Lewis Howes

When my football career ended, I broke my wrist playing arena football and I just felt broken because that was my purpose.

It was like,

I am an athlete.

I'm going to go play professional football.

This was my whole life's mission to be a professional athlete.

So imagine you spend 15 years from the moment you can remember the dream of being a professional athlete.

You spend your life wanting something.

You'll get a small taste of it.

I didn't play in the NFL.

I played in the arena football league, but I got paid to catch a football.

And I was like...

Man, I'm living the dream.

Even though I was only making 250 bucks a week, I was so happy because I was doing what I felt I was meant to do.

So when I broke my wrist and I was in a cast for six months, full-arm cast in this position, sleeping on my sister's couch for a year and a half with no money, three credit cards, student loan debt, and unsure of who I was in the world or the future I was creating.

It was a scary, daunting time for me.

At moments, I pretended to be happy.

I pretended to be a happy person and told people, I'll figure it out.

I'll be okay.

But inside, I felt like I was disappearing.

I felt like I was losing myself.