Stella BIDA, in conversation with Andrew LEWIS, Olympic Athlete, Sailing / Personal Branding Coach
and Don LA FOUCADE Motivational & Inspirational Speaker
Summarised conversation transcript
This is a summary version of the conversation. More details, stories, and amazing insights are mentioned in the video!
Stella Bida: Thank you so much Andrew, Don for being part of the Conversations of Excellence. You know we met during the “Positive Moments With Andrew & Don” show, that you were running during 16 full sessions. How did you keep up with such a big commitment, no matter what? Where did you find your drive?
Andrew Lewis: First of all, I don't do this for me. My inspiration is to see other people having the opportunity to experience what Don and myself have been able to do. Growing up, even now being an Olympic athlete, the journey is sometimes encouraged to be a selfish person. I was taught about doing things for yourself for years. Listening to these advices since being a young boy, I realised it growing up. Being self-centered was making me the Human Being that I am not. While I thought I was on this planet only for myself, that is totally incorrect. I was put here to be the best. I can be amongt everybody else on this planet, coexisting in love.
Don La Foucade: I've been gifted with a unique ability with words. And every day I get up, it is done with PASSION. That word PASSION is really what “I” “PASS” “On”. But for a lot of people, the “I” remains hidden. That’s why they get “PASSed ON”. We have a passion, and that is to help people be all that they can be. All of us go through stuff, but when we go through stuff, it's not really for us. We have to learn from the experience. It's really to help other people get through their stuff. Some people want to get over before they get through. It doesn’t work that way!
Stella Bida: What is the gift that you did not see back then, in your past, that today you can recognise as being one?
Andrew Lewis: Honestly, I really struggled in school. I tried very hard to be a better reader, a better writer, a Human Being who could comprehend better. I realised that my desire to not give up helped me. This led me to understand that life is not about short-term living. My past is perfection, there's nothing wrong with what I've done in the past. There were only opportunities to learn and grow. This has taught me patience in what I do.
Don La Foucade: We all have a past. For me, the challenge is that I was looking at everybody else. One sure way of not achieving, is when we keep looking at other people. What I realised is that I have to start to look at myself and to use what I have. I do have some gifts and I do have a unique tool.
Stella Bida: How can one find the right person to work with, with such commitment and accountability than you both have, for one another?
Don La Foucade: Many people compete with each other. But we are not here to compete, we are here to COMPLETE, help each other complete the journey. And if you look at the word COMPLETE, you will notice that without the “L”, it becomes COMPETE. And there is no LOVE without the “L”. So if we don't have the love, how could we be complete? We are very open with each other, sharing a lot with each other, about what we like or don’t. This helps relationships to grow. There's no competition, it’s only a completion of the goal that we set ourselves.
Stella Bida: How do we start anything, knowing that there might not be anybody to celebrate with us, especially in a “fans and likes” oriented world?
Don La Foucade: When Andrew contacted me to start the “Positive moments with Andrew and Don” show, we had a choice. Andrew has a certain number of fans and so do I. But we made it clear from the beginning that it was not about the followers, but it was about the message. We said that if we start with a few people, the few people can have a ripple effect. We wanted it to be meaningful and not just all the glamour and glitter around it. So we made a very bold decision. Every outsider is able to have a success. True success for me is finding out why you're born and using that for the benefit of other people. It's not about you.
Andrew Lewis: What is real, is human connection. What is not real are the likes and followers. That is a cyber-world. We sometimes get blinded by our true significance and we get caught up with what our friends are doing and what is trendy. Be patient, don't do it for the likes and followers, do it for the love you have. Take your gift, amplify it and master it. Because that is what's going to give you your true purpose. If you're focusing on this virtual world, we're going to end up probably as a virtual human being, and virtual people cannot be seen!
Stella Bida: Don, Andrew, if you had your little self from 10 years old self besides you, what would you tell him?
Don La Foucade: I would tell him that none of us is perfect, and that we make mistakes. Spelling “MISTAKE”, there is something we can TAKE and we have to get the lessons of life right. And I'm not perfect, Andrew is not either, but we can build upon these mistakes and then be able to be more solid and be more purposeful in our lives. At 10 years old, I needed to be more responsible, that's all I needed to be. But now, I'm able to be more responsible and that's by helping other people to be responsible in spite of their story.
Andrew Lewis: I would tell myself to stop looking at what you don't have and start looking at what you do. Amplify what you do have, and appreciate it.
Stella Bida: Andrew, Don, thank you for being part of this conversation. I'm really looking forward to our next time.
Andrew Lewis: You're most welcome.
Don La Foucade: Thank you.
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