John Legend: Why He Chose an 'Audacious' Name And How It Changed Him
The High Performance Podcast
High Performance
4.8 • 4.7K Ratings
🗓️ 10 December 2025
⏱️ 33 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Win a behind-the-scenes experience at a High Performance record day! Pre-order our brand new book Micro-Habits and use code MICROHABITS26 for 25% off and to be in with a chance of winning: https://hppod.co/HPComp
John Legend didn’t set out to become “Legend.” The name found him long before the world did. In this episode Damian is joined by EGOT winner John Legend to explore how a simple nickname evolved into a self-fulfilling prophecy.
Before being a ‘legend’, he was John Stevens, a management consultant working on spreadsheets by day and hustling in studios by night. We explore how a nickname turned into a new identity, and how that identity shaped John’s behaviour, ambition, and artistry. Drawing on research from psychology, from the Proteus Effect to the Batman Effect, we uncover how stepping into a bigger version of ourselves can elevate performance long before results arrive.
In this episode, you will learn:
- Why adopting a new identity can raise your standards instantly
- How John used “Legend” as a behavioural challenge, not branding
- The psychology of alter egos
- How identity influences confidence, resilience, and creativity
- Practical ways to choose and step into an identity that helps you perform
This episode is a powerful reminder that names aren’t just labels, they’re scripts. And sometimes the fastest way to grow is to choose a name that demands it.
Listen to the full episode with John Legend: https://pod.fo/e/2dda44
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | He just started calling me the legend, which kind of morphed into John Legend. |
| 0:06.9 | I didn't want to not take the name because I was afraid of it. |
| 0:11.3 | I wanted to take that leap, take that risk, and say, you know what, I'm betting on myself. |
| 0:18.7 | I'm betting on my own success. |
| 0:23.1 | Welcome to the essential habits of high performance. This is a place where we explore |
| 0:28.5 | the daily practices, the mindsets and those teachable moments that shape extraordinary lives |
| 0:34.0 | and leaders. Today's question is this. How does our identity shape our performance? |
| 0:40.2 | And we're doing it in the company of John Legend. His story isn't just about fame or talent, |
| 0:45.2 | but it's about the psychology of identity. How naming who you want to be can change how you show up. |
| 0:52.6 | He didn't just become a legend. He decided to act like one, long before the |
| 0:57.2 | world would ever believe it. And that's our focus today. How adopting a bigger identity can |
| 1:03.6 | stretch your own standards and change your behavior. Hey, I'm Damien Hughes and I've worked as a visiting professor of organisation behaviour. |
| 1:13.3 | I've been a trusted advisor to dozens of elite leaders, including the England football team. |
| 1:18.9 | But above all, I've immersed myself in this world of high performance for the last 25 years because |
| 1:24.3 | most importantly, I love understanding how it works and how we can all take the lessons |
| 1:30.1 | from our guests and apply them into our own world. |
| 1:35.8 | So, what's in a name? |
| 1:38.5 | For some, it's a label, but for John Stevens, it ultimately became a destiny. |
| 1:45.1 | Back in the early 2000s, John Stevens was a 20-something-year-old session musician in New York. |
| 1:51.3 | He was writing hooks and playing keyboards anywhere he could, |
| 1:54.7 | in between working as a management consultant. |
| 1:57.6 | And then one day something happened. |
... |
Transcript will be available on the free plan in 17 days. Upgrade to see the full transcript now.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from High Performance, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of High Performance and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2025.