Everyone loves an underdog story.  We watch their stories on TV, we root for them in sports, and we cheer them on from afar.  But what we don’t see is the work that it takes for that underdog to overcome adversity and rise above. Jesse Lebeau was an underdog.  He was too small, too slow, and he didn’t fit the mold to be a basketball player.  Until he wasn’t.  On this episode of DreamNation, Jesse recalls his journey of being that underdog from a tiny, remote Alaskan village, where the obstacles to success are plenty, to fulfilling his dream of playing basketball and inspiring kids.  He details the hard work that it took for him to become successful but he certainly doesn’t sugar coat any of it.  His explanation of the things he did right and the things he did wrong will resonate with anyone who is grinding to get ahead. Jesse’s words of advice and encouragement come from personal experiences of failure and success.  His best advice? Work.  Power Quotes: “I had this dream… I wanted to be a basketball player.  The problem was, I was the smallest kid by far. My whole life, it was just people telling you ‘That’s stupid. You’re too little. You’re not fast enough. You’re not strong enough. You’re not good enough to be a basketball player.’” “I can either just be bitter about this hand that I’ve been dealt or I can say, ‘You know what? The heck with it.  I’m going to figure out how to make this work.’” “If I wasted all of my time worrying about what everyone thought about me, I’d never get what I wanted out of my own life.” “It’s good to be uncomfortable, that’s where the growth is.” “I didn’t make the right call… and I learned. You know, you live and you learn.” “While you’re watching those videos… I’m in the gym putting up the shots.  I’m in the gym doing push-ups.” “Inspiration and motivation is B.S… Work.” “This is the thing that I was told I wasn’t supposed to be able to do.” “There’s no better way to learn than to stand in front of a thousand middle schoolers or high schoolers who are looking at you like, “what do you got to say?” and to learn trial by fire.”  Podcast Stopping Points: {8:08} – Why we shouldn’t care about what people think about us {10:39} – Put yourself out there.  Have fun and enjoy life. {12:33} – Gaining confidence from being uncomfortable {18:30} – Reflecting and learning from the process {22:25} – Advice for kids coming to the end of their high school career {23:46} – The importance of relationships and connections {24:35} – The light bulb moment {33:55} – How moving to L.A. and grinding non-stop paid off {36:37} – Using a fake email account to close deals {40:55} – Looking past the fake personalities, IG posts, and accolades to build a true and honest self and brand   What You’ll Learn: How to stop caring about what other people think and focus on yourself Why becoming uncomfortable can be the best thing for you How building relationships and creating connections is going to benefit your brand  Checking In With #DreamNation Like what you’re hearing? Have a comment or feedback that you want to share? Need to find an earlier episode? Dream Nation on Apple Podcasts Dream Nation podcast website Catch your host on Instagram (@casanova_brooks).