The School Of Greatness Author Lewis Howes On What To Expect From His Talk At The 2021 Sharjah Entrepreneurship Festival "The content that I'm sharing with the world on a weekly basis is always trying to push people to grow in these three areas of their life."
By Entrepreneur Middle East Staff Edited by Aby Thomas
You're reading Entrepreneur Middle East, an international franchise of Entrepreneur Media.
With the fifth edition of the Sharjah Entrepreneurship Festival (SEF), organized by the Sharjah Entrepreneurship Center (Sheraa), kicking off at the Expo Centre Sharjah on November 22-23, 2021, one of this year's speakers, Lewis Howes, a lifestyle entrepreneur, high performance business coach, author and host of The School of Greatness podcast, shared with us what entrepreneurial changemakers can expect to learn from his SEF 2021 talk. "There haven't been live events since early 2020, so this is the perfect time to put yourself out there and immerse yourself with great insights from amazing speakers and connect in person with other like-minded entrepreneurs," he says.
Leaning into his podcast, The School of Greatness, which has been downloaded over 500 million times globally and over 1,000 episodes since it launched in 2013, Howes' SEF 2021 speech will address three important pillars to achieving true greatness which he regularly shares with his audience. "It takes finding success in your business, your relationships and your health, both mental and physical," he says. "The content that I'm sharing with the world on a weekly basis is always trying to push people to grow in these three areas of their life. You can't achieve true greatness if you're successful in your business, but don't have healthy relationships. You can't achieve true greatness if you have healthy relationships, but you can't afford your bills. Each area matters and needs to be focused on."
Howes is a former professional football player and two-sport All-American, and USA Men's National Handball Team athlete who turned to entrepreneurship after a series of life-changing events that left him "broken, broke, and deeply depressed." Today, he is a recipient of a number of industry accolades, including being recognized by The White House and President Obama as one of the top 100 entrepreneurs in the country under 30. Furthermore, he has shared in his personal message his experience of being sexually abused as a child. He felt shame for this and hid his trauma for decades but has since opened up about it in his third book, Mask of Masculinity. The book addresses how men can embrace vulnerability, create strong relationships and live their fullest lives. Howes shares how facing his fear of opening up about his experience has allowed him to be free from its weight and allowing other people to open up about their own abuse and trauma.
On his podcast, Howes stays curious and not afraid to ask questions that some may see as 'dumb questions.' "I learn from everybody and while I have expertise in many areas as an entrepreneur, I am focused on being open and vulnerable which allows me to really impact my audience and guests in ways that not everyone is able to," he says.
The question that Howes always asks before every interview that takes guests by surprise and allows them to be more present is asking, "How can I make this the most powerful interview you've ever done?" He adds, "When it comes to special guests, I am extremely grateful to have had the opportunity to interview Kobe Bryant. I had to travel to Kobe's company building very early in the morning to setup, but when I got there, I could already see that Kobe was there before everyone else getting work done. That left me feeling very inspired."
The 2021 SEF attendees will find the same amount of inspiration from Howes' closing keynote on November 23, and until then, he advises, "Get clear on your goals, tackle one big thing that scares you, and focus on building the right relationships with other entrepreneurs in your space."
To secure your place at the SEF 2021, please register here.
