The School of Greatness by Lewis Howes – Summary

We’re all a sucker for underdog stories and this book is just that The School of greatness will inspire you to pursue greatness.

Lewis Howes started the school of greatness podcast with a mission to impact 100 Million people a week. It’s the school he wishes he had while growing up.

The school of greatness dives into the typical self-help stuff. Your body, mindset, relationships, hustle, and skills buts let’s first get to know the author Lewis Howes.

Who is Lewis Howes?

Lewis Howes today is a lifestyle entrepreneur, hosts The School of Greatness podcast, and keynote speaker. A former professional football player and two-sport All-American.

People would call him a success and would die to be in his position, but it wasn’t always this way.

It’s typical when on the outside a man might look successful, but on the inside only he knows he is crumbling and that was Lewis Howes.

Lewis Howes had a troubled childhood growing up, and this impacted him greatly in his pursuit of greatness.

• His parents went through a divorce when he was very young.
• He was sexually by his babysitter when he was 5.
• His older brother had to serve time in prison for dealing with drugs.
• His old man, who was his hero, died in a tragic car accident when he was 21.

Not a typical childhood that sets you up for greatness. What’s more was he was bullied in school, had toxic relationships and was severely depressed, and just didn’t want to live.

How did he turn it around?

He turned his adversity to his advantage. He had a relentless drive and wanted to pursue greatness and sports was his go-to.

He watched sports with his dad while growing up and, like any son, wanted to impress his dad.

He would do just that, become a two-sport All American and a professional football player, but his dream would come crashing down soon after.

After a series of injuries, his sports career would come to a halt at 24. His identity as an athlete was crushed. He would move in with his sister and would have to start all over again.

As Men, we have big egos and we don’t want to open up about our insecurities and issues. A lot of men suffer quiet battles in their own minds.

When your identity is trapped in sports and now it’s gone, what do you do? How do you react?

Anger is the answer and if used wrongly, it can all go wrong, and it did.

He had a fight in the basketball court where he pummeled a guy into oblivion and that was a huge wake-up call.

He couldn’t recognize who he was, what he had done, and was deeply ashamed. His best friend for well over a decade said I don’t like the person you are becoming and I don’t want to be with you anymore.

The School of Greatness

We often look at people’s outward success and think they have it all figured out, but we’re all just a work in progress and so are they.

In The School of greatness podcast, Lewis interviews people from all walks of life who have achieved what people would call greatness.

He distills his learnings in the book from the people he has interviewed.

The school of greatness podcast was launched in 2013. You can find more from The School of Greatness.

Here’s my favorite quote from the book.