Jennifer Lopez & Jay Shetty ON Defining Your True Purpose

Jennifer Lopez is an incredibly talented entertainer who has reached success while staying authentic to who she is. In January, she performed at the inauguration for President Biden and launched a new skincare line, “JLo Beauty.”

Lopez has been a cultural icon for 25 years, and her mantra for this year is “Dream On.” Her belief that 2021 can bring change and healing motivates her to inspire people to be more unified, loving, understanding, and accepting of the world. Her goal is to give people hope and direction.

Empower, inspire and entertain—three words Lopez uses to describe her purpose. Lopez sat down with Jay Shetty on the YouTube series, “Coach Conversations” to talk about how she found her purpose and how she continues to live that purpose.

Purpose in Troubled Times

Lopez shares with Jay Shetty that she visited Ruth Bader Ginsburg while on tour. “I got the privilege to meet her in her chambers while I was on tour, Lopez explains. “I said to her, ‘What can I do to help? The world is so crazy right now.’ She said, ‘Exactly what you're doing.’ Every person just has to do what they do best and be the best that they can be, and in that, they will help the world.”

Jay Shetty agrees those words could not be more accurate. In a time where people are struggling, it is more important than ever for everyone to do what they do best to help the world. Here are Jay Shetty’s best tips for finding purpose in troubled times:

 
• Take a moment to pause and look inward
 
• Take stock of the things that are important in your life and prioritize them
 
• Figure out who you want to be when that troubled time passes
 
• Employ your strengths to give back to the world around you

Shetty has built a life around coaching others to find their strengths. As a purpose coach, he helps people figure out how they can have the deepest, most meaningful impact on others by using their gifts. “I believe there's someone out there right now who's going to cure a disease,” Jay Shetty tells Lopez. “They don't even know it yet. There is someone out there who's going to inspire millions of people, and they don't even know it yet. If I can play even a tiny role in helping them get closer to that, then that's what I'm trying to dedicate my life to.”

Jay Shetty did not start his career as a purpose coach. He was a monk for a few years before he went into the business world. It is there that he saw a lot of pain in humanity. The source of that pain was a lack of education. People did not have the tools to manage it, and he wanted to provide that training. “If you think about it, we have a class for biology, but we don't have a class for the heart or emotions,” Jay Shetty says to Lopez.

“Why don't they teach kids from very young to love themselves?” Lopez questions in agreement. “I remember when I was going through therapy. At the beginning, it was a lot of talk about loving yourself. I love myself, but obviously I was doing all these things in my personal relationships. It didn't seem like I was loving myself, but I didn't even understand the concept of it. It took time and it's a journey and it's still a journey for me.”

Calling vs. Career

What is the difference between a calling and a career? “A career feels like something you're always pushing trying to make it work,” Jay Shetty explains. “A calling feels like something that's pulling you closer to it.”

Jay Shetty believes that careers can evolve into callings when you learn from your career and apply that knowledge to the future. Lopez agrees and adds that even when a job doesn't feel right, if you put your heart and soul into it and do the best you can do, you're going to get something out of it. It’s going to lead to something else.

“You have to try to be the greatest of all time. You have to aim for that,” Lopez tells Jay Shetty.

Be Intentional

Aiming to be the greatest of all time requires intention. Intention is the drive to do things with a purpose. Lopez admits to Jay Shetty that she has always been intentional about picking things in her life and everything is purposeful. She strives to be the best but believes you do not need to be the best to have success. You just have to not give up, keep going, and believe you have something unique to offer. “I started as a dancer,” Lopez explains to Jay Shetty. “I wasn't always the best dancer. I was a great dancer, but I wasn't the best dancer. Everybody's so competitive in these fields, but I knew that from the beginning, so I put something extra into it. I put my heart and soul into each move. There was a purpose behind it. Everything had to speak something. What I realized matters is connecting in a way, putting a passion into each move, and making everything mean something. Everything I do, I want it to have a purpose to it. I want to remind people to own their power. Be your best self at every moment, even when the cameras are not on.”

When you stand behind your work and put 100 percent into what you are doing, it has a more significant impact on people. Lopez launched her skincare line in January of 2021, but she used the last day of 2020 to promote her launch by telling everyone to wash away 2020. It was symbolic of washing away the pain, uncertainty, and fear that so many people experienced in that year and starting the new year with a fresh perspective and purpose.

Redefining your Purpose

Maybe you think you are living your purpose, but something doesn’t feel quite right. How do you redefine your purpose so that you are the best version of yourself?Redefining your purpose does not mean you are reinventing yourself or trying to be something different. You are not trying to trick people into something new. You are evolving as a person.

“The most important thing is that you have to listen to yourself,” Lopez tells Jay Shetty. “What you say and what you think becomes your reality. If you're telling yourself you’re a loser, it will manifest. I really believe that we create our lives, not just with our actions and the things we do, but the things we think about and the self-talk that we give. You really have to have a strong sense of self, and gut instinct and listen to your inner voice.”

Being in tune with your passion and purpose is essential. A strong sense of self and gut instinct will guide you, but you also need to surround yourself with the right mentors. Coaching it forward means telling the people in your life how they have impacted your life. Tell them why you enjoy being around them and be specific about what they do that makes your life better. “We all know what ‘pay it forward’ means,” Lopez shares with Jay Shetty. “You receive a blessing, and then you pay it forward selflessly to somebody else. I love that idea. But I also love the idea of coaching it forward, which is as simple as picking up the phone and calling somebody and saying, ‘You make my everyday better.’” When coaching it forward is done from a place of specific gratitude, it allows you, as the giver, to experience as much joy as the person receiving it. It becomes more personal. Wherever you are in your purpose-driven life, you can share your strengths with the world. As Ruth Bader Ginsburg told Jennifer Lopez, “Do exactly what you're doing. Every person just has to do what they do best, and be the best that they can be, and in that they will help the world.”

More From Jay Shetty

Listen to the entire On Purpose with Jay Shetty podcast episode with Jennifer Lopez ON “Defining Your True Purpose” now in the iTunes store or on Spotify. For more inspirational stories and messages like this, check out Jay’s website at jayshetty.me.