New book from NYT bestselling author Lewis Howes is now available!

New book from NYT bestselling author Lewis Howes is now available!

 

Lindsey Stirling

Facing Loss, Dreaming Big, and Becoming A Superstar

BELIEVE IN SOMETHING GREATER.

BELIEVE IN SOMETHING GREATER.

There are two types of winners I’ve observed.

Both of them have confidence.

But one winner, when asked how they did it, answers, “I am the greatest.”

The other winner,  when asked how they did it, answers, “God is the greatest.”

Are you putting pressure on yourself to succeed or fail?

Or are you putting your strength in something greater?

Whether or not you consider yourself a religious person, know that you are not going through life in a vacuum. You’re never on your journey alone.

On today’s episode of The School of Greatness, I talk about spirituality, loss, and dreaming big with one of the most inspirational performers on the planet: Lindsey Stirling.

“Maybe you’re not good enough, or you’re not good enough yet.” @LindseyStirling  

Lindsey Stirling is a modern-day “Dancing Violinist” who got her start on American’s Got Talent in 2010. Since then, she has over 11 million subscribers on YouTube. She has been called “The Hip Hop Violinist” due to her twist on songs from today’s hits, as well as creating an electronic / dubstep album of original compositions.

Lindsey has learned to use her spirituality to inspire her to do things she never thought possible. She shares the daily practices that ground her and retrain her brain. 

So get ready to learn how to live intentionally and with gratitude on Episode 845.

“When you fall in love with someone, you’re falling in love with the version of yourself they bring out in you.” @LindseyStirling  

Some Questions I Ask:

  • Why do we lose the ability to dream? (23:30)
  • How do we “re-dream” when things are going well? (26:00)
  • What should someone do who is experiencing periods of darkness? (31:00)
  • How does someone build a belief in themselves? (37:00)
  • How did you handle two close people passing away? (42:00)
  • What’s missing in your life right now? (54:00)
  • What would your dad be most proud of today? (1:00:00)

In this episode, you will learn:

  • The inspiration behind Lindsey’s new album (7:00)
  • About Lindsey’s experience getting booed off the stage on America’s Got Talent (12:00)
  • Why you need to live life without limits (19:00)
  • How to live intentionally (34:00)
  • How gratitude affects happiness (37:00)
  • Why Dancing With The Stars was spiritual for Lindsey (47:00)
  • Plus much more…
Connect with
Lindsey Stirling

Transcript of this Episode

Male Announcer: This is episode number 845 with Lindsey Stirling.

Lewis Howes: Welcome to the School Of Greatness. My name is Lewis Howes, former pro athlete turned lifestyle entrepreneur. And each week we bring you an inspiring person or message to help you discover how to unlock your inner greatness. Thanks for spending some time with me today. Now let the class begin.

Harriet Tubman said, “Every great dream begins with a dreamer. Always remember, you have within you the strength, the patience, and the passion to reach for the stars to change the world.”

I am super excited about this interview. I’ve got my good friend Lindsey Stirling in the house. Every time I see this woman I’m inspired. She lifts me up, she’s so genuine, real authentic, and just so gosh darn talented. I mean when I see her perform on stage I just can’t help but smile and want to dance because she is an incredible talent and what she does.

And if you don’t know who Lindsey is, she’s a violinist, singer songwriter and YouTube sensation. Her music video Crystallize finished as the eighth most watched video of 2012 on YouTube, and her cover version of Radioactive with Pentatonix, one the response of the Year Award in the first ever YouTube Music Awards. Her debut album was nominated for a Billboard Music Award for Top Dance Electronic Albums. And her second album, Shatter Me won at the 2015 Billboard Music Awards. Yes, she’s that good.

She has also been named in Forbes magazine 30 under 30 and music and her YouTube channel has over 11 million subscribers and over 2 billion views. Lindsey is launching her world tour this spring in her new album Artemis is available for pre order right now. I’m telling you guys, this girl is a machine and has an incredible heart. You’re going to love this because in this interview, we talked about how to push through failure, and continue creating, despite adversity. How do we become creative in spite of our adversity? The importance of always dreaming and not putting the limits of reality on your dreams, I think too many people constantly say, “Well, this isn’t reality for me. This isn’t available for me.” Let’s be realistic here. And that is going to shatter your dreams when you come from that place, Lindsay talks about that how to reframe your dreams once you’ve reached your goals.

You know, over my life, I’ve achieved so many of my dreams, and sometimes we could get stuck afterwards. So how do we reframe them? Finding joy and darkness and being intentional with your actions to get through hard times the power of positive affirmations and how it must be practice daily to truly achieve self-love. Lindsay talks about her struggles with anorexia, with other challenges and insecurities, with loss, she dives in deep and opens up in an emotional way. 

So if you enjoyed this interview, please send her some love. Send this over on your Instagram story tag Lindsey Stirling, tag myself, let me know you’re listening to this. You’re watching this on YouTube or Apple podcast or Spotify, and send the link to one friend, text a friend today who could be inspired by this interview as well. Super excited about that. Let me know what you think, and before we dive in, big thank you to our sponsors today, Lending Club.

Now, I know life can be crazy for a lot of people and there’s never enough time, there’s too many things to keep track of, and it can be hard to juggle all the different bills that we have to make sure you pay more than the minimum of your credit cards.

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And also thank you to our sponsor Policygenius. Now, these days a lot of workplaces offer snack stations, right? They offer 15 flavors of soda water, and they even offer insurance sometimes. But while it’s nice to have a handful of snacks and some lemon water from time to time, that’s not enough to survive on, and neither is your workplace life insurance. And this is where Policygenius comes in. And policy genius is the easy way to shop for life insurance online. So easy that it took me two minutes to get a quote. That’s right; you can go there and get it in two minutes. And in minutes, you can compare quotes from top insurers to find the right amount of coverage and the best possible price.

And policy genius doesn’t make just life insurance easy. They can also help you find the right home insurance, auto insurance, health and disability insurance, and more. So remember, workplace life insurance policies are like workplace snacks, better than nothing but just not quite enough. So make sure you head to policygenius.com today to find out how to supplement your workplace life insurance and better protect your family for the future. Policy genius it’s like a buffet made of life insurance. And what could be more delicious than that? Check it out right now, a policygenius.com.

And if you are joining us at the Summit of Greatness this week then welcome. Give me a high five, give me a hug, and I will see you there. Summit of Greatness is going to be incredible Lindsey was performing there last year it’s going to be an amazing celebration weekend. Couple thousand people from around the world flying in, so I will see you there and if you want to come next year, if you’re already having FOMO, then go to summit of greatness.com and get your tickets for next year as well.

Alright guys, let’s dive into this episode with the one and only Lindsey Stirling.

[background music]

Lewis Howes: What is it that you’re most excited about right now?

Lindsey Stirling: I am so excited to start a new chapter. Like I think sometimes as artists or like as influencers, whatever you want to call ourselves like, you can get in this rut where you, sometimes feel like you’re in a hamster wheel a little bit. And it’s so exciting to feel like you’re starting a new chapter. Well, and so I’ve been working all year on a new album, and I wanted this chapter to feel different. And so I decided to tell a story. It’s a very high concept album. It’s all based around a comic book that I wrote simultaneously to the album. And so that’s why the album Artwork is all manga anime style.

Lewis Howes: Yeah, it’s good.

Lindsey Stirling: Like 90s anime x. I just think that’s such a cool art form. I’ve always loved it. And then the comic book as well. And I’ve been working on spent tons of time on this story.

Lewis Howes: Oh my god.

Lindsey Stirling: And these characters – and that’s why the album’s called Artemis. It’s about kind of the story of The Goddess of the moon.

Lewis Howes: Okay.

Lindsey Stirling: So anyways, I’m excited to go on tour. The tour is very concept driven, the album’s concept driven, and all the music videos like told the story.

Lewis Howes: Wow.

Lindsey Stirling: And so it’s really fun to have such a cohesive work and now I get to finally after all the work of putting it together, I get to share it.

Lewis Howes: How long did it take to do it all?

Lindsey Stirling: It came really fast.

Lewis Howes: Yeah.

Lindsey Stirling: I started in January, is the fastest I’ve ever written an album.

Lewis Howes: Wow.

Lindsey Stirling: And yeah.

Lewis Howes: Six months, seven months?

Lindsey Stirling: Yeah. Because I mean, it’s done. It’s been done for months in order to get everything the artwork done. I’ve just worked extremely hard, but at the same time, sometimes you just feel inspired.

Lewis Howes: Yeah.

Lindsey Stirling: And once I got my rhythm in it, like a first I was right a lot of terrible music until I find my rhythm. Once I found my rhythm, it just came and it felt so right. And it felt like I was being very inspired. Yeah, so it was kind of nice to write from a place this time of joy, which I don’t think I’ve ever written an album from a place of joy. And I –

Lewis Howes: When it’s all been written by?

Lindsey Stirling: I mean my first album was the place of just like discovery.

Lewis Howes: Okay.

Lindsey Stirling: Of like, “What is this?” “I don’t know.” Like, “Oow”, like that was a very different kind of excitement. My second album was all drawing from my recovery from anorexia. It was writing about like, all of that, like lots of dark emotion of – you know, but still hopeful. And then my third album was writing all about loss. My best friend and my keyboard player, who I toured with for years, he passed away suddenly. And then my dad was also going through cancer. And he passed away right as I was finishing the album.

Lewis Howes: Oh my gosh.

Lindsey Stirling: So the album was bookended by the most extreme depression and sorrow that I had ever felt and loss. And I just didn’t know you could feel that. And so that album was heavily charged with a lot of hard things.

Lewis Howes: Mmm.

Lindsey Stirling: And one thing that was so exciting about this album was like, I don’t know loss, I feel like it changes you. And I had come to accept that like, this was a new version of myself. And that kind of the rose tinted glasses Lindsey had left and died with them. I was like, I just don’t think I’ll ever be the same again, because they had been years.

Lewis Howes: Wow.

Lindsey Stirling: You know, I had been like, it’s now been three years since all of that happened.

Lewis Howes: Yeah.

Lindsey Stirling: But it took about two years to come fully out of that depression and I realized, it was right about the same time, a few months before I started this album, that I was like; I started to feel myself again. And I was like, Oh my gosh, it’s not that I was gone. It’s not that I disappeared, or I died with them, like a part of me. It’s no, I was just; I was just covered up for a while.

And that’s why I decided to call this album Artemis, because the moon is such cool. Like, it has such a cool symbolism of hope and the fact that, you know, you look at the moon, sometimes it’s big, and bright, and it glows, and it can light up the night. And other times you look up and you came to find it, and it looks like it might not even be there anymore.

And that was like me, I was like, “Oh my gosh, I was I wasn’t gone. I was just covered in shadow.” And I think that through our lives, like whether it’s a hard relationship, or a depression, or loss, or grief, whatever, we sometimes metaphorically get covered by those things.

Lewis Howes: Yeah.

Lindsey Stirling:  And you might think that you’re not there anymore, but it doesn’t mean that you’re not still powerful, and full of light, love, and that you won’t come back to full light. And so I wrote this album from a place of like, “Oh my gosh, I’m still full of light.”

Lewis Howes: Mmm.

Lindsey Stirling:  And that’s what the album’s about. That’s what the story is about. Yeah.

Lewis Howes: Enlightening.

Lindsey Stirling:  Thank you. I’m so excited to share that message.

Lewis Howes: Um-hmm.

Lindsey Stirling: You know that we are also powerful. Don’t ever forget it.

Lewis Howes: Yeah, yeah. Well, I remember we hadn’t what lunch I think it’s sweet green last year around, I think was around January, February last year.

Lindsey Stirling: Yeah.

Lewis Howes: Way and a half ago.

Lindsey Stirling: Um-hmm.

Lewis Howes: I remember you being in a very, in that shadow.

Lindsey Stirling: Yeah.

Lewis Howes: Of wondering, like, what should I be doing with my career and my life? I think you went through a breakup maybe recently, too, or something happened with relationships.

Lindsey Stirling: Yeah.

Lewis Howes: And I remember you feeling lost.

Lindsey Stirling: Yeah, I did.

Lewis Howes: Because you were like, “Well, I’ve achieved a lot of my dreams, but now what am I doing.”

Lindsey Stirling: Right.

Lewis Howes: And now it seems like you’re reinventing yourself.

Lindsey Stirling: Um-hmm.

Lewis Howes: And kind of going to a new level. Is that right?

Lindsey Stirling: Absolutely. And I think, yeah, I think I did definitely feel lost. And it’s funny. It’s like, I felt like, “Oh, I have to reinvent myself in a big way.” But –

Lewis Howes: Um-hmm.

Lindsey Stirling: It’s like, no, I just had to get back on the bicycle and keep pedaling and realize that doing exactly what I love and like just broadening it.

Lewis Howes: Um-hmm.

Lindsey Stirling: Like it’s, I think sometimes in life we feel like we have to make these huge massive changes. Like, I feel a little bit lost, I need to go way over there.

Lewis Howes: Right.

Lindsey Stirling: Because this isn’t right. But I was like, “No, I literally had to just like, pivot a little bit.” And then it felt so right again.

Lewis Howes: Really.

Lindsey Stirling: It’s just kind of trying different angles and different tiny tweaks in our life whether it’s like adding little bits, like try meditating.

Lewis Howes: Yeah.

Lindsey Stirling: Try exercising. In order to really improve your life or find yourself, I think that we don’t have to completely reinvent the wheel, sometimes, but sometimes I think you’re just like a tiny degree off. You know, it’s like if you look at a train track, and when there’s like a tiny change in the tracks, when they switch them. It’s like an inch move that eventually will get that train to a completely different state.

Lewis Howes: That’s true.

Lindsey Stirling: Versus, you know, like thinking – I don’t know, I think that we get discouraged too often because we expect ourselves to make these huge changes when all you need is tiny little adjustments.

Lewis Howes: Adjustments, yeah. You’re one of my favorite people. And I don’t say I like you because –

Lindsey Stirling:  Ohh! You’re lying. [laughs]

Lewis Howes: I’m not lying. I say this because, you know, we probably hung out, I don’t know, like half a dozen times, maybe –

Lindsey Stirling:  Um-hmm.

Lewis Howes: Maybe a few times more.

Lindsey Stirling:  Right.

Lewis Howes: You’ve been here a couple of times. You came to summit. We’ve hung out for lunch with two, three, four times. Maybe –

Lindsey Stirling: Right.

Lewis Howes: — have in advanced. Maybe a couple of times. We’ve been on the phone, you know, different, things like that.

Lindsey Stirling: Um-hmm.

Lewis Howes: But I feel like I’ve watched your journey for years. And I love the fact that you were essentially – I mean, it’s so hard to do what you’ve done as a violinist. It’s really challenging. I know because my older brother is a violinist.

Lindsey Stirling: Right. Amazing violinist, yeah.

Lewis Howes: He is amazing jazz violinist, but it’s hard to make a living as a violinist.

Lindsey Stirling: Right.

Lewis Howes: And it’s hard for people to want to care about you as a violinist.

Lindsey Stirling: Yeah.

Lewis Howes: You’re usually just like –

Lindsey Stirling: Yeah. [laughs]

Lewis Howes: — cover a live stage like a company of something –

Lindsey Stirling: Right.

Lewis Howes: But you’re not front and center.

Lindsey Stirling: Um-hmm.

Lewis Howes: And you went from America’s Got Talent?

Lindsey Stirling: Right, yeah.

Lewis Howes: America’s Got Talent and not even getting booed off stage.

Lindsey Stirling: Literally. [laughs]

Lewis Howes: And coming back and essentially saying I’m not gonna let this define me.

Lindsey Stirling: Yeah.

Lewis Howes: But I’m gonna continue to do this because I love it and I enjoy it and you want to explore it.

Lindsey Stirling: Um-hmm.

Lewis Howes: I think that’s really cool. So you overcame this kind of public failure, let’s call it even though was in that that –

Lindsey Stirling: The most humil – it was bad.

Lewis Howes: For you its humiliating?

Lindsey Stirling: The most humiliating, devastating moment of my life. Like, Aws!

Lewis Howes: And he was like, stop playing the violin, essentially, like don’t do this, yeah.

Lindsey Stirling: Essentially, like I mean, he told me I was so bad. I mean, they all said you were pretty bad. But you know, one judge in particular was like, “You sounded like rats being strangled.” Like “You were so bad.”

Lewis Howes: [laughs] 

Lindsey Stirling: I mean, in front of 11 million people.

Lewis Howes: Millions of people, yeah.

Lindsey Stirling: They told me right before I walked on stage, like, “Good luck, there’s 11 million people viewing right now.”

Lewis Howes: Oh my god. No way.

Lindsey Stirling: I mean I’ve performed only in front of like 500 people tops, like tops, maybe like a few 100. I was –

Lewis Howes: Like a school talent show or something.

Lindsey Stirling: Really, like an open mic night from 100 people. I mean, I was terrified but yet I was also so excited. I knew this moment was going to make me. And then I walk out on that stage perform get X in the middle my performance so embarrassing already. Then I get torn apart by the judges, literally tears are happening behind my eyeballs, like I’m like trying not to sob on stage. And, you know, the thing is, though, when I ran off that stage, first of all, I sobbed in the bathroom for hours until they told me I had to leave. Like, literally the cleaning staff came in and they were like, “Oh, we thought everyone was gone.”

Lewis Howes: Oh no.

Lindsey Stirling: Like, we’re closed up for that, like you got to go. You know, this girl crying on the bathroom floor, eww, first of all is public bath.

Lewis Howes: [chuckles]

Lindsey Stirling: But the thing is, it took me a while to get back on my feet and have the courage to step on a stage again, have the courage to tell myself that like, “No, you are good enough.” Even though the world just told you otherwise, you are good enough. And I think there’s this inner gut that will guide you because sometimes it is time to turn around and say like, “You know, maybe this isn’t the best path for me.” Sometimes, though, you have to listen to that gut that tells you, “No, maybe you’re not good enough, but you’re not good enough yet.” And that’s the thing. A lot of times people joke with me they’re like; they sure got it wrong on America’s Got Talent.

Lewis Howes: They were actually right.

Lindsey Stirling: They were right.

Lewis Howes: At the timing.

Lindsey Stirling: That moment I wasn’t good enough, like, you watch that video. I was terrible.

Lewis Howes: Yeah.

Lindsey Stirling: Like, I wasn’t good. But like this thing is, we all are on different phases of our lives and our trajectories and dancing and playing the violin is very, very difficult.

Lewis Howes: It’s so hard.

Lindsey Stirling: And I was new in that craft. I just invented the idea. And so it wasn’t that I wasn’t good enough or didn’t have the potential. I just wasn’t there – I wasn’t good enough yet. And so I worked my tail off. And you said it’s really interesting my path and where I’ve ended up like, I can’t believe that I get to tour the world and people show up. It blows my mind.

Sometimes, when I look out at these audiences, and I think, all these like thousands of people bought a ticket here in Germany to see my show.

Lewis Howes: Crazy.

Lindsey Stirling: Like it blows my mind and I just get filled with so much gratitude in these very – like, they don’t happen all the time. It’s very specific moments where I’m like, overcome with the reality of the situation of like, “Oh my gosh. This is my life.”

Lewis Howes: They are here for me, yeah.

Lindsey Stirling: “They came for me.” But the thing is, I didn’t realize when I started out, that what I had set out to do was impossible. Being a dancing violinist, the plays electronic music at the time I had no money to make a career happen. It was impossible, but because I didn’t understand that, because I believe so strongly in what I was out to do it happened because I saw and visualized it. I prayed for it. It felt right. And I think that when we don’t put the limits of reality around ourselves, like there’s so much that we can accomplish that we box ourselves in sometimes with doubt, with fear, with like what other people tell you.

Lewis Howes: Yeah.

Lindsey Stirling: We build these like limits around ourselves. And I see that more in myself now than then.

Lewis Howes: You have more limits now?

Lindsey Stirling: I work really hard to not have them because I’ve learned so much.

Lewis Howes: Uh-huh.

Lindsey Stirling: I’ve experienced so much more of the successes and the failures. And I’ve just gotten reality checks of like, “Oh, I understand this industry.”

Lewis Howes: [chuckles]

Lindsey Stirling: When I started I did not understand the industry at all.

Lewis Howes: And that’s why you’re successful.

Lindsey Stirling: And that’s why I was successful. I’m so glad.

Lewis Howes: So why you reality checking yourself now?

Lindsey Stirling: Well, now I tried reverse. I tried to like unreality check myself.

Lewis Howes: That’s good.

Lindsey Stirling: And be like, I literally when I started writing this album, I thought to myself, “I need to learn to dream again.”

Lewis Howes: That’s so true.

Lindsey Stirling: I forgotten how to dream –

Lewis Howes: It’s so true.

Lindsey Stirling: — and to make wishes, and send them into the universe. I used to like literally do it all the time. I would be like, “I like my dreams, they can come true.” And I see them and I’d feel them and they – I’ve been amazed that how many of them have come to fruition.

Lewis Howes: So many right?

Lindsey Stirling: Because I believe they would happen. Where now I have to like consciously make the decision, like we’re going to dream, where going to think big again, because the more you learn in life, the more you start to limit yourself. The same way a child has dreams. We need to dream like children.

And I would say one of the biggest ways that I saw what am I dream – like I’ve seen it in so many ways that my dreams from the past, when I was the strongest dreamer, I have come to fruition and one of those was – you were there. We toured with Evanescence, like a co-headline tour. 

Lewis Howes: Oh, that’s amazing.

Lindsey Stirling: This summer, to co-headline with one of my idols.

Lewis Howes: You got videos.

Lindsey Stirling: Yes.

Lewis Howes: That you played on stage from like, when you were 16.

Lindsey Stirling: Yeah.

Lewis Howes: Singing Evanescence, right?

Lindsey Stirling: Right. Like, I when I would say to people, like “Oh, I was a huge Evanescence fan.” You know, I am a huge Evanescence fan and I had been my whole life. And [00:19:41 – inaudible] it’s cute, but then I on stage would show a music video I made in high school with my best friends with me, like rocking out and singing Bring Me To Life by Evanescence and the audience would laugh and it was like this very funny moment in the show. But then it’d be like, “Okay, that was funny, maybe a little embarrassing, but like, let’s all pause for a second.” I just shared the stage with my idol.

Lewis Howes: Amazing.

Lindsey Stirling: Amy Lee. That girl up there, she never – like I want – first of all, no one would have ever watched that music video and thought to themselves, “Wow.”

Lewis Howes: One day…

Lindsey Stirling: That girl is go in places.

Lewis Howes: [laugh] Yeah.

Lindsey Stirling: Like no, I looked like such a dork. But the thing is, is that girl didn’t think she looked like a dork. That girl had big plans, big dreams. I worked my tail off to get there. And because I like put it into the universe, not only now have I was on Amy Lee’s album.

Lewis Howes: Wow.

Lindsey Stirling: I’ve performed with her, I’ve toured with her, co-headline, and she’s now on my album. 

Lewis Howes: Wow.

Lindsey Stirling: And also it’s funny. The song that she sang on stage with me every night was my song Shatter Me. I wrote that for her.

Lewis Howes: Shut up.

Lindsey Stirling: Years ago. And you know she was on maternity leave. She was unable to sing it. You know, we got Lizzy Hale who is amazing. And I’m like a huge Lizzy fan now. But it’s just so interesting like putting things into the universe. Amy sang that with me every night on stage. And I’m like; I would have died to have her sing that, years ago. When I wrote that song for her, like, what you put out into the universe, what you wish, what you dream for is powerful, and it will come back to you in one shape or another. So I consciously make the effort to dream.

Lewis Howes: Why do we lose the ability to dream?

Lindsey Stirling: I think it’s because we’ve learn. And we put like these limits around ourselves, which are, there is like practicality, and people oftentimes are afraid to be Uber optimistic, because it’s like, “Oh, I don’t get my hopes up and my hopes will be dashed.” But like –

Lewis Howes: Who cares?

Lindsey Stirling: Who cares?

Lewis Howes: Who cared with you?

Lindsey Stirling: If anything hope in the moment and excitement right now, you live way more in the moment than you experience the future. Some of us get way caught up in the future, which isn’t even happening. Like if you can live in the moment and find excitement in the present and like, “Yeah, get excited. Feel that energy and if it doesn’t work out, you’ll have a moment of disappointment.”

Lewis Howes: Um-hmm.

Lindsey Stirling: “But then feel excitement for something else.” Like live in those moments of dreaming, and wishing because I think there’s such a powerful energy. And whether you see it as God or like the universe or whatever, there’s a bigger plan for you then what practicality can make?

Lewis Howes: Yeah. I know. Well, no one gets excited about someone who’s practical.

Lindsey Stirling: Yeah.

Lewis Howes: They get excited about people who have that magnetic energy, that dreamer’s energy that sparking eye.

Lindsey Stirling: Yeah.

 Lewis Howes: We’re not like, okay, let’s give everything to the person who has a rational mind. We’re like –

Lindsey Stirling: Yeah.

Lewis Howes: — I want to give the things to people that go for it.

Lindsey Stirling: Yeah. And a rational mind is great because you see what’s practical stuff, but my life and my trajectory, I remind myself has not been practical.

Lewis Howes: No. Nothing is done.

Lindsey Stirling: It doesn’t make sense.

Lewis Howes: Nothing is done.

Lindsey Stirling: How I here today speaking to you having the kind of life I have, it was not practical, and I believe in miracles.

Lewis Howes: Um-hmm.

Lindsey Stirling: And I 100% think that angels have guided my footsteps. That God has really guided me, because I’ve asked, and I’ve told him I had big dreams. And I think, sometimes if you just merely, like what’s the harm in asking for big things.

Lewis Howes: So true.

Lindsey Stirling: Why not ask. Why not ask the universe for what you actually want? You know, and I love what Jim Carrey said, he said, “I’d rather take a risk and go for the things I actually want in life because you can fail at anything.”

Lewis Howes: Exactly.

Lindsey Stirling: “You can fail at your safe bet, or you can fail going for something that you really, really want.”

Lewis Howes: Gosh, it’s so true.

Lindsey Stirling: Like life has no guarantees.

Lewis Howes: Zero.

Lindsey Stirling: So go forth what you want.

Lewis Howes: Like, we gone tomorrow.

Lindsey Stirling: Exactly.

Lewis Howes: Ah, I love this. So another thing that I love about you is that you failed publicly, and came back.

Lindsey Stirling: Yeah.

Lewis Howes: And you said, screw it. This is a good lesson. I’m not ready. I don’t have the skills yet. 

Lindsey Stirling: Yeah.

Lewis Howes: But maybe I’ll close only work on a more.

Lindsey Stirling: Um-hmm.

Lewis Howes: And then you blew up. You invented your own way of kind of marketing with YouTube and social media originally.

Lindsey Stirling: Um-hmm.

Lewis Howes: It’s kind of allowed you to reach the masses.

Lindsey Stirling: Yeah.

Lewis Howes: And then be able to get these bigger opportunities and go on tours and stuff like that. And you keep doing it, right?

Lindsey Stirling: Um-hmm.

Lewis Howes: You keep doing it over and over again. But I remember a year and a half ago, we talked about this a little bit, that you kind of felt like your father passing with your, when your best friend’s passing and you kind of achieved a lot by then to.

Lindsey Stirling:  Yeah.

Lewis Howes: You kind of a reach a lot of these dreams that you had. So how do we discover how to reach dream? When things are really good? Because I feel like I’m a little bit, I can understand, because sometimes like, man, everything’s growing, everything’s going really well for me but how do I even take it to another level and redream something even greater?

Lindsey Stirling:  I found for myself there’s a fine line between reaching for greater, and then realizing why I love where I’m at.

Lewis Howes: Mmm.

Lindsey Stirling: And thinking about, what’s more important right now? Do I – Is it most important for me to keep growing and getting greater and greater? Or is it more important to relish and what I love about what I do? And that’s for everybody to decide for themselves. And there have been times I’m like, “No, it’s time right now to reach for greater.” Like, I have big dreams still. I have big things. And then there’s other times I’m like, “No, right now. I need to focus on what I love about what I do.” And there was a time when I started to delegate – like, well; I’ve always had a hard time delegating like certain things and I’ve realized that yes, I could probably maximize my time, and reach out, and do other bigger greater things if I delegated more of my stuff. But then I was like, “But that is what I love about what I do.”

Lewis Howes: Yeah. 

Lindsey Stirling: You know, I love creative directing, all my shows. I’m like, way to involve.

Lewis Howes: [chuckles] That’s what makes them magical.

Lindsey Stirling: But that’s what – and also I love that.

Lewis Howes: Yeah.

Lindsey Stirling: That’s part of like, for me the writing the music is something only I can do. I have to write my own music because I don’t know anyone else that writes like I do. And I, I don’t know, it wouldn’t be the same. So even though that’s the hardest part for me, like emotionally, and like it’s the most work for me is the writing, is something only I can do. However, I could have someone creative direct my tours. There’s so many talent people out there. But that’s the part I love. I love bringing the show to life. It takes months, editing my own music videos. I still edit all of them.

Lewis Howes: You edit them yourself?

Lindsey Stirling: I edit them all myself.

Lewis Howes: No.

Lindsey Stirling: But I’m a – I think one of my best talents is storytelling. And I’m a great editor. And even though I could find and hire a great editor, I love editing my music video. It’s like the candy after the meal. I like seat there for hours. I was literally on a plane the other day; I had Luna on my lap. I’m like way back in 29 C.

Lewis Howes: [chuckles]

Lindsey Stirling:  And I’m like editing with like my dog.

Lewis Howes: Wow.

Lindsey Stirling: And I like someone around you was like, “Are you Lindsey Sterling? Are you editing your music video back here in –?

Lewis Howes: That’s cool.

Lindsey Stirling: I was like, “Yes, I am.”

Lewis Howes: That’s amazing.

Lindsey Stirling: You know because, yeah, it’s like, I could probably maximize my time better. But for me, I had to evaluate what makes me the happiest, these parts of my art. And so because of that I don’t think I’ll ever give them away. And so it’s like always evaluating those things. And then I think the third thing is also just finding new challenges. Like I said, tiny tweaks, for me, it was really fun to write a comic book with this album, something I’ve never done before. I’m good at short term storytelling, but it made me realize long form storytelling was a new art that I’d never invested in, never put creativity into energy.

Lewis Howes: A lot of energy.

Lindsey Stirling: A lot of energy.

Lewis Howes: A lot of time.

Lindsey Stirling: I spent hours a day with my writer working on this comic book. And it was a new challenge, you know, and it wasn’t that I like suddenly went to acting. I didn’t like pay that that far. It was just like, “Okay, what new dimension Can I add to my craft, to make it feel fresh for me?”

Lewis Howes: Um-hmm.

Lindsey Stirling: And it made this album so exciting with these characters, with a story made my creative direction of the tour, completely new, and trying to in capture these characters in the show, you know? So I think for me, it’s just little challenges, like being like we’re going to push the envelope a little bit on this side while we still stay on the foundation of what I know.

Lewis Howes: Sure, yeah. When someone is going through some type of depression or darkness or a shadow of being hidden by the light?

Lindsey Stirling: Um-hmm.

Lewis Howes: What would you recommend for them if it’s been a month, six months, years that they’ve been feeling some type of darkness? How to get out of it to find their inner light again?

Lindsey Stirling: Yeah. One thing I love about the symbolism of the moon, as well as not only the cycles that goes through, but like the goddess Artemis, like how brave she must be because she brings light to darkness.

Lewis Howes: Mmm.

Lindsey Stirling: It’s really easy to shine and be bright when the sun is out to feel full of light and you feel that vitamin D coming into you. It’s really easy to feel that, but at night, the moon shines even in darkness. And I think that even through times of hardship and trial, I found moments of joy. You know, even though I felt like I was covered in shadow, and I think it’s possible to experience joy amongst trials, amongst darkness the same way the moon shines in the dark. And I really feel like there are practices you can go through where you practice being intentional.

Lewis Howes: Mmm.

Lindsey Stirling: I mean, sometimes literally, it was waking up in the morning and be Like “I’m going to make it through this day.”

Lewis Howes: Yeah.

Lindsey Stirling: And you know, and that’s the best I could do.

Lewis Howes: Wow, yeah.

Lindsey Stirling: And I’m gonna, you know or I have that meeting today that I really want to be a positive experience, or this meet and greet that I’ve got to go to I wanted to be a positive experience. So I’m going to like, meditate before I go. And it took a little more energy to be intentional, but like setting myself up before I got into situations so that when I arrived, I knew how I wanted to feel at least. You know, and I would sometimes meditate for those things or visualize myself walking in confidently. And when I first was realizing I had anorexia, years ago.

Lewis Howes: How old were you then?

Lindsey Stirling: I was like 21 when I or 22. When I realized that I had anorexia.

Lewis Howes: How long do you think you had it for before you actually realized it?

Lindsey Stirling: I think it had – honestly I sensed like looking back signs of it from the time I was a child.

Lewis Howes: Like six, seven?

Lindsey Stirling: I had memories from eight years old, feeling fat.

Lewis Howes: Wow.

Lindsey Stirling: You know, where I remember putting on a snow suit going to the snow like a big puffy snow suit. I remember looking in the mirror and feeling so fat, as an eight year old, and taking a belt, and like tightening around my waist –

Lewis Howes: No way.

Lindsey Stirling: — in the snow suit trying to give myself a form. Like, you know, and I said memories like that It hadn’t overcome me it was just these very early signs that like, oh-oh, something’s a little off in the way I’m thinking.

Lewis Howes: Um-hmm, interesting.

Lindsey Stirling: And it really took me over when I went to college I think that’s when it got out of control because suddenly I was on my own and I wasn’t – no one was watching what I did. And so I think I – before I realized I had it, I think I was like categorized or diagnosably anorexic for like probably two, three years.

Lewis Howes: Um-hmm.

Lindsey Stirling: But I think the first steps that were the most helpful aside from like, accepting it, going to therapy starting the process, but for me it was being intentional about listening to the way I thought about myself because I was extremely depressed at this point.

Lewis Howes: At 22?

Lindsey Stirling: At 22.

Lewis Howes: Yeah.

Lindsey Stirling: You know, because one anorexia, you don’t have the chemicals to create the right endorphins in your body anymore, so depression had like consumed my life, more so than, than ever before since. And it was listening to that inner dialogue and realizing, oh my gosh, automatic thoughts are so powerful.

Lewis Howes: Wow.

Lindsey Stirling:  And training my mind. And to this day, I mean, I started about two years ago writing in a gratitude journal because at that time when I was overcoming anorexia, I started to just take time every day to look myself in the eye in the mirror.

Lewis Howes: Mmm.

Lindsey Stirling: And tell myself the thoughts I wanted to believe. And your mind –

Lewis Howes: Even if you didn’t believe them?

Lindsey Stirling: I did not believe them, but your mind categorizes things, and your mind has lies or truth. And so at first and I would say these things, they would automatically go into the bucket of lies and be like, you’re beautiful, you’re smart, you are strong. I love my body. I’m grateful for my health and my body, you know, and say these things, and I would like cry as I said them.

Lewis Howes: Yeah, yeah.

Lindsey Stirling: And it was such a lie. But eventually after telling yourself enough your brain will start to then put it into the truth category. If you’ve said it, enough, and it starts to accept like, oh, maybe this is true, same with like self-love and self-acceptance. Like, if you’ve been hating yourself for years, saying I love you is going to be a lie, because it is a lie.

Lewis Howes: It is.

Lindsey Stirling: And eventually it will become a truth. And so it was a very like physical and intentional practice. Now, it’s a much more casual practice, but like I write in a gratitude journal every night, and I just say three things at the end of the day that I’m grateful for about my life and about my success. And if anyone is still listening, this is one thing that I strongly encourage you to do in your life. A simple gratitude journal, it takes like, two minutes at the end of the day. And I have noticed a significant change in my happiness because I think we all have a default setting, where if you’re not extremely excited and happy, and if you’re not like devastatingly sad and crying, there’s like a default, you just kind of like coast through life at and that’s your setting. And my default setting has shifted. One, through doing these practices when I was like super sick in the mind, and it’s like, moved me up. But even now that I’m like a healthy person, I’ve seen the gratitude journal, take me to a higher plane, were more likely in random situations, I see the positive in it. Like I’m stuck in traffic and I said I’m like, “Well, we still live in this beautiful city in LA, you know, like, where people want to be.

Lewis Howes: Yeah.

Lindsey Stirling: And I’m like, “What the heck is happening to me?”

Lewis Howes: [laughs]

Lindsey Stirling: You know, and it’s not all the time. But it’s like automatic responses happen because of patterns that you’ve created. And if you’ve had years and years of being pessimistic, by like simply writing in a gratitude journal every night, you’re training your mind to make positive patterns. And so more on your default setting, you’re going to be a happier, more positive, more grateful person. And it is like been one of the simplest things that has the biggest impact I feel on my just average happiness.

Lewis Howes: Mmm.

Lindsey Stirling: So I strongly encourage everyone to do a gratitude journal because it makes you intentional and saying, “This is the kind of person I want to be. These are the kind of thoughts I want to think.” And whether you’re at the stage we need to literally look yourself in the mirror and be like, “Stop beating yourself up. Be kind, like, be kind to yourself.” And when you do that with yourself, it makes you the kind of person that can do that for other people.

Lewis Howes: That’s true.

Lindsey Stirling: You cannot be that loving and that kind if you are horrible to yourself true.

Lewis Howes: It’s true.

Lindsey Stirling: Like, no man – I don’t care how loving and kind of a person you are in the exterior, it can’t be as authentic if you hate yourself.

Lewis Howes: That’s true. When someone is facing with a level of self-doubt, that seems like they’re at a level zero or one of confidence out of 10.

Lindsey Stirling: Um-hmm. Yeah.

Lewis Howes: They doubt themselves, how do they build it up to eight, nine, or 10 over time?

Lindsey Stirling: Yes.

Lewis Howes: And maybe they have a skill set that they have a lot of talent, like you had a lot of talent. 

Lindsey Stirling: Right.

Lewis Howes: But maybe didn’t believe in it at for a while, yeah?

Lindsey Stirling: Right for a while, yeah.

Lewis Howes: So how does someone increase your level or decrease their level of self-doubt and become more confident?

Lindsey Stirling: Well, first of all, I think that you have to realize there’s hope.

Lewis Howes: Um-hmm.

Lindsey Stirling: When I first realized I was anorexic, at first, I was so hopeless. And I was devastated because I read that anorexia is incurable.

Lewis Howes: Wow.

Lindsey Stirling: And I was like, “Oh my gosh, I’m going to hate myself forever.”

Lewis Howes: Forever.

Lindsey Stirling: “This is incurable.” I now understand what they mean, when they say it’s incurable. But I live a very healthy life. I just have to manage this like part of my brain, that sometimes tries to come forward. Same with like, depression, anxiety, they’re a part of you now, but you can overcome them. You can manage them so that you just have to be aware when they try to sneak back in, you know, because it does, it tries to sneak back in when I’m stressed or depressed or up, you know. I’m like, “Oh, there you are, you’re trying to come back but I’m not going to let you ever take over my life again.” And I won’t. But I think first of all, it’s giving people hope and realizing that just because you’re here today and your reality in this is so strong. And just because it’s real to you, because depression, and anorexia, and anxiety those are –

Lewis Howes: Those are so strong.

Lindsey Stirling: Real things.

Lewis Howes: Yeah.

 Lindsey Stirling: They’re real for you but it doesn’t mean they’re true. Like self-hate is real, doesn’t mean it’s true. And start — so I think having hope that just because you’re there today doesn’t mean that you can’t overcome this because you will, if you work at it.

I mean, 100%. If I can go from literally hating myself and having no confidence to being able to like play in front of how, we played in front of 17,000 people two nights ago.

Lewis Howes: Amazing.

Lindsey Stirling: I had an amazing show. And I was able to share messages, and music, and art. And like, I don’t, that is not wasted on me. I am so grateful for it, for these experiences that I have because I came from a place of such darkness. And if I can get there, like what’s the say anyone can’t.

So first of all, but secondly, baby steps. Starting today, starting with the realization that I can make it through today, and I can make get through today, at the end of the day, I’m going to write my gratitude journal and I’m going to find three positive things that happened today. And then like taking these steps, okay to, you know, and making them very practical, tangible steps, like don’t try to be like, “I’m going to be competent. I love myself 100% today.”, that’s exhausting. You can’t just go from depression to like full on love in –

Lewis Howes: One day.

Lindsey Stirling: One day. And I used to hate it when I listened to people talk like that; they would be like, “Just be confident. Just own yourself.” “It’s impossible.”

Lewis Howes: Yeah.

Lindsey Stirling: When you’re in the midst of darkness and depression. I hate going back to the symbolism of the moon over and over again but it doesn’t go from darkness to full light in one day. It takes like a freakin month to reach its full moon status. And so start with the practical things, whether it’s go to therapy, get help talk to someone, look yourself in the eye every day, say I love you. Talk to a friend. You know, just find the steps that work for you.

Now, I have this amazing tool belt around me that whenever – and I have like relationships and friends that I can turn to, these tools that I’ve built up through the years. And so now I have the ability if I am feeling dark in a day to like pull myself out of it sometimes within an hour; sometimes it takes a week, if it’s a really hard thing in the case of Lawson and death it took a year and a half, but didn’t mean that in given days I couldn’t pull myself out and be like, I’m going to be positive today. Like, I’ve got this amazing arsenal of tools now that have helped me find happiness in life even amongst some extreme trials. Just baby steps, take yourself where you’re at and realize that there is hope to get to where you want to be. 

Lewis Howes: Yeah.

Lindsey Stirling: You will far surpass what you thought you could do.

Lewis Howes: So true, so true. One day at a time. You mentioned loss again, I’ve, you know, part of my –I feel like I’m a pretty balanced human being where I take on all my fears. Every year I write a list of my fears and then I try to overcome them.

Lindsey Stirling: I love that.

Lewis Howes: From whether it be public speaking to salsa dancing, to singing in public, to all these different things. I’m like, “Okay, what is emotional fear for me?”

Lindsey Stirling: Oh, yeah.

Lewis Howes: Right?

Lindsey Stirling: Uh-huh.

Lewis Howes: An inner fear, not like spiders or snakes, but like, what’s the thing that I would be embarrassed by, or afraid, or feeling insecure about? And then I try to conquer those every year. I’ve never lost someone close to me, except for grandparents who were, you know, it was their time. I’ve never had a sudden loss. It’s a fear of mine.

Lindsey Stirling: Yeah.

Lewis Howes: Because I have a lot of great relationships. I know a lot of people and I know it’s just a matter of time where someone that I have –

Lindsey Stirling: Its part of life. 

Lewis Howes: Its part of life.

Lindsey Stirling: Yeah.

Lewis Howes: And I don’t know if it’s gonna be, you know, in the few years or 10 years, but it’s gonna happen eventually.

Lindsey Stirling: Yeah.

Lewis Howes: Someone is gonna die.

Lindsey Stirling: Yeah.

Lewis Howes: And it scares me. So I’m not saying like, I want this to happen now because I don’t want to – [chuckles]

Lindsey Stirling: Of course not. No.

Lewis Howes: But how did you handle it when you had to very close relationships in the same like big close period of time —

Lindsey Stirling: Yeah.

Lewis Howes: pass away? How did you handle it? And how are you going to handle it in the future when someone closes to you passes?

Lindsey Stirling: I don’t think it gets easier. Like, you know what I mean? Like I lost my best friend, now, I lost my dad. And it’s not like, “Well, I’ve been through this once before.”

Lewis Howes: I got this.

Lindsey Stirling: Yeah, no. I think loss will always be extremely hard. But I learned that the heart is so resilient. I said, when I lost my best friend, it was the first time I’d ever felt that kind of pain. And I just thought to myself, I will never be whole again.

Lewis Howes: Wow.

Lindsey Stirling: And then my dad died. And I was like, “I will never recover from this.” Like, they were the two most important, most prevalent men in my life.

Lewis Howes: Wow.

Lindsey Stirling: And so – you know, but the heart heals. And the most amazing thing about it for me, I think is my – I’m so grateful that I’m a very like spiritual and a very religious person because I’ve always believed in angels, and I think my belief in angels has like, given me so much grace through this.

Lewis Howes: Yeah.

Lindsey Stirling: Because as hard as it is, it’s amazing that like that pain, just get It’s like farther away. I’ve always miss them but it taught me to live in the moment with people, because that’s the thing you regret more than anything, like it’s just wishing that you could like relive some of those moments, and realize how special they were, and tell people how special they were. With my best friend, he passed away suddenly, and I was like, “Oh my gosh, I never had a chance to say even goodbye. I never had a chance to really tell him what he meant to me and that was devastating. But I believe in angels. And since then, I feel like I have had some of the most beautiful experiences where I know they were close to me. And I know they were guiding my steps. And it’s like; I don’t think they’re far. I think that sometimes in a way that they’re able to be with me more than they ever could have before and they’re a part of my adventure still. And I believe I’ll see them again, like 100% and it just makes you remember how finite this life is if you have a belief in an afterlife, like this life is just like a glimpse. You know, it’s a moment, and it will be with our loved ones again.

And I have I’m going to share a story. I think I shared this at The Summit of Greatness.

Lewis Howes: Sure.

Lindsey Stirling: When I was on Dancing with the Stars, I realized about halfway through the season, like I almost had – I kind of had a mini panic attack or anxiety attack because I just realized, again, what I had set out to do is impossible, because I was going back and forth between ballroom rehearsals with Mark Ballas, and then I would – you know, we’d rehearse like six hours. Then I’d go to my tour rehearsals –

Lewis Howes: Crazy.

Lindsey Stirling: And we would rehearse a brand new show for Christmas for hours. And I was mentally, physically, emotionally, in every way I was so drained and then we left on tour. And now, I’m doing shows and meet and greets every day, practicing with my partner every day, and flying back and forth from the east coast to the west coast to compete, and I was beyond tired. Then I busted a rib.

Lewis Howes: Oh!

Lindsey Stirling: Didn’t break, it just like, it just got injured.

Lewis Howes: Dislocate or something.

Lindsey Stirling: Yeah.

Lewis Howes: Ooh!

Lindsey Stirling: Yeah, it got dislocated.

Lewis Howes: And work pain when you break a rib or do anything in the ribs. You can’t breath.

Lindsey Stirling: It really hurts.

Lewis Howes: You can’t breathe, you can’t sneeze.

Lindsey Stirling: Heaven forbid you sneeze. [laughs]

Lewis Howes: It’s the worst.

Lindsey Stirling: And so I now I’m physically broken. And I went to the only place where I thought I could go and I prayed. And I got a blessing. That’s something that we do in my faith as you can get a blessing of comfort and healing. And it’s basically where like someone you know, with the priesthood puts their hands on your head, and it’s kind of like a prayer from God to you. And I was promised, the angels were with me, guiding my footsteps, and more specifically, I was promised that my dad had been with me and would be with me for every step of this journey, and he wasn’t gonna leave my side.

Lewis Howes: Wow.

Lindsey Stirling: And I relied on that promise with everything inside of me because in the context of reality, and like a reality check, I was doomed.

Lewis Howes: Wow, yeah.

Lindsey Stirling: Like, I did not have enough hours to sleep. I did not have enough hours to practice. They just were not enough hours in the day to do what I needed to do. And so every night when I would go to sleep I would pray and be like I have four hours to sleep right now.

Lewis Howes: Oh my god.

Lindsey Stirling: And exhausted. I’d be like; I needed to count as 10. And then I would go to sleep and I’d wake up the next morning go to rehearsals, I’d be like, I have three hours to practice right now.

Lewis Howes: Oh my gosh.

Lindsey Stirling: I needed to count is 10 like, I need this to be maximized. And I prayed for miracles. And I tell you, when I stepped on that dance floor at Dancing with the Stars every time, I danced better than I possibly have the strength to dance.

Lewis Howes: Wow.

Lindsey Stirling: And more specifically – I’m sorry, this is such a long story.

Lewis Howes: Wow.

Lindsey Stirling: But when we were at the finale, we made it all the way to the end.

Lewis Howes: Final three, right?

Lindsey Stirling: Yeah, final three. And Mark and I were rehearsing backstage; we’re running through our routine like at this point we hadn’t slept literally in like 24 hours. We’ve been on a red eye to get there. We’re so tired –

Lewis Howes: Oh my god.

Lindsey Stirling: — like bloodshot eyes, literally just trying to make it through our last routine. And I went blank. You know how sometimes you just blank?

Lewis Howes: Forgot.

Lindsey Stirling: You just freeze. I mean, I was so drained and we’re back there rehearsing and suddenly I just started missing every step, and Mark’s freaking out. He’s like, “Are you okay?” He like shakes me like dizzy horrified to go out there and dance in front of millions people. And I’m just like, “I got this. I got this.” And then they call our names to go out and perform. And so I step onto the dance floor, and we get hit by the spotlight and I’m like, panicking.

Lewis Howes: [laughs]

Lindsey Stirling: And I look up into that spotlight. And all I had time to say was like, a two word prayer. And I prayed a ton by this point, but I just looked up and I said, “Dad, dad help.”

Lewis Howes: Mmm.

Lindsey Stirling: And then the music started. And it was almost like a dream. Like you’ve had those experiences where you’re almost like watching your life happen, watching a moment. And it was like I floated through the routine and it happened so effortlessly. And I felt so powerful in that moment and I did the routine perfectly.

Lewis Howes: Wow.

Lindsey Stirling:  And when it ended, like I ended up getting second place on Dancing with the Stars. But in that moment when it ended, I won.

Lewis Howes: Wow.

Lindsey Stirling: I don’t care what anyone else says like – and my partner to. You know, for a moment, for a whole night I won Dancing with the Stars because I did the best I could have done and I conquered what I set out to do, and no one can take that went away from me, like no mirror ball trophy, no anything. It just was such an experience of, yeah, people can tell you what you physically and emotionally can do and can’t do but miracles are real, and angels are with you. I honestly imagine us walking through life with these like big angels around us all the time. And since day, I prayed for my angels. I prayed specifically asking for my dad to help me with things. I pray for Gavi, my best friend helped me like if I’m nervous for a specific show, I’m like, “Hey, be on stage with me.” I prayed for Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers to like help me through dance rehearsals.

Lewis Howes: [chuckles] Sure.

Lindsey Stirling: I pray for angels all the time, and I honestly believe that that’s how miracles happen in our life because there’s the finite of what you can and can’t do. And then there’s the unexplainable.

Lewis Howes: It’s true.

Lindsey Stirling: And Dancing with the Stars is one of the funny enough, and one of the most spiritual moments of my life was on that stage because I did something that physically I can’t do.

Lewis Howes: Wow.

Lindsey Stirling: And yeah, believe in miracles, believe in angels. And I think that is a long way of saying, loss is a finite thing in this life. However, you know, we missed them. But I think they’re always with us.

Lewis Howes: Gosh, great storyteller.

Lindsey Stirling: Thank you, thank you.

Lewis Howes: I love it Lindsey.

Lindsey Stirling: I loved that story. My dad was a great storyteller. I actually prayed for him today. My dad was such a good speaker, and he was a great storyteller. And so as I was coming in today, as I helped me to just be able to speak clearly and I was like, “Please help my dad will be here with me today to help me share like the way he would share.” And I literally pray for angels all the time.

Lewis Howes: That’s powerful. That’s powerful.

Lindsey Stirling: Yeah.

Lewis Howes: There’s something in the sports when I reflect and just kind of observe the world. There is two different types of winners who are really successful.

Lindsey Stirling: Yeah.

Lewis Howes: In sports.

Lindsey Stirling: Um-hmm.

Lewis Howes: And they both have a lot of confidence. Here’s the difference between the two. One winner, at the end of the game when someone says, or a match, or a fight, when someone says like, You just want how did you do it. And they say, “I am the greatest.” This is like the Mohammed Ali, Conor McGregor, Mayweather approach to –

Lindsey Stirling: Yeah.

Lewis Howes: — response, like, “Tell me how you did it?” “Well, I’m the greatest. I work so hard. I’ve got talents. I’m the best in the world. I knew I would win,” type of mentality. Yeah, that works for some. 

Lindsey Stirling: Yeah.

Lewis Howes: And then there’s the other says, “Well, God is the greatest.”

Lindsey Stirling: Yeah.

Lewis Howes: And all my talents come from God or from the, you know, my source or the spirit the universe.

Lindsey Stirling: Yeah.

Lewis Howes: And they put the hope and the pressure on something else.

Lindsey Stirling: Yeah.

Lewis Howes: It’s opposed to like, I’m the best and I knew I would be able to do this. I knew I’d be able to give my best because something else, it’s a greater. And you do that really well. You call on the angels, and God, and everything else. And you do that really well to give you the strength as opposed to I have all the strength and the power. So I think that’s really cool.

Lindsey Stirling: Well, thank you.

Lewis Howes: Yeah, you do that.

Lindsey Stirling: I think it’s exhausting —

Lewis Howes: It’s a lot of pressure.

Lindsey Stirling: — to like, be like, “I’m the greatest! Everything’s on me.” There’s a lot to be said about the amount of calmness when you can hand it over to the universe or hand it over to God. And say, “You know what, I really believe a lot and it’s meant to be or it’s not meant to be and there’s a bigger picture. And there’s so much pressure that gets taken off your shoulders.

Lewis Howes: Smart.

Lindsey Stirling: If you realize that I’m doing the best I can. I did my part. I worked my tail off.

Lewis Howes: Yeah.

Lindsey Stirling: I was faithful, I prayed. I was kind, like all those things. I did my best to be the best I could show up with everything I’ve got in the, I’m the greatest form.

Lewis Howes: Um-hmm.

Lindsey Stirling: But like, because you gotta believe that you are good at what you do, and that you are confident, you are great, so it’s like you show up with that. But if you also couple it with the lot better, I mean, I’m not the greatest, like I have this amazing team of support around me of angels and God.

Lewis Howes: Yeah.

Lindsey Stirling: Like, I think that just adds an extra element of like, power you.

Lewis Howes: Power, unlimited power.

Lindsey Stirling: Unlimited. And then it’s not about me it’s like I showed up the best I could be but the end of the day, like God’s gonna direct me and take me where I need to be and there’s a lot of comfort that comes from that. Like I think it takes a lot of bitterness out of life of the lost is, not winning Dancing with the Stars when I – I killed it.

Lewis Howes: Yeah. You dominate it.

Lindsey Stirling: I dominated the show.

Lewis Howes: Who actually won that?

Lindsey Stirling: Jordan Fisher won. Amazing, he’s amazing, like incredible. I still think I just as much deserved to win.

Lewis Howes: Yeah.

Lindsey Stirling: But it takes the bitterness out of it or like the, Uh, the anger of like or like not winning America’s Got Talent at the time like, “Heck, I’m so glad I didn’t win that show because God had a different, much bigger plan for me then.”

Lewis Howes: It’s true.

Lindsey Stirling: You know, if I won that show, I would be in a very different place than I am now.

Lewis Howes: Yeah.

Lindsey Stirling: You know, and sometimes things are just not meant to be.

Lewis Howes: It’s not meant to be.

Lindsey Stirling: Yeah.

Lewis Howes: What’s missing in your life right now?

Lindsey Stirling: I mean, gosh, I think I’ve always wanted a family, like someday – 

Lewis Howes: How old are you now?

Lindsey Stirling: I’m 32.

Lewis Howes: All right.

Lindsey Stirling: It’s good to be.

Lewis Howes: It’s good to be.

Lindsey Stirling: Um, but yeah, I think for me, I want to have a life partner. I like to go through life with, you know, and I want to have kids, I want to have that experience and like a lot of my friends are in that phase, like my sisters are all in that phase of having multiple children and raising them. And that’s a chapter of my life that I think I want to have. And I know I will have someday when the timing is right. And there have been times when I’ve been disappointed that I’m not there yet.

Lewis Howes: Really?

Lindsey Stirling: You know, yeah. Honestly, I grew up thinking I’d be married at like 20 and just always thought to get married super young and then once I got to 20 I was like, “No, I’ve got things to do.”

Lewis Howes: [chuckles]

Lindsey Stirling: But yeah, I think that there have been times when I’ve just craved having a life partner because I think when you’re an artist, sometimes the artist route can be a little bit lonely.

Lewis Howes: Um-hmm.

Lindsey Stirling: Even though I tour with tons of people, when I’m on the road, it’s got all these people staring me, but still there’s a little bit of –

Lewis Howes: You’re going to sleep with your dog.

Lindsey Stirling: Lonliness.

Lewis Howes: Yeah.

Lindsey Stirling: Yeah, cuddle up with my Chihuahua, which is great. I love Luna.

Lewis Howes: Yeah.

Lindsey Stirling: But yeah, I think that it’s important to just again hand that over and be like, I truly believe that that will happen for me when the timing is right.

Lewis Howes: Yeah.

Lindsey Stirling: Even though sometimes I’m, I don’t always –

Lewis Howes: You want it now.

Lindsey Stirling: I want to now. I do get discouraged and I have cried about it. Like, I’m not to say that I’m always just like, “It’s fine.” Just because I get that perspective at times when I’m clear doesn’t mean that I don’t have moments and all of these things, whether it’s success or being disappointed, that something didn’t do well, or like relationships, doesn’t mean I haven’t in the moment been devastated by things. I just then go and remind myself that it’s going to be okay.

Lewis Howes: Yeah. What would be the perfect partner for you? Would that person have emotionally, spiritually?

Lindsey Stirling: Yeah, the perfect guy. All right, take notes fellows out there.

Lewis Howes: Or just what’s something you’re looking for? What’s you will be your match?

Lindsey Stirling: I think spirituality is a big thing to me. Obviously, I want someone that can have a belief in something greater than themselves, and have faith and hope. I think also, someone with a sense of humor, life’s too short, you got to learn to laugh through life. And I think everybody has their own type of humor.

Lewis Howes: Yeah.

Lindsey Stirling: You just have to find someone that has your same odds sense – because we all have these odds sense of humor.

Lewis Howes: Quirky.

Lindsey Stirling: We’re all quirky and its finding someone that gets your quirkiness. And I think, also we all have to – in a way, I think when you fall in love with someone, you’re also falling in love with the version of yourself that they bring out of you.

Lewis Howes: Ooh.

Lindsey Stirling: I mean, I think that 100%, like everybody brings out whether it’s a friendship or a working relationship, or a like a partner, they bring out a different part of you, and you want someone that brings a part of you out that you’d love to be. And so I think that’s a huge part.

Lewis Howes: What part of you would you love to be more of the day would bring out of you?

Lindsey Stirling: Ooh, sometimes I get super hyper focused. I had this, like, I think it’s – people are so fascinating. We all have different sides of our personality. You have like your core side, and then you’ve got your secondary personality. And sometimes my secondary personality becomes dominant because it’s the red side of me that’s like the task oriented, work hard, ABC equals D, like I have that side of myself but that’s my secondary side. My first side is playful, fun loving, like, you know, I’m a yellow. I’m a performer, I’m a creative, but when I let my red take over the yellow, I’m unbalanced. And so I think someone who brings out that playful side of me –

Lewis Howes: Um-hmm.

Lindsey Stirling: And keeps that like childlike person alive.

Lewis Howes: Yeah.

Lindsey Stirling: I think that’s the side that I need in a partner to bring out because sometimes my red, it’s good at being strong on its own. I don’t need someone out of me. I can do that on my own.

Lewis Howes: Okay, okay bring out the playful side.

Lindsey Stirling: Yeah, you know, I want to play through life. I want to have that in my family. I want to have a family that, like, not only knows how to – kids that know how to work hard and understand the value of the dollar, like the way I was raised, but also, like my home also had a lot of love and play in it. And I think that’s why I got to where I’m at like we were allowed to play and play big.

Lewis Howes: That’s great, yeah. Who taught you to play big?

Lindsey Stirling: Both my mom and my dad. My dad was a writer, and very playful, and he was a great storyteller. And as hard as he worked, he always made time for his kids. And like I didn’t – I remember at his funeral, I think funerals are some of the most inspiring things I’ve ever been to both my dad and my best friends, funerals, I left being like, I want to be a better person.

Lewis Howes: Wow.

Lindsey Stirling: The Spirit was just so strong there. But I remember at my dad’s funeral, like person after person, after person got up and told these stories about how he made time for them, and how he made them feel seen in ways that was just like, I was like, where did this man find time to do this? I knew he did that for me. I didn’t know he did that for the neighbor down the street.

Lewis Howes: Right.

Lindsey Stirling: I didn’t know –

Lewis Howes: The note man [00:55:51 – inaudible]

Lindsey Stirling: I didn’t know. Yeah, like people at our church, his students told stories about how he may – I was just like –

Lewis Howes: Wow.

Lindsey Stirling: Somehow, he found all the time in the world to make people feel seen while he was still a super hard working, and that’s the part of me I want to make sure it doesn’t get hidden is that, the time, that you make time to not only play but you see people, and you make people feel seen because at the end of the day if you just work, work, work, work, work and don’t let people know that you see them, whether it’s like, you know, my dancers on tour or my fans because they feel that I see you. At the end of the day, we all crave just being seen and understood. And that’s one of the things more than anything I think I learned. My dad raising us made us all feel so seen and understood powerful.

Lewis Howes: Wow, that’s powerful.

Lindsey Stirling: Now, I want to that for people to if I let my red personality take over I missed that completely.

Lewis Howes: Yeah, yeah. What do you think your dad would be most proud of you today?

Lindsey Stirling: Oh, my dad was so proud of me. I’m gonna cry. He was so proud of me, back when no one knew who I was.

Lewis Howes: Yeah.

Lindsey Stirling: You know, he was my biggest fan but like the thing is not only me, like my sister’s, he was all of our biggest fans. And I think that’s one of the things is so powerful he didn’t care about like the fact that I had like millions of followers or something, like each one of us. 

I remember a story would like, I was a teenager and I had to run late at night. I was on the cross country team and I would run through the summers to stay in shape, but Arizona’s so hot in the summer.

Lewis Howes: So hot.

Lindsey Stirling: Miserable. So he would drive in his car behind me.

Lewis Howes: Wow.

Lindsey Stirling: While I ran at night, so the one I’d be safe, and I wouldn’t be alone. And so he didn’t have to run with me. Like he would say it is like, Buick Skylark and drive.

Lewis Howes: [00:57:41 – inaudible] AC?

Lindsey Stirling: Yeah. Actually, that car didn’t have AC. So he’s out there in the heat too. What a way to show your daughter that you’re her biggest fan.

Lewis Howes: Wow.

Lindsey Stirling: You know, like, Oh, yeah, I’ll drive in the car with you at like 10 o’clock at night so you can go running. And I know that my dad would be the most proud of me not for the music, not for the fame, but for the fact that I’ve done my best to stay true to myself. And, you know, stay true to my faith. And, you know, I’m not perfect in it for sure. But it’s something important to me that I’ve made a commitment.

When I first saw that I was being successful I was like, I don’t want that to change in my life. And as much as the industry in the world has tugged and pulled at me, that’s my core. It’s one of my core things. And I think my dad would be really proud to see that I haven’t let go of something that’s been actually hard to maintain.

Lewis Howes: Yeah.

Lindsey Stirling: But that’s a piece of me.

Lewis Howes: Yeah. That’s powerful. I know it’d be inspired for sure.

Lindsey Stirling: Love you, dad. I know he is here.

Lewis Howes: Yes. You’re going on tour right now.

Lindsey Stirling: Yeah, about to leave —

Lewis Howes: You got a new album.

Lindsey Stirling: Yes.

Lewis Howes: You’re going on tour. Where can people watch you live?

Lindsey Stirling: Oh, man, people can watch live I mean –

Lewis Howes: You are going all over the country, you tour around the world.

Lindsey Stirling: I’m touring all over the world. We’ll be in Europe this fall. We’re doing a Christmas tour in the States in the winter.

Lewis Howes: I want to go to the Christmas one.

Lindsey Stirling: Oh my gosh, come.

Lewis Howes: I think it’s so inspiring.

Lindsey Stirling: Yes, I’ll send you the dates.

Lewis Howes: Yes.

Lindsey Stirling: When we’re close till — I know we’re like an hour outside of LA.

Lewis Howes: Awesome.

Lindsey Stirling: But yeah.

Lewis Howes: If I’m here I’ll come.

Lindsey Stirling: Go to the Christmas tour that’s going to be across the States. And then we’re going to do the new album Artemis tour in the spring in the States.

Lewis Howes: Wow.

Lindsey Stirling: So it will be hitting South America as well in the early part of the year, so we’ll be everywhere. I mean, literally, I’m going to tour the world in the next six months.

 Lewis Howes: You’re a machine.

 Lindsey Stirling: I’m a machine.

Lewis Howes: You’re a machine.

Lindsey Stirling: I’m going.

Lewis Howes: So the album is already out.

Lindsey Stirling: Some of the singles are out.

Lewis Howes: Some of the song? And Spotify?

Lindsey Stirling: Album drops — yeah, so you can catch it on Spotify. The album drops September 6th.

Lewis Howes: Okay.

Lindsey Stirling: The comic book will drop shortly thereafter. We’re hoping by, you know, beginning of September, but yeah.

Lewis Howes: It’s amazing.

Lindsey Stirling: I’m excited. Week chapters.

Lewis Howes: So we can we can find it all where? Where’s the best place to find a tour? The comic?

Lindsey Stirling: Yeah. Tour dates, I mean, lindseystirling.com, you’ll see my tour dates, you’ll see like links to the album. You can also of course, find me on Spotify. Come visit my YouTube channel.

Lewis Howes: There you go.

Lindsey Stirling: That’s where I feel like, if you want to get a taste of what my art is, my little music videos are my babies.

Lewis Howes: It’s amazing. Someone have like, what’s some of the biggest views like 10s of millions right?

Lindsey Stirling: Oh, Lewis.

Lewis Howes: Some of the videos that about 10s of millions of views right? I like seeing the videos.

Lindsey Stirling: I’ve got a couple over, yeah, —

Lewis Howes: Over A Hundred Million?

Lindsey Stirling: Yeah, I’ve got a couple over 200 million.

Lewis Howes: Two hundred million.

Lindsey Stirling: I’ve got a couple over that big.

Lewis Howes: It’s amazing.

Lindsey Stirling: Thank you. And then yeah, there’s some in like – anywhere from like 10 million, to like up to 200 million.

Lewis Howes: Two hundred million.

Lindsey Stirling: Two hundred fifty million.  So I’m so blessed, so grateful.

Lewis Howes: It’s amazing.

Lindsey Stirling: It’s amazing. I still sometimes I’m like; I play the violin and dance around.

Lewis Howes: Like a fairy tale.

Lindsey Stirling: Yeah, like a little woodland fairy. How the heck do I have these kind of numbers –

Lewis Howes: It’s amazing.

Lindsey Stirling: — and you know. How can people show up to my shows.

Lewis Howes: Wow.

Lindsey Stirling: But I’m really excited for this tour. We literally just finished like prepping it, rehearsals, costumes; it’s going to be so much fun. It’s a story.

Lewis Howes: Wow.

Lindsey Stirling: So I hope people come and check out this new themes, the new music. Yeah.

Lewis Howes: And you’re one of the most inspiring performers on stage I’ve seen.

Lindsey Stirling: Really.

Lewis Howes: When I watched you at the, was at the Greek theatre?

Lindsey Stirling: The Greek, yeah.

Lewis Howes: Literally, you’re amazing. And then when I watched you at my events Summit of Greatness, I was like in tears. 

Lindsey Stirling: Aw.

Lewis Howes: I swear, because it was like I was watching from the side. And I can see it was like these lights were just glistening off your body and the shadows were like dancing around with you. And it was just this beautiful setting to see people just like in awe of you.

Lindsey Stirling: Oh.

Lewis Howes: It’s like, “I know her. That’s my friend. I was like, “She’s amazing!”

Lindsey Stirling: Oh my god.

Lewis Howes: It was so cool.

Lindsey Stirling: Thank you.

Lewis Howes: I was like, I don’t know how you do it. You dance you dance with so much grace.

Lindsey Stirling: Thank you.

Lewis Howes: And love. And you, it’s like, you don’t miss anything when you’re playing. So I don’t know how you don’t miss, the notes.

Lindsey Stirling: Oh, well, that’s definitely –

Lewis Howes: Or you maybe, maybe you trick us but it seems like you’re not missing anything. It sounds so good.

Lindsey Stirling: Yeah. Well thank you.

Lewis Howes: And you dance with so much passion and energy that its inspiring for people.

Lindsey Stirling: Well, I truly love performing.

Lewis Howes: You’re amazing.

Lindsey Stirling: I love entertaining. That’s why I write the music. That’s why I like work so hard. That is all for that moment till it entertained. Since the time I was a child, I just crave to see people smile through sharing. And there’s nothing like that is when, you know, when I’m out on the stage and I’m like reminded that these people – actually I remember at the show at the Greek, usually I can only see the front like two rows and everything else is glazed. And I usually try to kind of glaze everything over because I’m focused. But like occasionally, I’ll catch these smiles and you’ll catch these, like, their tears from people. And it was funny for some reason the audience at the Greek was very glit, it was very strange. But I remember –

Lewis Howes: Seeing everyone,

Lindsey Stirling: Super nervous and be like, almost throw it off, because I’m like, “Oh, there’s Lewis Howes.” “Oh, there is Lewis sing.” “There’s Derek Howes.” like weird. [chuckles] People, not only can I see so many faces, but I see people I know it was very strange. But no, I love performing – yeah, for anyone who hasn’t come to a show they’re very theatrical

Lewis Howes: It’s amazing.

Lindsey Stirling: Lots of costumes, lots of dancing, lots of storytelling.

Lewis Howes: It’s worth it.

Lindsey Stirling: And I hope you guys come out to the show. But yeah, I’ll get you get to out to the Christmas show.

Lewis Howes: I love to, yeah. It’s worth it.

Lindsey Stirling: Yeah.

Lewis Howes: Make sure you guys go to the show. Go to lindseystirling.com, follow you on YouTube. Instagram, you’re on Instagram on to?

Lindsey Stirling: I’m on the gram, yeah. Come follow me on the gram.

Lewis Howes: I’m trying out to on TikTok. So maybe you’ll get on TickTok in the feature?

Lindsey Stirling: Yeah, maybe I will try TikTok.

Lewis Howes: Let’s check it out. So anyway, you have Twitter, everything like that. I think I asked you this question last time. This is called the Three Truths.

Lindsey Stirling: Oh, I should have – I thought about this, because I knew you would ask me.

Lewis Howes: Okay. Okay. So imagine it’s your last day, many years from now, on this earth.

Lindsey Stirling: Okay.

Lewis Howes: And you’ve achieved every big dream you want.

Lindsey Stirling: Um-hmm.

Lewis Howes: You’ve manifested it, you’ve got the partner, the family, you’ve got the albums, magazines, whatever you want to create, you’ve done it.

Lindsey Stirling: Uh-huh.

Lewis Howes: But for whatever reason, you got to take it all with you –

Lindsey Stirling: Um-hmm.

Lewis Howes: — to wherever you go next. So no one has access to any of your content anymore. Your videos with trillions of views now, they don’t have them anymore. They’re not available for us. But you get to leave behind three things you know to be true, three lessons that you will leave behind to this earth, from your experiences of your life that would be the lessons that you would pass on to someone else. What would be those three things, three truths?

Lindsey Stirling: Okay. So I thought about this.

Lewis Howes: Okay, perfect

Lindsey Stirling: So, I was caught off guard last time.

Lewis Howes: Perfect.

Lindsey Stirling: I was like, “Oh, no! Three?” For sure my first one would be there is something so much bigger than you. And I’ve talked about that many times in this podcast, but just like, when you limit yourself to the finite and what you see in front of you, you limit yourself so much. But believe that there is like, whether it’s God or whether it’s the universe, reach out to it, and wish, and believe that there is something there for you to be helped by. Because when you do that, it’s amazing. What you can accomplish, it goes beyond your physical abilities, in your own mind, and your own strength because there is something definitely out there that will lift you when you feel like you have no strength.

Lewis Howes: Yeah.

Lindsey Stirling: So believe in something greater than yourself, doing it. Secondly, be intentional.

Lewis Howes: Um-hmm.

Lindsey Stirling: Don’t just limit yourself to the reactions that come to you naturally because sometimes those come from places where that life has taken you and you’re letting life, be the guide and situations be the guide. Be intentional, decide that you want to be grateful. But I think practicing being intentional, whether it’s writing in a gratitude journal every night, deciding how you want to show up to something, or listening to the voice in your head and saying, “No, I don’t want to believe that.” Be intentional with your thoughts, and how you feel about yourself, and own that. Write your own best, that’s the only way you actually write your own story.

And third, I would say, see people as people.

Lewis Howes: Mmm.

Lindsey Stirling: I think a lot of times, we just are so stuck and like the only person we truly understand these deep emotions from is ourselves. If you’re, like every once in while being a crowd people and I’ll look around and I’ll suddenly get actually overwhelmed because I realized every single person, these thousands of people, all walking through the streets right now, all have so much on their heart. They have dreams, they have pain. This person just wants to be a dancer and they’re struggling so hard to try to be that. This person can’t pay their bills, but they also were so excited about this because they just had a baby, and like everybody has so much on their heart. And once you see people as like, “people”…

Lewis Howes: Yeah.

Lindsey Stirling: Love takes over, and kindness takes over. And you are a different person to other people when we just see people. For me, it’s that we’re all children of God. We’re all equal, and suddenly, prejudice is gone. All status is gone. We’re all human. And we’re all filled with so much hope, and fear, and love, and everything, and realize we’re all the same.

Lewis Howes: Yeah.

Lindsey Stirling: And I think seeing humanity is a really powerful reality check.

Lewis Howes: Um-hmm.

Lindsey Stirling: Okay, that was really long.

Lewis Howes: I like this.

Lindsey Stirling: But those are my three’s.

Lewis Howes: I love those. I love them. When you’re going to somewhere like Mexico or another country, do you have a translator speak onstage? Because I wish people could hear your messages when you do go this on stage.

Lindsey Stirling: Oh, that’s always one thing like I’ve thought about doing. Actually, when we go to Europe, I’m having some dialogues and monologues translated in like –

Lewis Howes: Uh-huh, that’s cool.

Lindsey Stirling: They’re going to be on like a voiceover.

Lewis Howes: That’s cool.

Lindsey Stirling: Because I was always like, “Yeah, I love to share messages from the stage.”

Lewis Howes: You are amazing of it.

Lindsey Stirling: I always hope that people will come, I want them to be entertained at the show thoroughly entertained, but I also want them to leave uplifted.

Lewis Howes: Um-hmm.

Lindsey Stirling: And, yeah, when there’s a language barrier that’s a little bit difficult to do through words.

Lewis Howes: Yeah. [chuckles]

Lindsey Stirling: Like, I will say, at my meet and greets, I always have, like these, like chats with my fans and I actually started crying. I think it was in Monterey with my fans, they were so sweet, and they were so loving, and I just was so grateful, this connection moment, like here I’m in Mexico, we barely could communicate and yet they shared so much love with me that it was like, yeah, it’s just –

Lewis Howes: Yeah, [01:07:31 – inaudible] to speak.

Lindsey Stirling: Humanity.

Lewis Howes: Yeah.

Lindsey Stirling: Like these are all people who are expressing to me through like broken English. I’m trying to understand, through my tiny bit of Spanish, they’re just expressing me that what you’ve done is made a difference to me. And I was like, Wow! What you’re saying in this moment is making a difference to me.

Lewis Howes: Powerful.

Lindsey Stirling: And that humanity at its basic.

Lewis Howes: Powerful.

Lindsey Stirling: You know we’re all the same, was trying to make through life and trying to like, love each other, uplift, and make it through.

Lewis Howes: Yeah. Well, Lindsay, you’re one of my favorite people.

Lindsey Stirling: Oh, thank you. I love coming here.

Lewis Howes: I love connecting with you, even though we don’t have that much time together throughout the year, but I really want to acknowledge you because you bring so much joy and light to the world.

Lindsey Stirling: Oh, thank you.

Lewis Howes: And through all the challenges you’ve been through, you continue to rise above them and be an inspiration to so many people. And, again, I just – when I see you on stage two times, I was just like, it moved me so emotionally.

Lindsey Stirling: Oh.

Lewis Howes: And I love that you show up with that light and that love. You help heal so many people. So I’m very grateful for you, I acknowledge you for just being an incredible human being, and for having such high values, and standards in your life.

Lindsey Stirling: Thank you.

Lewis Howes: And I think you’re a great example, and model for what a human being should be. So I’m very grateful for you.

Lindsey Stirling: Oh, my gosh, well, thank you.

Lewis Howes: Of course. Of course.

Lindsey Stirling: Thank you so much. That was so nice.

Lewis Howes: Of course.

Lindsey Stirling: And I just want to acknowledge you. Do you ever get acknowledged?

Lewis Howes: Once in a while.

Lindsey Stirling: You were get acknowledged?

Lewis Howes: Sometime.

Lindsey Stirling: Okay. Well, I want to acknowledge you for the amount of good, and positivity, and like information just like, practical – it’s one thing to stand up there and say like, love yourself be good.

Lewis Howes: Right.

Lindsey Stirling: You help people find very practical ways to have self-love. You’re a voice for power; you’re a voice for people to find their best inner self, and you share that with the world in such practical, tangible ways. And now you’re doing it through live events. Like, I think that the amount of love that you give to the world is incredible. And it’s so apparent whenever I’m around you, I feel my power. Like literally. And I think that’s an amazing gift that you have to make. When you’re around people, they are aware of their own gifts. So I just want to say, I want to acknowledge you as well – 

Lewis Howes: Exactly, precisely. Thank you.

Lindsey Stirling: — of the power you share.

Lewis Howes: I appreciate Lindsey. Thank you. Okay, final question. What’s your definition of greatness?

Lindsey Stirling: Oh, I wasn’t prepared.

Lewis Howes: [laughs]

Lindsey Stirling: I never thought of that one. My definition of greatness, I think my definition of greatness is doing everything you can to show up in your best state whether that’s more hustling harder, working harder, whatever it is showing up the best you can, but then accepting the results.

Lewis Howes: Mmm.

Lindsey Stirling: And like still loving yourself in spite or, you know, not because of the results, but in spite of the results, whether it’s the results you want, or whether it’s the results that you didn’t want.

Lewis Howes: Yes.

Lindsey Stirling: Because we all show up and sometimes we get, sometimes we don’t.

Lewis Howes: Yeah.

Lindsey Stirling: So showing up with everything you’ve got, in your power, and accepting.

Lewis Howes: That it.

Lindsey Stirling: That you’re still great regardless.

Lewis Howes: That it. You’re the best, Lindsey. Appreciate you. Thank you very much.

Lindsey Stirling: Yehey! Thank you. That was so fun.

Lewis Howes: Appreciate it.

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Lewis Howes: My friends, I hope you enjoyed this interview with the incredibly inspiring Lindsey Stirling. One of my favorite people to watch perform and be around. I don’t spend enough time with her because she’s traveling the world on tour, performing in front of 10,000 – 20,000 of people a night, screaming fans everywhere, and inspiring people with her dreams. But every time I’m around her, it’s always a positive experience. If you enjoyed this, share this link with one friend, just shoot them a text, put it in a WhatsApp group message, put it in Slack, put it on your Instagram stories and tag me Lewis Howes and @lindsaysterling because I’m sure she would love to hear how you thought about this episode.

And leave me a review over on Apple podcast. I don’t care if you leave a one star or five star like most people do. I want to see your reviews and your comments. How can we improve? How can we make this better for you? What are the types of content you’re looking for? Let me know by leaving a review over on Apple podcast right now.

Big thank you again to our sponsor’s today lendingclub.com/Greatness, you can check your rates in minutes and borrow up to $40,000 by going to lendingclub.com/Greatness.

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You are a special human being. You are here for a reason because you want to learn, you want to grow, you want to improve your life and that is special. Not many people in the world are constantly seeking the wisdom and the mind food, to feed their souls, to grow and improve their joy, their happiness or fulfillment and really make their dreams come true. And as Harriet Tubman said, “Every great dream begins with a dreamer. Always remember, you have within you the strength, the patience, and the passion to reach for the stars to change the world.”

You are a dreamer, my friend. But you’ve got to be willing to have the patience, the passion, and the strength to continue through all the adversity that is going to come your way. Because you will fail and you will fail hard on your face, you will break bones, you will it’ll be ugly; it’s not going to be fun, you’re gonna embarrass yourself. Lindsey talked about how she embarrassed herself in front of millions of people on TV and that was a great lesson to help her get better, and learn, and approve. So whatever it is, you’re going through, just know it’s part of the process to achieving your dreams. I love you so very much. You know what time it is. It’s time to go out there and do something great.

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