Greetings, SuperFriends!

Today’s guest, Jen Sincero, is a total badass.

Actually, she wrote the book on being a badass. No… seriously, though.

She’s the NYT bestselling author of “You are a badass: How to stop doubting your greatness and start living an awesome life,” and a bunch of other books, including one interesting titled “a straight girls guide to sleeping with chicks.” With titles like that, coaching clients who themselves have gone on to become new york times bestsellers, an upcoming and much anticipated podcast, and features in the new york times, HBO, Bloomberg, and O magazine, I just had to get her on the show while I still could to share some of the badassness with us.

In this episode, we discuss a really broad range of topics, from discovering your life’s passion, to the value of coaches and how to find a good one, to the perks of travel for personal development, and even tips on how to maximize your income. My guest is an absolute wealth of positive energy and inspiration, and I just know this episode is going to knock your socks off.

This episode is brought to you by SuperLearner Academy – home of my exclusive masterclasses. Check out a free trial using the link above today!

In this episode, we discuss:

• Jen Sincero's fascinating and inspiring life story
• Should everyone who wants to succeed have a coach?
• Thoughts on therapy
• How Jen Sincero learned how to make money – and then actually did it!
• How coaching changed Jen Sincero's life
• How can you find a good coach?
• Jen's experience living as a digital nomad, and how it inspired her
• Why budgeting is bullshit and what to do instead
• What are the top lessons you'll learn in Jen's new book?
• What is the role of fear in changing your life? Is fear necessary?
• What does it mean to be a “badass” in Jen Sincero's world?
• What is the #1 thing you can do RIGHT NOW to be more of a badass?
• An incredible story of how coaching changed Jen's life
• The mistake of charging your clients only what you would pay
• Why charging more money is actually GOOD for your customers! (Loved this!)
• What's Jen Sincero working on next?
• What is the #1 top takeaway Jen wants you to learn from this episode?

Resources Mentioned in This Episode:

• A podcast I listened to on The Art of Charm with Tony Stubblebine
• Summit at Sea – an amazing experience I had last year
• Books:
  • Jen's first book, Don't Sleep With Your Drummer
  • Jen's second book, A Straight Girl's Guide to Sleeping with Chicks
  • Jen's third (and bestselling) book: You Are A Badass
  • Vagabonding by Rolf Potts
  • Tim Ferriss and his books
  • The Science of Getting Rich by Wallace Wattles
  • Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill
  • Loving What Is by Byron Katie
  • You Can Heal Your Life by Louise Hay
  • Deepak Chopra and his many books
  • The Power of Now and A New Earth by Eckhart Tolle
  • Oneness by Rasha
• Jen's website

Favorite Quotes from Jen Sincero:

Transcript:

Introduction: Welcome to the Becoming SuperHuman Podcast. Where we interview extraordinary people to bring you the skills and strategies to overcome the impossible. And now here's your host. Jonathan Levi.

Jonathan Levi: This episode is brought to you by the Become a SuperLearner Masterclass. Now, I've been telling you guys about the Masterclass for a few weeks now. So I'm actually just going to take a step back and let a good friend of mine, tell you guys about his opinion on the Masterclass.

“I am Nelson Dellis, four-time USA, memory champion, and a huge fan of the SuperLearner Masterclass. You know, when I started memory techniques years ago, you know, I wish that I had had all the resources that are available in this course. Jonathan does a great job teaching it. And it's a fantastic course and I highly recommend it. It'll take you just as far as I am without as much time that I had to put in. So enjoy it, get into it and, uh, keep your memory active”.

Jonathan Levi: To learn more, to sign up for a free trial with no credit card required or to redeem an exclusive discount for podcast listeners only please visit jle.vi/learn or visit becomeasuperlearner.com.

Well, hello, Superfriends and welcome to this week's show. Today’s guest, Jen Sincero, is a total badass.

Actually, she wrote the book on being a badass. No… seriously, though.

She’s the NYT bestselling author of “You are a badass: How to stop doubting your greatness and start living an awesome life,” and a bunch of other books, including one interesting titled “a straight girls guide to sleeping with chicks.” With titles like that, coaching clients who themselves have gone on to become new york times bestsellers, an upcoming and much-anticipated podcast, and features in the new york times, HBO, Bloomberg, and O magazine, I just had to get her on the show while I still could to share some of the badassness with us.

In this episode, we discuss a really broad range of topics, from discovering your life’s passion, to the value of coaches and how to find a good one, to the perks of travel for personal development, and even tips on how to maximize your income. My guest is an absolute wealth of positive energy and inspiration, and I just know this episode is going to knock your socks off the same way it knocked mine off.

My feet are now cold, ladies and gentlemen, and now without further ado, one of the most bad-ass people I know Ms. Jen Sincero.

Jen Sincero, welcome to the show. We are so, so excited to have such a bad-ass on the show today.

Jen Sincero: Thank you so much. I'm so excited to be here. 

Jonathan Levi: You know, I have to say it's a pleasure to finally meet you because I feel like I can't go on Amazon or the iBookstore without seeing this bright yellow cover everywhere. So congratulations on all your success. 

Jen Sincero: Thank you so much. It's really exciting, I must say. 

Jonathan Levi: It is. And I'm looking forward to going into a little bit about your background in your career, because I saw that, you started out being a motivational speaker and then a success coach. And then you went all the way to writing a sex column and then a global nomad.

I mean, I did a little bit of homework, so I really don't want to present it for you, but I guess I don't really know how to better ask this question than to just say. Wow. Tell us your life story. 

Jen Sincero:  How far back would you like me to give? 

Jonathan Levi: Well, still it was 1947. 

Jen Sincero: It was so dark and stormy night. Well, I guess I'll start with, you know, I, was a musician for a long time and a writer. And, you know, I was always very creative and doing my thing, but the way I sort of got started on my path to badass as it were was, I felt very creatively fulfilled, but I was broke as a joke forever us, or like fell into my forties. I'll talk about the sex advice column and all that stuff.

I mean, I was a writer, so I had a, um, my first book was called Don't Sleep With Your Drummer, which was a, semi-autobiographical novel about being a rock band? Oh, well, yeah. It's published by Simon and Schuster. And then my second book was the Straight Girls Guide To Sleeping With Chicks, which I wrote after dating a woman for six months and trying to figure out what the hell was going on with me.

If I was gay if I was straight. And so that book was sort of an exploration into sexuality for me. And that led to a sex advice column, which was so much fun to write. And which actually helped set me on my path to coaching because I started coaching people on getting over their shame and just dealing with very intimate struggles that they were having. And I realized that I had a natural affinity for it, and I really enjoyed it. And so during that whole time, as awesome as it all was, I was broke, broke, broke, broke, broke, and I was extremely frustrated. So I decided that was going to be my next project was figuring out what the hell was going on with me and money.

And that's when I started investing in coaches. And that's when I actually really learned how to coach professionally was by getting my ass coached on a regular basis. And so then that's sort of the longest shortest version of it was I just got coached and coached and coached around money, figured out how to make money through my own coaching business.

And that's what led to the writing of You Are A Badass after reading 9,000 self-help books and getting coached. I realized there was nothing that was sort of funny and edgy and, that's sort of where I am. 

Jonathan Levi: It's such a coincidence that you talk about coaching today. Cause I was just listening to a podcast, I believe his name is Tony Stubblebine.

The guy behind coach.me. And he was talking about this idea that elite athletes, elite executives, they all have coaches. And yet a lot of, kind of your average everyday Joe's, hear the idea of having a coach and they think that it's a bad thing. When in fact, so many of the world's top, top, top performers from politicians to business people have coaches.

So tell me a little bit about the coaching experience and your thoughts. I mean, should everybody who wants to succeed have a coach, do you think? 

Jen Sincero: If you're not succeeding, definitely. I mean, you know, I was so stubborn for so long. I was like, I got this, I can do this on my own after like decades of proof that actually you can't, you know, and it's like going to therapy.

Why is there a stigma on that? I think facing your issues and making the commitment to overcome what's holding you back, is one of the bravest things you can do, you know, and this sort of stubborn refusal to either admit fault or look weak or spend the money. And, you know, that was sort of what was holding me back until one day, you know, I didn't have any big pivotal, like getting kicked out of my house or having my electricity turned off.

But I, really just one day was like, I am so sick of hearing myself complain about not being able to afford stuff that I was like, all right. I just rolled up my sleeves. I was like, bring it on. I do not care what the hell I have to do, how much it costs, how embarrassing it is, how off-brand it is for Jen Sincero to go to some.

You know, I talk about it a lot, some cheesy hotel lobby with a name tag on and go to these inspirational motivational seminars. You know, that's what making a decision is. And this is, I talk about this a lot in my book and in my talks is, the decision to change your life is going to involve things that you're not that comfortable doing or else you would have already done them.

You know? So for me, it really was just being available for whatever it took. You know, you asked me about the coaching. I realized that you know, when the student is ready, the teacher appears and I started becoming aware of this whole coaching world, which at the time, I mean, it's still a little out there.

Life coaching was way more of us. Snake oil sales image back then, but I met somebody and she specialized in helping people get over their money stuff. And I hired her for crazy amounts of money for me at the time. And, it changed my life. 

Jonathan Levi: What kind of things, I guess I'm a little unclear and I'm starting to think that maybe I need a business coach as well.

What kind of things? I mean, how is it different from therapy where you're kind of just talking through your problems and someone's listening, right. And maybe making suggestions. I mean, I think that the word coach has such a more active and proactive connotations of what kind of things turned your life around that your coaches contributed.

Jen Sincero: Um, you know, there is a lot of them overlap. You do deal with issues that are holding you back, certainly, but I think therapy goes way deeper into that as much more about becoming aware of and unhooking from the things that hold you back and feeling through them and all that. And you definitely do some of that in coaching, but as you said, it is much more proactive.

So. You know, for example, I went in to find out what my deal was with money and how the hell am I going to make some? So we looked at what my broken record was around money, what my judgments were around it, and what my, you know, subconscious beliefs were around it, look at them. And at the same time I was like, all right, what do I have in place to make money?

Not a whole hell of a lot. So. Figuring out what resources I already had in place, and which ones I had to create. And, you know, specifically how much money I wanted to make by when, what was it for, getting very clear about my goals also, and then putting the pieces in place to achieve those goals.

Jonathan Levi: That's brilliant. So really you're getting homework, you're getting an accountability partner and you're getting the, let's dig into some of your thoughts and beliefs. 

Jen Sincero: Yeah. And you know, what else was really sort of an unknown that I was getting, I was getting to hang out with my, you know, hang out over the phone or whatever, but that whole thing about surrounding yourself with people who are kicking butt is so real.

And for me, I didn't know anybody who wanted to go for it the way I wanted to go for it. And especially around money. I mean, talk about an achy. You can talk about, Oh, I'm going on a diet, I'm going to lose 50 pounds and people are like, good for you. Go for it. If I walked around saying, I'm going to make a crapload of money this year, people would look at me kind of sideways and think I was kind of gross, right? Money is such a taboo topic, so I didn't have anybody to talk to about it. And I also didn't have anybody who was at the frequency and at the success level that I desire to be at to. So it's like playing tennis with someone who's better than you, you know?

So I paid for that as well. That was part of the coaching thing. That was so good for me, just being around somebody who was where I wanted to be. 

Jonathan Levi: This is definitely one of the things that I've realized in the last couple of years, the idea that, you know, you're the average of the five people you spend the most time with, but also that you need to be putting yourself in environments.

I just got back from the Summit at Sea and I hang out with a pretty awesome group of friends who are all very driven, but being in that environment where, oh my God, there are more New York Times bestsellers here than I can shake a stick at. And, you know, the average, the average person here is just at a level that I don't even aspire to yet really put things into perspective for me, a, it kind of checks your ego and you start to think, you know what?

I'm not that great. And I can do so much better and I can impact so many more people. I mean, yeah. This guy's book has been read by 10 million people. What am I doing? Right. You know, so I think that's really cool. I want to ask one more question before we get back to your kind of general badassery, which is if someone is looking for a business coach or is considering maybe going to a coach of any sort, where would you recommend they start?

I mean, is there like Angie's list for coaches out there? 

Jen Sincero: That's an excellent question. And I don't honestly know what to tell you. Listening to shows like yours and actually, I do not tell you, make the decision that you're going to do it. And then, figure it out. Like there are so many great podcasts out there now there's so, you know, we have the world wide web.

There's no reason to ever not know where to find anything, as far as I'm concerned. So start researching, start listening to shows like yours, go to the bookstore, to the self-help section, and read books by people. And see who resonates with you and sign up for their mailing list and just get really involved and set the intention that you are going to find a coach and get clear on what the specifics are of the coach that you want to hire.

And when the student is ready, the teacher appears and just really be open, ask other people. If they have a good coach to recommend, just make it your mission and you will find somebody. 

Jonathan Levi: Absolutely. I love that recommendation. You know, when the student is ready, the teacher will appear. So Jen, the next thing I wanted to ask as we kind of transitioned back into what you're doing and all the incredible stuff you've done because of coaching or since coaching, tell us a little bit about your digital nomad experience.

I understand that your book was actually inspired by your experiences traveling the entire world. 

Jen Sincero: Yeah about gosh, four and a half years ago now, I was living in Venice Beach, California, and I was going to Europe anyway. And then I was like, why don't I just not come back? It was actually my coach's suggestion.

She's like, you don't even like Los Angeles. You're a writer. You've got an online business. You've got nothing holding you there. So why don't you just, get rid of your home, get rid of most of your stuff or put it in storage and travel the world. So I did, and I lived out of a suitcase for three years and it was one of the most incredible experiences I've ever had.

I mean, it was all things good and some things bad and, one of the most surprising things about it was how the first six months I was kind of terrified. And I was like, okay, I'm just looking for another place to live. Cause LA wasn't working for me. So I was traveling the world, looking for my next home.

And then there was a shift with six months into it where the anxiety that used to feel about not having a home shifted to having anxiety about having a home and giving up my freedom and how my reality completely shifted as to who I was and my identity and what was important to me. And that was so interesting because I never would have had that shift if I hadn't just taken the leap and done something that scared the living crap out of me, but that was also very exciting.

And then I became this new kind of person. And the other thing that was a real eye-opener was I was terrified that my business would tank because I'd be on the road. And because I'd be so distracted and you know, if I'm in Tokyo for the first time in my life, I'm not going to want to send out my

solo mailers and get my coaching programs fleshed out. You know, I'm going to want to be eating sushi and checking the town out. But what it did was I'm a life coach. And so it modeled a lifestyle for people that were like, I want to live like her. I want to take adventures like her. I want to take leaps of faith like her, and it massively expanded my business.

And so you are a bad-ass. I started thinking about it. I'd been thinking about writing something for years and years and years based on the books I'd already read and the coaching experience I had had, but traveling the world, it was such an expensive experience. And I had to put a lot of things to use it.

I wrote about in you are a bad-ass on a daily basis. Like, having faith that I was going to find a place to stay, listening to my intuition on which town I should go to next New Orleans or Bali, and just really being in the moment and trusting. And that really informed a lot of what I wrote about in the book.

Jonathan Levi: I want to touch on that, but I also want to point out to my audience that you went from being broke to traveling the world and the point. Yeah. I think I want to make around this. And hopefully, you'll kind of reinforce is that a lot of times when people say they can't travel, it's because they have so much overhead.

And if you just let go of the apartment and the nice car lease and the lifestyle that you think you need, I think it's possible to do anything you want to do. Whether that's living on a private Island for six months or travel or, you know, whatever it is. Some people don't remember that there's so much, non-essential dead weight in your kind of financial life.

You can strip all that away and go from dead broke to let me travel the world and actually grow my business. And I think that's a really good point there. 

Jen Sincero: Absolutely. And you can also, if those things are very important to you, increase your income and have it. 

Jonathan Levi: All right. I love to tell people that I don't believe in budgeting.

I really don't. I don't believe in budgeting. I don't believe that money buys happiness. It buys things that might allow you to experience more happiness when shared with others. But with that said, I certainly don't believe in budgeting and anytime there's something that I want and I say, you know, I really shouldn't.

I say, well, no, I really should. And then I should work hard to justify that purchase.

Jen Sincero: Yeah. And it's about buying the ticket. Right. It really is. It's like, man. Just buy the ticket and figure it out. And the beautiful thing about buying the ticket, even if you put it on your damn credit card, if you really, really want to travel, you are on this earth once.

So travel. If that's important to you, I just wish everybody would travel more. It's so, especially in this crazy time. We're living in where there's so much mistrust of other cultures and things like that. It's so important to really know what's out there and that we are all human beings, but buy the ticket, and then that's an amazing incentive, not only to pay off that credit card debt but to make the money to then go do this trip. You know, that'll light a fire under your butt to do all the scary things and push yourself that you need to do to start living the kind of life you desire to live.

Jonathan Levi: Sure. And I think, you know, a lot of people that I talk to who are what I call wantrepreneurs and they say, well, you know, it doesn't work that way.

When you're a salaried employee, you can't just work harder and make more money. And my answer is always, why not? Why couldn't you renegotiate a raise? Why couldn't you take on a side project? Why couldn't you do some freelance work on Fiverr? I mean, there with a little bit of creativity, there are so many opportunities out there for making income.

Even if you feel that you're not a subject matter expert. I mean, my marketing guy is a guy who literally told me, you know, I'm just learning this stuff. I'm new to this stuff. I said, well, do you, or do you not understand my products and my brand? You're a customer, right? Yes. Well, are you interested in billing me to learn and continue learning

internet marketing? And he said, yes. I said, great. Let's start working together. You know, I want people who are passionate. I don't need people who are expert experts. And so, you know, he learns and builds me for some of it. And doesn't bill me for others. And you think how many people are out there like myself who just want to work with passionate people and are willing to forgive the fact that, you know, you don't know the ins and outs of email marketing, but you're willing to learn.

Jen Sincero: Oh my gosh, any day, like I would much rather take in a really excited, passionate, novice than somebody who's experienced and bored. 

Jonathan Levi: And exactly, exactly.

Jen Sincero:  I don't know about you, but I feel like my autobiography would definitely be called no experience necessary. Everything I've ever done. I've had no experience or you know, not the kind of experience that you would think was required.

 And I wanted it so badly that I just dove in and did whatever it took from the most part. Not always. But you know, and that's not to discredit school or getting, you know, learning what you need to learn, but done is better than perfect.

And just get in there. Cause there's a fine line between, procrastination and perfection, you know, so we can cleverly pretend we need to prepare more and more and more. And then you wake up at 9 to 5 and you haven't done anything. 

Jonathan Levi: Exactly. Jen, I can tell that you and I are going to be fast friends. We're going to get along very well.

Let me ask this. You mentioned a lot of the lessons that you were using every single day while you were traveling. And those became the lessons for You Are A Badass, which by the way is a brilliant title, but we're going to cover how brilliant all of your book titles are later. What are some of those lessons?

Could you share with us a little peak insight into the book and what are some of the more powerful lessons you teach in it? 

Jen Sincero: One of them is, that you don't have to have every single detail figured out before you take a big leap. And so when I took this leap to travel the world and live out of a suitcase, you know, where was my mail going to go?

Was I going to get lonely? Was my business going to tank? Like there was so many big, scary questions that I had, but the most important thing that I attached to was. Oh, my God, I am going to be a global nomad like that excitement for me. That's not what everybody wants, but for me, that was such an exciting and crazy thing to do with that.

I focused on that more than I focused on the fear. And, I guess I'm talking about two things now. I get a little carried away but focus on the excitement. Fear is always going to be there. There's always going to be a very long laundry list of reasons why it won't work and why you shouldn't do it and what you could lose, yada, yada.

And there's also going to be a very long list of why it's so awesome the things you could learn. The people you could meet, and the incredible quantum leaps in your life could take focus on those. And move forward towards 

Jonathan Levi: that. It sounds exactly like framing, you know, the looking at the same thing in two different ways, and what an exciting opportunity, as opposed to this, is terrifying.

Jen Sincero: Exactly. And you've got that opportunity every single moment of every single day. And so that's why when you start to listen to shows like yours and read books like mine and make the decision to become more aware and responsible for your own reality. A huge part of that is the choices you make in every single moment.

And I talk about this all the time, but I remember when I started doing this work and started hiring coaches and started reading the books and going to the seminars, I was like, okay, this is all great. And being aware and making choices and taking scary leaps that I get it. And watching your words and your thoughts and your beliefs, but what's the real secret like that stuff I've heard over and over and over, but what's the real mystery around this stuff. And when I realized that there really wasn't any mystery, that the reason that us self-helpers talk about this stuff all the time is a cause that's it. And also it works. 

Jonathan Levi: Yeah. It's like, just do it.

Jen Sincero: It's actually kind of easy guys, but don't make a big drama out of it. Yep. Okay. So I'm going to try and stay the course here. So focus on the excitement instead of the fear, don't wait until everything is perfectly laid out. If you feel it, go for it and trust that you will learn more as you're doing, as opposed to trying to figure it out in your head, because you could spend a lifetime sitting there thinking about it.

The third thing is, if something feels scary, that's an excellent compass to know that you're going in the right direction. You seriously, if you want to change your life, it's gotta be a little bit scary. It's also, you know, I think terror and excitement are the two different sides of the same coin. So for me leaving everything and leaving my security and my home, which is a huge, you know, huge deal and the way that we're raised, like everybody has a home, getting out of that reality and going into the nomadic reality was terrifying, but it was also equally exciting.

And there's gotta be a little bit of terror because that means you're stepping outside of your comfort zone. And if you want to change your life, it's imperative that you're a little bit scared. 

Jonathan Levi: Brilliant. Absolutely brilliant. It's something I'm working on as well, less about traveling, but more about, you know, certain experiences, certain things that I want to do that have scared me for years.

And just saying that is actually all the more reason why I need to do them. 

Jen Sincero: Right. And it's fun. It's exciting. It is as quote-unquote, comfortable as our comfort zones are. It's like sitting in sweat pants, watching TV, you know, it's kind of fun. I mean, we all love doing that, but after a while, you feel kind of slimed and like going out and having an adventure is way more fun and you feel so much more alive, so sure.

Jonathan Levi: And creating any emotion or any chaos is going to shake things up. And once you start to question these assumptions, like, wait, do I need a home? Then all of a sudden everything becomes, you know, wait a minute. Do I need to be in this line of work? Right. Do I need to date the opposite sex? 

Jen Sincero: Right. 

Jonathan Levi: So, absolutely. That's brilliant. That's brilliant. I'm really glad that we both had the same experiences. It's nice to compare notes on that. So let me ask, you've mentioned all these different 9,000 self-help books you read, I'm going to guess two of them. And then I want you to tell me if I was right and I want you to just tell me, cause I'm a self-help junkie as well.

So I'm thinking Vagabonding was one of them. 

Jen Sincero: Never even heard of it. 

Jonathan Levi: No. Okay. Thoughts. Vagabonding I'm thinking maybe some Tim Ferriss stuff was in there, you know? 

Jen Sincero: No, isn't that funny?

Jonathan Levi: That is funny. 

Jen Sincero: So hit me with these, but I want to read them. I went pretty old school. The Science of Getting Rich was a huge one for me because remember I was all about the money in the beginning.

So The Science of Getting Rich by Wallace Wattles. All the old-timey guys and then Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill or two were literally on rotate for me. I love Byron Katie, Loving What Is, is a great one for relationships and taking responsibility for your thoughts and beliefs. It's I love that stuff.

And also I'm a huge fan of, short books that get to the point because I have very little patience. I know for me, for Jen Sincero, my goal on earth is to learn patience. And so anyway, while I'm learning it still, I like books that sort of get shortened to the point and tell me what I need to do and study. What other books I love Louise Hay, I love You Can Heal Your Life. That's a, just a great all-around learning to love yourself book, which I think is the root of all power. I love pretty much everything Deepak Chopra is written The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success. Power, freedom, grace. Any Eckhart Tolle in there?

Jonathan Levi: Yes. 

Jen Sincero: The Power of Now is actually the first book I read and I remember, going back to it a couple of years ago when I first picked it up, I was brand new to all this stuff and it took me a week to digest each sentence, like, you know, just lying there with my arm over my eyes, trying to absorb it all. And then I read it. Yeah. You know, many, many, many years later I was like, Oh my God, breeze through it.

Totally got it. You know? Yeah. And then I moved on to books like Oneness by Rasha, which is now the brick of every sentence is so media. I can hardly handle it. 

Jonathan Levi: Wow. I needed to check that one out. 

Jen Sincero: That's advanced and it's hardcore. It's hardcore, but you know, there's no lack of brilliance out there. 

Jonathan Levi: No, and I remember having that same experience with A New Earth, Eckhart Tolle and just reading it and being like, wait, this is BS.

And then reading it again and being like, wait, this is not BS. And then reading it a third time being like, Oh my God, my whole life is a lie. Right. You know, like it's shaking me to my core and being like, Oh my God, I've wasted 20 years on this planet. Oh God. Well, you know, it's all good. We need that every seven to 20 years.

Jen Sincero: Yeah. And we're on the planet earth for schools. So the first 20 years were not wasted. They were developing the awakening to be like, I like to pick up that book. Yeah. 

Jonathan Levi: That is true. Jen, I want to ask you a little bit about. Well, I want to ask you a lot about a lot of things, but first, let me take a quick pause to mention this episode's sponsor.

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All right. Thank you guys for your patience. We are back with Jen Sincero, who is my newest Superfriend, and we are talking about nomadism and all kinds of wonderful stuff. Jen, I wanted to ask you, what exactly do you mean when you say bad-ass? Cause I think it's a big term and you've rebranded it very beautifully.

So I wanted to compliment you on that, but define to us what about us is in Jen Sincero land? 

Jen Sincero: I think a badass is anybody who is being exactly who they are on this earth, regardless of what anybody else thinks, what their current reality is showing them. What they've been told is okay to really embrace what's important to you and the essence of who you truly are and expressing that in the most glorious and bad-ass way possible.

Jonathan Levi: I love that. So it has nothing to do with wearing sunglasses, leather jackets and banging record players. 

Jen Sincero: It might, for some people, it totally might, but. Does it necessarily mean for everybody? 

Jonathan Levi: That is brilliant. So we did touch on the kind of three lessons covered in the book, but what would be your big takeaway for anyone in the audience who wants to be more of a badass starting right now?

I mean, not even dealing with the three year trip, but what's one thing they can do immediately to be a Jen Sincero approved bad-ass. 

Jen Sincero: Well, it really starts with the decision to so many decisions, but the decision to change your life. So let's just start there with really not screwing around anymore. And the word decision literally means to cut away.

So being willing to give up being right, giving up that your present reality is the truth. If that's not, what is working for you anymore. Leaving a marriage, if that's not working for you anymore. Leaving a job, if that's not working for you anymore. Telling people what you're doing and not caring, if they support you are not. 

Like really taking risks, making the decision to take the risks that you need to take. And the very first step in any real change is awareness. Just, you know, what we really been talking about for this whole show is becoming aware of what you've decided is the truth and being willing to toss that away if it's not working for you. 

Jonathan Levi: Would you say that that's maybe the most important thing you've learned in this entire journey? 

Jen Sincero: Uh, gosh, I don't know.

Jonathan Levi: I mean, it's tough questions. 

Jen Sincero:  I can't pick it's like what, which one album would you take to an Island with? You're like, I can't pick one, so I can't take one lesson, but I will.

It is. Absolutely imperative is becoming aware. And the thing is, is these become our habits, right? It becomes a sort of who we are. So for me, it was like, Oh, I can't afford to travel. You know, the economy is really bad right now. Like I could never quit my job and start my own business. And then we move on from that.

Right. You've got to become aware and you've got to start listening to how you believe, how you speak and questioned the crap out of everything, and being like, okay, is the economy so bad right now? Is anybody making tons of money doing what they love? And once you start questioning, it's like, hell yeah, there's tons of people doing that.

So why couldn't I? So instead of succumbing, to your reality and your thoughts and beliefs taking responsibility, I mean, I have a chapter in my book called Your Brain is Your Bitch, and it's not the other way around. Right. So don't be pushed around by your reality or the quote-unquote truth that other people are telling you. Decide that you are on this planet earth once as the, you, that is you and decide to take control of your life and do whatever it takes.

And the first step of that is really becoming aware of your reality and becoming aware of what is not working for you and deciding to change it.

Jonathan Levi: Totally, totally. I think so many people don't even question the kind of prescription. And I don't want to bad mouth people who want to take the, go to school, get a nine to five job work at that nine to five job change on average every three days, you know, that there's a prescription out there and that works for some people.

It makes them very happy. Particularly people who don't want to take risks and I don't want to bad mouth, those people at all, but I think there are so many people for whom that prescription does not work and yet they still take it every morning. You know, they still fill that prescription every year.

When it comes time to either renegotiate a raise or say, you know what, screw this. And they, they're up. 

Jen Sincero: Yeah. And again, it's about getting really clear on what makes you happy. So if that makes you happy, a plus, man, we need you in the world. And if it doesn't, and there's a pattern where we tend to wait until it gets, so excruciatingly painful that that's when we make a change, you know, you always hear about people who find out they've got a disease or their electricity gets turned off or their spouse leaves them. 

Like you do not have to wait until it gets so bad that you have to change, you know, by the way, you're going to die. That should be enough of an incentive, keeping death really close to you. Like that reality that you're going to die should be enough of an incentive, like, okay, I am in this exquisite cartoon called life for a finite amount of time.

I'm going to rock it out. You know, if you can remember that one. That should be enough incentive. 

Jonathan Levi: Well, that I think, you know, we have so much more freedom than any generation before us. Your parents' generation could not work from anywhere in the world period. And they probably didn't have the opportunities and the means to communicate with people from other cultures, the way that we do.

But we live in a cross-cultural fully connected, fully integrated society where I can work from anywhere in the world. And I think because of that great gift that our parents' generation gave us with all the amazing technological innovation. I think we have an obligation to make the most of it, you know. 

Jen Sincero: Absolutely.

Jonathan Levi: Work from home a couple of days a week, because you can. If you want to, yeah. Sure, sure. Jen, I want to touch a little bit on the coaching side because I think that is something I'm super curious about. Can you show with us maybe a story that's inspired you from a client or from someone with whom you've worked, if that's okay?

Jen Sincero: Sure. I mean, let me think I'll share my own story just because I have kind of an incredible one that really proved to me how powerful this stuff really is when you make the decision. And I'd also throw in, I have a couple of clients' stories in my book as well, but one of the biggest ones for me, because money was my big issue.

I signed up to work for the coach and I'm going to keep it short, but she was basically like, we decided that I was going to try and make $10,000 in one week. Wow. And for me at the time I was making $30,000 a year. So making $10,000 in one week was like going to the moon basically. But because I had done a lot of work raising my frequency and I had really committed, I spent the money on the coach.

I'd made some huge leaps towards making this a reality and expanding my wealth consciousness to even welcoming in this as a possibility. At the time, it wasn't really that much like going to the moon for me anymore. I was like, that's kind of person I want to be. For me, it was really about being the kind of person who could pull something like that off.

So, we put some pieces in place about put some coaching packages together. I was going to send it out to my little list and that it meant doubling or tripling my prices by the way, to pull in that kind of money that quickly. And I was freaking out like raising my prices was the scariest thing I'd ever done, but I was going to do it because I was committed to doing this dammit.

And while this is a part that just blew Matt Hannan's mind. While I was still on the phone with her, and we had raised my frequency to this point of making it believable and making it non-negotiable that I was going to pull in $10,000 by this certain date. While I was still on the phone with her, I got an email from a client that I had not heard from in over a year.

And it was my very first private coaching client. And I had been working with him for like $50 an hour at the time. And we were working together anyway. He emails me out of the clear blue sky when I've made this decision and raised my frequency. And he says, I am ready to work with you again. Please send me your new packages and your price, and let's rock this out.

And so, I tell my coach while I'm on the phone, I was like, you're never gonna believe what just happened. So she's like, awesome. Let's put together a $10,000 coaching package and send it back to him. Now, this was a man that I, uh, adored, who I really cared about, and who I loved working with and the thought of cent.

I mean, this would have been like, Raising my price by five, like, I mean, insane. I was working 50 bucks an hour, don't forget. But because I had made the decision to change my life and I had made the decision to manifest this amount of money. I put together a 10,000 coaching package right there on the phone with her, sent it back to him, went and threw up, came back to the phone and he emailed me back immediately. And opening that email was one of the, I mean, I was sure it was going to be like, you money mongering, ego, maniacal pig, head, you know, whatever. And he simply said, looks good, when can we start? Wow. So I manifested it in a matter of hours and then I ended up selling some of the other coaching packages.

We put together into making $15,000 in two days, which was a quantum leap for me. 

Jonathan Levi: Wow. Brilliant. I met someone at Summit who told me that basically, he came from a kind of difficult money situation as well. And he said his biggest mistake in business was basically charging his customers, what he would have been able to pay because he came from the kind of a very difficult background.

And he said, you know, I have this mastermind group and this is what we teach. And this is what we do. I don't want to give away too many details. He said, how much do you think that mastermind goes for? And I said, Oh, well, I would easily pay $500. He goes, we charge $7,500 for that mastermind group every year.

And I go, wow, I would never pay that. And he goes, you know, I never thought anyone would pay that either, but people do. And my biggest mistake has been underselling, underselling my products and not charging people what the value they get, you know, because you can always lower your prices. It's much harder to take your prices up as I'm learning now with my masterclass, you know?

Jen Sincero: Well also when you remember that money is currency and currency is energy. And if I had shrunk down and kept it at $50 an hour, we would have been operating at a very different frequency, but by scaring the crap out of myself and scaring the crap out of him, we both lifted ourselves up. And man, we hit the ground running

when we started working together. He quit his job and started a really sister company had a multi-million dollar business deal within the first six months. It was crazy, but we would never have done that at 50 bucks an hour. It's a frequency. 

Jonathan Levi: It's amazing. And I guess what you're suggesting is that by charging more, you actually, force yourself to make your product or service better. Is that kind of what I'm getting?

Jen Sincero: Yes. And you raise your frequency. So if money is currency and currency is energy and believe me, I had to hear that 6,000 times before I really got it. It's energetic. So it's not like in the moment that I doubled my prices, I immediately became a better coach, but I was operating at a higher frequency.

So I shifted who I was being. Yeah. And, you know, in that sense, I did become a better coach because I was offering, I'm trying to think how I can explain this, but I was holding myself to a higher standard. All across the board. Yes. 

Jonathan Levi: Well, and you can afford to do so much more. I sort of learned, you know, to kind of give it with a product-based example in the past, when I've done courses on an open course platform where I know they're going to be discounted, you know, down 90% on Black Friday.

You kind of say, well, you know, we can't really afford to bring in a second videographer and we can't really afford to do this. And you know, we're running out of studio time. We can't really afford to take that lecture over. When you say, hey, this course is going to be 20 times more than anything we've ever done before.

You know what if we need to stay here till tomorrow, if we need to rent the studio again, another three days, we're going to do it because these customers are paying for a premium product. And I think that's kind of what you're getting at. When you say look at a $10,000 coaching package, I'm pulling out all the stops. I'm losing sleep for this customer if I have to. 

Jen Sincero: And think about what you just said too, like, I can't afford to shoot the video. I can't afford to do this when you settle, for what you can get instead of demand for what you know you need and what you know you can provide and what, you know, you want to raise people up to you allow yourself to express yourself in such a bigger way.

So your coaching package I'm sure is amazing. And the video you were shooting was amazing. By not giving yourself the resources to shoot that you are literally denying the people who need to see it and hear it and read it the opportunity to have those experiences. So everybody loses when you shrink, you know, we've been taught to believe that everybody loses when you raise your price because you lock those people out, blah, blah, blah.

If it's keeping you from expressing you and being the biggest expression of your bad-ass self that you can be, it's actually mean because you're not, going to share yourself with the world because you can't afford it. Who does that help? Right. So that's the mentality really that we need to adopt if we're really gonna kick ass in this world.

And we have been trained to believe otherwise. And so this is where becoming aware of what your thoughts and beliefs are and like, how is that helping anybody by thinking it's better to charge less. And by the way, When you charge more and when you raise your frequency, then you can afford to give your stuff away for free if you want to.

If that's in keeping with what's important to you. So really think about, where you're coming from with this money stuff, raising yourself up helps raise other people up. It literally is offering a helping hand up as opposed to shrinking down to somebody else's level. That visualization for the money thing saved my ass because I had huge guilt around charging money for things.

Jonathan Levi: Right. Absolutely. And this is something that I'm learning that I spent too much time doing the volume business, and now I need to readjust to the fact that, you know what, like, these sums of money are not huge to change someone's life. Definitely not. And like you said, you have an obligation to create the best product you can and you need to charge to do that.

So I'm really glad that's a very timely thing. You know, when the student is ready, the teacher will appear. I think it's very fitting that this is the exact day where it was. 

Jen Sincero: Yeah. And also you can have volume business if you've got a lot of volumes and do great things that way and then have higher prices.

It really depends on, where your frequency is at. 

Jonathan Levi: Yeah, yeah, absolutely. So, Jen, I won't take too much more of your time. I wanted to ask you what you're working on next. 

Jen Sincero: I am working on a podcast as well. That should be coming out very soon. I'm really excited about that. I am probably going to have some masterminds and retreats.

Launching next year, I'm also working on another bad-ass book. I'm playing my guitar again. I'm writing a bunch of songs, which I'm really excited about, but he was listening can learn anything they want to learn. If you go to jensincero.com, J E N, and then Sincero is like the word sincere with an O instead of E.

So JENSINCERO.com and enter your name and email address there. And we'll get on my list and you'll be kept abreast of all of the goings-on, in the badass camp. 

Jonathan Levi: Yeah. Awesome. I love it. I love it. Jen, if people take away one major takeaway as we close, one thing that you want them to go with and act upon, what would you hope that that takeaway is. 

Jen Sincero: To decide how you desire your life to look instead of settling for what you can get.

And make whatever changes you need to make. Cause you are on this earth once and it's an honor to be alive and the world needs whatever it is that you were put here to share with us. So snooze not, lose not. 

Jonathan Levi: Brilliant. Brilliant. Jen Sincero thank you so much for your time. It's been such a pleasure chatting with you and I definitely hope we keep in touch.

Jen Sincero: Yeah, me too. Thank you so much. 

Jonathan Levi: Alrighty, take care.

Jen Sincero: You too.

Jonathan Levi: All right Superfriends, that's it for this week's episode, we hope you really, really enjoyed it and learn a ton of applicable stuff that can help you go out there and overcome the impossible.

If so, please do us a favor and leave us a review on iTunes or Stitcher, or however you found this podcast. In addition to that, we are. Always looking for great guest posts on the blog or awesome guests right here on the podcast. So if you know somebody or you are somebody, or you have thought of somebody who would be a great fit for the show or for our blog, please reach out to us either on Twitter or by email our email is info@becomingasuperhuman.com. Thanks so much. 

Closing: Thanks for tuning in to the Becoming Superhuman Podcast. For more great skills and strategies, or for links to any of the resources mentioned in this episode, visit www.becomingasuperhuman.com/podcast. We'll see you next time.