The Mindset That Took A Shark from Poverty to Millions

Summary

The School of Greatness

Episode Summary: The Mindset That Took A Shark from Poverty to Millions

Host: Lewis Howes
Guest: Robert Herjavec
Release Date: August 22, 2025

Overview

In this episode, Lewis Howes interviews entrepreneur and Shark Tank star Robert Herjavec. The conversation delves deeply into Robert’s journey from poverty as a child immigrant to becoming a self-made multimillionaire. They explore the essential mindset shifts that enabled Robert to rise above his circumstances, the hard lessons learned about money and joy, the importance of community, the differences between hard work and smart work, the role of purpose, and how faith and overcoming adversity shaped his path. This episode is rich with actionable insights for entrepreneurs and anyone striving for both inner fulfillment and external success.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

From Poverty to Joyful Abundance

• Childhood as an Immigrant in Canada

  • Robert details his family’s journey: escaping from Yugoslavia, arriving in Canada with nothing, and living in poverty (05:01).
  • He did not feel poor as a child:
    • “Poverty wasn’t my mindset, and I think that’s a big difference. I think people that are born into poverty or encompassed in poverty, it’s harder to get out of. My mindset was joy, really.”
      —Robert Herjavec (05:49)
  • He only realized he was considered “poor” when tormented by classmates on his first day of school in Canada (07:14).

• The Mindset Shift

  • Robert distinguishes the “poverty mindset” from situational poverty:
    • “I never thought I was poor. I just believed our current situation was poor, really. So I just, I got to a point where I didn’t want to be in that situation anymore. But there was nothing wrong with me.”
      —Robert Herjavec (08:38)

• Abundance vs. Scarcity

  • The switch came around age 12 when he realized his situational limitations, prompting him to seek a way out (09:56, 12:55).
  • The difference boils down to energy and self-discipline: “It always starts with you. It always starts with discipline. It starts with habit. It starts with learning.”
    —Robert Herjavec (14:01)

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The Power of Sales & Learning

• First Big Lessons in Sales

  • Robert credits his wealth not to technical skills, but sales acumen:
    • “I’m not wealthy because of my knowledge of a task. I’m wealthy because of my knowledge of sales and how to get, how to sell what I’m doing to other people.”
      —Robert Herjavec (14:27)

• Learning from Mentors

  • Stories about unpaid mentorship from Harry Rosen and Warren Avis (15:04).
  • The willingness to “learn for free”—
    • “I don’t need to get paid to learn. I’ll learn for free. I’ll pay to learn.”
      —Robert Herjavec (17:43)

• Brutal Self-Honesty

  • Robert emphasizes the importance of being honest with oneself about skill gaps and areas for improvement (18:43).
    • “The biggest lies in life we tell are the ones we tell ourselves.”
      —Robert Herjavec (19:55)

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Purpose, Discipline, and the Source of True Wealth

• The Myth of 'Making It'

  • Even after success, Robert confronted the lie that he had “made it”:
    • “What I need is, I need to feel like I’ve drained every part of my potential. I want to feel like when I’m on my deathbed that I say I couldn’t have done more.”
      —Robert Herjavec (22:36)

• Lessons from Billionaires

  • Top three traits:
    1. Obsession with a skill set
    2. Curiosity
    3. Discipline (varied expressions)
       (23:36)

• Purpose & Wealth

  • Discussed why many in the military, or people passionate about wellness, struggle to transfer discipline/focus into wealth accumulation—it often comes down to a lack of aligned purpose.
    • “Show me somebody who’s done great things and I’ll show somebody with unbelievable purpose.”
      —Robert Herjavec (29:40)

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Overcoming Superficial Self-Worth & Limitations

• Net Worth vs. Self-Worth

  • Robert admits to once tying self-worth to net worth and explains today’s healthier separation:
    • “Your net worth is not a reflection of your value. Poverty and wealth are situational.”
      —Robert Herjavec (31:16)
  • His initial dreams were modest, but curiosity and honesty enabled his vision to grow.

• Breaking the 'Hard Work' Ceiling

  • Critical distinction:
    • “Just because you work hard though, doesn’t mean you’ll be rich. What it means is you won’t be poor.”
      —Robert Herjavec (36:25)
  • Real value comes from what you create for others (smart work, leverage, sales, leadership).

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The Transformational Power of Service and Faith

• Hitting Rock Bottom & Rediscovering Faith

  • Robert describes a dark period in 2014 during which he contemplated suicide, despite all external success (47:24).
  • Retreating to a homeless mission for a month, serving others, and reconnecting with his faith gave him a new purpose:
    • “If you don’t love yourself and you feel like you have nothing to give, you can’t give to anyone else.”
      —Robert Herjavec (50:54)

• How to Recognize Your Worth

  • He reflects on the importance of seeking help, humility, and doing the inner work to rebuild self-worth (52:25).

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Joy, Legacy, and the Definition of Greatness

• The Primacy of Joy

  • “Without joy, there is no life. There is no wealth in misery. Joy is everlasting.”
    —Robert Herjavec (60:04)

• Empowerment as a Legacy

  • The goal is to empower others to do something better (61:11).

• Definition of Greatness

  • “Fulfillment of potential… Those that are given more need to do more. Those that have been given more need to find greater purpose.”
    —Robert Herjavec (63:23)

• Connecting the Dots & Family Dreams

  • Powerful anecdote about his mother’s wish for him to be on Dancing with the Stars, and how events and dreams can connect across years in unexpected ways (68:32, 69:28).

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Mindset and Poverty:
  “Poverty wasn’t my mindset… My mindset was joy, really.” – Robert Herjavec (05:49)

• On the Power of Honest Self-Reflection:
  “The biggest lies in life we tell are the ones we tell ourselves.” – Robert Herjavec (19:55)

• On the Limitation of Hard Work:
  “Just because you work hard though, doesn’t mean you’ll be rich. What it means is you won’t be poor.” – Robert Herjavec (36:25)

• On Sales and Value:
  “Good salespeople sell features, great salespeople sell outcomes, and really great salespeople sell feelings.” – Robert Herjavec (42:01)

• On Purpose:
  “Show me somebody who’s done great things and I’ll show you somebody with unbelievable purpose.” – Robert Herjavec (29:40)

• On the Importance of Joy:
  “Joy is everlasting.” – Robert Herjavec (60:04)

• On Empowerment:
  “If you would hope that when you leave that you’ve empowered somebody in their life to do something better.” – Robert Herjavec (61:11)

• On the Definition of Greatness:
  “Fulfillment of potential… Those that are given more need to do more.” – Robert Herjavec (63:23)

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Timestamps of Key Segments

• [05:01] – Robert’s childhood experience of poverty and the immigrant journey
• [08:38] – Defining poverty vs. abundance mindset
• [14:27] – The pivotal role of sales in building wealth
• [19:55] – Self-honesty and confronting limiting self-beliefs
• [22:36] – Why “making it” is about fulfilling potential, not material gain
• [23:36] – Three biggest lessons learned from billionaires
• [29:40] – The need for purpose to achieve greatness
• [31:16] – Separating self-worth from net worth
• [36:25] – The difference between hard work and wealth creation
• [42:01] – How to create emotional connection and real value in sales
• [47:24] – Robert’s dark period and how service and faith led him out
• [60:04] – The three truths: family, joy, and empowerment
• [63:23] – Robert’s definition of greatness
• [68:32] – Story of fulfilling his mother’s dream by being on Dancing with the Stars

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Conclusion

This deep, candid conversation with Robert Herjavec is not just about business or success strategies; it’s a powerful meditation on joy, honesty, purpose, faith, and the inner journey that supports true prosperity. Robert’s vulnerability and wisdom make this a must-listen for anyone looking to transcend their circumstances, break through limiting beliefs, and build both inner and outer wealth.

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Follow Robert Herjavec:

• Instagram | YouTube | TikTok (@robertherjavec)

Connect with Lewis Howes:

• Instagram | Website

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Memorable Call to Action:
“Show me somebody who’s done great things and I’ll show somebody with unbelievable purpose.” – Robert Herjavec (29:40)

Transcript

[Lewis Howes]

There is one main thing that is blocking you from reaching your full potential. And it's all because you're trying to do everything alone. And that's a big problem, because real growth happens when you build a community, when you're in a room full of people who want to see you thrive, who support you becoming your best self. And if that's something you're looking for, then make sure to join me at the Summit of Greatness live at the.

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[Lewis Howes]

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[Podcast Producer/Host Assistant]

And inspiration and deep connection with a.

[Lewis Howes]

Community that actually gets you and wants to see you thrive. Tickets are selling fast, so go to.

[Podcast Producer/Host Assistant]

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[Lewis Howes]

Bring your friends and family, and I.

[Podcast Producer/Host Assistant]

Can'T wait to see you there at.

[Lewis Howes]

The summit of Greatness very soon.

[Podcast Producer/Host Assistant]

Welcome back, my friend, to the School of Greatness. If you are like me and you love business and entrepreneurship, if you love how to turn creative ideas in your mind into a reality, into the physical world to be of service to other people, then this is going to be the episode for you.

[Lewis Howes]

And.

[Podcast Producer/Host Assistant]

And for years, years I have been watching a show called Shark Tank and we've interviewed many of the sharks on this podcast over the years. Some of my friends who we've had on here, who have helped invest in small entrepreneurs and business owners for years on Shark Tank and also just inspired people through educating and informing them how to really grow a business. And today I get to interview Robert Herjavec, who I've always been inspired by.

[Lewis Howes]

He's kind of like one of the.

[Podcast Producer/Host Assistant]

Nicest sharks, it seems like on Shark T. And I've always been inspired by his insight and his generosity. And he is a powerful business leader, entrepreneur, and today we're talking about how to explore the deeper dimensions of building wealth and living a life of purpose. He's going to share intimate details about his journey, including a powerful story on how hitting rock bottom led him to rediscover his faith and joy. There's so many moments where Robert had to pause and think and really reflect about the questions in the conversation where we were talking about because he hadn't been asked some of these questions ever. So it was fun to have this conversation with him where a lot of these individuals who are on TV or doing a Lot of interviews usually get asked the same questions, but as you guys know, I like to go off script a lot and ask things that I'm feeling based on how someone's energy is, how their heart is, and how our connection is. Before the interview actually starts and he reveals game changing insights about the difference between hard work and smart work, why real wealth requires more than just passion, and how to maintain joy while pursuing ambitious goals. He shared some so many cool stories right off the bat that I think you're really gonna love. So make sure to take notes. Share this with one friend. Just copy and paste the link on Apple or Spotify and share it with a friend. And again, big thank you to everyone who is just showing up for yourselves as well during these episodes. Taking this information in, diving in deep, sharing with your friends. I appreciate you, I am grateful for you and you deserve great things in your life. Without further ado, let's dive into this episode with Robert Herjavec.

[Lewis Howes]

Welcome back everyone. In the school of greatness. I'm very excited about our guest. We have the inspiring Robert Herjavec in the house. So good to see you sir.

[Robert Herjavec]

Thank you for having me.

[Lewis Howes]

Welcome. I've watched you for I guess 15 years now on Shark Tank or 15 plus years.

[Robert Herjavec]

17.

[Lewis Howes]

17 years on Shark Tank. We have many mutual friends that you're buddies with that I've had on the show as well. And you just have an inspiring story and inspiring life. And I'm glad we got to connect a little bit before this because you've been inspiring young and old entrepreneurs for many years to learn about how to grow their business, how to launch a product, how to package and position their product. And I mean your story is pretty fascinating because you're an immigrant. You're an immigrant family. I think you came to Canada when you were eight but you didn't have anything. Your dad didn't have any money. You guys were living in extreme poverty. So how do you learn to go from I guess a poverty situation and turn it into an abundance mindset? Like when does that learn switch for you of like we're in poverty whether you knew it or not, but you had a poverty mindset or maybe you didn't, but you're in experiencing poverty. When does that switch on to abundance of wealth mindset?

[Robert Herjavec]

It's a great question and that's a great question. Somebody asked me yesterday because they knew my story. I went for a medical and the nurse was like oh my God. I read about your story and you came to Canada with nothing Blah, blah, blah. Must have been so hard. And the truth is, it wasn't. I mean, it was my mom and dad escaping from a country, coming to Canada on a boat with one suitcase, and I'm the only child. Wow. So for them, absolutely horrifically hard. Didn't speak the language, had no money. My dad was in jail, could never go back the whole nine yards. Wow. Comes to a country, doesn't know anybody, doesn't speak the language. Now I'm eight years old, first time on a boat.

[Lewis Howes]

It's an adventure.

[Robert Herjavec]

It's an adventure.

[Lewis Howes]

It just been.

[Robert Herjavec]

Poverty wasn't my mindset, and I think that's a big difference. I think people that are born into poverty or encompassed in poverty, it's harder to get out of. My mindset was Joy, really. So I grew up on a small village with my grandma, like, the traditional vision of poverty with dirt floors. We didn't have a phone. Like, it was one of those. Like it was a village. There was one phone. If you want to get a hold of my grandmother, you call the guy with the phone, and he came running like. But I didn't know we were poor because everybody around me lived like, we lived.

[Lewis Howes]

Enjoy.

[Robert Herjavec]

Oh.

[Lewis Howes]

I mean, everyone around you lived the same.

[Robert Herjavec]

The same. So it wasn't. You were rich, I was poor. We all lived in a little dirt floor outhouse. It was fine. But as a child, we had animals, and it was joy. I didn't realize that we were poor until we came to Canada. And when I went to school, I remember this so clearly. I don't remember the journey. I don't remember any of it. My mom thinks I blocked it all out, but I remember the first day of school and kids picking on me and making fun of me and telling me I'm a poor immigrant.

[Lewis Howes]

Wow. First day of school.

[Robert Herjavec]

First day of school.

[Lewis Howes]

Because, you know, you don't speak English either at this point. Right.

[Robert Herjavec]

And there was no English classes, so they just threw you in.

[Lewis Howes]

And that must have been kind of terrifying also, like, terrifying. I don't know what's his teacher saying.

[Robert Herjavec]

Don't know what he's saying.

[Lewis Howes]

Yeah.

[Robert Herjavec]

And I came from an environment where I was really a lot of fun. My dad was the youngest of 15 tons of cousins, and I go into an environment where I literally don't speak the language, and. And kids are making fun of me. I really don't know why they're making money. So I learned poverty, and I learned poor as a situation. So I never thought I was poor. I just thought the situation we Were in is poor. And I know it's a very subtle difference, but I think you learn your mindset, and I think poverty is a learned mindset, and I think abundance is a learned mindset. I didn't learn a wealth mindset until later on, and I always think if I would have learned an abundance mindset sooner, I would be much wealthier today.

[Lewis Howes]

Wow. So what is a poverty or poor mindset versus a wealth or abundance mindset? What do they both encompass?

[Robert Herjavec]

The beginning for me is a poverty mindset is when you believe you're poor or you believe that you are the cause of the situation you're in, or you believe that external circumstances have made you what you are. I never believed I was poor. I just believed our current situation was poor, really. So I just, I got to a point where I didn't want to be in that situation anymore. But there was nothing wrong with me. My mom loved me. I was a good human being. I just had to get out of this situation.

[Lewis Howes]

So how do you learn then to get out of a situation of, I guess, poverty or not having a lot? How do you learn? Is it a skill? Is it a shift of energy? Is it a shift in thinking that allows you to get out of that situation? Is it a shift of I need to act in a different way, I need to become something different in order to create abundance? What does that shift look like?

[Robert Herjavec]

Yeah, that's a great question too, I think.

[Lewis Howes]

And how old were you when you were like, okay, I'm not poor personally, but I'm in an environment that isn't thriving.

[Robert Herjavec]

Probably around 12.

[Lewis Howes]

Okay.

[Robert Herjavec]

Because it was just such a crappy environment and we, we had no money. And at that point, I'd been poor in my mind for four years and we constantly moved schools. So, you know, when you're an immigrant, you make a little bit of money, you live in a crappy apartment, you make a little bit of money, you live in a better apartment, and so on. So by 12, I'd gone to like three different high schools and my dad worked unbelievable amount of hours, like two.

[Lewis Howes]

Shifts and manual labor almost. Yeah.

[Robert Herjavec]

Factory swept floors. I mean, eventually he became a millwright, taught himself, somebody gave him an opportunity, and, you know, they paid off their house, which was, you know, the immigrant dream.

[Lewis Howes]

Right.

[Robert Herjavec]

But I think at 12, I'd been living like that for four years. And we went to a better high school. And every time we went to a better school, the kids around me had more.

[Lewis Howes]

The richer. Yeah, yeah. You're like, so I've got A little more, but they've got a lot more.

[Robert Herjavec]

So I'd be like, I'd be in this high school and we'd make a little bit of money. And I was poor, but, you know, the other kids weren't that much better off. And then we moved to a better house, and now the kids were way better off. And I was just like, wow, this is. I'm never going to get out of this cycle. How do you get out of this cycle?

[Lewis Howes]

And do you feel like you've gotten out of that cycle at this season of your life? Because now as you start to generate wealth, you're around people that have million dollars, then $100 million, then billion, then billions, and you're like, do you find yourselves kind of still in that at some time?

[Robert Herjavec]

Very, very true. You know, there's an. What's the saying? You are the net result of five people you hang out with. And I think it's really true. I think that you are. It's very, very, very rare and hard to raise yourself up on your own. I think if your environment, your. Your parents, your friends are constantly pulling you back, it's hard to keep going. Like you think. I think back, and I think none of my friends I grew up with ever made it. And it would have been so easy to stay there. But I think as you do more and you get more your circle influence and your friends becomes wider.

[Lewis Howes]

Right. So when was that switch then for you? You're 12. You start to become aware that, okay, we're moving around, but I'm still in this poor environment compared to everyone else around me. Was it an energy shift, a thinking shift, or an action shift that allowed you to say, I'm now creating abundance in my life?

[Robert Herjavec]

Yeah, it's a great question. For me, it was an energy shift. Now, I've always been pretty high energy, right? So I've always been like, go, go, go, go. What I didn't realize at the time was I was looking for external things to make me better. It took me a long time to realize I can't. I can't take external things to make me better until I become better. You know, I always say, show me a small business in trouble, and I'll show you an entrepreneur in trouble. Wow. It's very, very difficult to disassociate a lazy, unmotivated entrepreneur with a highly successful business and vice versa. And that was me at 12. I was just pure energy bouncing off the walls. You know, like we talked about, I want to be a detective. I wanted to Joined the FBI. I wanted to be an actor because immigrants think if you're on tv you're.

[Lewis Howes]

Rich, you're making money.

[Robert Herjavec]

Yeah, like I just wanted not to be poor, but I didn't know how to be rich. Interesting. And I understand that mindset. And it, as corny as it sounds, it always starts with you. It always starts with discipline. It starts with habit. It starts with learning.

[Lewis Howes]

So what did you start learning to support you from going to poor to abundance mindset?

[Robert Herjavec]

Sales. Really? Yeah. Sales people always think I'm wealthy because I'm really good at computers. And I am. I'm probably one of a handful of the top cyber people in the world. But I'm not wealthy because of my knowledge of a task. I'm wealthy because of my knowledge of sales and how to get, how to sell what I'm doing to other people.

[Lewis Howes]

What was the first lesson you learned in sales or the first sale you ever made in life?

[Robert Herjavec]

You can't force somebody to buy something they fundamentally don't need. I was very lucky that way because if, if I would have been taught the used car salesman in a schlocky way, I mean, I was just hungry for knowledge. Like I would have gone anyway. Like, I always think if somebody would have taken me under their wing and they were like a con man, I would have been a con man. Right. I was just very lucky. Like you. And I talked about I got to learn from a guy named Harry Rosen who was a legend in Canada, owned the biggest men's. And he was just a nice human being. So I went there to buy a suit and it was like, this is a long time ago. It was like $1,200.

[Lewis Howes]

And you're like, this is crazy.

[Robert Herjavec]

And I'm like, oh my God, I can't afford $1,200. Like that's more money than I'll make this month, kind of. Wow. And the salesman said to me, you know, if you work here, you get to buy one suit every six months at 50% off. So I was like, great. So I got a part time job there and I get a job there. And the guy who owns the place called Harry Rose and now it's a multi billion dollar company. But Harry used to teach on Saturdays. If you showed up an hour before the store opened, he would teach you how to dress.

[Lewis Howes]

That's cool.

[Robert Herjavec]

You'll love this. So like the guy's a legend. It was like even then, it was like the biggest shop in Canada. And he says, show up at 7:30 because the store opened at 9. And I'll teach you everything you need to know about dressing and how to sell to men. And I'm like. Like, I am so excited. I leave. It was like a Wednesday. I show up on Saturday. Nobody there, nobody there. So it's just him and I. Wow.

[Lewis Howes]

No one else shows up.

[Robert Herjavec]

No one else shows up. So later in the day, I say to my buddy, hey, how come nobody showed up? You know what he says? No one's paying me to show up.

[Lewis Howes]

Interesting.

[Robert Herjavec]

Isn't that interesting?

[Lewis Howes]

Your friend?

[Robert Herjavec]

My friend, yeah.

[Lewis Howes]

Unless I'm getting paid. Unless I'm gonna show up at 9. Cause I get paid at 9. Yeah.

[Robert Herjavec]

I don't get paid.

[Lewis Howes]

Interesting.

[Robert Herjavec]

I don't get paid. What I heard is, I don't get paid. He said, I don't get paid to learn. And I always thought, I don't need to get paid to learn. I'll learn for free.

[Lewis Howes]

I'll pay to learn.

[Robert Herjavec]

Yeah, I'm the best. Like, I thought I would have paid him to teach me. It was great. He taught me everything. He taught me everything. How to dress, how to spot someone with money. So I've always been lucky to kind of found. Then I worked for Warren Avis, who started Avis Rent a Car. Wow. And, like, I've just been really fortunate to have great role models who are good human beings.

[Lewis Howes]

I mean, those two, I guess, mentors and people you worked for, they both have billion dollar brands now, right? Multiple billion dollar brands, yes. That's kind of rare that when you're in your teens, early twenties, you. You randomly. How do you. Is it a random thing? Or do you just know, oh, this guy could be something one day. That's pretty impressive.

[Robert Herjavec]

I just.

[Lewis Howes]

I could have worked anywhere.

[Robert Herjavec]

I could have worked anywhere.

[Lewis Howes]

Could have worked at a local restaurant or a barber shop, or that wouldn't have been this, you know, mega billion dollar business. But you worked.

[Robert Herjavec]

I think. How did I end up there? Right? Because I think back and I think none of my buddies got a job in a men's career. Like, what? And so if I think about it, what I've always been good at is not lying to myself. I think I've always been brutally honest with myself. Like I told you, I went on my first sales call and went to see a customer, and the customer said to me, you dress like crap. I've never had an ego for success. So if somebody said something to me and there's even an ounce of truth to it, I would take it in. I would leave my ego at the Door. So when somebody said to me, you dress like crap, it wasn't like, oh, I'm so offended. What are they talking about? It was like, oh, do I dress like crap? And then you go home and you look in the mirror and you're like, yeah, I dress like crap. How do I get better? And then it just looked up the best men's store. Wow. So I've always had an ability, I think, to be honest with myself. There's a saying that the biggest lies in life we tell are the ones we tell ourselves.

[Lewis Howes]

What's been the biggest lie you've been telling yourself lately?

[Robert Herjavec]

That I'm. The biggest lie I've been telling myself lately is that I've made it. I got to a point where I felt like I've kind of made it. And just in the last few months, I've been thinking, hang on a sec. Because you. You tend to, you know, like, I'm older now. I'm 62, and you think, oh, I'm kind of at the end of the road. Because I know a lot of older people who are super successful and they're like, kind of in coasting, and it begins to affect me. And I kind of went a few months where I'm like, yeah. And then one day I'm like, hang on a sec. Like, age is a number, and there's lots of people that can start something at this age. And I have more capital than I've ever had. So, yeah, I think I can still do it again.

[Lewis Howes]

Interesting. So you've. The liement telling yourself is you've made.

[Robert Herjavec]

It.

[Lewis Howes]

But what is making it? You know, when have you made it? If you. If someone looks at you or watches this and they're like, if Robert doesn't think he's made it with all the money, he has all this success from multiple industries, from TV to personal brand to social media, everything you touch has blown up. If he doesn't think he's made it, I have no chance of making it.

[Robert Herjavec]

That's such a great question. Because you think about that when you're starting out. You always think, oh, if I had a bigger house. Like, you know, you live here and you drive by Bel Air.

[Lewis Howes]

Sure.

[Robert Herjavec]

And you think, oh, I bought a house over there. I made it. Or you have a. I don't know, a Corvette. You think, oh, if I had a Ferrari or. And they think, oh, if I had a jet. And then you have a jet. And then you think, what if I have a bigger jet? Like when I sold my last company in my Mind, I had what I have. I had a G4. Right, right. And I used to think, I mean, this is how shallow it was. I used to think, oh, if I had a G6, Come on, then, then I made it. I made it because my G4, my G5. And so I sold the business and literally within two weeks I bought a G6. And this is a long time ago now, I think, I don't think in terms of things, of making it, I think in terms of potential. So when I think I haven't made it, I don't think I've reached my potential. So I don't.

[Lewis Howes]

Yeah, yeah.

[Robert Herjavec]

There is no car I want to buy or no jet I need to buy, or no home I need to buy to fulfill me. What I need is, I need to feel like I've drained every part of my potential. I want to feel like when I'm on my deathbed that I say I couldn't have done more.

[Lewis Howes]

Wow.

[Robert Herjavec]

And whatever that is. Because I think it's different for everybody.

[Lewis Howes]

Yeah.

[Robert Herjavec]

So for me right now it's really about getting super fit. It's about starting another business. It's just about taking everything I've learned and applying it.

[Lewis Howes]

You have a series on social media that's about the lessons you've learned from billionaires. And you've been around a lot of billionaires and people can go on your Instagram and TikTok and YouTube and watch all these videos. I think they're really interesting lessons. But if you could share the top three lessons you've learned from billionaires, what would those three lessons be?

[Robert Herjavec]

Wow. Number one, knee jerk is absolute obstinate obsession session about their skill set. Not about the world in general, but about that one thing. Do you know what I mean? Like it's not all the billionaires I know wouldn't. Would struggle on Jeopardy. Right. General knowledge doesn't get rewarded. Interest, a specific knowledge. And so that's the first thing that comes to mind. Like, I don't know a single billionaire that isn't a world class expert at a very narrow, singular task. I think the second one would be curiosity. It's hard to be abundant if you're not curious. I love to learn. I love to. How did you start the podcast? How did you. I'm fascinated. And I think that comes into. Because people of great wealth tend to be problem solvers. You know, we tend to like problems. And I think the third one would be discipline. Now discipline is different. Right. Like discipline to me is fit body, fit mind, fit business. But I have billionaire friends who are slops.

[Lewis Howes]

Sloppy, right? Yeah.

[Robert Herjavec]

You know, they eat like crap, they're overweight, they don't care, but they're extremely disciplined about their business. Like, I think the discipline applies to who you are, and everybody can be different. I think those are the three.

[Lewis Howes]

Here's a question for you that I think a lot of people, because I have a lot of fit people in my audience, a lot of fitness professionals and people in the health and wellness industry who struggle at making money, they're really good at taking care of their health, and they're jacked or they're fit, or they eat all the right foods, but they haven't unlocked how to create financial abundance. So if someone is healthy physically, emotionally, spiritually, but financially hasn't cracked that code yet, what is missing from them to create that financial abundance?

[Robert Herjavec]

It's a great question. I think it's the same reason why people who are wealthy aren't fit.

[Lewis Howes]

What is that reason?

[Robert Herjavec]

They look at the superficial, easy ways to do it. So people that have a lot of wealth think that they can get fit by taking a drug or.

[Lewis Howes]

Or surgery or.

[Robert Herjavec]

Or surgery or they look for placebo type band aids. I think anything hard is discipline and habit. So people that are super fit have discipline and habit, but they're like me when I was a teen. They don't know where to apply it. You know, interesting story for you years ago, because I've always been a pretty fit guy. So years ago, the Army Rangers reached out to me and asked if I'd like to go to the training camp. And, you know, I think I'm pretty fit. So I was like, yeah, ra. Anyway, long, long story. I went. Completely kicked my ass. Huge amount of respect for people in the military, the discipline. When it was done, I sat down with the guy who ran the training program, and they kind of did an analysis of, over the last couple weeks, what you did well, what you didn't. And I said to him, people in the military must be great at business, because think about it. Discipline, habit. Like, no one has that more than Army Rangers or most people in the military. He said something very interesting, which was, it's very rare that people in the military do well in business.

[Lewis Howes]

Why is that?

[Robert Herjavec]

Why do you think?

[Lewis Howes]

I think because they're used to following the rules and taking orders, probably, and saying, what do I need to do to make sure that my boss is happy and staying in line with the team.

[Robert Herjavec]

That's part of it. And that was my answer.

[Lewis Howes]

Because you can't break the Military mold of how things are done. This is the way it's done. Not going to change because you have a different opinion about how to run our unit.

[Robert Herjavec]

So I said the same thing.

[Lewis Howes]

Okay.

[Robert Herjavec]

And that's part of it. But he said there's a bigger reason.

[Lewis Howes]

Tell me.

[Robert Herjavec]

Yeah, and the bigger reason is purpose. People join the military because they have a need to do something greater than themselves. Think about that. You're joining the military, you're willing to lay your life down from for our country. Like think about that commitment. Like that's not. Gee, do I, you know, am I kind of into it or not? Like that is an all in passionate commitment. I am willing to die for my cause. So then they leave the military, they get a job in sales and their boss says, if you don't make your number, we're not going to make it for the quarter. And they struggle with that. They're void of purpose. When you have that great a purpose and that leaves you, it's very hard to replace it with a different purpose. You would think they could, but he said that was the reason. Wow. And so I think it's both. Right. Like, I think people with great wealth don't have a purpose to get fit and people that are super fit, really at the core. Show me somebody who's done great things and I'll show somebody with unbelievable purpose.

[Lewis Howes]

Interesting. Have you ever had a point in your life where you tied your self worth with your net worth?

[Robert Herjavec]

Wow. Yeah, probably my 20s.

[Lewis Howes]

Really?

[Robert Herjavec]

To admit it. Yeah. I was very. I was very superficial because my understanding of wealth was very external. It was everything that I saw other people. So my definition of wealth was how other people spent it, what kind of car they had, what kind of a house I had. Because I never really met anybody who had great wealth. You know, I always say there's superficial wealth, which is you live for the way you think you should. You buy a nicer car, you get a bigger lease, you get a bigger mortgage because you think those are the things that you need in order to be successful. And I think once you really achieve great success, you begin to realize, I don't actually need another car or I don't need these things to fulfill me. But yeah, I think in my 20s I was very.

[Lewis Howes]

How does someone today not tie their self worth with their net worth? Maybe they're not making a lot of money right now. How do they not let it affect their identity or their core of who they are and the way they feel about themselves? Because they're not making a Hundred thousand or millions or, you know, these things?

[Robert Herjavec]

Well, I. I think your net worth is not a reflection of your value. Poverty and wealth are situational. So somebody listening to this could be making 50 grand a year. But they're a high power, high value individual. Everybody's at a different stage of their journey. You just got to believe that you're learning the skill set in order to get there one day. And you've got to have a greater purpose in order to get there. So I never thought I was going to end up where I was.

[Lewis Howes]

You never thought you'd end up where you are now?

[Robert Herjavec]

Well, I never thought I'd end up like I am now, but even when I was poor, I never thought I'd stay there.

[Lewis Howes]

Got you. I see.

[Robert Herjavec]

It's just that the scope of my dreams wasn't big enough. My dream in my 20s was to make $1,000 for my age. So when I'm 50, to make 50 grand, to buy a house and pay it off in my lifetime. Wow. And to buy a Corvette.

[Lewis Howes]

That was your dream?

[Robert Herjavec]

That was my dream. That was my, like, that was the. That was my vision board dream. Like, that was my, like, knock it out of the ballpark dream because we didn't know anybody who had done those. Wow.

[Lewis Howes]

How did you begin to expand your mind to shatter that limit.

[Robert Herjavec]

Again? Super curious, super honest with myself. So, you know, when I. When I bought a used Ferrari and I moved into my house, I was so proud of it. It was a 1986 Ferrari Testarossa, and it was used, and there weren't that much money at the time. And I brought it over to my garage and I put it in. And this was my superficial stage. I moved into this neighborhood and I see my neighbor across the street. His name is Richard, still a friend of mine. So I go over and I'm like, hey, blah, blah, blah.

[Lewis Howes]

Oh, by the way, look at my Ferrari.

[Robert Herjavec]

So he comes over, open the garage, and I'm so proud of it. I've never been arrogant. Like, let me show you why I'm better. I was just so happy. So I showed my Ferrari and he's like, oh, my gosh, that's amazing. I love that. Year says, come to my cross. So we go across the street to his garage. He opens up the garage and he has two Porsches. And you know, it's those moments in life that something happens. You're ready to learn it, but you don't know what you need to learn. And then something comes in and those two things fit and it's an aha moment. And I remember it so clearly. He opens the garage, there's two Porsches. And I worked my ass off to buy a used Ferrari. It took everything I knew to get that car. And it wasn't like it was one of many. I was, it was that. And I walk across the street and that guy has two. And I couldn't fathom how that could happen. Like I was like, how could he do that?

[Lewis Howes]

Interesting.

[Robert Herjavec]

And so I walk back and I was thinking there's something I need to be better at because the road I'm going, I'm never going to get there. Really?

[Lewis Howes]

Because you're like, I've worked as hard as I can work and this is what I got.

[Robert Herjavec]

Every piece of knowledge, every bit of hard work, every bit of discipline I had got me one Ferrari.

[Lewis Howes]

Now here's an interesting thing I think everyone needs to pay attention to and be mindful of what you're about to say. Because I think what you're about to say from this question I ask you is going to break everyone's minds open. Because a lot of people are thinking, I work 15, 18, 20 hour days already and for years I've been working hard at a job and I'm not getting the exponential growth. I like barely making incremental growth. And I don't see a way I can't work any harder to create more wealth for myself. What is the thing that you learned then in that moment about hard work versus creating wealth? Because yes, you need to work hard, but what is the thing that broke you open from saying I'm going to work a different way that's going to unlock wealth?

[Robert Herjavec]

That's such a great question. My dad worked in a factory his whole life. Two shifts paid off, his house in his lifetime. Super successful guy in his world. I will never work a day in my life harder than my dad worked ever. That man was the hardest working human being I'd ever come across. Just because you work hard though, doesn't mean you'll be rich.

[Lewis Howes]

Oh man.

[Robert Herjavec]

What it means is you won't be poor. And there's a fundamental difference between the blue collar poverty mindset and the wealth abundance mindset. And what I learned in that moment is I literally friggin couldn't give more. I was sleeping four hours a day. I was great at my task, I was driving my company as hard as I possibly could and it gave me one Ferrari.

[Lewis Howes]

It's still cool, but yeah, super cool.

[Robert Herjavec]

Nothing wrong with that.

[Lewis Howes]

But you didn't see how you can get More?

[Robert Herjavec]

Yeah. And the first part was, did I want more? Ah, did I? Was that important to me? And people misunderstand that. They're like, oh, yeah, I'd like more Ferraris. It was never about more Ferraris. It was just about, how do I get more? How do I get more value, more worth, how do I get a better life? And so I said, yes, I definitely want more. Why not? Why not me? And so that was the first part. Big lesson for me though, is you have to pivot. Hard work is absolutely foundational, but smart work is pivoting. Right.

[Lewis Howes]

So what did you learn from going to hard work to smart work to create more financial abundance, value?

[Robert Herjavec]

What I learned is markets and people will pay for value, not for time. People will pay you for your knowledge, not for how long you've been doing it or the amount of hours you're going to spend on it, or those kind of things. And what I realized is I wasn't creating enough that really.

[Lewis Howes]

For your customers, Your clients or for my customers?

[Robert Herjavec]

Yeah, for my customers. And for me, I wasn't learning enough. And it's funny, I actually ended up going to a Tony Robbins seminar, which was really eye opening because I'd never experienced that. And I thought I was a pretty motivated, high functioning guy. And then I went to it. So, interesting story.

[Lewis Howes]

How old are you then?

[Robert Herjavec]

26.

[Lewis Howes]

Okay, I want to hear this story because I have a similar story.

[Robert Herjavec]

And so I write about this Tony Robbins. This is the early Tony Robbins when he was like, you know, bigger than life. And he was coming to Toronto and me and four buddies went to buy tickets. Only one of us bought a ticket and showed up. Wow. All my buddies were like, oh, it's a waste of time. So I go there and I bought like the super expensive ticket, right? Like the one. And Tony walks in and it's like, boom. And I was like, wow. Like, I'm high energy. That guy is transformational energy.

[Lewis Howes]

Wow.

[Robert Herjavec]

What I realized was all my energy was internal. I was doing a great job of influencing me, making me better. I saw Tony and I realized I need to make other people better, so I need to make my employees better. I need to make the people I work with like, I need to make them that. And then I need to bring transformation to my customers. And what started for me was a outward transformation of my energy. Before that, I was highly motivated on my own. But if you met me, you wouldn't have walked away and said, oh, my God, that guy's like, boom. After that, if you met me, you Would have said, that guy's full of joy. And I started. I started changing our sales pitch to our customers, away from product focus to a subconscious focus, really. I started thinking about why people buy and not what they're buying. And so many people watching are so focused on product features. Why is my product better? We said those things are important, but until we engage people, until we open their minds, they're really not going to listen to us. So we started in our sales calls. Why did they say that? How did they say it? How were they sitting? What did you say? All those things. And none of our competitors like, keep in mind, we're in a very, very technical field and we're out talking to people about how they feel interesting in order to sell them really technical stuff.

[Lewis Howes]

Can you give an example what that slogan or line of marketing material might look like? Or someone's speaking about it to a potential customer? You're not selling tech or cyber technology, right? Or cybersecurity software or tech. What are you then selling?

[Robert Herjavec]

We're selling comfort and we're selling safety. You know, there's a good salespeople sell features, great salespeople sell outcomes, and really great salespeople sell feelings. So we. I pivoted our company and I said, if the only thing you get out of the sales call is that the customer feels better, we've achieved something because that gives you the opportunity for another call. And you know, there's a. I didn't come up with the same. But the saying is, people never remember what you say. They remember how you make them feel. And when I sold my first company to AT&T. Interesting story. So everything I've learned about business, I learned on my own. I don't have a business degree of degree in classical English literature. So I sold my first company to AT&T for, I think, $32 million. More money than I could have imagined. I was long time ago.

[Lewis Howes]

How old are you then?

[Robert Herjavec]

Roughly 35, 34. Yeah. I mean, 32 million for a kid that wanted to make a lot of money. 50 grand. It's a lot of money. A lot of money. So AT&T does the due diligence on the business. They hire an external company. Anyway, long story. They bring me in and they say to me, we have a problem. I'm like, what's the problem? They said, well, you know, we hired this external company, we looked at your systems, we looked at the way you do ticketing, blah, blah, blah, blah. And we measured it with all your customer response. And it's not Great. And so I'm thinking, oh, my God, I'm not going to get the $32 million. So I'm scrambling, and I'm like, hey, did you ask those customers if they would buy from me again? And they're like, yeah, actually, we did. So they flipped to the last page and they said 97% of your customers said they would buy from you again despite all of these things. And I said, you ask them why? And they said, yes. And they said, two reasons. One, you made them happy. And two, they believed if they had an issue, you would take care of them. And so you think about how many people are starting a business, how many people have a product that doesn't emotionally connect with their customers.

[Lewis Howes]

That's beautiful. Yeah. And especially, like, in a whole tech world, like, how can you humanize it? Or making a feeling come from that type of a product or a service where it may not seem like it's supposed to make it?

[Robert Herjavec]

It's not even just tech, though. It's like. Like, you look at retail today. I just did a interview with Forbes or somebody about this, and the reporter said to me, they think retail is dead. And I don't think it is. I think we're going to see a resurgence in retail, but not. I don't think people are going to go to the mall to look around, you know, like, oh, I'm here. What shops are here. I think people that depend on location to survive are going to be in trouble. But I think brands have an emotional connection. Like, I will drive to a mall to buy Lululemon. I will drive to a mall to buy canned goose, because those brands speak to me. So I think it's in everything. I think it's in tech, I think it's in fashion. We see it on Shark Tank.

[Lewis Howes]

Yeah, there's a few. This has been fascinating. Robert, I'm so glad you're opening up. I've got a handful of questions left for you. There's so many things I would like to talk about, but there's a few things I want to make sure we get to. One is faith. How much has faith in God or in religion or in the universe played in your life from childhood to now? And how much do you put awareness around your faith and also into what you're going to create for the future of your life?

[Robert Herjavec]

Yeah, great question. So I've really struggled with my faith in my lifetime. Started out very religious. Altar boy for many years. Became very cynical about it. Became a superficial Christian, meaning I believed in my God and My faith, when it was convenient for me, and then went through a horrific time and found my faith again.

[Lewis Howes]

I kind of left cynical, cynical.

[Robert Herjavec]

Believed that I didn't need God or faith or anything else in my life. Believed I was in control of my own destiny. And we are. But there's a greater plan.

[Lewis Howes]

What was this season of time where you were feeling that was a rough season for you?

[Robert Herjavec]

2014. I was going through a really, really difficult time. Like, I mean, like to the point I didn't think the sun would rise again.

[Lewis Howes]

And like, suicidal thinking.

[Robert Herjavec]

Yeah, yeah. Like, contemplate suicide came close. Like it was. And, you know, I mean, you know me a little bit now. I've always been a happy guy and I've always believed like I was Superman. Wow. And I lost it all. Like, I realized I had kryptonite and I was just like, downward, downward, downward. And a good friend of mine, John, saw me spiraling like. Like I was a shell of what I was.

[Lewis Howes]

Is this emotionally. Is this like alcohol or drugs? Or is this just like, you know, panic attacks, emotional anxiety, depression, Emotional.

[Robert Herjavec]

I was going through a horrible divorce and just family stuff and like, just. Yeah, horrible. And John, thank God, he's a priest, he said to me, I need you to go somewhere and you have to have faith in me to trust me to go here. And so I did. I flew to Seattle on my super fancy plane and got off the plane and I met one of his friends who was a pastor in Seattle, and he took me to a homeless mission. And I spent the next month or so there, spent the first couple weeks at the mission. Then I got a hotel and it was absolutely transformation.

[Lewis Howes]

Wow.

[Robert Herjavec]

Yeah.

[Lewis Howes]

Being in service for a month to the homeless in that city.

[Robert Herjavec]

Well, I think the first thing, as horrible as this is going to sound, I felt so sorry for myself that seeing people who were worse off than me was just a bit of a wake up call.

[Lewis Howes]

Sure.

[Robert Herjavec]

Like perspective. Like, I'm going there on my jet. Yeah. Had thought about suicide, contemplated suicide, didn't think I had any value left to give in the world. Flying on my jet.

[Lewis Howes]

Sure, sure.

[Robert Herjavec]

Meeting a guy who literally has nothing, not nothing, because he doesn't know if his life has meaning. Like, literally has nothing. And Union Gospel Mission is a Christian. Like, you have to go there for a year. It's for homeless addicts and so on. So I think that was the first thing is like, I just like, wow, these like, what am I complaining about kind of thing. Then the second part of it was just getting back to purpose. If you don't love yourself and you feel like you have nothing to give, you can't give to anyone else.

[Lewis Howes]

Interesting.

[Robert Herjavec]

And I was void of me going. There was a wake up call and getting back to my faith, getting back to seeing value in me. Like, I went there broken and I left there like, whoo. And people have a funny. Because I meet a lot of people with faith who believe in God and other things, and they always think, how can you be so motivated and have so much faith? And people just don't understand that faith doesn't mean that you give up control of your life to someone else. Like, I hate when people say that, oh, my life is in God's hands. And I'm like, yeah, but you got to do something. Like. Like, I think we were given this opportunity in life and we've got to make the most of it. And I think that was the greatest thing I got out of that month is just the feeling of back to joy.

[Lewis Howes]

How does someone learn to know they are valuable? Like, you got to a place where you were broken, right? You were broken, but you had, I don't know, hundreds of millions of dollars, private jet, you had success, you had. You're on tv, you're doing these things that people would dream of having. How does someone learn to know that they are valuable whether they have lots of money or don't have lots of money?

[Robert Herjavec]

Such a great question. Because I always think about that. Like, I think about how arrogant was I to have all this stuff and feel so sorry for myself? Like, why couldn't I, on my own, figure that out? Like, why couldn't I have used some of my wealth to do good? Like, how shallow was I to focus on my own misery? It took the misery of others for me to realize that. And I always think, how arrogant and shallow is that? But I think, I think it's hard. I think it's really hard to ask for help when you feel you're in control of your own destiny, right? Like, I think, I think powerful people and strong people have a hard time asking for help. And I just needed help. I mean, it could have been anything.

[Lewis Howes]

What do you ask God for today?

[Robert Herjavec]

Peace. I mean, I. I pray for peace. I pray for joy. I just want my family to feel fulfilled. Right? And I think about. I also think I was just talking to somebody about this. They said, do you worry about your legacy? And I think, no, because once I'm gone, I'm gone. But what do I want my kids to remember about me? And I want them to Remember the joy and the love. That's beautiful. I mean, I think that's what every human being wants. Love, joy, peace. And I would also add financial success because I think those aren't separate. I think if you live in North America, you have to make a certain amount of money to take care of your family. I mean that's just reality. And that's one of the things I worry about America. In the last few years, it's become becoming wealthy almost became like a dirty word. It's one of the things I love about Shark Tank is you have six of us self made, relatively nice people. And we show people every week that anybody can do it.

[Lewis Howes]

Yeah. Why do you think so many people tie wealthy people with stingy, mean people? And why do they, you know, a lot of people will say, you know, they want wealth, but they also afraid of wealth because they've seen how some, some people who are super wealthy maybe treat people poorly or are angry or whatever it might be, or stingy, not generous with their wealth.

[Robert Herjavec]

Yeah, it's a great question. It's like sales. If you ask most people about sales, they would say to you, oh, I don't want to be a sales rep because they think used car salesman. But I'm sure with your experience, the greatest salespeople you've met are probably super nice and super helpful. Right. Sales is the ability to help sales someone not to get them to buy something they don't need. And it's the same thing with wealth. Wealth is not the creation or the subjugation. What's the quote? I read a long time ago, Power is not the subjugation of the weak. Power is the ability to get the powerful to see your vision. And I think it's true. I think most people that don't have wealth want an easy answer as to why they're not doing it.

[Lewis Howes]

Yeah. If you could go back a year before 2014, 10 and decade back, a year before you're about to go through your darkness, the sadness, the depression, the divorce, the, the horrible feelings you were feeling and if you were who you are now and you could speak to that younger version of you 11 years earlier and only gave him three pieces of advice with everything you know he was about to go through, what three things would you say to that version of you right before you went through your darkest times?

[Robert Herjavec]

The sun always rises tomorrow. I think the reason I went there is, and not just personally, but in business I tended to have these horrific like, oh my gosh, if we get this one deal, the world will change, good or bad. So I think that's the first thing I would say is the sun always rises. Don't make mistakes, they'll kill you. Don't bet at all on one thing kind of thing. I think the second thing I would say is the world is your oyster. Like, it really, like you think about, like, somebody owns this building and sure, they may have inherited it, but let's go back to the first. Like, somebody bought this land, built this building, somebody created it. The world is incredible. Like, the things we can do. And I think the third thing is you are all powerful. You are all powerful. There is nothing we cannot achieve if we believe and we're willing to work hard enough.

[Lewis Howes]

That's beautiful. Again, there's a lot of things I'd love to ask you, but I want to be respectful of our time. Robert, I have two final questions for you before I ask them. I want people to follow you on all over social media and your YouTube because you, in the last few months have been starting to share these stories that I don't feel like people have been able to see unless they watch Shark Tank and they edit that stuff down in the 30 second moments and there's six of you and so they don't get all of you. But the wisdom you're sharing here, I feel like, is just scratching the surface about what you've been sharing online. So I want people to follow you on YouTube, I want people to follow you on Instagram. It's your name. We'll have it all linked up. But how else can we be of service or support to you today?

[Robert Herjavec]

No, I think this was great. I mean, I'm a big fan. You've had some amazing guests on here. I appreciate you having me in that same company. I think this is great. Cool.

[Lewis Howes]

This question I ask everyone. There's two final questions. This one is called the three Truths. Imagine you get to live as long as you want to live in this world, but it's your last day, eventually in the future, and you get to create and accomplish all of your dreams from this moment until that last day. But on this last day, for whatever reason, hypothetically, you've got to take all of your content with you. So all of your social media content, this interview, your books that you've written, it's all gone. So no one has access to your information anymore. But on the last day, you get to leave behind three truths. Three things you know to be true, kind of the three lessons you leave behind for everyone. And that's all we would have to remember your content by. What would those three truths be for you?

[Robert Herjavec]

Number one, my family, because they are, especially my kids, they are the embodiment of. I hope they're the embodiment of what I am. Number two is joy. Without joy, there is no life. Like, there is no misery in, you know, there is no wealth in misery. How many successful people are miserable? Right. And I think you can spike to success, but if you don't have joy, it fades. And how many successful people commit suicide and drugs and alcohol? Joy is everlasting. And I think the third one is empowerment. I think if you would hope that when you leave that you've empowered somebody in their life to do something better.

[Lewis Howes]

Yeah.

[Robert Herjavec]

It's one of the great things about Shark Tank. Where was I just the other day? And somebody gave me a card and thanked me for being on the show and how much it affected them and their family. And I think, how great is that to be on a show that inspires so many people for 21 years?

[Lewis Howes]

Millions of people. Millions of people. Before I ask the final question, Robert, I want to acknowledge you for the joy you brought today. I think there's, you know, I think a lot of people can learn from you. Not from the lessons you share, but the energy you bring. And I've heard the word joy and written it down and highlighted it multiple times from this conversation. And for me, that's what I feel like that what you embody is joy. And I, I believe it's probably one of the main reasons you've been successful in your TV career, in your business career, is because you've brought the joy consistently.

[Robert Herjavec]

Maybe I need to be more miserable because Mark is pretty miserable and he's worth more money than I am. No, I'm joking.

[Lewis Howes]

But is he living a fulfilled life as you are?

[Robert Herjavec]

You know, probably.

[Lewis Howes]

You're like, dang it, he can wear whatever he wants. Yeah. But I want to acknowledge you for overcoming the pain and creating great perspective. And I feel like you're living a life of extreme purpose by sharing your knowledge now in a bigger way. I know we talked off camera about how is it even worth doing this social media stuff? And it's like, I can't really quantify, is there money here, is there opportunities for business? But you never know how much of an impact you can make on someone when you share a story. And you are incredible at sharing stories, whether it be on TV here, but also in your social media. And people will remember the feeling of the stories you share for a long time. And So I acknowledge you for diving into this chapter, whether you do it for years or a few more months of social media. But sharing your knowledge for free is an incredible gift that you're giving to the world. And I acknowledge you for that. And I acknowledge you for bringing the joy when you share.

[Robert Herjavec]

Thank you.

[Lewis Howes]

Of course, my final question, Robert, what's your definition of greatness?

[Robert Herjavec]

Wow. Geez. That's such a great question. Because my dad was a great man and my mom was a great person, and my definition of greatness would be fulfillment of potential. So my dad never made any real money, but I think considering the pain and life he had, that man wrung every moment of his life. So if I did nothing but what my dad did, that wouldn't have been greatness, because I was given more. Those that are given more need to do more. Those that have been given more need to find greater purpose. So I never think that it just wasn't enough. Right. Like. Like I couldn't have achieved any level of greatness if I just simply did what my parents did. And I think a lot of people listening, it's the same thing, is you've got to find your own purpose. Yeah, right.

[Lewis Howes]

That's beautiful.

[Robert Herjavec]

What's your definition of greatness?

[Lewis Howes]

I'm trying to see if it's different than what I had a couple years ago. For me, it is to discover your unique talents and gifts that you've been given and pursue those gifts to live your dreams, and in the pursuit of those dreams, make the maximum impact on the people around you.

[Robert Herjavec]

Wow.

[Lewis Howes]

Yeah. Because we've all been given different talents and gifts that we need to learn to cultivate. And then we are, I think we're given cues, feelings of what dreams we might have. There's a curiosity, there's something that pulls us into an idea for a potential dream. Something, whether it's God or an intuition or a feeling that's pulling us or making us think about something. I'd like to create that. I'd like to build that. I like to overcome that. I like to help this thing. I'd like to make this thing something that pulls us. And then we need to cultivate the talents and gifts within us to pursue that dream. And in that pursuit, I think it doesn't have to be changing the world, but it needs to be changing the world around you, impacting the world in a positive way around you. And if that's five people, your family, that's beautiful. So what your mom and dad did, they impacted you. And the people in their Community, because that was their reach. And you've been given different gifts and talents that you've cultivated and maximized to this level. And you feel like you've got to maximize more to the next level. And in that pursuit of the new dream, how will you impact people around you, the people closest to you, but also the platform you've been building, how will you impact those individuals as well?

[Robert Herjavec]

So well said, because I think, you know, it goes back to God and faith. I think that there's no one external that's going to do it for you. But the signs are there.

[Lewis Howes]

Yes.

[Robert Herjavec]

And you never know how the dots connect until you look back.

[Lewis Howes]

That's true.

[Robert Herjavec]

When. When I first. When Kevin and I first got on Shark Tank, we started in Canada and we started a show called Dragon's Den. And the very first day, they put me in a room, you know, just to see how you'd react on tv like this.

[Lewis Howes]

Sure, sure.

[Robert Herjavec]

And they throw these fire questions like, tell me what EBITDA is going to be. But they were random questions. And one of the questions was, why do you want to be famous?

[Lewis Howes]

What are you saying?

[Robert Herjavec]

Just to see what you'd say. What I said is, so I can get on Dancing with the Star.

[Lewis Howes]

Shut up. You did not.

[Robert Herjavec]

And everybody laughed. I did. 100%. Everybody laughed and thought that was funny. What people didn't see was 10 years before that, my mom's favorite show was Dancing with the Stars. So imagine little Eastern European immigrant woman, horrible life, watching this beautiful show with these beautiful dancers. Like, if you called my house on a Monday when the show was on, my mom would, like, answer the phone and go like, bye. You call. You know, I watch show. My mom ended up getting ovarian cancer, and she went to the hospital, and she was there for a year. And every Monday, I would go to the hospital with the other women who had ovarian cancer, and we'd all watch dancing.

[Lewis Howes]

Wow.

[Robert Herjavec]

And one day my mom says to me, robbie, you're so beautiful. Why not you be on show? And I say, without thinking about it, if they ever ask me, I'll do it for you.

[Lewis Howes]

Wow.

[Robert Herjavec]

And my mom passes away. Ten years before I even had an inkling of being on TV. Fast forward 10 years later, I'm sitting in a room, they throw that question at me. First thing that comes to my mind, Fast forward another 10 years. I'm going through this horrible time. I come out of it, fix myself, finally begin to think, think I have value in life again. Three days later, the producers of Dancing with the stars ask me to be on the show.

[Lewis Howes]

Oh, my gosh.

[Robert Herjavec]

Like before they're finished asking me, I say yes. Oh, my gosh. I walk in, wow. Meet the woman I'm going to marry. And today I have this unbelievable life. I didn't create those dots. I believe life, or a greater force or God, whatever your faith is, created those things. But it was up to me to connect the dots. And I think for anybody watching or listening, you have the power to connect those dots. You have to have enough faith to believe it all connects. But you still got to get up every day, work your ass off and make it happen.

[Lewis Howes]

We have a lot. We have. I mean, we have some similarities in life. I mean, obviously you're much more successful for me. But when I was sleeping on my sister's couch, I would watch that show dancing with disturbs and I was like. I was living in Columbus, Ohio, and I was like broke and I was like. But I loved to salsa dance. You're kidding me. I started learning how to salsa dance when I was on my sister's couch. This is one of the things I was talking about beforehand. I learned public speaking and salsa dancing because they were big fears of mine.

[Robert Herjavec]

Same.

[Lewis Howes]

And so I'd watch this show and I traveled the world eventually salsa dancing in clubs, like social salsa dancing, not ballroom, not joking. For like 18 years, I've been trying to traveling the world.

[Robert Herjavec]

You must be the biggest salsa dancer.

[Lewis Howes]

Biggest gringo salsa dancer ever, right? And I remember thinking, gosh, wouldn't it be amazing to be on this show one day I wasn't famous, you know, I had no money, but I was like, you need to become famous in order to get on this show. And that was like. Since I've been in LA for 12 years, I've always wanted to be on that show.

[Robert Herjavec]

That's a great show.

[Lewis Howes]

I've always wanted to be on the show. So maybe one day I'll fulfill that as well. I'll introduce you to their producers, the cats, right? Yeah, exactly. I've done better. I've tried to pitch and stop myself beyond there. Many, many years I've tried.

[Robert Herjavec]

I mean, obviously, greatest experience, I'm sure.

[Lewis Howes]

And the hardest experience I can imagine. Right?

[Robert Herjavec]

People don't realize how hard.

[Lewis Howes]

Eight hours a day of training and the whole thing. And yeah, I know a lot of the dancers as well. And yeah, they're friends of mine. I love the show. It's a great experience. But one day, maybe I'll be. If it's still on air, maybe I'll.

[Robert Herjavec]

Make it more well, it's good to have a dream.

[Lewis Howes]

Exactly. Robert, this has been powerful. I appreciate you so much for coming.

[Robert Herjavec]

Appreciate you.

[Lewis Howes]

Thank you.

[Robert Herjavec]

Thank you.

[Lewis Howes]

Amazing. Thank you so much for listening to this episode. If you enjoyed this and if you found value, make sure to share this with one friend. Just copy and paste the link and text a friend where you feel would be truly inspired by this episode as well. And also make sure to click the.

[Podcast Producer/Host Assistant]

Follow button on Apple or Spotify wherever.

[Lewis Howes]

You'Re listening to this episode because we have a massive, massive episode coming up next that I do not want you to miss. So make sure to follow this and be on the lookout for the next episode coming with some massive content and guests. Also, I have a brand new book called Make Money Easy and if you are looking to create more financial freedom in your life, you want abundance in your life and you want to stop making money hard in your life, but you want to make it easier, you want to make it flow, you want to feel abundant, then make sure to go to makemoneyeasybook.com right now and get yourself a copy. I really think this is going to help you transform your relationship with money this moment. Moving forward. We have some big guests and content coming up. Make sure you're following and stay tuned to the next episode on the School of Greatness. I hope you enjoyed today's episode and.

[Podcast Producer/Host Assistant]

It inspired you on your journey towards greatness. Make sure to check out the show notes in the description for a full rundown of today's episode with all the important links. And if you want weekly exclusive bonus episodes with me personally as well as ad free listening, then make sure to subscribe to our greatness+channel exclusively on Apple Podcasts. Share this with a friend on social media and leave us a review on Apple Podcasts as well. Let me know what you enjoyed about this episode in that review. I really love hearing feedback from you and it helps us figure out how we can support and serve you moving forward. And I want to remind you if no one has told you lately that.

[Lewis Howes]

You are loved, you are worthy and.

[Podcast Producer/Host Assistant]

You matter and now it's time to go out there and do something great.

[Robert Herjavec]

I.