How to Overcome Any Challenge That Comes Your Way: 5 Lessons from Justin Schenck

What if failure was actually a great thing?

For most of us, our definition of failure is pretty negative because we equate failure to time wasted. When we fail it feels as if all of our hours and hours of effort are being thrown into a trash can and hauled away forever.

But here’s the truth, failure doesn’t have to be a bad thing. it can also be the beginning of something new and even better! Because success really comes down to understanding that there’s always good intertwined with the bad.

Justin Schenck, my guest for Episode 30 of the Do It Scared™ Podcast, is a perfect example of how failure can actually lead you towards a life you’ll love.

And Justin is no stranger to failure himself. He grew up in rough circumstances, with a drug-addicted mom and a father in jail, and his grades in school reflected the chaos he was experiencing at home. If schools had this award, he would have been voted as “least likely to succeed.”

As an adult, Justin owned a business with a friend doing small seminars. And, after two years of moderate success, they threw all of their money into hosting and marketing a large business conference. Unfortunately, they only sold three tickets total and were forced to shut down their business entirely.

But, ultimately, it was this failure that proved to him that entrepreneurship was the track he was meant to be on.

Justin is now a motivational speaker, top-ranked podcaster, and founder of the inspiring Growth Now Movement.

In this episode, he shares his wisdom about the power of just asking, strategies for moving past adversity, and how one of the hardest things that he’s gone through, the death of his mother, turned out to be a defining moment that helped shape his path and his message.

His story will absolutely inspire you to find a deeper meaning from your own challenges.

Get the synopsis below or listen to the whole podcast on iTunes or on Google Play. (Or just search for “Do It Scared” on your favorite iPod app!)  Never miss a new episode by subscribing on iTunes. You can also find the full show notes at https://doitscared.com/episode30/.

Here are my 5 favorite lessons from Justin’s interview:

TAKE ACTION

For Justin, action was what moved him forward, shifting him away from self-medicating with alcohol and towards a life that was positive. He states that “when you feel life has gotten you down and you don’t want to move, move, take action, because once you start to do that, everything good will begin.”

In short, action is the antidote to fear. It’s the one thing that will always get you out of that place of feeling stuck. The biggest action that Justin took in the midst of depression was surrounding himself on a daily basis with the most inspiring, incredible motivational coaches, individuals, mentors friends. At the same time, he also started to get rid of the people that were holding him back in that self-doubt mentality. He made sure that the conversation was more positive than negative and really started to listen to others advice, instead of just having it go in one ear and out the other. That was the key for him to move forward and face his adversity.

JUST ASK

Starting out, Justin had no clue how to get the guests he wanted on his podcast, so he just started asking for help. One guest introduced him to 50 people in individual emails and it became this snowball effect of new clients, new friends, new opportunities. Sometimes in life, it’s a lot of consistent action, and then one Domino tips, and it just kind of all goes from there. You have to put yourself out there in small ways, and push past what seems like huge hurdles. Justin just kept asking and taking one step forward at a time. “When you look back on it, you’re like, “Oh, that wasn’t that big,” but at the time, it feels huge.” But that gives you the momentum and the courage to keep going towards the next thing and the next thing.

FIND THE GOOD AMONG THE BAD

Despite a tough childhood, the hardest moment in Justin’s life was really when his mom passed away. But when that happened, it created new paths in so many parts of his life. It helped him in his personal life and it helped him in his business. He shares that even though he was devastated by his mom’s passing, it made him more understanding and a kinder person. It’s also helped his relationships. Finding the good among such a terrible loss really allowed him a lot of clarity on his message and what he had to share with the world because he didn’t want his mother’s death to be in vain. He states that “it really changed the direction of my whole entire life. The relationships that I have now with my sisters and my dad and girlfriend and relationships that I have in business, they would not be there without that moment.” And so it’s hard for him to define bad moments because he thinks that they’re all good in some way, shape, or form. And growing through those tough times really has a hand in helping you create a life you’ll love.

FAILURE IS OUR GREATEST TEACHER

Justin has also faced a lot of failures. But each failure has really cemented the fact that entrepreneurship is his calling.

Failure also taught him that he was afraid of success. He states that “failure’s what we’ve done our whole life. Even as a baby, we try and walk for the first time, and we fall, but we get back up, and then we fall. The failure was more common to us. Watch a baby when they first figure out those first steps, and they freak out. The fear is in the success.” “So I thought to myself if I became a really successful entrepreneur, and I really owned this self-development life, what would happen with my friends? Would I have friends? What’s after that? I know what I’m chasing now, but if I reach it, what am I chasing after that?” There’s this great fear in what’s after that, but you have to achieve the success first. So you have to be careful because there’s actually a lot of comfort in the failure.

PRACTICE SELF CARE

Self-care keeps us happier, healthier, and more grounded so that we have the strength to get through the tough times. And, there are three things that Justin does every single day for self-care. Number one, is meditation for 10 to 15 minutes, depending on what he needs. He just sits in silence with his thoughts.

The second thing he does for self-care is visualization. He actually visualizes his ideal life while listening to music and that helps him figure out the next step he needs to take to get him closer to his goals.

And the third self-care routine he does for self-confidence. He reaches out to at least one person every single day to check on them, even if that is just, “Hey, how’s everything going?” And the reason he says it helps his confidence is that no matter who he reaches out to, they always give him love back. His whole philosophy is, to give is to receive.