Lessons to take from John Cena’s interview on JRE
I’d like to write about what i heard from John Cena on Joe Rogan, although I’m aware of him, I don’t know about him much. However this podcast unveiled such a positive and wonderful human being, and I feel there is much to his career approach.
Fundamentally it is about building a positive cycle of reinforcement for one’s career, and it is applicable beyond wrestling and acting:
Discipline prepares you for when opportunities arise.
Show up and give back tenfold for every one received.
Perform, get some noise, if none then change course
Realise that success requires steady, consistent effort.
When things don't go to plan, always choose humility and learning.
Luck visits everyone, be prepared to seize opportunities courageously
“My career is a marathon of single matches over 23 years.”
”[Discussing the origin of his rap gimmick] It was an accident. I was on the back of a bus... [Stephanie McMahon] heard me freestyling... She said, ‘Would you like to do that on TV?’ I said, ‘Yes.’ And that saved my job.”
Cena talks about his early days in WWE, on the verge of getting cut. Thinking there’s nothing to lose, he took the opportunity to rap and it developed into a persona that kept him on. It wasn’t planned, it could still turn out bad, its a happy accident that his rapping was noticed, yet he capitalised on it when offered the chance.
Another person might have declined, thinking its not a thing, not normal for their profession- but he just went with it. I can think of a few times in my career this has happened, both accepting and declining opportunities. Whilst its true that not all opportunities turn out, but its also very true that I will never be able to realised anything from those declined opportunities
Perform, get some noise, if none then change course
Even if he had taken the opportunity, there’s still a chance it won’t work out. Cena’s mentality is also very positive on this, there isn’t a fear of failure, instead he uses audience ‘noise’ as feedback.
Cena: "It's just... I'm just checking for noise. That’s it. I’m just... I'm throwing stuff out there, and I’m waiting for the echo. And if the echo comes back, we go. And if I throw it out there and nothing comes back, I change course immediately."
Rogan: "So you’re feeling the crowd?"
Cena: "Every night. Every night. That’s the job. The job isn’t the moves. The moves are just the tools to make the music. But you gotta play the jazz. You gotta hear the notes. You gotta hear the audience."
Cena doesn’t view his career as one build on a viral moment, but built on every single match over the long term. He wanted to be the man who was there for 20 years, be counted on a body of work, not just one moment.
To him, success is granular. It is a series of opportunities that he is prepared for and performed consistently.
Tenfold
Cena had no master plan, he just wanted and liked to wrestle (or perhaps he liked the performance), he just wanted to be there. He is extremely ready to take on any chances, and in his own words "I believe in giving back tenfold for every opportunity received”
He can’t control what kind of opportunities he get, but he can control how ready he is.
Discipline is a lifestyle, not a chore
“ I describe my career as a marathon... [It requires] a long-term commitment to work and steady progress in the industry.”
“You give your talent the opportunities to gain knowledge and wisdom.”
Cena’s approach to his physical fitness and career longevity is rooted in consistency. He doesn't view his workout regime or his language studies as "work" in the traditional sense, but as necessary components of the lifestyle he has chosen. He emphasises that showing up is the hardest part, but also the only part that matters.
Choose Learning over defensiveness
When he faced significant backlash for referring to Taiwan as a country, he chose not to be defensive. I would have been—blaming Mainland China for being overly sensitive, or faulting my promoter or scriptwriter for putting me in that situation.
This isn't about whether Cena or anyone was right or wrong, or even how he should have reacted publicly to the backlash. It's about him choosing to learn a lesson from it. In doing so, he prevented defensiveness (or pride) from blocking that lesson.
Have the humility to accept that things didn’t happening as thought, choose a reaction other than defensiveness, then to humbly derive teachings from it.
In summary
His approach is simple but applicable beyond wrestling and acting:
Discipline prepares you for when opportunities arise.
Show up and give back tenfold for every one received.
Perform, get some noise, if none then change course
Realise that success requires steady, consistent effort.
When things don't go to plan, always choose humility and learning.
End. 24th December 2025
