Hitting 50 of anything is quite a milestone, whether that be turning 50 years young, selling 50 of your new product or reaching 50 downloads and streams. I don't know what it is about the number but it just seems to symbolise a halfway point. For the podcast, it's exactly that - halfway through season one and what an incredible journey it's been. I can honestly say I've enjoyed every conversation and learnt more about life, business, passion and motivation than I ever thought I would. Seeing the day-to-day through 50 pairs of fresh eyes has been enlightening and inspiring to say the least, so I thought it'd be selfish of me not to let my listeners in on my takings from 50 extraordinary conversations on What It's Like... with Luce.
Resilience in the face of rejection is the key to success
Sounds like an obvious one right - but when you think about it, it does makes sense. The reason not all of us are successful in what we set out to do, is became most of us are willing to give up when told 'no' too many times. Rejection and doubters are a given when chasing a passion so in order to live the life of your dreams you have to fight for it until you're blue in the face. I had always known this on a general level but it wasn't until it kept cropping up time and time again through speaking to these mega successful individuals, that it really hit home. No one likes being put down or turned away. It's embarrassing, deflating and disheartening but when it's something you believe in without a doubt, it's worth taking the risk and being an island for.
If you're scared, you're doing something right
Behind great things are great risk takers. Going out on your own to pursue a passion whether that be in music, sports, business or whatever else it is you love to live for, is terrifying. You're completely rejecting the 'norm' and the path that's been set out for you to transform your hobby into your day job and it takes guts. There'll be uncertainty and probably a lot of failure but at the end of the tunnel is a lifetime of happiness. If you're frightened about taking the leap or the next steps, that's a sign you're on the cusp of doing something fabulous so use the fear as a driving force of adrenaline and push forward. Get comfortable with being uncomfortable and watch what happens!
Stay in your lane because comparison is the thief of all joy
Having asked 50 different people what advice they'd give to their younger selves, not comparing yourself to others was the outright winner. It's something that's made so much harder these days with social media and the virtual highlight reels that, like it or not, have a huge influence over how we live our lives but honestly if you can work on mastering one thing, let it be this. Innovation and change don't come from striving to look like your neighbour, they comes from breaking boundaries, going against what the general view on something is and just simply not caring what opinions will come as a result of your bold actions. Stop scrolling and saving images to curate the perfect life, get out and build it by being unapologetically yourself.
It's a strength to know when to ask for help
As much as we'd like to think we're superhuman, the fact of the matter is we're just not. Knowing when to reach out and ask people for help or advice is a massive strength that is often overlooked or worse, perceived as failure. Hiring people to do bits that you're not so great at, taking on a co-founder or simply seeking a mentor to lean on for help when things get tough are only going to propel you forward faster and add to your ultimate success. One of my favourite sayings is, "if you don't ask, you don't get" and it just couldn't be more true as I experienced myself by sending guest invites and getting some of my inspirations on the show.
Happiness is achieved by chasing your passion and making a difference
An entirely subjective term that'll mean different things for everyone, what I've found over the course of my conversations is that true happiness comes from waking up every day and loving what you do for a living. Within that then, it also helps if how you spend your days impacts on the world at large, whether that be through art, solving a problem, entertaining or contributing to the health and wellbeing of the population. It has to be everyone's dream, at some point in life, to work in their chosen passion so if you can make small moves everyday to turn that fantasy into a reality, happiness is bound to follow.
Human conversations make the world go round
Last but not least, this is the one thing that hit me the hardest throughout recording the show. A large course of chatting was done through lockdown and the motivation these conversations gave me during that difficult time was incredible. Having compelling, insightful, deep conversations with people from all walks of life are how we evolve as a species, how we learn and how we better the quality of living for everyone. I really cannot express how much I valued these 30-60 minute long Zoom chats during that time and subsequently, I hope they benefitted listeners in the same way.
To anyone that's ever taken part or tuned in to the podcast, I have some much gratitude and appreciate for you. What a wonderful time it's been recording 50 episodes - roll on 50 more!!
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