What is the ONE thing that everyone is searching for? At first, you may think that it’s wealth, power, or fame. But really, it’s what all of those things often promise to bring ― happiness. Everyone wants it, but few seem to truly find it.  Even the people that seem to have their whole world together are usually still seeking happiness. But what if I told you that the happiness you are seeking is ALREADY inside you? You just have to know where to look.   We all have a desire to experience more happiness and more success in our lives. But most of us are looking in the wrong places! That’s why today I am so excited to bring you an eye-opening interview that will help you see all of the power and purpose that already lives inside you.  Your life will be changed by this powerful conversation and I can honestly say this is one of the most TRANSFORMATIONAL episodes of all time. Today’s guest is someone I’ve been chasing for a while now because I instantly could feel that the depth of his message was something special.  In this interview, Jay Shetty drops gems about finding calm in the chaos and navigating a world of uncertainty. You’ll learn how his teachings as a monk guided him to be able to create peace and calm from within, REGARDLESS of the circumstances that surrounded him.  We get real about the difference between believing you can be anything you want in life vs. being great at everything you ALREADY ARE. Jay even reveals the morning routine that anyone anywhere can do that will prepare you and protect you from the battles life will throw at you.  From being able to identify your TRUE purpose in life, to unleashing the hidden greatness within you, the energy from this interview can be felt by anyone who watches or listens to it. I know it will INSPIRE you to #MAXOUT your life and find true fulfillment! 

Who Is Jay Shetty? 

This man truly needs no introduction. With over 34 million followers and 7 BILLION Youtube views, this bestselling author, podcast host, purpose coach, and former monk is FINALLY here, and I am truly honored to bring Jay Shetty to The Ed Mylett Show! There’s nobody on social media who grabs my attention like Jay Shetty. Let me tell you ― this is not someone who posts content that you’re just going to scroll through. When Jay posts, his content affects you and moves you. It’s the kind of stuff that can change your life.  After hearing a monk speak at the young age of 21, Jay decided to spend half of his summer vacations working for a large financial organization and the other half living as a monk in India wearing robes, sleeping on the floor, and living out of a gym locker. He eventually chose the self-growth and service-focused life of being a monk and lived with monks for three years.  But he knew that his purpose in life lied outside the monastery. Jay decided to share the wisdom he learned and transform the world as a bestselling author, podcast host, and purpose coach.  He recently came out with his incredible book Think Like a Monk: Train Your Mind for Peace and Purpose Every Day. Guys, I literally read this book in two days ― it’s that good. You have to check it out because it will  TRANSFORM your way of thinking.    This brother was kind enough to share some of his wisdom with us today, and I can’t wait for you to soak up what is one of my favorite conversations of ALL TIME. 

Staying Calm Through the Chaos 

It’s no secret that the world feels like complete chaos right now, between the politics, the pandemic, and everything else that has happened this year. For many people, it may seem like there is no way to find peace. Jay has a different approach to facing the instability of the world: 

“I think what's happened is that we've started to realize that the answer is not going to come from outside of us. We can't just keep waiting for suddenly the stock market to be perfectly aligned. We can't keep waiting for the political climate or the environment to be perfectly aligned. What we need to do is find, and more importantly, not just find, but create that peace and that calm within us. And that's why I talk about thinking like a monk. Because when you look at the brains of monks across the world, they have the calmest happiest brains on planet earth” - Jay Shetty 

Guys, it’s not about your circumstances as much as your MINDSET. How you think determines how you react to a situation and how happy you are DESPITE your environment. Creating that inner peace is completely possible, and a much better approach than waiting on the world to change.  Jay discovered this mindset approach when he first heard a monk speak at the impressionable age of 18. Although he went into it with a skeptical perspective, he came out of the experience transformed: 

“The best moments in your life are sometimes the most humbling. I was humbled because I went into that environment expecting to get nothing and having my life transformed.” - Jay Shetty

At the young age of 18, he had already met people who were successful, rich, famous, beautiful, and powerful. But he had never met anyone who seemed truly happy. The monk who first influenced his life, Gauranga Das, radiated this happiness. Jay wanted to find the source of that happiness. One of the main things that stuck out to him was that happiness comes from SERVICE: 

“If you have any gifts, if you have any talents in the world ― when you're not using them in the service of others, then they are worth nothing. [Gauranga] was quoting another writer and who wrote: ‘Plant trees under whose shade you do not plan to sit.’ And what that means is that most of us plant trees, or we do things for people because we're expecting that one day, they're going to reciprocate and do something back for us … real service is when you do things for people that can't do anything back for you at that time … and you’re not expecting anything.” - Jay Shetty 

Guys, get a paper and pen down for that one. UNRECIPROCATED acts of service are the key to happiness. It’s such a simple idea, but taking the focus off yourself can bring you so much joy.  Although Jay had found a path to happiness, something he struggled to overcome along the way is something that a lot of people struggle with ― overcoming the fear of what others think when finding your passion. If you’re part of the majority of people who find this is a blocker to true happiness, Jay has some TRANSFORMING wisdom for you! 

Finding Your Calling 

EVERYONE has a calling ― something that they were put on this earth to do. But people often find themselves struggling to find what that is for them because they are so influenced by the ideas and opinions of others. Jay struggled with this too, and he gave a great analogy to visualize what we do that prevents us from finding our purpose:

“We’re all like method actors … you wear a certain role to work. You wear a certain role at home. You wear a certain role with your friends and in playing all those roles, you end up method acting and forgetting who you are … you become who you think people want you to be.” - Jay Shetty

Isn’t that so true? Think about the best movie actors who used method acting to get into their roles. So many of them actually struggled because they started becoming who they were pretending to be! Living your life like a method actor is going to prevent you from finding who you really are and what your true PURPOSE in life is.  So how do you break free of this? How do you learn who you are and what your purpose is without the influence of others? Jay broke it down into three simple steps: 

“The first step is writing down everything you’re chasing right now … [the second step is to ask yourself] where did that idea come from? Did that idea come from your mom, your dad, your friend, your brother? … Did that idea come from your heart and your mind, or was it born because you were influenced by your friend who just got promoted, just got proposed to, or just sold their company? … Because then that may not be your dream. The third question you have to ask yourself is …. ‘Is your dream really your dream?’ When you go through that exercise, you want to keep the stuff that’s yours and you want to distance yourself from the rest.” - Jay Shetty  

I told you you’d want a pen and paper for this one! That’s some incredible advice. There have been several times in my life where I have achieved a dream, but when I finally got there, I felt completely empty.  Guys, that’s because they weren’t really my dreams! They were something that I thought someone else wanted me to do or something that I saw someone else have that I thought I wanted, whether it was a place, a destination, or a career.  But when I got clear on things that I really wanted ― the things that really mattered to me ― they materialized in my life and brought me great joy.  I want to encourage you to do the simple three-step exercise that Jay mentioned. As you get crystal clear about what your dreams are, your purpose in life will become clearer too. 

The Concept of Dharma and How You Can Harness Your Potential  

Speaking of purpose, something that Jay talked about in his new book is the concept of Dharma, which to him is essentially a term to describe your purpose, your calling, and your mission in life.  

“Dharma is unlearning and bringing out what you already have. … there [are] two lies we've been told growing up. The first lie is: ‘You're nothing, you're stupid, you're worthless. You're not going to make it.’ … And then the other lie that we're actually told, I don't think it's a lie. I think it's positive. But sometimes it's misconstrued, and it is: ‘You can be anything.’ We all know that's not true, too. And it's unfair because sometimes people get misled. The Dharma point of view is you can't be anything you want, but you can be everything you are.” - Jay Shetty 

You have a POWER inside you. You have potential that you don’t even know about yet. Jay makes the incredible point that it’s not because you’re unqualified ― it’s because you are INEXPERIENCED. Guys, if you are sitting here thinking, “I’m stuck. I don’t know where my life is going or what my calling is,” you need to hear this. You have a purpose — you just need more experience to find what that is! Jay said it so well:

“You’re perceiving yourself to be unqualified or under-qualified when actually, you’re just inexperienced. You just haven’t done enough things to let the magnet of your life tell you what it’s attracted to. For me, that’s what Dharma is encouraging people to do.” - Jay Shetty 

You have the key to harnessing your potential inside of you! Maybe you just need to look around and find new EXPERIENCES to find what that potential is. Jay suggested an amazing way to do this by simply finding eight new experiences each day of the weekend in one month.  These experiences could be attending an event you wouldn’t normally go to or shadowing a friend in a different career. Afterward, reflect on them. Think to yourself, ‘Did I like that? Why or why not? Would I do it again?” 

“If the answer is yes, guess what? Go do it again. And if the answer is no, don’t do it again ... but the problem is, we usually do this over eight years. And that’s why life feels slow and boring and lethargic and stuck. But just in the next eight days in a weekend, test eight new things and you have a great experiment. … Most of us keep meeting people that take our energy. Most of us keep going to places that drain us of our energy. And most of us keep working on projects that just disturb our energy. All you have to do is ask yourself, ‘Does this bring me alive? Why does it bring me alive? … And do I want to do it again?’” - Jay Shetty 

#MAXOUT with Jay Shetty 

Guys — this brother has some of the most incredible insights I have ever heard, and I wish I had so much more time with him. It’s not every day that you get to hear from a guy who spent years as a monk and knows how to find true happiness. Listen to the full episode to hear so much more of Jay’s wisdom, including some great stuff about his morning routine that can change how you go about every single day.  If you want to connect more with Jay you can find him on Instagram @jayshetty  and on his podcast, On Purpose. You also need to get his book Think Like a Monk: Train Your Mind for Peace and Purpose Every Day. Seriously, it has my full endorsement. It’s a unique book that talks about principles that are eternally true but also has fundamental strategies about how to apply them!  As always, don't forget to use the #MAXOUT hashtag and tell me your biggest takeaways in the comments below! I read them every week and select winners who get all sorts of prizes, gear, and even coaching calls with me! I love hearing from all of you, and please share the interview with anyone you think needs to hear it too!  Guys, remember that the happiness you are seeking is ALREADY inside you. You have the POWER and the POTENTIAL to find your PURPOSE and fulfillment in life. You just have to know where to look! I hope this episode helped you understand that.  I’ll see you next time!