The Dr. Gabrielle Lyon Show

Episode: You Don’t Need Confidence, Just Do THIS | Leila Hormozi

Release Date: January 20, 2026
Host: Dr. Gabrielle Lyon
Guest: Leila Hormozi

Episode Overview

This lively, transparent conversation dives deep into achievement, growth, self-improvement, the realities of entrepreneurship, and challenging the myth of “confidence” as a prerequisite to success. Leila Hormozi shares hard-won insights from her journey as a business leader, discussing everything from grit and empathy to the evolving roles of women in business, challenges in relationships, and the power of action as the true driver for belief in oneself.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Grit, Sacrifice, and the Myth of Confidence

• Early Entrepreneurial Grit:
  Leila describes her beginnings marked by sacrifice and tunnel vision, putting business above personal relationships or comforts.

  “I don't really care about friendships. I don't really care about seeing my family right now. I don't care about anything. Like, I need to make this work.” – Leila (00:14)

• On Failure:
  Failure is not a sign of deficiency; it’s essential data for growth.

  “Every time you fail, you are that much closer to success. Like, I really do believe that innately in my blood. There has been nothing that I have succeeded at that I have not failed at first.” – Leila (00:14, 60:39)

• Confidence & Belief as Outputs, Not Inputs:
  Real confidence is built by “doing the thing” before feeling ready.

  “They think in order to do something I must have self belief. But you have to do the thing to have the self belief.” – Leila (59:55)
  “It's the output, not the input.” – Leila (02:49)

• Action Over Overthinking:
  The endless search for readiness or courses is often procrastination in disguise.

  “I'm like, you just fucking get in there and do it. Like, I don't know what else to say.” – Leila (07:07)

Memorable Segment:

Discomfort as the Price of Dreams

“The price that you pay for your dreams is discomfort today. But you don't get the dreams tomorrow unless you pay the price of discomfort today. Which is doing something when you don't feel ready.” – Leila (06:04)

2. The Utility of Fitness in Life and Business

• Fitness as Training for Endurance:
  Leila credits her fitness background with building endurance and learning to persist through difficult tasks.

  “If I hadn't known how to eat or how to exercise or sleep or like any of those things, I think I would have burned out pretty quick. I think a lot of people do.” – Leila (01:53)

• Transferable Skills:
  The resilience and discipline developed through fitness parallel the requirements of entrepreneurship.

3. Building and Re-Balancing Character

• Focusing on Who To Become:
  Instead of fixating on goals or destinations, Leila prioritizes the type of person she wants to be.

  “I've always thought about the person I want to be. I haven't thought as much about where I want to go more than I've thought who do I want to be, and then what roads could take me there.” – Leila (09:27)

• Empathy as a Learned Muscle:
  After years of cultivating grit, Leila became intentional about nurturing empathy and kindness, realizing these too are essential strengths.

  “I can do that in my sleep. It's not hard for me to go hard, but it is harder for me to learn to slow down, to stop, to be compassionate, to be empathetic, to listen, to be present.” – Leila (09:56)

• Audience Applause as a Trap:
  External validation can push people into roles out of alignment with their authentic selves.

  "Be really careful what people applaud you for...if it's not aligned with what you want to keep doing to get where you want to go, it's really easy to get caught up in it, and you don't even realize it." – Leila (12:58)

4. Women, Leadership, and Social Conditioning

• Why Few Women Are Forward-Facing in Business:
  Leila theorizes that social, biological, and logistical factors hold women back from high-visibility roles in business:

  • Monetary/status markers don’t yield the same social benefits for women as for men.
  • Socialization ingrains less self-advocacy.
  • Logistical constraints of running a business alongside family/friends/household responsibilities.

  “How the are you supposed to have a business, make content, have kids, have a husband? Be it like that is hard. So there's just a constraint of time.” – Leila (21:13)

• Competition vs. Sisterhood:
  Leila and Gabrielle note how men seem to form more overtly supportive professional bonds, whereas trust and support among women is often more guarded.

  “The bros, they are like, there to support each other versus the women. It's more, at least from what I see, more like crabs in the barrel.” – Dr. Lyon (24:00)

• Why Trust Takes Time:
  Trust is built through exposure and consistency.

  “If you want to understand somebody and be able to predict their behavior, which makes you feel safe, you have to have had enough time spent around that person...” – Leila (24:59)

5. Happiness, Success, and What People Get Wrong

• Money ≠ Happiness:
  Personal fulfillment and professional triumph are not the same, and success does not guarantee happiness.

  “Money does not make you happy. Success does not make you happy. I think that people conflate happiness and success and they're such different things.” – Leila (26:39)

• Business, Relationships, and Trade-Offs:
  Periods of intense focus and sacrifice are normal and sometimes necessary, but not permanent.

  “It's not forever, but in every season...you almost have to put the rest on autopilot...then I'll probably move to the next one.” – Leila (31:56)

6. Relationships, Roles, and Evolution

• Relationship Dynamics with Ambitious Partners:
  Both speakers candidly discuss the evolution and negotiation of roles in marriages between high-achieving people.

  “It's almost like you have to renegotiate the terms of the relationship.” – Leila (54:31)

  • Gabrielle shares the challenges of being the “default” parent while her husband’s work as a surgeon takes priority. (50:38–52:38)
  • Leila describes explicit division of household labor in her marriage.

• Managing Expectation vs. Reality:
  Not every need must be fulfilled by one’s partner—intimate friendships are equally vital.

  “I've had to have these conversations. I'm like, he's not your girlfriend.” – Leila (56:33)

7. Skill-Building: From Saying No to Public Speaking

• Building Boundaries:
  Leila’s journey from people-pleasing to assertiveness is a concrete example of practicing new beliefs through action.

  “I used to be really bad at saying no. ...I would say no more. ...And after doing it a few times, I was like, wow, I'm the kind of person who says no...” – Leila (61:57)

• Deliberate Exposure as Growth Strategy:
  Growth is accelerated by intentionally doing what’s uncomfortable, repeatedly.

  “You have to stress yourself out more in the short term to get to the other side faster...It’s not an ocean, it’s a puddle.” – Leila (37:47 & 37:47)

  Memorable Quote:

  “Fear is a mile wide and inch deep. The moment you step into the thing that's been freaking you out, stressing you out, et cetera, it gets easier. You realize it was...a puddle.” – Leila (37:47)

8. Social Media, Authenticity, and Motivation

• The Limits of Social Media:
  Social media blurs motives and amplifies inauthenticity. Both speakers strive to use it as transparently as possible, while limiting its negative effect on self-perception.

• Motivation: Service Versus Ego:

  “There are two reasons why people do things...either it's really in the service of others. Or it's in the service of themselves. And there's probably this bi directional relationship...” – Dr. Lyon (44:12)

9. Future Focus: Expansion and Self-Maintenance

• Business Expansion & Personal Growth:
  Leila discusses her company’s upcoming growth, changes in personal role, and an increased focus on maintaining her health and long-term sustainability.

  “How do I stay in the game, how do I continue to build a life and do a thing that I love and not sacrifice my quality of life along the way.” – Leila (66:04)

• Never “Having Made It”:
  Despite external markers of success, the feeling of “arriving” is fleeting, and acknowledgment of progress is critical.

  “No, I don't think we ever do. I think we die feeling like we haven't made it.” – Leila (67:10)

Highlighted Quotes with Timestamps

• On Taking Action Without Certainty:

  “You have to do the thing to have the self belief.” – Leila (59:55)

• On Failure:

  “Failure is data. I do not think failure is a bad thing. I think people have a bad relationship with failure.” – Leila (60:39)

• On Introspection:

  “I think it's being able to be the scientist, not the judge.” – Leila (61:11)

• On Personal Change:

  “I don't want to be an extreme person either one of these directions. I want to be me, which is both and in the middle and probably ever evolving.” – Leila (15:15)

• On Gaining Confidence:

  “The feelings and thoughts and belief wasn’t there before I did it. I just started doing it. And the action reinforced the thoughts and belief.” – Leila (61:57)

• On Success and Happiness:

  “Some of my happiest years have been the ones that I’ve been the least successful in business.” – Leila (26:46)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• (00:14–01:12): Leila on early sacrifice and failure as data
• (02:47–03:38): The habits fitness instilled for business
• (06:04–07:07): Confidence as the price of discomfort
• (09:27–09:56): Focusing on character over goals
• (12:58–15:15): The dangers of external validation
• (20:05–22:43): Why fewer women are visible in business, systemic factors
• (26:39–28:33): Success vs. happiness
• (31:56–33:21): The necessity and temporariness of sacrifice
• (36:40–39:33): Levels of growth and deliberate exposure therapy
• (54:31–56:09): Evolving relationship terms with a partner
• (61:57–64:06): Practicing boundaries and changing one’s relationship to discomfort
• (66:04–67:10): Business expansion and never truly “making it”

Conclusion

This episode with Leila Hormozi offers a rich, candid guide for anyone navigating ambition, overcoming self-doubt, and aiming for holistic self-improvement. The core takeaway is clear: Confidence is built by stepping forward in discomfort, not the other way around. Leila’s blend of toughness and vulnerability, actionable wisdom on building self-belief, and honest reflections on relationships, sacrifice, and leadership make it a must-listen and a practical manual for sustainable achievement.