Know Thyself
E139 - Lewis Howes: The Secret to Unlocking Real Abundance (It’s Not What You Think)
Tue, 18 Mar 2025
Lewis Howes delves into the concept of prosperity, exploring the deeper meanings behind real abundance. He emphasizes that gratitude and generosity serve as powerful gateways to a more fulfilling life, while also addressing the importance of transcending a scarcity mindset. He encourages us to discover our unique definitions of a rich life, alongside practical strategies for investing in ourselves and our futures. The episode also highlights the significance of planting seeds for a brighter tomorrow and cultivating the skills necessary for success. Andrés Book Recs: https://www.knowthyself.one/books___________0:00 Intro 1:06 What It Mean to Prosper5:00 Gratitude and Generosity as a Gateway to Abundance 12:03 Transcending Scarcity Mindset15:30 Balancing Boundaries and Generosity 19:02 Giving Through Charity & Service29:35 Finding Your Version of a Rich Life44:00 Best Ways to Invest In Yourself & Your Future52:03 Planting Seeds for a Brighter Future58:13 Cultivating the Skills to Succeed1:04:32 The Mastermind Habit: Making Meaningful Connections1:09:42 When to Say “No” to Money1:14:03 The Biggest Money Blocks1:28:42 Making Money as a Spiritual Person1:35:35 Mastering Your Money Mindset 1:40:00 Detachment & Holding It All Loosely 1:43:57 Conclusion ___________Episode Resources: https://www.instagram.com/lewishowes/New Book: https://a.co/d/1CSfKaKhttps://www.youtube.com/@lewishoweshttps://www.instagram.com/andreduqum/https://www.instagram.com/knowthyself/https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJ4wglCWTJeWQC0exBalgKghttps://www.knowthyself.oneListen to the show:Spotify: https://spoti.fi/4bZMq9lApple: https://apple.co/4iATICX
Chapter 1: What does it mean to prosper?
And a lot of our beliefs are just shaped by our story around what we heard, saw, or learned growing up. I think everyone should ask themselves, what is a definition of a rich life? And what does abundance look like for them? What does wealth look like for them?
I've asked this to a lot of wealthy individuals, like, what do you think is the secret to earning and making more financially and also feeling good? And they always say the best skills you can cultivate are the things you're most afraid of. You gain a superpower when you overcome a fear and you develop a skill around it.
And I think the goal is to figure out how can we be peaceful, harmonious, and feel whole no matter where we are financially.
Lewis, my man, welcome back. Thanks for having me, man. Yeah, it's my pleasure. What does it mean and what does it look like for you? What does it feel like to live a rich, prosperous, and abundant life?
Chapter 2: How are gratitude and generosity gateways to abundance?
Wholeness, peace, and abundance. The feeling of abundance. I think a lot of times in my life, I didn't feel like I was living a prosperous life because I felt wounded. I felt scarce. I felt insecure. I felt like I was doubting myself. And those doubts made me feel like I was living in scarcity versus living in an abundance of possibilities, of freedom, of peace.
And so for me, the rich life is living a peaceful, abundant life.
It's so important to define what that is for us, right? Because we're fed with so many notions of what it means to be rich or wealthy, but We all have a different psychological makeup and what's going to make us uniquely fulfilled. And so how important do you feel like that question from a wide perspective is to ask?
I think everyone should ask themselves, what is a definition of a rich life? And what does abundance look like for them? What does wealth look like for them? If you would have asked me when I was in my 20s, I'd have been like having millions of dollars in the bank and being able to do whatever I want whenever I want. And that's an element maybe to feeling rich for me.
But there are a lot of millionaires and billionaires that I've met or interviewed or know who don't have that inner peace. They have a lot of net worth, but they don't have self-worth. They have a lot of money, but they're almost trapped from their money. And it's making them more stressed out and more anxious and more insecure than secure feeling.
And there's almost like never enough money will give them that peace they're looking for. So I would rather not have that, but feel rich and abundant in the inside of me, in my heart and my mind, than have all the money in the world and feel trapped.
I think about the qualities that we can cultivate as a human being that then attracts and magnetizes to us what's meant for us in so many ways and the right amounts of finances. So we're not too stressed, but it covers our needs and allows us to creatively express to all the different areas of life. And we're really, we have it backwards.
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Chapter 3: How can we transcend a scarcity mindset?
And most people are familiar with this notion of have, do, be. Once I have X, Y, and Z, then I'll be able to do X, Y, and Z, and then I can be happy, fulfilled, et cetera.
I guess this conversation is really inviting us to flip it in reverse and seeing how we can cultivate the qualities of who I want to be for life, for others, the universe, my work, my relationships, and then I'll be able to do, and then the things I have will be a byproduct of those efforts.
They'll amplify the energy, the feelings that I already have. If I'm being joyful, grateful, present, curious, passionate, if I'm being those things, I'll be a magnet to be able to create more, and I'll have more of the things that I'm creating, but it'll be a byproduct of the energy that I'm putting out there. So I love that.
It's such a simple concept, and I feel like everyone in our industry are watching, you've probably heard that, but sometimes we need that reminder that it's not about having do and then I'll be, you know, grateful or then I'll be more generous or then I'll be more giving. It's like we need to be more giving and generous first, then I can have more of the results.
it's easy for us to slip back into that, oh, happiness is just around the corner after that one little thing or new milestone or number. And yeah, it's so important to get advice from people who live a, your definition of a rich life, who have those meaningful connections and are contributing to a more beautiful world and are financially abundant and are physically vital and like these things. And
Those individuals that I've talked to, and I'm sure that you've talked to, have really put emphasis on the beginning part of who you're being. And so I would love for us to kind of break down and get your perspective on all the qualities of that abundant person.
Like the qualities we cultivate internally, and then we can go and talk about the money, the relationships, the things that kind of come on the journey after that.
I just believe that gratitude and generosity is the gateway to abundance. And so if we aren't living in gratitude in a consistent basis in our lives, and we aren't thinking generously, this doesn't have to be, I have to give my money to people freely, but how can I be generous with time, resources, information?
generous with my presence again, generous with my paying attention and looking people in the eyes, generous with listening with an open heart, generous with being passionate about someone else's success and not just needing something for myself, generous as a giver, not a taker. If I can be grateful for where I'm at, and really appreciate the things that I'm grateful for.
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Chapter 4: What does a rich life look like for you?
Exactly, yeah. Or it's like you're at the bottom. Okay, I can't get any worse than this. But when you have money,
and you have financial security and you have options, but you don't love yourself, but you can't look in the mirror and forgive yourself, but every relationship around you is broken, or you feel like everyone's out to get you, or you can't really understand the purpose of your life still, it is terrifying. It's like, oh, I have this money and I feel like I'm supposed to feel happy.
I got the thing, have, then I'll be, but I'm not being happy. Now what? It's terrifying. It's terrifying being broke and miserable also, but this is also terrifying. And I think the goal is to figure out how can we be peaceful, harmonious, and feel whole no matter where we are financially or where we are opportunity-wise. And it's very tricky and hard to do. I'm not saying this is easy.
And it's a constant journey of appreciating your own value and your own process. We were just talking before about changes in podcasting and how sometimes it's harder and how it's like more tiring at times and how other people could be popping off. And you're like, man, what are they doing that I'm not doing? It's like the comparison game at any level can be daunting.
And that's why being grateful and being generous will unlock more abundance no matter how much you have. And I think if you can continue to remind yourself to live on that moment by moment, one day at a time, gratitude and generosity, that is richness, that is wealth, that is prosperity. And it's so hard to not think about the goals and the results you want to create and
But I have found that I have way less stress and much more peace when I live in that day-to-day. Sure, I have big goals and dreams, but letting go of the results, letting go of what will happen, and knowing that I'll be okay no matter what results happen in my life, for me, that's a richer life.
There's nothing quite as valuable as finding peace inherent, I guess, outside of any circumstance when you're broke. Like I look back at times when I was splitting an $800 apartment with four people and had, you know, and it was very struggling, didn't feel on purpose or like I had a direction really fully, wasn't living as fulfilled as I knew I could. And
There's that saying, don't let a crisis go to waste. Those are valuable moments when you're not sure, you don't have the prosperity, but you still choose to feel prosperous. And there is that Buddhist context that I really like. He said that there's four types of people. There's people that are going from darkness to darkness. We're familiar with those people.
There's people that are going from darkness to brightness, those that are choosing, irrespective of the external circumstances, to move in the direction of generosity, these qualities of being abundant instead of scarce. There's people that are going from brightness to darkness, where you might have, through whatever past actions, karmas, whatever belief you want to have, a good life.
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Chapter 5: What are the best ways to invest in yourself?
of infecting people with love and positivity and getting others to think about what they're grateful for. I think that virus is a powerful virus that spreads positivity and spreads the idea of abundance within people and gets them off of their maybe limiting mindset or their stressed out moment. And I think when we can infect people with that positivity around gratitude, you are being generous.
You're doing a two for one, gratitude and generosity by spreading that to someone else. And I'm always looking for ways to be generous as well. And I just think that's the key and the pathway to creating internal abundance and external abundance.
You mentioned how it can be and often is harder to be generous when you feel broke, you don't feel as fulfilled. And there's almost great use in that, like that when the resistance is harder, the opportunity for growth and embodying those qualities are that much more possible.
So it's a really good opportunity when you're in those moments because as you're speaking to this, I'm really reminded of how connected generosity is with reciprocity. Huge. And they're like inextricably connected. And we have this perception that when you give, there's a giver, there's a receiver. But really, it's one flow. It's one cycle. And when you give, you both are receiving.
And the person who's receiving is receiving. And anyone who witnesses that act of generosity is also receiving. It is a multiplication of that effect.
The only challenge with it is I've had to learn, and there's probably a lot of empaths who watch and listen to the show, people that are very compassionate, big hearts that want to give all the time. And I would say that I'm a very giving, generous person, or at least I try to think I am. And you have to let go of the expectation of someone giving in return to you.
Because that can make you feel resentment, make you feel frustration, which is a lower frequency energy that's going to make you not feel abundant. So if you give, or I used to give generously all the time, and then I almost felt like people would take and take and take, but there would be no reciprocity. Not everyone, but some people. Usually people say, how can I help you in return?
You have to be willing to receive as well, because that's where the abundance comes, when you're able to receive. And I think boundaries are also a key for someone who is an over-giver, where they maybe are, I felt like I was wounded a lot for a long time, and I had to learn how to create boundaries and heal those wounds so that I could give back. And if I never received anything, I'd be okay.
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Chapter 6: How can we plant seeds for a brighter future?
Chapter 7: What are the biggest money blocks?
Chapter 8: How do you master your money mindset?
And a lot of our beliefs are just shaped by our story around what we heard, saw, or learned growing up. I think everyone should ask themselves, what is a definition of a rich life? And what does abundance look like for them? What does wealth look like for them?
I've asked this to a lot of wealthy individuals, like, what do you think is the secret to earning and making more financially and also feeling good? And they always say the best skills you can cultivate are the things you're most afraid of. You gain a superpower when you overcome a fear and you develop a skill around it.
And I think the goal is to figure out how can we be peaceful, harmonious, and feel whole no matter where we are financially.
Lewis, my man, welcome back. Thanks for having me, man. Yeah, it's my pleasure. What does it mean and what does it look like for you? What does it feel like to live a rich, prosperous, and abundant life?
Wholeness, peace, and abundance. The feeling of abundance. I think a lot of times in my life, I didn't feel like I was living a prosperous life because I felt wounded. I felt scarce. I felt insecure. I felt like I was doubting myself. And those doubts made me feel like I was living in scarcity versus living in an abundance of possibilities, of freedom, of peace.
And so for me, the rich life is living a peaceful, abundant life.
It's so important to define what that is for us, right? Because we're fed with so many notions of what it means to be rich or wealthy, but We all have a different psychological makeup and what's going to make us uniquely fulfilled. And so how important do you feel like that question from a wide perspective is to ask?
I think everyone should ask themselves, what is a definition of a rich life? And what does abundance look like for them? What does wealth look like for them? If you would have asked me when I was in my 20s, I'd have been like having millions of dollars in the bank and being able to do whatever I want whenever I want. And that's an element maybe to feeling rich for me.
But there are a lot of millionaires and billionaires that I've met or interviewed or know who don't have that inner peace. They have a lot of net worth, but they don't have self-worth. They have a lot of money, but they're almost trapped from their money. And it's making them more stressed out and more anxious and more insecure than secure feeling.
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