What’s your backstory?
Justin Schenck is the host of the top-rated podcast the Growth Now Movement and founder of Growth Now, LLC which is a full-service podcast production and coaching company. He has been named a Top 8 Podcaster to follow by INC Magazine and chosen as an ‘Icon of Influence’ in the new media space.
What started out as something fun to do in order to connect with top influencers and help one or two people along their journey, has grown to become a podcast that is currently getting played in over 100 countries every single week and ranked in the top 15% in the world. Justin now works with some of the worlds elite entrepreneurs and business owners like Ed Mylett, Fabio Viviani, and Cindy Eckert.
He is also the host and creator of one of the most exciting live events for entrepreneurs and forward thinkers; Growth Now Movement LIVE!
But that wasn’t always the case. If there was a senior superlative for least likely to succeed that would be Justin. With a 1.7 GPA, his dad in jail, and his mom in the middle of a 20 year opioid addiction which she later lost, all signs pointed to a rough road for Justin. At 19 years old he got a job in direct sales and discovered self-development and lead him on a journey to discover that it doesn’t matter where you come from or even where you are today. What matters are the decisions you make today to create a better tomorrow.
5 months before launching the Growth Now Movement Podcast, Justin’s mom lost her battle to opioids. In that moment Justin had a choice, he can allow this rock bottom moment to define him, or he could create a platform that gives people hope that you can truly live a happy life no matter what. This simple decision made him shift perspectives with the podcast and that has now lead him to work with people like Ed Mylett, Fabio Viviani, Sarah Centrella, and so many more of the world’s top influencers, entrepreneurs, and celebrities.
I know this is not an easy job. What drives you?
For me, having the ability to build strong relationships with people I admire and to also know that I’m able to inspire and help people all over the world every single week with my podcast. When people reach out to me telling me how much my show has helped them, it keeps that spark going every single time.
None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? What lesson did you learn from them?
Gosh, there are so many. From Fabio Viviani for making 50 individual introductions to incredible people to have on my podcast to Sarah Centrella and all the other speakers for speaking at my event.
But, honestly, every single conversation I have has been a lesson in itself. So, I’d say for all 100+ of the incredible people I’ve had the honor to interview and learn from. This has been my biggest takeaway. We must take care of ourselves first, we much love ourselves, and fill our cups first. You can no pour from an empty cup. This has lead to some amazing daily practices that has truly improved my life.
How do you push through your worst times?
I get through my worst times because I know life is 10% what happens to you and 90% how you react to what happens to you. I know that during those worst times it is showing me opportunities to live a better life, to impact more people, and to truly push through. You just have to make the right choices during those times.