Jesse Lebeau Podcast Transcript
Jesse Lebeau joins host Brian Thomas on The Digital Executive Podcast.
Welcome to Coruzant Technologies, home of the Digital Executive Podcast.
Brian Thomas: Welcome to The Digital Executive. Today’s guest is Jesse Lebeau. Jesse Lebeau is a speaker, bestselling author, and one of the world’s most sought after youth motivational thought leaders. If there’s one thing that this digital age has given rise to among teens, it’s the loneliness epidemic that is seeping into homes and schools across the globe.
With more and more preteens and teens struggling to build valuable relationships in school, Jesse is on a mission to teach kids how to team up and become part of a community. That helps them grow into happy, competent adults.
Well, good afternoon, Jesse. Welcome to the show.
Jesse LeBeau: Happy to be here.
Brian Thomas: Awesome. I appreciate you making it here, brother. This is fun. Basketball is probably my favorite sport of all time. And I know that’s kind of your passion as well amongst helping others in the world. So I love that. And hailing out of the Phoenix Scottsdale area, I’m in Kansas City.
So I appreciate you making the time. It’s, it’s real special for me, for folks that can get up and do that no matter what time of the day. So Jesse, I’m going to jump right into your first question. Can you share your journey from growing up on a remote Alaskan island to A renowned youth motivational speaker and basketball trick artist.
How did these experiences shape your mission to empower teens?
Jesse LeBeau: Yeah, I just was crazy about basketball when I was a little kid and I think it’s because I looked up to my big brother who is nine years older and he was the star on the local basketball team And basketball in Alaska is kind of like football and in Texas in some other states where it is just absolutely king And I think some of that’s because of the weather up there and it’s nice to be in a warm Lit gym in the winter time.
So I just was crazy about basketball from an early age But I was always smaller than all the other kids So I had this underdog thing going on and got bullied and I decided I don’t care what anyone else says I’m gonna go all in and i’m gonna become the best basketball player I can become and That led me to go on and have a pretty good career and get a college scholarship and then eventually Break into entertainment and be in commercials and movies and tv shows Because I practiced and got really good at doing tricks and all the fancy stuff, like the Harlem Globetrotters.
And then they just kept handing me microphones when I would travel all over the world with people like Allen Iverson, and I’d either, like, talk to the kids at this school, and I didn’t know really what to do, and eventually it became like, oh, this is something I could use basketball as, just like you’re saying, doesn’t matter where you’re at in the world, or if you speak the language, Arizona, Kansas City, Indonesia.
Basketball really can unite and bring people together. And that’s what I found. And that’s when I wrote a book and started speaking and making it a full time thing, really just using basketball as a tool to get people to buy in and want to hear a story. And most people can relate to being an underdog I found.
Brian Thomas: That’s amazing. I love the story. I really do. And it resonates with me. It probably resonates with a lot of people across the country here. I do appreciate the backstory. That’s just awesome. And, and I know you’re kind of YouTube famous. We won’t go into that, but I’m going to jump into your next question.
In 2017, you founded the Attitude Is Everything Foundation. Could you discuss its mission and the impact it has had on addressing issues like self esteem, confidence, and mental health among youth?
Jesse LeBeau: Yeah, so kind of the next phase in that story I just told was I was getting to travel all over the place and speak to 15, 20, 000 kids every month doing these tours.
And what in the beginning was very exciting is people come up to you afterwards and they line up and they want to talk to you and share what’s going on in their life. And they just tell you the most heartbreaking stories. And over time that started to become something that used to be exciting and then became frustrating.
Because my next move was always to go to the next city or the next school or event or go home and you kind of could only do so much in that little moment that you have with them, give them a hug, encourage them in some cases, get them outside help if law enforcement or that. Type of thing needs to be involved in their situation.
So the nonprofit just allowed us to have a platform for us to put together ongoing resources, curriculums, parent guides, trainings for teenagers, to really have the steps to go from that big dream that they would come and share with me after a speech to how do you actually reverse. engineer these smart goals and find accountability partners and buddies that can hold you accountable and make sure that you do all these things and Actually get to where you want to go because I think so many of these kids It’s not for lack of them not wanting it bad enough, but they just really don’t know what to do And in today’s world There’s so many doggone distractions that it’s easy just to kind of numb yourself out on your phone or with video games And go from there
Brian Thomas: That’s awesome.
And again, it’s a, it’s storytelling. And the story that you just shared is really touches me. And I can only imagine I’ve seen a lot in, in my life and having the youth share stories and you being that mentor and knowing you didn’t have a lot of time with them until you had to get on that next airplane or bus or whatnot.
But now you’ve launched a way to help all these kids. Really get out of where they’re at and maybe not physically, but maybe mentally or that sort of thing. I really appreciate it. What you’re doing is amazing. Jesse, through your speaking engagements and programs, you’ve reached millions of teenagers.
Could you share a success story that stands out and exemplifies the transformative power of your approach?
Jesse LeBeau: Yeah, there’s so many different ones, and I was thinking about this because someone asked me this the other day and there’s one that shifted me to be like, okay, this is like where we need these additional resources.
And it was a kid who was a seventh grader. I remember the school. I won’t say the specific school, but it was in Orange County, California, and he came up to me after one of the talks that I gave and really, he started breaking down. And he shared that his dad had committed suicide nine months ago, and then his uncle had died of cancer three months ago.
And so, so many of these situations that kids are going with are just out of their control. And a big one, if I go and ask any room that I go to in America at a school, the biggest one as of late that I’ve heard is kids having the hardest time over their parents splitting up and being divorced. And all the feelings and emotions that Go along with that and it’s tough enough when you have adults who are having a hard time with different things But a lot of times us as adults It’s things that we kind of brought on to ourselves with our own bad decisions that we’ve made But with kids it just tears my heart up because so many times it’s completely out of their control.
So that was one that like really shifted me to have ongoing resources, but one to be more specific for what you’re asking is the very first talk I ever gave once I decided to like actually do this and not just be handed microphones. It was at my high school that I graduated from Ketchikan High School, and I have the screenshot of the message, and basically a girl was diagnosed with bipolar disorder.
And she was on a lot of heavy medication and the message says that from just hearing that you could control your attitude She couldn’t control what was going on in her life But she did have the power and she could take it back by choosing how she was going to respond to her current situation And from that she goes on to say that she was able to get off all of the medication and really turn her life around And go in a totally different direction.
So that was just from one talk, like the first one, which between us and I guess everyone listening, it wasn’t polished. It wasn’t what it is today. It was very green, but because I was passionate and because I was being. Very authentic. That shines through, I’ve found, more than, than any polished thing, is just caring about what you’re saying and having people feel that you care about them.
So that one that’s always really special to me is that, that girl from that very first speech I ever gave at my alma mater in, uh, in Alaska.
Brian Thomas: I love those chock full of stories tonight, and I appreciate that, Jesse, highlighting the seventh grader that approached you, broke down, you know, his dad committed suicide, and his uncle just had died from cancer, and then you talked a little bit about divorce.
It is very hard on kids. I wish there was an owner’s manual with life that we got when we were born, but unfortunately, we have to learn the hard way. But I love the story. Your very first time is, I think that’s where your attitude is everything now. Control your attitude with the story of the girl that was diagnosed with that bipolar disorder.
And I think that’s amazing. Love the stories. Really do, Jesse. And Jesse, the last question I have for you this evening, your reality series, The LeBeau Show, offers viewers insight into your work with youth. What inspired you to create this show and how has it influenced your mission to impact teens positively?
Jesse LeBeau: Yeah, so from going to so many different places, and one of the things that’s really special is after I give a talk, a lot of times they’ll come up, like I said, after and line up and share, but sometimes we will organize a smaller meetup with kids that some of the teachers or the principals know are going through difficult things, and we have it in like the library or a more intimate setting where they get to have the ability to really open up and share, and the things that we kept seeing consistently Is just unbelievable and I wanted to get the awareness out there so that other people could be involved and we can reach as many people to have a positive impact as we possibly can because in this day and I know we talk a little bit about the teen loneliness epidemic where kids are so connected on their phones and through their screens and smart devices.
But there’s never been more kids that are lonely. And that’s something that I could really connect with, because I grew up on this little island with no roads or stores in Alaska, and it was before the internet was what it is today. And I felt isolated, and I felt like I didn’t have the opportunity to do the things that I wanted to do.
So The show is really just a light hearted way for us to be able to show people that are going through difficult things and that they aren’t alone going through those things and that there’s people out there that can help them and they can turn their lives around if they want to do that. So, we have a lot of fun and we go to a lot of cool places and we keep it light because the things that we see with these kids Are personal and they’re difficult.
So we don’t want to just share all of their hardships with everyone and do more damage than do good. So we kind of show more of the positive side of things. But it was really what I actually see in these schools all across the country of what real problems people are facing. I think it does such an amazing job to put it.
Our problems into perspective and so often we can get down and we can be so focused on ourselves that we miss out on there’s people that would give anything in this world to trade places with us and have the problems that we have. So that’s really the spirit of what the show was built out of and created and it’s been, uh, it’s been a lot of fun working on that.
Brian Thomas: That’s amazing. Just so you just like I said full of a lot of heartwarming stories here for our audience tonight I love how you are very thoughtful about your show the setting it’s more natural relaxing It’s a trusting environment to get the kids to feel more comfortable in that environment And then you’re drawing up You said you were lonely and that really resonates with a lot of the youth these days as you said Being on social media all the time.
So you’re making a huge impact To the youth across the world and I really appreciate it. So thank you, brother.
Jesse LeBeau: No, well, thank you for having me, man. This was a lot of fun.
Brian Thomas: Absolutely. And I look forward to speaking with you real soon.
Jesse LeBeau: Sounds great. Awesome. Have a good one.
Brian Thomas: Bye for now.
Jesse Lebeau Podcast Transcript. Listen to the audio on the guest’s Podcast Page.
