The Mel Robbins Podcast

Your Setbacks Are Setting You UP for Something Better | The Mel Robbins Podcast [ENCORE]

Order your copy of The Let Them Theory 👉 https://melrob.co/let-them-theory 👈 The #1 Best Selling Book of 2025 🔥 Discover how much power you truly have. It all begins with two simple words. Let Them. — Today's episode will get your head spinning, open your heart, and inspire you to take the leap into something bigger. It doesn’t matter how young or how old you are. You are meant to go big, to swing for the fence, and to do something no one has ever done before. No more small plans. You have something big to do. And there’s no better person to inspire you to make big plans than my friend and IT Cosmetics Founder, Jamie Kern Lima (@jamiekernlimaofficial). Jamie went from serving up stacks of pancakes at Denny’s to creating a product that would help millions of women around the world feel confident in their own skin. Today you’ll hear the story of how she transformed the beauty industry, created the most successful product launch in QVC history, and ultimately sold IT Cosmetics to L’Oreal for 1.2 Billion dollars (becoming the first female CEO at L’Oreal in their history). If you think Jamie had it easy on the way there, you’d be wrong. And you won’t have an easy time either, but so what? Her story is a rollercoaster of rejection and disappointment, fear, self-doubt, and near bankruptcy. But when you’ve got big plans, you just keep going. Jamie never lost faith, and today she is teaching you how to never give up on your big plans either. This is an encore episode with new and exciting insights from me at the top of the episode. You keep asking about how to tap into your purpose, and it starts with deciding the next right step. Xo Mel In this episode, you'll learn: 00:00 Intro 05:22 Introducing today’s guest- my good friend, Jamie Kern Lima. 10:27 Jamie learned this important skill while working as a server at Denny’s. 12:55 Never disregard the seasons of your life that feel setbacks. 14:18 Here’s how Jamie defines life’s purpose. 21:15 The moment where Jamie knew she was meant to do something meaningful. 23:13 Not sure what your purpose is? Think about what you struggle with. 27:07 This is the biggest reason we talk ourselves out of following our dreams. 29:19 But how do you get started when you don’t even know what to do? 33:22 Ever had a gut feeling? Hear Jamie define intuition and how to tune in. 38:12 Try going through your day this way and build your intuition muscle. 40:54 Two reasons why we go through horrible, unspeakable times. 42:11 This was the biggest rejection moment that inspired Jamie to keep going. 44:48 Listen to the “no” or listen to the “knowing.” You get to choose. 48:02 How do you determine the NEXT right step? 52:05 Jamie lands a ten-minute do-or-die spot on QVC after multiple rejections. 58:52 Here’s how all that rejection became Jamie’s strength. 1:03:54 Does your purpose have to be part of your job? 1:07:09 Why rejection is really protection. #goals #dreams #chaseyourdreams — Follow Mel: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/melrobbins/ TikTok: http://tiktok.com/@melrobbins Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/melrobbins LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/melrobbins Website: http://melrobbins.com — Sign up for Mel’s newsletter: https://melrob.co/sign-up-newsletter A note from Mel to you, twice a week, sharing simple, practical ways to build the life you want. — Subscribe to Mel’s channel here: https://www.youtube.com/melrobbins?sub_confirmation=1 — Listen to The Mel Robbins Podcast 🎧 New episodes drop every Monday & Thursday! https://melrob.co/spotify https://melrob.co/applepodcasts https://melrob.co/amazonmusic — Looking for Mel’s books on Amazon? Find them here: The Let Them Theory: https://amzn.to/3IQ21Oe The Let Them Theory Audiobook: https://amzn.to/413SObp The High 5 Habit: https://amzn.to/3fMvfPQ The 5 Second Rule: https://amzn.to/4l54fah

Mel RobbinshostJamie Kern Limaguest

Jun 8, 20231h 23mWatch on YouTube ↗

WHAT IT’S REALLY ABOUT

Mel Robbins And Jamie Kern Lima Reveal How Setbacks Fuel Purpose

Mel Robbins interviews entrepreneur Jamie Kern Lima about how life’s setbacks are often setups for discovering purpose and building self-belief. Jamie shares her journey from Denny’s waitress and struggling TV news anchor with rosacea to founding IT Cosmetics in her living room and selling it to L’Oréal for $1.2 billion. They unpack how to distinguish external “no’s” from your internal “knowing,” and why authenticity and serving the person you once were are central to purpose. The episode emphasizes practical tools for trusting intuition, persisting through rejection, and taking imperfect action toward a future you can’t yet fully see.

IDEAS WORTH REMEMBERING

5 ideas

Setbacks often contain the seed of your purpose.

Jamie’s painful experience with rosacea on live TV felt like a career-ending setback, but it led her to create products and a mission that ultimately became a billion-dollar company. Looking at what breaks your heart or frustrates you can point directly to what you’re meant to build or solve.

Your steps are ordered; nothing is wasted, even lousy jobs.

Jobs like waitressing at Denny’s or pushing carts taught Jamie operations, empathy, and how to connect with real people—skills that later made her brand resonate with millions. Treat your current season as training, not a detour, and ask what tools it’s putting in your “toolbox.”

There’s a crucial difference between a “no” and a “knowing.”

An investor told Jamie women wouldn’t buy makeup from someone who looks like her, but her gut said, “He’s wrong.” Your life trajectory depends on whether you believe external rejection or your internal knowing; one voice ends your dream, the other keeps you moving toward it.

Authenticity is risky—but inauthenticity guarantees failure.

Experts told Jamie to use flawless young models on QVC; instead she used real women of all ages, skin tones, and challenges and showed her bare face. She emphasizes that authenticity doesn’t guarantee success, but faking it almost always leads to misalignment and eventual failure.

Purpose is less a job title and more how you serve.

Jamie clarifies that her purpose wasn’t “be a big entrepreneur” but “help people, especially women, see they’re enough exactly as they are.” Purpose often emerges when you use what you’ve been through—your pain, lessons, or growth—to serve the person you once were.

WORDS WORTH SAVING

5 quotes

So often in life, the seasons that feel like setbacks are actually setups for what we're called to do.

— Jamie Kern Lima

There is literally only one of you in the entire universe, which means no one has ever done it the way you’re going to do it.

— Jamie Kern Lima

You can get all the nos in the world, but you have your knowing—and your destiny comes down to which one you listen to.

— Jamie Kern Lima

Authenticity alone doesn’t automatically guarantee success, but inauthenticity guarantees failure every time.

— Jamie Kern Lima

It is not only your responsibility to stay connected to your knowing; it is your responsibility to advocate for it, because only you have seen it.

— Mel Robbins

Reframing setbacks as setups for future purpose and successJamie Kern Lima’s origin story and the creation of IT CosmeticsBelieving in yourself amid uncertainty, rejection, and self-doubtThe difference between external rejection (“no”) and inner guidance (“knowing”)Authenticity versus inauthenticity in business, branding, and lifeDiscovering and living your purpose by serving who you once wereTrusting and rebuilding intuition after being conditioned to doubt yourself

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