Jay Shetty Podcast

#1 Business Expert: Here’s how I went from $0 to 7 BILLION EMPIRE … (and how you can too)

What’s one habit that’s helped you succeed lately? What made you decide to stick with that habit? In this special live conversation, at The Theater at Bill Graham Civic Auditorium in San Francisco, Jay sits down with entrepreneur and industry leader Emma Grede for a conversation every builder, creator, and business-minded thinker needs to hear. Together, Jay and Emma unpack a challenge that holds so many talented people back, caring too much about what others think. Emma shares the early moments in her career when she stayed quiet in rooms where she deserved to speak, the times she underestimated her own value, and the double standards she had to navigate as a woman in business. This episode is a powerful reminder that confidence isn’t something you wait to feel, it’s something you build through action, decision-making, and showing up for the opportunities in front of you. As the conversation deepens, Emma shares the mindsets that shaped her path, from a kid obsessed with fashion magazines to a visionary leader with a global reach. She breaks down why excellence starts with showing up fully in whatever role you’re in, how competence is the foundation of real confidence, and why chasing “passion” isn’t always the most strategic move. Jay adds powerful reflections on focus, leaning into your strengths, and accepting that you don’t need to be great at everything to succeed. This is an honest and refreshing look at what it really takes to trust yourself, take bigger swings, and grow into the person you’re meant to be. In this interview, you'll learn: How to Stop Caring What Others Think How to Build Confidence Through Competence How to Use Fear as Fuel, Not a Setback How to Become Excellent at What You’re Doing Now How to Set Your Own Standards, Not Society’s How to Start Before You Have It All Figured Out You don’t have to wait until you feel fully ready, fully confident, or fully “enough.” Start where you are, use what you have, and trust that focus, effort, and self-belief will do more for your future than fear ever will. With Love and Gratitude, Jay Shetty Join over 750,000 people to receive my most transformative wisdom directly in your inbox every single week with my free newsletter. Subscribe here. Check out our Apple subscription to unlock bonus content of On Purpose! https://lnk.to/JayShettyPodcast What We Discuss: 00:00 Intro 00:44 Why Do We Worry About Others’ Opinions? 02:12 Opportunities Lost to Comparison 04:09 The Double Standards for Women in Business 07:19 Why You Must Start With Yourself 09:57 The Three-Word Mantra for Career Growth 11:58 Visualize the Life You Want 14:27 Follow What Gives You Energy 16:47 How Competence Builds Real Confidence 18:23 What’s Actually Distracting Us From True Focus? 20:52 Build a Circle That Complements Your Strengths 24:46 Teaching Kids to Chase Their Own Dreams 28:38 Defining Your Life’s Non-Negotiables 32:25 How to Choose What Truly Matters 37:46 Owning Your Truth Creates New Opportunities 40:59 Start Small: Scale Down and Test Your Idea Episode Resources: https://www.emmagrede.me/ https://www.youtube.com/@EmmaGrede https://www.linkedin.com/in/emmagrede/ https://www.instagram.com/emmagrede/ https://www.tiktok.com/@emmagrede https://www.facebook.com/emmagrede/ https://www.goodamerican.com/en-ph/ https://www.instagram.com/jayshetty https://www.facebook.com/jayshetty/ https://x.com/jayshetty https://www.linkedin.com/in/shettyjay/ https://www.youtube.com/@JayShettyPodcast http://jayshetty.me

JSJay ShettyhostEGEmma Gredeguest

Nov 19, 2025·48m·Watch on YouTube ↗

📖 CHAPTERS

1. 1

   Live stage setup: Emma Grede joins Jay Shetty in San Francisco

   Jay opens the live event at the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium, welcoming Emma Grede and setting an energetic tone with the crowd. They frame the night around ambition, confidence, and building a life on your own terms.

2. 2

   Breaking the habit of living for others’ opinions

   Emma explains how worrying about others’ judgments shaped her teens and 20s—and how she began shifting toward meeting her own standards instead. She emphasizes deciding daily who you’re doing your best for.

3. 3

   The hidden cost of comparison: staying quiet and missing chances

   Emma recounts how believing “everyone is watching” led her to not speak up or put herself forward. As she gained experience, she realized even powerful people are often improvising, which reduced intimidation and increased her willingness to take risks.

4. 4

   Double standards for women in business—and why Emma leans in anyway

   They discuss real structural barriers and the different standards applied to men vs. women, especially around self-promotion and public criticism. Emma explains why she refuses to play the “be likable/demure” game and builds companies with women in decision-making roles.

5. 5

   Start with yourself: ambition, excellence, and making your goals known

   Emma advises early-stage builders to center decisions on what matters to them and never apologize for ambition. She argues that excellence in your current job—no matter how small—creates momentum and expands how others perceive your capability.

6. 6

   Career acceleration mantra: “I’ll do that”

   Emma shares her three-word mantra for saying yes to opportunities before you feel fully ready. Jay connects it to the idea of learning by doing and letting responsibility pull you upward.

7. 7

   Visualizing the life you want and choosing empowering self-talk

   Emma describes how visualization (what many call manifestation today) helped her aim beyond her circumstances. She emphasizes that your primary relationship is with yourself—so the story you tell yourself determines how far you’ll go.

8. 8

   Don’t chase passion—follow energy, skill, and what you can get great at

   Emma challenges the common advice to “find your passion,” arguing it can be misleading. Instead, she recommends tracking what energizes you and leaning into natural strengths; Jay adds that competence is what builds durable confidence.

9. 9

   True focus as a force multiplier (and what destroys it)

   Emma and Jay explore why focus separates high performers from dabblers, using Bruce Lee’s “one kick 10,000 times” principle. Emma argues modern culture pressures people to be everything, but success comes from going deep on a repeatable core skill.

10. 10

    Know your strengths, admit your weaknesses, and build a complementary circle

    Jay discusses tools like StrengthsFinder to identify what you uniquely do well, and how naming strengths changes decisions. Emma stresses that no one succeeds alone; you win by surrounding yourself with people who cover what you’re “horrendous” at.

11. 11

    Motherhood, work, and rewriting the guilt narrative

    Emma shares how her kids perceive her work and how she stopped apologizing for loving her career. Jay reflects on his mother’s work ethic and argues that time is not the same as love—presence and emotional safety matter more than constant availability.

12. 12

    Define your non-negotiables and stop borrowing others’ standards

    Emma explains how she clarified what truly matters to her—what she will show up for and what she won’t do (like “Instagrammable lunches”). She recommends regularly reassessing standards as life changes, then protecting personal rituals that sustain you.

13. 13

    Trade-offs, asking for help, and telling the truth about ‘balance’

    Emma rejects the myth that anyone ‘has it all’ without sacrifice, emphasizing trade-offs and extensive support systems. She argues honesty about what you give up—and comfort asking for help—liberates others from unrealistic expectations and ‘toxic positivity.’

14. 14

    Audience pitch moment: test small, iterate fast, start tomorrow

    An audience member pitches a food-industry show concept, and Emma coaches her to scale down and test the idea on accessible platforms first. Jay reinforces the message with his own story of a rejected TV pitch that led him to start the podcast.