University of Adversity

Count money, man.

I'm not rich.

I'm trying to talk, trying to talk to my beast, but...

What's up gang?

Welcome back to another episode of The Grindcast.

Get ready.

It's a new day.

And for those of you guys listening in versus watching,

I got on a blue suit, pink shirt, pink and dark blue tie.

And I realized this pink shirt, the collar,

don't fit me perfectly.

So, if you could envision this, if you're looking at it,

I don't have a mirror right in front of me,

but the collar I know is probably just so you know I'm aware.

And I've been fighting with this thing all day,

trying to make the tie get up closer you could see.

So, either my neck got bigger, or the shirt got smaller,

or one or the two, but the thing ain't fit me the right way right now.

But the rest is I, but the only issue I got is you can't do nothing with my face.

You know what I mean? It's ugly mug of mine.

You can dress it up, but it ain't gonna help too much.

So, but the thanks Josh.

So today man, I want to dig in with you on the University of adversity.

And the University of adversity, it matters more what you can go through

than what you can graduate through.

You know, it's not how many A's you get on your test.

It's how many scars can you handle when you get out of school?

That's the facts that I've learned at 40 years old, 18 years in business.

I've learned that one thing is for sure is you're gonna have obstacles,

and you're gonna have adversity.

And you're not gonna come out at the end of adversity,

you're gonna be changed forever,

and some of you are preaching to the choir,

so you could just think back with me,

but you're gonna be changed forever.

When you go through an adversity, you're never the same again.

Your choices, are you gonna be better?

Or are you gonna be worse, but you don't get to stay the same?

And I think what happens normally is if you just trust in God

and you stay zoned in and focused and you stay committed,

when you get out of that adversity more often than not,

you're gonna become better.

That's a lot of times it's a choice,

and you're gonna become better here what I'm saying.

These things sometimes are put in your life to take you to the next level.

And the very things that you thought was there to bury you,

the very things that you thought was there to stop you and hurt you

are the exact things that were planted in your life to take you to the next level.

So it's like, man, I got friends in Texas,

and recently I remember some friends of mine telling me that they were,

man, they were praying together, they were praying for rain.

I'm in Pittsburgh, I'm praying for sunshine.

I'm like, man, please, give me a sunny day,

I don't care if it's 30 degrees, just give me some sunshine.

Be out there freezing with some sunglasses on, I'm happy.

But they're praying for rain because the things that they wanted to grow

couldn't grow because there was no rain.

And so in life, I think sometimes you're praying for something.

You and I were praying for something,

but I think simultaneously sometimes you gotta pray for the strength of persevere

what it is that you're praying for, right? So, oh man,

you got people that, oh, you want to marry her?

Well, now you got her. Good luck. It's no problem.

Well, you wanted to marry him. Now you got him, right?

And so when you pray, you gotta pray to not just for what you want,

but you gotta pray for the ability to handle what you pray for that you want

because what is it that you found in life?

What is it that you have found in your life that came with value that didn't have a price?

What sport did you play that you got great in that didn't come with a extreme pain and sacrifice?

What family did you raise that was great that didn't come with extreme pain?

Happiness, joy, sacrifice, ups, downs, lot of hard work.

What would have you accomplished great in your life that didn't come with some pain

in a little bit of sacrifice? Most of the time,

anything sustained that you've obtained great has come along side of pain.

And so what happens in life, man, I'm praying for this opportunity.

I'm praying for this opportunity. I'm praying for you to take me to the next level.

I'm praying for you to please take me to, and then what happens is you get dealt diversity.

And as you're going through it through this adversity,

you're like, man, why is this happening to me?

Why am I going through this? Why am I going through this?

And what if I told you that probably maybe the reason why you're going through this is because that's the rain to take you to the next level?

That this injury, this setback is the rain that you needed to take you to the next level.

This loss is what you needed to take you to the next level.

These haters are the things that you needed to take you to the next level.

This mistake that you made was there to take you to the next level.

This issue are obstacle that you're having was there to take you to the next level if you

allow it to.

If you don't run from the rain, if when it starts raining, you don't quit.

You don't pick up your seeds and pick up your things and go move to an area that it don't

rain only to find out that now you got to drought.

You're trying to grow something and it won't rain so therefore you can't grow.

And a lot of times we're praying for this growth.

We're praying for this next level and instead of getting that growth, like when you're

thinking of something growing, you're thinking of this picture that has sunshine in an orange

ball in the sky in a beautiful day in blue skies and this green plant growing in all this

vegetation but really what your picture needed to also have in addition but come before

that is a picture of cloudy skies.

And rain and soil and seeds and mud and brown grass and it don't look pretty and it don't

look cute.

That comes before that.

We as humans, me, myself, I don't want the rain man.

I just want the sun but what if God is telling me my son?

You want the sun and I'm trying to give you the sun but my son before I could give you

the sun, I got to give you this rain.

I got to give you this pain.

All you got to do is hang on all you got to do is persevere all you got to do is trust

in me.

And when you do that and you come out of that, you're forever going to be changed.

And so I want to encourage you guys out there that, you know, I was even, I was talking about

recently my son six years old.

I had to discipline my son and in a way that I don't really have to ever discipline

my daughter.

I had to discipline my son.

And even in the Bible it says man, if you love your children discipline them so when

they grow up, they'll be better people.

It's painful.

You know, I don't know, you know, maybe there's some parents out there that they enjoy

like discipline in their sons or kids.

But I mean, I feel bad.

I got to take an iPad for the whole day or I got to, you know, crack somebody in the

butt or I got to, I don't feel good.

I feel bad.

But I know temporarily me feeling bad is going to give me a better opportunity to raise

my son to have good times that'll make me feel good for him because I had to go through

some things in disciplinary actions that would make them better.

That were painful to him and painful to me.

He didn't know how painful it was to me, but it was painful to both of us in order for

him to grow.

Sometimes the lessons that I get to teach my kids are all joyous and fun and sunshine

and greatness and sometimes the lessons that I get to take, teach my kids is when they

lose when they fall, when they struggle, when they're wrong, when they got to get disciplined.

What makes you think, what makes you think because now you're 30 year, any different,

what makes you think because you're 22 or 40 year, any different?

Maybe, maybe, maybe there's things that have to happen in your life that are going to

discipline you, that are going to prepare you, that are going to make you stronger if you

don't give up, if you don't quit.

My son was like, we was going to wrestling.

He likes wrestling, but he don't love wrestling.

It's his first year.

He usually be winning and everything.

He's a good athlete, so plays football, dudes balling, flag football, baseball, he's good,

plays up a notch, jujitsu, he's catching on quick.

Wrestling doing good, but there's people that are putting it on him.

It's wrestling with people older than him, year two, more than him, same group putting it

on him a little bit.

He'll never forget.

He lost his first tooth this week.

He lost his first tooth and he lost his first tooth, not by eating an apple, but by eating

the mat.

Wrestling, some kid hemmed him up and he fell out right on the mat.

Had to stop the practice, hold his tooth, put his tooth away.

So we're going to next day, he's like, man, dad, why I got to go to wrestling?

I said, you know why you got to go to wrestling?

I'm not in the force of my kids to do stuff.

I'm not going to force them to play.

I played football high school college.

I loved the game of football.

I'd watch football seven days a week if I could.

That's really my favorite.

He don't got to play football, he don't got to play baseball.

He got to do something, but I'm not forcing him in.

I'm not this parent that's like living this dream through their kid.

I don't care if he wins a medal, if he lose, if he goes O and 155 for his career.

But I told him right now, son, you don't got an option.

You're going to wrestle, you're going to do juditsu, you're going to grapple.

He said, why dad, why got to say, look, when you get older, you go to school, there's going

to be bullies.

There's going to be people that are bullying you.

There's going to be people that want to make you push you, try to make you cry, things

like that.

I want you to be able to defend yourself.

And remember me and you, we don't bully people.

Matter of fact, I want you to be able to protect people.

I want you to not bully nobody and protect people that get bullied, but I don't want you

to ever feel like you can get, like you're getting bullied all the time.

And dad is forward.

Do you think, like there's going to be a day where I'm sick, I notice I'm motivating

because he loves his mother.

He definitely, me and his mom are hanging off the cliff.

I'm going.

My daughter would try to save us both.

My son, I'm ace, doose.

Loves his mother.

So I said, you're going to have to protect mommy because daddy's going to get old.

There's going to be a time where you're going to have to be the one to protect people and

protect us and look out for the family and stuff like that.

How are you going to do that if you don't know what to do?

You don't know how to defend yourself.

I said, I'm going to talk to you, you're sick Simon, but I'm going to talk to you like

you're a little bit older.

I want to have this conversation with you.

So you understand why.

And so I'm telling you this, not that you need to do any of those things, but basically,

I'm not above making them go through things that suck in the moment to make them a better

man down the road.

It's not about how many wins and losses, how many wins, those are great.

That's all extra, but the person that you become, the character that you become, what

you are, who you become is what matters the most.

See when you develop yourself in a strength, in a mindset, internally, mentally, physically,

spiritually, you build yourself up through these obstacles in adversity that won't kill

you, will make you better and stronger and you choose to grow through these things instead

of go through these things.

What happens to you is no matter where you go, you're still there.

Today could take whatever they want from you, but guess what?

You're still there.

I'm still here.

You want to take this from me?

Great.

Guess what?

I'll do this.

You can't take my skill set.

I'll spit fire to somebody else.

I'll get up and I'll mind body spirit with somebody else.

I'll get up and I'll lead somebody else.

I don't want it.

But when you develop yourself to go through stuff and you get put through so much stuff,

what don't kill you makes you stronger, what happens is it don't matter where you get put.

Cream always rises to the top.

So you got to have that balance of, yeah, you got to have humility 100%, 51%, 49%, you

better have some confidence, better have some belief.

There is he that is in me than he that is in the world.

Bring that shit.

Bring it.

Bring it because what's intended to break me is only going to make me what's intended

to bury me is only going to plant me to do something special.

with what's intended to hurt us is only going to multiply us.

Because of God's with us who could be against us.

This is the mindset.

This is the mindset that you got to have.

It ain't the grades.

Although we want our grades to be important,

it's still city impact, the youth program.

We're in our bag, B-A-G, behavior, attendance in grades.

One of our goals is grades.

To me, it's just representative of these kids,

effort to put in the frickin' work right now.

Other than that, when they get out of school

and the grades are over, it's about,

how much can you take and keep moving forward?

If you're listening to this, to survive is the suffer.

To live in this world is the suffer.

To live in this world is to go through pain.

And it don't matter how rich your parents are,

how poor your parents are, how good-looking you are,

how great you are, how nice you are,

how skinny you are, how chubby you are,

how tall, how short, how what, don't matter.

If you're living in this life, the longer you live,

the more pain that you go through, the more sadness

and sorrows and setbacks and hurt and pain

and things that you experience.

Amen?

So what's gonna separate you?

Is your mindset how you respond?

Your mindset or how you react?

Adversity causes some people to break

and other people to break records,

which one are you gonna be?

The best form of revenge is massive success.

I just wanna encourage you right now,

to make a decision that you're gonna grow through,

whatever you go through,

if it don't kill you, it makes you stronger.

Only way to stop you is they gonna have to kill you.

Give glory to God the whole time.

Strength don't come from you, it comes from a higher place.

In the process of feeling pain,

go find other people that are going through pain

and don't worry about your own pain,

go see how you can serve those people.

How many people can you help?

Why you're going through stuff yourself?

Cause only other side, after winter comes spring,

comes harvest.

The harvest is plenty.

The laborers are few, says the Lord,

not gonna door shall be open,

seeking you shall find, asking you shall receive.

The problem is, I think sometimes when we not,

we don't understand the door's gonna be open,

but it's gonna be open and you gonna get punched in your face.

It's open though.

It's your choice to keep coming or run back and close the door.

Seeking you shall find might be like seeking

and going through a frickin' haunted house.

Asking you shall receive, you might ask for,

man, dad, I want you to make me great, dad.

Make me strong like you.

Show me how to build a company.

Show me how to make money.

Show me how to help people.

Show me how to be strong.

Show me ask, can you ask me asking you shall receive?

Yes son, I'll show you how to get it.

Now get ready to get your ass whooped.

Not by me, but by life.

Let me show you how to get these things.

I'ma build you up to get it.

I'ma build you up to get it.

I'ma build you up to go through pain and not quit.

I'ma build you up to go through struggle and not quit.

I'ma build you up to go through suffering

and adversity and obstacles and not quit

and to look up and look to God

and understand you ain't got to carry it on your own.

That's how you build that stuff.

Say you just wanted me to teach you how to be rich and money.

You just wanted to muscle without the struggle.

You just wanted to success without the sacrifice.

You just wanted to glory without the guts.

You just wanted to purse without the pain.

You just wanted a big, bad to sleep in

without going through sleepless nights to earn it.

You just wanted to be a warrior without being weak first.

Everybody that's a trained beast,

anybody that's a beast in MMA or anything will tell you.

They started out and they started out getting their butt beat.

They lost.

They got choked out and they kept showing up

till all of a sudden the nail became the hammer.

You don't get to become a hammer without being the nail.

Maybe it's your time right now to be a nail

on your way to being a hammer.

Take it like a man.

Take it like a woman.

Take it like a G.

Take it like a champ.

Take God with you.

Could do all things through Christ to strengthen me.

Control what you can control.

I've lost so much sleep.

I've went through so much stress

thinking about things that could happen.

That probably ain't gonna happen.

And if they do happen, there's nothing I can do about it.

But there's something God could do about it.

Lost sleep over stuff that I can't control.

Somebody says about me, writes about me,

thinks about me, whatever believes rumor about whatever.

Why?

Can you control it?

So I want to encourage you to control the things

that you can control.

We're only in control of ourself.

At times life gets so hard all you got is God.

Going to God,

ain't for the weak.

Going to God is for the strong.

And so if you listen out there, you ain't done that yet.

I just want to encourage you.

If you don't got a relationship with the Lord yet,

consider it.

Hey, and when you hear this from me,

don't mean I'm not your pastor.

I'm not a perfect person.

We all fall short.

I'm not perfect.

Some of my least favorite people

in America are Christian people,

some of my Christian friends.

No judgment.

Don't make you better, nobody else,

worse than nobody else, whatever I don't judge.

I'm just telling you, that's what I will suggest.

So I just, man, for the rest of our life,

we're gonna be going through stuff,

going through adversity.

I just pray that I have the strength

to continue to persevere those things

that God throws at me to take me to the next level.

And then I will continue to do so

so I could take other people to the next level with me

and not waste that experience.

And I hope and pray the same thing for you.

These things that you think are gonna kill you

are only gonna make you stronger

and that you continuously grow through life

to where you earn this degree, not from Harvard,

not from Yale, not from Pitt, not from WVU,

but from the University of adversity, my friend.

And keep taking your continuing education classes

because it don't stop until today God takes us home.

So I appreciate your time today.

Do me a favor if you think this message could help anybody.

Can you share it with somebody just take,

and I don't know how long it takes, 10, 15 seconds,

30 seconds, hit the share button,

share it with people that we can impact with this message

and know that I appreciate your time.

You could have spent this time with anybody anywhere

doing anything and you chose to spend it with us

in the grind cast studios and we're grateful.

Thanks for joining us on another episode of Grind Cast.

Get ready as a new day.