FIND YOUR PURPOSE - If You Feel LOST & UNHAPPY In Life, Watch This! | Jay Shetty

When I finally got a job after 40. rejections, and I met people and they. were 21 and I was 26 now by the time I. started my first job. I was 26 years. old. I realized that I had actually had. the greatest advantage, which was I had. massive self-awareness. I knew what my. strengths were. I knew what my what my. weaknesses were. I knew what I had to. offer and I knew what I wanted to do. And I was just like I just took the. biggest risk. Potentially one of the biggest career. risks in life by becoming a monk. I shouldn't be scared of anything.

anymore. Welcome to Imposters, the show where I. have revealing conversations with. world-class execs, athletes, and. entertainers about their personal. challenges and how overcoming those. challenges has shaped their careers and. lives for the better. And I hope that it. helps you along your personal journey. I'm your host Alex Lieberman, co-founder. and executive chairman of Morning Brew. Before we get started, make sure to. subscribe and click the bell so you get. notified every time Morning Brew drops a.

new video. Let's dive in. My guest today. is Jay Shetty. Jay is the host of the. podcast On Purpose and the author of the. New York Times best-selling book Think. Like a Monk. For the past several years, Jay has been working hard to, as he puts. it, make wisdom go viral, which he does. by sharing insights with his millions of. followers on Facebook and Instagram and. with his over 7 billion views on. YouTube. Jay's wisdom has been lauded by. powerhouses like Oprah and Ellen and has.

been named on Forbes' 30 under 30 list. But Jay's path to success has been. anything but linear, as we'll discuss in. our interview. In fact, to get to where. he is today, Jay had to take some. incredibly hard and unconventional. career risks and overcome massive. amounts of imposter syndrome. Jay Shetty, thank you so much for. joining Imposters. I want to say thank. you to you. I mean, we've been working. towards this for a long time. So, I'm so. grateful for all your love online. I. love connecting with someone over. Twitter. I think that's what we. connected over.

Yeah, we we connected over Twitter at. first then a few times on Instagram, few. times over email, but it's just. interesting the world we live in where I. have so many friends that I've never. actually met in life, but I feel a. closeness to them in in so many ways. definitely. I feel that warmth towards. you, too, and I'm I'm glad that we're. finally meeting in person, but thank you. for the opportunity. Absolutely. So, I don't know how else to say it other. than it feels like you've had. seven careers in your life. It like. it feels like you have just experienced. so many different things. Um and people I think today know you as.

someone who's making wisdom go viral, is. a podcast host, is someone who's written. a book, does all these things, but you've had so many other experiences. in your life that have kind of informed. where you are now. And so, I would love. for you to take me from the beginning. What was childhood like for a young Jay. Shetty? So, I did this interesting. activity recently where I sat down and I. realized I'd been working for around 20. years now. And how old are you now? I'm. 34. Okay. And so, around 20, 22 years.

And I just I was like, "Wow, that's. that's an interesting number." And I sat. down and I wrote down every job I'd ever. had. I have it in my note section on my. phone, but I mean I think I can say it. from my memory. Let me go through it. I. don't know the number, but so, it was. newspaper boy, like paper delivery dude, uh worked in a grocery store stacking. shelves, then worked in retail selling. like. women's clothes, denim, that kind of. stuff, then was a tutor, I coached. students at college to make extra money.

in younger years in things like. economics and psychology and philosophy. and things like that. And then, I lived. as a monk for 3 years. Then, I worked as. a digital strategy and innovation. consultant at Accenture. Then, I was a senior host and producer. at Huffington Post. Then, I started my entrepreneurial. journey, which now has led to books, podcasting, media, everything else. So, at least eight Which I think is such an. important thing to to call out because I. think people will look at you today and.

be like, "God, this guy, he he has it. all. He's in his mid-30s, super wise. He's built a massive audience. You know, he has all these different lines of. business. Like, clearly he has it all. figured out." And I think just by you. laying out these, whatever it is, nine, 10 jobs that you've had, it has been anything but a linear path. to get there. And I'm sure from your. perspective, it's like you don't have it. all figured out at all. You're just. working your best to do it. figured out actually. No. Yeah, no, no, not at all. Not at all. And uh.

And yeah, it's just fun looking back. that way and trying to piece it out. But. sorry, I'll answer your question. I just. thought that was interesting. And And I. recommend everyone does that activity. I. think we often also think about our. careers as when I graduate from college. And I'm like, "But that's that's not. your career." Like, your career starts. whenever you choose for it to start. Uh. the question about my childhood or where. the first job began. Your your. childhood. Yeah. I'd say that I was born and raised in a. family where obedience, discipline were. top priority. Performing well at school.

was really important to my parents. And. so, despite me going to a fairly rough. school where education wasn't a priority. of my peers, my parents were emphasizing. homework, after-school work, extracurriculars. I was being trained. from the age of eight to get into a. grammar school, which is a school you. have to take an exam for that gives you. a private level education without having. to pay for it. My parents didn't have. the money to send me to private school, but they wanted me to work hard in order. to do that. And so, I felt like I lived. a very disciplined life. Uh look at that.

obviously when you're a kid, there's. moments where you accept it as. normality. And then there's times when. you're like, "Oh, I just want to hang. out." And now I look back and feel. really grateful that my parents made me. do that because I think it gave me a. certain. way of working that I wouldn't have. developed otherwise. And I was pretty much a teacher's pet up. until about age 14. And then age 14 was. when I went off the rails, started to. rebel, started getting involved in the. wrong groups, wrong circles, getting. involved in activities that I wouldn't.

recommend to anyone. Like what? Um everything from experimenting with. drugs through to. uh violence through to. you know, just just nefarious stupid. activities. And stuff that I think most. kids do. But I think we just got into it. really young. Like 14 was a bit young. for that. And then by the time I was 18, I was kind of done. And I'd kind of. exhausted all of the craziness. And it. was actually my dad who started handing. me biographies and autobiographies. So.

my dad was worried that I didn't like. reading. So was my mom. I really hated. reading fiction. way. Hated reading fiction. So I don't think. I've read a book until I was 14. My dad started giving me biographies and. autobiographies. And I read Malcolm X. I. read Martin Luther King. I also read. David Beckham and Dwayne "The Rock". Johnson because I was a big wrestling. and soccer fan growing up. And so I was. reading these really diverse biographies. and autobiographies. And I was thinking, "Wow, these people have all done. something phenomenal with their life.". And that's where I started to get.

fascinated by personal development and. personal growth without knowing what. that was. So two questions. One is when you were. going through kind of this phase after. 14 of being more rebellious, um of just experimenting, what was it. inside of you that was driving you to do. this? And do you think at that point in. your life you had a sense of. who you were or what you wanted to be? Yeah. Yeah, there was a certain. self-awareness at the time that I could. hear as a little voice in my head or my. heart that was like, "You don't want to do that. You're not. good at that. Do this." And it was.

actually healthy. So my parents wanted. me to do medicine or science or. you know, law or engineering. And for me, those. things scared me. I was like, "I'm. really interested in those things and I. could have that voice inside of me that. was like, do art, do philosophy, do. economics, do design. Like those were. the things I gravitated towards. And it. was almost like I started to listen to. that voice. And I started to not ignore that voice. because it was so strong and almost had. this rejection towards anything else.

that wasn't that. At the same time, I. think there was a bit of. me being naive. There was a bit of. wanting to fit in. There was wanting to. validation, wanting to be cool, wanting. to be liked. And then that part of me. was seeking the wrong activities or the. bad circles. So it's like this weird. juxtaposition of your self-awareness, which is guiding you in the right. direction, but then your low. self-esteem, which is guiding you in the. wrong direction. And so you've got these. two things pulling on you and you. obviously don't know this as a.

16-year-old. I can only say this in. hindsight. But at the time, I just. thought, yeah, I fit in here. I'm trying. to look cool here. I think people will. like me if I'm this way. And then it's. like, but wait a minute, I don't want to. be forced to do things I don't care. about. So that's I was grappling with. that. Absolutely. I'm interested, you. know, as we move forward in your life, you ended up going to school to to. university. thinking you were going to work in. whether it's financial services or. consulting and then kind of in by. happenstance you were introduced to the.

the work of of monks and ultimately. decided after, you know, three summers. visiting the ashram to become a a monk. for three years. How hard was that. decision when you just had talked about. during your rebellious years, at least a. part of you was driven by kind of the. need for validation. It I would say it wasn't actually a. popular decision to become a monk. Like. it wasn't something that was familiar to. other people. So how were you able to kind of.

withstand called the pressure from. others to do what was expected of you? Yeah. I think we're always living two lives. One is the life you want and the other. is the life you think others want you to. live. And we get stuck in between those two. lives. And often we feel like we're. living too far off the edge of what. other people want us to live. And often. we feel like we're living too close to. the version we want to live. And that. dance is really fascinating as life goes.

on. And what I found at the time was I was. being drawn closer and closer and closer. to my own values. And I was being drawn. closer and closer and closer to what was. important to me. So, at that time if you asked me what I. thought I was going to be, I would have. said something like I'm going to be a. rapper, right? I love spoken word, I. love writing lyrics, I loved music, I. played the drum kit, I played the piano. growing up. I can't play anything. anymore. Uh and and I was highly into music and I.

was like I want a career in music. That's what I probably would have said. And then as time moved on, I uh would. have moved away to being, "Okay, let's. be more realistic, Jay. You can't do. that. That's not real for an Indian kid. growing up in London. Let's be more. realistic." I was like, "Well, maybe I. want to be a uh an art designer or an um. art manager at a magazine." Because I. loved art, loved design. And then it's like, "Oh, no, no, Jay. Be. more realistic. That's not really a. career path because everyone in your.

everyone who you're surrounded by is. doing far more serious and real careers. than that." "Okay, let's go and get a. business degree." Right? It's like you. literally go from this is the truth of. what I want to let me water it down a. bit and then to let me completely water. it down. So, I remember telling my art. teacher who I was really good friends. with at at college, telling him, "I'm. turning down my offers to go to like art. school, which is what I thought I wanted. to do, to go and do a management science. degree, you know, at Cass Business. School.". Yeah. And you know, he was joking. around. He was like, "You're such a.

sellout." Like he was like, "You're such. sellout. I was like I am. I'm a sellout. It's terrible. Uh and that's kind of where I ended up. And it's really fascinating that I went. there because I was like this is the. safe thing to do. And then I do the least safe thing in. the world by becoming a monk. And so. it's really fascinating how I went on. that end of the spectrum and then I want. to go back. So. I think what happened is there's only so. long you can stay away from your true. calling. And you can push it down, you can ignore. it, you can suppress it as much as you. like, but it's going to keep showing up.

in really uncomfortable ways. And it. will start quiet, but it will get. louder. And for me it got really loud at. 21. when I thought to myself, which life do. I want to live? Do I want to live a life. of chasing success, or do I want to live. a life of service? And I would say that. that decision at 21 became easy. because of the 3 years of experience. before. And I think people look at that. as like that's a big change, but that. big change was easy because there were.

lots of small experiences that led up to. it. And so every summer, like you. rightly said, I'd go to live with the. monks. And that mini experiment every summer. made me confident that if I did this. long-term, that I would enjoy it. And I. think people think, oh no, you just. change your life. It's like no, I. didn't. So And you're right, I'm glad. you raised this because a lot of people. say to me today, they're like, Jay, you. really like used this monk thing as part. of your story. And I'm like, trust me, becoming a monk is not a story. Like. when you're 21, becoming a monk was the.

least cool thing I could possibly do. My. my friends, and this is honest, just my. guy friends thought I was gay. Like. literally, that's the response I got. That's how far behind things were. They're like, you're gay, right? Like. that's And I'm like, how is this. Like how is that even connected? Like. but that's what they thought. Girls. didn't want to talk to me anymore. because they thought they weren't. allowed to talk to me and and what was. happening in my path. And then my family. thought that I'd wasted my parents'. investment in me and my education. Yeah. And so everyone's saying you've.

committed career suicide, you're never. going to get a job again, and you're. ruining your parents' life. And it's. just so interesting, again, just. thinking about your own development and. your own awareness, that you were able. to get to a place where despite all of. that, you know, people saying "Oh, you. must be gay. Oh, you can't see women. Oh, it's career suicide." That somehow. you had gotten to this point in your. life where you felt enough connection to. your values or what you deemed to be. your calling, that you were willing to. do that. Because I would say that is. very difficult at any stage of life, but.

it's exceptionally difficult as a. 21-year-old when there is so much social. pressure. Yeah, and I give all the. credit to my monk mentors and teachers. and guides because it's not I didn't. have that resilience, but they'd given me an experience of. something, and I believe that that. experience was more powerful than my. feelings or what I was hearing. And. that's why I think we try and make. decisions in our head, and we try and. figure everything out in our head, and. we're like, "If I can figure this out in. my mind, then I'll figure it out in.

life." And it's like, "No, go and have a. real-life experience. Go and do the. thing for a short amount of time, and. then you'll know what to do." And so I. think you can only spend that much time. in your head figuring out personality. tests and conversations and questions. and reflecting and introspecting. And. after a while, you just got to go do the. thing. And if I never went and spent. those summers living as a monk, I would. never have wanted to be one because I. wouldn't know what it feels like. Totally. I'm interested for you to talk. in a second about when you went to. become a monk, the work you did, and how.

you knew that. you enjoyed that work. Because what I've. even realized, right, after um. selling a a business in the last few. years and thinking about what's next, um. I always will intellectualize. How do I. know if I am enjoying the things that. I'm doing? Do I love this work? Am I. passionate about it? And the issue is. the more that I overthink, am I. passionate about this thing, the less I. feel passion about it because I'm. intellectualizing the experience. So, tell me, you know, what was it like to. be on the ashram for 3 years? And how.

did you know. at least some part of that work was. truly what your calling was? Yes, so there's. there's two parts to any work we do. There's the process. and there's the result. And loving the work you do means you. love the process. and you accept the result. Whereas the. way we've been trained in modern society. is all that matters is the result. If. the result is good, then you must love. your job. If you see someone win an. Oscar, they must love their job. If you.

see someone make lots of money and sell. their company, they must be happy. So, we define someone's happiness based on. how the result is, whereas all ancient. wisdom would suggest is happiness is. based on how much you enjoy the process. And the process is as enjoyable as you. believe it's aligned with your values. and what you care about. And so, at the. time, my goal of becoming a monk was. simple. I wanted to learn to master my. mind, my ego, my envy, my jealousy, my.

comparison, and my illusion, and I wanted to serve. I wanted to improve the lives of other. people. I wanted my life to make a. difference in other people's lives. So, I knew that as long as I was doing work. in those two areas, no matter what activity you do, you'd be. happy. And I think that's another. challenge we do. We get locked up in the. activity. Do I like being an. interviewer? Do I like being a writer? Do I like being a podcaster? And if you. ask me, I'm like, I would use any tool. possible.

to master my mind and improve the lives. of other people. I'm not attached to. what medium or forum. I only use social. media because it was the last option. It. was the last thing I wanted to use, but. there was no other option that I had. because no one else would give me a. chance. So, I'm not attached to the. medium or the role. It's like you're. focused on what do you want to bring to. the world and what intention are you. bringing in? So, to me, it's about. figuring out what you're truly trying to.

create for yourself. And so, during my. time as a monk, I was waking up at 4:00. a.m. We were meditating for 4 to 8 hours. a day. You're sleeping on the floor. You. don't have a bed. All your possessions. fit inside a gym locker, and you do that. every day. Do I enjoy that? No. Am I passionate about that? No. But, I believe it's going to help me. master my mind. Okay, I'm in. I can do that, right? Every day we were out in the sun. It's. 110° F, right? It's It's hot. You're out. there laying bricks. You're out there.

doing agricultural work on the farm. Do. I enjoy that? No. Do I really love that? No. But, do I believe that that it. positively improves the lives of other. people that we're serving? Yes. Okay, it. fits. And so, I enjoy the process. because I trust the process is giving me. what I need, but I don't have to enjoy. that direct activity. Right. Well, I feel like that's such an. important nuance, right? Because you. talk about enjoying the process. And if. someone hears what you're saying, like, "No, I didn't enjoy laying bricks. I.

didn't enjoy agriculture." They'd be. like, "But, isn't that the process?" And. I think this the distinction you make is. there are activities that sit within. this process. It's not necessarily about. enjoying those. It's about how do these. serve ultimately what you're trying to. accomplish, the values you're trying to. live out. Correct. And that that I. Yeah, I I love that you're making that. distinction, and I maybe I can. articulate it better. I didn't love the. activity, but I loved what was happening to my. intention while I did the activity.

Yeah. And that's what you're falling in. love with. And I get that that's a. really like meta ethereal idea, but it's. like. you are looking at that going, "I do. this because I know what's being built. right now while I do this. That's loving. the process. I think what Jay is saying. here is so important. If you have a. clear sense of your own values and. you're able to see how the work that you. do serves those values, it can feel. easier to embrace the sometimes mundane. or tedious or completely unenjoyable. aspects of your job.

Sometimes taking a second to step back. and remind yourself of your intentions. and why you're doing the job that you're. doing can have a really powerful effect. on your willingness to push through the. worst aspects of it. We're going to take. a quick break here, but when we come. back, Jay gets into why he decided to. leave the ashram and how he navigated. feeling behind professionally from his. peers to ultimately finding success. This episode of Imposters is sponsored. by Sakara. Feeling great starts with. what's on your plate, which is why. Sakara has simplified healthy, balanced.

dining. Sakara is a wellness company. anchored in food as medicine on a. mission to nourish your body through the. power of plants. Their plant-rich meals, snacks, and supplements are designed to. reduce bloat, ease digestion, and boost. energy all while being absolutely. delicious. And to make healthy eating. even easier, Sakara delivers everything. right to your door ready to enjoy. Right now, Sakara is offering listeners. 20% off their first order. Simply go to.

sakara.com/imposters. or enter code imposters on any checkout. page. That's Sakara, s a k a r a dot com. slash imposters. So, let's talk about. You spent three three years on the. ashram. You decided to ultimately leave. Why did you leave? Um and what was the response when you. left? Yeah, so lots of reasons why I. left. Uh. I was really experimenting with my.

health. I was experimenting with longer. meditations, longer fasting. I was. really pushing the limits of how far. meditation could go to replace sleep, how far meditation could go to replace. physical energy, and I and I really took. my body to lengths that broke my body. practically, and that wasn't a fun. feeling at all. I ended up in the hospital, you know, I. talk about this in the book, of course. I was. in bed for like 14 hours a day for. plenty of time. It was It was really. tough, and it was all my own doing. It.

was all my own experimentation. That was part of it, but really what was. That was what was happening outside. Yeah. And what was happening inside was. as you are practicing being a monk, you. get more self-awareness, and you get. more introspection, and I started to. realize that my desires were not aligned. with the desires of long-term monks. So, I'd sit and talk to monks who'd been. there for 10, 20, 30 years, and I'd listen to them, and I'd be like, "Do I want to live like that?" And the. answer was no. What were their desires. versus your desires?

desires were complete surrender, complete service, no personal creativity. or personal expression. And for me, I was like, "But I want to. share what I'm learning in this way, and. I can see the link between this. scripture and this movie, and this song. lyric reminds me of this verse in the. Vedas." Like, to me, I was like, "I'm a. kid growing up in London who loves. music, loves movies, loves life, and I'm. seeing all the correlations and. connections, and I'm saying, 'I want to. make those connections for people. because then maybe people can live these.

ideas in their life.'" And so, I always. had that where I wanted to make wisdom. more practical, accessible, and relevant. because I saw its power, and I and I. felt called to do that. And it was as much a realization that I. wanted to do that as I wasn't a monk. And that's hard because, you know, you feel married for 3 years, literally, and then you feel like you're. getting a divorce. And that's actually. how it felt for me. I felt like I was. divorcing the love of my life. It felt. like a breakup. And it was really tough.

leaving because it almost felt like I. went back to all that noise where. everyone was right. You're not going to. get a job. How are you going to fit in now? You've. lost all your friends. And now you've. gone back to a world where your friends. are like 25, 26 years old. They're, you. know, in relationships. They're potentially. buying their first home or like, you. know, moving into a fancy apartment or. they're now promoted to their next. position. They're doing well for. themselves. And you're thinking, "Oh, I.

am behind." And so that's how I felt. when I got back. I'm behind. I'm lost. and I didn't think I made a bad. decision. I just I was like, "How do I. catch up now?" And and so how did you. catch up? How did you work yourself out. of. I would say a very rational thought of. I've almost been stuck in time. Everything's accelerated. How do I. accelerate? Yeah, I didn't know who the Prime. Minister of England was. I didn't know. who won the World Cup. Like I didn't. know. I had no idea. And so I was truly. behind. I spent 9 months when I left, well, the first month I was talking. about with the first month was my worst.

month where all I did was eat chocolate, listen to music, catch up on all the TV. I remember watching every episode of How. I Met Your Mother. I went and found a. list on IMDb called Movies to Watch. Before You Die and I watched every movie. on that list. Like I literally went into. full like. Yeah. lazy Yeah, the pendulum just swung. the other direction. the opposite I wasn't waking up early, none of that. And then I was like, "Okay, this is not. sustainable." So for those that time I. started going I started dressing up, going to my local library, turning up,

reading books. I was reading spiritual. books, monk books again, and then. reading business books to try and figure. out what I'd missed out on in life. I. was dressing up as if I was going to. work. But if you asked me what helped me. catch up, it was when I started work. when I finally got a job after 40. rejections. When I finally got a job. and I met people and they were 21 and I. was 26 now by the time I started my. first job. I was 26 years old. And. I realized that I had actually had the. greatest advantage, which was I had.

massive self-awareness. I knew what my strengths were. I knew. what my what my weaknesses were. I knew. what I had to offer, and I knew what I. wanted to do. And I was just like, I just took the. biggest risk. Potentially one of the biggest career. risks in life by becoming a monk. I shouldn't be scared of anything. anymore. Yeah. Like that was the scariest. decision that I made at a time when. things were more vulnerable. I shouldn't. be scared of anything. And so I became. fearless. And so that fearlessness led to me.

making big, scary decisions in a big, scary organization, which paid off because I now wasn't. ready to follow what everyone else was. being told to do. And everyone else who. was 21, who was still following the. rules from college and university, they. felt, all right, we need to follow the. rules. That's what we're being told to. do. And my thing was, well, no, I'm not. going to follow that rule because I. think I'll do a better job this way. And. thankfully that paid off. Now, I had. people in the company, senior people, some of them were my biggest champions, who I love and I'm so grateful to. And.

some of them were massively intimidated, even though they probably made 20x what. I made at the time, but they were. intimidated, and they were trying to. control and trying to manipulate. So it. was tough living there, but I'm really. grateful that I did. And so, if I remember correctly, you. were both working within Accenture, but. then you were asked at some point to. give a talk on mindfulness to a thousand. people within the company, then you. started traveling around the company, right? Yeah, so this credit goes to a lady. named Gilly Bryant. She's left Accenture.

now, but she was the head of all the new. hires in London. So there were about a. thousand of us. And she noticed that on my like fun fact. about me, I'd said that I lived as a. monk, and I meditated, and that I used. to teach meditation. And at the time, Accenture was taking, and they are. taking mental health very seriously. And so she reached out to me, and she. said, "Jay, we have this big event. coming up at Twickenham Rugby Stadium. Would you mind talking about social. media, which is what I was doing at. work, and talk about mindfulness and.

meditation on stage, and potentially. even lead a meditation?" Now, at the. time, I had no brand, no social media, no one knew my name. I was asked to come. on the stage in between Will Greenwood, who is a Rugby World Cup winner with the. England national team, and the CEO of. the company in the UK. So, I'm already. having massive imposter syndrome I'm. going, "This guy won a World Cup for the. country. This person's a CEO of the. company. Like, what am I going to say?". And these were a thousand people who are. my peers who have no respect for me, and.

there's no authority here. And that is a beautiful position to be. in because you start realizing that you. you're not living off of influence, so. you're not living off of a position. You. live off of who you are and how you hold. yourself. And so, I went up on stage. I. was nervous till the point I went on, and I led a meditation, and the feedback. I got was they'd never seen a group of a. thousand people hold silence for that. long. And it was a really like reassuring, comforting feeling. Like, it wasn't. like, "Yes, we did it." It was more.

like, "Wow, this stuff works in the real. world. People care." And so, yes, then I. got invited across the company to teach. mindfulness and meditation, uh set up. mindfulness Mondays, mindfulness. meditations before meetings. Uh I got. really involved in the I'm so grateful. to Accenture for championing a personal. skill set in a big professional. organization with 500,000 people. It's interesting because it sounds like. something that helped your imposter. syndrome in that moment was kind of the.

internal validation you had after you. saw this entire group of people sit in. silence. You were told that this was the. longest they'd ever sat in silence. Like, it it was reassuring to you that. the work that you were doing could be. really meaningful. I'm also sure that this wasn't the only. time you've experienced imposter. syndrome in your life and given the name. of the show, uh given so many people. experience this, I'm interested how you. think about navigating imposter syndrome. and I'll even say from my perspective. right now, like I feel massive imposter. syndrome hosting a podcast with you as a.

guest where I'm just like, how how do I. host a podcast talking about. vulnerability and challenges in people's. lives and being a sounding board for. them when the seat the person in the. seat across from me is someone who. literally spent 3 years as a monk and. has done so much more work to truly. understand people. How do I do it? And. so I can just imagine how many people. experience imposter syndrome in their. life. Well, first of all, that's very kind of. you and and I don't think of it that way. at all. I think every question you've.

asked me has been so heartfelt, has been. so sincere, so genuine. Uh, you know, everything that you've shared with me. today, even before today. I already knew. I was going to love you before today. like cuz all the interactions we had on. Twitter and you you think like how how. can you do that on Twitter, but you can. when you're as genuine and sincere as. you are. So I was excited to be here. I'm I'm grateful to be here, honestly. Uh, I would say that. I don't think you ever stop feeling. imposter syndrome if you're growing. If you're growing, if you're learning,

you will always feel imposter syndrome. Because what imposter syndrome really is. is a sign that you still have a skill to. learn or an experience to have. So I still feel it on a daily, weekly, monthly, yearly basis and I don't ever. want to stop feeling it because it shows. me that I need to grow and I need to. learn. I connected to a beautiful book called. Flow. And Flow talks about how to experience a.

state of flow which musicians. experience, which artists experience, which singers experience is when your. challenge meets your skills. But what most of us experience on a. daily basis is our challenge is above. our skills, which means we get scared, we get threatened, we get confused, we. feel lost. Or, what we experience is the. opposite where your skills are above. your challenge. Then, you feel bored.

You feel tired, you feel lethargic, you. feel complacent. So, really what imposter syndrome is. saying is that your skills are not as. high as your challenge. But, you can fill that gap if you truly, deeply want to. You can make that leap. if you want to. And so, now when I feel a sense of. imposter syndrome, I ask myself, what. skill is being highlighted to me that I. don't have? It's not a feeling, it's not. an emotion, it's a skill. Like, I'll. give an example. If I'm sitting around a.

table of people that I feel are more. qualified than me in a certain area, let's say I'm sitting with a group of. people and they're all amazingly deep. into real estate, right? That's that's. their thing. I'm going to feel like an imposter. because I'm not that deep into real. estate. And then, I have to ask myself, so what. skill do I not have? Okay, real estate. investing. Do I want that skill or am I. happy being in this space, for example? And so, the question isn't not only what.

skill don't you have, what do you want. that skill? Because often you can get. pursuing a skill just to impress people. Totally. And so, I think that's what I would. encourage people to do with imposter. syndrome is. take it away from this feeling of like, I'm not good enough, I'm not smart. enough, I'm not this enough. Yeah, you're not smart enough. Figure out what. you need to get smart at, right? And. that's how I see it. I'm like, okay, I'm. not I I'm not qualified to this. Do I. want to be qualified? Totally. I think. in in a lot of ways what you're doing is. you're putting. control back in the hands of the person. themselves, right? So, it's all about.

reframing it as, this is actually a. great thing because you're pushing. yourself into an area of discomfort. where you now have the choice of there's. a gap between your skill and the. challenge that you're facing and you. have that choice of if you want to close. that gap. And by the way, you can make. the choice not to close that gap if you. don't want to do it. Exactly. Exactly. So, when I first. started my career and I was mainly known. for creating video content, which were. like 4 minutes, we then built the. podcast. I felt like an impostor when I. launched the podcast. Now, we've done. the podcast for 3 years and it's very. natural.

And then when we launched the book, it. was like that was scary. And then now. we're doing a book here and that doesn't. feel scary. So, every time you make a. new leap, you'll feel impostor syndrome. But, that's great because that means. you're growing. That means you're trying. something new. I would never feel. impostor syndrome if I never tried. anything new. And that means I would live a boring. same life and I don't want that. Yeah. Thinking about your experience within. Accenture, um it feels like this. combination of just.

amazing kind of. uh harnessing of an opportunity you were. given to use the experience you had in. the ashram to spread kind of what you. learned throughout the company while. also kind of being on the forefront of. social media, you know, while you say. you were a little bit late to it because. you didn't have a Facebook until. whatever age, you still were early now. in retrospect within what's happened. with social. When you reflect on kind of. almost like these two amazing kind of. skills you were able to build up that. informed where you are in your career. now, how much do you think about your.

own experience as skill and. uh. hard work and grit and how much do you. think of it as luck? And and how do you. think about that relationship broadly in. career? I would say that and I'm going to be. honest because I think that's the only. way to do it. I would say that. my greatest skill is knowing that I can. learn something if I want to. And that if I apply myself to it.

and I really deeply care about it that I. will find a way to get really good at. it. And I don't think you can separate. that from impact because impact means. there's a beautiful. quote by. Bruce Lee where he said that I'm not. scared of the person. that has practiced 10,000 kicks one time. each. I'm scared of the person who's. practiced one kick 10,000 times. And.

that's the switch that we have to make. is that are we willing to practice this. one kick, this one move 10,000 times or. whatever it may be? And that to me is. the difference maker. So I would say. that there's a lot of strategy because. now it all makes sense. Like social. media, meditation, oh that fits. It. didn't make sense when I was collecting. those skills and so. as Steve Jobs says you can only connect. the dots looking backwards, you can't. moving forwards. To me when I was collecting it, I was. just like I love people and I love.

connecting with lots of people so social. media would be useful, maybe. That's. literally all I had as a thought. It. wasn't like, oh I'm going to learn this, then I'm going to learn this, and then. we're going to It wasn't that thought. through. And at the same time when I. became a monk, it wasn't like, oh one. day I'm going to write a book about. being It wasn't that. It was, hey I. think this is what my calling is. So it. was a naive innocent following of what. I'm being called to do at the time. Then matched with what do we do with. this now that we have it as a skill and. taking a risk based on that. So I would.

say it's. it's. I don't know what you call that whether. it's discipline Yeah, it feel it feels. like the combination of like intuition. and action when an opportunity presents. itself. better than what I was about to say so. I'll say that. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Intuition, action, yeah I just came up. with those. Intuition, action. Uh and. and I would add a massive sense of being. open to risk again again and again and. and then I would say it's brilliant. mentorship and guidance. So, I give all.

the credit to the people I met. If I. didn't meet really. critical people at different times and I. didn't form a relationship with them and. they didn't invest in me and I didn't. invest in them, that was everything. Like for me. especially. So, that you could say was. luck. That was the luck. The luck was. that these people came into my life and. we clicked at really specific times and. that was the luck. Well, and I would say. the skill there was, you know, my my. intuition is that when you were building.

these relationships, it wasn't doing so. in a way where you were getting. something out of it. You were getting. into these relationships because you. loved the the people that they were and. you wanted just be closer to them. I'm still friends with every one of. those people. Yeah, like deeply. Like I. message them all the time and they're. still involved in my life in so many. ways and I I all the credit goes to. them. I'd say any career successes I. have I'd I'd give it to them because. it's not that they told me what to do or. how to do it or invested money. It. wasn't those kind of things. It was.

people who just. changed the way you thought. Yep. By. planting simple seeds and planting. simple ideas at different times in my. life. So, yeah, I'd say there's a mix of. luck, strategy, intuition, action. But. ultimately, I think it comes down to. three things: passion, strengths, and service. That's ultimately what it. comes down to. It's the passion to learn. anything and everything, developing an actual skill in the. subject matter you want to do, and then. wanting to serve through it, which is. where the fulfillment comes from. And.

so, to me I'd narrow it down to those. three things. So, something you talk about in your. journey as being one of the more. stressful points in your life is. post-excision. You had decided that you. wanted to kind of create these videos. You ended up creating them, I believe, in London at a time and day where. there's no streets on the road. So, it. was perfect moment. You try to pitch all these media. executives on being able to do it. Ultimately, you're given an opportunity. with Huffington Post. and the video is absolutely crushed it.

upon publishing. I think. the first. week like the first video did a million. views then it was a million in 24 hours. But then you talk about it a point in. the journey of Huffington Post where. you were working there, it was going. great, but you were within. 4 months of not having money to live. Talk about just that period in your life. and how you worked through it. Yeah, and. and even getting. everything you just described is just. such a tough time because I was getting.

married, changed job three times, moved. country all in the same year. And that was that year that you just. described and so that was a fully. intense year. What year was that? That was 2016. Yeah, 2016. And this time that you're talking about. was coming up to 2017. my work at Huffington Post ended. Arianna Huffington had left to start. Thrive Global who's she's still a dear. friend and and mentor and wonderful.

human being, but my work there was. ending. She'd left, she'd moved on, my. position kind of wasn't there anymore. And I was 4 months away from being broke. and 30 days away from my visa to America. being taken away because it was attached. to my work visa. And so not only did I have to figure out. how to sort my visa out, I had to figure. out how to pay for more than rent and. groceries beyond 4 months. And. I. always used to have my mentor Thomas. Power, one of them would always say to. me, "You only discover your potential. when you're in pain." He'd always keep.

repeating that. I'd be like, "Nah, I'm. proactive. Like, nah, you whatever. Like, I'm I'm one of the hardest working. people out, whatever." And then I was. put into pain. Like, that was real pain. And I thought, "Okay, I'm going to. discover my potential in the pain. Okay, I'm going to discover my potential in. the pain." The next year after learning. that I only had 4 months left in the. bank for rent and groceries, I got up. and I emailed, DM'd, tweeted, and. messaged every person that I'd ever met. and said, "I will edit videos. I will. record videos. I will film videos. I. will do anything you possibly need me to.

do at this time." Me and Paul, who's. sitting right there, we were doing. corporate videos for other clients. Paul, do you remember that office we. went in we did all these question. videos? And so, me and Paul went into. this corporate company. I'm producing. corporate training videos. That's not what I want to do. That's not. my passion. That's not my life. But, it. was what I needed to do to survive. have an option. have an option. So, that year, the year. when I thought I was going to struggle. to survive, I made more money in that. year.

than in my whole career combined up. until that point because I was so. stressed that I wasn't going to be able. to pay my bills. But, that's because I. was living under that pressure and that. fear, it. catapulted me and incentivized me to. another level. And all of a sudden, I. broken my own ceiling, and I was like, "Oh, I had no idea what I was capable of. until that happened." And so, I just. kept stretching every single year. And. so, for the past 5 years, we've just. been stretching the capacity every. single year. And it blows my mind. because I would never have believed any.

of it was possible, and it's only been. possible because that pain forced me. into a accelerated period that I never. imagined I'd would have got into if I. didn't end up in that pain. So, one last. question I have for you is, how do you deal with the difficulties of. having. the brand that you have today? And I. mean that in two ways. In one way, when people say, "Jay has commercialized mindful. mindfulness and is making a lot of money. off of mindfulness, something that.

generally the focus isn't on material. things." And the the second is for your. own work, for your own self, how do you. continue to have the mind that you want. to have while working with, let's say, platforms that are built for serving. external validation that is addictive. Yeah. So, I can honestly say that my intention. from the beginning. has always been. to purify myself.

and help serve the world. I've always. wanted to solve the inner conflict and. the inner pain and the inner challenges. and then help other people do that. On that path, I realized that in order. to scale, accelerate, and truly provide. this message to as many people as. possible for free, you had to figure out how that lived as. a business. Because what I do every day requires We.

have 50 people across the world doing. different things right now. And I need. each and every one of them to have the. impact that we have. And without each and every one of those. team members that play such an important. and vital role, I wouldn't be able to do this. And what I got fascinated by is I grew. up with the belief that money was the. root of all evil. I grew up with that. I. also grew up with the belief that people. who had money did. dodgy things to get there. Cuz that's. the environment and the family I grew up.

in. I had to rewire my whole. relationship. with money. And when I lived as a monk, we were. trained to recognize that everything in. the world was simply energy. And that energy can either be used for. good or used for bad. So, all I can say. is that I'm honestly trying to give the. resources I have to be used to serve and. support not only myself and my family, but to serve and support.

tens of people right now on my team that. I believe are living their purpose and. feel very purposeful and meaningful. coming to the workplace and then the. millions and billions of people that are. being impacted and we've always made a. commitment if you look at our video. content it's it's always been free. Um. our podcast has ads but the podcast is. free. Totally. Um we have and we're very selective over. who we work with and who we partner with. and then.

you know my recent uh partnership with. Calm where I've taken on the role of. Chief Purpose Officer. the annual subscription is like $42 a. year. Yeah. whole year. And so my goal has always. been having lived as a monk where you do. things for free all the time it's like. my goal is always been that. My goal was. to accelerate the impact and give. access. And ultimately I'd say if anyone who. does have that perception of what I'm. doing they're fully entitled to that. I'm so okay with that. I'll take it all. day.

Uh I have nothing to debate on. I I. appreciate you for how you think about. the world and so I let people have their. opinions and and I have my intentions. and I hold on to those. Second part of. your question was how do I do that for. myself? Yeah. I just got back from spending about 2. weeks in India. And I was back at the ashram that I. lived at and I go back there every. single year. I didn't get to go back the. 2 years of the pandemic but every single. year since I left and now my wife and I. go back every year and we'll be there. for like 2 weeks to potentially a month.

and we'll just I'll live like a monk. again. And I love being back in that. environment because. they don't care uh. what I'm doing uh what's been achieved. what hasn't been done what the numbers. are they they just don't care. And so. I'm constantly around people. who demand more of me than what the. world does. And so one of my teachers I. remember him saying to me he asked me. for an update so I was telling him what. I was doing.

and he said something that has always. stayed with me and it really like it was. it hit me and it almost scared me. because it was so much harder. He said Jay, for all these things that. you're doing. I have no expectations for this in your. life. He said my only expectation is that I. simply demand the purity of your heart. He was that's all I want. And that's way harder. that is that is a monk mic drop. That that was a monk mic my my monk. teacher said that to me. and. that's way harder. Everything else is. way easier. And so that's kind of what.

keeps me on track is I'm constantly. surrounded by people who don't live in. this environment, who don't value these. things, who don't care about them, who. who aren't who who loved me before, during, and will love me after. You know, and and even my wife, I think. my wife gets a lot of credit for that. My wife doesn't care. Um you know, she. she just that's not her life and it's. not who she is and being married to. someone that way, I used to be upset at. my wife for not loving me for what I've. achieved.

And then I realized she actually loves. me for who I am. And I felt really stupid. And and I realized that that was so much. more special to have someone who's been. with me through being broke, through. moving country, through having lost it. all, to having it all, to being in. between. And I'd take that history with. her any day over someone praising me for. what I've done. Jay Shetty, thank you so. much for joining Imposters. This has. been awesome. Thank you so much. I'm so grateful to. you and I really enjoyed my time with. you. I'm excited to connect a lot more.

Absolutely. Thanks so much. Appreciate. you. Thank you guys so much for watching this. episode. I hope you enjoyed and I'd love. to hear from you. Share in the comments. your favorite part of this episode and. also what guest you would love to see on. Imposters moving forward. And finally, like and subscribe so you get content. from this show every single week. I'll. see you guys next time.