You’re Blocking Your Blessings Every Single Time You Do This | Lil Jon

1. 0:00 – 2:04

   Intro

   1. LJLil Jon0:00

      We can create our own realities. All the universe knows is what you put out is what you get back. If you got a mindset of negativity and always mad and angry, that's what your life is gonna be. If you wanna be happy, you gonna be happy, but you have to believe that is your reality.

   2. LHLewis Howes0:16

      He is the King of Crunk, the legendary producer behind Yeah and Turn Down for What. He's worked with Ice Cube, Eminem, the one and only Lil Jon.

   3. LJLil Jon0:26

      The key to happiness in life is acceptance. If you have acceptance, nothing can bother you, nothing can hurt you. I accept that I had to go through this to learn these lessons and move on. I could not say anything that made me happy besides doing stuff for other people, and that made me say, "I need a change."

   4. LHLewis Howes0:45

      What was the wake-up or the moment that got you to unlock this?

   5. LJLil Jon0:49

      I don't know how much time I have left. I need a change in my life. I need to go find m-

   6. LHLewis Howes0:58

      We met, I don't know, almost a decade ago-

   7. LJLil Jon0:59

      Yeah

   8. LHLewis Howes1:00

      ... through Pencils of Promise.

   9. LJLil Jon1:01

      Yep.

   10. LHLewis Howes1:01

       Through our shared love for giving back-

   11. LJLil Jon1:04

       Mm-hmm

   12. LHLewis Howes1:05

       ... for, for helping youth education around-

   13. LJLil Jon1:08

       Yep

   14. LHLewis Howes1:08

       ... the world.

   15. LJLil Jon1:09

       Yep.

   16. LHLewis Howes1:09

       Uh, for those that don't have the ability to go to school.

   17. LJLil Jon1:12

       Yep.

   18. LHLewis Howes1:12

       And we were building schools together.

   19. LJLil Jon1:14

       Yep.

   20. LHLewis Howes1:14

       And we've been a part of that community for many years.

   21. LJLil Jon1:16

       Yep.

   22. LHLewis Howes1:17

       And we've been talking about doing this show for a long time.

   23. LJLil Jon1:19

       Right.

   24. LHLewis Howes1:19

       Probably a decade.

   25. LJLil Jon1:20

       Yep.

   26. LHLewis Howes1:21

       Uh, and you were saying how you're glad we're doing it now because you've been reflecting-

   27. LJLil Jon1:25

       Mm-hmm

   28. LHLewis Howes1:25

       ... on a lot of your past, on the mistakes you've made and also the successes you had-

   29. LJLil Jon1:30

       Yep

   30. LHLewis Howes1:31

       ... and the person you are now 50 year- 54 years young.
2. 2:04 – 4:59

   Owning your mistakes

   1. LHLewis Howes2:04

      now.

   2. LJLil Jon2:04

      Mm-hmm.

   3. LHLewis Howes2:05

      So I'm curious, what were a couple of things that you feel you had to look in the mirror, see yourself in the eyes, and be honest with the most?

   4. LJLil Jon2:13

      Number one, my divorce.

   5. LHLewis Howes2:14

      Uh-huh.

   6. LJLil Jon2:15

      You know, I had to look and say I wasn't the greatest person in the marriage. I w- I didn't see that my ex was y- was r- showing me s- she was trying to t- tell me, screaming out, that she needed more love, and I didn't realize that until I was out of the relationship.

   7. LHLewis Howes2:34

      Really?

   8. LJLil Jon2:34

      And I, I, I wasn't able to give her that love either, I don't think, because I wasn't ... We were j- I think we were just on different paths. You know, sometimes that's how it is in relationships. You on different paths, and you think differently, and you move differently. And I think what the reflection in that also, I f- I came to the realization that I was ... God brought us together for, to, to birth our s- son, to have our son, and to raise our son, and I think that was the purpose of that relationship.

   9. LHLewis Howes3:04

      Yeah.

   10. LJLil Jon3:05

       You know? Uh, one of the major purposes was that. That's why we were together. And it wasn't supposed to last forever. Sometimes things don't last forever. And I was just able to see that I wasn't the greatest partner, and I could have been there for her more when she was yearning out for me.

   11. LHLewis Howes3:21

       Wow.

   12. LJLil Jon3:22

       Um, another relationship of mine was a guy that mentored me when I was early 20s. We produced together. His name is Paul Lewis. And we ... When I first started producing, me and him were producing together, and then slowly I kinda started to do stuff on my own, and I didn't end the relationship well. When he was there for me, showed me a lot about ... He was kinda like a second father to me, too.

   13. LHLewis Howes3:49

       Wow.

   14. LJLil Jon3:49

       Like, he, he showed me a lot of man things, like when we were working together, he's like, "Yo, put your money aside for your taxes," you know? I would go to his house. His wife would cook. I would sit down with him and his family and eat dinner. He would take me around with him all of the time and just sh- he just showed me a lot of things, and I didn't handle that well because I'm in the mindset of just go, go, go. I gotta make it. I can just do this myself 'cause I can do this quick, da, da, da, da, da. But it was wrong.

   15. LHLewis Howes4:20

       Mm.

   16. LJLil Jon4:20

       You know? And I ... Me and him talked, and we cried about it-

   17. LHLewis Howes4:24

       Really?

   18. LJLil Jon4:24

       ... you know, because that was the '90s.

   19. LHLewis Howes4:27

       Wow.

   20. LJLil Jon4:28

       You know? And I had all this success, but it didn't sit right with me for a while, and it was finally time for me to just be able to come to him and just say, "Hey, you know, I didn't handle that situation well. I appreciate you. I love you."

   21. LHLewis Howes4:44

       Really?

   22. LJLil Jon4:44

       "Thank you."

   23. LHLewis Howes4:45

       Wow. So you-

   24. LJLil Jon4:46

       Uh

   25. LHLewis Howes4:46

       ... you ... That was 25 years later after this-

   26. LJLil Jon4:49

       Yeah

   27. LHLewis Howes4:49

       ... kinda ended. You, you reapproached him. You reached out to him.

   28. LJLil Jon4:52

       Yeah.

   29. LHLewis Howes4:53

       You had that conversation and-

   30. LJLil Jon4:54

       Yeah
3. 4:59 – 8:02

   Making peace 25 years later

   1. LHLewis Howes4:59

      25 years later?

   2. LJLil Jon5:00

      It felt good. It felt really good because it put me at ease, you know? One thing that happened to me when my mother passed away, at her funeral a young lady spoke and said her and my mom had an argument, and she was never able to make up with my mom. So that's something that's sat in my brain since that day, and even with any relationship I'm in with someone close, I don't like to end the night with it in a bad place.

   3. LHLewis Howes5:32

      Mm.

   4. LJLil Jon5:32

      I try my best to come to some kind of mutual understanding and, and, and s- smooth it out-

   5. LHLewis Howes5:41

      Wow

   6. LJLil Jon5:41

      ... because of that situation. So with Paul, it just had been lingering with me and not sitting right for a long time, and I just was like, "I need to make that right." You know, as I, as you spiritually become more elevated, you realize things that are lingering, bad energies. You wanna get rid of all of the bad energies because that blocks your blessings.

   7. LHLewis Howes6:02

      Mm.

   8. LJLil Jon6:03

      Um, and it blocks- Yeah, it blocks your blessings and blo- it blocks new things from coming in, good things from coming in if you got lingering bad energy. I don't like any kind of lingering bad energy. I don't like that around me. I'm, you know, whoever's around and they got issues with somebody, and I'm like, "Yo, go handle that. Go squash that," because that's gonna block your blessings. So we had a conversation, and I felt, I felt just, just so at ease, and he did as well. I think he needed that closure as well.

   9. LHLewis Howes6:34

      Mm-hmm.

   10. LJLil Jon6:35

       And also for us to just rekindle our friendship because we had such a great friendship.

   11. LHLewis Howes6:38

       Wow.

   12. LJLil Jon6:39

       Um, and then just my son and myself talking through the last four years, he came to me one day and was like, "I wanna have a better relationship with you." So that was a man of him. He, he was man enough to come to me and say, "Hey, I wanna repair some things." And I was like, "100%." And we had conversations, and I got him to understand, like, hey, I was a first-time dad.

   13. LHLewis Howes7:06

       Mm.

   14. LJLil Jon7:06

       I didn't know what the hell I was doing either.

   15. LHLewis Howes7:08

       And how old were you when-

   16. LJLil Jon7:09

       I was 20s.

   17. LHLewis Howes7:10

       Yeah.

   18. LJLil Jon7:10

       That was, yeah, '98, when he was born.

   19. LHLewis Howes7:12

       First-time dad. You also were starting to get a lot of success and fame-

   20. LJLil Jon7:15

       Figuring it out

   21. LHLewis Howes7:15

       ... and money-

   22. LJLil Jon7:16

       Yes

   23. LHLewis Howes7:16

       ... and traveling and touring.

   24. LJLil Jon7:17

       Yes.

   25. LHLewis Howes7:18

       Yeah.

   26. LJLil Jon7:18

       I was like, I was just trying to ... I said, I, "I did the best that I could," you know, for what ... I thought I was doing my best, you know? And I said, "I'm sorry if some of that wasn't good enough." And we, w- we came to the understanding on both sides sometimes it's communication, sometimes it's expectations are too high. But we started to do more things together, talk more. And, you know, I also realized some things I could have done better-

   27. LHLewis Howes7:50

       Mm

   28. LJLil Jon7:50

       ... 100% as a father, but I was doing the best that I could. I thought I was doing a great job. But we have to sometimes own up to sometimes we, we ain't doing the best

4. 8:02 – 10:39

   The last conversation with his son

   1. LJLil Jon8:02

      job, you know?

   2. LHLewis Howes8:03

      Yeah.

   3. LJLil Jon8:03

      And that's with a lot of things that, you know, I started to realize. But those are three instances where I was able-

   4. LHLewis Howes8:10

      Wow

   5. LJLil Jon8:10

      ... to just say, "Own it."

   6. LHLewis Howes8:12

      Wow.

   7. LJLil Jon8:13

      You know? Even, I will even say my, me and my son's last conversation. The Saturday before he passed, we had a conversation on the phone, and it got a little, not, I wouldn't say ... We didn't argue, but we kinda got a little contentious in the sense of I was just being a, a father. Like, "Hey, I sent you these supplements. Make sure you take-"

   8. LHLewis Howes8:33

      Make sure you take this. Yeah, yeah.

   9. LJLil Jon8:34

      Yeah, "Make sure you do it." And I didn't realize in that conversation until I ... So that Monday, I talked to my therapist, and she explained to me, she just made me look at it from a different perspective. And all he wanted to, to ... He w- All he, he wanted to come across was that he was trying.

   10. LHLewis Howes8:54

       Mm.

   11. LJLil Jon8:54

       He wanted to be seen and heard for his efforts.

   12. LHLewis Howes8:56

       Yes.

   13. LJLil Jon8:56

       And I didn't see that 'cause I'm just being the, the parent.

   14. LHLewis Howes9:00

       Yeah. Yes.

   15. LJLil Jon9:00

       Like, "I don't wanna hear that. You supposed to take this so you can get better or whatever."

   16. LHLewis Howes9:05

       Yeah.

   17. LJLil Jon9:05

       And we had a conversation, and the first thing I said to him was, "I'm sorry." I called him on the phone after my therapist, about after my session, and I said, "I'm sorry. I hear you, and I see you."

   18. LHLewis Howes9:18

       Wow.

   19. LJLil Jon9:19

       So-

   20. LHLewis Howes9:19

       This was a few days before he passed, passed.

   21. LJLil Jon9:21

       That was the, the next day, he was gone.

   22. LHLewis Howes9:23

       Really?

   23. LJLil Jon9:24

       So he was gone the next morning.

   24. LHLewis Howes9:27

       Holy cow.

   25. LJLil Jon9:28

       So that was the last conversation we had, and he was on a cloud from that conversation. Because his best friend told me later, like, 'cause he had came in town that night to stay with my son, and he said that my son, the first thing he said to him when he walked in the door was, "Man, guess what happened? You'll never believe this. My dad apologized to me." So owning up to my-

   26. LHLewis Howes9:52

       Wow

   27. LJLil Jon9:52

       ... faults and issues, that, that's right there at a pinnacle, a peak of how I've changed so much as a person.

   28. LHLewis Howes10:01

       Wow.

   29. LJLil Jon10:01

       And I've been able ... I, I don't have a problem with saying that I'm wrong. I have no problem with that.

   30. LHLewis Howes10:07

       Did you ever have a problem with that in the past?
5. 10:39 – 13:15

   The wake-up call at 50

   1. LJLil Jon10:39

      growth.

   2. LHLewis Howes10:40

      Was there a wake-up call for you, like, that was, that said, "I need to go on a spiritual journey. I need to start blocking bad energy so I can create blessings for myself"? Like, what was the wake-up or the moment that got you to unlock this?

   3. LJLil Jon10:52

      Turning 50.

   4. LHLewis Howes10:53

      Uh-huh. So four years ago. Yeah.

   5. LJLil Jon10:55

      Turning 50, one day I asked myself, "What makes you happy?" I could not say anything that made me happy besides doing stuff for other people.

   6. LHLewis Howes11:07

      Really?

   7. LJLil Jon11:07

      I couldn't say anything that was for me, that made me happy. And that made me say, "I need a change."

   8. LHLewis Howes11:15

      Mm.

   9. LJLil Jon11:16

      I don't know how much time I have left. I need a change in my life. I need to go find my happiness. And that was the spark that year of things starting to change, 'cause then I, maybe a month later, went to my wife at the time and said, "I want a divorce."

   10. LHLewis Howes11:34

       You said that to her?

   11. LJLil Jon11:35

       Yeah, because I, I realized we were on different planets. We were in totally different sides of the universe. I'm an optimist. She's a pet- pessimist.

   12. LHLewis Howes11:46

       Mm-hmm.

   13. LJLil Jon11:46

       That's the number one thing that hit me like a ton of bricks. This never gonna work, 'cause we never gonna see eye to eye because I'm an extreme optimist-

   14. LHLewis Howes11:54

       Yeah, yeah

   15. LJLil Jon11:54

       ... and she's an extreme pessimist. We'd never ... No amount of therapy in this world is gonna make it where we can see, be on the same page, because that's the way she is-

   16. LHLewis Howes12:04

       Mm-hmm

   17. LJLil Jon12:04

       ... and this is the way I am. And so that started to happen, and then- In going through the divorce process, I started to be angry. 'Cause I-

   18. LHLewis Howes12:16

       At her, at yourself-

   19. LJLil Jon12:17

       Just-

   20. LHLewis Howes12:17

       ... at life?

   21. LJLil Jon12:18

       I think the, just everything because I was just like, I was just thinking about myself though. I realized that. I wanted it to move faster. I'm like, "Why can't we just..."

   22. LHLewis Howes12:30

       Mm.

   23. LJLil Jon12:30

       I'm a businessman, so you know-

   24. LHLewis Howes12:31

       Be done.

   25. LJLil Jon12:31

       Like, yeah, let's... Yeah, exactly.

   26. LHLewis Howes12:33

       Yeah. Why we gotta talk about that for six months-

   27. LJLil Jon12:35

       Yeah

   28. LHLewis Howes12:35

       ... and deal with this? Like-

   29. LJLil Jon12:35

       Why we got... Yes, but I had to understand she's dealing with a lot of emotional-

   30. LHLewis Howes12:42

       Mm
6. 13:15 – 16:01

   The affirmations that changed him

   1. LJLil Jon13:15

      angry and mad. And so what I started to do was, like, I was like, "Nothing is gonna, good is gonna come out of me being like this and thinking like this, and I don't like the way this, this feels." So I started to kinda, every day I would say affirmations.

   2. LHLewis Howes13:30

      Mm.

   3. LJLil Jon13:31

      Every day throughout the day. So I had a copper pyramid on my, my deck, on my patio, and I would get me some ginger tea and go sit in my copper pyramid every day and just say affirmations. The m- the, the main affirmations I would say is, "I am happy. I am healthy. I am at peace." And I would say that every day in that pyramid and just throughout the day. I would just take time and meditate and just say it. Because I believe if you change your mindset, then you change your world around you.

   4. LHLewis Howes14:07

      Mm.

   5. LJLil Jon14:08

      So if the world around me, I'm getting mad and I'm like always just like, "Ah", then that's what's gonna keep coming. It's gonna be turmoil-

   6. LHLewis Howes14:16

      Yeah

   7. LJLil Jon14:16

      ... and chaos and negativity. But if I change it to positivity, then I don't have to see it in that way, and I can grow. I can continue to grow and, and fly. So-

   8. LHLewis Howes14:29

      So that affirmation was the first thing that... So before you said, "I wanna go figure out what makes me happy", 'cause you didn't know what made you happy.

   9. LJLil Jon14:36

      Right.

   10. LHLewis Howes14:36

       Except for giving to others.

   11. LJLil Jon14:38

       Right.

   12. LHLewis Howes14:39

       But then you started doing... You were angry from the divorce.

   13. LJLil Jon14:43

       Mm-hmm.

   14. LHLewis Howes14:43

       You said, "I'm gonna go do affirmations daily." You said, "I am happy, I am healthy and at peace."

   15. LJLil Jon14:48

       Mm-hmm.

   16. LHLewis Howes14:48

       How many days, weeks or months did it take for you to embody that affirmation and not just say it?

   17. LJLil Jon14:54

       Right away.

   18. LHLewis Howes14:55

       Really?

   19. LJLil Jon14:56

       I'm that type. If I, I'm the type if I wanna do something, I'm gonna do it. Like, I remember the first time I started trying to get healthy, and my trainer was like, "You can't eat bread. You can't have rice. You can't have sweets." I quit cold turkey immediately and was able to not... I was fine. Because I'm, I'm, like, really a strong mental, you know, I have a strong mental ability to just focus.

   20. LHLewis Howes15:23

       Once you decide, you do it.

   21. LJLil Jon15:25

       I do.

   22. LHLewis Howes15:25

       You don't go back-

   23. LJLil Jon15:26

       Nah

   24. LHLewis Howes15:27

       ... if you've decided. You're not like, "It's too hard. I need to go have some c- candy or something."

   25. LJLil Jon15:31

       Yeah. We, I go shopping, I go get what I want and leave.

   26. LHLewis Howes15:33

       [laughs]

   27. LJLil Jon15:34

       I'm not indecisive. You know how women are like-

   28. LHLewis Howes15:37

       Oh, yeah

   29. LJLil Jon15:37

       ... "Um, should I go get, ah, should I go back and get that top?"

   30. LHLewis Howes15:42

       Yeah, yeah.
7. 16:01 – 17:32

   Manifesting & finding meditation

   1. LJLil Jon16:01

      and then it's gonna block it.

   2. LHLewis Howes16:02

      Interesting.

   3. LJLil Jon16:02

      So you have to totally believe whatever you're trying to manifest, and I believed I was gonna find happiness, I was gonna be healthy, and I was gonna be at peace. And later on, that started to be what happened. But in starting to, to say those affirmations, around that same time a good friend of mine, Doug Davis, introduced me to a guy named Kabir Sehgal, who was into meditation space. So I had been kinda wanting to do some, like I had l- listened to, like, a lot of, uh, binaural beats. I was listening to binaural beats to sleep-

   4. LHLewis Howes16:38

      Wow

   5. LJLil Jon16:38

      ... and to relax. And ocean-

   6. LHLewis Howes16:40

      What's that frequency, three four seven frequency or something like that or-

   7. LJLil Jon16:43

      Yeah, all of that.

   8. LHLewis Howes16:43

      Yeah, yeah.

   9. LJLil Jon16:44

      And then I was listening to ocean waves-

   10. LHLewis Howes16:46

       Wow

   11. LJLil Jon16:46

       ... and all that. So I was kinda wanting to do some stuff like that to also, like, put that stuff out. And so then when me and Kabir met-

   12. LHLewis Howes16:53

       For you to make it.

   13. LJLil Jon16:54

       Yeah.

   14. LHLewis Howes16:54

       For you to make that stuff.

   15. LJLil Jon16:54

       To make it.

   16. LHLewis Howes16:55

       Ah, interesting.

   17. LJLil Jon16:56

       When me and Kabir met, we started to talk about meditations, and I told him I was doing these, you know, saying these affirmations. I would meditate every day. And then we decided to record the meditation album that I ended up releasing. Now, the first one we put out was Total Meditation, but that's how I got into the meditation space, because I didn't like my mindset.

   18. LHLewis Howes17:20

       Mm.

   19. LJLil Jon17:21

       And I started to embark on meditation, and then I met someone in the space, and we were able to now-

   20. LHLewis Howes17:27

       Collaborate

   21. LJLil Jon17:28

       ... collaborate and then share that with the world and inspire people to meditate

8. 17:32 – 20:31

   Success without happiness

   1. LJLil Jon17:32

      that never meditated.

   2. LHLewis Howes17:33

      Wow. Now, but you were manifesting in a lot of ways for the last 25 years what seems like to many on the outside looking in everything you wanted. You were mani- you were producing records and albums and number one hit songs and tours, and you had all the success, money and fame.

   3. LJLil Jon17:51

      Yeah.

   4. LHLewis Howes17:51

      So you were manifesting that, but you weren't able to manifest happiness. Is that right?

   5. LJLil Jon17:56

      I guess so. Yeah.

   6. LHLewis Howes17:57

      'Cause that didn't make you happy?

   7. LJLil Jon17:59

      That's, that makes you happy, but that's, it's not complete.

   8. LHLewis Howes18:03

      Mm.

   9. LJLil Jon18:04

      That's only one side of the coin. You know, that's the public and the money, but at home it's turbulent It's not, it's not a happy home. Um, I felt, you know, I was walking on eggshells a lot.

   10. LHLewis Howes18:16

       Really?

   11. LJLil Jon18:17

       You know? So and then we don't think the same, so there's always gonna be some head butting. So it wasn't, that wasn't where I was supposed to stay for the rest of my life. And I thought about it. I don't wanna be in a turbulent relationship for the rest of my life. I don't. I feel like it's more to life for me.

   12. LHLewis Howes18:37

       Yes.

   13. LJLil Jon18:37

       I felt. And that was, you know, I didn't plan on that day saying, "Hey, I want a divorce." It just came out. It-

   14. LHLewis Howes18:47

       You weren't thinking about this or internalizing it or saying, "I'm gonna say this one day." It just came out.

   15. LJLil Jon18:51

       Nope, I wasn't planning. You know how people planning on how-

   16. LHLewis Howes18:54

       Uh-huh

   17. LJLil Jon18:54

       ... next week I'm gonna do this.

   18. LHLewis Howes18:56

       Yeah.

   19. LJLil Jon18:56

       We were having, we were... I remember we were, like, in my sun- our sunroom, and we were having a conversation, and it just came out. And I'm, I'm a spiritual person in a sense of also, like, I don't move unless my spirit tells me to move a certain way.

   20. LHLewis Howes19:13

       Mm.

   21. LJLil Jon19:13

       I don't, like, go do something if it doesn't feel right.

   22. LHLewis Howes19:17

       Right.

   23. LJLil Jon19:17

       So I go with the... I've learned, I learned to listen to my spirit and let that guide me. So at that moment, my spirit was telling me, "Let it out. Say your truth."

   24. LHLewis Howes19:28

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9. 20:31 – 22:52

   Manifesting what you've never had

   1. LHLewis Howes20:31

      There's something you said just before about manifesting. You said something like, if you don't fully believe it, that it's possible or it's gonna happen, then it's, it's gonna be a cancer if you have some doubt. I think you said something like that.

   2. LJLil Jon20:43

      Yeah. You can't have doubt when you're manifesting.

   3. LHLewis Howes20:46

      But how do you believe you can manifest something if you've never had it before?

   4. LJLil Jon20:51

      You just have to know and trust. I'm gonna give you an example. Jermaine Dupri, I was working in his label in the '90s, and I was producing a little bit. He's working with Usher. He produces Usher's big song at the time, You Make Me Wanna. He gives me an opportunity to do a remix.

   5. LHLewis Howes21:12

      Mm.

   6. LJLil Jon21:13

      It's no way in my mind I'm thinking I'm ever going to have a chance to produce Usher, yet alone give him his biggest song of his entire life. So think about that. It's no way even if you were back then at that time, you're never gonna be like, "Yeah, Lil, yeah, nah." So it's something that is impossible.

   7. LHLewis Howes21:38

      You didn't believe that. You didn't believe that then.

   8. LJLil Jon21:39

      No. But I didn't even think it was on my radar.

   9. LHLewis Howes21:42

      Right.

   10. LJLil Jon21:43

       That's an impossibility for me to ever give Usher the biggest song of his life, but it happened. So if it's some things that you believe, it's some things that you're trying to manifest and you think it can't happen, then you, that's doubt.

   11. LHLewis Howes22:01

       Right.

   12. LJLil Jon22:01

       But it can. And I'm a, I'm right here showing you that things, impossibilities can happen.

   13. LHLewis Howes22:07

       Why do you think that did happen even though you thought that was not even on your radar?

   14. LJLil Jon22:12

       That's the universe. That's, that was my plan. That's what God had ordained for me to happen. Like, I was born southwest Atlanta. I'm a shy kid, you know. And never I would, I thought I would grow up to be one of the, a rapper that's known around the world by the way he looks. You know, like-

   15. LHLewis Howes22:36

       Or by shouting also.

   16. LJLil Jon22:37

       Yeah.

   17. LHLewis Howes22:38

       Yeah. [laughs]

   18. LJLil Jon22:38

       Like, yeah, no. Yeah.

   19. LHLewis Howes22:39

       You were shy, and now you're shouting. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

   20. LJLil Jon22:41

       Right. Exactly. Even more. Yeah.

   21. LHLewis Howes22:43

       Yeah, yeah.

   22. LJLil Jon22:43

       So, like, it's things that are im- so many impossibilities that happened in my life, and that's all in the book. Like, all of these things are impossibilities,

10. 22:52 – 24:53

    Proving the doubters wrong

    1. LJLil Jon22:52

       but they can happen.

    2. LHLewis Howes22:54

       That's fascinating. Did you feel like early on in your career then, when these things weren't even on your radar, were you thinking about manifesting at that point?

    3. LJLil Jon23:02

       No.

    4. LHLewis Howes23:02

       Or were you just thinking about how do I make money and how do I get the next opportunity? You were DJing-

    5. LJLil Jon23:06

       It was-

    6. LHLewis Howes23:06

       ... in the nightclubs in, in Atlanta, I think in high school.

    7. LJLil Jon23:08

       Yeah.

    8. LHLewis Howes23:09

       Were you just thinking about making more money essentially, or what?

    9. LJLil Jon23:11

       It was opportunities.

    10. LHLewis Howes23:11

        Yeah.

    11. LJLil Jon23:12

        Every time a opportunity, I, I look at, I've always looked at things like this. If an opportunity is presented to me, I'm gonna seize it.

    12. LHLewis Howes23:19

        Mm.

    13. LJLil Jon23:21

        Like, I'm a, I'm a hard worker, and I'm gonna, like, when somebody else is slacking, I'm gonna do whatever it takes. And then also I've always been, obstacles have been put in my way. Since I was a little kid, I, you know, I had a eye injury when I was a kid, and I think that made me have to work hard because I had this eye injury. And I'm just a little, little kid, and I gotta do all these eye exercises, and I have to go to the eye doctor all the time. And I have all these surgeries.

    14. LHLewis Howes23:50

        Wow.

    15. LJLil Jon23:50

        And I'm picked on. So I had to work hard, harder than the other kids because I'm different. And then I'm picked on 'cause I'm, I got a eye patch on, and then, or my eye is drifting. And so I used people's doubting me and people whatever as fuel to Achieve and to show them that, you know, you're wrong about me

    16. LHLewis Howes24:16

        Interesting

    17. LJLil Jon24:17

        So I've always used that. Like, early in my career, the first song I produced, I remember taking it to a radio station, uh, the song that I did with, uh, Lil Jon and East Side Boyz called Who You Wit? And I remember taking it to the hot DJ at the time, who I knew personally. His name was Greg Street, and he's still the homie now. And I remember he laughed at me, but in my mind, "I'm gonna prove you wrong."

    18. LHLewis Howes24:41

        Mm.

    19. LJLil Jon24:41

        So the record got hot in the streets, in the clubs, and so on and so forth, and it became a hit. But whenever an obstacle was put in my way, I didn't give up. I always figured out how to go over it-

    20. LHLewis Howes24:52

        Yeah

11. 24:53 – 26:06

    Where his work ethic comes from

    1. LJLil Jon24:53

       ... under it, around it, or through it.

    2. LHLewis Howes24:55

       How did you come up with that mindset? Who gave you that mindset?

    3. LJLil Jon24:57

       I don't... I think it's f- I think it's my mom. I really think it's my mom. My mom is one of 18.

    4. LHLewis Howes25:04

       Wow.

    5. LJLil Jon25:05

       She had, uh, 15 brothers, and there was two girl- three girls total. So she, my aunt, I say this, talk about this in the book, my aunt told me my mom was the first one to give her a doll. She had never had a doll before my mother gave her a doll. 'Cause my mother, um, she became a nurse, and she moved... They were from a small town called LaGrange, Georgia. And so she was the one that got out of the small town, came to the big city, and, and hustled and made it, and did her thing, you know, being in the medical profession, nursing. Um, and my mother was just, she was always a hard worker, and in my household, she was the leader of the household, so she kept things together. So I think I learned it from her without even... You know, you pick up things from your parents-

    6. LHLewis Howes25:53

       Sure

    7. LJLil Jon25:54

       ... without even realizing you do.

    8. LHLewis Howes25:55

       Yeah.

    9. LJLil Jon25:55

       But I think that work ethic come from my mom.

    10. LHLewis Howes25:58

        Was there ever a time you doubted yourself, either before you started to take off in the global stage, during it, or now

12. 26:06 – 29:03

    Burnout & falling back in love with music

    1. LHLewis Howes26:06

       at this season of your life?

    2. LJLil Jon26:08

       I think when you... I, I've had a moment in the 2000s, the late 2000s, I was burnt out. 'Cause-

    3. LHLewis Howes26:15

       You were having hit after hit after hit.

    4. LJLil Jon26:17

       Yeah

    5. LHLewis Howes26:17

       Traveling and-

    6. LJLil Jon26:18

       And, and at one point, the creativity was gone.

    7. LHLewis Howes26:22

       Really?

    8. LJLil Jon26:23

       I couldn't... Everything I was making, I didn't like. It wasn't, the magic was gone.

    9. LHLewis Howes26:27

       Really?

    10. LJLil Jon26:27

        I think I had given so much of myself out without a break that I, I, I had given it all out. And so I kinda just stopped trying to make... Well, I kept trying to make music, but it was, I slowed down on it. And one thing that happened was Reggie Bush invited me to the first game at the Superdome after Katrina. So-

    11. LHLewis Howes26:52

        'Cause he was playing with the Saints for many years.

    12. LJLil Jon26:54

        Yes.

    13. LHLewis Howes26:54

        Oh, yeah, yeah.

    14. LJLil Jon26:54

        He was with the Saints.

    15. LHLewis Howes26:55

        USC guy to the Saints.

    16. LJLil Jon26:56

        Yes. USC. [laughs] So that night he had a party, and there was a DJ rocking the party, and it just really made me fall in love with music again. I was like, "Wow, he is killing it." Like, it's inspiring. Like, I kinda, "Maybe I should start DJing again."

    17. LHLewis Howes27:13

        Interesting.

    18. LJLil Jon27:13

        And then, so the next day I'm in the airport, and then this white kid comes up to me, and he's like, "Yo, what's up?" I'm like, "What's up?" And he's like, "It's me, the DJ from last night."

    19. LHLewis Howes27:22

        No way.

    20. LJLil Jon27:23

        And shout out to my m- my man DJ Spider. His name was DJ Spider. And so we linked up. I think that was God putting him in my path again to make sure that I called him and connected. 'Cause I got his number to connect-

    21. LHLewis Howes27:35

        Wow

    22. LJLil Jon27:35

        ... but then I see him in the airport, and that's-

    23. LHLewis Howes27:37

        That was a synchronicity that was too strong for you

    24. LJLil Jon27:38

        Yes.

    25. LHLewis Howes27:39

        Yeah.

    26. LJLil Jon27:39

        I, I, I believe in all of that too. Like, stuff does not just happen just randomly. It's a reason. You know, the universe is putting people in your alignment and so on and so forth.

    27. LHLewis Howes27:51

        Yeah.

    28. LJLil Jon27:51

        So-

    29. LHLewis Howes27:51

        You gotta, you gotta be willing to see the signs.

    30. LJLil Jon27:53

        Yeah. You gotta open your eyes.
13. 29:03 – 30:59

    When creativity flows

    1. LJLil Jon29:03

       You know, have fun in music again.

    2. LHLewis Howes29:05

       When do you feel like you've been the most magical in your creativity and artistry? At what season of life?

    3. LJLil Jon29:14

       The 2000s.

    4. LHLewis Howes29:15

       Really?

    5. LJLil Jon29:15

       'Cause everything was just flowing. Everything-

    6. LHLewis Howes29:18

       What does that, what does that feel like when something is, is something coming through you? Is it, is it you just see something and then you start connecting dots, and then it's just, "I know this is gonna be a hit"? Like, how does that even come to you?

    7. LJLil Jon29:29

       Well, I always say that it's God.

    8. LHLewis Howes29:33

       Mm.

    9. LJLil Jon29:33

       'Cause we go in the studio, we don't know what we wanna do sometimes. And then all of a sudden out of nowhere, you get a million-dollar idea [laughs] in your head. You know, or a million-dollar lyric or a million-dollar whatever, catch line or whatever. I think it's God giving it to us. Um, so I learned to, like we were just talking about, listen. I learned to open my eyes and listen and just let the vibes flow.

    10. LHLewis Howes29:56

        Mm.

    11. LJLil Jon29:56

        Let everything flow, and that's how you can figure, you feel it. And yeah, when, when the vibe is flowing the right way, and sometimes when you lay all of the tracks down and you listen. Like, for ex- example, Turn Down for What. I remember DJ Snake sent me the beat. It had a sample in it of Redman, and I was like, "Nah, this beat is too dope. I'm not..." He wanted me to just say over the Redman line. I was like, "Nah, I'm not gonna do that. Send me the instrumental." And so I go in the booth, put on the headphones, and the first thing that comes in my head is, "Turn Down for What." And soon as I said, I'm like, "Oh, sh- that is crazy. That's out of here." I knew as soon as I said the word, the phrase, that that was it.

    12. LHLewis Howes30:43

        That's it. That's the song.

    13. LJLil Jon30:44

        Yeah. I knew that that was... No, I knew, not just the song, I said, "This is a smash." I knew immediately, 'cause I did it on the drop. You know what I mean?

    14. LHLewis Howes30:53

        Wow.

    15. LJLil Jon30:53

        So I knew it was, I knew it was special. So sometimes we feel it, we know,

14. 30:59 – 32:29

    Why great songs flop

    1. LJLil Jon30:59

       and sometimes we don't know.

    2. LHLewis Howes31:01

       Was there ever a time where you thought in your mind, "This is a hit," and then it was actually l- like, just such a failure?

    3. LJLil Jon31:09

       A million times. [laughs]

    4. LHLewis Howes31:10

       Really?

    5. LJLil Jon31:11

       Yeah. Uh, I'll, I'm sure a lot of producers will tell you the same thing.

    6. LHLewis Howes31:14

       Like, "This is the number one song."

    7. LJLil Jon31:16

       Yeah.

    8. LHLewis Howes31:16

       "This is the hit of the summer."

    9. LJLil Jon31:17

       Yeah.

    10. LHLewis Howes31:17

        "This is the one." And then waah.

    11. LJLil Jon31:20

        Yeah.

    12. LHLewis Howes31:20

        Click.

    13. LJLil Jon31:20

        'Cause timing, timing is everything.

    14. LHLewis Howes31:22

        Interesting.

    15. LJLil Jon31:23

        When it's released, how it's released, uh, what the sentiment of the world is. It could be a numerous amount of things, but sometimes it's just the timing ain't, the dots don't connect. They, it doesn't line up. And, um, yeah, records don't always work. Um, to, to elaborate more on that, I did an album called Crunk Rock. After I left TVT Records, I went to Universal and I recorded this album. I, I put together a great album. The album flopped, dud. Not one song did anything. And a lot of people give up.

    16. LHLewis Howes31:58

        Mm.

    17. LJLil Jon31:58

        I could've given up, 'cause I'm, this is the 2010s. This is like 2012, 2013.

    18. LHLewis Howes32:04

        You're like, "Am I washed up? Am I..."

    19. LJLil Jon32:05

        Yeah.

    20. LHLewis Howes32:05

        "They don't like my stuff anymore."

    21. LJLil Jon32:06

        I need to just stick to DJing.

    22. LHLewis Howes32:08

        "They're not into the sauce."

    23. LJLil Jon32:08

        You know, I need to just DJ for-

    24. LHLewis Howes32:10

        Wow

    25. LJLil Jon32:10

        ... I could've said that, but I kept producing music. I kept working on music. The next thing I did was Turn Down for What.

    26. LHLewis Howes32:18

        Shut up.

    27. LJLil Jon32:18

        The biggest song-

    28. LHLewis Howes32:20

        Really?

    29. LJLil Jon32:21

        ... besides Yeah, that's the top two records of my life.

    30. LHLewis Howes32:24

        What, what year was Turn Down for What?
15. 32:29 – 36:17

    Riding the ups & downs of fame

    1. LHLewis Howes32:29

       Shut up.

    2. LJLil Jon32:30

       Is Turn Down for What.

    3. LHLewis Howes32:31

       How do you or other artists that you see navigate this 10, 20, 30-year career that has such a journey for so many of you? You know, you're starting out, you're not... You're, you're first the up-and-coming guy from Atlanta doing the DJ scene.

    4. LJLil Jon32:48

       Yeah.

    5. LHLewis Howes32:48

       But you're not big yet, and you're trying to get an opportunity, right?

    6. LJLil Jon32:52

       Yeah.

    7. LHLewis Howes32:52

       And you get a few opportunities, you get a hit, and now you're crushing for a decade.

    8. LJLil Jon32:58

       Right.

    9. LHLewis Howes32:58

       But then maybe you're not crushing it as much as the next guy who's-

    10. LJLil Jon33:02

        Right

    11. LHLewis Howes33:02

        ... up and coming. But maybe you co-signed them early on, and now maybe they're a little bigger than you, or they're the moment-

    12. LJLil Jon33:07

        Right

    13. LHLewis Howes33:07

        ... this year or two, or they're having a big run, and you're not getting that much attention anymore, but then you come back on top and they fall down.

    14. LJLil Jon33:14

        Mm-hmm.

    15. LHLewis Howes33:14

        How do you navigate the ups and downs of the industry of not being the guy, being the guy? Someone else that you know that maybe you liked or didn't like, now they're the guy for a while.

    16. LJLil Jon33:24

        Right.

    17. LHLewis Howes33:25

        And you're not. Like, how do you navigate all that?

    18. LJLil Jon33:27

        I think it's hard for m- anybody in any kind of entertainment because you are, when you be- you work hard and you get to that pinnacle of success, and then you start to come down, some people can't take it, not being at the top, and it destroys them and they never recover. But someone like myself, like, I just always look in the positive.

    19. LHLewis Howes33:51

        Really?

    20. LJLil Jon33:51

        I look at the positive from anything, and I know I have talent. I know I have the talent. God gave me talent and I'm supposed to keep using it. Like, and a prime example of what you're talking about is Pitbull is a monster star. He didn't have to take me out on tour with him, but he reached back and pulled me out, you know, pulled me back out with him. And what's crazy is when we booked the tour, the song wasn't hot yet. The song blew up getting ready for the tour, so by the time we get out on tour-

    21. LHLewis Howes34:22

        Good timing

    22. LJLil Jon34:22

        ... the song is boom. So 25 years of friendship.

    23. LHLewis Howes34:27

        Wow.

    24. LJLil Jon34:27

        And we got a hit song together. How, that doesn't happen often, you know?

    25. LHLewis Howes34:32

        That's crazy.

    26. LJLil Jon34:32

        That's, that's a rarity for something like that to happen.

    27. LHLewis Howes34:36

        Now, you're saying he didn't have to do that. Do you also feel like, you know, you've been friends for a long time, you also co-signed him early on when you were having more success, that you feel like maybe he should bring you on, something like that, or people should bring you back, whether it's you or anyone else, because you were there for them for so long also?

    28. LJLil Jon34:54

        It's just everybody just doesn't do that.

    29. LHLewis Howes34:56

        Yeah.

    30. LJLil Jon34:57

        Everybody doesn't ... Every, it's just like when I said I apologized to my, my friend Paul Lewis. You know, I had to own that he taught me a lot.
16. 36:17 – 39:18

    What people get wrong about manifestation

    1. LJLil Jon36:17

       every blessing that comes my way, I give gratitude for.

    2. LHLewis Howes36:19

       Mm. What do you think most people get wrong about manifestation?

    3. LJLil Jon36:24

       I think they get wrong that they can just say it and it can happen, you know. And I think they also get wrong they, they, they might say, "I wanna be president." Like, it has to be [laughs] you know, in a certain... If you're... Everybody can't be president, you know. You can manifest a lot of things, but you have to be realistic about your manifest- manifesting goals. You can't be like, "I wanna go to Saturn," [laughs] you know?

    4. LHLewis Howes36:52

       Sure, sure, sure, sure.

    5. LJLil Jon36:52

       And they like, "Bro, come on." Like, let's work on some things that are, you can see, you know, they're more tangible. Um, but the, I think they think they can just say it and that it'll happen, but you can't say it like we were talking about earlier and have any doubt. You can't have doubt. You can't, you can't say it and be like, "That ain't, this ain't gonna work."

    6. LHLewis Howes37:13

       Mm.

    7. LJLil Jon37:13

       "This is not gonna work. Um, da, da, da, da, da." It's not gonna happen 'cause you don't really believe it.

    8. LHLewis Howes37:20

       Mm-hmm.

    9. LJLil Jon37:21

       You, we can create our own realities. If you wanna be happy, you gonna be happy. If you got a mindset of negativity and always mad and angry, that's what your life is gonna be. But you can create your own reality, but you have to believe that is your reality.

    10. LHLewis Howes37:40

        Mm.

    11. LJLil Jon37:41

        And I think most people get that wrong, so wrong. They always saying what they want. They always saying, "Why is this happening to me?" Instead of saying, "Here's what is going to happen to me in a positive way."

    12. LHLewis Howes37:56

        Mm-hmm.

    13. LJLil Jon37:57

        You know, like, stop talking about the negative t- negative things. The negative is gonna keep coming to you if you keep speaking negativity.

    14. LHLewis Howes38:03

        Yes.

    15. LJLil Jon38:04

        That's all the universe knows is what you put out. What you put out is what you get back. So if you putting out negativity, you're gonna get back negativity. If you put out positivity and love and uplifting of others, you're gonna get blessings.

    16. LHLewis Howes38:17

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17. 39:18 – 42:32

    Inside "Turn Down for What"

    1. LHLewis Howes39:20

       You mentioned when you were doing Turn Down for What, when you went in this, in the studio and started recording in the booth, like, right away you said that, before the beat dropped, right? Was there an intention you had before that studio day? Like, the day before, the morning of, did you have an energy or a thought process that said, like, "I'm gonna go make something special today," or-

    2. LJLil Jon39:41

       Hmm

    3. LHLewis Howes39:41

       ... "God, give me the gifts to come up with something creative today," or was it just, "I don't know what I'm gonna do, but I'm just gonna show up and be myself"? Did you have an intention before that moment where you said, "Turn Down for What," and you go boom, electric in my body, this is it, it's gonna be huge?

    4. LJLil Jon39:56

       Yeah, I didn't have an... I just knew today I'm off the road. I can... DJ Snake sent me this song three months ago. I'ma go ahead and work on it. 'Cause that's what I would do.

    5. LHLewis Howes40:07

       Yeah.

    6. LJLil Jon40:07

       When I get some time, downtime, I jump out of modes. I'm in DJ mode, I'm in dad mode, I'm in, you know, executive mode. Today I'ma be in artist mode. So I just went in, just work mode, just do what I do, do my best on every song. And yeah, as soon as I said it, I just knew it. I knew it and-

    7. LHLewis Howes40:31

       You just felt it in your soul.

    8. LJLil Jon40:32

       Yeah, I knew it was a smash. Just like when we did Yeah.

    9. LHLewis Howes40:35

       You knew it then, too.

    10. LJLil Jon40:36

        We knew, we knew that was a smash.

    11. LHLewis Howes40:37

        Really?

    12. LJLil Jon40:38

        We knew that was... 'Cause it was so different.

    13. LHLewis Howes40:39

        Were you... Did you know it, like, in the middle of recording or producing, or was it... When did you feel it?

    14. LJLil Jon40:44

        I think when we listened back. We-

    15. LHLewis Howes40:46

        After the first time, or a few?

    16. LJLil Jon40:48

        You, like, after we lay everything down.

    17. LHLewis Howes40:51

        Uh-huh.

    18. LJLil Jon40:51

        I can't remember exactly, but we knew it was a hit. And then everything had to change because the beat that we recorded Yeah on was actually the beat that's Freak A Leak. So we had to go in-

    19. LHLewis Howes41:06

        Really?

    20. LJLil Jon41:06

        ... and, you know, re-record. Not re-record, but I had to go in and do new music. So I didn't think this Petey Pablo song was gonna be that big, so I was like, "Let's just take all the music off and keep the drums." And then we played new music on top. So me and my boy, LRock, who plays a lot of keys on a lot of records that I, I, I produce, he went in with me and he, he was playing around. He hit dun-dun, dun-dun. "That's it. That's it." Dun-dun, dun-dun. And so I knew immediately, so at that point, yes, I knew right when he laid those lines.

    21. LHLewis Howes41:43

        Four notes, right?

    22. LJLil Jon41:44

        Dun-dun, dun-dun, dun-dun, dun-dun. I was like-

    23. LHLewis Howes41:47

        That was it

    24. LJLil Jon41:48

        ... "That is it."

    25. LHLewis Howes41:49

        You heard it.

    26. LJLil Jon41:49

        I knew immediately this is, that's, I, that's the-

    27. LHLewis Howes41:52

        Four notes.

    28. LJLil Jon41:53

        Yeah, like, dun. I just knew 'cause he, he playing the beat.

    29. LHLewis Howes41:57

        Uh-huh.

    30. LJLil Jon41:57

        He, he does it to the beat. I'm like, "That's it."
18. 42:32 – 43:50

    Becoming a major producer

    1. LJLil Jon42:32

       probably would've done well-

    2. LHLewis Howes42:33

       But not boom

    3. LJLil Jon42:33

       ... but it wouldn't be this.

    4. LHLewis Howes42:35

       How did your life change after Yeah!

    5. LJLil Jon42:37

       I mean-

    6. LHLewis Howes42:38

       'Cause you weren't, you were known locally, right? Atlanta vibe.

    7. LJLil Jon42:42

       Yeah.

    8. LHLewis Howes42:42

       But you weren't like a national sensation yet. Or you kinda were, but-

    9. LJLil Jon42:46

       Nah

    10. LHLewis Howes42:46

        ... it wasn't like ...

    11. LJLil Jon42:47

        I became a, a major producer after that. Everybody, I mean, it's the biggest song of the year, you know? So I got calls from everybody, any and everybody, to, to work on music. And right after that, I had Goodies with Ciara. So we did that, like, I don't know how many months later, but I think the same year, 2004, I probably produced that. So like, it was [whooshs] and I've been blessed. Like, I've been ... You know, I did records with Nas. I did records with Eminem. I got a D12 song. I think I did a remix for D12. I did, uh, Fat Joe. I done, you know, Ice Cube, Too Short, E-40.

    12. LHLewis Howes43:31

        Wow.

    13. LJLil Jon43:31

        Been able to give Too Short and E-40 big records of their careers. Um, like I produced so many people, man, it's just been, you know-

    14. LHLewis Howes43:41

        Wow

    15. LJLil Jon43:41

        ... such a blessing. Y- yeah, M- Mobb Deep. I did Mobb Deep, and I did Nas. Like, so even on the hip hop side, I've pr- been able to

19. 43:50 – 45:39

    Working with Ice Cube, Too Short & E-40

    1. LJLil Jon43:50

       produce some-

    2. LHLewis Howes43:50

       Wow

    3. LJLil Jon43:50

       ... some greats.

    4. LHLewis Howes43:52

       Um, of all the artists you've met, whether you've worked with or just you've met and you've been able to be around, who, and I'm sure there's, you know, lots of inspiring artists, but who are three that you really felt like inspired you the most?

    5. LJLil Jon44:06

       I was a big NWA fan growing up, so to finally be able to work with Ice Cube was awesome.

    6. LHLewis Howes44:13

       Yeah.

    7. LJLil Jon44:14

       And it, and not just work with him, 'cause I remember we were in the studio and he laid down a verse on something and I was like, "That ain't ... I want something crazier than that. That ain't it." And I was like, "How do I tell Ice Cube-

    8. LHLewis Howes44:26

       [laughs]

    9. LJLil Jon44:27

       ... that he didn't kill it?"

    10. LHLewis Howes44:29

        Ooh.

    11. LJLil Jon44:29

        And so-

    12. LHLewis Howes44:30

        What'd you say to him?

    13. LJLil Jon44:31

        I went and talked to him. I was like, "I wanted something more like this," and da, da, da. He was like, "Bet. No problem." He let me produce him. And so he went and laid a crazier verse, and then I still kept the other verse and used it somewhere else. So Ice Cube. And you know, just being, growing up on someone and never would've imagined I would be able-

    14. LHLewis Howes44:51

        That's cool

    15. LJLil Jon44:51

        ... to work with him.

    16. LHLewis Howes44:52

        Yeah.

    17. LJLil Jon44:52

        Um, so Ice Cube, and then-

    18. LHLewis Howes44:54

        A marching band in high school to Ice Cube.

    19. LJLil Jon44:56

        Right.

    20. LHLewis Howes44:56

        Yeah, yeah.

    21. LJLil Jon44:57

        And then Too Short. I also was a big Too Short fan in high school. And to ... I used to listen to his Life is Too Short album every single day, and to one day produce him and give him the biggest song of his career is crazy. Um, me and E-40 had some really, really good times in the studio and, you know, producing his album, My Ghetto Report Card, and had some big records on that album, too. Just a good ... You know, we had created a good friendship. Me, Short, E-40, we're like all really good, really good friends. So those are some guys I really, really love, you know?

    22. LHLewis Howes45:36

        That's cool.

    23. LJLil Jon45:37

        And have some ... And

20. 45:39 – 48:01

    Lil Jon vs. Jonathan

    1. LJLil Jon45:39

       I, I love that we've been able to create history together-

    2. LHLewis Howes45:41

       Wow

    3. LJLil Jon45:41

       ... like we have.

    4. LHLewis Howes45:42

       Wow.

    5. LJLil Jon45:43

       Yeah.

    6. LHLewis Howes45:44

       Your book is really inspiring. It's c- it's I Only Shout So You Can Hear Me.

    7. LJLil Jon45:48

       [laughs]

    8. LHLewis Howes45:49

       Um, you were talking about earlier about how you were a shy kid from Atlanta.

    9. LJLil Jon45:52

       Right.

    10. LHLewis Howes45:54

        You know, you had this kind of eye disability that you had to constantly work on and improve throughout-

    11. LJLil Jon45:59

        Right

    12. LHLewis Howes45:59

        ... your childhood, that affected you, that made you feel a little shy. But then you became the guy that was like the club guy, the shouting guy, you know? And your, your name Jonathan is not your name now, right? It's like Lil Jon.

    13. LJLil Jon46:17

        [laughs]

    14. LHLewis Howes46:18

        When did that come about? And how did the identity shift when you took on Lil Jon over Jonathan?

    15. LJLil Jon46:25

        Well, Lil Jon came in high school, because I was like the shortest John.

    16. LHLewis Howes46:29

        Yeah. [laughs]

    17. LJLil Jon46:29

        [laughs] I was the smallest John. I'm only 5'7" and it was, you know, guys six foot-

    18. LHLewis Howes46:34

        Yeah

    19. LJLil Jon46:34

        ... and so on and so forth. So, uh, that was from high school. I've been Lil Jon since high school. And so as I started to get, you know, popular and started to DJ, I just went with the same name, and I've just been Lil Jon forever. And people ask me sometimes, "When you gonna drop the Lil?" I'm like, "Well, it's kind of part of my identity."

    20. LHLewis Howes46:56

        Yeah.

    21. LJLil Jon46:56

        You know what I mean? So-

    22. LHLewis Howes46:57

        Is there a different identity to Lil Jon and Jonathan?

    23. LJLil Jon47:00

        Oh, 100%. Lil Jon is the rowdy, crazy party guy, and Jonathan is like the guy you have here right now.

    24. LHLewis Howes47:08

        [laughs]

    25. LJLil Jon47:08

        Like the chill guy.

    26. LHLewis Howes47:09

        Yeah, meditation.

    27. LJLil Jon47:11

        Manifestation.

    28. LHLewis Howes47:11

        Health and wellness.

    29. LJLil Jon47:12

        Mature.

    30. LHLewis Howes47:12

        Yeah. [laughs]
21. 48:01 – 49:20

    Eliminating negative thoughts

    1. LJLil Jon48:01

       too. I radiate positivity. So and that's one thing I kinda bla- brushed over real quick, but at that same time with all of this stuff going on with the divorce, I told myself I have to eliminate negative thoughts out of my psyche. So that's one thing I instituted into my life. I don't wish any ill upon anyone. I always say, "God is gonna handle it."

    2. LHLewis Howes48:24

       Mm.

    3. LJLil Jon48:25

       Something happened, somebody does me wrong, throw my hands up, "Allah gonna deal with them." Um, and I just eliminate negative thoughts, because e- negative thoughts also block your blessings.

    4. LHLewis Howes48:36

       Yes.

    5. LJLil Jon48:36

       So that's ... Whatever you think, say- You, that's what you're putting in the universe, so I don't wanna think anything negative. I wanna only think n- positive thoughts

    6. LHLewis Howes48:46

       If some- if you feel like someone might be trying to take advantage of you, screw you over, hurt you in some way, um, how do you shift your perspective when you feel like someone's done wrong by you, lied to you, abandoned you?

    7. LJLil Jon49:01

       You just check 'em or put your guard up-

    8. LHLewis Howes49:05

       Mm-hmm

    9. LJLil Jon49:05

       ... and distance yourself-

    10. LHLewis Howes49:06

        Okay

    11. LJLil Jon49:06

        ... from that, that negativity.

    12. LHLewis Howes49:08

        Yeah.

    13. LJLil Jon49:08

        You gotta ... I try to eliminate any negativity in my life. You know, like I said, I had, you know, any lingering bad energy, I wanna get rid of that. I wanna

22. 49:20 – 51:17

    Losing his son: don't put things off

    1. LJLil Jon49:20

       get that off the plate.

    2. LHLewis Howes49:21

       Well-

    3. LJLil Jon49:21

       I don't wanna block any blessings.

    4. LHLewis Howes49:22

       Yeah. You finished your book, but then you were talking about how earlier this year your son passed.

    5. LJLil Jon49:27

       Yeah.

    6. LHLewis Howes49:27

       Sorry for that loss as well. And then you re- y- you took the back, the book back on and wrote about this.

    7. LJLil Jon49:35

       Yeah.

    8. LHLewis Howes49:36

       Can you share, I guess, the biggest lesson you've had since the passing of your son?

    9. LJLil Jon49:42

       Um, one thing I tell people a lot is that don't put things off.

    10. LHLewis Howes49:48

        Mm.

    11. LJLil Jon49:48

        You know, uh, one of the things me and my son did together that he, one of the greatest thing, greatest trips he ever took in his life, he said, the funnest time he's ever had, we took a trip to Japan.

    12. LHLewis Howes50:02

        Mm.

    13. LJLil Jon50:02

        Right? 'Cause when, when he came to me and said, "Let's start, you know, having a better relationship," I said, "Okay, let's, I'm gonna take you somewhere for your birthday."

    14. LHLewis Howes50:11

        Wow.

    15. LJLil Jon50:11

        And so I could have easily said, "It's too expensive. Let's do something else." I could've been like, "Ah, I got this going on, I got that going on." But I said, "No, I'm, we're gonna do it," and he had the best time he's ever had in his entire life going anywhere. I have never seen him this happy.

    16. LHLewis Howes50:32

        Wow.

    17. LJLil Jon50:33

        We did so much stuff together as father and son, and then even d- he did some stuff on his own too. He was really into anime, so he did, saw anime stuff, and we went on food tours, and we, we went to see a guy forge samurai swords. There's not many of those guys left.

    18. LHLewis Howes50:47

        Uh-huh.

    19. LJLil Jon50:48

        We got to swing samurai swords. We did so much. He got to learn how to drift a car.

    20. LHLewis Howes50:53

        That's pretty, that's-

    21. LJLil Jon50:54

        He went to where they s- learned-

    22. LHLewis Howes50:55

        Tokyo Drift?

    23. LJLil Jon50:56

        Yeah. [laughs]

    24. LHLewis Howes50:57

        [laughs]

    25. LJLil Jon50:57

        He, we went to where they started, where the drifting started at, and he drove down that mountain where it all started. So people think they have time, and you never know how much time you have with somebody, so don't ever push people off and say, "I can do it later. I'll give them time later." Do it while, because you ... Do it now because you don't

23. 51:17 – 53:53

    Advice for new fathers

    1. LJLil Jon51:17

       know how much time you really got left.

    2. LHLewis Howes51:18

       Wow. Uh, I'm a new dad. I've got twin girls almost one year. If you could go back 27, 30 years ago before you became a father-

    3. LJLil Jon51:28

       Yeah

    4. LHLewis Howes51:29

       ... what advice would you give yourself before your son came here, and essentially what advice would you give me going into fatherhood right now?

    5. LJLil Jon51:38

       Well, I, I'm a believer in everything that we go through shapes us to who we are now, and I love who I am right now. I love ... It was a journey, and it was a lot of ups and downs and bumps and all kind of stuff, but I feel like I'm, I'm living in my purpose, God's purpose for me. But I would tell myself just, you know, enjoy it and, you know, do ... I, I don't know. I, I would just tell myself to enjoy fatherhood.

    6. LHLewis Howes52:12

       Mm-hmm.

    7. LJLil Jon52:12

       Just enjoy it. And maybe, you know, like I just said, don't push things off.

    8. LHLewis Howes52:17

       Yeah.

    9. LJLil Jon52:18

       You know? I kinda n- I, I, I did make a point when my son was born, I said, "I'm not gonna miss his birthday. I'm not gonna miss Christmas. I'm not gonna miss Thanksgiving." I, I set boundaries. So I was always, it was always family time, and those, nothing could compete. And something came about on his birthday. Yeah was the, the biggest song in the country. They called for Saturday Night Live. I turned down Saturday Night Live-

    10. LHLewis Howes52:46

        No way

    11. LJLil Jon52:46

        ... because it was my son's birthday.

    12. LHLewis Howes52:47

        Come on.

    13. LJLil Jon52:48

        I put my son over that.

    14. LHLewis Howes52:49

        Wow, that's pretty big.

    15. LJLil Jon52:51

        Yeah. Because I made a promise to myself and to my son-

    16. LHLewis Howes52:54

        Wow

    17. LJLil Jon52:54

        ... that I was gonna be there for him for every birthday.

    18. LHLewis Howes52:58

        Wow.

    19. LJLil Jon52:59

        So-

    20. LHLewis Howes53:00

        Did you ever do Saturday Night Live?

    21. LJLil Jon53:01

        I never did. But who knows?

    22. LHLewis Howes53:03

        Really?

    23. LJLil Jon53:03

        It's, it's okay.

    24. LHLewis Howes53:04

        They gotta bring you back.

    25. LJLil Jon53:05

        Yeah, maybe one day.

    26. LHLewis Howes53:07

        Wow.

    27. LJLil Jon53:07

        Yeah, so, but-

    28. LHLewis Howes53:08

        So you turned it down for your son's birthday. That's kinda cool.

    29. LJLil Jon53:10

        Yeah. So yeah, we gotta, we gotta always ... We make sacrifices for our family, you know what I mean? So that was a sacrifice.

    30. LHLewis Howes53:19

        But you did do the Super Bowl.
24. 53:53 – 56:03

    How his daughter helped him heal

    1. LJLil Jon53:53

       anybody was in the stadium. Then he gets to see it in the stadium.

    2. LHLewis Howes53:56

       Wow, that's pretty cool.

    3. LJLil Jon53:57

       So yeah, it was great.

    4. LHLewis Howes53:58

       And, and you got a, a two-year-old now, right? Or-

    5. LJLil Jon54:00

       Yeah, I have a daughter.

    6. LHLewis Howes54:01

       Two-year-old daughter.

    7. LJLil Jon54:02

       So I'm first-time dad of a girl-

    8. LHLewis Howes54:05

       Mm-hmm

    9. LJLil Jon54:05

       ... which is way different, but ah, man, I thought God was ... I, here's what I, here's what something I looked at in my life. I said my life was slowing down, and God was slowing me down to get me ready for my daughter, her birth. But then I realized He was also giving me my daughter, giving me my daughter to help me get through the loss of my son.

    10. LHLewis Howes54:28

        Oh, my gosh.

    11. LJLil Jon54:30

        Yeah.

    12. LHLewis Howes54:31

        Holy cow.

    13. LJLil Jon54:32

        'Cause she's been something that has just given me s- just made me smile-

    14. LHLewis Howes54:41

        Mm

    15. LJLil Jon54:41

        ... whenever she, you know, when I'm down and she comes around, I smile.

    16. LHLewis Howes54:47

        Why?

    17. LJLil Jon54:48

        ... feel her love. Like, she's helped me get through this tough, tough times.

    18. LHLewis Howes54:53

        Where do you think you'd be if you didn't have your daughter during this time?

    19. LJLil Jon54:57

        I, I think if it was even, like, 10 years ago, I don't know, I, what I- how I would've been able to take this, this loss. If it was 10 years ago when I was really in a crazy partying state and just not in this mental place I am now, this elevated spiritual and mental state, um, I don't know how I would've been able to get through this. Um, it would've been hard. I, I don't know. I, I probably ... I don't know how I would've been able to do it without her, honestly.

    20. LHLewis Howes55:26

        Wow.

    21. LJLil Jon55:26

        'Cause she was there giving me a lot of comfort. Of course, friends, family, my partner, but it's different from that, the child that you can hold and, you know, just look into their eyes, or when they crawl up underneath you-

    22. LHLewis Howes55:42

        Mm

    23. LJLil Jon55:42

        ... and it just makes your heart melt.

    24. LHLewis Howes55:44

        Mm.

    25. LJLil Jon55:44

        It makes you warm, and it just also gives you motivation to keep living, to keep going, you know. I'm also healthy for her.

    26. LHLewis Howes55:51

        Mm-hmm.

    27. LJLil Jon55:51

        Because I gotta be here for graduations and walk her down the aisle or whatever, and protection of her. I gotta be here for my daughter, so I can't be here a long time if I'm eating

25. 56:03 – 59:50

    Keeping faith through loss

    1. LJLil Jon56:03

       chicken wings and pizza at 4:00 in the morning.

    2. LHLewis Howes56:04

       I know. Yeah.

    3. LJLil Jon56:05

       I gotta be healthy.

    4. LHLewis Howes56:06

       So how do you ... how has your relationship with God or your faith through the loss of your son transformed or enhanced or gone away? Like, how do you, how do you make sense of this with this type-

    5. LJLil Jon56:21

       Well-

    6. LHLewis Howes56:21

       ... of a loss for yourself?

    7. LJLil Jon56:21

       ... some people right away would curse God and, "Why?" And I immediately felt like it was a reason He was putting me through this. I was like, maybe He's using me as a vessel to help other people, um, because I'm the guy known for partying and such fun times, and then something like this happens. And if I can get through it, it's, it's, it's inspiring for someone else to say, "I can get through it too."

    8. LHLewis Howes56:55

       Oh.

    9. LJLil Jon56:55

       "They can get through it. If I can get through it, or if this can happen to me, it can happen to someone else. And if you are going through it, you can get through it."

    10. LHLewis Howes57:02

        Wow.

    11. LJLil Jon57:03

        You know. So I just look at it like I don't, I don't forsake God ever. It's a reason always for things happening. And, um, I, I give gratitude to God for giving me my son for 27 years.

    12. LHLewis Howes57:18

        Wow.

    13. LJLil Jon57:18

        All of the great times and being there for when he came out to seeing him DJ, graduate, his graduation, be there, being there with him graduating from NYU.

    14. LHLewis Howes57:29

        Wow.

    15. LJLil Jon57:30

        You know, um, putting out his first song, producing with him in the studio. We had so many great nights producing music together. Um, so all of ... I, I give gratitude for that. I'm not mad because he's in a better place, you know. But I mean, it takes discipline and to be in a elevated spiritual state to be able to accept, have acceptance of-

    16. LHLewis Howes57:55

        Yeah

    17. LJLil Jon57:55

        ... of that nature.

    18. LHLewis Howes57:55

        It's hard. What's the greatest lesson he's taught you?

    19. LJLil Jon57:59

        I mean, number one, love.

    20. LHLewis Howes58:01

        Mm.

    21. LJLil Jon58:01

        He taught me love, you know, when he was born. And, you know, never knew I could love like that.

    22. LHLewis Howes58:08

        Mm.

    23. LJLil Jon58:09

        You know? And love and just, I don't know, just love.

    24. LHLewis Howes58:15

        Mm-hmm.

    25. LJLil Jon58:16

        Love.

    26. LHLewis Howes58:16

        That's beautiful, man. It sounds like love is expanding more in your heart now-

    27. LJLil Jon58:20

        Oh, yeah

    28. LHLewis Howes58:20

        ... with your daughter and where you're at now, which is pretty cool, man.

    29. LJLil Jon58:23

        Yeah.

    30. LHLewis Howes58:24

        Uh, we met, I think it was around 10 years ago, through being of service. We're both in service-
26. 59:50 – 1:01:32

    His book & Crunk Cowboy

    1. LHLewis Howes59:50

       lessons and stories that-

    2. LJLil Jon59:51

       Hmm

    3. LHLewis Howes59:51

       ... go even deeper than what we talked about here.

    4. LJLil Jon59:53

       Yeah.

    5. LHLewis Howes59:53

       I Only Shout So You Can Hear Me. I want people to get the book. The legendary award-winning producer, global hype master, and King of Crunk, Lil Jon, on the story of his life and his transformation into the high-volume showman behind a musical evolution. So make sure you guys check out the book. Uh, you can get it right now. And you also got ... I mean, you're pretty s- every time I see you, you're, you're looking swaggy, man.

    6. LJLil Jon1:00:16

       [laughs] Thank you.

    7. LHLewis Howes1:00:17

       You're looking swaggy. Your energy is high. But you got, you got everything on, which looks cool too. I wish I could look as cool as you.

    8. LJLil Jon1:00:24

       Oh, stop, bro.

    9. LHLewis Howes1:00:24

       You got, you got a new line of merch called Crunk Cowboy-

    10. LJLil Jon1:00:27

        Yeah

    11. LHLewis Howes1:00:27

        ... which I think it's the hat right now.

    12. LJLil Jon1:00:28

        Yeah, it's Crunk Cowboy Hat.

    13. LHLewis Howes1:00:29

        Yeah, it's just, you just ooze cool, man.

    14. LJLil Jon1:00:31

        [laughs] Thank you.

    15. LHLewis Howes1:00:32

        I just, like, I just wanna be around you, man. Just feel cooler.

    16. LJLil Jon1:00:35

        Oh, man.

    17. LHLewis Howes1:00:36

        Uh, so people can check out your, your merch. If they wanna look as cool as you-

    18. LJLil Jon1:00:38

        Thank you

    19. LHLewis Howes1:00:39

        ... and be stylish, check out Crunk Cowboy. It ... What's the website for that too?

    20. LJLil Jon1:00:43

        Crunkcowboy.com.

    21. LHLewis Howes1:00:44

        That's so cool, man.

    22. LJLil Jon1:00:46

        And it's just, you know, this kinda came about this year, just kinda like- Randomly, 'cause I just, I wear my cowboy boots every day. I'm on my-

    23. LHLewis Howes1:00:54

        I like it, man

    24. LJLil Jon1:00:55

        ... I g- I'm on my grown man-ish.

    25. LHLewis Howes1:00:57

        [laughs]

    26. LJLil Jon1:00:58

        You know? Like, so it's just I'm, I'm feeling different, I'm looking different, and I kinda created a brand that's for, you know, it's like however you feel, you know, do whatever you feel.

    27. LHLewis Howes1:01:10

        Yeah.

    28. LJLil Jon1:01:10

        And it's also like crunk and cowboy connect-

    29. LHLewis Howes1:01:13

        That's cool

    30. LJLil Jon1:01:13

        ... because we're millennials. We're older now.
27. 1:01:32 – 1:04:53

    The 3 truths

    1. LJLil Jon1:01:32

       a good way, then Crunk Cowboy is for you, man.

    2. LHLewis Howes1:01:34

       I like it, man.

    3. LJLil Jon1:01:35

       Like I said, swaggy too.

    4. LHLewis Howes1:01:36

       Crunkcowboy.com. Lil Jon across all social media platforms as well. Uh, I got two final questions for you.

    5. LJLil Jon1:01:43

       Yes, sir.

    6. LHLewis Howes1:01:43

       Um, this is called the three truths.

    7. LJLil Jon1:01:45

       Okay.

    8. LHLewis Howes1:01:46

       Hypothetical scenario. Get, imagine you get to live as long as you wanna live.

    9. LJLil Jon1:01:49

       Mm-hmm.

    10. LHLewis Howes1:01:50

        And manifest and create everything you could dream of and beyond. But for whatever reason, on the last day of your life many years away, you have to take all of your work with you, all of your music, art-

    11. LJLil Jon1:02:03

        Hmm

    12. LHLewis Howes1:02:03

        ... content, y- your merch, whatever it is, your book. It's all gone. Hypothetical scenario.

    13. LJLil Jon1:02:08

        Mm-hmm.

    14. LHLewis Howes1:02:09

        Um, but on the last day of your life, you get to leave behind three lessons to the world, three truths that you believe in that you would share and leave behind. What would those three truths be for you?

    15. LJLil Jon1:02:21

        One of the things that I live by is acceptance. The key to happiness in life is acceptance. Because if you have acceptance, nothing can bother you, nothing can hurt you, and you a- you're also, you learn when you have acceptance. You, you, whatever th- the situation is, you can say, "Oh, okay. I went through this. I'm gonna learn this lesson. I accept that I had to go through this to learn these lessons," and move on. So acceptance is number one 'cause we also, as human beings, we wanna try to make something. We'll, we wanna wield things the way we want 'em to w- to be.

    16. LHLewis Howes1:02:59

        Mm.

    17. LJLil Jon1:02:59

        But that's not what you're supposed to go through. That's not-

    18. LHLewis Howes1:03:02

        It's not God's will

    19. LJLil Jon1:03:02

        ... how you're supposed to learn the lesson.

    20. LHLewis Howes1:03:05

        Yeah.

    21. LJLil Jon1:03:05

        So you have to have acceptance for the cards you're given.

    22. LHLewis Howes1:03:08

        Mm-hmm.

    23. LJLil Jon1:03:08

        So acceptance. Um, and then number two thing that I live by is get in the passenger seat and let God drive.

    24. LHLewis Howes1:03:18

        Mm.

    25. LJLil Jon1:03:19

        Trust in God. If you trust God, if you truly trust God in your heart, no matter what you worry about, it's always gonna be fine. It's just like manifesting. If you believe that God has got your back and God has got you, it's gonna be okay.

    26. LHLewis Howes1:03:37

        Yes.

    27. LJLil Jon1:03:37

        Always gonna be okay. We worry about so much stuff, and it's, it's situations that don't even exist sometimes. They don't even ex- they haven't happened.

    28. LHLewis Howes1:03:49

        Imaginary.

    29. LJLil Jon1:03:50

        Yes.

    30. LHLewis Howes1:03:50

        Yes.
28. 1:04:53 – 1:06:00

    What he wishes people asked

    1. LJLil Jon1:04:53

       the future.

    2. LHLewis Howes1:04:53

       Absolutely.

    3. LJLil Jon1:04:53

       Without love, we don't have a society.

    4. LHLewis Howes1:04:56

       Wow. Before I ask the final question, is there anything you wish more people asked you that they don't?

    5. LJLil Jon1:05:03

       How's your day?

    6. LHLewis Howes1:05:04

       How is your day?

    7. LJLil Jon1:05:05

       My day is great. I woke up today. It's beautiful. But most people just say, "Can I get a picture?"

    8. LHLewis Howes1:05:11

       Mm.

    9. LJLil Jon1:05:12

       Yeah.

    10. LHLewis Howes1:05:14

        Really?

    11. LJLil Jon1:05:15

        They don't... People have gotten so accustomed to just, you know, we got camera phone... Well, we got phones on our cameras, and they just get what they want. They wanna just-

    12. LHLewis Howes1:05:24

        They wanna take

    13. LJLil Jon1:05:25

        ... they don't... They wanna take, but they don't wanna just say, "Hey, how you doing?"

    14. LHLewis Howes1:05:28

        Mm.

    15. LJLil Jon1:05:29

        "Let me give you a hug today."

    16. LHLewis Howes1:05:31

        Mm-hmm.

    17. LJLil Jon1:05:31

        "Let me give you some positive energy."

    18. LHLewis Howes1:05:34

        Yeah.

    19. LJLil Jon1:05:35

        That goes a long way.

    20. LHLewis Howes1:05:35

        Every, every time I see you, I'll make sure I ask, "How's your day?"

    21. LJLil Jon1:05:37

        [laughs] 'Cause sometimes I see people, and I can feel their energy 'cause I'm a empath.

    22. LHLewis Howes1:05:42

        Yeah.

    23. LJLil Jon1:05:42

        And I just give some- random people something. I might be walking through the club, and I just feel some energy, and I feel someone needs some uplifting, and I might just give them a hug-

    24. LHLewis Howes1:05:51

        That's beautiful

    25. LJLil Jon1:05:51

        ... and say, "It's gonna be all right."

    26. LHLewis Howes1:05:53

        Yeah.

    27. LJLil Jon1:05:54

        And then I just keep it moving.

    28. LHLewis Howes1:05:55

        Imagine walking through the club and Lil Jon just gives you a big hug.

    29. LJLil Jon1:05:58

        [laughs]

    30. LHLewis Howes1:05:58

        You know? It'd be amazing. That'd make your

29. 1:06:00 – 1:06:18

    What is greatness?

    1. LHLewis Howes1:06:00

       night.

    2. LJLil Jon1:06:00

       Hey, man. It'd make your year.

    3. LHLewis Howes1:06:01

       It would. [laughs]

    4. LJLil Jon1:06:02

       For real.

    5. LHLewis Howes1:06:04

       Um, final question. What's your definition of greatness?

    6. LJLil Jon1:06:08

       Greatness is living in God's purpose.

    7. LHLewis Howes1:06:11

       Mm.

    8. LJLil Jon1:06:12

       And being true to yourself, you know? Both of those. 'Cause if you, if you're true to yourself and you live in

30. 1:06:18 – 1:09:43

    His new calling: healing

    1. LJLil Jon1:06:18

       God's purpose, you're doing what you're supposed to be doing on this earth.

    2. LHLewis Howes1:06:20

       Mm-hmm. To follow up with that, I got one more question, uh, for you. What... You know, you ha- you were talking about your gifts and talents that you've developed over your life.

    3. LJLil Jon1:06:30

       Mm.

    4. LHLewis Howes1:06:30

       From drumming to music to deejaying to producing to collaborations to touring. All these talents and gifts that you had-

    5. LJLil Jon1:06:39

       Mm

    6. LHLewis Howes1:06:39

       ... to bring joy to others and also to create opportunities for yourself. I believe there's a difference between your gifts and your calling.

    7. LJLil Jon1:06:47

       Mm.

    8. LHLewis Howes1:06:49

       Now that you're going into 55 years of life and you've cultivated your talents and gifts for so long-

    9. LJLil Jon1:06:55

       Mm

    10. LHLewis Howes1:06:56

        ... what do you feel like is your calling moving forward?

    11. LJLil Jon1:06:59

        Well, my calling is interesting, has always been to uplift. My music puts people into a vibration of happiness and joy, and I, I figured that out years ago. I was like, something about what I, when me creating music and my voice, it just makes people have a good time and forget about their problems. Now my calling is to help to heal. Mm. Come on. 'Cause through the meditations, you know, so many people, when I put out the meditations albums, hit me and said, "Hey, I never meditated before. Thank you for turning me on to this." People that probably would have never thought about meditating, I turned them on to meditation. Wow. And some people, they said, "Hey, your meditation of sleep helped me to sleep. I, I, I don't sleep well." Or someone even hit me, a couple people even said, "Your meditation about grief helped me to get through the loss, this loss." And so it's, it's just, I understand. And even now with the book, sharing all the things that I've been through with, you know, not just my son, but even finding out my father is not my biological father, and sharing all of these- Mm-hmm ... all these intimate secrets that could've been tucked away forever. Interesting. Sharing these things in the book and n- and, and of course sharing how I dealt with the loss of my son is also could be inspiring and, and could help somebody being able to relate to my situation and get through their situation. Like I said earlier, I can maybe help someone that's struggling with it. Mm. And they see me- Mm ... the party guy that, that, that always smiling, yeah, guy. If he can, if this can happen to him and he can get through it- Wow ... I can get through it. Wow. So I understand God is speaking to me in that way because He's, He's given me these talents to, to get to this point, and now I have to keep using them, but now for other reasons. Wow. So you're really tapping into healing. Yeah. Helping others heal now. Yeah. That's your calling. And it started with the meditations. [exhales] Yeah. From turn down to turn on. [laughs] Turning people on to healing. Turning, yeah, turning people on to healing. Wow. 100%. Yep. Lil Jon, my man. Thank you for being here, brother. Thank you, brother. Appreciate it. Thank you for having me. If you're a hurdler, you don't look at obstacles the same way. It's just another opportunity to jump higher. Everything changed once I realized when they're saying no, they're just saying I didn't do a g- enough job. So my thing to God is

Episode duration: 1:09:43