739 My Biggest Wins and Losses of the Year

Episode Summary

Executive Summary: Lewis Howes reflects on 2018 by reframing “losses” as lessons and emphasizing responsibility, gratitude, and intentional growth. He highlights major wins in media, business, speaking, and athletics, while candidly discussing mistakes, delegation gaps, and the need for better systems, meditation, and focus. The episode centers on ownership, celebrating progress, and designing a more aligned 2019.

Main Topics: Wins, responsibility, and year-end reflection (Priority: 5/5): Howes opens by stressing that people are responsible for their outcomes through thoughts, words, and actions, and that wins should be celebrated intentionally rather than immediately replaced by the next goal. Reframing losses as lessons (Priority: 5/5): He argues that setbacks are best understood as lessons, not failures, and that hindsight helps transform painful experiences into growth, especially during personal or professional hardship. Major business and media wins (Priority: 5/5): He reviews several major accomplishments: launching Facebook Watch’s first talk show, producing a documentary, growing the podcast, scaling the mastermind, and expanding the brand as a media company. Strategic clarity, delegation, and team structure (Priority: 4/5): Howes explains that he is narrowing his yeses, saying no to distractions, hiring top experts and agencies, and moving toward a lean core team supported by specialists to scale more effectively. Investment in self-mastery and health (Priority: 4/5): He emphasizes investing in vocal coaching, personal training, and nutrition support to improve performance, confidence, and long-term capability, using his own progress as proof of the value of self-investment. Lessons from inconsistency and overextension (Priority: 4/5): He admits to spending too much time on social media, losing consistency with meditation, and not always setting clear expectations in partnerships, identifying these as key areas for improvement. Personal and athletic highlights (Priority: 3/5): He shares other meaningful moments from the year, including USA handball, public appearances, awards, charitable giving, travel, and physically demanding challenges that reinforced discipline and pride.

Key Arguments: Life outcomes are shaped by what people think, say, and do; ownership is essential. Wins should be written down and celebrated consistently to reinforce progress and gratitude. Losses should be reframed as lessons so setbacks become usable feedback rather than identity-defining failures. Hardship gains meaning when viewed with hindsight, because painful moments can create future benefits and growth. Saying yes to too many opportunities can dilute impact; fewer, more aligned commitments create better long-term results. A lean core team plus expert agencies can outperform a large in-house team for a growth-focused brand. Recurring revenue provides stability, freedom, and the ability to invest more strategically in media and growth. Organic growth alone is insufficient for scale; paid media and ad spend can accelerate brand reach and profitability. Self-investment in health, voice, and performance skills directly improves confidence, output, and resilience. Meditation and emotional regulation are necessary for sustained creativity and a “beautiful state” of being.

Data Points: Podcast downloads in 2017: 22 million - Lewis compares prior-year podcast performance to 2018 growth Podcast downloads in 2018: 40 million - Annual download total for the School of Greatness podcast Total podcast downloads: 90 million+ - Cumulative downloads across the podcast’s run Facebook Watch talk show: First talk show on Facebook Watch - Howes describes Inspiring Life with Lewis Howes as a platform first Summit of Greatness attendance: 1,500+ people - Event held at the Ohio Theater in Columbus, Ohio Greatness Mastermind members: 40 members - Year two of the mastermind program Inner Circle members: Almost 3,000 members - Recurring-revenue business community Speaking fee current: $50,000 per speech - His established rate for speaking engagements in 2018 Speaking fee next year: $75,000 per speech - Planned increase for 2019 Facebook followers growth: 400,000 to nearly 2 million - Growth in Facebook audience over the year Instagram followers: About 1 million - Reported follower count during the episode Viral video performance: 1 million to 20 million views per video - Howes cites recent viral content performance USA handball return: 1.5 years since last play - He had not played with the USA team for a year and a half Team travel: 33 cities - Cities visited during the year for work and appearances Countries visited: 5 countries - International travel mentioned in the recap Weight milestone: 219.6 pounds - He says this was the first time he got under 220 in 13 years Handball travel: Germany and Israel - Upcoming competitions with the USA team 29029 challenge: 33 hours - Time it took him to complete the mountain endurance event

Pivotal Quotes: "Everything that happens to us is the result of what we ourselves have thought, said, or done. We alone are responsible for our lives." — Lewis Howes: He introduces the episode’s theme of personal responsibility and ownership "If you learn to reframe the loss as a lesson, you tell yourself a different story because the stories we tell ourselves dictate our life." — Lewis Howes: He explains how setbacks should be interpreted to support growth "I am constantly reinvesting in myself, in my skills, in my mastery of life." — Lewis Howes: He describes his ongoing commitment to self-improvement through coaching and training

Implications: Listeners are encouraged to adopt ownership, celebrate progress, and use setbacks as data. For creators and entrepreneurs, the episode argues for focus, delegation, paid growth, and self-investment as the path to sustainable scale.