Removing the Mask: Jay Stefanson on Purpose, Mindset, and Finding Your True Self

Hello everyone, and welcome back to Telling My Story, the podcast where we believe that everyone has a story, and within every story are lessons that can inspire, educate, and change lives. I'm your host, Henry Chivetel. Today, we are having a conversation about something many people struggle with silently, the belief that we are not enough. My guest has experienced that belief personally and has transformed it into a message of purpose, authenticity, motivation, and personal growth. Jai Stephenson is a best-selling author, motivational coach, spiritual teacher, international podcast host, and someone passionate about helping people unlock their potential and life with purpose. Jai's journey includes childhood experiences that affect his sense of self-worth, incredible personal and professional growth, and a life-changing stroke scare that caused him to look differently at purpose, success, and the limited time we have. Today, he encourages people to remove the masks, own their own story, discover their purpose, and recognize that they are enough. Jai, welcome to Telling My Story. It's a pleasure to have you here with us today.

Mate, it's a pleasure all the way from Australia, mate. Kangaroos, koalas, and Steve Irwin impersonations, mate.

All right. Um, me and my audience are so excited to hear about your story today.

Fantastic, mate. It's great to have you on-- Um, have that-- Me to be on board. I'm usually the one doing the interview, so it's a pleasure to be on your show, my friend. Thank you very much for having me.

All right. Let's start at the beginning. You were told as a child you are not enough, and you will never amount to anything. How did those words affect the person you become?

Well, it's an interesting, um, interesting thing that you ask, uh, question that you ask because it didn't really resonate with me till I was about, oh, 45 that I really had the effect of what the actual traumatic experiences were. And I mean, we can play victim mode or whatever you wanna do, but we know that the subconscious mind is being channeled and being worked on in the first seven years. So those experiences, if they're not-- if, if your foundation isn't given to you, like someone you can actually rely on and someone you can be, actually be yourself, those, uh-- the, the su- the subconscious mind will give you that armor to protect yourself, so-- And you'll have those experiences which you're relevant to. So that's what will happen. So if you're used to some crap and negativity in your life, uh, and those traumatic experiences, you will fear that, and those fears will come into your i- into your psyche when you're o- when you're older. You're trying to be an adult. You're trying to get yourself into what life's all about, enjoying what you want. You can feel it in your heart what you've got and what you wanna do in your life, but you've also got that subconscious blocking that you're not enough. You know, you, you, you're putting this mask on. You go, "Oh, I'm that good," but you really aren't 'cause you haven't d- you haven't actually delved into yourself, and a lot of people can't find that. They don't have a trusted, authentic space for someone to