Full Fledged Podcast
Full Fledged is a powerful mother and son podcast with Jerry "JC" Shirer Jr and Priscilla Shirer. The dynamic duo is here to bring you laughter, joy, and a lot of wisdom from their brutally honest conversations
Full Fledged Podcast
The Keys to Holy Success with Michael Jr | Live Podcast
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Everyone wants success, but few stop to ask what success actually is. In this episode, we unpack the principles of holy success. Success that isn't measured by money, status, influence, or applause, but by faithfulness to God's calling.
We discuss the true cost of success, why boundaries are essential for protecting your purpose, and how having the right "why" can determine the direction of your life. We also explore the role faith plays when the path forward is uncertain, the sacrifices required to pursue God's best, and why obedience often matters more than achievement.
A gift isn't even a gift until you give it away.
SPEAKER_00Slow down, slow down. Repeat that. What'd you just say? Say that again. The gift what?
SPEAKER_01I'll say it again. It's gonna be great. I said a gift is um on sale at Target. Wait, how'd that go?
SPEAKER_00Life search, can y'all hear me? Okay, okay, I got this question. How are we feeling today? That's the real question. How are we feeling? We're good. Okay, that was like a mild clap, and I'm cool with that because I know y'all are tired, but I need something a little better. Life search, how are we feeling today? That's what I'm looking for. That's what I'm looking for. I actually have uh gotten the pleasure to kind of peek my head in and out for the last couple days. And I came for Pastor Craig's message yesterday. And I came in just like, oh, I'm gonna just chill, I'm gonna relax, whatever. And then I left, and then I had like a whole thing of notes I was looking at last night, and I was like, wow, I didn't expect to do this. And then I'm listening to Michael Jr. sitting here. I mean, how amazing was that? Like, that was crazy. I'm over here sitting about to tear up when in one of the stories, and I'm like, oh my gosh, this is incredible. So I'm super honored and blessed to be able to interview him today. And so, how how many of us know that this Bible right here is the truth? Like, that's it. There's no other, there's no other truth. It's not your truth, it's not my truth, this is the truth. And so today I want to talk to Michael Jr. really about his story, his life, his experience, get more into detail about how his experience and how this word has shaped who he is now. And I want to talk about the power of his testimony because the the word says the power of the testimony is is is is powerful. And I want to apply his testimony and his experiences and see if we can apply some of those principles to our lives. Does that sound good? Let's do it. And I'm gonna introduce the one and only Michael Jr. All right.
SPEAKER_01Come on, again, humans on this couch. I'm gonna sit right here. No, it's that one. Yeah, that's a different show. That's a different show if I sat right there. All right, cool. Let's do it. This is gonna be great. I'm excited. Podcast and stuff, let's do it.
SPEAKER_00How many podcasts have you been on per se? Do you know?
SPEAKER_01This is uh just the second one.
unknownUh-oh.
SPEAKER_01No, I'm just no, I don't even know how many I've done before because a lot of people have podcasts. Great stuff, man. That introduction was nice. I appreciate that. That was dope.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, oh no, absolutely. I think it's dope. I didn't know I was gonna get to interview you until about uh two or three weeks ago, and it was phenomenal. And then I was like, oh my gosh, this because this guy is hilarious. I found I listened to a whole one of his special comedy things probably only like four months ago. I'm late to the party. I don't know how that happened. And so I listened, I'm like, this guy's hilarious. This guy's great. And I was like, he's a Christian too? No way. And so I just remember feeling the intense like love for laughing, having fun, and then I realized it was clean after, and I was like, that's something I can feed my soul. So you are impacting, I know plenty of people just like me and people in here just for the kingdom. So I appreciate everything that you've done for that.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, I appreciate it. That's great. Thanks, man. That that makes me feel actually doesn't make me feel anyway. I just I like the way it sounds so good.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, yeah, yeah. Well, I appreciate it. I want to I want to ask you a question. Um I was sitting over there and I literally felt myself getting emotional because of I I could see and feel your heart. I there's not many people that can go on a stage and you can feel their authentic emotion and heart in their craft. And I was sitting there about to tear up because of your heart. And I was I saw this video not too long ago about this time where you like surprised a family with with a new car. Yeah. You did a comedy show or something, and you raised tell us about that we did.
SPEAKER_01So there was a um so there was this family. I don't know if my squad is ready. Is this a oh you got cameras? So um there's a family. So I love to give. Like I love, love, giving. And when I talk about giving, I'm not talking about the tithe. That's not giving. That's called not stealing. I'm not talking about that. So um, but there was a there there was a family who I overheard, I was in my autograph line, and I overheard their story, and I was like, wait a minute, what's going on? And I heard their story. So they have five biological kids, like five. I think we have a picture of the kids. I don't know if my team is ready for this. They probably completely fine. Anyway, so they have five kids and they adopted two teenagers, and they were fostering uh five additional kids, all under the age of seven. And then one of their vehicles got stolen, and and we felt like we were supposed to do something, but God didn't tell me to buy them a vehicle. And I want to be obedient, I just want to sacrifice. So we went to my events and we told people about the Richardsons, and we explained to them what was going on in their life and what was happening, and we and we asked them to buy tickets. Because if I do a regular comedy show fundraiser, that's me buying them a vehicle. Yeah, and I want to be obedient, I don't just want to sacrifice. So we decided to uh we told my fans, we said, hey, we're doing a show for this family. We told them about the family, and we said, this call it the no-show comedy show. And people were like, Well, when is it? I was like, whenever you want it to be, because it's gonna happen in your brain. And people bought tickets, like they actually bought tickets, and we were able to get this um one guy walked up to the counter and he bought a ticket, it was like a hundred dollar ticket, and I noticed he had a ring on. I was like, dude, you're not gonna take your wife? He was like, Yeah, you're right, you're right. And he bought another ticket. Anyway, so so I'm praying, me and my family praying, and we feel like the vehicle to get for this family is a Nissan NV, which is a really nice vehicle, it could fit the whole family. Well, when I went over to the family's house to capture their story, there was a picture on the wall that had been there for two years of a they cut it off of a magazine, and it was a picture of a Nissan NV. And they wrote on top of it, God is awesome, this is our car, reach for your goal. That's the picture right there. That's the picture. So um it was pretty outstanding to see not only the family's need, but then see how God used all these people to bless this family with the exact vehicle. And they had no idea this thing was happening, like they didn't even know what was gonna happen. So it was pretty cool, man. I love to give, but I want to do it when I when I should give.
SPEAKER_00That's a phenomenal story. And I think that have you always been that compassionate? I mean, because even just something as simple as when you were like, I was at the show, and this girl did the tutu spin and they were like, boo, like that whole thing. Like, you talked about how you felt like angry, you felt sad, like you felt this heightened sense of emotion in that the way that God has used that to do stuff like this, like people aren't as generous as that or as emotional as that usually. Do you feel like that's something that you've just had all the time?
SPEAKER_01No, she just made me think about, which which makes you a good interviewer, I guess. I mean, I'm sure Priscilla's way better, she's been around longer. Um I'm just I'm just serious. I'm just serious. Um, for real, you're doing a this is this is legit. Because you helped me think of a so I was doing a show outside this comedy club. I mean, I'm getting ready to go do a show at this comedy club, and right before I get on stage, I felt like God shifted something. And unknowingly, whenever I get on stage, normally the question I'm asking without asking it is how can I get laughs from people? And in that moment, God said, I don't want you to do that anymore. I want you to ask the question, what can you give to this audience? And it changed everything. In fact, when I went on stage that night, I didn't do my first joke. It took me like normally I got laughs within the first 12 seconds. That was my goal. First 12 seconds, I should already have delivered a punchline, and people are laughing. That night, I didn't even start my first joke until 25 seconds in. And the reason was is because I realized so God has given me a gift, but a gift, when you have a gift for somebody, you don't rush it and put it in their face. You wait, you assess the scenario, and when the time is right, you deliver the gift. So my shoulders were dropped so much more. I was able to listen to the audience more, find out what they wanted, and that's what happened even tonight. Like today, I'm just listening. That closer, I don't know if you're gonna use this in the podcast, but the closer when Tara, Tara, right? When she asked me this question, I don't know, like I'm not supposed to end on a question. Yeah, like I I really need to control my ending so it pops really big, but I didn't feel like that's what was supposed to happen. I was God, I just felt like I wasn't supposed to end that way. I was like, all right, let me take the question. It's probably gonna be something that's not gonna be very fulfilling and closing. And then she asked me about school, and then the math was like, and then we got to see what we saw, which is just only God.
SPEAKER_00So that's phenomenal.
SPEAKER_01So to answer your question more crisply, yeah, I don't um it was the shift of what can I give as opposed to what can I get that changed everything. Wow. And here's the thing, no matter what you do in life, you're you're asking one of those two questions. And if you don't know which question you're asking, I think you know which question you're asking. By default, it's what can I what can I get? Because that's the safest question.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, I mean there there are a lot of business owners in here. How many of y'all own it own a business in here? That is phenomenal. That is phenomenal.
SPEAKER_01God has that dude, you you just raise your hand, sir? Cool. Is that your wife next to you? You didn't raise your hand? Because you know you own him, so he owned the business. So it's the whole, I don't know what she was doing. Right. I miss that. I miss that. Just look at him. If he raises his hand by himself, just look at him and be like, where are you gonna get sex? Okay, then that's what you gotta do.
SPEAKER_00Then he was like, Oh, I'm look, I'm trying to, you're making me laugh. I'm forgetting what I'm supposed to say because it's so funny. Yeah, that's my goal. That's my goal here. Yeah, it's working. Um, but there God, God has entrusted, I own business, uh, you're own a business. Like, there, God has entrusted us with something, and I remember in the Bible the disciples were like, oh, I'm who gonna be the greatest in the kingdom of heaven? Like, I'm trying to be the greatest. There's so much competition just like that in the world that we're in today. I'm gonna have the best business, I'm gonna have the best business. And Jesus is like, okay, like y'all are talking about worldly terms, y'all are talking about like worldly, earthly expectations. I'm not talking about that. The one who is going to be the greatest has to be servant of all. And I think that the fact that you're embodying that is a principle that we all, especially as myself, as a young adult who is trying to learn and grow in my business and grow in my faith, that having that servant-hearted mindset is more important than competing for earthly worldly success. That's great, man. That's good.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. And I also like to say, you look just like your granddad. Anyway, I'm gonna move on because you do, you look so much like him. It's had nothing to do with what he just said, but I just don't like y'all should.
SPEAKER_00I get that all the time. Yeah, like all the time.
SPEAKER_01Even the mannerisms. You got some 70-year-old mannerisms too, even though you're not 70, but you got some.
SPEAKER_00Oh, okay.
SPEAKER_01Yo, mannerisms are the same. It's kind of that cool little.
SPEAKER_00This is a JC Rose session now. I thought this was my podcast. I thought I was doing the questions.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, you can see it. That's dope.
SPEAKER_00It's literally there is uh I was watching one of your uh bits and comedy specials, and you talked about the the why. It was a video. Oh, this is what it was, it was a video. And God set me up.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, yeah. You know what? We could do it. You want to do it instead of just do it. I don't we can do it. All right, so let's see if my squad is ready. So when I when I made the transition from just comedy, and then God explained to me, comedy is only a comedy is the vehicle, it is not the destination. People start asking me questions about purpose, which is bananas, because I'm thinking I do jokes. But then the more questions they would ask me about purpose, the more I realized they were actually asking the wrong question. Because they would ask questions like, what should I do here? What should I do there? But it's not about what you should do. The question you should be asking is why? Because I have a lot of what's. I'm doing television, I'm doing movies, I'm writing books. That's what I do. But my why is to comedically inspire people to walk in purpose. So all of those what's can feed into that why, and I can deliver what I need to deliver. So I'm in Winston, Salem, and I'm uh talking to this guy. I'm assuming my team is ready. I bet they're on point though. I'm talking to this guy in the audience, kind of like I do sometimes, just improv. And I was like, what do you do? And he said he was a musical director. I was like, Well, can you sing? And uh this is what happened.
SPEAKER_00You gonna put your team on the spot like that, dog? Come on, yeah.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, no, I just let me just let me just try again. So I'm in Winston-Salem. And uh there's this guy in the audience, and he and I was like, So what do you do? And he was a cool dude, right? And he was nice, and I think he was kind of tall. And I said to him, This is me stalling, and I said, So, so what do you do? And he said, I'm a musical director. I was like, really? Well, well, can you sing? And this is what happened.
SPEAKER_00They in the back, like, oh my gosh, I gotta get the thing and I gotta be great.
SPEAKER_01It's gonna be great when they edit it in later. Hey, just light me up when you got it. I'll reset it up. Just light me up when y'all got it. All right, go ahead. Yeah. I'll do this out of nowhere. Just out of nowhere. I'll just start that back up and it'll be ready.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, yeah, it'll it'll be ready. They know now, so let's just we'll we'll get back to that. But I think the for me, understanding the why behind I do something, it's like jet fuel for my life. Um, if you don't know, jet fuel is the strongest type of fuel that there is for a vehicle. And it's the thing that allows the plane to go from one distance a long distance away. And I know the Bible talks about endurance being like endure in the faith, and you'll reign with me, 2 Timothy says. And so endurance is directly correlated to the to the power of the fuel that you have, and I felt that why, the why that you have is the jet fuel for life. Because if you have the wrong why, you it you won't you you will burn out. And most people, like me, have had the wrong why and have burnt out. Like money is why I do business, burn out after a while, it's not fulfilling. Um, fame, influence is why I do the thing, burn out. It's not so how important for you has it been to have a why that's been sustainable because you have a career that's been incredible and has impacted millions of people. Yeah, like what's the what's the jet fuel behind that?
SPEAKER_01Yeah, again, it's um so I was in Winston-Salem, and um I was talking to this guy, right? And I was like, what do you do? And he said, I'm a musical director. And I was like, Well, can you sing? And um, this is what happened. So I so to answer your question.
SPEAKER_00What is going on, y'all? Okay, look, the last four years of my life have been completely transformational. Like, I mean, I'm talking about I'm talking about 180, right? And a big part of that was because of Liberty University. Liberty University is a phenomenal place. The coaches, the staff, the teachers, everybody that I encountered seemed like to have a true, genuine love for Jesus and a want for their students to grow and actually become champions for Christ. Like it's real. They have convocation every month, every Wednesday and Friday. They have campus community every Wednesday. As a residential student, I was so impacted by everything that they had, especially the basketball team that I was a part of for four years. It just was a great experience. And if you want to become part of the Liberty family, whether as an online student, they have the biggest one in the world, or as a residential student, I have the way for you. Go to liberty.eu slash full fledged, and you can get your application fee waived, and you can come join the family just like I am now.
SPEAKER_01They're gonna get it one of these times, it's gonna be awesome. Um keep going. So my thing is really so here's what I came to this conclusion not too long ago. Uh I think people who don't have money are at an advantage over those people who do. And what I mean by this is when you don't have money, you actually believe that money can fix things. But when you get the money, when you get the stuff that you want, you realize it can't. And now what do you do? So I think the people who are in the best position, if they just want to live in la la land, are those people who actually think money's gonna help. But for those who have it, realize there's something more. Money is only a tool that takes on the characteristics of the people who possess it. Like you could either buy, you could open up an orphanage or a strip club with the same amount of money. But what you want to understand is why, like, what's the why behind this? Like, nothing was ever created without a problem first. The chairs that you're sitting in started with a problem. People were standing around, their legs are like, man, shoot, we need something. And then somebody created a chair because of that problem. The same is the case with you. There was a problem in the earth that God knew was going to happen, and then he created you for that problem. Talk to him, talk to him. Like that specific problem is yours. And you know that you know that it's your problem because you'll constantly see it all the time and you'll say to yourself, somebody needed to do something about this. The issue is that when you don't know what your problem is, you'll pick up on some other problems that's not even your problem. So the key is to know what your problem is. Or you'll be watching the news and be like, ah, those people, those Democrats, those Republicans, you all in some problems that aren't yours because you don't know what your problem is. You have something to solve. In fact, it's like one time when I was in Weston-Salem, and um I was talking to this guy in the audience, I was like, What do you do? And he said he was a musical director. And I was like, Well, can you sing? And uh this is what happened. Okay, so we're taking applications. If anybody wants them, cool, cool. I'm gonna give them one more shot, they're gonna be ready. Right, right.
SPEAKER_00It's gonna spin one more time. We're gonna we're gonna get back one more time. I try I have faith in your team, I promise. Um when we when you were talking about it. No, no, wait, wait, wait.
SPEAKER_01It's your team, it's not mine. I just want to be clear about that.
SPEAKER_00Well, you were talking about um trust, or you were talking about you know, some of man, you're really good at this.
SPEAKER_01There is, I just want y'all to know, he don't got no notes nowhere. Like he there's no monitor, he's not looking at there's no information. This brother's just off the dome. He did his homework. This is pretty dope, man. I like that. Thank you. Like, well done. Like, really well done. Cool.
SPEAKER_00I'm really relying on you more than in me. I'm just playing off of you.
SPEAKER_01Really? Yeah. You need to rely on the Lord, young man, not me. No, I'm just playing. I'm just playing. It's a Bible idea. It's a Bible right here. This dude carrying an actual Bible. Right. That's why he didn't know I didn't know. He got one gun because his Bible's so big. He just got one gun. The other one is like, because he's carrying his rhymes.
SPEAKER_00All right, I'm sorry. It was no, you're good. Um you were talking about the why, and some people, um, their why is money and all this stuff. It is ultimately, I'm about to go on a little rant here for a second, I hope that's okay, um, about what we put our trust in. Like most people think that it stops at, oh, we trust that God can save us eternally. We trust in his death, burial, resurrection. We're believers, we have received the free gift of salvation, but what most people don't understand is that salvation is the first step, sanctification is the rest of the steps. How many of us understand and know that the goal is to become more like Jesus? Right? And um, it reminds me of the story of the Israelites, whenever God was doing all these crazy miracles. Like I'm talking about like 12 plagues on the land. Bam, get y'all out of captivity. Oh, this is crazy. And then they go into the sea and they're like, ooh, God, we don't know what's gonna happen. The sea is is crazy. We got people chasing us, trying to kill us. And then Moses is like, don't worry about it. God got y'all, bam, staff, see two walls, right? Like, oh my gosh, this is crazy. God, we trust you. Then they run into another problem. Hey, uh, we're starving again. We don't, we should have gone back to Egypt, all these complaining. And then God's like, don't worry, you can trust me. Man, I fall from heaven, bam, oh, crazy miracle. And then they finally get to the promised land. The whole re the whole way God had promised them, his word promised them, you are going to get into the promised land, the land of Canaan. They get there, they send 12 spies, the 12 spies come back, and like, yeah, we saw great walls, we saw big people, Nephilim, they make us look like grasshoppers. All numbers start numbers 13 and 14. We saw grass, they make us like grasshoppers. We ain't no way we defeated them. We don't trust that you can protect us. Because the smoke in mirrors was the fact that the the walls were high and the people were great size. That was smoke and mirrors. Ultimately, it was just we didn't trust that God was the Lord of hosts and could protect us. Like that was the problem. And I think that what why it's so powerful was because God has something for me. You, you, you already done accomplished a lot. You, you, you, you, you, uh, I mean, wait, the Lord still got more for me though, right? No, I was just Okay, all right. I was talking about age wise, like we young. You just call me old.
SPEAKER_01We call me old. Everything was good to just. The line. That was the line right there.
SPEAKER_00I'm sorry. I'm calling Jerry. I was I was deep in. I'm sorry. That's that's on me. Let me get back to you. I'm sorry. Israelites, there was trouble. Yeah, that's good stuff, dude. Yeah. Um, it's because when you are not trusting God, then ultimately the land that He has promised you, the metaphorical land, what He has called you to inherit, what He has called you to captivate, to save other people, to help other people, you won't be able to get all that because you don't trust in all the parts of His nature. And I just think that that's so powerful because the why ultimately reveals what actually we're putting our trust in. And that has been one of the biggest differences for me in my life over the last year, year and a half has been, okay, God, help me to see where I'm not trusting you. Maybe I'm not trusting you in my finances. Like I am more worried and put my trust in myself to provide for my finances rather than you are my ultimate security. I got a I got I got an example. This may relate to some of y'all. Um that one coworker that you got, or that uh that that that wannabe friend, they always say something slick and petty to you, and you just want to like every time you, ooh, I just want to slap them, right? And so whenever they tell you that, you say something slick back sometimes. You like, you know, you say something a little petty back, because you like, I want to get you back. You know what I'm saying? Like, we think that that's so not deep. However, God says in his word, vengeance is mine. So what we're doing is we're putting our trust in our words to bring us vengeance when God is like, no, you're supposed to trust me for that. Like it's something it's so it's so it's small stuff like that that I think in order to inherit all that God has called us to inherit, we need to continually ask ourselves, okay, what are we putting our trust in? That's dope. But that was a rant that was just like reminding me of that. I like it, man. And um, and uh the guy is a singer, opera, um, music director.
SPEAKER_01Yes. And uh Him. It only works when I set it up, though. You gotta let me back it up. It's not gonna work. I'm outside my line. It's not gonna work otherwise. I really like what you said. One of my um one line that I really like, I didn't write this, I just added a word to the end. Is that so when you talk about friends and conflicts and because me and my wife are doing a tour right now called Funny How Marriage Works, where we help people understand marriage using comedy, but also we take a different approach where most people explain in marriage that you're supposed to uh compromise. Marriage is all about compromise. If a bridge is compromised, would you drive over it? So compromise is not the goal of marriage, it's it's just not because life will bring you people and circumstances to reveal where you're not free yet. So chances are if you're having a conflict with somebody, with that friend or a spouse, maybe that's revealing an area where you're not free, and maybe God is using that person so you can take that area to him as opposed to them. So anytime someone bothers you or something you don't like something about them, you just have to ask the question, you gotta get super curious and say something like, How is it when this person, your spouse, for example, how is it when they don't close the cabinets or they leave their sock on the floor, I am less like Jesus. How is that possible? It's a sock on the floor. So we just teach people to get extra, extra curious because when you understand what upsets you, you can better understand why um your why. Because once you're walking in your why, things will pop up to try to get you off of it a little bit. It's like when I was in uh when I was in Winston-Salem. No, I'm gonna give us more time. What's your next question?
SPEAKER_00No. Okay, yeah, maybe it's interesting to me because comedy, especially nowadays, probably always been, I'm not sure. Um, such a secular market. Like, I mean, just like crude for the most part, like nasty.
SPEAKER_01Like it's like what like what do you watch? I'm listening. Like who do you listen to? Like who do you been watching?
SPEAKER_00You want to know what comedians I I listen to?
SPEAKER_01Yeah. Just crude. That's so I could tell your mom you've been listening to them.
SPEAKER_00Uh that's why I'm not saying it. I know she's gonna watch like I listen to you only. That's it. That's awesome. That's that's it.
SPEAKER_01So there's some really funny cats out there. Like there's um, and you know, there I would say funny if you want to look for somebody. I think uh John B Christ, John B.
SPEAKER_00Christ.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, John Christ is cool. He's funny, and then um Tim Hawkins is great, and then uh Brian Regan, hysterical. So if y'all are looking for some more comedy that you can laugh at, enjoy, check those cats out for real. I'm sure there's more, but that's all I could think of right now.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. And it's such a it's like a saying, like those guys are great. There's such a sec, it's such a secular market overall. Hollywood, the entertainment, whatever. You growing up into that, I want to do comedy, I now am saved at whatever age you were doing that. Ooh, seems like conflict. How did you navigate yourself as a Christian in such a secular market? Because I think it's very similar to us in the business world and you whatever, like it's such a secular place. People are running over each other, people don't care, have no morals, and it's trying to figure out how do I be great and still have my values at the same time?
SPEAKER_01Like, how do you So when I was a kid, as I mentioned earlier, when I was a kid, my my um me and a friend made a deal that we wouldn't curse. 14 years old, if you heard me curse, you can hit me in the chest as hard as you wanted to, vice versa. Do you can hit hard? I stopped cursing immediately. In retrospect, I could see that that was really God setting me up. Because I didn't know I was gonna be doing comedy, but when I started, like I got this negative neural association that if I say some bad words, I don't know nothing about Jesus, but I'm doing comedy, and my comedy was clean. It didn't have purpose, but it was clean. So, and then what I've learned is so like at the comedy clubs, there's a comedy club that I used to perform at in Pasadena called the Ice House. And um, I forgot who was on the lineup that night. Oh, for whatever reason, um Arsenio Hall came out of retirement and he would do the show that night, and everybody, the doghouse was there, they're all barking, right? And then um normally when I show up at a club, they normally would put me on first. Because the thought process is is that um clean can't follow dirty. So if your comedy is clean, it won't be able to follow dirty. But I showed up late one day, and they've had to put me on, and uh, and and uh so they would always normally put the I'm sorry, they would normally do the anyway. So I go on first. I go on super early. I'm sorry, I go on early, and um let me back up. I show up late, I do my set, there's two more really dirty comedians after me. Everybody is laughing like this for the first batch of comedians. I go on, the comedy's clean, and they're up here like this. And the manager is kind of tripping. The last two comedians go on who are dirty and their jokes were here. What actually was taking place is people were laughing at dirty, they had a sample of clean. Then when they got back to the dirty, they were like, wait a second. So if someone doesn't have any, like if you're only drinking dirty water, you don't know that it's dirty until somebody shows you a glass of clean water. And I'm talking about you as when you show up in the workplace or at your job or at your at your business, you show up with the clean water, and then they recognize, snap, this is delicious. How do I get more of this? So I just so now I can go on whenever I want to if I happen to be at a club, if I answered your question.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, oh a thousand percent, a thousand percent. It reminds me of the story of Gideon. Um, sometimes we can look at our Hey, how do you do that?
SPEAKER_01Like when you just random Bible facts just jump into your head at your age. Like, how old are you right now? 21. 21. That is great. I didn't know stop, stop, stop, stop, stop. It's pretty ridiculous. Because clearly Priscilla's fruit, because she talks about it all the time, but now you see it, it's a little weird actually. No, I'm saying the fact that it's in your heart and it's just jumping out of nowhere is actually pretty dope. This brother's like, Gilly. At your age, I ought to be like, you know what, it reminds me of Third Romans. If you didn't laugh at that, you you don't read the Bible enough. There's but go ahead, you were saying Gideon.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, um, it reminds me of Gideon because sometimes we can look at our holiness as a crutch or our what God tells us to do, the boundaries in which God tells us to operate as a crutch. Um the story of Gideon, he has this army that God tells him to get. I think it's like 10,000 people. I'm not sure the exact numbers. Um, see scripture, didn't remember. He breaks it down to like it's only like three. He breaks it down to only like 300. Yeah. And I I will never forget the first time you're reading the story. Gideon was like, what in the world? The Midianites got like 40,000 or something crazy like that. Like, there ain't no way we're gonna be able to defeat the Midianites with only this many people. Like, you, God, it feels like you're putting me at a crutch. And God was like, Well, the the reason why I'm putting you at a crutch is because I want Israel to know that when you win, it was me, it wasn't you. Like it wasn't them. It was me. And that's great. And I I've tried to frame my perspective this way, like whenever I feel like me not talking about certain things uh can make me fit in with my friends, or whenever like me not, I don't know, operating that way in my business makes me be feel passive and not be able to be a hard, stoic businessman. Like, whenever I feel like that, I just remember and try to retrain my mind. Okay, actually, no, God, you're doing this because you're trying to show your glory in a way that the other people they can't say. They can't do it like that because you're trying to show your glory from a person that looks like you're not supposed to win. Like you're thinking, like this, the the clean, they weren't expecting you, you weren't supposed to win.
SPEAKER_01That's so great. It's it's like the difference between knowing what versus why. That's exactly what you're talking about. It's brilliant. It reminds me of um, I was in Winston-Salem, and uh, and I was talking to this guy in the audience because I do the improv and I'm just and I said to him, I said, what do you do? And he said he was a musical director. And I was like, Well, can you sing? And this is what happened. So you're a musical director. Yes, sir. All right, so um let me get a couple, let me get a couple bars of like uh amazing grace. Can you do the first part of that? We didn't plan this, just so y'all know. We didn't we didn't plan this at all. I'm just randomly talking to go ahead.
SPEAKER_02How sweet of sound I'd say like me. That broke a sing. You know what I'm saying?
SPEAKER_01All right, all right. Um now, once you give me the version is if uh your uncle just got out of jail, you got shot in the back when you was a kid. I'm just saying, let me see the hood version real quick if you know which version I'm talking about. Just see if that exists. Let me see what you got. So, so the first time I asked him to sing, he knew what he was doing. The second time I asked him the singing he knew why he was doing it. When you understand your why, you have more options for what, but you have to be walking towards the why.
SPEAKER_00It it is crazy how the the physical, tangible evidence of what he was producing was affected when his why was changed. Right there. Like it's amazing how that works. And I I think most of us measure um like how great something is by the physical definitions of success. How many people clapped or applauded, how many people told us afterwards compliments. We were just talking about this in the back. How many people complimented me on the podcast or complimented something like that? Is the measure when if our measure is just that and not eternal meaning, we will never be able to produce something that has that effect for the kingdom. Never great.
SPEAKER_01Never. Yeah, because your gift, I realize a gift isn't measured by how many people like it, it's measured by how many other people need it. And it's gift a gift isn't even a gift until you give it away. Slow down, slow down.
SPEAKER_00Repeat that. What'd you just say? Say that again.
SPEAKER_01The gift what? I'll say it again, it's gonna be great. I said a gift is um on sale at Target. How'd that go? A gift is not a gift until you give it away. And it's not measured by how many more people want it, but how many people need it. Like that's the truth of the gift. God brought you here because he knew there was going to be a problem, and you are the solution. Yeah. Yeah. That hit me. I'm I'm supposed to be interviewing you. Which which reminds me, um, I have a book that's available. Um actually, I I don't. I just made that up right now because after we go a little deep, I like to bring a little levity, and that was the whole point. But it is called Funny How Life Works, if you want to get the book. The proceeds are going to, like I mentioned earlier, Black Family in America. So don't forget that. I don't know where you get the book at. It's available sometimes.
SPEAKER_00Are you still sponsored by the family in Haiti? Yeah.
SPEAKER_01Yes, that is the case. Thanks for bringing that up. I think they're here.
SPEAKER_00Stand up. It's hilarious to me. If if uh if there was one thing that you could tell um young business people, young yourself, when you were just starting, that you didn't know then, that you know now, what would be the one thing that you would uh you would say?
SPEAKER_01Some people, I remember when I first got out of high school, somebody asked me that. I was at the seminar thing, I just got high school, and the dude was like, Um, if you can go back 20 years and talk to your younger self, what would you say? And I was thinking, I would say it's dark in here. I can't I didn't know I could swim. Um take your time, it's okay. It's it's up here. So, one, the truth is if I go back some years and talk to my younger self, I probably would, well, depending on how young, I might not say anything because he's not gonna listen. Um but the main thing is I would say even when people who want to do comedy approach me and ask questions, I explain to them, there's no, in my opinion, there's no such thing as a pure stand-up comedian. It's not. Comedy is a seasoning, it is not the meal. So find out what you're supposed to put the seasoning on. So your gifts and your talents is just a seasoning for what God really wants you to deliver. But the purpose God has for you isn't restricted by your location or your vocation. It's just not. God could use you. So my gift, my calling is to comedically inspire people to walk on purpose. The other day I'm walking them into this hotel room. Well, not the room, but the the desk. And uh there's a young lady there, and I said, How's how's it going today? And she was like, It's going okay. I said, How could it be better? She said, Well, I said, what would make it a 10 today? And she said, if I could go home and see my kids. And I was like, Cool. So how long you get off? How long before you get off? She said, another two hours. I said, You get to see your kids in two hours. What do they look like? She showed me a picture. I was like, Those are some beautiful, awesome kids. She just lit up and I walked off. I was walking in my purpose in that moment. There's a woman who asked me a question at an event like this, and she said, she said, I feel like my purpose is to help single moms. But I'm trying to start this nonprofit, I'm trying to do this. But you sometimes sometimes you think too big, so you don't have to do anything. And I explained to her, so what do you do now? She said, I work at a UPS store. I was like, so why are why are you not walking in or towards your purpose? She said, I work at a UPS store, I'm supposed to help single moms. I said, because she lived in Dallas. I said, what uh location of UPS store has the highest population of single moms? She was like, I don't know. I was like, well, if you found out, could you possibly transfer to that location? And if a single mom walks in and you put a stamp on her envelope, you're walking in purpose. Wow. Sometimes we try to make it too big so we don't have to do anything, but what if like just do the next thing? Open a door for a single mom. You're walking in or towards your purpose.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. This is this is a quote that my mom said, I'll never forget it. She was like, Sometimes we look at our purpose like, God, show me the next 20 years, big nonprofit, big all this stuff. And then God is like, if I could just get you to look at the next 20 minutes, you'll be exactly where I want you to. And I think that literally sums up what it is.
SPEAKER_01My mom said to me, um, sit yourself down. Yeah, that's what she said today.
SPEAKER_00She said, guys, did y'all did y'all grab a nugget or something from Mr. Michael Jr.? Oh, your business. You guys are awesome.