If you’re reading this right now, you’ve got a dream, and I’m guessing that you want to make that dream come true. Maybe that dream is to become an actor, or maybe you want to be an entrepreneur and start a business. You want to influence people and inspire them. Like any elite performer, you want to #MAXOUT your life!  But have you ever thought that you might be “disqualified” from making your dream come true because of a failure that happened in the past? Well, if so, I have news for you! Everyone is a mess in some way, shape, or form. Whether it is drug addiction, divorce, or any other struggle — we’ve all got our demons. And they definitely DO NOT disqualify you from making your dreams come true. It’s actually the opposite. Our messes can give us the tools we need to become the people we want to be!  Today, I am bringing you an incredible person who is the perfect example of someone who used a mess to bring JOY into his life with his incredible wife's help. We’re talking with Eric Roberts and his wife Eliza, who has been his manager for 30years!  These two are a fantastic duo who have been through so much together and share their wisdom with us today. We go deep as Eric explains how he recovered from his drug addiction, and Eliza shares her insight on how to navigate being affected by someone with an addiction. They also tell the inspiring story about how vulnerability and the hit TV show Celebrity Rehab led to the ultimate recovery for Eric and their entire family!  It was such a profound experience to learn from the wisdom of this legendary actor and his wife! You’re going to want to take notes because they have so much insight to share about how to turn your MESS into a way to #MAXOUT your dreams. 

Who Are Eric and Eliza Roberts? 

Guys, it’s almost an understatement to say I’m a big fan. I think Eric Roberts is one of the great American actors of the last 40 years. He has had an epic career in film, including iconic roles in Runaway Train, Star 80, and King of the Gypsies. Eric is just one of those people that jumps off the screen. Whether he is in a comedic or dramatic role, his energy and the way he communicates are incredible.  He is one of the all-time leading working actors in Hollywood with over 500 appearances. He is also a 3-time Golden Globe nominee, an Academy Award nominee, and one of my favorite actors of ALL TIME! His wife, manager, and hero, Eliza Roberts, has helped him navigate the Hollywood world in good times and bad. She has grown with him on the journey to build a family, a business, and an empire. This Hollywood duo has found JOY in recovery from pain and learned so much along the way. I was thrilled to have both of them here with me to share their story with you guys — I know it will INSPIRE you!

A Dynamic Duo: The Teamwork of Eliza and Eric 

Eliza has been such an influential part of Eric’s career while at the same time maintaining their intimate relationship. I asked Eric about how they managed a business relationship within a marriage. He doesn’t see his acting career as work, but as the best lifestyle in the world, and his wife completely understands 

“I haven't worked a day in my life … I've seen the planet! I have the best job on the planet … I got a wife who comes from royalty, Hollywood royalty, her mom's a triple Emmy winner, all that ... And so she gets it all. She gets every single bit of it. And so I'm the luckiest guy in now because I don't work for a living. And I have a wife who understands me.” - Eric Roberts 

Eliza has been on all sides of the equation as a manager and a wife, and this has helped her find roles that Eric would align with as an actor. 

“I think the fact that I've been on all sides really helped because your typical agent or manager makes decisions from criteria that's really removed from the beating heart of the actor and the audience. And for me as a casting director ... I made my decisions based completely viscerally.  I would put aside all of the, you know, growing up in this business and everything, and just think. ‘Would I want to never turn off the television if this person was on it?’ So that's what I started to do with Eric.” - Eliza Roberts 

Eliza shows her love through her service to Eric, helping make his dreams come true. Love and romance can be displayed in many different ways, and in this case, it is infused into the couple’s business relationship as manager and actor. Guys, service is romance too! If you want to increase the love in your relationship, SERVE each other more! The more you serve somebody, the more your love for them grows.  Eric has been able to see that and is all the better for it. 

“My wife is my hero, and I can say that after 30 years of kissing her … I'm just an old guy who has a hero because she's smarter than me, and she’s as talented as me, and then some! She’s also better looking than me. I'm a better cook, but she's my hero. And she taught me how to be a grownup to some degree … She rescued me from my ridiculous, silly childhood self, and this something that I really treasure.” - Eric Roberts 

Humility is one of Eric’s great qualities. He pours affection and recognition upon other people, especially when it comes to his wife! This humility is accompanied by a strong work ethic. He is sometimes working on three movies at the same time, driving to multiple sets on a given day.  Eric has gone through his fair share of struggle, though. He has faced the struggles of addiction but has found the courage to push through that to the other side, with Eliza’s help! 

Learning From The Struggles of Addiction and Recovery 

Guys, addiction is so real for so many people, whether that is an addiction to drugs, alcohol, sex, pornography, negative thoughts, approval, or anything else. It is a daily struggle that many have to face. Eric struggled with an addiction to cocaine and marijuana, and discussed the reason behind his addiction and how he broke free: 

“We all want to be rescued. Even those of us who are in the front, on the fastest horse with the biggest score, we all want to be rescued. I was looking to be rescued, and that's what I would do … I learned through therapy [that] I would get the highest around who I respected the most, who I felt could identify with me the most because I thought they were going to give me a single hand or rescue me” - Eric Roberts

If you are struggling right now with an addiction, ask yourself, “where does that come from?” In Eric’s case, it was a cry for help to be rescued from himself. After finding this out through counseling, Eric is a huge believer in therapy, noting that Eliza sending him to therapy saved his life. It let him discover the reasons behind his addiction, which helped him overcome it! Having someone to trust like Eliza gave him hope.  But helping someone through addiction is no easy task. My mom had to live with my dad when he was struggling with addiction for many years, and it is a daily struggle to try and save someone from that darkness. Eliza had plenty of insight for us as someone in that role:

“I have never had a sip of alcohol, pot, [or had] a cigarette in my entire life. And I've never been with anybody who isn't an addict … There’s the rescuer and the rescuee. But you know, you come to lose compassion for that person … That's a slow thing of watching this ... you don't see that beautiful soul every single minute of every day. It's in there, and it's buried, but you're doing all the work.” - Eliza Roberts 

It’s so hard to be the person on the sidelines, watching your loved one go through something as challenging as addiction. Eric was a functional addict, meaning he was able to be productive and still do his job. My dad was the same way.  But that doesn’t mean the problem doesn’t exist and doesn’t need to be treated. In Eric’s case, he was saved by a combination of therapy, vulnerability, and support from Eliza. He eventually took this vulnerability to another level and went on the show Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew.  Although this vulnerability was discouraged by agents as “bad for his brand,” Eliza and Eric decided to take the risk and heal their family through the show, which turned out to be the best decision possible! The show helped Eric regain a connection with his stepson, Keith, and further healed him from his addiction. This vulnerability led to a beautiful reconciliation. Guys, this is such a good lesson: On the other side of vulnerability comes some of the greatest gifts you can receive in your life. If you play everything in your life safe and don’t take risks to be vulnerable with your emotions, you’re going to cheat yourself out of the GREATEST dreams and moments of your life.  People will tell you, “Don’t take risks. Don’t be vulnerable. Don’t expose yourself. Don’t put your financial life on the line to go do this.” But if you don’t take those risks, you will never know what you are capable of! You’ll never know what is on the other side of your fear!  Also, when you are vulnerable, people CONNECT with you. They root for you. They become fans of yours. Eric used his vulnerability to heal his addiction and continue his incredible career with PASSION! How can you do the same in a particular area of your life so you can become the BEST version of yourself? 

Life Lessons from the Roberts 

Guys, you know as well as I do that life is not all beautiful and perfect. Especially not in Hollywood. It can be an absolute mess. Eric and Eliza have faced the ups and downs. They have both chased a dream and caught it through all of the setbacks and frustrations — the pain of addiction and resilience of recovery. I know if you are reading this, you don’t want an ordinary life. You don’t want a perfect life, but you want to know at the end that you have #MAXEDOUT the life you have led and chased your dream. I asked Eliza and Eric what their advice would be to you right now: 

“I think [it’s about] not being afraid to fall down because you know you're going to get right back up … So to fall down is not to falter. It's just to have to get back up. And it's not ... a thought process. It's just what happens. It's being not scared of falling down because I know how to get back up. It sounds so oversimplified, but when you add that to kindness, which I learned from my third parent and my lover — when you learn kindness, it makes all bad days okay.” - Eric Roberts 

That’s some great wisdom from someone who’s lived out every word of it! Eric added that he learned it from Eliza, who also had some incredible advice for you all: 

“I really recommend to do  [life] sober. And when in doubt, be there for other people, especially if it’s a total stranger. When you can help others, it derails you from any compulsion that you might be doing that is self-destructive … Life is short … and your dreams are absolutely yours. If there are voices in your head shaming you for those dreams that are not your own voice, definitely eliminate those.” - Eliza Roberts 

I love every bit of that advice. Not being afraid to fall down is essential to success, serving others is a great way to escape self-destructive tendencies, and your dreams are YOURS to follow. These are amazing ways to #MAXOUT your life, and hearing them from the Roberts is amazing because they have fully lived out that advice! 

#MAXOUT with Eric and Eliza Roberts

Help others, show kindness along the way, and chase your dreams with vulnerability and passion — that’s some advice we can all use to have SUCCESS in every area of our lives! Don’t forget to not be afraid of falling down along the way. Don’t be afraid to ask for help to make sure you get back up on your feet  I was so inspired by Eric and Eliza’s vulnerability and passion for living out their dreams and using their struggles to create success and healing, so be sure to go check out the entire episode for more! If this episode inspires you as much as it inspired me, let me know by sharing this episode on Instagram! You can tag me @edmylett!  And don’t forget to follow me so you can participate in my two-minute drills! I post at 7:30 Pacific time and 10:30 Eastern time. When I make a post on my main feed, everybody who comments for the first two minutes with the hashtag #MAXOUT is automatically entered into a daily drawing. You could win tickets to see me speak, #MAXOUT gear, coaching calls, and tons of other cool stuff!  Remember — your mess NEVER disqualifies you from your dreams. Instead, it can help you achieve them by teaching you things about yourself that you never knew before the struggle! This message from Eric and Eliza can help us all understand that. I love hearing from all of you, and thank you so much for joining me today, guys!  I’ll talk to you later!