#151: Jack Nauseef: God's secret to unlimited energy

29:38Really learning and think of yourself less. What do you do? Not how can I learn from you, but just in normal conversation, being curious about other people's lives, you will learn something every day. Everyone has something that they can teach you, whether you know it or not. I met a homeless guy last night, told you Uncle Reggie was his name. Uncle Reggie came up and Uncle Reggie is an injured truck driver who didn't have any teeth and had a massive intestine surgery like five days prior to me meeting him there on the street. And most people disregard homeless folks, right? We had a conversation and the dude was just looking for someone to talk to.

30:20And he taught me that sometimes Someone just needs to listen and i'm glad I was glad that I was able to listen for to reggie and Some people don't want to listen because they think it's not worth their time But when you give someone a space where they feel safe to listen to you You serve them just by being an ear jesus What do you do when he came down to earth? He died for us. Yes, but what did he do every day? He went into towns where there were people struggling and he gave them an eye He gave them a touch and he gave them a listen. That's all he did. He came down, he listened, he gave them a touch, let them know he was there for them and he listened.

30:58Now Jesus performed miracles, but you don't have to perform miracles. Your miracles are just caring and giving people your full attention to let them feel seen. It fills up their heart. It's so profound. I was saying in brief at the gym earlier how I had a call with my coach, Kian, who were going to Dagestan with. Crazy. Yeah, just crazy. Are we back from Dagestan by the time this releases, or are we still there? I'm going to probably run this earlier. We'll see. We'll see how we go. Okay. We should wait until we're alive. That was the back end of it. But anyway, I was on a coaching call with him yesterday, and towards the end we're talking about Jesus and we're talking about faith.

31:41And yeah, and anyway, he said something so profound that I really resonated with, And he said, Jesus is egoless and mindless. He walks with God through his heart.

31:59And the piece behind this is when God says to Jesus, walk on water, he just takes steps on water. He doesn't think in his head, oh, what are people going to think? What if I drown? What if this works? Can I do this? He just walked. there was no thinking. He just walked with God through his heart, egoless and mindless. And I think the thing that I am sensing in the things that you're talking about, all of the tools are so great. The Bible, church, conversations with others, all of this is so great. But at the end of the day, that's all up here. It's all heady. But the walk and the relationship with Jesus is here in the heart.

32:51And I think the closer you walk with Jesus, the more you get this overarching feeling of enlightenment. And I think Jesus was a perfect representation of that. And when he was explaining all of this, my mind just started ticking because there's so much stuff that feels so man-made about religion and there's so much stuff that It feels so up here. But when you see people walking with God and showing up in that way, it's not thinking. It's no question. It's nothing all of this. They just do it because they know that that's what God's calling them to do. And I get drawn to conversations like this when you're talking about someone yelling at you and your default is to empathize them.

33:36All of that is what Jesus would have done. It's not a question of should I do it? It's just do it. Just do it. You know, the Lord, I believe, puts convictions on everyone's hearts in their day-to-day lives, right? Whether it's simple questions, simple actions, the more you think about them, the more wrong and the more detached you'll become from that original conviction. I think it's very powerful when you feel that conviction to act immediately. Whether it's a question, whether it's a decision in your life, there's a reason it got put on your heart. And I think that comes from God directly. And it's unique to yourself.

34:16Everyone has unique convictions. I'm sure you do yourself every day. Like when you said you knew she was your wife, you knew that was the lady for you, the girl for you. Why'd you say that straight away? What do you mean? Because you already talked about it. Well, we know why. That's been a hot topic for us today, finding your wife. It's so funny. I feel, yeah, I feel there is things that get placed on our heart. Is there a moment in your life where your faith was lacking? And how did your life look when that was the case? Absolutely. For two reasons. I think that's important. I think everyone goes through stages in their life where they fall off the narrow road, the narrow path, and they fall into whatever their temptations are.

35:01For me, I fell into lust in college and experimented with drugs and was lustful sleeping around with girls, one night stands here and there. And that was when I fell off the path and didn't have a relationship with Christ and a relationship with my faith. There's another time where I think you fall off your faith, which is beneficial. And that's when you question it deeply, where you don't trust your faith because you're so curious about why. So I grew up Catholic Christian, but it was because it was just part of my lifestyle. It was who my parents were and it's how I was raised. But it got to a point where I was like, am I Catholic?

35:37Am I a believer in Christ because I believe in him or because that's just what I was told to do? That's where it gets beneficial for people of all religions. When you start to search for answers yourself, you start to ask questions. Okay, I believe in this, but why? Like, do I actually believe in this? Do I think Jesus actually was the son of God? Like, let me go check out Buddhism. Let me go check out Hinduism. Like, why do these people believe in this? So there was a stage in my life when I got to Atlanta, actually, two years ago, and I stopped attending Catholic church for about five months, four months.

36:11And I was like, just experimenting with different churches. The South is a very different place in terms of, you know, mostly non-denominational. You have Orthodox churches, you have Lutheran churches, and it was different. I'm like, let me go check this out because a lot of people are doing it. And I was just searching for answers and enlightenment as to why I believe in what I believe in. And when you start asking deep questions, you're gonna get deep answers. Your prayer with God will change. And my prayer with God did change because I was asking deeper questions each and every day. And he responded with deep answers.

36:48So there was the phase of life where I was a drunkard and I was not following the path of Jesus. And then there was a stage of life where I wasn't like sure what I believed in. And I think that was the most beneficial when I really started asking questions as opposed to being just a casual Christian. I was really curious as to why I was a Christian. And then that's what led me to really studying how Jesus lived life and then trying to emulate that. Yeah. And it just takes me back to a time when we met. We met. I knew you were going to bring this up. In a diner. November last year. And I believe you had maybe around 60, 70 ,000 followers on social media.

37:35And I met you and Michael, I already knew Michael, obviously, but I met you with Michael at a diner. You guys had came there from church, hung over, like battling big time. I had to leave. You left with your food on the table. I did. I left with my food on the table. Battling. But I remember, I remember so clearly, you were sat next to Michael sweating and you just went, we got to lock in, bro. You said, we got to lock in. I remember you saying those words so clearly. And then from that point, you just blew up. That was like the turning point. It literally like transformed. I remember chatting with Michael.

38:19I was like, bro. Yeah. When we met, he could barely sit there. He had to leave. And then he said, we got to lock in. And you guys were both at that point going, yeah, we got to lock in. And the next minute, you just went on an absolute generational run. What happened in that moment? And why was that a catalyst for you? Yeah, I, you know, I've had nights out where I drank a bunch. That was one of those nights where it really messed me up. The bar we were at was called 30. And after I went that night, I told myself I was never going back. There's been plenty of events At 30 since then I refuse to go back to that place because I believe the devil lives inside there I'm, never going back to 30 in buckhead because the devil lives there.

39:02You you heard me i'm not going back to 30 and From then on it was I don't know What exactly I want, but I didn't want that feeling again and I knew it would just take Discipline and hard work to get out of that so That bottom, you know, it's like elasticity you go down far You're going to propel very far up in return people like to float in the middle. There's not big change that happens there and in order to Do a big climb you have to fall pretty hard not saying go down to the depths but maybe find a different mountain to climb That's at the bottom for me. I hit I felt like a rock bottom there for me mentally and After that I was like, okay We're just gonna start waking up at five every day And we're gonna change our life with discipline and hard work.

39:56I don't know if people are gonna watch it I don't care if people are gonna watch it But i'm gonna do this because I love it and I want to change myself and this is a way to hold myself accountable And eventually I started having fun with it And I mean there's obviously plenty of videos now you could see of me waking up at five running screaming good morning in the mirror And it's become quite a thing what was the feeling there you mentioned that you you felt quite low what was the feeling back then that like ignited the change you know that feeling when your parents caught you in a lie when you were a kid and they weren't super mad at you they were just disappointed and they didn't make you do anything they didn't ground you they just kind of there was kind of like oh oh man, are you serious?

40:43You're better than that. And they'd look at you and you'd just feel really, really bad because they knew you messed up. There's nothing you can do to change it. And they're not telling you to do anything. They're just like, sit with that. That's what it felt like. But not my parents looking at me, not my friends looking at me. I felt the weight of God. Like, I'm disappointed in you, Jack. And that sat so heavy on my heart And I knew that I would not be able to rebuild that relationship with god or that trust with god again until I you know started to believe in myself again And that started with those everyday routines and the hard work now He forgave me right away when I said I went to church the next day.

41:32I asked for forgiveness for my sins I knelt down and I prayed to god I'm like, I asked him to help me for that to not happen again, to keep me on the narrow road. And, you know, he did that. It doesn't happen immediately. Did not happen right away. But day by day, I proved to myself and to God with consistent prayer and consistent work that I was ready to make a change. You know, God has many blessings to give us, but he's not going to give them to you unless you're ready for them. That's as for a wife, for wealth, for riches, you know, because God does want, you know, Christian good people to have riches, to do good things with them.

42:13You know, God doesn't want us to not be ambitious. He wants us to be ambitious for him to further his kingdom. But I wasn't ready for that. I wasn't ready to receive because I was acting up on the weekends. Imagine having all this ego paired with all these riches just to do bad. You know, that's when you're dealing with the devil, in my opinion, when you're dealing with these other sources of power to get worldly success, that's when you're going down a real bad path. Luckily for me, I wanted to stay down and work for it the right way, as opposed to promoting the alcohol and the degenerate life.

42:49I think that's a scary path, man. And it's pretty popular right now on the internet. You know, anything in moderation is great, but to promote a lifestyle that's naughty is scary because that's not coming from the Lord. That's coming from a different source of power And It took time man, you know god god wants us to row All you have to do is work. You don't have to know what the result's going to be But if you just keep rowing he's going to steer you in the right direction So me waking up every morning and working out and posting the videos was me rowing I didn't know where I was going to go, but I was just working working working And the lord says no toil will go without fruits and he provided fruits in time.

43:34And that brought me here. It's so interesting thinking about, you know, rowing, but not knowing where you're rowing. Because I also feel there could be a slippery slope there where you're not rowing on what God's put you on this earth to do. And you're tricking yourself because you're pleasing other people. Maybe you're making your parents proud or you're rowing a race that's not yours. And I wonder if there's a slippery slope where we can trick ourselves somehow in this race that we're rowing, but it's not even a race that fills us up. It's not even one that's aligned with us. Maybe it's very up here and we haven't checked in and done the work and sat in silence and being able to unpack what we truly feel is aligned with us and then have the courage to row and act on that.

44:33Like feel the calling and row on that, not up here like, oh, what are people going to think? What about my parents? Oh, I've already done so much in this. I've already spent so many hours doing this. I've studied this. I've spent this. All of the stuff up here. I feel rowing on things that are up in your head and doing the work on that is a slippery pursuit that's not actually even serving God and what he's put you here to do. And so I think there's power in the message of realizing that we should definitely row and trust in God's direction. But at the same time, check in with yourself and make sure that you're actually even hearing what God wants you to do.

45:14Very true. Because I feel like you could just keep rowing and end up climbing a ladder that you don't even want to get to the top of. Well, there is no top of the ladder. Life's a game you can't win or lose. You're just in it. There is no winning or losing in life. You know, one day you die and you're gone and you're dust from dust we come to dust we return and Like this goes back to what we were talking about earlier. There's no worldly success Or achievement you can reach That's going to make you feel fulfilled There's always something more Always there's always a prettier girl. There's always more money.

45:47There's always a bigger house There's always a better lifestyle. There's a different country you can go to There's there's no losing either. I mean you can you can sink Down very very far. I i'm sure there's people down there right now just miserable And that's why you need to pursue something like you said that's on your heart That god gives you I I don't have much to say on this topic, but I know that life is is definitely not something that you can win at There's there's no there's no glory in Making millions of dollars if you're not going to treat A dude on the street with respect and then you're just as you're like me if I treat a dude on the street with no respect Or if you're a poor guy and you're treating people with no respect then you're not worthy either You know, it's Life is something that we're all in it together.

46:36We're here for such a short blip of time in the grand scheme of things and everyone's just out here trying enjoying struggling experiencing pain anxiety stress happiness sadness love all these different things and I just think we're called to help each other get through it together there's nothing you can do to win just enjoy it it's a ship that we're all on and we're gonna we're gonna go no question about people forget that we are going to die we're gone no question about it so that's what I'm thinking about it man as profounded you know what makes it makes me think about if there's no winning and there's no destination that we actually need to get to,

47:28then why does it matter where we start?

47:34And if there's no destination and no grand thing that we need to achieve, then really we actually all start at the exact same spot. Because our highs are only compared to our lows. and our experiences are only compared to our past experiences. So whether you are born into a family of poverty or you're born into a extremely wealthy family, the only way you can experience the overarching thing of happiness is if you create polarity in your life. So it's actually not the fact that you're less fortunate having less money starting out. It just means you need to make less than the person with millions to feel the same thing.

48:20Like for me, I feel so much joy when I don't have to look at the prices in the groceries because I had to my whole life. Because I saw milk that was on special in my fridge and we would freeze it so that we could get it cheaper. I feel so happy and so much joy by not having to look at the prices because I've got the polarity of having to. If you're born without ever having to have that worry, then you don't get the joy that I get from being able to do the thing. So if we think about the fact that there's no destination that's going to solve all of your problems, there's no destination of happiness, then it actually doesn't matter where we start.

49:09What matters is that we walk. What matters is that we don't stay in the same spot. Because ultimately, if we can build the comparison, our life will be filled with something of joy. It'll be filled with peace and fulfillment and happiness. We just need to make something of ourself, no matter where we start. And I feel like that's just ignited in me as you've explained the fact that there actually isn't anywhere to go. There's no ladder to climb and there's no race to win. Absolutely correct. And that's very, very profound. I have a perfect example for you. You see my videos, you see my lifestyle.

49:46In the grand scheme of things, I'm privileged. But I'm grateful for what I have because I know what it could be. There's a young boy that's living in Gaza. His name's Karam. And he has seen my videos. And he has made a few inspired by mine. You know, the good morning videos. and he does day in the lives in Gaza. Okay, talk about polarity. Those are two very different lives. I'm a 26 year old privileged man in America and you have a boy in Gaza who's still emulating what I'm doing here, but just in completely different environments. Every day he has to worry about a bomb being dropped on his home, but he is waking up and he's screaming good morning into the mirror.

50:40He's going on a run. He's swimming in the ocean with his friends. And then simultaneously, he has active bombs being dropped in his videos, in an active war zone. And then at the end of his videos, he's saying, I'm grateful to get up and get after it for another day. I'm so happy for the opportunity to be here. All I have to do is trust in God and I'll be happy and I'll be fulfilled. And he's putting it out there. And that is the perfect example. I I can't fathom living in an area like that But he is proof That there's no you don't have to be miserable. There's he could die tomorrow I could too I could too in a car accident or just walking on the street But he is in true imminent danger in a war zone, but he's still making the most out of his life Appreciating what he has and not caring about a result He's making the most out of a situation and some people think that they're they're at a disadvantage in life and what there's no there's nothing that you're gonna get from these worldly things you're not gonna get anything from them like you said you're gonna find the happiness in what you're looking for in the polarity that's it's strong it's powerful yeah and and this is why i get so happy for a man going through a heartbreak because I know how much his life will change.

52:05Yeah. It sucks. I interviewed an Olympic boxer and he goes, man, I've been through the deepest of lows. I've had family leave me. I've been punched in the face. I've had things go wrong, betrayal, but nothing to this day has ever felt worse than heartbreak. and I'm hearing this going, dude, this is universal, man. That breaks a man. Have you been heartbroken? Yeah. That's why I'm here right now. So I get so happy for them. I feel for them, but I get so happy for them because if they want it to, it will change their life. Talk about fuel to the fire. Dude, have a woman that leaves you and goes and hops on a plane or gets on a boat or gets a new boyfriend straight away, man, that's the greatest fuel to the fire possible.

53:03Possible. Right? It hurts. And then when you get out of that and you level up as a man, you start looking within and going, okay, that's what I did wrong, which is why she left me. Because if I was a worthy man, she wouldn't have left me, by the way. She wouldn't have. Guys, she wouldn't have left you. And so if you take ownership on it, then all of a sudden you see where you went wrong and then you grow. And through the growth, you've now got comparison, which is the very thing that's going to make you appreciate your life more. And I feel like if we just tie all of this, the bow on top of it is the faith.

53:44Because the problem that lies with the comparison piece is that you constantly need to compare. And you constantly need to make something of yourself so that you have a comparison. because if you don't, then everything gets mundane. And so, like, and correct me if I'm wrong, I don't know any, I don't know much of the Bible, but God still wants you to work. Like, he still wants you to move, right? And so it's not about just sitting in the Bahamas drinking coconuts all day. Like, you know, you have a gift for the world and you are depriving people by not giving it. You have to give, right? but if your worth is tied in any of those things it's going to be a slippery slope because you're going to constantly need to climb a bigger mountain in order to feel worthy and so that's probably where the connection to something higher holds so much weight because it's a love that's always there.

54:49Accurate. Yeah. God definitely wants us to experience life. He gave us all these gifts to give. He gave us anxiety, sadness, pain. He gave us happiness, love, all the good things. And he wants us to experience that. It's part of being a human. We're so special. We will die, like I said, which makes life that much more special. The fact that we don't have this forever, The fact that you're never going to get younger. You only experience these things once in your life Day comes you see a sunset. There's no redos. There's no do-overs. It's a day gone forever So you need to enjoy the life experience as much as you can and serve as much as you can.

55:35But if you don't understand that there is no finish line, there's no eventual end and trophy and worldly thing that's going to fulfill you, that's where God comes into play, like you said. and it comes down to, let me just live a life as similar to Jesus as possible where I'm gonna find my fulfillment in serving and in loving others and thinking of myself less. Paul was a perfect example for the Bible. In 1 Corinthians, he talked about how he thought nothing of himself. He called himself the chief sinner, chief meaning the worst or chief meaning the best, the number one. He was the worst sinner of them all.

56:21He claimed himself that But he didn't care Because he knew that god forgave him for all his sins And so he went out into the world with the utmost confidence because he didn't judge himself And he didn't let others judge him because he already knew he was worthy as the worst sinner there was So he was able to serve with such magnitude because He didn't care about himself. He only cared about others and helping and lifting them up And you know, that's something that I am not paul. I'm not jesus. I'm not going to be that type of man But the more I strive to be as close to them the more i'll find fulfillment and enlightenment and Congruence with god So during whatever you're pursuing in life whether it's Being a professional athlete or being the best podcaster in the world Or being the best construction worker building the best houses That's awesome.

57:17Keep doing your work, whatever it is, to the best of your ability Because you're going to honor God through your work. He gave you the gifts to do that Do it to the best of your ability But know in the end, it's not going to amount to anything greater than him and his kingdom Yeah, and Paul, wasn't he, wasn't his name Saul? He was He was Saul and then And then, and Saul was the sinner. The sinner. And he was the one that was. He was a murderer. He was, he was going around spreading evil. Spreading, killing people. Yeah. And, uh, and then when he changed to Paul, the, the, the key part of that story as well, I believe is that, that when he changed to Paul, when he got the message from God that he was Paul and he went out spreading love.

58:10I'm Paul I'm spreading love like I'm here to I'm here to give love everyone was like no but your soul it's like no you're evil I think the message there as well on top of it is in terms of my understanding of it is well people change people have experiences in their life just like soul did but now just because he's evolved into someone that is now instead of spreading evil he's spreading love and positivity that doesn't mean you should just hang on to the old version of him You should be able to show up as the person that he is, as a person that you see that's showing love in life. And, you know, I think this is a big message because maybe we start to define ourselves as a certain person.

59:00And we go, that's just the way it is. That's just the upbringing that I've had. That's just my experience. This is just what I've learned. but that doesn't disregard the fact that you can change. Not only can you change, but people don't understand that God will meet you wherever you are in life. People are scared to come in front of God, but God is such an all loving being that wherever you are, if you just ask for him, he will be there for you. At your lowest of lows, your highest of highs, you should always be bringing yourself to God. People like when I was down in the dumps i'm like, oh At this restaurant this diner when I met you and i'm sitting there drunk head down I didn't have to go to church that morning But I knew that the sooner i'd come to god and bring my problems to him The quicker that he would bring me out of those depths And into fulfillment and into enlightenment into love People get so down on themselves and they don't think they're worthy enough to come to God.

1:00:08They think God is judging them. They think God doesn't care about them. But God just wants you to first internalize what the problem is and then give it to him. Give it away. God wants you to have nothing on your heart and on your mind. Your sins, they fester in you and they will not go away until you give them to God. They must come to the light to be eliminated. That's why as a catholic confession is so powerful it's not a way to Force you to talk to someone about all the bad things you're doing. It's a safe place to go Give your problems to god Because it's one thing to say him in solitude But it's another thing to tell another human being And really bring it out there.

1:00:56You can go into a confession as a catholic and tell the priest that you killed 10 people You can't tell anybody it's a safe place as just It's a it's a middle ground between Earth and the lord and not in the sense that the priest is god But the priest is just allowing you to bring it out into the world when you tell somebody that It goes away. So all that to be said Wherever you are in life Whether you're down in the dumps or on some high horse Whatever problems come to you Give it to the lord. He will take care of them Hmm Yeah, i'm trying to think of the lens of maybe where the blockage is for me to just think about, you know, there's something around having a problem and then like this agency piece, extreme ownership, you know, Jocko Willink of like extreme ownership, like take ownership of your shit and change it.

1:01:52Maybe there's a bad experience of Christians that are more so performative Christians where they'll go and confess their sins, Lord, forgive me for my sins and then go and do it all over again, right? Maybe there's a bad reputation that comes with, Lord, forgive me for my sins because people actually aren't doing that. They just keep the actions there and then they use that as like a safety net where they can just go, oh yeah, but Lord's got me, but my back, I'm good, you know? Maybe if you're, and this is, okay, this is fascinating. I'm just, you'll notice here, I just start thinking and processing in my mind, but this is fascinating.

1:02:34So you said earlier around, uh, you said earlier around, it was something along the lines of like, there's two ways to go off your faith. One is bad. One is good. And the going away from your faith in a good way is when you start questioning it because then that strengthens your faith. and that is profound because for me people say to me all the time that you know i i'm i'm more of a christian than a lot of christians but i'm not i'm not a christian but that's just because i've been questioning it so much with an open mind exploring it a joe's witness stopped me on the street i'll pick up their paper i'm just i'm just exploring it right and questioning it and maybe when you question it enough with an open mind, you see the truth in it, you feel convicted about it, and then that allows you to then change your actions because of it.

1:03:34But if you don't question it very much and you don't explore it enough with the open mind, you may be a Christian, but you walk further and further away from God. So then when you do him wrong, you don't feel it. You don't feel the weight of, oh, shit, I did him wrong. And so the ability of the Christians to be able to repent, Lord, forgive me for my sins, but then go and not change anything to do with your actions, maybe there's a distance between them and God. They don't feel that connection. So that then when they do sin, it doesn't even feel that bad. And so then that's why they can keep on doing the same thing.

1:04:22Maybe the importance is actually making sure that you're questioning it so that you can strengthen it, allowing you to walk closer with God so that then you actually feel the weight of the sins that you're doing. They call that the constant pursuit of the Lord. What's that? Because it's never understanding. You won't ever understand the whole concept of God and the Lord. That's why it's called walk by faith, not by sight. so if you're consistently pursuing consistently questioning that's when you're going to find your most your most answers but you're never going to find it all because we you know we don't know actually we have no idea technically what happens we we know because jesus died and came back that's what christians believe but who knows can i ask you a question absolutely I struggle with heaven and hell and afterlife.

1:05:13It feels very fear-mongering, heady up here. You're going to go to hell, heaven, you know. I struggle with it as well because it's also taking you away from the present. You know, I like the idea of, you know, being able to build a bit more of a heaven on earth so that you're showing up in a way that makes life feel great. Now, I struggle with the heaven and hell piece. Are you able to share light on why you think that's powerful to believe in? Yeah. Again, I'm not some guru. I don't know every answer for you, but I'll tell you what I believe in. I believe hell is just the inability to be with God.

1:06:05I think the worst thing you can do is to completely deny that God is there, that he exists, and that in itself is hell. I think God will forgive everybody, no matter the amount of sins. If you want to accept God into your life and into your heart, he will accept you, no matter what you've done. Now, that's tough to think about because there are some pretty bad people out there that have done some pretty horrible things. But I think our God is so loving that if even the worst of the worst people admit to their sins, they come forward with them and they ask God for forgiveness and they truly accept God into their heart to be as loving as He wants them to be, that He'll bring them back.

1:06:55I think hell only exists for people who deny God completely and are so against him that they don't even want to let him come into their heart, that they're willing to live without a God, which is hell. Yeah, that's cool. Yeah, hell is when, hell is even just, hell is a life in which God doesn't exist. as opposed to the fiery pits. Yeah, that's my take on it. Yeah, because the weight that you have to carry on your shoulders thinking that you are in control is hell. Yeah, that's a cool framing. That's a cool framing. I like it. Damn. Yeah. I guess the piece that I think on top of that is how do you walk closer with God?

1:08:06And what are the main things that allow you to feel the divinity of God and walk closer with Him?

1:08:18Aside from constantly asking questions and trying to pursue I think it's very important to surround yourself with the right people You know, you can get stuck into a wrong crowd and If you guys are Doing bad things together, you're going to be more inclined to do bad things together and If you're not In a direction chasing the lord if you're not Iron on iron trying to bring people up with you or be around people. They're going to bring you up then you're going to fall And it's a hard thing to do. It's not easy because some folks don't want to leave what's comfortable But sometimes what's uncomfortable is best for you and there's a reason it's called the narrow path Versus the wide path The wide path is is easy.

1:09:03It's instant gratification It's going out it's partying Whereas the narrow path is the delayed gratification and waiting and being pure and holding yourself accountable. And you want to be around the people that are doing that with you. And I think it's important that you don't exclude people that are on the wide path. I think you want to be in contact with them as much as possible, actually. And you want to always try and uplift, but never let them drag you down. People have friends, family that are constantly being a weight. You have the power to lift them up and bring them with you. Always being a light.

1:09:41I think christians sometimes have struggled with forcing jesus in the faith on people as opposed to Being an example a walking and living example Um, I think you can just be a beacon for them for the people that are struggling. So Surrounding yourself with other beacons Not getting so self-centered about being a perfect christian. Just knowing you're imperfect that's key know you're imperfect know there's always something to work on and always be there to help the little guy come join you but don't let him drag you down with you yeah environment it makes a lot of sense even just thinking about it though because there's there's the christians that drill it down your throat and i feel those type of christians that do it without even you asking kind of make non-believers repel them like like just doesn't like them yeah and uh and so the caveat there is if you surround yourself with people that are walking the walk with god it's a pretty contagious feeling i think that's the thing that i've been noticing because i i guess the the piece that i i try and connect it back to is is how how much uh i'd say australians for example how much they arc up at the at the idea of like christians cult like it's the faith's not very strong is there a religion in australia that's well i mean it's like it's still a western country it's still christian and it's like heritage i would say but i mean i'm not educated and i'm guessing but uh but equally it's not anywhere near as strong at all.

1:11:26Like you come to America and it's, it's a wall, you know, Australia, it's not. In fact, like Australian, they'd be like, oh, that Christian thing. Like that's, yeah. And so it's, it's not very prominent. And so I guess the piece that I like to draw on is I, I started going, okay, like now I've been blessed to be able to experience really amazing Christians to the point where my girlfriend being one of them, you being one of I live in Malibu. It's very Christian faith. They're experiencing all these amazing people that are energetic, bubbly, positive, kind, uplifting. It's very hard to disregard it at all.

1:12:02It's very hard. Even just it being in Malibu where the mountains are by the sea and looking at the stars in the sky and just looking at the magnitude of earth and thinking that there's not something greater than humans that created this is the most ridiculous concept. I don't know how anyone can think that to think that there's no creator i think the creator is very hard very easy to wrap your head around the the the sun part jesus is probably the piece where i've found myself struggling in the past and also i can understand how that one's really confusing but um but yeah i guess the piece that i'm just thinking about is if you're surrounded by all of these people that are very positive walking the walk christians it's very hard to deny it and it's very easy to start getting closer to god because you just look at it it's just like just look yeah but when you're surrounded by other ones especially when you have no idea about the faith itself and about the bible and about christianity it makes you like repel them and so checking in with the environment and and making sure that like you're surrounded by good people that will lift it up is definitely really important Yeah, and it goes back to what I said earlier, like you don't want to be around people that claim their knowledge of the Lord and the faith is a representation of the faith.

1:13:23You know, you can definitely point out a Christian or someone that, like you said, you're not even, you weren't even Christian, but people said you act like a Christian. It's just, it's a radiating energy. It is aura, in my opinion. You can sense the aura of a Christian just based off how they are acting in life. People think it's corny. They think it's fake. It doesn't make sense to so many people. Like, why are you so happy all the time? There's no way. There's no way. When waking up is enough and knowing you're worthy is enough. It's a foreign concept to people that have not accepted God into their life.

1:14:01It's foreign. They don't understand it. And there's no way to explain it to them because they won't find the answer until they search for it themselves. It all makes sense, guys. The good morning is all because of God. Yeah, I think so. Dude, it radiates an aura. That's cool. Yeah, it's an aura that you can feel. And it just naturally produces an energy. Very, very cool. You explained that saying you come into, I'm not saying all Americans are amazing, but you said it's a Christian place. You met your woman here and you said she's a very strong Christian and you just feel that she's drawing you closer to God.

1:14:42You said, I'm a Christian. I hope I make you feel happy. That's not my goal, but just how I'm living, man. You said you feel a little more uplifted. Who doesn't want to be around that? Where they think that whatever they do is enough and they're supported just because they're there being themselves. The biggest struggle I think people have, not with Christianity, but with life and self-belief is that sense of judgment. and humans are not supposed to judge. Who are we to judge when we have our own stick on our eye? I'm already doing things wrong. I'm already a sinner. Why would I judge somebody else?

1:15:17It's not my place to do so. So people don't want to go be around like these perfect Christians because they're going to think they're going to be judged for what they're doing, when in reality they won't be. You know, that's the whole, I want to bring along the little guy. I want to help the people around me just feel empowered to be the best versions of themselves because at the core of their heart, of their true selves, is love, is happiness, is positivity, because God made us all to be happy people. I believe that. Innately good. I think everyone's innately good. I've been told that not everyone's good.

1:15:52I disagree. I disagree. At everyone's core, they were meant to be a good person, and they have it down in there somewhere. I just haven't been able to bring it to the light, man. I think there's a way that everyone can come out and be happy and supportive. You know, the World Cup made me feel that a little bit a few weeks ago here in the States. Man, that was super, super cool to see all the different countries coming here and everyone got along. I don't understand war. I don't understand like just hatred. I don't get it, man. I don't. But somewhere down in there, those people have love. Do you feel you learned a lot of this nature from your dad?

1:16:34You've referenced your father a lot. What impact has he had on you? Huge impact. Huge. My dad and my grandfather both were in the Air Force, U.S. Air Force. And the values that they were taught to live on was integrity. You know, be a man of your word, tell the truth. Be humble, have humility. You know, respect those around you. Don't boast. Don't be self-absorbed. And service. Serve others. I think service is amazing, being able to help others. And he always, and then gratitude for sure. Can't forget that one. Gratitude is so, so big. I already touched on it. I'll touch on it again. It's a way of life.

1:17:15You can never have a bad day if you're full of gratitude. And that's, my dad instilled those values into me along with my grandfather. And it makes you very appreciative of the life you have. But also, military, there's discipline's a huge thing. It's important to be disciplined and he disciplined myself and my brothers. Military people also are trained to work very hard and to try very hard. It's a way to honor God, like we said earlier as well. The harder you work, the better you honor God because you're using your gifts to their maximum potential. He encouraged us to do that, to not be a quitter.

1:17:53So in times where you don't like something, you're going to stick it out and see it through because you're not supposed to quit. Perseverance was built through that. No matter the sport, no matter the activity, it's like, okay, you signed up, you're going to see it through. You're going to figure out how to persevere. And through all these things, you build a self-confidence and belief that you can do hard things. You can stick things out because you've persevered before. And failure is okay because it doesn't make you who you are. Who you are is built on how you serve others and who your family is and how you love.

1:18:28and it's been my dad for sure. And I think he's done a great job of putting his energy into the world by serving others and just being grateful for the family we have. One of the 10 commandments is to honor your father and mother. And one of my most favorite DMs I've gotten was someone saying that I do a great job of honoring my parents through my content. And that's not even something I intended on doing. It's just so easy to brag about my mother and father because they are the reason why I am who I am. And I think sometimes the older people get, they forget how they were brought up when their upbringing was a huge part of who they are.

1:19:20Now, this goes back to also what you said, that you can change. You're not always tied to the same person. But lucky for me, I was raised by a very very loving mother and father who Prepared me for life and I I can't take credit for the person I am. I have to give it to them That doesn't mean A bad situation With parents and children means that you have to stay the way you were raised It's the power of being able to change like saw to paul You know, but I i'm blessed and fortunate enough to have been raised by a father that cared enough to discipline me, to teach me about the power of gratitude, and to teach me how to serve others.

1:20:00Do you feel a pressure to perform? Used to. Not anymore. Why so?

1:20:10Dude, these answers are on repeat, man. Like, there's no destination I'm trying to get to other than having a family that I love and care about and they care about me. Now, do I want my children to live an awesome life? Absolutely. Absolutely. Absolutely. I do. I want them to have the opportunity to do whatever they want in this life And i'm gonna work hard to get there because i've been given a platform and opportunities to do so And if I didn't pursue then i'd be disservicing god. I in my mind, you know, why would I just stop with this momentum and this influence when I think I was Provided it for a reason, you know god put me here for a reason he put you and I here for a reason to talk and be able to affect thousands of lives, if not millions.

1:20:56So is there pressure to get to a certain place? No. Do I feel a pressure of needing to try? Yes. But the result is not going to determine my fulfillment. The outcome does not matter as much as the attempt and the effort to get there, if that makes sense so you reference god but what about a pressure from your father do you feel a a pressure to perform for him

1:21:33i think when i was younger right out of college i went into finance i worked at black rock world's largest asset manager. And, you know, working a very good desk job in finance is something that I thought would make my dad proud, you know? And I made myself believe that's what I wanted. And I tried my very best when I got in. I tried my very best during the interview process. I met great people. I had a great time. But obviously, I'm not there anymore. And did it make my dad proud? Yes. Was I happy to make him proud? Yes. Was I nervous to quit and do content full-time? And was my dad going to be proud of that?

1:22:19That was a worry. Absolutely it was. And I felt pressure as to whether he would support it. And he's a special man because he told me whatever I wanted to do, he would be in full support before I even said anything. He knew there was something on my heart that I might quit and go into content full time. And that's foreign, you know, to a military dad. Like he's like, we're going to have, my son's going to be on the internet shirt off, like for his job. Crazy, crazy. And I knew it was crazy to him. So that made it all the heart, all harder. And he told me without me saying anything that he was there to support me with whatever I wanted to do.

1:23:02And that gave me the utmost confidence to do it. I was going to do it regardless, but he empowered me to really dive into it in full belief of myself because I knew I had a great support system behind me. That wouldn't have changed whether I did it or not, but he propelled me into it by saying that. And now he's my biggest fan and supporter as he is for all my brothers. Yeah, that's cool. So if you were to go back to the part where you were studying to get the job because you thought that would be the thing that would make you happy. There's probably many people that are listening to this right now that are probably in the job.

1:23:42And they have this vision of people like us running around like hooligans with our shirt off, making content, filming podcasts, and making a good living doing so. And they probably have this thought in their mind of, I want to do that, but I'm not going to. Because what are my parents going to think? Maybe they don't have a supportive dad. And maybe their dad really wants, maybe their dad really loves the idea of what they're building and the safe job and all of this. Like they don't feel the support they have like you did with your dad, but they want to do something for themselves that is more aligned with them.

1:24:22What would be two cents that you'd give them? I'd say for one, you cannot try and put on a facade or fix something that isn't you. So ever since I was a little boy, like three, the minute I could start walking, you know, parents would record us on the old VHS cameras, right? My parents had one and they'd always bring out the camera. And since I was three years old, I was begging my parents, turn it around, turn it around to turn around the camera so I could see myself on the camera. I don't know what it was, but I loved being on camera and seeing myself on camera. Innately, that's who I was as a young boy.

1:25:06I loved being in front of people. I loved to dance. I loved the energy of other people. So innately, that's who I was. That inner child, I've tried to keep as a part of me my entire life. So what you see on the internet is not a facade. Whatever that is for whoever's listening. You said, I want to do this. I want to have this lifestyle of being a hooligan with my shirt off. You can't try and fake or force something. It's very, very important to tap back into whatever you were as a kid. Who is your truest self? You'll find that in who you were at eight years old. Your biggest dreams, your biggest aspirations.

1:25:49Who did you look up to the most? And you have to tap back into that energy because that's what makes you really special and unique. So that's where I'd start, tapping back into your truest and youngest self. And then from there, it is your own mission and pursuit of the internet. My brother, Nicholas, he is so different from the rest of my brothers. My brothers were three athletes. I have three younger brothers. I'm the oldest of four. Daniel's 23, William's 21, his twin is Nicholas. He's 21 as well. He was a theater kid and the rest of us were basketball players. And so he, he was always just like, I'm sure he felt a little out on the outskirts of the four of us.

1:26:37And we've never talked about this in depth. Love you, Nico. And through being different, he was able to build a confidence in himself. He's like, Even if my family is so different from me, why would I care what other people think if my own brothers sometimes are going to judge me? Because we did. We bullied him a little bit because he was so different. And now I love him. I love Nicholas and we love our brother. But his interests are just different. Nicholas has just started his content journey recently. And he was asking me for help. He told me how inspired he was by me. And as the older brother that already did the thing, I didn't know what to tell him because his content was so different.

1:27:22He's a movie critic. He loves talking Marvel, comics, DC. And I'm like, dude, listen, you obviously have an idea for what you want. I have no freaking clue how to help you. Whatever you're thinking about, make it happen. Because he's always loved the movies. That's his inner child. It's his truest self. He brought it to the table. He's just like searching for answers. and the answers and what he's looking for is just gonna come from action, from doing. The dude's grown 12 ,000 followers in two months and he's doing the thing. He's doing the thing. And there's other testimonials out there of people doing it, but you're not gonna find it without action.

1:28:02There's too much thinking in these people's brains. You need to put pen to paper. You need to bring thought to word, put it out into the universe and just start acting on it. And you'll see results, trial and error, trial and error trial and error but while staying true to yourself and it will blossom with time and effort i'm sure how long did you go without traction how long were you in the trial and error phase before someone was like oh you're chris griffin at the gym today i love your podcast it didn't happen overnight how long did it take you yeah we've been doing it doing it for a few years now, but yeah, it's crazy.

1:28:43I think the answers you're looking for is in the work you're avoiding. That's the, I think Chris Williams says that or someone. Michael Smoke, our mutual friend, he says that one of the scriptures he references all the time is in James, not the, not the, one of the ones in James he references is, if a man knows the good he ought to do and does not do it, it is sin for him. Yeah. And I love that one. It's like, if you know the good that you ought to do and you do not do it, that is a sin. You're withholding the gift that God gave you. You're depriving the world of something they need from you. It's sinful.

1:29:25And then what Michael was like, he's like, how dare you?

1:29:30i love that part of the party was like he's like how dare you you selfish asshole yes so selfish man yeah i i i love it i think um there's one part of of scripture that i learned at at a just at a sermon at malibu vintage malibu the church i've been going to So I might butcher it when trying to reference it, but I thought, I think it really sums up making the most of what you have in life. And so I believe it was Matthews 25, and it was sharing a story around how God handed all of these people tokens. and he hands the first person a token no he hands the first person three tokens and then the guy then goes and uses those three tokens and actually uses them to make three more tokens and then he gives another person two tokens and then the guy then uses those tokens and he goes and makes two more tokens and he gives a person one token and what that guy does is he buries that token and hides it so he doesn't lose the token and then five months later he comes back it's collection day and he goes to the guy that he gave three tokens to he wants the three tokens back and he's like thank you for the three tokens i used it to make three more and he's like he's like uh he's like good on you you faithful servant you can now enjoy the happiness of the holy spirit or whatever the exact thing was and then and then and then the guy then you you can go enjoy, you can go enjoy, uh, the happiness from the kingdom of God.

1:31:33And then, uh, and then the other person who got two, he comes and gives him the two and he goes, he goes, yeah, I used the two and I made two more and gives the two back to God. And he goes, good on you, you faithful servant. you can now enjoy the fruits and the happiness of uh of of god and then the the third person that he gave one to that buried it because he was scared of losing it he's like god i i've got the token for you i've been holding it here for you and i've got it back for you and now he gives it back and he's left with nothing i think the overall message here is is that he we have all of these talents and these God-given gifts.

1:32:23And the God-given gifts are maybe the talents or the things that you've been received. And he gives them to you to multiply them, to use them, to build something with them, not to hide them and shelter them and kind of like just bury them in the ground and not make the most of what he's given you. And so, you know, these tokens that you received, whether you started with three, whether you started with two, whether you started with one or half a one. It's not about holding onto them. It's about using them and making the most of what you have and being grateful for what you've been given and use that to multiply the rest.

1:33:04I remember just hearing it and, you know, what else is, is what stuff that I've written down here from it is, uh, if you want, if you want to put in charge, if you want to be put in charge of many things, it starts with being faithful over few things. The kid doesn't get given the keys to dad's car after he shows his dad that he can keep his room tidy. He will crash the car and die and everyone on the road will too. So it's like, just because you've gone one thing, like, here, God, I've made my bed. That doesn't mean you deserve to drive a car. You're not worthy of that yet. And so you only get given what you can be trusted with, but it starts with showing and proving that you can be trusted with some in order to receive more.

1:33:52Correct. Matthews 24, Matthews 25, 14 to 30. Yeah. Everyone's been given a unique gift, multiple even. It's just, you have the ability to bring that to light and share and serve, right? It comes down to servitude. And you see, I see so many business pages and business men and they're like, oh, the number one secret is to not share all your tricks. Why not? You share the tricks. You're able to help someone help someone else because it's an exponential curve. If you're able to help one person, then you can help everybody. You can help everyone if you can help one person because you don't know what kind of snowball effect you're going to cause from helping that one person who then is empowered to help more than one person from that interaction.

1:34:44And then next thing you know, you have all these people with all this new knowledge that are out in the world spreading the good news until people suppress it. And, you know, like you said, the people suppressing the gifts are not going to get gifts in return. So whatever, like you said, if you have any inkling to share something because you think it'll help someone, help somebody say something Or else you're selfish And it's never been easier to share it with the internet. It's so quick It's so easy And the concept of oh only 50 people are gonna see it But you get in front of a room of 50 people You're gonna shit yourself Now being able to deliver that in a way that people are gonna retain the information it takes practice But you know you you keep putting yourself out there over and over and over again with work and energy.

1:35:41What did you say Chris Williamson said? The answers you're looking for is in the work you're avoiding. You're avoiding. There you go. There you go. What's been on your heart recently? What's on my heart recently? A girl. Stop it. I didn't want to talk about it. Oh, man. There was so many opportunities for you to talk about it and you didn't talk about it. I didn't talk about it. I didn't talk about it. I guess we'll talk about it now. You don't have to man We can talk about it dude There's always I think there's power in talking about this And the reason for this is because this whole nature Of when you were telling me Is exactly How I acted I try to keep my relationships Off the internet And I'm not even in a relationship right now But I did meet someone that made me so excited And giddy Like I've never felt before And And like you called me yesterday to talk about the podcast and I wasn't even able to talk.

1:36:45Like I was, I met my wife. I said it. That was my thought, dude. I'd never been so excited about something. It's crazy. Everyone I've talked to in the past two, three days has been about my experience of meeting this girl. And I will say it's kind of scary though, because biblically speaking, as loyal as a a man can be to God, there's one thing that could pull him away, and that's a woman. Adam was a loyal servant to God. He was the only man on the earth, and he served God. He didn't touch the apple from the forbidden tree. He was serving him with loyalty until Eve came. And the only way that Adam would have ever disobeyed Eve, or Adam would have ever disobeyed God, was when Eve said, let's eat the apple.

1:37:37And Adam was so swooned in love with Eve that he disobeyed God for her. So I think it's very powerful to choose the right woman in your life because they're the only person or being that can pull you away from your faith. Biblically, that's the case. So finding the right person is difficult because you don't want someone to pull you away from God, but build you up in God's kingdom. And when you find someone that you think can do that for you, it gets you fricking excited. So yeah, that's been on my heart lately, man. So. Yeah, damn dude. I just feel it. You know, one of the most profound, and it went pretty viral online when I spoke about it.

1:38:22First video I ever spoke about God. I wrote it. It was a poem. I wrote it in 10 minutes. It just flowed. I was back in Australia at my dad's house, sitting on the couch with my laptop and like calming writing music in. And I felt so convicted to write it. It was the most profound realization I'd had about Jesus at that point in my life. And it was that clear. And it was from six months of this exploration, frustration, so much of just banging my head against the wall, trying to open up the Bible, learn about God. it was so frustrating. I had this profound realization and it stemmed from this woman.

1:39:07And I remember just writing it and I said, I am not religious, but Jesus is starting to make sense. I saw this. Yeah. Yes. That went super viral. I was like, I don't like rules. I thought Jesus was just adding more rules. It was just like this book of rules. That's how our conversation went at the diner too. Yeah, exactly. Right. Exactly how it went. Book of rules. And I said, why would I add more rules? Because I was on a high horse. My life was so good. Why would I add more rules in my life if things are so good? Then I met this girl. And just like you, I thought and called my friends, this is my wife.

1:39:45It was a kind of love I've never ever experienced before in my whole life. And it caught me by surprise. As I said earlier, I literally was walking through a smoothie shop and wasn't planning. I had all these hours of work to do. And it caught me by surprise. I thought that love wasn't this like instant thing. I thought it was like a thing that I just had to, you know, build up and work on because all the other relationships have had, it wasn't an instant thing. It was like a, a work thing, you know, it caught me by surprise. And I remember in that moment, I started changing. I stopped responding to women's texts.

1:40:27I stopped sleeping around. I stopped falling and caving for lust and being distracted. And so technically, if I did that, it meant I add more rules. But the reason I did all that is because I put myself in her shoes and I could not bear to hurt her. I just could not comprehend in my mind doing her wrong. I was like, she is so precious. All she wants to do, all she is making me want to do is level up my life and look after her. So then I just started changing.

1:41:09And while I added more rules into my life, I became a better man. My life just got better. and so then that was where it just unlocked in me with God and Jesus because I went I added more rules but my life got better which means that I found freedom in the rules so then I went okay like I stopped the sexual immorality I stopped all of the lustful stuff I stopped acting on my lust I still felt the lot but I stopped acting on the lust which was the key such a key growth to me So I was like, isn't Jesus that but for every area of my life? If I could develop a love like I did with the girl that I just hold in my arms, but for the guy in the sky, it would transform my whole life, dude.

1:41:59Like I could maybe be like Jack. I think, and then that was when I just went, oh my goodness, I now understand the power of it. I don't know how to feel it, but I understand the power of it. And then that was where I just went, I need to keep diving deeper. Because if I can develop a love like I have with her, but with God, it would be the most profound thing that has ever happened in my whole life. And that's the walk I'm on. You know that they say God is in each and every one of us. So if you're able to develop that love for god Then you'll see god and everyone you see every day And it makes you so in touch with who they are helps you empathize.

1:42:46It helps you feel for them. It helps you love them That's how I try to live my life every day Is to give that same love that I have with the lord To any random person I see every day because I truly see and feel god in their hearts and whatever path they're on, God is still in them because God made each and every one of us and their circumstances might be different, but that doesn't mean they're not worthy of love.

1:43:13Jack Nassif, appreciate you coming on, dude. Chris, it's been a pleasure. Dude, we've been rolling and I just want to commend you for all you're doing. I think, honestly, I was saying to you when I got into the gym today, there was a video and all it was was a compilation of you saying good morning. That's all it was. And I'm sitting here watching this thing in all the different, good morning. And it's just time after time after time, compilation. It went for a long time, this video. And I've just got this massive ear to ear smile, grin, I'm laughing. And it's a few words that leave your mouth in all of your videos.

1:43:56And it's crazy how contagious they are. and I just want to commend you for all the work you're doing. I think it's really incredible. I'm super inspired by you, the way you act. I learned so much from you and I'm just grateful for everything that you're doing and it's an honor and a blessing to have you in my life as well. Thank you, brother. Love you, man. Love you, dude. Appreciate you, bro. Discipline is freedom. That's it. We're signing out. Go check this guy out. I appreciate you guys. I'll see you very, very soon. See y 'all. Bye-bye.