the book. Before I ask the final question, is there anything else we can do to serve you today? Oh, man, just make sure we spread this message, and let's just continue to build, brother. Yeah, man. And I want to let you know as well, like, you really... I've turned a lot of my friends and my peers on to you, and it's like they call me the next day like, it's amazing. Because you just, like, different episode of what you're going through in life, you can just kind of go through it and pick what you're going through and listen to it. And I listen to your stuff every morning, man.

1:24:15That's me. What you can do for me is continue to do what you're doing, man. It's affecting more people than you know. My man, I appreciate it. Final question, Jeezy. What is your definition of greatness? My definition of greatness is to be the best version of yourself by any means is greatness to me. That means win, lose, draw. Just be the best version you can be of you. And that's all you got to give is there's nothing else. Like if you get up every day and you're doing the best you can do and you're being the best that you can be, that's greatness. You're already walking in the path. It only gets better.

1:24:59You know what they say? Good habits, good things come out of that. Bad habits, bad things come out of that. So at the end of the day, if you got a habit of being the best version of yourself, you're only going to get better at that. And that's greatness to me. I hope today's episode inspired you on your journey towards greatness. Make sure to check out the show notes in the description for a rundown of today's show with all the important links. And if you want weekly exclusive bonus episodes with me as well as ad-free listening experience, make sure to subscribe to our Greatness Plus channel on Apple Podcast.

1:25:31If you enjoyed this, please share it with a friend over on social media or text a friend. Leave us a review over on Apple Podcast and let me know what you learned over on our social media channels at Lewis Howes. I really love hearing the feedback from you and it helps us continue to make the show better. And if you want more inspiration from our world-class guests and content to learn how to improve the quality of your life, then make sure to sign up for the Greatness newsletter and get it delivered right to your inbox over at greatness.com slash newsletter. And if no one has told you today, I want to remind you that you are loved, you are worthy, and you matter.

1:26:06And now it's time to go out there and do something great.