Mavericks on the Mic
Mavericks move differently. They are known for disrupting the status quo and rewriting the script. Mavericks on the Mic uncovers the “Maverick Moments” that have shaped the lives of our guests. From personal stories of risk, unexpected pivots to moments of faith and resilience, these stories will inspire you to see your own Maverick Moment — the one that changed everything, even if no one else knows about it.
Mavericks on the Mic
Jason Jackson: Walking Away from the Game
Jason Jackson walked away from everything the world said he was supposed to chase—D1 football, six-figure job, social media clout—all to follow something bigger.
This is more than just talk. Jason is 23, but his wisdom hits like he’s been here for decades. We got into:
🎙️ Quitting football & finding identity outside the game
🎙️ Why chasing money won’t ever fulfill you
🎙️ Social media fame vs. real purpose
🎙️ Why popularity is dangerous for Christians today
🎙️ Trusting God when nothing makes sense
Jason tells us aboutabout sacrifice, faith, and why most people are scared to live fully for God. If you’ve ever felt stuck between comfort and calling, this one’s for you.
This convo is a masterclass on faith, discipline, and doing life God's way. Hit play, lock in, and let’s talk about it.
🔥 Drop a comment below if Jason's journey hits home for you.
👉 Like, share, and subscribe to help us keep these stories coming.
🎧 On the move? Tap in on Apple Podcasts or Spotify for the audio version.
#MavericksOnTheMic #FaithOverFame #PurposeOverPopularity #TrustGod #ChristianInfluencer #FaithJourney #GodsPlan #KingdomWork #WalkByFaith #Entrepreneurship #BiblicalTruth #SocialMediaAndFaith #FootballTestimony #SpiritualGrowth #JesusFirst #MavericksOnTheMic
Chapter Markers
00:00 - The Decision to Walk Away
02:00 - The Identity Crisis: Who Am I Without Football?
05:55 - Rock Bottom & the Moment That Changed Everything
07:07 - The Song That Broke Me: “Keep Praying”
12:28 - Popularity vs. Purpose: What Are You Really Chasing?
19:39 - The Truth About Christian Collabs & Social Media
25:26 - Why You Should Pray About Everything (Yes, EVERYTHING)
37:23 - Sin, Struggles & Making the Right Choices
44:37 - What the Church Needs to Get Right About Influence
52:05 - The Trap of Comparison & Finding Your Own Path
57:08 - Why My Social Media Strategy is Just Obedience to God
1:07:07 - The Truth About Entrepreneurship & What Nobody Tells You
🔥 Drop a comment to let us know who you want to see on the Mic.
👉 Don’t forget to rate, share and subscribe
🎧 Want to watch the conversation? Watch on YouTube
I walked away from ball.
Speaker 2:It wasn't because I didn't feel like I could do anything for the game. No more Football was becoming who I was and not what I did. One term that I don't use is I'm a Christian social media influencer, because I've seen people on the internet jeopardize their faith to get a brand deal.
Speaker 3:It's been quoted that you said that popularity is one of the biggest dangers to the future of Christianity. What did you mean by that?
Speaker 2:If I didn't agree with Madman City's Philatelistic Racialism, I wouldn't be on the show.
Speaker 1:He said what is the lie? It was Madman City, he said so. A porn hub called you guys and asked y'all to do a collab. Would you do it?
Speaker 2:And I said but in that moment I realized, bro, I'm just people pleasing, All I have to do is fight for me and for the Lord.
Speaker 3:What's up everybody. Welcome to another episode of Mavericks on the Mic. I'm JJ.
Speaker 1:I'm Norman and today we have our special special guest. It's a dude I reached out to. I thought he was super inspiring, super motivational, really knows the text our problem.
Speaker 2:Jason Jackson. What up?
Speaker 1:what's up, man JJJ yes, sir JJ and JJ, we got 5J and that's it that's it.
Speaker 2:What up, man? Yeah, I'm living, I'm blessed to be here, man, absolutely it's really an honor especially coming from where I come from, and just a crazy story around maverick city and me. So being to be here and speak with y'all is like like something I couldn't even think to pray for, wow talk to me about that you're gonna get right into it, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2:So most people probably don't know this because it's kind of god has just kind of exalted me into the light at a young age, but I just started social media. I just created my social media accounts last year. Wow, like 2023, january 2nd. So I ain't have TikTok, I ain't have Instagram, I ain't have none of that. Wow, it was my way of like getting away from a person that I used to be and becoming somebody that I had never been before. Wow, so I created it. I played college football, played in Arkansas, and then one thing that kind of hit me was like when things didn't go my way Because I had, you know, you hear the coaches. They come in, they tell you all the stuff you got these shots at NFL and all that. But I asked Cass all the time like who are you whenever things go south? Yeah, and I had a situation that went south for me.
Speaker 2:I walked away from ball Okay. It wasn't because I didn't feel like I could do anything for the game no more. It wasn't because I hated my teammates. It wasn't because I didn't like the program. It's because I felt like football was becoming who I was and not what I did, like I was becoming a football player.
Speaker 1:That was an idol.
Speaker 2:Absolutely it was, and a lot of guys they don't realize that that's what it is. But I caught it early, luckily, you know. So I ended up graduating with a finance degree, moved to Houston, texas no family, no friends, no, nothing. Moved there by myself. Start this job, pay me $40,000 a year To my family. I made it Like the town I come from. That's what making it is. So I get there, man. I move to Houston January 6th, start the job January 9th. I'm working two and a half weeks, 13 hours a day, six days a week. I get to January 25th.
Speaker 2:I'm like man ain't no way, like ain't no way. This what God got for me, like when he created me. There's no way that he said this is the best that I can do for you. So what did I do? I quit. I had no backup plan, I had nobody I could call and say hey, can I, can I come crash with you? For I had rent, I had a car, I had a max out credit card. Wow, it's all I had.
Speaker 2:I had just broke up with my ex-girlfriend right before I left school, girlfriend, and right before I left school. And it was hard for me because it was a moment in which my faith was tested. It's like are you going to worship her or worship me? You know that was the question that I was getting and you know I broke up with her and as time went on, I knew that she was going to go back to the life that she was previously living, Like I knew that the life that I helped her get away from without me being there in her presence, she's going to go back to the life that she was previously living Like I knew that the life that I helped her get away from without me being there in her presence, she was going to go back to it. So I kind of felt guilty for that. I'm like man, bro, like I know this is going to happen and I feel like it's my fault that it happened.
Speaker 2:So at this point, like I'm broke and broken heart, I call on the phone one day, man, I'm like like I'll do anything, anything back with you, blah, blah, blah. And I'm glad god ain't turned into a pillow sock because, uh, I was, it's definitely. I was supposed to walk away from hit her up. She told me um, I just feel like you take this god stuff too serious. And before I got on the phone with her. I had prayed god, if this, if this ain't for me, let me know. That's the first thing she said when we got on the phone. I'm like cool.
Speaker 2:It's February 6th last year 2023 for those who watching and I just remember in that moment I hadn't cried in eight years Tore, my ACL, my freshman year of college. I wasn't crying, though, because I was broke. I wasn't crying because I was in a financial crisis. I wasn't crying because I had lost a relationship. I was crying because I realized that everything that I had previously identified with had just died. Everything had died.
Speaker 2:So it's like people look at me and I share that story and people think, oh man, I understand what you're going through, but they're not learning the same. I was more at the loss of a person, but it wasn't the relationship, it was me. It was the version of me that I had always knew. So it's like I was attending a funeral that was ongoing. It wasn't just a one-day service for me, it was all night long, but the song that had me crying they brought me to it's all sitting there, you know I'm and stuff, but the song that brought me to tears is Keep Praying. Wow, had never heard that song before, of course, growing up in an environment where Christ is glorified.
Speaker 1:Wow, I heard.
Speaker 2:Christian music and stuff like that all the time. But I grew up Church of Christ, so they do things different. I didn't know that. I didn't know that until I got older. Ain't no instruments in there. Ain't nobody having a. That's not the way that they worship. So when I'm hearing this, it's almost as if it's the first time that I'm being exposed to something that's different, and it's like it's speaking to me the moment she said he hears, he sees every tear that's falling. Yeah, I broke.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it broke me Like it broke me. I hadn't cried in eight years, bro. I cried that day. I cried to that song two days ago, thinking about the fact that I got the opportunity to sit here and with y'all. Come on, bro, like this is something that I could never even imagine. I come from a town of 1,300 people. I graduated with 40. My father got sentenced to 40 years in prison on a murder charge. The day I started crawling I was 81 years old.
Speaker 2:So to be able to do this type of stuff and to be able to glorify God while doing it, it means more to me than anybody else could ever imagine. So when people ask me if you can go back, you know you had this shot with the league. You had an opportunity to do this. Would you go back and do it? Now that you know it, there's no way out with me because there's no paycheck that you could give me in exchange for saving one soul. That's what's important to me. I could pick up a ball. I can, throw it, I can.
Speaker 2:God gifted me with the ability to be able to go on a football field at any given moment and be able to do something that a lot of people can't do. And that's not me bragging, that's me stating the facts, but the thing that God gifted me to do, that I do the absolute best with the least amount of effort. It's communicating and connecting people on a level that they've never been reached at before, and that's because I went through something that most people have never. They ain't been through it yet. So when I'm speaking about it, they realize and this is me talking about something real like he understand what's going on in real life. So that's the reason why I'm here, like everything that I do is to glorify God. I'm 23 years old, yeah, and there's. I wouldn't trade this for the world.
Speaker 1:Let's, let's let's dive a little deeper. The reason why I like what you're discussing is because we're in a generation, now, right, where the message that you are speaking isn't popular anymore. Speaking isn't popular anymore, right, right, and especially for someone at your age, growing up in the social media era, growing up with people of their age me, me, me, yeah, especially when and then you know, we talk about it. You heard this when we were talking I don't know where you're talking, like, especially in the black community right, losing your father. Most people tie their identity to their father. That's by nature, because that's where our last names generally come from. Like, what has?
Speaker 1:I think my next question would be what started you on this faith journey? Was it from the Church of Christ? What church did you attend? What started you on this? Like, I don't know, I'll put it this way I don't know that many 20, I guess when you're in college, you're 18, 19. I don't know that many 18, 19-year-olds are deep enough in their faith to even recognize that.
Speaker 1:The thing I mean. If you in college playing football, this is what you've been doing since you was five, six, seven, eight. Most of us just look at that. That is my purpose. Many people wouldn't see that as as an item Right. Like you know, you hear they put ten thousand hours in anything to be willing, you know, to become a master. It's just that's my purpose. I'm a master, it's just that's my purpose.
Speaker 1:That's how a lot of people you know look at especially something like football or job or you know whatever a really intense hobby. How did you? What was that? I know I'm asking you a lot of questions, but because I really want to kind of understand this for you, what was that differentiator between? This is what I'm supposed to. This is my purpose. Like God has placed me here as a beacon, to be an NFL player and spread his message versus oh no, I place my identity as a football player above the call on my life and to get that center I need to discard that totally. Like, because that's a fine line. Right, there's a very fine line between building a purpose and then find and consider something the idol and then second then like, what, like what instilled that level of uh, discernment within you um, for me it was to answer the first question.
Speaker 2:It's like, what kind of like showed me that difference? Like what was the difference? What's the difference?
Speaker 1:between you know just being really passionate about your purpose and something you know discerning that it's an item. Who was the glorifier Pierre Wow, when I was on the field.
Speaker 2:I'm the one that everybody want to take a picture of. I'm the one that I want to sign the autographs for the kids. I want my name to be the one that everybody is chanting in the stands. I want to be the one that make the big. It's glorifying me, so I got a question we going.
Speaker 1:Tempestino, right? Yeah, you know Tempestino. I mean, he really popularized the message of Christ through football. I mean, he was the person that was taking pictures of them, but every time he talked, his message was about Christ. That's what I'm asking you, like, what was the like? Okay, yeah, of course you the one playing football, you know. So, yeah, they're going to take the pictures of you, right, but you'll say how you felt about them taking the picture or the fact that they taking the picture. I felt about it.
Speaker 2:Ah okay.
Speaker 2:That's what was taking the glory from God. Okay, Because I knew the amount of people that I was able to come in contact with on any given Saturday, Okay, or on any you know, walking throughout college campus. I'm naturally a quiet guy, Like I mean y'all something else, Like I just sit unreserved to myself. But I know that by me being that and being a football player, it's going to draw some attention, Because why ain't this dude like everybody else, Instead of me giving that, like using that opportunity to share the word I'm going? I ain't like them because it was a sense of arrogance and pride that I had that I had to get over and that was personal. That was personal for me. I'm not saying every football player, everybody that plays sports, does that?
Speaker 2:But for me that's what differentiated the two it was your Abraham moment. Absolutely, absolutely, yeah, absolutely.
Speaker 3:There's a player that he actually played with the Hawks. He just retired, I don't know if you know. He was like very similar story. Just was like woke up one day, signed to the Hawks, whatever, woke up one day and decided I'm giving my life to Christ and I don't want to do this basketball thing anymore and actually I'm supposed to use the fame and the platform and glory I've got to spread the message. So it's really interesting, really interesting yeah yeah, um and to.
Speaker 2:to go back to what you said about, uh, the second second portion of your question was like what instilled that? And it was. I met a mentor while I was in college. His name is can you appear for me, man I'm talking about? I'm not saying god made no mistakes, but I truly believe if there was anybody that could live in the biblical times and be one of the disciples, it would be him. Like he showed me how to live a Christ-like life and not just a Christian-ish life. He wasn't trying to be like other Christians, he was trying to be like Christ, and he still is every day. And so once I saw that, speak on that, like what's the different?
Speaker 1:speaking like you, you, you, you, you in the little brain. So what does that elaborate? What does that look like?
Speaker 2:to be christian. Ish means we think I'm christian because my mom a christian. I believe in jesus because I grew up in america. There are people who think that, like I'm american, of course I'm christian. To be christ-like is mean to live, love and lead like Christ in everything you do. That don't mean that one term that I don't use is I'm a Christian. Social media influencer, I'm a Christian, blah, blah, blah. No, I'm a social media influencer, whatever you want to call it, whatever you want to be, but I live a life like Christ. Influencer, whatever title you want to be, but I live a life like Christ.
Speaker 2:The world has made it so natural to say that it's almost whenever you use a statement like that, as if that is. I know that it's not the social norm, because the world is one way, but to magnify it is to say that. To magnify it is to say that a social media influencer is to be this way. He's Christian, though it's almost like a though in there. So to be Christ-like, you need to love, live and lead like everything that you do. If you're a father, your kids are supposed to see an example of the way that the Father God raises kids. If you're a teacher, you're supposed to teach the way that Christ teaches.
Speaker 3:You're saying that the identity derives from Christ, not from anything else. Absolutely Right, right, right.
Speaker 1:So to elaborate, so it's basically saying to say I'm a Christian social media influence is redundant. I live with Christ. Everything I do is Christian, absolutely. I'm a Christian water drinker. I'm a Christian getting drunk. I live a life fully surrendered to Christ. So I don't need to say I'm a Christian social media influencer. I'm a social media influencer, everything I do is Christian.
Speaker 2:Yes, that's exactly right. You know what I mean. That's exactly. Influencer I'm a social media influencer. Everything I do is Christian. Yes, that's exactly right. You know what I mean. That's exactly right. I like that. I like that too.
Speaker 1:I think that's a unique perspective and flip on something that has a lot of people have wrestled with. Right, they're doing it. They're shredding the moniker of Christian because it's limiting to them for purposes of mainstream appeal, Absolutely. Where you're saying no, I'm saying not only am I a Christian on social media, but I'm a Christian. You know everything. Yeah, I love it, as long as I exist, I am a Christian.
Speaker 2:I'm a Christ follower. My life is devoted to Christ in everything that I do. I love that.
Speaker 3:It's been quoted that you said that popularity is one of the biggest dangers to the future of Christianity. What did you mean by that?
Speaker 2:I mean that because I've seen people on the internet people, some of which I'm friends with, jeopardize their faith to get a brand deal. They jeopardize upholding the name of Christ. You distort his image because this company is paying you x amount of money and you get to take a picture with whatever object it is that they pay you to take a picture with. But in doing so, how are you showing other people like what are you showing other believers or people who want to believe?
Speaker 1:it's okay to be okay, it's good because you know we've been in this lane a lot, so I kind of want to hit this a little bit. Talk about it, alright, so you don't have to mention the influencer, but like, give me a brand, like what do you mean?
Speaker 2:I don't even know the name of the company, but there was a. It's a clothing company and they they dress their stuff up to be high quality, high fashion and but once you scroll through their social media, you see people that's wearing their clothes and demon outfits, like it'll be something subtle too. This one person had a devil tail and like she was sitting on it, so you can only see it peeking out. It's like they're being deceived into believing that, okay, this is some clothes that I love they look, but okay, they got that little. This is just a little problem. You know what I mean. But something little always turning us on duty later on if you don't address it while it's there. That's the type of stuff that I see often with influencers with uh people of influence in general, but it's all.
Speaker 2:It's always about the heart behind what you're doing. You can easily judge, and this is one thing I want to say. I want to say this too, like oh okay, because me personally, if I didn't agree with what y'all were doing, I promise y'all wouldn't be on the show right now. If I didn't agree with Madden City's flat operations, I wouldn't be on the show. But I see it. Even hearing the conversation that y'all had with Naomi, yeah, I see why y'all doing the collaborations, a lot of people now don't get that. Oh well, they Christian. They not supposed to blah, blah, blah. Yeah, do you understand who they trying to reach with this?
Speaker 3:Yeah.
Speaker 2:Like Globeta can kick any different audience Like Globed out. A completely different audience, like you said, may have never, ever heard the gospel before. Now she's listening to it and she crying. Who are you trying to reach and what's your own take behind what you do? That's the purpose of a partnership.
Speaker 3:What do you think people miss when they are criticizing some of the collaborations you've done? What are they not seeing that you would say man don't miss this, this is important.
Speaker 2:What would that be? They don't see the stuff that's behind him. They don't see the conversations that's had behind him where it's like, okay, I, I did a collaboration with xyz corporation. Maybe this person isn't isn't a believer to the public eye, but you don't know the conversations that I have with this person on a weekly basis and I see their heart changing. They want to believe they just are. They have a catalyst there because everything that happened in there from the past, that's what people don't see. Joe, I love that from uh.
Speaker 1:So what do you? All right, so let's hit it. What do you say about people who feel like, so you spoke to and I get it. There's a difference between collaborating with pure integrity, collaborating with compromise.
Speaker 1:You know, we got to do a record where an artist is cussing, talking about promoting and propagating sin. Yeah, you know that's not something we're going to do, but that very same person can, as the Bible says, let everything that have breath praise the Lord Everything. You know what I mean. And so that eliminates those. That leaves praise open for everyone. What do you think about? I think the popularity thing is really interesting in and of itself, because when we talk about compromise, I think that is where we have to be extremely specific. Yeah, and what I mean by that is I don't want to God does things in so many ways that are mysterious to us.
Speaker 1:You know, like I remember my pastor preached a message on Dylann Roof. You remember that? You remember Dylann Roof was the. He was a white kid who went into a black Bible study. He murdered nine people. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1:And what my pastor said was shocking. It was jarring, but what he said was if that was the thing that got him saved, dylann Roof, like Dylann Roof, if, if him going to commit that act is what got him saved, it was worth it. Well, that was that. Pro, pro You're talking about? No, no, seriously, you're talking about wrestling, because what were those people's lives devoted to? That's what you got to think about. This is a church school. They walked up to me and said their lives were devoted to the family, their families. This is what they're. You know I'm going to chill. I'm thinking about their families. We forgive instantly. We forgive them. You know our family. They devoted their lives to bringing the gospel to people and saving lives.
Speaker 1:What he did wasn't what he did. This is what my pastor said. We're not good enough, wise enough or even sovereign enough to know good and bad. And the rationale in this is this we all talk about Jesus, we all talk about Jesus, we all talk about what he did, but none of us are honest about the fact we wouldn't have done it with our child. We tell this story of Jesus all like oh, the cross, the blood, the blood, the blood. Would you kill your son to save the world? Period? We're talking about Abraham and him being willing to take Isaac up on the mount at over 100 years old. You know what I mean. Wouldn't you be willing to kill Like let's be real Kill. Wouldn't you be willing to kill Like let's be real, kill. Would you be willing to kill your enemy Like you ran over her. Would you be willing to kill your enemy to save the world? Like literally, you got to do it, like you know what I'm saying.
Speaker 1:Like think about the gravity of what we're talking about and how God does things in such a way. That's just peculiar to us, yeah for sure you know what I mean.
Speaker 1:Like we look at these things like what happened to Jesus was brutal. They talk about the wounds on his back were open. It was brutal. We talking about, like when we saw what George Floyd imagined, that all times a million right. And the reason I speak to this is because we get so in a tizzy about the most trivial of things. Right, the most trivial of things, and that's why I'm often like at a pause.
Speaker 1:I was talking to somebody yesterday. He said something really thought provoking to me. He said what is the lie? It would not be said. He said so. A corner club called you guys and asked y'all to do a collab. Would you do it? And I said my fleshly gut reaction is heck, no, like it's common sense that we wouldn't. I said but my spiritual maturity says to me pray first, because God can do anything. He said certain things you shouldn't have to pray about. I said well, I don't agree with that. The Bible says always be correct. It says always. That's how it says. The Bible says always a lot of times. It says always be correct, always be pressed, always.
Speaker 2:Yes.
Speaker 1:Because imagine this I can't imagine anybody would think that God would tell them to kill their child to save the world. But he did it to him, he did it for himself. You know what I mean? I can't imagine God would tell anybody and we like oh, that was his child. What did he ask Abraham to do? He didn't ask Abraham to trust that he was going to live with a ram in the bush.
Speaker 1:And oftentimes he will provoke you into a yes to create a circumstance by which he needs you to show where it is to believe a believer. And you ain't even got to actually do a collab before her, you ain't even got to actually. He just needs you to minister to someone in a circumstance right, and you already have a no. That ain't his intent. And the scary thing for us Christians is sin is not doing the will of God. Sin is not following in the will of God. If Abraham didn't get in the mountain, he'd sit there. If Jesus don't get you, that's it. It's not one of those things where people act like Jesus just oh, yeah, man, ready to go. You know what I'm saying they talk about. He was praying so hard, his sweat was as thick as blood.
Speaker 1:In regard to the descendant. Like we can't trivialize this journey of walking with Christ and something what inspired this in me is like, man, I can't imagine being 19. My whole life I've been playing football, I won a D1 scholarship and I say that everything I devoted my life to is right. Like y'all gotta really recognize the weight of what he's saying. That's like LeBron James being. That's like LeBron James at. You know, get drafted man. This is like this is like I have placed basketball above my like. When you put it in those contexts, people start to hey.
Speaker 3:Like what did people say? I'm sure there was like, bro, what are you doing, man, man?
Speaker 2:Of course you know you got coaches who tell you that you're making the wrong decision. I'm not going to say no names, but I had one coach call me and tell me this is at the beginning of the year. Mind you, man, I'm 21. I'm barely grown enough to sign my papers and stuff. He says this is the worst news I've heard all along. And so, as a kid you, I'm still like in a way, I'm still a kid, bro, and I, like the, my heart wants to satisfy everyone. But in that moment I realized, like, bro, I'm just people pleasing, like I only have to do what's right for me and for the lord you know what I'm saying I can't just I can't live my life in somebody else's shadow because they think it's going to shine light, like I can't do that.
Speaker 2:But yeah, man, teammates called me. You know what we got to do to get you Like it was a lot of stuff. Family man, family was, family was between football and quitting my job and doing. And then I got another job making $100,000 a year and I quit it. So to just imagine, oh you're crazy, you done finally made it da-da-da-da-da, and I'm like your success is not my success. My success ain't valued by money, like I could make a million dollars and be a fool tomorrow. That's not what bringing success to me being bring, uh, me being successful is doing what I was created to do. That's what's that's success for anybody, anybody that has ever created anything, created and designed it with an intent to perform a certain task. A dishwasher you credit the dishwasher so to watch dishes. God didn't create you just to make money. He created you for a greater purpose. If I'm not doing that greater purpose, I'm not fulfilling my. I'm not doing what god is calling me to do you got?
Speaker 3:you got like a john the baptist anointing on you, man. You're like separated, pulled apart.
Speaker 2:You know what I mean and the thing is man, like I remember being in school man, and yeah, I can think back to eighth grade and it would be times when I was in class and I I didn't ever mean it in a conceited way, I never voiced it, but I would just be sitting there and I'm like bro, now I'll stop doing my work and I'll just be looking around at my classmates like they don't realize who they in the class with right now, like they just don't. And I'm from decaf, texas. Like there's no reason for me to be thinking about what I'm thinking. But the vision was so clear that I just, I just knew it and I wasn't saying it like I'm arrogant, I'm saying it like I'm literally watching the movie right now and I think, like today I haven't even gotten there yet. I didn't even see this part of it. So like, like who's to say what else God is going to do along that journey?
Speaker 2:But I just knew that I was going to be something one day and that caused me to live my life in a certain way. So I didn't partle, I didn't drink, I didn't smoke, I didn't even cuss, like I cussed for a period of time and then I was like, why am I doing this? And then I day because I realized that there's no one in this. I knew, eventually, I was going to get to a point and somebody could use this against me if I didn't live my life the right way, and that's the life that I live in them that they could have used it against me.
Speaker 1:I want to dive a bit deeper into, like I'm trying to understand. You're talking about it, mitchie. I'm trying to understand where you got this. Like Mitchie, I'm trying to understand where you got this. I'm not familiar with the Church of Christ. I know the Church of God in Christ. Church of Christ, like you know, is the more Caucasian denomination. Am I tripping?
Speaker 2:I think they may be right, I don't know.
Speaker 3:They're like the no music people right, yeah you guys, don't do music.
Speaker 1:It's like all the hymns are well, you guys do music, no instruments right, or is it no music?
Speaker 3:yes, it's music, but everything's vocal. Yeah, yeah, interesting. Yeah, I mean, bro, I'll say this I know that there seems to be this awakening amongst your generation of people where there is like a hunger for the things of God. We saw it a little bit with the Asbury thing. You've seen some of the more, some of the movements, even in the Christian music industry, where there's a like, the influx of just younger people who are speaking up and kind of standing for their faith. And so, man, I just I resonated with that. I had a question, though what? What is what is for you? How do you see the current generation redefining what faith looks like, and what cultural shifts would you want to influence or contribute to?
Speaker 2:Redefining what faith looks like. I think this generation can be very spontaneous, very blunt and very aggressive, and that can be used in a positive sense, whereas you may have somebody that want to rob you and kill you and they got their mindset on doing that and they ain't doing it in public. That can also be that same mentality of the culture that we're living in. It could also be used to say this is what I believe. I don't care what nobody thinks, I'll do this and I'm going to make it look like I don't care if you, if you, if you see it, if you've got an opinion about it. So that's that part. But what I, the biggest thing that I want to influence and man, it's something that I can't. I wouldn't be able to say it if I hadn't lived it it's faith. Yeah, oh, man, my life has been. The life as I know it now has completely been built on faith, and I'm not just saying that as the old cliche christian saying. I'm saying that from.
Speaker 2:I took a whole lot of risks and stuff that was contrary to everything that my family believed in and my friends believed in, but I, I was like god. You know what I have been living my life trusting everybody else, but you. Now I'm gonna go all in and you're gonna be scared. I'm not saying that it's not only scary, but god gives you enough information for you to obey. He don't give you enough information for you to get comfortable. He don't always give you something along the journey, but you got to keep going in order to find out what it is. So, whatever that leap is, I'm going to take it Because I know if it's a 99% chance that it'll fail and it's a 1% chance that you'll succeed, I'm going to take the risk Because somebody got to live to tell the story about how God did something miraculous. So I'm like, in every situation I feel like God. I'm going to try it. You know I'm going to take a chance with you before I take a chance with anybody else. Yeah, for sure.
Speaker 1:Let's go man say has been the most important. What was your mentor's name? Again, caneel, what would you say has been the most important example or most important thing that he has impressed upon you on this journey?
Speaker 2:To live my life and see others, view others through the lens of Christ, and I'm reminded of a scripture in uh, first corinthians. What paul was talking about he became all things to all people so that in some way, hopefully, he may save some. He became white things. It didn't mean that he did everything that they did. He did something that showed them. I understand where you at in this journey, like I'll see where you at and I'm not, and I know where I'm at, but I'm not gonna jeopardize word angle to just appease to you or where you are sure he made himself like them so that he could reach them. That's the thing that has stuck with me the most and that's what's helped me reach.
Speaker 2:reach people in a way that god has blessed me to do, so that's really good, that's really really good.
Speaker 1:That's no like. What's special about this for me, man, is I'm going to ask a personal question With you and your girlfriend. What was like? Were y'all like living pure, like? And the reason I'm asking this is because I want to kind of speak to some of that generation that you're in like was that a struggle for y'all? The reason that that's just how did you? What were like some of the boundaries you would set in that relationship that you think are healthy for young couples these days? Because you're talking about you bringing her out of a lifestyle that she was in, you know, such as and God wanted not seeing that relationship as what was best for you.
Speaker 1:Like, I know many. I mean we got many young viewers. I think 72% of our following is actually 18 to 35. And so I know, in the black community a lot of us grow up. You know, you think we see your mama probably shacking up or shacking up. That's so cutesy, but that is me living together before you get married. And you know, having sex outside of marriage is so common among youth these days. You know, I've heard people say it's not even said anymore. It's definitely still said. But how was that process you like, did it. Hey, I'm gonna ask you straight up how was that process? How did that go for you?
Speaker 2:yeah, we wouldn't live in a period, but I'm gonna say this though um, the impurity of the situation, what it was, struggle, what does that mean? I mean he was choosing it, yeah, wow, wow, anything that you are actively aware of, wow, and you don't change. You're choosing that wow, like didn't nobody tell you you had to do that. Wow, you didn't have an understanding to say, oh, I didn't know, you knew better wow, you still chose that, went on struggle wow struggle is I can't find a way to overcome this.
Speaker 2:We knew how to overcome it. We just chose to do it anyway. Wow, there was a point when I was like we're going to have to stop doing this. We're going to have to stop living like this. We're going to have to stop talking to each other like this. When I say talking to each other, it was in a way that was arguing all the time Every conversation. I was like what is in a way that was arguing all the time, Like every every conversation is. I was like we're going to have to stop doing this. Once I realized that it was something that almost couldn't be stopped, that's when I had to walk away from it, Cause I knew eventually, let's say, something happened.
Speaker 2:Now my kid is going to be living in it. My kid going to have to see it Cause, like I think, people think sometimes, like I is going to be living in that, my kid going to have to see that Because, like I think, people think sometimes like I'm going to stop whenever this happens or I'm going to start whenever this happens, I'm going to start doing this, start doing that. My advice is if you don't stop where you came, there's going to come a time when you won't to where you came. So, whatever I'm going to do to stop living the life that I've previously been living, I'm going to do that because I know that there's something out there in the future that's much greater for me to grasp a hold of. And then, if Jesus Christ walked in the door right then, how'd you know it was fulling?
Speaker 1:Wow, there it is, bro, that was heavy.
Speaker 3:Sure.
Speaker 2:My man said if you don't stop when you care, there'll come a time.
Speaker 1:Well, that's actually what Paul said. But what Paul said I don't do the things that I want to do and I do do the things that I don't want to do, and what he's essentially saying is that if I don't, you know we don't, you don't get to, and that's you know. Pray for the thorns and God says my grace is not sufficient. I think a lot of times, you know, people look at it as some glaring issue, and I think that God allows for our ability to be with us so that we always recognize that his strength makes it. We are full, our strength is strength. We are full. Our weakness is full. I don't know, I'm twisting up everything, god.
Speaker 3:I don't know what it is. Somebody give me the scripture. Our weakness.
Speaker 1:We're not here tripping, because I was thinking about what he said the same thing, trying to get it out.
Speaker 2:It's the word, though we know that.
Speaker 1:My grace is sufficient for you, for my strength is made perfect and weakness. 2 Corinthians 12 8-10. I speak from the Bible. You know what I'm saying. See, that was hard. I repeat myself. What was I getting at? Oh, I. But what was I getting at? Oh, I know what I was getting at. It's those strongholds, absolutely, and the deeper and deeper, like God gives us opportunity after opportunity after opportunity to overcome these struggles, and if we don't take the chance early, it is harder and harder and harder and harder.
Speaker 2:So, hey, I just feel an unction over here in this. Somebody did it. That's why it's so dangerous to be deceived, because when you're deceived you're wrong, but you think you're right If you go back to the garden of Eden, when Eve was deceived, she was deceived because she thought God said something that he didn't say. So sometimes we look at situations, whether it be whatever form of impurity that it is, whether it be sexually, whether it be anything that you know God has not called you to do form of impurity that it is, whether it be sexually, whether it be anything that you know god has not called you to do, that's impure, that comes from a clay. Like you can, you can actively indulge in those things, because you have been taught one thing that's not true and you haven't learned what is true that could be, that could cause a sudden.
Speaker 1:So what you're saying is like this is real nuance, like it's kind of like a lot of people don't want to be like. We did a podcast with a gentleman and he basically said that how did he put it? If he was labeled a Christian artist, people would have an expectation of him and he in it. If he was labeled a christian artist, people would have an expectation of him and he, in his mind, he saw that as a negative. Right, he saw that as a negative because of what he had been taught about the restricting of it. The reality of it is you get a freedom in the life. You have a freedom in living a life that is surrender to.
Speaker 2:Christ.
Speaker 1:And it's like, even using the word surrender, you surrender to get freedom, whereas we have a connotation of surrender to be a nigga, like you're giving away everything, like you're giving away all of your control, when actually that's the best thing you can do.
Speaker 1:It's to lose control to Christ and it's almost like even submission. The word submission has such a negative connotation but it has a positive application in the word If we really take our time and carve and peel back the layers. Everything that Jesus used, or God used, to teach us in relationship how to be more like him, has been perverted and turned into a negative connotation. Right Like surrender. Negative submission. Negative marriage in this way negative Right. Negative submission. Negative marriage in this point negative, right. You know, uh, people see living for God as imprisoning yourself. Right, they're like you're gonna lose your freedom to be who you are when your actions. You can only be who you are in the end. Yeah, you can only be who you are in the end. This is good, this is right, this is right.
Speaker 1:I'm jumping out now. I'm jumping out now. I want to love who I want to love. There is no love outside of God. There's no love outside of God. God is love. You can't have love without him in it. You can't. You can't have love without your minute. You can't. You can't have it without a minute. It's promise, god's promise, it's just. You can't have it without a minute. I think that's like we really have to be careful man. That's the season we really have to be careful with the truths that we hold on to.
Speaker 1:Yes, and when it comes to we hold on to, yes, and when it comes to a lot of generations, absolutely. You know what I'm saying. I'm okay with this. My mama was okay with this. My daddy was okay with this. This is how I grew up. You know what I'm saying. My daddy was a cheater, so I'm a cheater. My mama was a cheater.
Speaker 1:We're getting to accept these versions of ourselves, that he is stronger than Uh-uh bro. That's good. So tell us about some things you got going on. What's coming up? I know you got a YouTube series. Is that anything in particular that you have coming up working on? Talk to us about that.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I'm working on a project right now. It's called the Prayers Club. Okay, it's a podcast, but it's more so. We're getting it together now, getting it pitched to a few who are you working with on that One of my friends who's a Netflix director.
Speaker 2:So, we're looking to get it to mainstream television and incorporate in a way, a similar way that y'all do bring culture to Christ, Because I know that the black community is familiar with. Most of them are familiar with the Players Club, so that's a play on words Don't go watch that movie. Yeah, don't go watch that. But I wanted to create an avenue because I felt as though I wasn't truly fulfilling my purpose and as Christians, sometimes we tell people stop going this, stop going that, but we don't give them the different avenue as to experience the same feeling that they're chasing.
Speaker 2:So we tell them to stop going to the club and you expect them to go home just bored all day. And I said I want to create an environment where people you ain't got to go to the club. And I said I want to create an environment where people you ain't got to go to the club you can go sit on your couch and experience that same joy, or that same experience real joy yeah, not that, whatever you're chasing, because that's vanity. Yep, experience this and get educated in the same time. So I know people my age are very, very adamant about being outside, and I'm not saying nothing wrong with being outside, but just watch what you're doing outside. That's my advice, true, yeah?
Speaker 1:So do you have like talk about, like, how are your friends? And the reason I'm asking you like these seemingly innocuous questions is because it's like I think a lot of people there's not a lot of representation of someone your age, that's made decisions you made, that's living life, the way that you're living it, and a lot of times people don't have examples language, and a lot of times people don't have examples language or even the know-how to get to living life surrender at 23. You know what I mean. There's always the notion oh, I'll do that, I'll do that later, I'll do that once I get married, I'll do that once I get married. And my pastor always told me another thing he would say is that if you don't start living like a husband before you get married, you certainly ain't going to be living like one once you're married. And so, like, what are your friends? Are all your friends like you Are they is it, are they like what is it Like? You know what I'm saying? What's?
Speaker 2:your circle, like around you right now. Kirby, if I had to really say it, I think I probably got like, probably got like three friends.
Speaker 2:And it's not. I'm not a person like oh, I want friends. I'm not like that. It's the reason why I got three friends, because these are the three that showed me they did not go where I was trying to take them to. They didn't like following the one I'm following.
Speaker 2:So it's not that I'm not friends with the other people, it's just I love you but I'm going to have to love you from a distance Because I know sin will take me further than I want to go and the key getting longer than I want to stay, and the way that you live your life is not in alignment with what I want to do. I still love you and I'm not saying that I'm better than you, but I am saying that I'm better than you, but I am saying that I'm better than that way of living. So, now that I have a little relation to that me and my friends that I do have, that I talk to on a daily basis, a weekly basis, um, you know, we make sure that we keep you straight, even if they mean I got to check you to get you back on track. Um, those are the people that I want in my life.
Speaker 1:So they trust you enough for y'all to have mutual accountability. Do you have accountability?
Speaker 2:Absolutely.
Speaker 1:So what does that look like in practice?
Speaker 2:It means being committed to what I said I would do long after the movie that I said at the end is left. It means if I say that I'm going to do something, do it regardless of whatever happens.
Speaker 1:So what I'm asking about accountability. Is there people that hold you accountable to that? What is when I'm asking about accountability? Is there people that hold you accountable to that? Like, what is that like? Do y'all have a group chat, like you know? Like, what is your? What does accountability structure look like for you?
Speaker 2:Yeah, it's most of it. Most of it is just being a loyal, to be honest with you, because I'm not saying that it's wrong to have accountability. I have friends who hold me accountable, but majority I would say 90% is me and him, because I came to the revelation one day of if I can't stay in agreement with him, there's no way that I'm going to be able to be held accountable by these people or even hold myself accountable to these people. So I'm going to make sure that me and God stay on terms, and then that would just flow, uh, within, yeah, and had to stay on turns. And then that would just flow, uh, within scrutiny, yeah.
Speaker 2:And another thing is my friends, man, one thing that I'll tell them a lot is like don't go through life complaining. Like if you really want to do something, go. Don't go through life complaining about because you remain where you complain, like that's where you're gonna be if you're complaining about it. If you're always complaining about being broke, I promise you every time you check your bank account, you're gonna have zeros and periods in there, you know.
Speaker 2:So, um, you have to. You have to be willing to be disciplined. You got to wake up every day and choose god and do whatever it is that you don't want to do, as if it's the only thing in the world that's available to be. That's what discipline is to me you mentioned popularity.
Speaker 1:What are some other threats to that 18 to 25 year old that you think that I wouldn't even say the word threat? What are some deterrents to purpose that you think will really impact the 18 to 25 year olds today?
Speaker 2:comparison man. Like comparison is a thief of joy. What do think will really impact the 18 to 25 year olds today? Comparison man.
Speaker 3:Comparison is a thief of joy. Say more on that. What do you mean by?
Speaker 2:that I'll say this Negative comparison Because there comes a point in time where you have to compare yourself to somebody else in order for you to see if you're on track to where you want to go, like you Seeing the things that y'all are doing. That is not me comparing myself and saying, oh man, I'm not there yet, I'm upset. That's me saying, okay, this is where they came from, this is what they did and structured their lifeline to get here. And I on track to do these same things. And if I'm not, what's hindering me from that Negative comparison is basically trying to put somebody else's assignment that God gave them on yourself, like, oh, I ain't got the Lambo and I'm 23 and so I must not be doing what I'm supposed. Most people don't ever have a Lambo in their life like most people.
Speaker 2:I know people right now that ain't got no credit, like they ain't got their own house. You know they live in an apartment and that's completely fine. I live in an apartment. But if you're gonna look at it from a negative perspective, you're looking at it from the wrong lens.
Speaker 1:Oh, I, I mean, I wholeheartedly agree with that. One of my struggles growing up was materialism and money. There's a big struggle now, seriously, I, I hear you, I know it was. It was a huge like, if I have a lot of money, I literally would like be breaking down a lot. I, I, I literally would like be breaking down. I literally would be like I don't want to get out of bed, right. And so, like now, you know God took us. You know he took me and my wife through a process you know where we basically lost everything.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:And through that process, he has clearly restored tenfold. There was time, though, where, if I had a lamborghini, like that would have been my whole identity, like when I run, like that would have been every. I'll be posting that joke everywhere and I'll be you know, I'm saying you couldn't catch a picture without me in it right? And like now that those days when I had a jeep, lambo, g, wagon, whatever, what would it be? A for focus, I mean, we went from like really expensive cars down to like a 2005 infinity truck. This had been gifted by our father, thank god, uh. So we had something to drive. We had two kids, but we drove that joke to the church Like what? Nobody busy, we kidding out. And I remember like my wife is here I remember thinking back on that time in life Like we didn't think nothing less of it, you know what.
Speaker 1:I'm saying we weren't like shit, my wife never came in, like how you let us you know never came in like how you let us you know now we're living with your mama.
Speaker 1:Like no, seriously, she never like made me feel any less or any less gracious than she was when we had. And so when things came back and it's great now sitting there, it's like I don't. I don't feel like we've made it. Now. I feel like we've made it now. I feel like we've made it then, like those were the moments where we, you know, that's the character moment, like when you find out who you are. You find out who you are when you ain't got it, I ain't going to say when you don't have anything. You find out who you are when what you began as changes.
Speaker 2:Absolutely.
Speaker 1:And when that change, you still see consistency and character in a person that lets you know alright, I can rock out with them, I got that. That's a friend, that's a partner, that's a like. Change it or not, we've gone, we done seen great success, we've seen great failure, we've had loss, we've had gain. But the one thing that's remained consistent amongst us is we've seen great failure, we've had loss, we've had gain, but the one thing that's remained consistent amongst us is that we've always been transparent with each other. We've always been authentic. I've told him the worst thing I've ever done. He's congratulating me for the best thing I've ever done and the beauty in that.
Speaker 1:I think believers have to give range for the dynamic nature of what God does in somebody's life. It's not linear, and I think that we think life is linear. Well, life isn't linear. It's much more of a parab. What is it parabola? It's like this, you know, there's ebbs and flows, there's mountains and valleys. It's seasonal, absolutely, and every pastor I always say that. Every pastor says things are seasonal unless it comes your time to leave his church. That's funny. Then you're outside the will of.
Speaker 2:God Duh man, yeah, but I grew up in that same environment. My mama she probably going to watch this. But Mom, what up? What's up? Mom, both of them.
Speaker 2:I was kind of raised by my community, really moved out of the crib and living. I was just living with different families and stuff going up with my mom and that like kind of bothered my mom she talked about all the time was the way that I appeared like I ain't never my brothers show up tree stuck, j's on with the freshest like that has never been. Like I ain't been that dude. You know these came from timu. This was free, this was free. The shirt don't like. I just like I show up in a way that I do and I haven't shared this publicly.
Speaker 2:But the whole black hoodie thing people like why you always wearing black hoodie? It's because, man, if you scroll to the bottom on my tiktok. The reason why I started making these videos wasn't to be an influencer. It was because I was going through something and I was the only person that I had to talk to myself and in that moment I was in the darkest place in my life and the only light that I had was the lord. So when you see in my videos and I'm always, I'm always wearing a black hoodie, just because this black hoodie represents the darkness that I know I'm speaking to in your life I always got one light on, because that's the light that I'm shining back to you.
Speaker 2:That's good. It's always a purpose. Every single thing that I do on the internet, there's a purpose behind it. I don't just post because I'm like I ain't posted in a minute. People ask me just the other day, like when you go make another video, you gotta give me something to share. Well, I'm not posting just like. I'm not no influencer. I'm a person who loves the lord. I read the bible, I dissect it. When I feel like the Lord has called me to share it, I'm going to share it with you. I'm not going to post something. I'm going to post three times a day. No, I ain't posted in a month and a half Because God ain't gave me nothing to post yet. I had a lot of videos that I created and I get to the end and God went. I ain't tell you to post. I ain't tell you to post it. That's good and that's the fruit.
Speaker 2:I had a meeting with Instagram, like two meetings with Instagram. One, they had me in person, the other one was just on the phone the other day. They're like you don't practice, you don't do any of our best practices. What? What is your like? What's your system? What's your madness, your method behind your madness to for the, they say, christian influence or whatever they say. You're in the top 1% of creators in the world. That's crazy. And you're creating videos that's longer than a minute and 30 seconds, so they're not even showing up on real. I said because you're going to find the same answer that I find, and that's that the Lord has just breathed on what I'm doing. I can't give you no algorithmic practice. I can't tell you this is what you need to do. I can't give you an algorithm practice. I can't tell you this is what you need to do. I can give you your best practice, but I can't tell you what I did to get to where I am. Everything that I have done to this point has been through communication with God.
Speaker 3:As far as social media, it's the real thing, absolutely that's what it is. I think that's what people are connected with. It's not tightened up.
Speaker 2:It's not bowed up, it's not.
Speaker 3:Bodo, it's not contrived. Yeah, it's not contrived. You're just sharing the real thing. Man, this is where you need to be, this is where life change starts. This is how it happens, and I think people are hungry for that, man. I think people are really desperate for that, and especially in a world where I think things feel watered down and not fully true, right, kind of seeker-friendly, and I just I love the standard that you, that you take, and I love the stance you take in the world, man, thank you.
Speaker 2:I appreciate that.
Speaker 1:Do you have any like questions for us? Yes, I do.
Speaker 2:Okay, let's see be entrepreneur and I'm not going to say that. I'm not gonna say that, I'm not gonna call it on this. I'm not calling y'all black entrepreneurs. Y'all are entrepreneurs, okay. Y'all are people and y'all entrepreneurs. Being a black entrepreneur is diminishing the fact that when god is in love, okay, the whole world can see that. Yes, you glad. But I'm saying it. I'm saying it from the perspective of being an entrepreneur. It's a lot of people out there now. There's become a trend of I ain't working on L25. I ain't working for nobody.
Speaker 1:All these sorts of things.
Speaker 2:To get to where you are. What are some uncomfortable things that you had to do before you got here, Like things that you don't want to do, but you had to do it to provide for yourself before you could get here.
Speaker 1:That's a good question. That's a good question. That was a great question. It's twofold One.
Speaker 1:I'll say something that a lot of people are not going to like is that 99.9% of people weren't created to be entrepreneurs the mentality and the grace needed to. When I go to sleep, I'm thinking about we have what three young ladies with us right now. They're about to give birth. I'm thinking about their families. If we don't do what's necessary, follow what God is asking us to do, people can lose their jobs. Who rely on that paycheck that I'm providing them? We have 35, 40 employees that they count on that to live, and you know it's not something that you think about when you say you want to start your own business, but it becomes a real thing to you rather quickly when you do. We have those human resources, thoughts and questions, and so the things that I had to do.
Speaker 1:I'll say I grew up fortunate enough to see entrepreneurship. My mom actually stopped, but my grandmother was an entrepreneur, and so was my dad, and so I had to do the things that I did not like to do. I started in this business as an assistant, carrying book bags, washing cars, going to get food. I did it for free. So how did you serve? I had to serve.
Speaker 3:That's actually you're taking my answer.
Speaker 1:I had to serve, serve, serve and through serving I learned everything I do today. I was a social media manager, I was a production manager, I was a tour manager, I was a creative director, I made graphics, I edited videos and none of these were my core skills, Like none of this so you're talking about I had been out of basketball these times. I had two, like it was no excuse, it's all. I had two kids. I had a wife, I had four kids, I had a car. You know, I had the whole nine.
Speaker 1:But when God called on me, I couldn't return with an excuse. I had to take what I knew yet given me and say why am I here now? But it was because I had to learn a posture, a servitude. That's not fancy, that's not sexy, but what I got from that season that I may take today is that I know, at rock bottom, my partner going to be there, we lose it, all His house gone, all the cars gone, me and brother going to get back in there and get us out the mud again. You know what I mean. Like I know she want me to get out the mud and the main thing I know is that what serving taught me was the greatest joy comes from doing something pleasing to God. I had joy, I had peace. I also got to exercise that faith muscle.
Speaker 3:That's something a lot of people talk about.
Speaker 1:One thing my brother often shares about me to me is that, you know, it's not my intellect that makes me special, it's not my business development skills, it's not my uh handsome face and smile, but no, he often tells me that, uh, it's my faith that makes me unusual. Like I'm one of those people. I Like I'm one of those people I know a lot. I'm one of those people, if God said it, we doing it. Yeah, bro, we doing it. I remember he told me that. You know, our first two was in the ring. That wasn't me, I know. We talk about that. People hear that like from a braggadocious standpoint. You have to recognize the audaciousness of the statement. First and foremost, no one wanted to bother to. It was the year of 2021. So it was right.
Speaker 1:After COVID, everybody was fearful. We were a Christian group and the biggest show that they had done to that time was probably with 200 people, 200, 300 people and uh, so I say that to say man serving and seeing god perform in such small capacities like at the time it wasn't working. Our bills get paid somehow still don't know how, she doesn't know how, but somehow bills are getting paid. Faith, uh, you know, trusting god in every circumstance, every situation, just being there in the trenches seeing him work it out in so many people's lives, man, it just changed me. Him dropping them in my spirit and then our relationship forming.
Speaker 1:It changed me, man. Seeing life's transformation changed me. I got to travel the world, I got to see Africa, I got to build relationships that last a lifetime. So, man, I would say for any entrepreneur out there, sir, sir, devote your life to fixing the problem that that company you want to create is doing. And once you do that and understand the underpinnings and the underbelly, now I always say the thing that makes us special is that there's no part of the business we don't understand, aren't?
Speaker 3:even willing to do either.
Speaker 1:You know I'm saying like I dmg and I trust you have a very hard social media thing right. I go through all of our DMs every night before I go to sleep. I try to go back down and find where that blue dot is. Every night the one I see it in, and that's on every page that we have, and also on TikTok I go through. I try to tell you that to some people I pray with some people. I, you know, give out free tickets. You know we give. We have a thing called God's Promise Fund. We give out donations to people Like I want to know what's really going on in our community because I want to steward well what God has given us. That's what he said.
Speaker 3:You know what I mean.
Speaker 1:So I think what advice for an entrepreneur is this If you're not willing to do it for free, like for free. If you're not willing to do it for free, like for free, free. If you aren't willing to do it for free, you hit me with the whole what time good, bad, proper. If you ain't willing to do it for free, you ain't going to get out of this business. Yeah, period. If the money is what's driving your decision-making, I think once you become an entrepreneur, anyway, you probably get paid. I don't know, you probably get paid 10, 12 times a year. So find out, y'all ought to budget that thing, y'all ought to manage that thing, and they'll see. You know they're not like the first. What happened to me on the first of the 15th is I'm paying people. That's what happened to me on the first of the 15th, so it's a big change. You excited, I'm not excited for the first of the 15th.
Speaker 3:You know what I mean.
Speaker 1:That's a hard time for me. Instead, you know there's a random 22nd where I'll get an account receivable, that an invoice can pay. That needs to be bludgeoned appropriately so I can carry our business through the next few months. So if you want to have a frame, if you want to put up every dime you got to make sure it stays alive because you're doing the purpose that God has given you then that's you. Entrepreneurship is hard.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I'd say service is something that's uniquely don't know. Most, most most of the successful entrepreneurs I know had years where they were hidden and they served, and I know that you know. For even for me I know that's something uniquely like in my, my whole story was like did it for free? Did it? Didn't get any of the credit, put money in, you know, and I think I think the culture, what you were saying is like, bro, we gotta get it, we gotta make it happen. And I think what he's saying is what he's trying to underscore is like, man, it's like where's your heart in it? You know what I mean. Also, too, the thing I'd say in addition to that is a lot of times people ask for things that they don't know what they're really asking for. Do you know what I'm saying? So be careful what you ask for. Like you know what I'm saying you want to be an entrepreneur you want to be the guy.
Speaker 3:It's like, man, you gotta sometimes you gotta pay the cost to be the boss man and and it's heavy and it's weighty, and not everybody really wants to do that. So, yeah, man, that's what I'd say I appreciate that.
Speaker 1:I know they appreciate that absolutely man, we just had an amazing conversation with our brother, jason jackson, julia j3 jackson, julian jjj and jj j5, you know. But, man, this is a conversation about surrender. Uh, really impressed by his like forthright worldview. That's not common anymore, where it's just God is giving him a revelation of who he is and what following him looks like. And, man, please check out his YouTube channel where he really does his thing. His Instagram, that's where I find he does this thing. His Instagram, that's what I find is watching his videos. One night I was like, man, I would love just to talk to the guy. Man, I think for a 23 year old is wisdom abounds. And so, uh, please check out this episode. Backs on the mic, logging off Peace, bye.