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Lewis HowesThe Key to Abundance and Success: Lisa Nichols and Lewis Howes
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Chapter summaries
Track Days and Grandmother Bernice's Lessons
Lewis welcomes Lisa Nichols and promotes her book Abundance Now. They chat about her state-champion hurdling days, then she describes how her grandmother Bernice shaped her with lessons on humility and wisdom.
- •Lisa was a state champion who held her high school's 330 low hurdles record for 18 years
- •Her grandmother told her to file away what people write about her and remember she is a servant leader
- •Her grandmother said knowledge can be gained quickly but only time gives wisdom
- •Lisa still sits at the feet of elders and mentors for their wisdom
Broke and Broken: Rock Bottom at $11.42
Lisa describes being both financially broke and emotionally broken in 1994, relying on WIC and then running out of Pampers with $11.42 in her account. That moment led to her promise to her son that she would never be that broke again.
- •Being fiscally broke differs from being emotionally broken, and she was both
- •She went on government assistance to feed her newborn son
- •She wrapped her son Jelani in towels for two days when she couldn't afford Pampers
- •She resolved to change her "mental ZIP code" because her bank account would follow her mindset
Inherited Scarcity: Culture, Gender, and Faith
Lisa explains the scarcity mindset she absorbed growing up in South Central LA. She traces it to culture, gender expectations, and religious messages about money, and talks about giving money away and the three levels of money.
- •She didn't know abundance existed for people who looked like her
- •Women were raised to get a good job or a man with one, and men to be providers
- •Church messages like "money is the root of all evil" shaped her view of prosperity
- •She gave nearly $100,000 to redo her grandmother's house
- •Money has three levels: earn it, keep it, and grow it
The Turning Point and Defining Abundance
Lewis asks what catalyzed her shift. Lisa says it came from suffering becoming too painful, with her son's father in jail and the towel moment, and she asked how to change. She defines abundance as overflow in every area of life, distinct from wealth.
- •Her catalyst was not a glory moment but the pain of the towel and $11.42
- •Abundance is overflow, like a saucer under a cup, across relationships, health, spirituality and finances
- •Wealth is singular focus on money, while abundance is 360
- •Some of her wealthy friends are not abundant
- •She became a hunter asking what abundant people know that she doesn't
Unlearning Beliefs and Hunting for New Knowledge
Lisa explains that abundance starts with mindset, and that she had to evict limiting beliefs at a cellular level. She read Stephen Covey, attended a conference 42 times, and says success must be non-negotiable.
- •There is no hookup; lottery winners often end up in more debt
- •People are information junkies who don't implement
- •She had to divorce and evict old belief systems
- •Reading Seven Habits disrupted her thinking
- •She volunteered and cleaned up at conferences she couldn't afford, since you can't take the elevator to the top
Visualization and Cognitive Dissonance
Lewis asks about visualization versus action. Lisa describes visualization as the fertilizer for an idea, tied to emotion, and explains how it creates cognitive dissonance that pushes you toward your vision.
- •Her book includes five visualization exercises
- •Visualization works when you feel the emotion, not just see the image
- •Vishen of Mindvalley cried after a visualization she led in Bali
- •Cognitive dissonance makes the mind want to align behavior with the vision
- •She stays grateful for now while evicting behaviors that block her
Finding Your Calling and Serving Over Earning
Asked how to discover a unique calling, Lisa says purpose can be small, can evolve, and is often something effortless right in front of you. She stresses avoiding comparison, not insisting on being paid for every gift, and leading with service.
- •Purpose doesn't have to look like Mandela or Oprah, and it can change over time
- •Look at what you do effortlessly and give no credit
- •Comparison steals joy; she does a good Lisa Nichols
- •Some gifts are for free, as with Mandela, King and Gandhi
- •A friend worth $14 billion is lonely, so pursue service rather than possessions
The Four E's: Enrichment and the I See You Exercise
Lisa introduces the four E's, starting with enrichment of self, and shares her daily mirror exercise. She reveals the abusive relationship and depression diagnosis that led her to create it.
- •You only go as far as you believe you're worthy, and self-worth caps income and relationships
- •The mirror exercise uses three sentences: I'm proud that you, I forgive you for, I commit to you that
- •Do seven of each daily, celebrating, forgiving and committing to yourself before others
- •She created it after an abusive engagement, PTSD and a Prozac prescription
- •Have accountability partners who can call you out when you slip
Enchantment, Engagement, and Endowment
Lisa covers the remaining three E's: relationships, work, and money endowment. She reframes a job as an investor in your future and talks about building a living legacy.
- •Relationships determine the quality of life, and she uses a communication charter
- •Seeing your job as your investor changes your energy toward work
- •She wrote herself a check marked "Funding my dream" for three and a half years while at LA Unified
- •Everyone has a right to an endowment and legacy
- •She changed her family's trajectory through her son's experiences
Three Types of Relationships and Letting Go of Converting People
Responding to Lewis on losing friends while growing, Lisa lays out life-giving, lifetime, and purposeful relationships. She explains why she stopped trying to rescue or convert loved ones and what she learned about nurturing friendships.
- •Life-giving relationships last one day to two years and remind you to keep your fire
- •Lifetime relationships endure no matter what
- •Purposeful relationships carry most chaos and decline once the purpose is fulfilled
- •Her job is to be the light, not convert people
- •A cousin texted that she is ready for change
- •She let friendships die on the vine by neglecting to water them
Purposeful Relationships and Her Son's Lesson in Compassion
Lewis asks about her most purposeful relationships. Lisa names Denise, who taught her to trust, her abusive ex-fiancé, and her son, who prayed for a consultant who defrauded her company.
- •Denise taught her to trust instead of insisting she had it all handled
- •Her ex-fiancé showed her how much she wanted to live
- •A consultant defrauded her company of several hundred thousand dollars
- •Her 21-year-old son prayed for the man and his children
- •Her son taught her to stay in the light even when betrayed
Releasing 78 Pounds: The Emotional Jacket
After Lisa mentions a life-giving romance, Lewis asks how she navigated abundance everywhere except health. She explains the emotional weight tied to her son's father's imprisonment, her Steve Harvey Show commitment, and the simple consistent habits she used.
- •She says she released rather than lost 78 pounds over 11 and a half months
- •The weight began when her son's father went to prison and she wanted to stay unavailable
- •She committed on The Steve Harvey Show to take a weight loss journey with a woman
- •She had a long honest phone call with her son's father before starting
- •She worked out 15 minutes a day, ate smaller meals, and used bodyweight exercises, even while traveling 321 days
- •She went back lighter than promised, 57 pounds versus 45
From Welfare to Wall Street and Joinlisafree
Lisa shares light moments about her new season, then explains how she went from public assistance to taking her company public. She promotes free conferences where the book is the ticket.
- •Her company went public two years ago, and she is the only founder of a publicly held company in self-development
- •Two keys were changing mindset and joining a tribe that makes you stand on tiptoes
- •She invested over $200,000 in two free conferences
- •Accountability communities make people 80% more likely to follow through
- •The link is joinlisafree.com
Gratitude, Rituals, Three Truths, and Greatness
In the closing questions, Lisa shares what she is grateful for, her morning gratitude ritual, and her six-month relationship check-in with her son. She offers three truths for her last day and her definition of greatness.
- •She is most grateful for her newfound health and her 86-year-old grandmother
- •She names 10 free things to be grateful for before her feet hit the ground
- •Every six months she asks her son to rate their relationship and what would make it a 10
- •Her three truths: you get 1,000 do-overs, nourish the people who love you, and make your dash dance
- •Greatness is leaving people better than you found them and illuminating your light
