So my first encounter with God, I was in a mess. I've been up for three days. I'm seeing things. Actually shot a couple holes in my house 16, 17 years ago. I was shooting at things that weren't there. I mean, that's how out of my mind I was. I'm talking to God in the back of the cop car. Not like this. I just want a miracle. I just want some abracadabra. I just want, like, I just don't want to be a, can't you just deliver me? Comfort is where you go to die. And I've read the Bible many times and I teach this discomfort is where all prosperity lays.
It brought me to when Jesus had the miracle where he fed the 5,000 people and the 7,000 every time he broke the bread before he gave thanks. He broke the bread and then the miracle happened. So two things there. First, he gave thanks. God, thank you for everything you're doing in my life. Second, something had to break before the miracle happened. And we all don't want to go through the breaking process. So as soon as I start taking people off or this isn't right, and I want to go back to your way, you give up. You're like, you're right. But if you get through the disruption comes the desire. So intention meets disruption through disruption meets the desire.
Most people quit at disruption. What does it take to go from sleeping on the streets at 12 years old in and out of juvenile detention centers told never amount to anything without medication to building a multimillion dollar construction empire while coaching others to transform their lives. At 19, a life-changing encounter with faith pulled John out of the darkness of addiction and crime and set him on a path that would transform everything.
Now a successful entrepreneur, motivational speaker, and devoted father, John opens up about the brutal 80 to 100 hour work weeks that nearly destroyed his family, the systems that saved his business, and the God first philosophy that guides everything he does. If you've ever wondered whether real change is possible, whether redemption is within reach, or if it's too late to turn your life around, this conversation will give you your answer. Stay tuned. And I especially love your shirt because it took me a minute. When you glance at something, you don't see it right away. Your mind sees it, but that's beautiful.
Yeah, a lot of people say that I'm overconfident, but it's not me. I'm confident., I know who's got my back, and I know that he's went before me. He's already been through that situation with me. And that's just, that's where my confidence comes from is God. So God of it. Yeah. Yeah. And
You found that in life, you went through some stuff. Oh yeah. Yeah, man., part of my starts, starts pretty young, I caught my first felony, Grand Theft Auto
Right before I turned 12. The video game wasn't even up. No, it wasn't even out. I mean, PlayStation came out right around that same time. I think there was a guy named Jesse Matthews was like the first one in Golden Gate that had a PlayStation and like the whole neighborhood, you had like 60 bikes out front and we'd sit there and wait to play the play PlayStation. but yeah, man, I was just in and out of trouble, man. I didn't have a father figure, lots of fights, stuff like that got into the gang culture., back then, there was a, a song called a scrub, scrub was like for, if anybody that didn't have the, the nice clothes on or things like that were considered a scrub.
And so like, I didn't want to be known as a scrub, my upbringing, I didn't have a lot, my mom tried, but I didn't have a lot. So I got into that world of entrepreneurship at a very young age so that I could have the Tommy Hill figure and the polo. And, so I was just troubled youth, man, very entrepreneurial, very, all the gifts that I have today that the Lord uses, I had all those gifts then he instilled those things into me, but I didn't know how to channel them. Yeah., you were using those skills on stuff that wasn't quite manipulating and whatever, getting out of trouble. like I'm, I'm really good at sales, and I used to talk myself out of a lot of stuff.
Now I'm a great sales guy because it's just something in me. But, one thing that I tell everybody and I tell my kids is, nobody's 18, 19 years old and they're saying, Oh, I can't wait to be a drug addict at 24 or 25. Like it just happened. Like one day I woke up at 24 years old and I became everything I ever made fun of. And I remember the first like real, and I always had a fear of God. The fears there now, but it's not like the fear I had. I had a fear of like hell, not always tell people, my fear of hell didn't stop me from being a dummy. I just was fearful of it, but I, it wasn't enough. So my first encounter with God, I was in my, in a mess.
I've been up for three days. I'm, I'm seeing things, actually shot a couple of holes in my, in my, in my house. I lived off Everglades Boulevard. this is, 16, 17 years ago. And I'm like, I was shooting at things that weren't, that weren't there. I mean, that's how out of my mind I was. But in that moment, God himself, the Holy Spirit himself came to me and I just felt his presence and I was jacked up. and I made two promises as a kid that I wouldn't be like my father, that I would always fight for my kids. And I heard that question, Hey, you said you never like your dad. When's the last time you seen your daughter? And I like just kind of broke down right there.
And then I heard the second promise, Hey, you swore you'd never do drugs. You saw, you never be like your mom. And I'm here. I am, full, full fledged attic, right? And it wasn't like a condemnation, like, Hey, you, it was kind of like, Hey man, remember? And I just felt this overwhelming sense of love. And it was, I went, I went into my bedroom and, I didn't know how to really pray, but I just kept repeating something over and over, Lord, take this from me. Whatever it takes, whenever it takes. That's all I kept saying. And I found out after reading the Bible, there's a scripture and it says that in our morning, he'll intercede for us. Like he'll literally pray for us.
So I look back now and like he was doing that. He was like, Hey, I need you to say this. And, so I woke up the next morning. If you're here, he's ever dealt with addiction and we kind of talked about some stuff. I was like, Oh, I got this. Like I was tripping last night. I was, I'm going to move this shake. I'm John Huffman. I'm the man,? And so another three days goes by and I pass out behind a car or in a car. And the lady sees me, she calls the ambulance cops come with the ambulance. I had a joint on my, on my, lap that I was rolling as I was driving home. So when they, they pulled me out of the car that fell on the ground.
So that went from, sir, how can we help you to you're under arrest. And I had some other substances on me anyways. So I'm in the back of the cop car. Here's the point of the story. And I'm sitting out there and I'm like, Oh man, I'm done.,? And I hear the prayer in my voice, Lord, take this from me, whatever it takes.
And I knew right then he was answering that prayer. And I'm like, no, I'm talking to God in the back of the cop car. Not like this. Yeah. I just want a miracle. I just want some abracadabra. I just want, like, I just don't want to be a, can't you just deliver me and can I be a normal person and be successful and have a boat and a cocktail and smoke a joint on my back porch? Like, why can't I be that, not this way, not this way,? And, he showed me later on, it's like your whole life you've been trying to be normal.
You've never been normal. There's nothing normal about you. You're an all in freak,? And I made you that way. And, since then, man, I've just been all in for him and I got to go to a program, a Christian program where I really just got to build a relationship with him. So that's kind of my past,? and then now I teach business owners as well. And I teach them the same thing. It's like, Hey, we want like the whole thing. Like I wanted the miracle, right? I wanted God's miracle, but I didn't want the process,? And it's the same with us business owners. Like we want the success. We just don't want the process.
Yeah., so, yeah, man, that's a little bit about my, my past, how it all started. And that there is a process to everything. I think you, some of your videos and things I've read about you that systems are a part of life. Like you're actually, there's a process to everything that we do, whether it's the 12 steps or whether it's a business process or whatever you're putting into it. Yeah. And I've seen that you, there's no shortcut to get to that end point. And, you've done it in business that I see in life, but you also have a family and, homeschooled your kids and you're doing things that are what I hear you saying, like you're kind of embracing who you are.
So you are this person that you were trying to fit in and be normal. Cause I find myself in that struggle too. Like, what is normal? Then I start to ask if I'm trying to be that like, why can't it just be me? And, I just, I remember, meeting my, what, my wife's mother when we were dating and I was terrified to meet her because I was so in love with her daughter and I, and she would tell me these stories about her mom. Like my mom was very religious. So, and I knew that I wanted to be, but I didn't have any of that. I thought she was going to quiz me on it or something. I'm just a bad Catholic boy and I hadn't been in confession in a while.
And I was so nervous to meet her and cause she's so religious. And if I could pass the test, she'll let me have, marry her daughter. And I put it off for a long time. When I finally met her, I met this woman that was, I felt the presence of God. Like there was so, there was no judgment at all. She loved me exactly the way I was. And, but I was divorced and I had kids and, I had all these things that I looked at as like failures in life. And she saw the gold in every part about me and just gave me such a sense of peace and what true love is like true nonjudgmental love from God is. And it opened my world in a way that I had never known.
And I'm so grateful for it, but I know that now that, that I can be me as me and not try to be who I think people want me to be or who I need to be in this role. So he created us. I mean, it goes back to like all the things that he's sewn into me. Like I used them for not the right purposes, but I'm still using those same gifts for his purposes now. I was talking to a lady, I wasn't really talking to her. So I did the national day of prayer
And I just called for a authentic church and I prayed something. I didn't mean to be offensive, but I said, Lord, allow us to see the pastors and allow the pastors to be real with us so that we can relate with them. And what I meant by that was like, we have this, this thing where they're on a pedestal, they've got it all figured out. And what happens is, is we try to live out a life of somebody else. They still argue with their wives. They still have kid problems. They still have money. They have all these issues, but they're scared to be real about it because then they're scared they're going to be rejected.
And I'm like, no, let's get a place to where the pastor can be so authentic that the congregation knows that they can do it too. Right? So I said that and I sit down and this older lady looks at me and she goes, that was a good prayer, but, the problem with this young generation is they won't repent. There's no repentance. There's no repentance. And God has blessed me with the ability to retain my Bible very well. I can't retain much other than that, but for some reason I can retain it. And I looked there, I says, repentance. She goes, yeah. And I says, well, what leads people to repentance? And she goes, I don't know.
I says, well, the word says the goodness of God leads us to repentance. And I put my hand on her leg and I says, make sure that when they see you, they see the goodness of God. And she just kind of looked at me like I dabbed. I just gave her the, and that's what the Holy Spirit allowed me to do in her life. Cause it's like, sometimes we get so wrapped up like you did with the mother, like, oh, she's this religious, she's going to quit. But you've seen the goodness of God. And when God changes your life, like that's what you see in people. Like, yeah, he's a just God. He's an honorable God. He's all he, he obviously you're going to get held accountable.
A good father's going to hold you accountable, but he's good. Right. And it's like, when I'm looking at people that I help and mentor, sometimes I get myself in trouble because I pour so much into them. And my wife's even warned me at times and she's like, baby, like chill out, like, and I'll get disappointed with people sometimes, right? I poured and invested all this time into people and they don't appreciate her or whatever. And I remember driving one time and I'm just kind of, I just got hurt by some person, by a person I've been mentoring for three years. And I'm like, Lord, am I seeing it wrong? Like, because I'm seeing what I'm seeing. Like, am I just, am I blind?
And I heard them so clear. Because I'm not this smart to think like this. He says, you seen them the way that I see them and their full potential and who they can be and who I want them to be, but they have to choose to walk in that. It's not that you seen wrong. It's just they didn't see what you see. And I'm letting you see what I see. And it just gave me so much peace and so much rest. Like, you know what? I'm not going to stop being me. I'm going to keep blessing people. I'm going to, I'm going to keep pouring into people because I don't want this person hurting me from stopping me to pour into the person who's going to receive it.
And again, it all leads back to the goodness of God and seeing through his lens and not our lens., that's what it is. It's beautiful. Because I can see that in, in just everyday life. Like I look at these associates who we bring in on our team and, and, and seeing the greatness in them, the future that they have and how much we want for them. And it's just, if you just see this, if you just do this, like we've got to, we've got to, we believe in you. We love you. And it's the same here because I think we get to, one thing I love about what we get to do is that we get to create a space where people
Get to do what they love and live a life that they love and, and wake up and can't wait to go to work every day. Cause the difference they make in other people's lives, they love, they get passionate about, they're not like doing the grinds. One day they can retire with their 401k and then, they have sick days and they just, but they can't stay on the Monday through Friday. They can't wait for Friday. Like Friday, please come. But that they love being here, but so that their lives are so fulfilled that they love doing what they love, giving them the space for that.
But yeah, but I see that as a form of ministry in some ways as you share like that, like, well, I love that you said that because so I have to, I have my whole life's a ministry, but what my mission today is, my mission, like God's, God's like, this is the vision, right? And it sounds crazy, but I'm going to say it. It's one million entrepreneurs, one million entrepreneurs due to the ministry that he's given me will run their businesses ministries. And you just said it simply like, I'm not, my business isn't a church hole. Hold on. What's your definition of church? Cause you just explained it. You're pouring into people. Cause I look at it like this.
If I have a culture at my place of business and I touch my subcontracts, my contractors, everybody, and that they're going home and they're able to sit down at their business table and not bring my stress from work home with them, they can sew into their daughters, their sons, their wives, right? Then that bleeds onto their wives. Then she goes, she, they go to school. So on. So if I can change a family, the families change the communities, if the community changes the states, the states change the world. So I'm just going to focus on my area of influence and it's teaching business owners. This is not just a business. It's not just about money.
It's not just, it's about the people that you touch and the impact that they have. That's the real currency. That's the kingdom currency. That's the compounding effect. We love the stock market. If I put this, I get 10 X that compounded. I'm making interest on, I make an interest on my interest after 10 years. Blase blase. Well, think about that in the kingdom of God. So if I sew into one person and I change your life and you go into your business and you change five lives and then those change five lives and those teams, you get to heaven. You see a sea of people that say thank you and you go, I don't even know you.
He's like, yeah, but that one person, that one stylist that you sewed into that you changed her life. She told us about this and that person told us about this. And because of you, we are all here. That's kingdom currency, man. And like, that's the drive. And I teach business owners that now because I let my business become my idol, even though I serve God and I beat addiction and all that, or he beat addiction through me. And then I got obsessed with success because I wanted the people, please. And I wanted to prove everybody wrong and that John Huffman can be somebody, the uneducated gang banging thug growing up can actually be a business owner now and be this.
And I got obsessed with like, proving myself and I neglected what meant most to me. So I went into business for freedom to be with my family, my ministry, my kids, who is my first ministry. And then my business that I went into have business to have freedom from took all that from me., so now I teach that like, hey, there's a better way. When I got serious and started doing the processes and systems and knowing my numbers, I'm like, holy crap, I'm in debt. I'm gonna, I got a beautiful showroom. I got 10 trucks. I got 50 employees. I'm the man. I got cool Facebook ads, but I'm over here bleeding. You know what I mean?
I mean, 60 grand on Friday and I got 18 and it's Wednesday., like I better go sell something. And so it's like that, that part of life, like my addiction was like that birthed my second ministry, which is now business owners. And I was, we were talking earlier in our mind and, Virginia was here saying she'd been here for 20 years. And I'm like, and then she's like, I mean, I was like, what made you I like was digging because I wanted to get the answer out of her. I'm like, what made you stay? She's like, well, I grew up with her family. Like, yeah, but what, what wasn't she then she mentioned more things.
I mean, I could go somewhere else and probably make 20 grand more a year. But I was like, okay, what she's like, but I wouldn't have peace. I was like, and she's like, and then it was the culture. And I was like, boom, there it is. That's what I teach people. You're complaining. I can't keep people. I can't find good help. No people, Virginia just said she can make 20 G's more a year. But because of the culture, she stays here. That's the important thing. That's the legacy. It's not about the money to people. It's about the legacy. It's about that. That she used that word family. And then she talked about your dad and how he gave her an ultimatum.
And he said, you either are a bartender or you're a stylist. And that ultimatum was truly vision. He said, you got to let me cast vision. Let me show you who I see in your life. I need you to come to the equation. I need you to figure out the equation and come to the conclusion. But who are you? I know who you are because you're in my shop and I'm giving you an ultimatum, but I need you to know who you are. So even those things, he might've did it on accident, but he was casting vision. And that's what I teach in my workshops. What vision are you casting for your employees? Can they see themselves with you in 10 years from now? If they can't, then you're doing a poor job.
It's nothing against you, but let me teach you how. Because ultimately all business owners want to have successful businesses and have Virginias in their businesses. I've been here for two decades. And there was a guy, Chris, that came in and he was checking himself and he's been here for 30 years. And we were laughing about him coming in his 20s and 40s. And I was just seeing that culture. And I was like, oh, this is legit what I teach. If we can figure this part out, right? And that's ministry. So Rob, you're running a ministry. You're doing it on accident. You know what I mean?
So anyways, man, I didn't mean to go on that tangent right now. No, it's great to distinguish these things even for myself, because it gives me inspiration to drive. Because we're at the end of October and it's the end of the off season. Every summer is always painful. It doesn't matter how much they get better every year. There's still, we have a big payroll. We have a big staff. We don't most salons pay by commission or they're independent. We're salary. We're in it. So we have a payroll over this, right? Right. As a lot.
So I, but when I see what it's all for and what the difference that it makes in the environment that we get to create by having the Virginias and the great family that we have that when people come back from up north and they see the same faces year after year and they, they are welcomed with our loving family who's there to take care of them while they're down here because the rest of their families in other parts of the world and we're their family when they're here. It gives me inspiration for about why I love what I get to do. Like the privilege that I have to be amongst some great people. Really.
We've gotten better at weeding out those that don't want to this, that are here just for the paycheck or the JOB. That's not what we're about. It's more than that. It's like the thought process of, genuinely
Care and concern for every guest, like not just getting their hair done or getting their check. If they're, they come in and their hair is not in shape to have a highlight on it. They could say, no, I, even though it would be great for revenue, but your hair's not in good shape right now. And I'll do it for you when you're ready, but it's not, it's not okay right now and working as a team where they're not competing against each other. And literally so that when the guest leaves here, they get so much love on them that when they pull out into the good lit road and somebody cuts them off, they are okay with that.
They just have a nice, I hope everything's okay in your life. It's okay., like giving, giving people the grace for that. But it just, it's a good reminder for me. So I love hearing it. You speak. I love being in your space. I think it's really cool to have what, what gives you that. So I know, you're an April's guy and you were, you mentioned in one of your videos or somewhere I read that you were in that bootcamp that they had back here. Cause I remember when that came out, that was a big deal. And, I'm always curious to see like how your pathway, so you went to that book, which was a big deal at the time. Cause I think, oh yeah, I don't even know. Drill Academy. Yeah.
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Drill, discipline, respect, integrity, learning, leadership. They, they drilled us with the core values. As soon as we got, like it's still in my head. We used to have to say the core values, drill, discipline, respect, integrity, learning, leadership drill. I was 12 years old when I went there. Wow. But they were teaching me back then core values. I teach business owners core values. Now you, Zach was saying, you're saying, what'd you think about Johnny? He says, always very communicative. He's responsive. And I said, responsive is my first core value. Responding to the needs of the people that reach out to me in a timely manner.
It's literally my core value. And he picked up on it. Like that was the one thing, right? He hadn't even met me yet. And it's like, that's what I teach. What's your DNA? What makes you tick? Because everybody should know what makes you tick. You should have a core value. So yeah, anyways, I didn't mean it's but drill. So yeah, I, man, it, I was young, and I went there, why did you go there? So the grand theft auto and I was a fighter, I was trying to prove myself. I got in a lot of fights and stuff. I was I was a little punk, let's just call that, I think even Virginia chased me one time was throwing stuff at me on my bicycle. Like I was just a punk,.
So I had a couple, fights in school that, got arrested for. And then I, had the grand theft auto. So I went, I was the youngest kid to ever go into that program. Yeah. But I mean, it was definitely a good program. I mean, I got out, I wanted to do better, my mom wasn't wasn't she was still wasn't well, so my grandma accepted me into her house, which was cool. Went to a little bit of eighth grade and then ninth grade. But as soon as I got off probation, that's when it all fell apart, because I went right back to the same circles, I wasn't, I didn't really come with to a Gulf Coast High School.
And I'm not, I'm not being a victim right now when I say this by any means, but I just didn't fit in with some of the people were there were wealthy, you had Quel Creek and, they're in even the ones out in the in Gungatie States, like the crafts and stuff, I didn't have anything, I was just a little so like, I resorted back to the people I related to. It was awkward, like, I wanted to hang out, but it's like, we go pick I didn't have a car, I didn't have the nice truck in it. So I resorted back to Golden Gate City. That's where my tribe was. That's where their house looked like mine, their mom's upbringing was my mom's upbringing, you know what I mean?
Like we I was so I went back to my comfort zone, right? And comforts where you go to die. So that again, comfort is where you go to die, and I've read the Bible many times and I teach this discomfort is where all prosperity lays, right? We always think comfort and prosperity are married. No, no, no, no, no, no, no, comfort and death are married. What does hospice do? Where do they make you? Comfortable, comfortable before you go before you go. Yeah. So comfort and death are married. discomfort and prosperity are married. Right? There's, even Jesus just preached last week on on he showed me like being thankful.
He says it, I said, if if we woke up this morning with everything we thank God for last night, what will we have today?
So if I went to bed last night and I thank God for everything I thank God for last night, I woke up with this morning, what would I have? It's scary. It's scary. Because how often do we thank God for our roof, for our pillow, for our wife, for our children, for the small things. Yeah. So God kind of convicted me. He's like, Hey, if you went, if you woke up tomorrow morning with everything you think before tonight, what would you have? And I'm like, Oh, wow. So I really dug in the word. And there's this one verse that says the gate, enter the gates of heaven with Thanksgiving. And I was like, Oh my God, a gate, there's always a code. He gave me the code to enter the gate.
Thanksgiving. So I've got to be thankful. And then it brought me to when Jesus had the miracle where he fed the 5000 people and the 7000. Every time he broke the bread, before he gave thanks, he gave thanks, he broke the bread, right? And then the miracle happened. So two things there. First, he gave thanks, God, thank you for everything you're doing in my life. Second, something had to break before the miracle happened. And we all don't want to go through the breaking process. I said it in the beginning, I didn't want the process of sobriety. I just wanted the sobriety. The process was jail and all the things that he's using today.
So like, we want to skip the valley and just go straight to the mountain top. But the valleys were all the breaking happens. So again, I know we got back on comfort. So I've always tell people when you're comfortable, that's not a good thing. Be comfortable being uncomfortable. Right. And it doesn't mean like I got to go put myself through strenuous things and put all this pressure on my life. But like, what are we doing? You know what I mean? Like, what are we doing? Are we just seeking comfort? Because if I'm just seeking 401k, if I'm just seeking retirement, that's not the that's not the mindset of God, because God is a God of abundance.
The first thing he said is be fruitful and multiply. So God is a God of abundance. And with breaking the bread, Jesus told the disciples, ye of little faith, don't you remember when I fed 5000 with just this loafs of bread and so he reminds us that he's our provider. So if we can be reminded of that, the zeros in the bank account, that's all a byproduct of just keeping our eyes on him and doing the right thing and being uncomfortable, going and loving on people that are unlovable, going and blessing people that you may not receive it the way you want, pouring value into people that may may take your value and throw it away. That's the uncomfortable thing.
But that's where all the prosperity lays. Hmm. I'm just having this insight as when you talk about discomfort and uncomfortableness, because I'm in a place of a lot of uncomfortable discomfort. I'm fighting it like, Oh gosh, why am I here? I don't want to be here. I can't wait till this is over. And but, but framing it, and I just have this inside myself and just this conversation. Well, well, this is this is where I'm supposed to be. Like this, this, this uncomfortable, if I'm comfortable, nothing's happening. Yeah. He's shaping you right now. Yeah. Yeah.
Like if I'm coasting, like everything's cool and I have to disrupt and make a lot of other people uncomfortable in the process. So it causes a lot of upset to a lot of, but seeing that in a good way, like when I get comfortable, others get comfortable and then that's the juice isn't there. Like the real. So another thing I teach, you're going to love this.
Intention. So when you, when you realize you're uncomfortable and you have to, you have to do some things, there's intention. Yeah. Right. Now I have the intention. I've gotta, I've gotta create these things. I gotta do these things. What follows intention is disruption. As soon as you change the game and God's developing something new in you and you're leveling up because you can't level up without discomfort. It's like we pray to level up. Well, Hey, you gotta go through. I gotta, I gotta shed some things off of you. Right. So intention meets disruption. Disruption is where everybody quits.
So as soon as I start taking people off or this isn't right and I want to go back to the way you give up, you're like, you're right. But if you get through the disruption comes the desired. So intention meets disruption through disruption meets the desired. Most people quit at disruption, especially in business. They bring on a new CRM, they bring on a new staff, they bring on a new CLO. The disruption happens. They, they, they go, oh, I know. I don't want the disruption. Oh my God. And they, they stop at disruption and they never get the desired. The desired being whatever that intention was. Okay. Okay. The fulfillment of the fulfilling the intention. Okay. Got it.
Yeah. So intention meets disruption through disruption comes desire, but everybody stops at disruption. Yeah. Yeah. Because as soon as that the feathers get ruffled, it's uncomfortable and yeah, you don't like that. Don't want that people pleasers. It's like too much for them and it gets in the way of, it sucks being a boss too. I mean, we gotta do the things that no one wants to do sometimes. Yeah. And then sometimes we don't even get to explain ourselves. Like that's what I'm learning right now is like, I've got to be okay with not explaining myself or say my side of the story. Like that's something new for me. Like I've always, I want people to like me,?
So yeah, that's still resonating inside me. This, this, this, I actually got some peace from it. You messed around and invited a preacher to your podcast, bro. It's not on my schedule. You thought this was about everybody else. Yeah, that's cool. Virginia's waving a sign of it. It's the harvest. Oh yes. Yes. Yes. The harvest. So that's, that's a ministry that my mom actually birthed. I don't know, 15 years ago, maybe 16. And it's on Friday nights at the harvest at the, at the harvest, at the tree of life on shadow on, but I helped those that are battling addiction. So I still do that every Friday.
I teach every Friday I preach, so, and it's funny too, because if you ever come hear me preach on a Friday and then you come to one of my business events, it's the exact same. I mean, there's a little bit of language, but it's still the same principles applied. But, but yeah, man, that's my two ministries. So like, and, I want to say this on the podcast too. It's like anybody's watching that wants to come. I get frustrated sometimes because the word recovery keeps people from coming. And it's like, we're all recovering from something. Amen. Yes., it's like, you might not battle alcohol, like they bow out, but we're all battling something.
And, and what I've learned in my business and in my ministry is, and they're one of the same is like, we, I don't focus on the problem. We all know what the problem is. Like I know what alcoholism causes. I know what drug addicts cause. We know the outcome of those things. So why am I going to focus on that? I don't even talk about it. Like if you come to the harvest recovery ministry, you will not hear very rarely if ever about what happens in addiction. All we talk about is the tools and the freedom that gets you to live a better life. Yeah. Like, why am I going to focus on the problem when I got, when I got the cure? Let's just talk about the cure. Yeah.
Like if, if, you got cancer, okay, we know what we don't have to keep talking about me having cancer. What are you going to put in my body to kill this thing? Let's talk about that. Yeah. So that, that's how I live my life and my ministries is, Hey, we know you're in a deficit. We know that your business is hurting. Who cares? I know how to get out. Let's hyper focus on getting out. We're not going to dwell on what's wrong or what problems we have. We know the problems exist. We understand them. We know now, but here's the coolest part. We know the problem. So now we have the cure. So we figure out the problem. Once the problems figure out, let's go straight to the cure.
Right. And we don't even talk about the problem no more. We just hyper focus on the, on the solving it. So that's what we do at the harvest, man. We just, I believe who the sun sets free is free indeed. That's what I believe. I believe that we're new creations in Christ. The old is gone. The new has come. Right. And that's not a one time deal. That's an everyday deal. It's, it's, I wasn't who I was 30 minutes ago, two weeks ago, I'm constantly evolving. So I'm a new creation in him. The oldest guy on the newest comes. So like that's, that's what I teach. Like there is freedom in this. You can beat this. And matter of fact, the only way you could beat it is with him.
Cause you use the word surrender. We were talking about your, your upbringing and the surrender is if I, if John Huffman could have been a good dad, a good father, a good husband, a good, a good employer, I would have been all those things a long time ago, but it's his strength. I boast more gladly in my weaknesses because we're iron weak. He is strong. If I could have been sober, I would have been sober 15 years. I made two promises to myself not to be like my dad, not to be like my mom. Those were two promises. I did not want to be a drug addict or a deadbeat dad. I became both. So wanting something isn't enough.
My strength, I was not capable of doing it, but his strength, I was capable of doing all things. So that's how I run my life. Like, Hey, if you could have been a good person, you had already been one and you might have intentions to be a good person. But what does that actually look like? I was talking to someone the other day and I go, well, if you're a good guy, you get to go to heaven. Okay. Like, do you have the capability of being a piece of crap? Well, what do you mean? I was like, have you ever, be honest with yourself. You ever just a straight up jerk? Do you ever say something to your girlfriend? You shouldn't have said, well, yeah, we're all capable.
I said, you're not always good. You have the intentions of always being good, but you're not always good. I was like, but with his strength, I can do good. I can be, I can be better at doing good. Right. Cause I'm not always a good husband. I love Jesus, but there's times things that can matter my life, my life that I don't, I'm not proud of, but the more that I give those things to him, the better husband I become vice versa in all areas. So that's what I teach in my recovery ministry. How do you, how do you stay this way? Man, I'm in the word a lot, man. And I'm around like-minded people, it's like I teach my kids, you hang out with four dummies, guess who the fifth is?
Hang out with four smart people. Guess who the fifth is. So again, we talked about like me being in mixers and networking groups for, I haven't been to one in five years because I realized that because I was around them, I started adopting their philosophies. Even though I know what I'm teaching today, I still started adopting their philosophies and start thinking, man, I gotta have a drink every once in a while. He's successful. He can go out. He's not, so it's like you are the company you keep. So it's like what influences are in your life. I'm going to end in this and I don't know if we're running out of time or not.
One of my favorite scriptures and it's so fundamental is out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks, right? So whatever's in your heart, your mouth speaks, but then there's a scripture in the Old Testament says what you speak, you eat of its fruit, right? So fruit is being like your words create worlds. So whatever I speak, that becomes my world. So whatever I'm saying, and then it goes on to say you will indulge in its consequences. So it's saying whatever you speak, your words create worlds, literally living the consequences of your life that you're having right now, whether good or bad. And then we go back to the out of the abundance, the mouth speaks.
So how do I feel the abundance of my heart and the mouth speaks? What am I listening to? And what am I watching? Because the influences that I have around me ultimately fill my heart. And whatever is in this heart is what I'm going to mumble. And whatever I mumble is going to be my life. So that's the most important part. I mean, what did God do? He spoke the earth into existence.
So when we speak and he says that we're, he's the creator and we're made in his image, which means we're creators. Well, we create the same way he created. He spoke the earth into existence. We can speak our lives into existence. Isn't that crazy to think about? So it's like you asked the question, like, those are my fundamental practices. Like, and this is what I teach business owners. Like, what are we speaking? Are you speaking? If I don't get it done, it never does. It never gets done. Okay. Well, now you know why. Because you say it every day. I can't find good people. You say it every day. Yeah. Yeah.
If it's not done, if I want it done right, I'm the one that has to do it. You say it every day. Yeah. Words create. Words create worlds. Yeah. And out of the abundance of your heart, your mouth speaks. Yeah. So what is your influences? Yeah. Yeah. Whether you think you can or you think you can't, you're right. You got to speak it. Yeah. Yeah. No words. Yeah. Like, we don't get the power of our words. I don't get the power of our words. I know that people don't get the power of what they speak. It's hard. I can't do it. They're better than me. All those, they're all conversations that create the world that you live in and they reinforce it completely. I'm seeing that.
Like, I get it. I get it. I've probably heard it before, but never got it to this degree because I'm like, yeah, it is so it. Like, if we're going to have the best year of our lives ever this year, speaking it every single day, this is what we're going to have. Because I declare it. We're going to have it. It's going to happen. The words. Yeah. And then there's the work that we're going to do inside of that. But every day, this is going to be the best year. And that's how, I, we made that declaration last year.
And then crazy things started happening with my father in law died in the middle of it, like out of nowhere, like the most fit, healthy, God loving human I've known next to his wife was gone. And I said, wait a minute, this is supposed to be the best year of our life., how's, how's this happening? How's this? I don't see the plan. I don't know. It wasn't the way I saw it. And I couldn't stop saying this is going to be the best year of my life because he's at peace. He's celebrating. He's, he's looking down. He's like, I got this. It's all good. You just keep doing what you're doing and whatever I left inside you keep making it happen down there because I'm okay.
The legacy. Yeah. Yeah. He poured that legacy in you. Yeah. And I get reminded of that when I have conversations with people who believe in people who are sharing what they believe. Yeah. And it touches my, that piece of him inside me, which I don't always, I'm not always present too. Cause I'm in the, in the discomfort of God, I don't want to be here. I hate this guy. He doesn't, I just can't wait till we get it fixed. Yeah. Get out of this. Put my head down and get me out of this Valley. Yeah.
I, I said something in my sermon and it really resonated even, anytime I'm writing a sermon, it's it's, it's for me and I just regurgitate it,? but it says, when we stop thanking him, it's when we stop seeing him. And, and what, what I meant by there, what I feel like he was telling me is like, even in our discomfort, if we're thanking him for the small things, for the things that we have health feet, white, whatever it were, he's, he's easier. He's easily seen in, in all the discomfort. But when we're focused on the day and we're magnifying our problems, that's, that's all we can see. But when we're magnifying the blessings, then we see him everywhere.
So the more that we thank him for the small things, the easier it is to see in everything. So it's like, Lord, give me a heart of thankfulness. Give me a heart. Give me the ability to be thankful. Like, even if all I got today is I'm not sick or even if all I got today is I got clean water, all I got today is I was able to pay, whatever that thing is, like I'm going to hold to that. And there was a verse that he gave me. It says, bring me your petitions and your requests. So he was like, bring me your issues. And then he says, do it in Thanksgiving. Right. And I'm like, okay, that's so beautiful.
He said, he's saying, come and bicker, like come to me and bicker, but before you do, just let's be thankful first. And I'm like, it makes sense. Because if I come to him to bicker, but if I come to him in Thanksgiving first, by the time I start my bicker and I'm going to be talking about all the good things that he's already done for me, or I'm like, you know what, I'm good. I don't even need to bicker right now., I'm a shut up dad., like, and I was like, that's how we wish our kids were when they're like, Oh, I want the new this. Like, do you forget what we've given you? Like as a father, your father, right?
Like, don't you love it when your kids like have that Bob come up and they're like, dad, thank you. Thank you for the life you've gave me. We don't hear it often. I mean, I wish my kids said it more, but God gave me that perspective. If you want that from your children, imagine how much I want it from mine. And you could see me in all the small things. If you'll just come to me and think and thank me for all the small things that you're missing. You're forgetting. Yeah. Yeah, thanks. Yeah. I'm, I'm seeing that now. And I, you living in this town, you see, and what I focus on sometimes is there's so many that have so much.
And I'm always, and no matter how much I have, there's always so many that have so much more. And I look around and I go and I go, but, but, but I'm not there yet. I'm not on that side of the 41 yet. I'm not over here or whatever it is that we always, but then I look at my life and I go, oh my gosh, I live in the greatest place on earth. It is straight up. Be any more beautiful or safe or nurturing and perfect pleasantville. It is, it is incredible. And I'm, I'm not often present to how blessed I am and how much we have right here. Cause I'm always looking at everything else and everybody else and what they have. And cause there's so much of what they have around this.
There's so much a concentration of all that around here. But when I look back and just having you say that I'm doing this little inventory myself and going, wow, I eat, I can eat as much great protein as I want as much fish as I want. I can, I can, when's the last time you threw something in your grocery cart and thought about if you had the money or not? Exactly. Even how much the bill is at the end. Yeah. We're rich, dude. We're so rich. We're so rich. I mean, when's the last time that we only put 20 bucks on our gas pump? We click that thing in there and go in the store and shop, come back and it's done. Yeah. How many people don't experience that?
And we overlook all those things. Cause I struggle with the same thing. I remember I was coming home with my boat, my dream. Like I've got an offshore boat. I'm coming home. I literally was, I was aggravated. I was aggravated about something that I got a text on the, on the way home from, one of my clients and I'm aggravated and I'm on drinking the boat and I'm, I got, I got a $200 and something thousand dollar boat. I'm a fricking sixth grade dropout from Golden Gate city. I put into my multimillion dollar house with freaking five acres and I'm drinking with my teeth granted matter in the fricking pit bull.
And dude, I just, the God says, this is one of the biggest moments of your life. And you're mad. I didn't know how to cry. I'd say like, I felt him like, like a dad, like John, what I've given you in your mat. And I'm like, I just sat there for like 30 minutes and was like, I'm so sorry. Like this is a dream. And then like, even I'll pull out of Gordon's pass in my 200 and something thousand boat, like things that Golden Gate kids would dream about. And I'll look over there and see the yellow fin 500. Like, Oh, I've got a quad. Like, man, I want that one. That's got two motors. That one's got four, they can go a hundred miles out in 30 minutes.
And, like, like what the hell is wrong with me?, me and my wife, we're talking about on the way home after the harvest Friday. And I'm like, I can't wait till I'm on stages and I'm speaking and I'm a million entrepreneurs. And she's like, I'm like, I just want to, I'm ready for God to let me impact. And she's like, think about all the impact you're doing right now. You just spoke to a hundred kids that are on the juvenile justice system. You just spoke to the harvest. You just spoke to sick, like what, like stop. And I think us entrepreneurs and go getters were naturally in the future. Yeah. Yeah. So it's like, so learning these things, it's like, I got to bring back.
I got to constantly be bright. And like, that's why I love teaching because as I'm teaching, I'm reminding what I need to do. Yeah., it's like, Hey, I, and I tell this, like when I'm teaching businesses and I'm teaching even people in recovery, like, Hey, just because I'm teaching it, don't mean I'm operating fully in this all the time. But me teaching it holds me accountable. That's one of the ways that I stay in my word and stay learning because I'm teaching others. So that's how I stay on fire. It's almost a sense of accountability. That's pretty cool. Yeah., I, it reminds me of my father because he would
While he was working on guests clients in his chair, he would teach, he would have the, some, some stylists don't like to have somebody watching him, but he would have the associates watch him. And he said, why he did that was it makes him more present. He's more, he's got to be really on his game when somebody's watching him. So he always liked that. He always wanted them to, because he had to be very precise and precision everything he did because there was somebody watching him. So he always, yeah, he was always teaching and that did help him in that way. And I see that now why he did that. Yeah. It's sharpened.
Like I got a group coaching call on Wednesdays from seven 30 to nine. And there's 30 people that show up. They're all business owners like you. So like, they're going to call me on my, if they're going to know of like John's pulling this out of his tail, you, it's that old saying, game recognizes game, you know what I mean? Real recognizes real, we know as business owners, like if you're feeding me bull crap or not, so I've got to spend that time and like sharpen myself, and constantly learn. And again, like I always make the joke here, I am teaching businesses how to run a business when truthfully I have no business running a business. You know what I mean?
But that's how good God is in my life., and it's like, he's, I've always been insecure. I wasn't a college student. I didn't do these things. I only went to sixth grade and other than jail. And then I did a little bit of eighth and ninth for I got, expelled. So really the full year was my last year was sixth grade, other than in the juvenile justice system. But it's like, how good is God that now I'm an educator and my two biggest insecurities is my education and my vocabulary. And he uses my speech and my education every day. It's just so cool. It's like, I can't, I can't debate with the theogen. I'm like, is the Bible real?
But what it was Mary, like, listen, I can't debate all that. I'm not there. But what I can do is show you my life. I surrendered to a holy God. Jesus changed my life. And if it's fake, then I don't know what to tell you. Like, cause here's the fruit here. Here's the Golden Gate, uneducated ding dong punk. And here I am living the life with him. So I can't debate you on theology and when this happened and when Jesus walked and if he, was black, white, purple or green, I can't, but I can show you my life. And here it is. Right. So if you want to debate me on how good my life is now, go on ahead., that's all I got.
Well, thanks for sharing that only because I'm a beauty school dropout running hair salons and I have no hair and don't let it cut. That's so good. That you're my people. You're my people.
But that was the same too. He was eighth grade. He got kicked out of eighth grade, eighth grade education was what he always had. And build an empire. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Employees have been here for 30 plus years. Yeah. That's insane. Yeah. The beautiful thing. You work with your family also. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. That's something that I wanted to ask you about because it's something that I struggle with. I know others struggle with in business because it's such a different dynamic than when you're working with somebody who you hire, who's not in your bloodline, who you've already been with for their whole lives or your whole life.
Having had done it with my father, my mother, my sister, my children now. And yeah. What's that like for you? It's tough. So my rocks, my, she's a rock star, Jalen. She's going to be Dr. Jalen Huffman. We kind of talked about that earlier. She's, yeah. Amen. She, she's probably my gentlest child and she can deal with dad probably better than all of them can. She's got a reverence for me, a really special reverence. but there's times and she's also been in my business with me since I, since she was 14. So she's learned like right now he's not dad. He's, he's CEO of, of this business. And if I'm getting my butt chomped, it's not that dad's mad at me.
It's that I need to do a better job, but I've instilled that in her. my other kids, they, there's times where we struggle with that. My wife and I, we've come to the conclusion that she has her lane and I have mine. And when I invite her into my lane, she's invited and vice versa. And when she comes into my lane or most of the time I go into her, she don't ever come into my lane. But when I go into her lane, she reminds me that it's her lane. And there's times like we were just doing our, our quarterly, and sometimes quarters can be, we're creating those 90 day rocks and there's 90 day goals to, to, for the last quarter.
And then we went over our last quarters goals and they weren't hit the way they're supposed to. And I had to look at my wife very respectfully and say, babe, right now you got it. Your husband's not here right now. This is the CEO of Huffman's construction group. I need you to hear me. Like these are the things we got. This isn't an attack on you. This isn't an attack on Jalen. This is for us to skyrocket our business and get to a healthy place so we can stay healthy and stay in this surplus that we've, that we're in right now. And for us to do that, we've got to fix these issues. And it happens to be some issues that we're having here in the office. No disrespect.
You know what I mean? But like we have that communication and there's times where we're in, we got, we call them L10s. We have a 90 day meeting once a week with our field and our office combined so that everybody's on the same page. There's times her and I kind of, you know what I mean? Get into it. You know what I mean? And it's like definitely a family business. You're like mom and dad are fighting,? But we're real good at leaving it there. Like that's our thing. And what it's helped us in our marriage, believe it or not, it's actually helped us in our marriage where people it's usually hurts their marriage.
It helps us in ours because when she's mad at me, like we have a business to run. You don't have the luxury of being mad at me and I don't have the luxury of being mad at you because we got to put on our big boy pants and our big girl panties and focus on the business right now. So whatever I did last night that ticks you off cannot bleed into our business because we've got to fix this business. So you sorry? I'm sorry. Hug, kiss, boom, we're good. Now we're back on. So it's helped us not carry that. I'm mad at you right now. I'm not talking to you for two days until you kiss my butt good enough.
It's eliminated that butt kissing game I call it., it's like I'll kiss your butt until I have enough to kiss in your butt and then I'll get mad at you and you can practice kissing my butt. Yeah. So we've got our us working together has eliminated that because it's like we don't have time. We got we got mouths to feed. Yeah. Yeah. I like it. So it's really helped. Yeah, I see that. I see that because that's a blessing that I have that I just distinguished with my son and my daughter that they're we've we're good at that. I'm seeing that I never saw that as something that's such a blessing.
Okay, good thing because because we can have disagreements or grievances or whatever it is. But then they're very good about getting back on the horse. Like, all right, we got to get back. We got to get to work. We got more to do. Right. Right. Regardless of whatever the upset was or whatever you're angry about or whatever I said, or I reacted in a fatherly way instead of a leader way. Amen. I just, went off on saying that I was talking to you like my son or my daughter instead of at work. Right. Yeah. Right. And they're good about that too., I mean, there I had a friend of mine, Vinnie, he owns infinite electric and air. And I had chomp Jaylen's tail one time.
And she was she's tough, but she's soft,. And she teared up and I was like, Yeah, man, I just chomped down. She she's teared up. And he was like, let me ask you something. And I was like, what's up, man? He's like, would you have talked to her that way if she wasn't your daughter? She was just somebody and I had to evaluate myself was I probably would have chomped, but I wouldn't have did it with so much emotion. Yeah., and then like, I've had talks with my son, like right now he's working for somebody else. And I let him go. And my plan is when he's he's seeing the real world, he's 21 right now. But I this is what I said to him one time. I said, Hey, son.
And I let him down a path. I said, Hey, son, if so and so did a B and C showed up late, went to Home Depot and, walk the store and then stopped and, took an hour and a half or 30 minute job. Like, how do you feel about that? Like, what would you what would you do? Like, if if, this is your dad's company, what would you do if the employees were doing those things? And he was like, that's stealing. I would tell you they're they would be fired. And I said, I agree. So, why do you do it to me? Why do you take the hour and a half? Why do you take the why do you show up late? If you consider it stealing from them, why do you do it to your own?
And you could just we're in a truck. And he was like, he's like, tear it up a little bit. It was revelation. I'm like, wow, I'm doing this because I can't because it's my dad's company. But when I'm not realizing if someone else did the same thing I did, I would consider them a thief. Yeah, yeah.,. And so he was late a couple of times. So I told him, I said, son, I want you to, my goal is for you to run this business one day. But right now, you got to go work somewhere else, yeah, you're done., if you choose to come back, it's here. But you've got to go live life, at least for a year outside of the comfort of this business. Yeah.
And he's kicking butt right now and doing good. Yeah. And he's got to be at work at seven. So his butts leaving at like 615 in the morning where I couldn't get him to work till nine,. So it's cool seeing him grow and watch that. That took a lot. That's pretty awesome to for you to be able to do that because that's a tough love in a way like, yeah, it's a way but it'll teach him something that he
I because I've dealt with that with my children, but also as a son to my dad working for him, because I wouldn't take liberties that nobody else should have what would take. Yeah. And I would just be like, yeah, it's that right, right. It's coming on the late one. Yeah, whatever., I guess that and never putting the shoe on the other foot. Yeah. Yeah. Well, what if how's that look? Yeah. Yeah. What's that creating in him? Yeah, for others. So I respect you for doing that with your son. Yeah, like, really sending him out and he's going to see how good he really had it. Yeah. Like how good, like, oh, okay, teach him getting up at 615., right. Seven.
Yeah, these new habits are gonna. Yeah, it's really cool. Like last night we were he was helping me cast cast this. So like we still have that great relationship. He was mad at me for a while. Yeah, he's mad at me. But I think he's starting to see it. Oh, see, see what he's doing. Yeah. So and that's my prayer. Lord. Yeah, please show like I don't want to be the butthole., there's so much I'd love to dive into. We're gonna have to do this again. It's segment that I always do. And I know you got to get going. But I was just for fun questions. You have a hidden talent most people don't know about.
I mean, I think my biggest talent, and I don't know if it is discernment, you know what I mean? I've just got the ability to read people.
I mean, it's a gift and a curse,? But yeah, I, yeah, I know when someone's full of crap or when they're lying to me or when they're good. You know what I mean? Like, I just I've got that intuition. I believe it's a God given talent. Yeah, I get I can feel that from you. I had an opportunity to meet Ed Mylett. He came to Fort Myers. And I met him for just a minute. It was just the meet and greet thing. And in that minute, he was so present with me. He got me in a way that I don't think any other human did. And it was literally just a shake. It was a line of people. He just took my head for one minute. Yeah, said something to me. And yeah, just
He could read like you can read. So that's kind of the guy I look up to. That's the guy like, I want to, you know what I mean? Like, I'm the one. Wow., I want to be like, I know, I want to be I don't want to say I want to be Ed Mylett. But like, if, if like, you're saying, okay, whose life if you could say where you want to be, who that it said? Yeah. So that's just, dude, God just spoke to me with you right, right there. Yeah, that you would put me in the same sentence with that. No, absolutely. That's what kind of my mind does that instantly? Wow. A hundred percent. Yeah, not that moment was with me. And I'm, I'm experiencing some of those moments being with you.
So that's, that's, it's in you, brother. I received that beautiful. Yeah. That's that Holy Spirit, bro. Yeah. Yeah. What music's playing when you're driving or getting the getting in the zone? Okay, so worship music, I listen to a lot. But like my favorite music outside of, of, of, because I don't really listen to a lot of secular music is like stone tip a pile, like old, old, what is it? What would you call the genre? Like Nirvana, grungy, my kids call it divorce dad music. I don't know why. I guess there's a playlist that says that. Yeah. Like green day. Yeah. Stuff that I didn't really like as a kid that much, but I just love as an adult now. Yeah.
And it's like, I believe you've got to listen to the message. So like I grew up on hip hop, so I can't listen to that stuff. Just hurts my soul now. Cause like, I can't believe I was listening to that. I know the lyrics to this stuff. So I like, I'm really careful on what I bring in. Like I told you in my eyes and in my ears, obviously it's going to come out of my mouth, but I just, yeah. Yeah, man. It's alternative. That's the word. Yeah. Like alternative music.
I'm building a playlist of our guests' music. So that's why I kind of throw some of the stone temple pilots in there. And things like that. Yeah. Classic books or podcasts that you love right now. So I've read two books twice this year and they changed my life. One is called unoffendable. I suggest everybody in their mom read it. It'll open your eyes to how blessed we really are.
And how offended we are. And boundaries is talking about like setting those boundaries and stopping people from taking other people's consequences in your life, being a slave to your own family, being a slave to your children, like taking on your children. So it's like really mind opening. Like you think you're doing a good deed? Some of the stuff that we think are good deeds are actually enabling and hurting those around us, which ultimately is hurting us. So it's called boundaries. And as far as a podcast. So boundaries is one unoffendable is the other. There's two. Okay. And I'm obsessed with both of them right now.
And I mean, I've read all the thinking girl, rich, I've read all that stuff. You know what I mean? I got to put that on my audible list. Unoffendable and boundaries. Oh, dude. Yeah. I like this. Just the name of it.
Literally, it's going to change your whole thinking. Yeah. I mean, it's made me a new person this year. And in the process of being unoffendable, I think I've offended a lot of people.
But it is what it is. It's about peace. Yeah. Well, you have to have peace. Yeah. Yeah. Other people will be offended because if you, I know if I try to please them all, it's not happening. Jesse Myers, we call him chief. He said years ago, and he's probably got it from somewhere else. Like when the plane crashes, it says for you to put your oxygen on first, because you can't help nobody else unless you're full of oxygen. And that's like life. Like I can't be everything to everybody or I can't serve nobody., I have to put my oxygen, make sure I'm at well, me and my family's good before I can make the triple the trick, the trickle effect. Yeah.
When you're good, others can be good. Yeah. And then
Your coffee order black. Yeah. Yeah. Okay. Yeah. Right there with you. if you weren't doing what you're doing today, what do you think you'd be doing? So you want to know what I wanted to be when I was a kid, a lawyer. I didn't know I was going to need one. I thought I was going to be one. I heard lawyer when I was a kid, I didn't know I was going to need, so I wanted to be an attorney and I'm, I'm gifted with my words., I can break things down very simple. I can paint pictures when I speak and it's something that I'm getting, like I'm learning, like that's one of God's gifts for me is like, I could simplify complex things. I used to always say, I'm a simple Tim.
I'm not that smart. And my friend Bryce goes, dude, that's what makes you smart. You take all these complex ideas that you learn and you break them down for everybody to understand. He's like, that's your superpower. So it's like, I think I would have did good as an attorney because, I completely, and I love to argue, just ask my wife.
All right. What's, what's something about you? Most people don't know, but should, most people don't know, but should
Oh my goodness. I don't know because I'm such an open book. then I'm extremely insecure.
You know, I'm, I'm, a lot of people say, confidence. That's why we're God, but it's because the truth is I really don't have a lot of confidence., I just trust God is going to do what he said he's going to do in my life. And I walk in that because the truth is I don't feel equipped anywhere I go. I mean, when I started these events, I mean, it was like the first one I did 139 people showed up and it like blew my mind that there was 139 people out there that was wanting to hear me speak. That wasn't a drug addict.
And they're like, killed my inner critic, but he's still alive., so like that, that would be something like if you met me, you probably wouldn't see insecurity, but I'm extremely insecure. Yeah. Thanks for sharing that. That's a good to share. Yeah. Yeah. I think somebody can relate to that. Yeah. Yeah. I feel like that's all wrong, man. Yeah. So thanks. Thanks for sharing that. Absolutely. I'm gonna do two out of here. Okay. Cards to random. All right. So there's two right there. All right. Perfect. Thanks. Oh, there's two right there. All right. Perfect. And read them, read them, read them and answer what you got. All right.
What was the last thing you had to meticulously prepare for?
I got to speak at, state farm hired me as a faith-based entrepreneur to speak to 35 other top agents in the nation last Friday, not last Friday before. So like I had to really go through all of my stuff that I've prepared and meticulously, like what parts, how do I word this? So that was, I was super, super nervous. Yeah. everybody loved it. My wife could, my wife's my wife. She's like, I could see you're in her, you know what I mean? She could see when, so that was like, I was a little overwhelming because it was out of, when I do my events, there are, I'm, I'm advertising for the people to know me, see my podcast, see all the, these people had no clue who I was.
So like, yeah, I had to really prepare for that. And out it go. It went amazing. Yeah. Yeah. It went absolutely amazing. And hopefully they're going to hire me to do their big one, which is going to be 700 agents in Orlando. So that'd be really cool. But how cool is it that insurance companies or corporations are now seeking after. Yeah. Faith-based speakers. I love that. That's amazing. Beautiful thing. Yeah. It's really cool. if you could change jobs, would you, what would you do instead? I think we kind of talked on that a little bit.
I don't know if I, my little brother became an attorney, which is pretty cool. if I now today, if I were to change, I would probably be a pastor, which I feel like I kind of am just in the business world, just in my wife always says you pastor the unpastered, I just baptized a guy named Brady McDonald, super successful business owner, came to one of my events, actually let him speak, dropped the F bombs from the stage, but I really felt the Lord had them there for a reason. And so I got to go on and one year later I baptized him and then he just ran 240 miles and gave all glory to God.
So it's like, my wife's like, he, that's, that's who God has, and then you think, it's just how cool God is. I'm speaking, Brady's probably multi multi, and then I'm speaking to homeless people and people out of addiction. One day I'm at the table with
Millionaires. The next thing I'm at the table with the least of these. So God's like, it's really cool. So yeah, probably a pastor. Okay. Okay. Yeah, man. Last question. Okay. What do you love about your life? Well, I mean, I'm living the dream, dude. Like I have a decently successful business.
My wife likes me 95% of the time. and the 5% is my fault.
My kids, every one of my kids is I'm good with right now. I'm finally like, I'm at a place where
I'm grinding to hang out with them just as much as I'm grinding to build my business.
If you look at my life, I'm, I'm speaker, entrepreneur, coach, pastor, business owner, father. And it's like, how do you fit all that in? And dude, I have, I have times to take naps.
Like I just schedule what matters. I'm very, strategic on what goes on that schedule. Like I had someone text me this morning. I think I ticked him off. He says, Hey, I got an idea. I got an idea. Let's meet for 20 minutes. I was like, can it be a phone call or a text?
Well, no, I really want to meet with you. Well, what is the idea? I'd like to know the idea. Well, nevermind. And I'm like, okay. Like I don't need to be disrespectful. Like that 20 minutes is an hour, an hour and a half. Right. So like I have to be strategic with my time and who I am and my kid needs 20 minutes. I want to be there. I don't want to say, Hey, I'm meeting some guy for coffee for an idea. I don't know about,? so like that's where I'm so happy right now. Like, and you just thank you for saying that. Cause God's trying to teach me how to be thanking him. And the truth is like, I'm, I'm living the dream. Really think about it.
Like I would like some more zeros in my bank account wouldn't mind being on bigger stages and stuff like that. But at the end of the day, like I'm living it. I'm living exactly what I dreamed about. But yeah, man, that's it bro. Thank you for having me, man. This was a blast. I mean that power went quick. Yeah. Yeah. For sure. And really filled my life with so much that I didn't even know I needed and that I got, which is filled my soul. So God bless you. I really appreciate you for what you're doing in the world. And I think, you're definitely one of the blessings that this community has to have you in it. So thank you for that, man. Good person. I appreciate you.
Thank you. Thank you. God bless you.