SHAWN STEVENSON: Welcome to the Model Health Show. I'm so grateful for you joining with me today. This is a very, very special episode. We just celebrated the release of episode 1,000 of the Model Health Show. Doing 1,000 of anything is phenomenal, but truly, what it takes to create all of these episodes over all of these years is also 13 years we're celebrating this month as well.

It has taken a gargantuan effort in many different ways, but it's also been one of the greatest joys that I've ever experienced. Being here right now with you and being able to cross this incredible milestone, and so much of life has happened in this process as well. I've learned so much. I've been able to spend time with some of the greatest minds and people who are of the highest service in our world today, and to glean some incredible insights, and also what is required of me and, and who I needed to become in this process as well.

You know, so many amazing things have happened. This show has been nominated for multiple awards. We've been the number one health podcast in the United States for many, many, many weeks. It's like the Billboard charts, of course, it goes up and down. But to be able to have multiple number one episodes in the United States and to make the impact that we've made, having over 100 million listener downloads just alone, we're just talking about specifically audio platform downloads. The list goes on and on with the accomplishments. But what I want you to know is that this started off with just an idea, and this is the power of an idea, and saying yes to the vision that we have within our own hearts. And with this experience and with this milestone, I wanted to provide something of incredible value to you that I wish somebody would have given to me.

And so today I'm gonna be sharing with you 10 things that I've learned from creating these 1,000 shows. And we're gonna start off with number one, which is to show up no matter what. You've probably heard that consistency is king. In this process, many shows and many of my friends and colleagues, their shows, their podcasts, their aspirations have been here today, gone today.

SHAWN STEVENSON: And so the reason that I'm still here is I just decided to keep showing up no matter what. I remember when I was a little kid, and we had the after-school cartoons, because this was the only time you would get access to some cartoons. Now we got 24/7 everything, every cartoon you can imagine, entire networks dedicated to the cartoonisms. But you get those little pocket after school, and one of those cartoons was G.I. Joe, and they would say the sentiment that knowing is half the battle. All right? Knowing is half the battle. And to translate that over for this is that showing up is half the battle. It's not everything, all right? Some people believe you just show it, you just show up.

Just show up. But we're gonna talk about what the other part of the equation is, but consistency and showing up truly is half the battle when it comes to so many things in our lives. Just being there, being present. You know, I've translated this into how I live my life as a man and what I've shared with my children. You know, how you do anything is how you do everything. And so showing up for them, showing up at their games, showing up and, you know, making those meals and having those meals together and learning together and growing together and all the things that we've done together, showing up was a huge part of that.

But also, of course, showing up and doing my best to show up as my best. Now, that's not always gonna be possible, and over the course of these 13 years and 1,000 episodes, a lot of life has happened. I lost my father during this time, but I still showed up. And of course, anybody would be like, "It's okay, Shawn. Just, you know, take the time. W- take what you need." Showing up helped me to heal because showing up during that time, there was a gap in time when I could've just flown straight to St. Louis for the memorial services, but I made a commitment to somebody who changed my life, and that individual is Greg Harden.

And being somebody who's from a similar background, a similar perspective as me and of my father, he was able to say the things to me that I would've wanted to hear from my father, and that would not have happened if I didn't show up. And so, of course, we can have all the reasons in the world, and many of those reasons are valid, but I just kept showing up regardless of the circumstance.

SHAWN STEVENSON: I made a commitment to somebody, and I kept my word, and I kept that word to myself as well. You know, I've experienced, you know, all kinds of stuff over the years. Obviously, you know, kids getting sick, things going on with the house, whatever, car stuff, you know, got injuries. You know, there's a little pocket of like a month of the Model Health Show episodes where I was in pain, all right? I'm thinking about Mr. T, Rocky III, pain. You know, I'm thinking about that. Like, he, he guaranteed it. I was carrying that with me. And, you know, I was just fidgeting in the chair just, but I was able to truly tap into this mind over matter phenomenon, which again The pain, for some reason, the volume would get turned down when I got locked in doing this work.

And then when I'm done, I'm like a baby. Baby, you know, just take it. My wife literally, there was one time she had to drive me to the studio, you know. And all kinds of stuff has happened over these years. And regardless of the circumstance, I still showed up. Living in St. Louis for most of the creation and the production of this show, we got snow. All right. Of course, I want to take a snow day. I still got the little kid in me that loves a snow day. But to get out there, shovel that shit, also get my sons as well to help shovel that snow and get my behind to the studio to record. And also, I would not be able to do that if I wasn't so passionate and grateful to do this work and to experience the love and the value and the growth that came each and every day, regardless of what I might have been going through.

This is what helped me to grow and to evolve and to keep getting better and to heal and to heal. And so I thank you so much for being a part of this drive to show up and this consistency. Because knowing that I have the opportunity to change someone's life today, the day of that recording, oh, that means everything. It could be that one thing that changes the entire course of someone's life. And I take that very, very seriously. So number one is to show up no matter what. Consistency is king and queen ruling the kingdom. It's a huge part of success in any domain of our lives. Life is going to life. Stuff is going to happen.

But the things that we commit to when we keep showing up, I mean, come on now. But let me be clear. Let me be clear. There have been a pivot or two. Let me not. There have been a pivot or two where we change a recording date. But for the most part, for 13 years and 1,000 episodes, if it's on the calendar, it's going down.

SHAWN STEVENSON: Or should I say it's going up. So that's number one on this list of 10 things that I've learned from 1,000 shows. And number two on this list of 10 things that I've learned from 1,000 shows is that being attentive is priceless. We have some of the world's foremost experts in their respective fields to come to this studio to be able to share their gift, their talent, their mission, and even the most experienced and talented and seasoned veteran in their respective field also has their uncertainties and also wants to know that they are doing a good job. And so I've been there. I've done all the media. I've done all the TV shows. I've done the major media. I've done a ton of different podcast interviews as well where I am the guest. I'm the guest on the Good Morning America and the CNNs and all that stuff, and also some of the top podcasts as well. And I could tell you, it is not an uncommon occurrence for the host or the entity to not be present.

And so I really strive to make sure that everybody that comes to the studio feels seen because that matters. It's a deep human need. And also I really think that comes across in the interviews that get created. You know, just that comfortability, that travel together into their domain of genius, that feeling tone that I'm expressing of being a fan of that individual. Not just being there and being present, but truly being there as a student. You know? Many people over the years, you know, and I... You know, some of the really amazing comments, you know, they'll be like, you know, this particular expert I have on who's like the top metabolic scientist and, you know, and then they'll be like, they'll say something or cite a study, and then somebody will comment like, "Sean shared that like 10 years ago."

You know what I mean? But for me, it's like I'm hearing it for the first time. I know. I was just like, "I, I know that." There's a part of me, but also I'm just like, "Let me hear what they have to say about this. Let me learn this again. Let me hear this in another way." And being so tapped in and being an eternal student, and if I ever get, you know, that feeling of like, you know, this is one of the things we wanna avoid, of feeling like we know everything or we got everything figured out, that's poison. That's dangerous. That's treacherous territory. That's pitfall. That's that Atari game back in the day. All right? We wanna avoid that kind of temperament and really lock in on being an eternal student and being an eternal fan and lover of people, lover of excellence. And so especially in our society today, when we are so distracted, when we are dedicating so much of our time and attention to artificial means, to, you know, to our screens, and having a lot less real face time in the real world with real people, and getting that deep human need met, it's even more valuable when you're able to make someone feel seen.

And so for us to pay attention. It's priceless. Paying attention is priceless. And so that's one of the biggest lessons that I've learned, and to see that and to hear that sentiment so often, and my team is here as well, just hearing that from our guests that, like, after, after the episode is over, like, "That was really amazing." Like, "I felt like I could just talk to you, and I feel so comfortable." And that's not an accident, you know? It's because I really am locked in and understanding that paying attention, being attentive is priceless today more than ever. So that's number two, and we can translate that over into our lives as well in every domain of our lives, whether this is within our work and our work relationships, our family as well, our relationships.

Really being attentive, paying attention, seeing the person that we care about and letting them know that they matter. You know, spending that time together is absolutely priceless today. And there are, uh, subsets of individuals who are really taking that to heart today and making that a priority, but still for the majority of us, these screens and this technology has intercepted our passes of connection. And so we can take this lesson, this number two lesson, as something that we can employ in our lives to be more attentive with the people that we care about, be more attentive to our work and our work relationships. Have that time where we block out the noise, put our phones to the side, all right? Put our phones down for a little bit.

We're gonna be all right. And be with somebody, giving somebody the greatest gift today, which is to feel seen, to feel like they matter. And so that is the second of the 10 lessons that I've learned from these 1,000 episodes of The Model Health Show. And number three lesson that I've learned is that being yourself is a superpower. I've been in the field of health and fitness now for 24 years, almost a quarter century. That's cr- that's crazy. That's crazy. It's been amazing. I've learned so much. I've experienced so much. And coming into this and, you know, all the different domains that I've been working in, fitness domain, working at the university gym, working as a nutritionist, working as a researcher, working as a, a, a coach and a teacher and, you know, even teaching foo- food prep classes for a nice chunk, working as a writer and writing multiple national bestselling books. Speaking. The list goes on and on All of these iterations of this life and this field that I've been working in, it is very seductive, as it is with anything else in life, to want to fit in, to want to maintain the status quo, and to do what we deem to be the socially accepted way to go about it.

And so I remember being invited to the first kind of major, uh, presentations that I would do, like a university would invite me to speak to the bio- the biology department, and just feeling this internal pressure like I should put on a, a, a suit coat and a jacket and tie up a tie and, you know, and, and kinda look the part of what I deem to be this kinda professional teacher and communicator. And so I had a couple of instances like that, but I also felt like I wanted to, as Jim Carrey says in Liar Liar, "Kick my own ass," all right, when I'm showing up like that 'cause it doesn't feel authentic to me. And so I made a decision a long time ago to be fully and authentically myself, and to show up as a cool, down-to-earth person who really knows their shit and who's really about that life when it comes to service and to helping others.

But I'm also just a cool person, and I can be that, and that's okay. And this can actually set a model for others of what's possible. We don't have to sit into this pithy box in order to be great. And so I'm so grateful th- for that because, as I said, being yourself is a superpower. No one can be you better than you, and you are enough. All right? Nobody can be you better than you, and you are enough. And so for me to embrace that, to know that I'm enough, I am enough, and this is actually gonna create a lane to where I can dominate this lane of education and impact, right? When I started the Model Health Show, there were a couple of podcasts out there, and actually, I was the face of another podcast for, you know, like, it was, like, two years prior to that.

And, you know, I kinda was able to work out just o- being okay with being me, right? Because when I first started off, I was, again, I am the resident expert, resident nutritionist of this thing, and I need to present myself like this. And so by the time I worked through that stuff and I started the Model Health Show, episode one, I was really in my bag.

SHAWN STEVENSON: I was really good with being me and teaching in the way that I teach. And so I'm so grateful for that. And when I decided to start The Model Health Show and having some experience in this terrain of podcasting, which has blown up, everybody knows about podcasting now, but at the time it was maybe like 10% of the population based on, you know, data, research, that kind of stuff, surveys, 10 to 15%. And there were some podcasts that were like very science-driven that was also, it was a tough listen. It was a tough listen. If you're, if I'm really about that life and I really am, and, and that was me too, like I, I just, I wanna learn, so I could, I could, I could handle it. But it could be a little dry.

It could be a little dry on the ear, on the eardrum. All right? Little snare, little shh, you know? And then there were other shows that were just all about, you know, uh, flamboyancy and entertainment and, you know, it's just, but where's the value? It's fun to listen to, but I need that value as well. I need, like I wanna walk away with something that I could apply to my life so I could be better.

And so I saw like there's these extremes, but I felt that life had qualified me to be both. You know, somebody who was very dedicated to the science and also to teaching, and also being a person with life experience and, you know, some, some, some vibes to me. You know, being able to marry those things together and to create something that's really authentic to me to where people can learn but also have a good time. And who knew? The research has come out that it actually helps to make information more sticky. Like when we're actually tapping into more fun, more joy, more emotion when we're learning, it makes it so that it is, uh, much stronger when it comes to our short-term memory and getting filed away in this process called memory processing, becoming more accessible when we might need it.

And so again, but even with learning, like we learn through emotional events, we can learn something that sticks with us forever, but a lot of times that learning is through repetition. And this is why the consistency piece matters so much. I keep showing up and keep, you know, delivering similar messages as well to help to anchor things in so that it just becomes automatic, like we know that, like we know that, like we know that.

SHAWN STEVENSON: So again, lesson number three is that being yourself is a superpower. More than ever, everybody else is taken. Be you. Be you. No one else can be more you than you. That is your superpower today more than ever. Let's move on to lesson number four here in these 10 lessons from 1,000 shows. Lesson number four is preparation primes you for success. Preparation primes you for success. Having The Model Health Show pretty much every week on my calendar ahead of me, it has been my ultimate accountability to keep getting better because I take this work very seriously and my family will tell you that. I dedicate a lot of my time in preparation, in research, in learning, in articulation and communicating things and processing things.

You know, I spend a lot of time in contemplation and thinking of creative ways to communicate things and just generating ideas. And so when it comes to all the incredible guests, the hundreds and hundreds of guests that we had here on the Model Health Show, I make it a point of emphasis to read their books, to listen to their interviews or watch their, their media, to just get involved in their world, to really get to know them. And I'm so shocked at how many people share with me some of these, again, some of the most impactful people in their respective fields that, you know, they go on to other shows or, you know, they're doing other media and the, the, the host doesn't even know them. They're like, "So, so what do you do?" basically, you know.

"So tell me about..." You know, and just being able to have that, sorry, and just being able to have that for myself. And that's no, no qualms, all right? It's totally fine to approach things that way, to learn on the fly, learn on the job. There's a place for that, to organically, and I'm a, I'm, I'm about that org- I'm organic AF, all right? But I have the organic expression within structure. I have structure and I'm able to flow within that structure. Be like water, all right? I'm like water. Water has that structure that can, pow, get actually hit, but also it's able to flow, all right? So, but the structure needs to be there, and so preparation primes you for success.

Preparation eliminates a lot of suffering, eliminates a lot of the rumination of things, you know, that may have, uh, passed by and what I could have done, should have done. Just getting prepared and showing up prepared is incredibly powerful, and especially when you're dealing with other people and they feel like their time is respected and you're a part of their world, it just makes everything so much easier and more graceful. Now, again, this is not to say that there isn't plenty of space for operating on the Marty McFly, okay? We can do that too, for sure. But for me, in my experience and lessons that I've learned, it is preparation that primes you for success. Now, the one slight issue is that I have too many damn books Is, is they're pour- they're falling off the shelf.

They're found in r- the most random places in my house. All right? There's a stack of books right now. There's like 20 books sitting, like, on that, the last little kitchen counter before you leave the kitchen, and my wife is like, "You need to move the book." Where? Where I'ma put them? All right? But, you know, my really close friend, Jim Kwik, readers are leaders. Readers are leaders. And so it's not just the preparation for these interviews, but it's the value that it gives me. It's the growth that it provides me with, and there's something very profound about actually reading material versus the other ways of learning, you know. And, you know, this is something we're gonna talk more about, of course.

It's very profound. Audiobooks are great as well, but it depends on how we learn, but there's something very remarkable as far as, like, recall, as far as, you know, just the, the, the comprehension of material in reading things. And so this is a skill we do not wanna lose in our scrolling culture. Books are incredibly valuable. It's been around a long time. It could be on some, "Well, we don't need books now. The AI could tell me what to..." Good luck with that. Mm. Good luck with the putting the AI in your head. Good luck with that. All right? Will Smith tr- oh, wait a minute. Controversy. I, Robot. All right? He tried to tell. Art imitating life, life imitating art.

You better keep reading. You better keep your hands on those books. So but real talk. Again, preparation primes you for success. Move on to number five. Number five is there are many paths to the goal. With my goal being impact and service and helping to truly elevate and transform the health of our society, there are many different ways that I can achieve that goal, and what it really boils down to is to choose what resonates with us and to just go for it.

SHAWN STEVENSON: All right? Choose what resonates with us and to truly go for it. There's many paths to the goal when it comes to fitness. For example, this is a great analogy, actually, you know, with, you know, um, l- getting lean, getting, quote, "lean," there are many ways to go about doing that. This can be highly diet-focused. This could be highly cardio-focused. This could be highly muscle-building, recomp-focused. This could be highly, you know, in the pool swimming f- like, there's so many different ways that we can lean down, but that secret ingredient that's often overlooked is what really resonates with me, right? We don't have to choose the way of the most supreme suffering in order to get there.

We could tap in and lock in on the thing that really resonates with us, and that's why a big reason behind doing this show as well is to provide a lot of options A lot of different ways of being able to employ something to get a certain result. And so what I mean by this, and the most important reason, this is why this is reason number five, there's many paths to the goal. I've been intentional about providing voices with multiple perspectives. And so I've had on premier experts and coaches and physicians with a vegan approach to nutrition and health. I've had on people who steer more towards a carnivore or a keto approach as well. Because there's many paths to the goal, I'm not doing this blindly.

I'm doing this with intention. Because what I've seen is that each and every time there have been people who have had their lives transformed, who've been able to overcome some of the most challenging issues and health issues in their lives by following these protocols at this polar opposite ends of the spectrum, right? And so what if you never knew about it? What if, you know, you've been following this particular protocol and you're not getting the results or the results have stalled, and you don't even know about this other protocol? Now, I'm not, again, I'm not recommending either extreme for everybody, but there's many paths to the goal.

There are many approaches. Humans, our ancestors for thousands of years have tried to eat everything. Everything you can imagine. Like, have humans tried to eat it? Yes, probably. All right? The cr- craziest stuff. All right? And they figured some things out along the way. And all these different diet frameworks, these are new inventions for us as a people, and to put things in these pithy boxes like, "These are the things we eat, and these are the things that are totally off limits," even though these other humans and tribes and whatever are eating this way, right? And so but it's great for giving people structure and potentially for healing, but we've gotta keep everything in context. There's many paths to the goal. I wanna provide multiple perspectives so that we have more tools, so that we have more strategies available for us within our superhero utility belt.

All right? Batman didn't just have the one thing. He didn't just have the Batarang or whatever to, you know... He had the, the, the, the Bat-cable. He had the Bat, uh, Electrocutor. He had the Bat-bubbles. He had the Bat-- That's real talk. Like, I'm pretty sure there's an old episode w- of the, the Ba- Adam West's Batman where he put him and Robin into a bubble and, like, floated away out of trouble. You know? Holy bubbles, Batman. And so, again, there are many paths to the goal, and this applies everywhere in our lives, whether this is through our approach to fitness, our approach to nutrition, our approach to our relationships, our approach to our work Many paths to the goal. Most important part is to have the goal.

If you don't have the goal, how the fudgesicle are you gonna get there? You gotta be clear on what you actually want, and you've gotta take action. Again, choose what resonates with you and go for it. Choose what resonates with you and go for it. Some things are not going to be for you, and that's okay. I love the Bruce Lee statement when he said, "Absorb what is useful. Discard what is useless, and add what is specifically your own." Add what is uniquely your own. All right? Absorb what is useful, discard the rest, and add what is uniquely your own. I think that's a great formula for a great life and a lot of success in getting to your goal. So that's number five. Number six in these 10 lessons from 1,000 episodes of The Model Health Show, number six is some of the most powerful moments can come when you least expect it.

This holds true for me in so many different aspects of this experience with the show, including with my guests. Sometimes, you know, the messaging, the mission, the, the teaching, the expertise of the guest I might feel doesn't necessarily apply to me or resonate with me, but it can be some of the most life-transforming information that I've ever experienced.

SHAWN STEVENSON: You know? There have been many times that I've been surprised out of my body with what I've learned from some of the most unexpected places. One of those interviews was with Dr. Neha Segwan. All right. Now, this is an episode, again, should be in the show notes for you to check out after this episode if you happen to miss it, but she is arguably the world's foremost expert in burnout. All right? And so of course I saw the value of this for other people, but once I dove into the research and then having the communication with her and interviewing her and having a relationship, I started to see some signs and symbols that that sounds like me, because I didn't attribute burnout to life, right?

I as- attributed it something psychologically related to work because that's where a lot of people kinda tie it to psychologically, but it's just overall stress load. And so with all that happens and what kinda happened in a very consolidated amount of time with my father passing, with my wife's father passing, with my oldest son moving out, and with my youngest son changing schools and all this stuff happening in a very short amount of time, amidst a bunch of other stuff, it just all happened in this very short time period. I definitely dipped into my reserves. Thankfully, I built up a supremely large mountain of reserve over the years, but man, that little time period, woo. And so, but she showed up at that exact time when I needed to hear from her, and she's somebody who we continue to stay in touch. We've actually, you know, like have lunch together, that kind of stuff.

Her and my family, we had lunch together, uh, not too long ago. But again, I, this is why I highly encourage you, and I've heard this so many ti- I can't even tell you how many times over the years where somebody listens to an episode of The Model Health Show and has a life-changing experience or a life-changing insight, and they've shared, like, "I wasn't even gonna listen to that episode because I didn't think that it applied to me." I mean, wow, this is also pointing to the value of being just dedicated to excellence, dedicated to learning, and dedicated to being a part of something. And so I appreciate you so much for being a part of this and dedicating your time to getting better. Like, if you're clicking play on an episode of The Model Health Show, I know that you are about that life.

You are somebody who is about being better and growing and being your best self. So going back to the last one, there's many paths to the goal, but truly dedicating ourselves to something, knowing and expecting blessings, insights, transformation to come from unexpected places. Expecting transformation to come from unexpected places is a very, very powerful mindset to have and a lesson that I've learned over these 1,000 episodes. Moving on to number seven on this list of the 10 lessons from 1,000 shows. Lesson number seven is relationships are our greatest currency. I would not have known because I would classify myself as a glorified lone wolf in my lifestyle, in my approach to things. A lot of stuff has been on my own, all right?

And it's partly just because of, you know, there's nature and nurture there as well, but definitely there was a lot of nurture and environment that kind of cultivated me to be that way. And so my intention was not to find or to grow relationships that would be so impactful in my life. My intention with the show was to be of service and to help to elevate voices that I know could help people. I didn't know how much that they would help me. I didn't know how much the relationships that have come from doing this show and these incredible individuals that I've been able to share time with and space with and how much it has Added value to my life. It is the greatest gift by far that I've received is the relationships that have come from doing this show.

You know, some of the most incredible people, frequent guests on the show, sometimes, you know, even, you know, maybe they've been on the show once, but we have incredible relationships that impact my life on a daily basis. You know, the people that are coming up for me right now, Dr. Michael Beckwith, you know, he's been a guest of the show multiple times, but he's a huge influence in my life. And somebody that I'm in touch with almost on a daily basis, uh, Nseema Iyang as well. You know, he's always tapping in with me and sharing things, and we're going back and forth with creative ideas and, you know, really helping to support one another and really helping to elevate his voice and his career as well.

Dr. Daniel Amen has been so impactful for me, and we've done different things together, outside of The Model Health Show. Cynthia Garcia as well. You know, there's a big part of the reason that I'm here in Los Angeles. You know, she implanted that idea. She was joking, you know, hanging out, uh, her husband and my wife as well were just hanging out, and she would say like, "When you guys move here," right?

SHAWN STEVENSON: And just kept saying, I'm just like, "What? What is she on?" Like, "Stop saying that. We're not moving. Wait a minute. What if?" You know? It might help to elevate this work. It might actually help. And I like sunlight, you know? So Cynthia Garcia, Jay Ferrugia, that's my guy, he's my brother. Uh, Luka Hocevar. I can go on and on. Just people that continue to, uh, stay in touch. Gabrielle Lyon. Gabrielle is the person, she stays in touch just checking in on me more than anybody, especially in the, the, the rough, the rough time. Gabrielle was like, she was right there. She's so solid. You know, Bedros Keuilian. You know, the list goes on and on.

The incredible relationships that have come from the show that have transformed my life, transformed, uh, uh, how I operate in the world and seeing, you know, my work mirrored as well. And I see that mirror more than just about anybody with my friends, my family, Eric Thomas and, and his wife, Dee Dee, CJ, Quinny, who's been a guest of the show as well. That's my brother, and his wife and their dedication and love for their family and their love for community and their love for service and the fact that they do so much that nobody ever sees. A lot of what shows up here on the Model Health Show is due to what I'm doing when nobody else is around.

And so I can go on and on with these incredible relationships that help to keep me elevated, that I literally give thanks for every day. And I would have not, when I started this, I would have not had any clue or desire to have flourishing relationships with so many incredible people because I was pr- I felt like I was pretty much good with myself in a book. You know what I mean? So again, number seven is relationships are the greatest currency. This is something that you want to wholeheartedly invest in. And we've shared the data on this many times here on the Model Health Show. Having strong social bonds, having healthy relationships is the number one determinant of how long we're going to live and how long we're going to live healthfully.

And so truly investing in our relationships, but it's not just about the relationship itself. It's about the person that we become. It's about the quality of character that must be developed to maintain healthy relationships and the dormant qualities that were within me all this time that required the exposure and input of other people who are on a similar path.

SHAWN STEVENSON: And so again, this is something that I cannot stress enough for us to place more value and time and energy into and also the people that we become. So that's number seven. We're gonna move on to number eight on this list of 10 lessons from 1,000 shows. Number eight is the greats are gracious. The greats are gracious. Being able to spend time with some of the most excellent, some of the most powerful, some of the most high-level givers and people of service, some of the most impactful people on the planet, the very best are so gracious, so giving, so present. And to get to see this pattern of behavior, this, by the way, again, there are people who are doing big things who are very successful who are not like that.

And so I personally would not consider them within the, the mold or the realm of the greats. You know, for me, again, it's how you do anything is how you do everything. These are the people who are acknowledging others who are not big-timing people, who are being kind to the, the Uber driver and the person walking down the hallway and spending time with people who might feel like, you know, they are not even worthy of your time and to make sure that they know that it's about me being worthy of, sorry, mm. And to make sure that they know that not only are you worthy, we are equals. There is no human spirit that's more valuable than another. And so to be able to connect on that level is really profound. And to see this again, the greats are gracious. They really are about their life. One story, one person that jumps to mind who's a demonstration of this for me that was a game changer for so many different things is Lisa Nichols.

New York Times bestselling author, one of the most renowned and in-demand speakers on planet Earth ever. Lisa Nichols was scheduled to come on The Model Health Show. This was maybe like eight years ago, seven and a half years ago, something like that. And last minute, which doing this show all these years, we've been very structured in how we've been creating and operating. And so last minute something came up and she wasn't able to make it. It was gonna be like a Zoom remote thing. I was in St. Louis at the time. People, you know, of course it was the number one health show in the country at the time, so people were coming into town. But I was very content with doing a Zoom interview with this incredible person who I wanted to talk to.

SHAWN STEVENSON: And so it was a short notice. She had to cancel, and it was unfortunate, and she did not have to do what I'm about to say. Not only did she, "Make up for it and reschedule," she said, "I'm coming to you. As a matter of fact, to make up for this inconvenience for you because I know how valuable your time is, I'm going to fly into St. Louis and we're gonna sit down together and spend this time together and we're gonna do this in person." That was a game changer for me. At that point, we'd had a few in-person, uh, interviews, but St. Louis, you know, like Lambert Airport, you know, don't get a lot of love. Tornado ran through there and ever since, like we're the, it's flyover, you know?

Not a big hub of people. It's a lot of scheduling, a lot of layovers just to get there. But she went above and beyond and was so giving to my family. And that episode to this day is one of our most downloaded episodes. We have, I think half a million, over half a million podcast listens of that episode, and like maybe a quarter million views on YouTube, one of our biggest YouTube videos ever. And so, you know, I'm very grateful for that, and again, what that required of us, because then I had to up-level, I had to up-level my video production. All right? Prior to that, I was just kinda, you know, a little, maybe we'll throw a camera up, maybe a little whatever. Well, Lisa Nichols is coming? All right, we got to get some guys.

We got to get some guys in here and really capture this because it's very special. But the greats are gracious. She didn't have to do that, but she went above and beyond to keep her word. And so these are the kind of people that I really resonate with, that I, for myself personally, that I make it a mandate to show up for and to say yes for. She's invited me to contribute to certain things. It's an automatic yes because I know she would do the same for me. And so it's so beautiful and wonderful to see there are many people, when they say don't meet your heroes, you know what I'm saying? Sometimes, a lot of times, especially from where we're operating from, meeting your heroes just elevates it even more.

And so the greats are gracious. Bob Proctor's another one of those people that's coming to mind as well. Just my first interview with Bob Proctor here on the Model Health Show. Afterwards, he, off camera, he was like, Sean, what you're doing, and this was like maybe three years into doing the Model Health Show.

SHAWN STEVENSON: He said, what you're doing is exceptional. I've seen a lot. I've done a lot. I've done a lot of these kind of interviews, but what you guys are doing is truly special. And I want to send this to my community. He offered to send our show to his massive community. And he had never done anything like that before. And so just to be able to, again, experience that and to see how gracious some of these great people are, these great minds, I'm so grateful. And big shout out to Bob Proctor for being a part of the Model Health Show history. Number nine here, we're coming to a close. Number nine on this list of 10 lessons from 1,000 shows.

Number nine is it takes a team effort. It takes a team effort. It started off with just me and my laptop and a Yeti microphone at my place in Ferguson, Florissant, Missouri. All right, that's where it all started. And kind of, again, being the face of a previous podcast, but it evolved from there to when we started the Model Health Show and the recording studio and the production and all the people involved. I could say that I started off by myself, but there are always people there who've kept me uplifted. I mean, not at the least to say my amazing wife, Anne Stevenson. Without her, I definitely wouldn't be here. I definitely wouldn't be here. She's been the might behind All of the, the, the reach and the structure of things and the publishing and setting everything up , you know, to get the show out there, the websites and all those things and, you know, helping to coordinate with our team, you know, to get everybody on the same page.

You know, without her, I wouldn't be here. Because even when it was just me and the microphone and the laptop, she was there keeping me uplifted and helping to keep my mind right as well, and believing in me and supporting me in more ways than I could even express. And so, you know, and I'm so grateful, you know, because again, I don't. My intention was to never have, like, this big team and a media team and all this crazy stuff. I, our team is, is, is, is small but mighty. We have a team who's dedicated to excellence in what we do, and we care a lot, and we're about that life, you know? A small but mighty team, and it takes a team effort to make the con- kind of impact that we've made.

Over 100 million listener downloads just on one medium is insane. Like, we, you, I, I can't even rationalize that number. Like, it doesn't make sense. And we've had listeners from every country, every country around the world. All right? And shout out if you, you know what I'm saying? Wherever you are, we're a family. So I appreciate that so much, and having people that I can count on is priceless, and this applies to so much in our lives. So keep this in mind outside of the domain of just our work life, but being intentional about creating a, a team, a life team, for us to successfully navigate and move throughout the world.

We need each other. We have evolved in tribes and working together as a people in one accord towards a goal. This culture, this life, this larger culturescape has fractured the way that we operate and is so centered on this individualism, and it's a lie. It's toxic. It broke me down, my physical health, my mental health, how I got into this field. I just remember, if I think back to that time, I was so isolated. I was so alone, and it was my own choosing in many ways, you know? Because it's unconscious. I didn't know how much the people in my life were the key for me to elevate myself to heal. And so nobody can do your push-ups for you, but we are truly meant to work together and to grow together and to have each other's back.

And so having people that you can count on is absolutely priceless. Number 10 on these 10 lessons from 1,000 shows, and I hope that you enjoyed this time with me. Thank you so much for being a part of this incredible experience with me. Number 10 is getting better as a person is the secret to being better at your work. Getting better as a person is the secret to being better at your work. Life was qualifying me in many ways to do the work that I'm doing today, but I did not take this lightly. Once I saw that this was my mission, this is my gift, this is my passion, throughout all of the difficult times, throughout all of the long hours, it w- 10,000 hours?

Please. 10,000 hours, we got that in the bag with The Model Health Show, just what's been involved. With 1,000 episodes, 10,000 hours, yeah, for sure. And a little fun fact, by the way, Malcolm Gladwell, who made that sentiment popular, he did a very special read. He did a very special shout-out for The Model Health Show. Their team reached out. He had a new show coming out and wanted me to do a shout-out for their show. He did a shout-out for The Model Health Show. Oh, it was beautiful. I loved it so much. You know, again, I read multiple books from Malcolm and just, again, you never know who's listening. You never know who you're reaching.

SHAWN STEVENSON: You never know the impact. But I had to become the type of person that Malcolm Gladwell can shout out. You know what I mean? It just, it was about working on myself and being dedicated to being accountable, being a man of my word and showing up, as I mentioned in many of these different lessons that I've learned, taking accountability when things are difficult, and just being dedicated to getting better, you know, and showing up for my family, showing up for myself, showing up for my team.

You know, it can be a lot of responsibility, obviously, you know, if you wanna think about it like that. But for me, it's just, it's such a joy. It's such a blessing. And even the difficult times, like, I mean, I'm one in a billion chance to be here. You know, I, wh- where I come from, I mean, very few people make it out of those conditions, and so I'm so grateful to be here with you, and I'm so grateful for you to allow me to be a part of your life. And please know that I'm still deeply, deeply dedicated to getting better and to being of higher service and helping to uplift us as a people, as a society, as a community. We're at a great time of change and opportunity, but we've really got to lock in. We've gotta lock in on our personal development.

We've gotta lock in on our health and our wellness. We've gotta lock in on our relationships and our families and our extension of love and support and helping people to feel seen. We've gotta lock in in being in our bag of excellence and remembering that we all have unique gifts and talents and capacities, and we are needed today more than ever to express those At a time with the emerging AI, it's more important than ever to be as human as we possibly can be. And so thank you so much for sharing in this human experience and sharing this time with me and allowing me to share these 10 lessons from 1,000 shows here on The Model Health Show. Again, we are just getting warmed up. I am so excited about what the future holds. Thank you so much for riding with me on this.

We got a whole nother level in store for us. The best is yet to come. Thank you so much for hanging out with me today. I appreciate you immensely. Take care. Have an amazing day, and I'll talk with you soon.