Episode 31: Leadership at Every Level: Preparation, Patience, and Provision with Matt Ham

In this episode of the ‘only God’ Podcast, Stephanie L. Jones reconnects with Matt Ham, exploring their shared journey of faith, entrepreneurship, and the importance of family. They discuss the challenges and lessons learned through patience, provision, and the power of letting go. Matt shares his inspiring story of transitioning from a successful corporate career to following God's calling, emphasizing the significance of faith in everyday life and the impact of nurturing relationships with family. The conversation highlights the beauty of 'only God' moments in business and personal growth, encouraging listeners to embrace their own journeys with trust and humility.

Takeaways

• The journey of faith often requires patience and trust in God's timing.
• Generosity and gratitude are central themes in both Matt and Stephanie's lives.
• Letting go of control can lead to unexpected blessings.
• Family dynamics play a crucial role in personal and spiritual growth.
• Faith like a child can inspire creativity and entrepreneurship.
• Only God moments remind us of His provision in our lives.
• Success is often a result of collaboration and support from loved ones.
• Experiencing God through challenges can deepen our faith.
• Leadership is about serving others and being present in their lives.
• The importance of sharing our stories to inspire the next generation.

Chapters

00:00 Reconnecting and Shared Values

02:46 The Journey of Leaving Corporate Life

05:45 Preparation, Patience, and Provision

08:30 The Role of Faith in Financial Decisions

11:06 Family Dynamics and Spiritual Legacy

19:20 The Presence of God in Our Journey

21:43 Building Confidence Through Faith

23:57 Leading at Every Level

27:13 Father-Son Business Journey

30:19 The Power of Faith and Love

34:31 Lessons from the Nursing Home

Instagram: @Giving_Gal

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GivingGal 

YouTube: Shine Forward Creative

Website: https://shineforwardcreative.com/ 

Transcript

SPEAKER_02 0:11

Hey everyone, welcome to the Only God podcast where we hear stories only God can write. I'm your host, Stephanie L. Jones, and each episode we'll dive into powerful testimonies, have great conversations, and encouragement that remind us when the impossible happens, it's only God. Let's get started. Hey friends, it's Stephanie here with another episode of the Only God Podcast, sharing stories only God could write. And I am here today. I'm so excited with my friend Matt Ham. And we haven't talked forever. So I love that we're connecting this way.

SPEAKER_01 0:50

It is. It has been a minute, as I said. It's like uh it's like a former life, you know, coming back together. So it's been great.

SPEAKER_02 0:56

I know, I know. So I always start off and ask my guest to share our uh only god connection. So how we met.

SPEAKER_00 1:05

Yeah, so uh man, it's probably 10 years ago now, so 2013, 14, 15 window, somewhere in that. I'm getting old, so I don't know exactly, but um, we were kind of connected through a launch out conference. It was basically, I think John Acuff spurred on and a group of people who were entrepreneurs looking to jump into the wide world of entrepreneurism and get their names and their brand and their books or whatever they were doing out there, and connected with you that way and stayed kind of loosely connected through a couple of years of those conferences and then, you know, you move on with life or whatever. But from a distance, you know, saw that you've been writing children's books and all kinds of fun stuff. And I think, I think our connection, though, Steph, was always around your heart for generosity and just the idea of giving and giving back. And, you know, my book, Redefine Rich, um, had an element in it of, you know, kind of investing in others and um choosing gratitude. And so that gratitude, generosity thing, I think was always the common thread among our conversations.

SPEAKER_02 2:08

Yeah, I agree. I was gonna grab it. It's on my bookshelf over there. And that's what before I wrote my book, the giving challenge is like I always recommended your book, and you're right. Is I think we we had that same heart of what giving and generosity and gratitude looks like. Um, and it's very authentic, I think, in both of us. And so uh thank you for remember reminding me of that because it's a great book. Like, I don't I gave a lot of those away because I loved it. So you did.

SPEAKER_00 2:35

I remember, I remember you were like, I think you bought, I think you bought a number of copies and you gave them, you know, to family members and whatever. And so I was super thankful for that. And it's weird because you know, you write a book and you just put it out there because it's what you feel compelled to do, and you leave the rest up to the Lord and you watch how it's like a seed, right, that germinates and continues to bear fruit. And so, I mean, gosh, the reader find rich, I have a copy on mine.

SPEAKER_02 3:01

I was gonna say, show it to us if you have one. I know, and I love the uh, because you always wore bow ties. I don't know if you still wear bow ties.

SPEAKER_00 3:08

No, I don't. It was a season of life where I was wearing bow ties, and the book was about kind of untying the bow tie, untying the pretense. But you know, it's funny. This copy, I'll show you this. This copy, I actually wrote a note to myself inside of this copy of the book. And basically it was my prayer for the book. Um, you know, um, yeah, and I and I'll just read this. I mean, this if you know I am unashamedly uh transparent. So, but this is this is literally, I'm not read the whole thing, but this line it says, I pray this book would move me further in the direction of my dreams to speak and to lead. And I pray that it would allow me to be debt-free and honor you with my finances and gifts. And I pray that it would lead my path as I continue to write, that it would spark my spirit to hear from you as I live out your calling. Um, this book has challenged me, and I hope it does the same for others. In the end, I'm grateful and rich in your provision. Amen.

SPEAKER_02 4:03

Almost teared up. I just I love that because I know a bit about your story since that book came out, and uh just to see your heart at the time of where that book is. So I want to jump in. Uh Matt and I like we literally have not connected, and so I know a bit. And I I think you have so many only God stories, but while you were reading that, is I would like you to jump off of just that, you know, you were you had a a corporate job making six figures, and you decided to uh do something that most people aren't willing to do or feel called to do. You want to jump into that story and see where it goes?

SPEAKER_00 4:45

You know, the snapshot of it was is I mean, I was a high-functioning producer salesperson at an insurance company in my hometown of Wilmington, North Carolina, one of the top agents in the state of North Carolina. And I just felt that unfulfilled thing. And it was the Lord really grabbing hold of my heart. And I always tell people, I didn't grow up in an environment where the Holy Spirit was talked about a ton, um, but through a variety of different things, um, began to get exposure to the Spirit of God through experience, really, and just had a tangible, like, hey, Lord, teach me about your spirit and who you are, not what I learned from a pulpit or in a church or in a denominational thing. And I could not get away from the idea that the Lord was calling me to something inside of me to speak, uh, to encourage others or what be a voice, you know, that thing, which can sound incredibly arrogant on the surface, but it was just like I knew this is what I was supposed to be doing. So I ended up writing this book, Redefine Rich. And as I wrote the book, that had a weird moment at work one day. I mean, again, I'm making multiple six figures, selling insurance, top agent in the state of North Carolina, and I reached in my drawer to grab a folder, and the spirit of God spoke to my spirit, and he said, You're gonna be cleaning out this drawer one day soon. And I was like, What was that? You know what I mean? I was like, it wasn't an audible voice, it was just in my in my spirit, and I heard it. Um, and I was like, What is that? And then I was sitting at a meeting uh one day, and these meetings are these mundane, you know, producer meetings, and you're sitting there or whatever. And the spirit of God literally said, There aren't many of these left. And I'm like, What, what are you doing? Like, what where are you? You know, and I'm I'm having these moments, right? And and sure enough, the Lord continued to lead me down this path to detach me from this performer, producer identity that I had so ingrained in who I was. And it, man, whoo, I can't even begin. Because when I walked away in 2000, and it took me, I'm pretty hard headed, that was like 2015, right? And it's not like 2018 before I left. So it was like three years of like, was that really you? Are you sure? You know, are you sure having this dialogue with the Lord? And I left in 2018 and I went through, man, such a season of refinement, uh, such a season of uh deconstruction of who I thought God was, who I thought I was. And I mean, there are times, Stephanie, like you leave a six-figure income and a high functioning producer, I'm wandering the woods behind my house, like, okay, you used to speak to me when I was reaching in a drawer, and now I'm in the woods. What are you talking to me now? I mean, I'm having these moments, right? And I did this for years, um, to the point where, you know, everybody around me, my family, my, you know, it's like, you seem different. I'm like, of course I'm different. I'm being torn apart by the Lord and like, you know, my soul is being bared before uh me and I'm having to wrestle with all this. So I went through that journey all while trying to continue to honor God, listen to what he said, and and do what I felt like he was saying. And that was a season that saw me liquidate, you know, um almost half a million dollars in savings and assets to follow where he led. And that in of itself was a beautiful journey of trust and faithfulness, and showed he showed up in so many ways to get to the point where I was 41 and I had walked away from my insurance career with nothing to show for it. I ended up um kind of uh moving in a different direction from a ministry partner that I had worked with for six years and had nothing to show for it. And it was like, all right, here I am, Lord, you've led me back to square one, and over the last couple of years have been on this journey to kind of rebuild things as he leads and just follow kind of that that provision in the moment. So that's kind of a snapshot of what the last, gosh, 10 years of my life have been like.

SPEAKER_02 8:49

I love it. And um, as you were talking, like these words just kept surfacing as one, he prepared you, you know, like it you said the drawer, the meeting, like it wasn't just like that. It was he was preparing you of what he was calling you to do. And I think so many times, one, we don't pay attention to that still small voice, but if we do, it's like, oh no, something is coming. We a lot of times we don't know what that is, but he is preparing us for sure. Um, he was patient with you, you know, like you said, as you were kind of hard-headed, you were stubborn, and it took three years. But I think when God calls us somewhere, is he is patient with us. You know, it's not this, Matt, you had one opportunity to go and follow where he was leading. It's like, nope, I'm gonna be, he's not getting what I'm putting down, but I'm patient. But also is through that time, he was your provider. He had he had provided you before in your income that then gave you the opportunity to be where you are. Anyways, these P words were just popping up. Um, and so I'll let you maybe respond to that and anything else that came to mind with you.

SPEAKER_00 10:00

You are a writer with your alliteration, um, Mrs. Jones. Um, but no, so it um, you know, it's it's interesting. Talk about preparation, patience, and provision, right? So um, you know, I think I think that one of the the things that I had to understand is that there is an element of of God wanting to make us um capable, I guess, to steward what he wants to give us. And that's that preparation thing. And a lot of times we think we're ready for what it is that he wants to give us, but in reality, we've got a lot more to go through before we're capable and ready to steward that. And I'll tell you that in my own leadership. Like I would have said I was heads and shoulders above my peers, like totally ready to steward the influence that he was going to give me. But what I told a friend this last night at Bible study, we have a men's group on Monday nights that meets, and it's just so fantastic. And and I told him, I said, you know, unless a seed falls to the ground and dies, it cannot bear fruit. And I told him specifically, I said, you know, you've been thinking you're the seed and you're wanting to be this seed, but you finally got to a point where you were willing to die. And you're like, I don't care anymore about the gift, I don't care anymore about the calling, I don't care anymore, Lord, like go ahead and take me now. And that seems a little bit harsh, but like when you're really truly willing to let go of everything except Him, and you're just like, Father, I want you, you know, Jesus, you are, you know, my Lord, my King, and just yield to the Spirit in every capacity, like that is the moment where he goes, okay, now we can use you. And so I think I had to do that with this own call that I wanted. And I was so, oh my gosh, I go back and I watch videos of myself speaking when I was in my 30s. And I'm like, oh, look at you, hotshot, you know, like trying to impress everybody with, you know, doing all these grandiose things. It's this highly sensational, emotionalized thing. And now I just get up and I don't really prepare. I just like let my heart just go, blah. But it's so much more authentic and well received because it's not pretentious, it's not put on, but it's because I've been prepared. And and that that's what I would say is essential. So to anyone out there, if you think you have a gift or a call or a passion, like you got to let it die first. And when you truly let it die, then the Lord could use it. So that's what I would say to that. And the patient thing, um, holy cow, absolutely patient with me. And patience is not, it's a fruit of the spirit, but it's not one of my strong suits. Um, you know, we we joke with uh people around us, it's like I'm the guy that plants the seed. I'm like, grow, damn it. You know what I mean? Like, just like, now I want fruit, you know. And the Lord's just sitting there like staring at me, going, okay, bud. And um, and and being patient with people, that's where I struggle. That long-suffering thing. Um, when you give your life to ministering to people, walking with people, it's hard. It's extremely messy. And so he has had to break me down um on this patience thing. And most recently, it's funny, I I've been joking with my friends and folks around me, my board of directors for my nonprofit, and all this kind of stuff. And I said, the Lord keeps calling me Jonah. And I'd like, what are you talking about? I'm like, he literally, like, he was like, Hey Jonah, and I'm like, Well, why are you calling me Jonah? He's like, You know I'm calling you Jonah. And I'm like, why are you calling me Jonah? And he's like, because you're acting like Jonah. I've called you to Nineveh and you're mad about it, you know, and and this is more recently in my my recent endeavor. I ended up getting back into the insurance industry about two years ago, and I did not want to get back into the business world. And the Lord called me, though, to go back into the business world as this Nineveh moment. And I'm mad about it. I'm like, of course you would call me back to these business people who only care about their profit and their these clients who all they want is the lowest premiums. And the Lord's like sitting there with me, as he was with Jonah on the hillside, going, Does it do you well to be angry? You know? Explaining. Yeah. So, like, so there's been this beautiful journey. Um, but this last piece of provision, you know, I think that when you really look at the the name the Lord gave himself, Jehovah Jireh, like the Lord will provide through Moses, you know, when he was sacrificing um, or not Moses um Abraham and Isaac, when he was sacrificing Abraham and Isaac, the Lord will provide Jehovah Jirah. Like really getting to the point where you start to detach yourself from the own identity that you've given yourself as the provider. And under and understanding, like I am the vessel through which He provides. And really embracing that and really starting to grab hold of that. That was a big, big thing for me during that season of refinement is letting go of this identity of being provider.

SPEAKER_02 15:00

Yeah, that's so good. It reminds me when I got laid off from my job the first time I had an opportunity to give. And before, you know, I had this big corporate job. I wouldn't have even thought about it. I would have just written the check. And it was like God saying, No, continue to give at the same level without that corporate job because I am the provider. Yeah. I am just gonna use you. And you're so right because a lot of times we think it's our work, it's our hustle, our, and God's like, no, it's all me. Yeah, I'm using you, I'm giving it to you, and you pour it out to somebody.

SPEAKER_00 15:38

Well, I had an experience with that. Um, you know, when I was navigating this season of ministry, um, and I was leaning on savings. And I had kind of like, I created all these leashes with God or these fuses. It was like, okay, I sold my boat, that's 45,000. That'll cover us for, you know, six months or whatever the number was. And I was like, okay, there's that, that, that leash, that fuse. Okay, well, I cashed out my Roth and that's that. That'll last me an hour. And I got to the point where the last thing I had was a 401k, like a SEP IRA. And I was sitting there, I was like, all right, Lord, I'm I ain't got nothing left. And he was like, What's that over there in that account? It's like, that's my SEP IRA. And he's like, Whose money is that? And I was like, Okay, yep, it's yours. And he was like, Why are you withholding that? Like, what is it in you that is protecting that as this level of like, how do you know that I didn't provide for you all those years ago to bring you to this moment to trust me with what it is that you had stored in a barn? And man, that is something that, you know, I don't expect people to do that or to live that way. Um, there's probably some emotionalism in my own life where I was like dead determined to, you know, I'm gonna use my savings. And the Lord's like, hang on a second, like you could go work somewhere, you know what I mean? And I'm like, well, you know, so so there's a lot of this nuance that I've gotten to this point in my life where I look back and know I sensationalized, I think, a lot of this, which is natural. Um, but the Lord is just so gracious and so loving to go, it's okay, I still got you. But I remember at one point in time, um, you know, looking at this 401k and how much money was in there and doing the math in my head or whatever. And then um, I want to pin this because um later, a couple years down the road, my son came to me with a business idea that I kind of shrugged off. Um, but it it ended up, we got to a point with that business where the amount of money we had made in the business was identical three or four years later to what I had, you know, uh in the in the IRA, the SEP IRA that I was unwilling to use. And so those kinds of moments for me are the only God moments, you know, that that to use your title, that I'm just like, man, Lord, you are so, so good.

SPEAKER_02 18:03

Well, and I I do want to get into the business that you just mentioned with little Matt, but I want you to tell people that, like, just a little bit about your family, because it's not like you were a single guy, like, okay, Lord, I'm walking away from this job, and you know, you're a single guy out in your woods walking around. No, you had a family and a growing family.

SPEAKER_00 18:24

Yeah. So uh my wife and I are college sweethearts, and we got married young, 22 or so. And, you know, first few years of life was great. We were just honeymooning, living in Florida. I was selling real estate, and things were good. Went through some financial troubles, you know, watching the market shift and change and kind of going broke at 24 and having to rely on, you know, some stock that my wife's grandfather gave her to basically pay our mortgage. And then the Lord showing up and being, you know, so so uh good to provide through some real estate transactions, um, to kind of go on broke again, living in my parents' house, you know, all this stuff. And we tried to start a family and went through two years of infertility, which led us to a really, really difficult spot in our marriage, almost cost us our marriage. And then through a series of God's just grace, uh, we found out we're pregnant with little Matt, who's our 15-year-old son now, but this is 15 years ago. Um, and then ironically, right after he was born, we found out we were pregnant with identical twin sons, Grayson and Wyatt. And so we had we went from infertile, no kids, doctors said it wouldn't happen, to having three sons within 15 months. And hold on to your hats. That was just, man, this is crazy season of life. And then, as the Lord would, we ended up having two daughters after that, Sarah James and Emmy. So um we have five kids, and you know, it's funny. Um I was talking last night, we were reading the book of Judges, and in Judges chapter two, it's a fairly heavy chapter because it's basically talking about how the Israelites forgot what God had done in the previous generation and they stopped following him. And I brought the point up, I said, you know, at some point in time, this generation needs to not just hear about God, but they need to experience him. And so during kind of the pandemic season, when I'm living at home, like the family is literally having to walk along this experience of, you know, dad left his job and he's at home. And you know what I mean? We're like watching, and we started a home church, and you know, the the folks are showing up on Saturday mornings in the backyard. And so I'm grateful now, and I wonder how well I stewarded it, because it's like I hope my kids experience something that they'll look back on. They might not get it now, but they'll look back on like, man, dad was really and truly following, you know, where the Lord led. And so, so yeah, we did all of this season with my wife and I and five kids, and uh yeah, just really, really humbling when you look back on it because you know, it scares the crap out of me now. Um, and I and I came through it, you know. If I had to go back through that season, I'm like, nope don't want to do that again.

SPEAKER_02 21:14

Do you think that's why God never shows us like the full picture because we wouldn't go through it?

SPEAKER_00 21:20

Yeah, for sure. You know, I I love, I teach from this a lot, is David when he's writing in the 23rd Psalm, you know, he says, Um, yea, though I walk through the valley of shadow of death, I'll fear no evil, for thou art with me. But it's interesting when David writes the 23rd Psalm, positionally he places the Lord in three spots. He says, Even though he's in the valley of the shadow of death, you're with me. But he also says, I prepare a table before you. I've gone ahead of you to prepare a table in the presence of your enemies. And he ends it with, Surely goodness and mercy will follow me. So there's this positional thing that David recognizes in the 23rd Psalms. That God is his rear guard, he's his forward guard, and he's with him. That he is literally surrounded by the presence and provision of God. And this is the humble posture of David recognizing God at all of these different stages in his life. And that for me is this beautiful reflection. When I look back in my past, I'm like, man, the goodness of God certainly has followed me. He's with me in whatever it is, but he's also gone ahead of me to prepare a table. And so when you start to walk in the confidence of the goodness of God, knowing that he has you surrounded, then you can walk with a greater peace and joy because you know He is, He's with you, He's behind you, and He's ahead of you.

SPEAKER_02 22:41

I wish that's something I would have learned younger in life and your children maybe experiencing that with you as they have picked up, and especially that goes before you because I I just feel like now so many times it's like if I get asked to do something or there's an opportunity before I might have said no because you're there's fear that's blocking you, and you're like, I can't. But if you take time to pause and go, wait, wait, wait, wait. If God is calling me here, he's already gone before and stand in that confidence and take that step. That has just been like such an aha, I guess, moment in my life. But it's the constant, like you have to keep doing it and remembering, you know, it's like, okay, Lord, I'm gonna take this scary step. And then you build that little confidence, and then he calls you to do something else crazy, you know, that only he's gonna call you to do. And so yeah, thank you so much for bringing that up because hopefully a younger listener is listening to that and they're like, oh, like, yeah, that's a great thing.

SPEAKER_00 23:42

So I was asked last week, I was asked to speak um at our hometown community college, Cape Fear Community College. There was a um a leadership, you know, symposium or whatever you want to call it. It was a one-day leadership retreat. And I actually kicked the day off. They asked me to come and speak. And it was funny when I was praying and asking the Lord to kind of show me what it is he wanted to speak, he actually showed me back in second grade. Um, and in the second grade, I was the lead in the school play. And ironically, it was a man who fell asleep on a park bench in our hometown of Wilmington, and he went back through time and he, you know, spent time with key historical figures who taught him about the city of Wilmington. And the Lord was just speaking to me about that, and then he spoke to me about middle school, high school, you know, adult, whatever. And the phrase he gave me was lead at every level. And the way I painted this picture was is when you choose to lead with what you've been given right where you are, it creates a building block that you can then in turn stand on. And it's the same thing with faith. It's like, you know, faith, it grows when you use it, it strengthens when you use it. And so as you take steps of faith, it actually ends up not even being scary, you know, at some point in time because you just walk in this confidence. It's like faith is being assured of what you hope for and certain of what you do not see in Hebrews. So it just becomes this way of life that you live, and you're not living for yourself, you're you're dead, right? Paul said, I've been crucified with Christ. I'm dead already. I'm living from the fullness of Christ in me. And it's a different mindset that you just walk. And what you do is you recognize that you're walking in the favor that God has already laid out before you. And that if you do misstep or get it wrong, or your ego gets in the way, or your emotions, like he's gentle to correct your course. And so as long as you stay in that tether, it's a beautiful place to live from and it's very freeing, but it is countercultural to say the least. And most people are like, What are you even talking about? And I'm like, I'm just talking. I don't know if it lands or not, but like this is how I live, you know? It's like when I started Airly Oak Insurance Group, our insurance company, right? Um, you know, I had a situation where a former client called me and told me her husband had died. And she said, I know you've been out of the industry for five years, but you are our guy. This gentleman's passed away. I need help, and I know you'll help me. And I did. And I was like, why am I still in the insurance industry? I was like, these people have trusted me, and I've got five years removed, and I'm still helping them out. And so that was like a duh moment. And so I ended up starting uh Airly Oak Insurance Group with a partner and a team. And the first month we started was April of 20, 20, what is it, 26, 24? And my one of my best friends is the photographer for uh an a magazine called Our State Magazine, which is a North Carolina magazine. The cover article was my friend's photograph of the Airly Oak. It is an oak tree in Wilmington in Airly Gardens, where we derived our name, Arly Oak Insurance Group. So the month we started, my one of my best friend's photograph is the cover of the state magazine, and it says Airly Oak, right? And so like only God. So these are like, but I'm so used to these things now that I'm not like, oh, I'm just like, okay, thank you, Father. Like this, and I just live this way now. And again, I would have learned to have, I would have loved to have learned it earlier. There's no way an earlier version of myself would have been comfortable with this. I had to be deconstructed from this religious mindset, from this performance mindset, from this approval mindset to you get to this place where you're just like, all right, Lord, where are we going today?

SPEAKER_02 27:32

And I'm gonna show up and go wherever you're leading, which I want to take us back to little Matt. And uh I've loved that kid, you know, since I've known him for probably a decade. He doesn't know me, but I have followed his journey. And um, so you mentioned him of he came to you with an idea. And so, like, tell us, I think this is one of the coolest only God stories, and I love it because it's a child.

SPEAKER_00 27:58

Yeah, for sure. So, you know, again, we're called, right? Faith at like a child. Like that's a constant reminder in scripture. In fact, when they're teaching from the Bible, he's contrasting the adult, stuffy, religious elite with the children, you know what I mean? And even when you hear the parable of the rich young ruler, you know, Jesus, before he even encounters the rich young ruler, he says, Let the children come to me, for to such belong the kingdom of God. And then the man comes in and goes, What must I do? And he's like, Be like them, be like a child, be like the kids. And he's like, Well, I've done everything. Look at me, I'm a performer. I've given, you know, and he's like, Okay, you've done everything, go sell everything, and then follow me. And he can't do it. Um, so in the middle of this journey, I'd written my book, I had left the insurance industry. Um, we were kind of in the middle of the pandemic, which was so difficult on so many levels. I'm starting to get worn out, you know, recognizing that, like, man, this isn't going the way I want it to go. And I'm kind of like frustrated that the Lord hasn't opened doors. And I had this vision of like, I wanted to lead leaders and be in these corporate spaces, and I had tons of opportunities, but it's like it never catapulted to the next level where my income was sustained by doing this. I would have one-offs and you know, I'd go speak at this company, or I'd did my TED X talk and just all these different things that were little markers along the way, but it never like became fully supportive and sufficient, right? And my son comes to me, and he's 11 at the time, and he says, Hey dad, I was watching this YouTube video of this guy who turned a penny into a house, and it was like a trade-up challenge, you know what I mean? Traded a penny for a pen and then a pen for a candy bar and wait, whatever, you know. Next thing you know, the guy's like literally buying a house. Um, my my son said, I want to do that with baseball cards, like sports cards. And I was like, baseball cards. I was like, I got a ton of those in the closet at the house. Like you know, they're not worth anything. I mean, I got them at your grandma's. And he did a video on YouTube. He's like, hey guys, this little Matt, I want to go from zero to$10,000 in sports cards and whatever. And he came to me, and at the time I was not in a place to deal with this. I was dealing with some old pain in my heart that was manifesting toward my family. And I had a moment in the mountains of North Carolina, we were on vacation, and the Lord, whoo, buddy, he handed me my rear end and he said, Why are you withholding love from your family? And I was like, because I knew it was true. And he said, You've wanted to teach all of these entrepreneurs and business leaders, and you're not even willing to teach your son. And I was just like, You're right, father. And he said, I want you to pour into him as if it was the most important CEO in the history of the world. And so I started to teach my 11-year-old son, you know, the dynamics of business and buying and selling and communication and negotiation and how to look at market value and how to utilize this stuff and then how to present and how to, you know, just be able to do this thing. And so we literally um I sold, I had this funny, I was collecting bourbon at the time, um, and I sold a few bottles of bourbon. Um, I sold a kayak, I sold a triathlon bike that I was no longer using. My son cut some grass and sold an old gaming system. And we ended up, you know, it was it was kind of like accumulating, but we ended up selling probably$2,500 in stuff. But by the time we were doing that, we were already selling cards. So we were buying$30 and$40 baseball cards that we were selling for, you know,$50 and$60. And so, and we we reinvested everything back into the business. And I think from the fall of 2023 through the end of the year, we reached the$10,000 mark. That was my son's kind of goal. And it was uh it was pretty humbling. And I was like, wow, we just went from nothing to$10,000 in about six months. What could happen? Well, that January, a friend came to our house and knocked on our door and said, Hey, I've got these Michael Jordan rookie cards. Could you help me with them? And I'm like, holy cow, this is crazy. So we ended up buying um these two Michael Jordan rookie cards, which was like that, those cards themselves were like seven grand. And then, you know, I was super transparent with this gentleman. We ended up selling those for like 15. Um, and then next thing you know, boom, we we made$80,000 in net profit that year as just a father and a son buying and selling sports cards. We had these crazy situations, like we're flying to Chicago to the National Sports Card Convention and meeting like Gary Vaynerchuk, Gary Vee, who if if people are entrepreneurs, they probably know Gary Vee. My son is interviewing Gary V.

SPEAKER_02 32:52

That is one of my favorite moments because your son, can you tell us your Instagram handle? Are you still on? Like I yeah, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 33:00

It's Ham House Sports, H A M H O U S E Sports, S P-O-R-T-S.

SPEAKER_02 33:04

He's interviewing Gary Vee.

SPEAKER_00 33:06

Yeah. So I'm like, I I spent time with all of these entrepreneurs who would have like given a left arm to meet Gary V. Here I am talking to Gary V. My son's interviewing him, and it was like, what is the what is happening? This is crazy, right? We're around all of these influencers in the card space and all this kind of stuff. And I'm watching my son just shine. And he cares less who Gary Vee is. He's like, whatever, dude. He's a dude. I'm just gonna like, hey, what's up, Gary? And I'm like, this is freaking Gary Vee. Anyway, so this is crazy thing. So anyway, then my son wins Entrepreneur of the Year for Home-based businesses for the Wilmington Business Journal, our Loker thing. And he's like at our local college, University of North Carolina, Wilmington, standing up in front of a room full of like 400 people, like telling his story. And this did it to me, Steph. Like he stood up there and he's like, Yeah, we made 80 grand this year. And I saw all these like venture capitalists who they've got these businesses that they've invested millions into that are still not profitable. And like, this kid, I need this kid to come run our business because we've invested 20 million and we've got revenue, but we don't have any profit. Right. You know, so it was this wild thing. And so that was when I was starting, you know, Airly Oak, and we just stayed with it. And man, it's just been wild because we've gotten to travel, you know, to like last year we were at uh Fanatics Fest, which is a big industry thing in New York City, and we're like in New York City, and we are in, I'm like, like Jay-Z, uh Tom Brady, uh Rob Grunkowski, Livy Dunn, I mean, you name it. Like LeBron was there. Like, it was like all of these like major athletes and sports stars are like in this space. And then we ended up starting a podcast called The Sports Card CEO, and we interviewed Mike Trout, who's like three-time Major League Baseball All-Star. And it's like me and my buddies and my son, and it's like Mike Trout's like, what's up, guys? And I'm like, what world am I living in? Right? And then last year, you know, we ended up, we did, we did about$750,000 in sales with baseball cards, mind you. And I'm sitting here and I'm going, what is this? You know, and the Lord is just so gracious to remind me, he's like, you for years had wanted to start something that was profitable and beneficial, but I needed to do it in a way that you couldn't take credit for it. And almost it offended you to show you that I still am the provider. I can provide in whatever way I need to. If that's a business with your son that frustrates the ever-loving crap out of you, I'm gonna do it that way just to remind you that I don't need you. And I remember years ago, um, one of the revelations for me is is I wanted to be needed by God. You know, we want to be needed by God, right? We want to be used by God. And one of the things the Lord said to me during that season, he goes, I don't need you. I love you. And only in time have I realized how much greater it is to be loved than to be needed. But we want to be needed, we want to be useful. And he's like, No, I just need you to be loved. And we we come from that place of love, from that place of rest, to go and create and do as he leads instead of constantly trying to be needed and useful. Um, I want to tell you another story. Sorry, I I get only story.

SPEAKER_02 36:54

I love that because like I don't this word that came up to me, you know, going back to like your moment of like God saying, Love your family, you know, and your son wants to do this, like go do this with him. But it's also that free will and the obedience of you going, okay, even though it seemed crazy, but then God led you to which I I say like living the only God mindset because God gets credit. You cannot boast for anything, you cannot be like, I manipulated this, I did this, my son did this. It's like, no, God took something so crazy that at the end of the day, when people ask you about this business and where you're at and what little Matt's doing and the opportunities that you're getting, you have to say, it's it's only God, it's not me. And he gets the credit and you boast on him.

SPEAKER_00 37:46

Yeah, and that's that's just been the thing. And and we started this year, we had a a good friend who basically, in a way, he acquired our sports car business. And so now we work tandem with him, but it basically, you know, the capacity of what we've done, it's basically like 10x our um opportunity um with infused, you know, capital and with infused help and stuff. So it's just wild. Um, but I want to share another story that just hit me. Um during the same season, right, of um, you know, struggling to find my place and wanting to be, you know, prominent and sought after and be on these stages. Um, it was during the pandemic. Um a friend worked at a nursing home. And she said, Hey, will you come and pray for the staff? We're really struggling, could use some encouragement. I said, sure. And so I started praying with the staff of this nursing home every Monday afternoon. And after about a month, she said, Hey, will you do the same thing for our residents over the Zoom because they can't leave and they're stuck in here and they're kind of struggling. So I did that for about six months. And then she said, Hey, you can come inside now. So I found myself going into this nursing home on Mondays and praying with these residents and leading them in a Bible study, singing songs and stuff. And, you know, half the time they don't remember what I said five minutes ago, but they're just smiling and happy or whatever. And the thing was, is I started to bargain with God because I was like, God, I want to be on these stages, right? I want to be at conferences, I want to be the sought-after guy, and I want to be standing speaking. And he's like, Yeah, but I've I've called you to the nursing home. And I'm like, but they can't remember what I just said. Like, why does this matter? You know what I mean? He's like, I need you to be faithful with little. And I'm like, okay, yeah, I know that verse, but I don't want to do that. You know what I mean? And we we just get mad at God. But I had a moment where um I get there one day and somebody told me um that one of our regulars had passed away, um, a sweet, sweet lady named Mary. And she said, Mary passed away, and the family would like to see you. And I was like, see me, what? See me, and go down to the room and knocked on the door, and they were like, We're not taking visitors. I'm sorry. And they were like, wait, are you Matt? And I was like, Yeah. And then they were like, Come on in. And I was like, and the lady, Miss Mary, was still in the room. She had passed away, but the family still had her in the bed, and they were, you know, with her bedside. And I mean, that's a heavy moment. And the the son asked me to sit down and pull up a chair. And so I'm sitting around this bedside with this lady who's deceased and her son. And um he said, uh, my mom called me two days ago, and she told me that she needed to tell me something. And I'm like, Mom, I live in Greensboro, you tell me on the phone, and she's like, No, I need you to drive down here. He said, So I drove down about four hours, and I get here. She said, I need you to tell Matt something. And he's going, Who's Matt? She's like, Matt's the young fella, which I was like, Thank you, young fella, um, who does the, you know, uh the prayer thing for us. And uh she he looked at me and he said, I've been a Presbyterian minister for 30 years, and you reached my mom in a way that nobody has been able to. And he said, She had given up on the church because all they ever wanted was her money, and you reinvigorated her faith in the final days of her life. She told me to tell you to keep doing what you're doing because it matters. Is this even real? Like, here I am, you know, wanting to do and and the Lord just reminded me, He you just need to be faithful with what I've given you. And and you need to understand that you need to keep doing what I've asked you to do and do not grow weary, you know. So, Steph, you know, one of the things is I've just I've been so fortunate in my life to be reminded of these only God moments where the Lord is just loving on me and letting me know that he's close and that uh he's good, you know. And I've just I've learned to kind of live by that. And that's just been kind of my guiding light um and just my protocol, if you will, for how to get through the days. And it's been it's been a good thing. Not easy, but certainly good. And for that, you know, I'm just super grateful.

SPEAKER_02 41:59

Well, Matt, thank you so much for joining and like just sharing your story and your ups and downs of life, and uh, you know, sharing your story that only God could write. Thank you so much for being here.

SPEAKER_00 42:12

Thanks, friends. Good to see you again.

SPEAKER_02 42:16

Hey friends, thank you for joining me today on the Only God Podcast. I hope today's story encouraged your faith and reminded you that God is still writing our stories each and every day. If you were inspired by this episode, please share, subscribe, and tell a friend, and to stay connected with me and find out about all my books and resources and events go to shiningforwardcreative.com. Have a fabulous day.