Macklemore ON: How to Stop Letting the Past Define You & Ways to Discover your Greatest Strengths in Hard Times

Today, I sit down with the one and only Macklemore to talk about recovery, healing, and choosing to live a better life. We start with being self-aware and how this is helpful in cleansing yourself to recovery, the endless battle with self-hate and how to put your focus on self love instead, how success can also mean finding the willpower to change yourself and become someone better. We end the conversation by talking about authenticity and setting new goals for a better life.

Macklemore is a multi-Platinum and Grammy award-winning artist, who's made history with a combination of commercial success, critical acclaim, and international appeal with a total of 12.8 billion combined streams to date. He is one of the most successful independent artists of the 21st century and he's consistently used his art and platform to raise awareness around issues of addiction and recovery.

You can order my new book 8 RULES OF LOVE at 8rulesoflove.com or at a retail store near you. You can also get the chance to see me live on my first ever world tour. This is a 90 minute interactive show where I will take you on a journey of finding, keeping and even letting go of love. Head to jayshettytour.com and find out if I'll be in a city near you. Thank you so much for all your support - I hope to see you soon.

What We Discuss:

00:00 Intro
02:32 Why is it important to cut out the noise when there is a constant narrative of who you should be?
04:50 Despite the success, it’s easy to fall into the trap of addiction while being plagued with fear.
09:13 Addiction is like an allergy and this is the reason why.
11:50 It came down to choosing between life and death, and a choice had to be made.
16:43 Service is a pillar in the recovery community.
22:30 The darkness is always there and it can creep at you anytime.
28:28 When you mistake the numbness you feel as peace and then find a more sustainable way to experience inner peace.
31:46 Macklemore shares what it felt during his near death experiences.
34:45 Sometimes a supportive partner is all you need to pull yourself out of the rut.
44:38 Rediscover who you are as a person and the different ways to accomplish this.
50:09 How do we ‘normally’ size people up or gauge success?
51:16 Think Out Loud - how Jay started how mission to make wisdom go viral
57:17 Macklemore answers the question, “How would you define success now?”
01:03:07 Authentic art cannot be manufactured because you can’t fake authenticity.
01:12:25 Setting goals to help change yourself and lead a better path in life.
01:17:58 Ben on Final Five

Episode Resources