How One “Golden Moment” Can Transform Your Entire Life

Mel Robbins (0:00)

Hey, it's your friend Mel, and welcome to The Mel Robbins Podcast.

I am just so excited for what's about to happen, because this episode is a full circle moment for me, and I am so thrilled to invite you to take a seat at the table as it happens. Today, I am finally sitting down with a man that changed my life 35 years ago, without having any idea that he did it. His name? John Grisham. Yes, that John Grisham, one of the most successful writers of our time. He sold 500 million copies of his books, and today, John Grisham is here in our Boston studios to share his most personal story yet, his own.

John says, there are these things called golden moments in your life that just change everything. These are moments you don't see coming. It's as if a light goes off in your mind, and it transforms your entire life. Today, he'll share two golden moments with you that changed his, and teach you how you can create them in your own life. Plus, John Grisham shares takeaway after takeaway after takeaway on so many topics, from dealing with rejection, defining your dreams, exactly what to do when you feel like you're drifting through life. He'll teach you his exact morning routine that he has followed for 30 years, the one that led to 52 best sellers. He still follows this routine today. And how to create space for your dreams in the middle of your busy life. What you're about to hear is just so incredible that his publicist and publisher told me that they've worked with John Grisham for decades. He hasn't shared half the things he's about to tell you.

Honestly, I feel so inspired right now. I've got to stop talking because I've got to start writing my next chapter. And after you listen today, so will you.

Hey, it's your friend Mel and welcome to The Mel Robbins Podcast. I am ecstatic that you are here with me today. It's such an honor to be together and to spend this time with you. If you're new here or somebody sent this episode to you, I just want to take a moment and personally welcome you to The Mel Robbins Podcast family. Today in our Boston studios, you and I get to spend time with the one and only John Grisham. John Grisham is one of the most successful authors of all time. He's sold almost 500 million books around the world. He has written some of the most iconic and award-winning legal thrillers ever. The Firm, The Pelican Brief, The Client, The Rainmaker, Runaway Jury, and A Time to Kill. All 52 of his books have been number one best sellers. And I personally cannot wait for John's newest book. I've been looking for a page turner, and John says, Omel, this is the fastest page turner I've ever written, The French Illusion. Now, you may know these titles, but I bet you don't know his backstory. The rejections, the twists, the turns, the doubt that he struggled with, and now, one page at a time, John Grisham wrote his way into an entirely new life.

This conversation means a lot to me, because 35 years ago, John Grisham changed my life, and he didn't even know it. And there's no doubt that if I hadn't picked up a book called The Firm and read it while I was miserable in law school, I wouldn't be sitting here right now in the career that I have. So please help me welcome the one, the only, the legendary John Grisham to The Mel Robbins Podcast.

John Grisham (3:50)

Happy to be here, Mel. Good seeing you.

Mel Robbins (3:52)

I am thrilled to meet you in person.

John Grisham (3:54)

I'm thrilled to meet you in person.

Mel Robbins (3:55)

And the reason why I'm so thrilled is because 35 years ago, it was 1991, and I was here in Boston. I was in my first year of law school at Boston College Law School. I was absolutely miserable. I had gone to law school because a bunch of my friends were starting to go off to different schools and I had a part-time job as a paralegal, which I hated. But for some reason, I applied to law school because I didn't know what else to do. I get there and I realized I've made a huge mistake. I hated every aspect of it. I cried all the time. I drank a lot. And somebody told me that there was this book that had come out. And I picked up a copy because I hated doing the academic work. It was The Firm. It was your book. I bet I stayed up two nights in a row reading this thing. And the reason why it changed my life is because when I found out that you were a lawyer, I couldn't believe that you were both a lawyer and that you could write such an extraordinary fiction story. And it gave me this epiphany. I thought, oh, wait a minute. I don't have to practice law.