This week’s conversation is the perfect refresher for anyone who might be feeling like they could use a little fire or motivation right now.

Our guest is Shawn Lewis, of New Orleans, who tells us the story of a period in his life when he found himself coasting, and after losing a job, also financially struggling with no sense of direction. By solidifying his Buddhist practice of chanting Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, he dug deep to rediscover a childhood dream to work in the video game industry that opened up a most unexpected journey, and ultimately led to him building and selling a social media channel to create his dream career.

CHEAT SHEET

1:07 Introduction to Shawn

1:39 When and how he started chanting Nam-myoho-renge-kyo

5:24 The circumstances that led him back to his childhood dream 

9:11 How he began to build his channel

11:16 What the internal battle felt like as he balanced three jobs

12:44 How he developed a habit of winning

15:18 An unexpected opportunity

19:38 The impact of striving to encourage other people

25:27 His favorite Buddhist quote

30:48 The biggest internal change he experienced

32:34 Advice for anyone who feels like they are coasting or unhappy with their circumstances

References

• “The Strategy of the Lotus Sutra,” The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, vol. 1, pp. 1000–01
• Discussions on Youth, p. 22