Cedric The Entertainer: From Selling Insurance To Building a Comedic Empire

From his early days as a State Farm insurance agent to gracing the stages of Def Comedy Jam, from captivating audiences in stand-up comedy to bringing beloved characters to life on the big screen, Cedric's journey is nothing short of extraordinary. And today, we're here to dive deep into the world of comedy, huge success and how you yourself can find your voice and achieve great success. Cedric Antonio Kyles, better known by his stage name Cedric “The Entertainer,” is an Executive Producer, Director, Actor, Comedian, and now – a Novelist. Over the course of a career spanning 30 years, he has solidified his status as one of the world’s premier performers on the stage, in film, and on television. In this episode you will learn,What makes someone undeniably magnetic and entertaining. How to break from destructive habits and live the life of your dreams. The mindset shifts necessary to move from a traditional career path to one in entertainment. The lifestyle sacrifices of a top-tier performer. How to speak to an ever-changing audience from a place of authenticity. For more information go to www.lewishowes.com/1496For more Greatness text PODCAST to +1 (614) 350-3960More SOG episodes with our favorite comedians:Bert Kreischer: https://link.chtbl.com/1234-pod Andrew Schulz: https://link.chtbl.com/1234-pod Get more from Lewis! Get my New York Times Bestselling book, Make Money Easy! Get The Greatness Mindset audiobook on SpotifyText Lewis AIYouTubeInstagramWebsiteTiktokFacebookX

Speaker names marked ? are inferred from speaking time and the show’s known hosts — they are not voice-verified.

• 0:01Lewis Howes?

  My friend, I am such a big believer that your mindset is everything. It can really dictate if your life has meaning, has value, and you feel fulfilled, or if you feel exhausted, drained, and like you're never going to be enough. Our brand new book, The Greatness Mindset, just hit the New York Times Bestseller back-to-back weeks. And I'm so excited to hear from so many of you who've bought the book, who've read it and finished it already, and are getting incredible results from the lessons in the book. If you haven't got a copy yet, you'll learn how to build a plan for greatness through powerful exercises and toolkits designed to propel your life forward. This is the book I wish I had when I was 20, struggling, trying to figure out life. 10 years ago, at 30, trying to figure out transitions in my life,

• 0:45Lewis Howes?

  and a book I'm glad I have today for myself. Make sure to get a copy at lewishouse.com/2023mindset to get your copy today. Again, lewishouse.com/2023mindset to get a copy today. Also, the book is on Audible now, so you can get it on audiobook as well. And don't forget to follow the show so you never miss an episode.

• 1:10Speaker 01

  Don't ever try to convince people to like you. Be you, and then they'll decide. And if they like you, cool. If they don't get you, cool. But be yourself. It's gonna be your best way. And that's been, that's been one of those like flagpole things that I live off of. Like, forget about it. Like, just don't worry about it. Just go up there and be yourself. If that don't work, then that's, that's different. But you trying to change, thinking you're gonna fit it so that they are gonna get you, and you're gonna, they're gonna love you because you changed your little way.

• 1:45Lewis Howes?

  Welcome to the School of Greatness. My name is Lewis Howes, former pro athlete turned lifestyle entrepreneur. And each week, we bring you an inspiring person or message to help you discover how to unlock your inner greatness. Thanks for spending some time with me today. Now let the class begin.

• 2:09Lewis Howes?

  Welcome back everyone to the School of Greatness. Very excited about our guest. We have the inspiring, the iconic Cedric the Entertainer in the house. My brother, what's going on? Good to see you, man. I'm so glad that you're here because I told you this when we had dinner months ago through a mutual friend of mine. Yeah. Uh, that I was living in St. Louis for six years during kind of the golden era of St. Louis where it was Nelly, it was the Rams. Rams. And it was Cedric the Entertainer. Oh man, yeah. And, uh, for me, being in that city during that time, uh, during the late nineties, early two thousands was so exciting. And you were such a, at that time, really exploding onto

• 2:53Lewis Howes?

  the scene in a massive way and making a name for yourself in a big way. I told you before that I was a massive fan of Kings of Comedy and I think I watched that probably 20, 30 times. Yeah. And, um, the way you deliver your comedy, the way you communicate, the way you entertain is so magnetic. And how you've consistently showed up with a positive attitude, a positive energy for a few decades now is so inspiring to me and so many people. So I'm so grateful that you're here and I appreciate the work you do. And, uh, thanks for putting St. Louis on the map. Let's go STL, baby. I love it, man. Uh, I'm curious, you've got a number of things that you've been working

• 3:35Lewis Howes?

  on, uh, lately. One is your book, Flipping Box Cars, which I want to get into. You've got a, you know, six seasons of The Neighborhood on TV right now. You've got Kings of Barbecue, uh, on A and E. You've got so many different brands and businesses going on. But I want to ask you about the transition from a career as a State Farm insurance agent into comedy. Because when you told me this story, I was just blown away that you used to be in insurance. Yeah. And... Did you ever think that you would go beyond kind of a traditional career, work with an insurance company and being where you're at today?

• 4:17Lewis Howes?

  And how did you make that transition and have the courage to? It wasn't like comedy back then was like a big moneymaker.

• 4:24Speaker 01

  No.

• 4:25Lewis Howes?

  Whereas there's a lot of younger guys today figuring it out with podcasting and touring and making a name for themselves with social media. You didn't have social media then and you went for it. How did you make that transition?

• 4:35Speaker 01

  You know, you know, that's it's really interesting because I grew up in a time where, you know, generationally, that was the motivation. Your parents tell your kids to go to college, you get a good corporate job and then you live your life, you know, going up the corporate ladder. So, but that was basically the steps I followed. My mother was a schoolteacher, you know, so education was a big part of our household. And so I have a younger sister who is a professor at Pepperdine.

• 5:03Lewis Howes?

  Pepperdine, right, yeah.

• 5:03Speaker 01

  And so, so that education was kind of like our vibe. And then, but I was always kind of creative, you know, again, probably being the only male in the house. I was that, you know, that dude trying to like figure it out, you know, like, you know, so, you know, so I was always funny, witty, you know, in high school. I was, I wasn't necessarily a class clown, but I was what they, you know, I would call the, uh, uh, what they used to call it, joning or, or bagging on people. If you, you know, if you was in the lunchroom and it was going down.

• 5:36Lewis Howes?

  You were getting down.

• 5:37Speaker 01

  You won't be on your side. I was like, rap, rap, rap. So, so, you know, I kind of, you know, was known for that. Of course, having a witty sense of humor and all that, but never really knew I can do it as a, you know, as a business. So, you know, my, my thing was to go to school, you know, follow kind of my mother's instructions for my life. So went to school, got my degree and, you know, and worked a couple of different jobs, worked at, you know, selling fax machines for Rico Corporation, a little, a division of their company. And then, you know, and then landed at State Farm and became a claims adjuster for State Farm. And right around the same time I discovered I can do stand up.

• 6:18Speaker 01

  I had a friend that was another stand up and he was doing it for a living. And basically, basically told me I could do it. He was like, you could do this, so.

• 6:28Lewis Howes?

  He was making, he was making a living doing it.

• 6:29Speaker 01

  He was out, he was out. I mean, you know, I got my corporate job thinking, feeling good about myself, got my little tie.

• 6:35Lewis Howes?

  Right.

• 6:35Speaker 01

  You know, got a little cubicle at work, you know. But he was like, yo, I made eleven hundred this week and I made fourteen hundred last week. And then I'm like, whoa, doing what? He was like, I do comedy. I'm like, yo. He's like, if anybody can do this, you can. So.

• 6:51Lewis Howes?

  Was he funnier than you? Was he a talented?

• 6:53Speaker 01

  I mean, he's a talented person, you know, like, say, he was a pro, he a pro. That's what I would say more than anything.

• 6:58Lewis Howes?

  He show up consistent.

• 6:59Speaker 01

  Pro, know how to deliver a joke, know how to make a crowd laugh, you know what I'm saying? And, and, and was one of these guys that knew how to do the job, right? Knew how to stand on there, deliver and be, you know, a, a, a professional comedian.

• 7:14Lewis Howes?

  Was this back in St. Louis?

• 7:15Speaker 01

  St. Louis, yeah.

• 7:16Lewis Howes?

  What year, what year?

• 7:17Speaker 01

  This is like, this, I'm gonna say, this is eighty, seventy, wow. Somewhere in there, like eighty seven.

• 7:24Lewis Howes?

  So he's making a thousand bucks a week, maybe, doing stand up.

• 7:27Speaker 01

  Killing it.

• 7:27Lewis Howes?

  And back then, that's, that's great money.

• 7:29Speaker 01

  That's, you're rich.

• 7:30Lewis Howes?

  You're rich back in St. Louis, dude, you're like. So he said, all right, you can do this.

• 7:36Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 7:37Lewis Howes?

  And did you think or believe you could do it, or were you doubting yourself?

• 7:41Speaker 01

  Well, you know, I always loved the idea of entertaining, like, you know, I, you know, I definitely did the school plays and talent shows, but mainly singing at that time, look back in those days.

• 7:52Lewis Howes?

  You were singing back then?

• 7:53Speaker 01

  I was singing in groups and be a singer and go on stage. One of my first big jokes was Luther doing the alphabets, because that was a little warm-up thing I used to do. Like, when I was like, you know, trying, you know, when we work out in the group and I would hit. A, B, C, D, A, H, L, G. H, I, J, K, N, L, M, N, O, P. So, you know.

• 8:20Lewis Howes?

  Wow, so he'd warm up on stage?

• 8:22Speaker 01

  That was, yeah, that would be like, a little warm-up fun thing I would do. And I would do that on stage, you know, and then, then I said, that's how Luther got his weight problem, because all the girls be giving him snacks, like, Luther, you're in the, you're in the third grade, you wanna sing? I'll give you my peanut butter sandwich.

• 8:38Lewis Howes?

  Oh, man.

• 8:39Speaker 01

  Yeah, so, so, you know, and then I, so I had a lot of little jokes like that where I would vocalize. And then, you know, he, he, the same guy helped me shape the, shaped up my set. And I, and I got in a comedy competition and the first time I ever did it, I won five hundred dollars. And that was it, bro. I was hooked.

• 9:00Lewis Howes?

  Five hundred dollars doing comedy at that time. I must have been like, this is incredible.

• 9:03Speaker 01

  Yeah. And then, so, you know, bit by bit, just step, kept the job, kept working at State Farm and then finding places to be, do comedy at night.

• 9:12Lewis Howes?

  So comedy was the side hustle back then?

• 9:14Speaker 01

  Yeah, exactly.

• 9:15Lewis Howes?

  And when was the transition where you said, okay, I can make more than my main job and I'm gonna go full time in comedy?

• 9:23Speaker 01

  You know, it was a strategy, you know, like again, I think, you know, I kind of, I definitely related to, you know, having, you know, going to college and, you know, kind of thinking about things in a more strategical way and not necessarily just wanting to, you know, kind of believe that, oh, you know, this is what I do now, you know, so. Uh, it was a, it was a comedy club based in St. Louis, The Funny Bones.

• 9:46Lewis Howes?

  Yeah.

• 9:47Speaker 01

  They used to have twenty-two clubs and you can go twice a year. So that's forty-four dates. If I, but you know, you had to qualify for that. Like you had to get in their system and they book you and if they book you, then you know, you got at least forty-four dates this year. And so that would became my goal.

• 10:04Lewis Howes?

  And how much did you make on one show? If you got forty-four dates, like an average?

• 10:08Speaker 01

  This kind of to your point right here. Like, back then, I would need the opening act, three fifty for the week.

• 10:14Lewis Howes?

  Three fifty a week for one night or for the, for every night?

• 10:17Speaker 01

  For the week. You go and you do, you do nine shows.

• 10:22Lewis Howes?

  Nine shows for three hundred and fifty bucks?

• 10:23Speaker 01

  Come on, man. That's what it was. And you, was you happy? You a part of the system? And you got it every week and you know you got this three fifty and you would have to drive. So the only top of that, you know, it was all around the Midwest. So Davenport, Iowa, Des Moines, Cincinnati, Chicago, you know, Cleveland, Columbus, Ohio. All that run, man.

• 10:46Lewis Howes?

  So that was every night you were driving a new plane?

• 10:48Speaker 01

  Well, you stayed, you stay in the city for a week.

• 10:50Lewis Howes?

  Gosh.

• 10:51Speaker 01

  So you go for the week, yeah.

• 10:52Lewis Howes?

  Then you go.

• 10:53Speaker 01

  And then drive to the next one.

• 10:54Lewis Howes?

  Man, that's a grind though.

• 10:55Speaker 01

  Grind. That's what we call the road. Yeah, and most of them weeks, you know, like you stay out because it goes from week to week. And you got like maybe three days in between, right? So that became another, another hustle because, you know, the shows usually started on Wednesdays or Thursdays. And then you got, so if it starts on Wednesday nights, then you got Wednesday, Thursday, two shows Friday, two shows Saturday, one Sunday maybe. And now Monday, Tuesday, you gotta figure out what you're gonna do. What are you doing that? You can't stay in the condo no more. That's over, wherever, wherever they had you staying, that's over. So now you're trying to like either drive to the next city, find a friend. Sleep on a couch or something?

• 11:39Speaker 01

  Pick up a, pick up a random show, somebody's doing a comedy night somewhere along the way. See if you can go in there and get seventy-five dollars, see if you can go in there and get a hundred. You know, so somebody's got a Tuesday night in, in Louisville. You drive all the way to Louisville to get, get a hundred, two dollars. Hundred bucks. Then drive back to Indianapolis. You know, that kind of thing, like, you know. Were you like sleeping in motels at those nights? Or was this, you have enough money for hotels? Or is it more like sleeping in the back of your car or what's happening? I slept, I slept in ho- good hotel parking lots. That was my move. So my mother used to be so worried about me, you know, so I had my little Ford EXP Escort.

• 12:24Speaker 01

  So the little coupe, the two doors. I had a sports car, I had some rims on it. And I had some speakers. They spin? No, no, they, they wasn't doing the spinning wheel. That was too, the spinning wheels came way out there. Yeah, I was, yeah. Before that. I was before that, just, you know, as a matter of fact, I had like some twelves and that was considered rims at the time. You know, because people didn't have, you had twelves or fourteens on your car, the inches, that was like, whoa. Twenty inch wheels, that was out of them. That seemed ridiculous, you know, so, but, uh, and then I had like some little speaker, had a little. Subwoofer. Clarion, yeah, with the small subwoofer, the little. Clarion speakers, come on, man. All right. Pioneer. The system, come on, bro.

• 13:09Speaker 01

  We have the Sony of the pioneers. We never get it. With the pullout. Of course, man. So wait, so you were sleeping in the back of the. Of the, yeah, so I would sleep on, yeah, parking lots, you know, and I would let my mother. Lay the seat back or what? Lay the seat back, you know, had my blankets, had everything I needed in the car. You know, would sleep in there, we had my windows tinted, so I would just like find like a cool hotel parking lot and just, you know.

• 13:35Lewis Howes?

  Security wasn't trying to kick you out, or?

• 13:37Speaker 01

  You know, I, I never really ran into that situation because, you know, it just always kind of felt like, you know, maybe one, maybe one time, you know, a security guard came and was like, yo, you gotta roll.

• 13:48Lewis Howes?

  How many nights do you think you slept in your car?

• 13:50Speaker 01

  Oh, man, you know, through that, through that run, I'm a, you know, maybe, you know, fourteen, fif- fourteen to twenty. Man, I don't know, it's, it's a blind number in there.

• 14:00Lewis Howes?

  In that first kind of run?

• 14:02Speaker 01

  That first little run.

• 14:03Lewis Howes?

  Did you ever have to do that again?

• 14:04Speaker 01

  No, no, you know, luckily, and it was interesting because timing is everything in business and in life, you know, that I didn't even get to do the second run of that because, you know, shows like Def Comedy Jam started to happen, um, you know, Evening at the, uh, not Evening, but, uh, Showtime the Apollo, uh, it was another show, or that shot in New York called Uptown Comedy, something like that, Uptown Comedy was another show. So, opportunity for urban comedians to get on television and be urban, like you didn't have to switch your setup and try to, you know, fit in.

• 14:42Lewis Howes?

  Hmm.

• 14:43Speaker 01

  Uh, that, those things became important, and then, so that was the, also, the rise of the kind of all African-American comedy clubs too. So, clubs like Comedy Act Theater, All Jokes Aside in Chicago, uh, it was, it was Comedy Act Theater in Atlanta and here, uh, and then Steve Harvey did a club called Vucu Ray in Dallas.

• 15:06Lewis Howes?

  Wow.

• 15:07Speaker 01

  And while, and that's where we met and, and in the per- first part of my run, I met Steve, we became partners, he took me under his wing, and then we was, I was just on a different trajectory from there.

• 15:20Lewis Howes?

  So you did kind of half the tour leg?

• 15:22Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 15:22Lewis Howes?

  And then you started to get opportunities?

• 15:25Speaker 01

  Yeah, bigger opportunities.

• 15:26Lewis Howes?

  Is that when you met, so you met Steve at that time and he said, hey, let's get you on this TV show, or let's do this other thing?

• 15:30Speaker 01

  Well, he was just, you know, he kind of introduced me to the bigger world of stand-up, you know, so it was like, so I went from three fifty to a thousand dollar guy, you know?

• 15:39Lewis Howes?

  Wow.

• 15:39Speaker 01

  You know, so, because I, even, even when I was doing the three fifty shows, I was getting moved up, you know, I was surprising the club owners that like, oh, you're like really good, you're better than, you know,

• 15:52Lewis Howes?

  The main guy.

• 15:52Speaker 01

  Yeah, the position you're in.

• 15:54Lewis Howes?

  Really?

• 15:55Speaker 01

  So, we're gonna flip the, we're gonna at least flip you to the middle and then so you go to 650. Uh, but that was good, you know, it was totally different, but then, you know, on the black comedy side, I was a big deal.

• 16:08Lewis Howes?

  Really?

• 16:09Speaker 01

  A bigger deal, more like thousand, fifteen hundred to come do a show.

• 16:12Lewis Howes?

  For one night?

• 16:13Speaker 01

  No, well, this was, again, multiple shows and it was comedy club work. But then, of course, you know, the one night show started to come after Def Comedy Jam came out. Then popping concerts became the, you know.

• 16:27Lewis Howes?

  How big, how many people are going to those? What's the audience?

• 16:30Speaker 01

  That's like, you know, anywhere from three thousand to five thousand, so that's.

• 16:35Lewis Howes?

  So how quickly did this happen from going to the first comedy show, from winning the $500 competition to three thousand, five thousand person arenas essentially? How, how long that time?

• 16:47Speaker 01

  That was about, that was about, it was probably about five years.

• 16:50Lewis Howes?

  Okay.

• 16:51Speaker 01

  Yeah, it was probably a good five year kind of space in there, but again, that's fast, you know, people don't recognize that, but that's, that's fast for, you know, comedy, cause you know, if you're just building it up in the comedy club system, you gotta run that ring, I would've had to been, I would've had to stay the opening act that whole run.

• 17:09Lewis Howes?

  Uh huh.

• 17:10Speaker 01

  Then I would've, you know, they, they moved me to a middle in a couple of spots, but, but the most part, I was hired as the opening act, so they would've, and then I would've had to.

• 17:19Lewis Howes?

  Fifteen minute set, is that a ten minute?

• 17:21Speaker 01

  That's a short set, that's like seven minutes.

• 17:23Lewis Howes?

  Seven minutes?

• 17:24Speaker 01

  Seven minutes, five to seven is your max.

• 17:27Lewis Howes?

  But if the.

• 17:27Speaker 01

  But you're the emcee too.

• 17:28Lewis Howes?

  But if the club sees that you're chilling it and you're just getting the most laughs out of the whole night, they're like, alright, let's move this guy, give him an extra twelve, twelve minutes or something, right?

• 17:36Speaker 01

  That's what happened, they end up moving me to the middle, but you can't really knock the headliner out, nor did I have that kind of time either. Like, I was funny, I had a really good, you know, twelve to fifteen minutes.

• 17:47Lewis Howes?

  You'd have a thirty minute set.

• 17:49Speaker 01

  No, I would've panicked if I would've, which happened to me one night because in one of my first opening act gigs, Sam Kinison was the headliner.

• 17:59Speaker 01

  And and then so it was a middle act. It was a dude that was the middle. Uh, and Sam Kinison was headlining. He was the rock and roll Sam Kinison at the time. I don't know if you know who Sam Kinison is. So he's the, yeah, he was a very famous comedian that was like yells at people and but funny like. But it was a rock and roller, like drunk, get lit, girls everywhere, wild.

• 18:24Lewis Howes?

  Drugs, everything, yeah.

• 18:25Speaker 01

  Yeah, wild man. So, so, so he was the headliner and I was the emcee. And then it was the middle guy and the middle guy would, you know, struggled. And then so I had a good set and the middle guy struggled and then Sam was in the car in the out in the parking lot drunk, couldn't come in.

• 18:43Lewis Howes?

  So they needed you to fill in.

• 18:44Speaker 01

  So they need me to fill in and man, I'm up there just.

• 18:48Lewis Howes?

  Uh, twenty minutes.

• 18:49Speaker 01

  Yeah, I mean, just.

• 18:50Lewis Howes?

  Where you guys from, man?

• 18:51Speaker 01

  Yeah, like, yeah, that whole thing, like, just, and you know, and that's not really my brand. I'm not like a look at your, you know, look at your shirt. It's being able to like pull a joke out of it, but but that night you just having to dig, dig, dig and then. I'm making it happen and then he finally comes walking through the front door, not the back. He comes walking through the front door. I'm like, oh, there he is, ladies and gentlemen. And then. They like walking him. It's looking like, I don't know what's gonna happen. They walked him up on stage and them lights hit and he was magic. It was crazy. It was crazy to watch. Like he was like, you, you saw him like, oh.

• 19:28Lewis Howes?

  Tumbling.

• 19:29Speaker 01

  Yeah, and he like boom, walking up on stage and Sam Kinison.

• 19:33Lewis Howes?

  Was a.

• 19:35Speaker 01

  Boom, boom, boom, jokes, joke crazy. It was one of those wild things. One of the moments I was like, that's wild to watch.

• 19:42Lewis Howes?

  Wow.

• 19:42Speaker 01

  That really make you love it though. Somebody that's like got that kind of spirit, kind of Chappelle-esque, like a person that can just walk in and just. Figure it out once they get there.

• 19:51Lewis Howes?

  Sure.

• 19:52Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 19:52Lewis Howes?

  What was the moment where you realized I can actually make it big in this world?

• 19:59Speaker 01

  I I went to Chicago and so, you know, from St. Louis, Chicago, of course, second city, known for comedians. You know, and it was a big comedic town with a lot of great comedians that came from there. And, uh, they had a, a competition called the Miller Genuine Draft Comedy Competition. And you, you, you would win three thousand dollars.

• 20:23Lewis Howes?

  Come on.

• 20:26Lewis Howes?

  That's big money back then, man. That's big money now. I'll say three grand.

• 20:29Speaker 01

  You win three thousand dollars plus your picture would be in a magazine. You got all these kind of extra perks. You got a bunch of Miller Genuine Draft show up at your house.

• 20:40Lewis Howes?

  Sure.

• 20:40Speaker 01

  All these kind of cool little perks, right? But I won that. But it was inside that metropolitan area of going to say, look, I mean, going to Chicago, performing with all these great comedians, people that, you know, have grown, grown up to be legendary comedians themselves already, killing the game. And you realize like, okay, I, I was able to hang and shine and win in that environment. So now I believe that I got what it takes. And so that's when you start to really like, kind of just like, all right, cool. This is it.

• 21:12Lewis Howes?

  What year or how long into the career was that? Was that three years in, two years in?

• 21:17Speaker 01

  That probably was like, that probably was more like two years in.

• 21:20Lewis Howes?

  Okay.

• 21:21Speaker 01

  Yeah, somewhere in there, two to three years in.

• 21:23Lewis Howes?

  How much did it increase your confidence to say, I can do anything I want in this arena?

• 21:29Speaker 01

  Oh, I mean, that, you know, but that's it. Cause once you start to play, you know, I would imagine like for any kind of, you know, a, a, a, like a sports, saying guy that plays basketball. Once you kind of go outside your neighborhood and test your skills with the, the best in the city. And you realize, oh, I can play with this guy that they say is the best. That's, that's when you start to be like, okay. And that was good. That's, that's what I, you know, that was the thing. But even being able for me, like even, even for somebody like Steve to like embrace me and we would have like, we would do these freestyles on stage sometimes because he just liked to come up and it was his club. So he would come up and just be talking. You'd be like, yo, man,

• 22:12Speaker 01

  you about to take the audience away from me. I'll go back on stage and we had many nights up and just me and him doing these one, you know, one, two tag offs.

• 22:21Lewis Howes?

  Really? Were you up at the same time?

• 22:22Speaker 01

  Yeah, at the same time. Like just, you know, and it was just a unique, you know, kindredship partnership that we developed. And so, you know, that was one of the things, once he, you know, he started getting TV shows. You know, he was, you know, I was just always his guy. He would look out for me like, you know, so. So when he got the Steve Harvey show, he was like, I won't say it, you know, like, so that was that.

• 22:45Lewis Howes?

  Wow. What's the, the biggest lessons you've learned from Steve Harvey?

• 22:49Speaker 01

  You know, probably my greatest lesson, I tell this lesson all the time was, is that. I was, I'd gotten the Steve Harvey Show and we went to New York to do the big showcase. And so all the agents and the big power players, the advertisers are there. And so I decided to change my set because I see the room is like, kinda like all white, it's all executives. So I changed my set, yeah, buttoned it up, and I bombed. Really? I bombed, like bombed. And it's, and it's, it's- No one's laughing. Nobody. And it's, it's, it's hurtful because- Oh no. One, he, he went to bat for me. Oh no.

• 23:32Speaker 01

  I know he went to bat for me. And one, I know that I'm funny for real. But I've tried, I'm trying to do something else. And that Steve comes up, comes up, you know, like I'm like kinda getting like, I, I see it's going horrible and I'm like, let me just kinda like wind it down and get outta here. How long was this for? Like five, 10 minutes? It was supposed to be, it was probably supposed to be a little 10 minute set. And you kinda bring it down to seven minutes. Yeah, I was like, yeah, alright y'all. Coming up next. It's crazy. This is wild, man. Let's get outta here, so. How many mothers, how many mothers in the house? Gotta give it up for the moms.

• 24:10Speaker 01

  Okay, so you're wider than, you're bombing. Bomb, so. How many people are, are watching? I'm gonna say it's a room of 300 people. And these are like, executives, decision makers. Yeah, like, and then, you know, people like New York, any New Yorker. Oh man. Everybody's feeling very cosmopolitan. Steve goes up and he just rips them, you know, like rip, talk about they suits and they little shoes. How they think they special in your little BMW. Oh, he murder them, they dying. They're laughing. They're dying, he's not, he's not, he cussing, he not being nothing but himself, right? Like, you know, he's not trying to fix it. So he comes off and he tells him, he's like, man, you already earned it.

• 24:52Speaker 01

  Like, don't ever try to convince people to like you.

• 24:58Speaker 01

  They be you and then they'll decide.

• 25:01Lewis Howes?

  Wow.

• 25:01Speaker 01

  And if they like you, cool. If they don't get you, cool. But be yourself is gonna be your best way. And that's been, that's been one of those like flagpole things that I live off of like, forget about it. Like just, don't worry about it. Just go up there and be yourself. If that don't work, then that's, that's different.

• 25:19Lewis Howes?

  Right.

• 25:19Speaker 01

  But you trying to change thinking you're gonna fit it so that they are gonna get you and you're gonna, they're gonna love you because you changed your little way.

• 25:30Lewis Howes?

  It's kinda like, you know, it's better to bomb being yourself than bomb being someone else.

• 25:34Speaker 01

  It's the only way to do it.

• 25:35Lewis Howes?

  Right.

• 25:36Speaker 01

  It's the only, only way to do it. It's kinda, you know, like, you know, like when you dating or, or you, you see when people put on the false fronts, you know, they kinda, yeah, they're gentlemen and they do all the things. I got a daughter, I got daughters, so I always tell them like, be very careful in the other, the, the, the false front, you know? Where it's, you know, I'm this kind person, but look for them little keys that if a dude a yeller, if he a whiner, if he go, you know, he'll never wanna pay or any of these little things. These are telltale signs of who that person is.

• 26:07Lewis Howes?

  Wow. What do you think was the biggest mindset shift you had to make? Through your career of transitioning from again.

• 26:14Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 26:15Lewis Howes?

  State Farm Insurance of go to school, get this career. How, what was the mindset shift for you? And is it still the same mindset today as it was back then?

• 26:27Speaker 01

  I think probably me, probably one of the greatest mindset shifts was to think of, not to think of yourself as, um, this kinda monolith that's outside the system. That, you know, you're so far outside that nobody else can see you, right? I think we all feel like, I used to always kinda feel like you never can make it from St. Louis. You can never, you know, you know, oh, you know, I'm not the, you know, I'm not the shiny suit dude that's gonna be, you know, like, so you start to see yourself like, ah, you know, I only, I'm only gonna be able to, you know, knock down these doors. And as you kinda go, you rec, you recognize that the world is big.

• 27:11Speaker 01

  Is is it is truly an audience out there for everyone. And you earn them. You don't, you don't, you don't get it automatically because you feel you deserve it. You earn it. And so that's, that's truly one thing that I keep to this day. I literally am willing to work for, go grab, go hustle for, and build every little thing that comes my way. I've not, I'm not resting on any laurels. I'm not resting on any hubris. You can give me all the accolades, everything you love, that's great, thank you. And right now, I'm here to do a job today for you, like to get that. If whoever's paying the money, I'm here for you, let's go.

• 27:53Lewis Howes?

  You still feel like you gotta earn it.

• 27:54Speaker 01

  I earn it. I wanna earn it.

• 27:56Lewis Howes?

  Wow.

• 27:56Speaker 01

  So that's the thing that I take, I, I take as, you know, and I try to teach that to my kids too, is that, you know, you can, you can be great, you know, you can get a lot of things that's gonna come your way, that's gonna feel like, hey, you know, and after a while, your celebrity, your stardom makes you feel like that it's, this should be mine automatically. And you gotta recognize that that's not a truth.

• 28:21Lewis Howes?

  Did that, did that ever hang you up over the last, you know, decades where you became more of a celebrity and had bigger opportunities and got the bigger paychecks? Did you ever catch yourself thinking you were better than, or now you deserve something and you had to wake up and say, oh, I actually gotta keep working for this?

• 28:39Speaker 01

  Oh, of course. I mean, this is the, you know, I, I would imagine, you know, everybody's gonna have that as trajectory happens, right? Especially when it, when it's, when in the hotspot, when you're in that white hot space where things are just blowing up and you like going, then you like, all right, cool. It's things that you need, you know, I mean, like, you know, like, these are things that I feel are requirements for me to get the job done. And then you kind of, then you kind of realize, really? Do I really need?

• 29:10Lewis Howes?

  Do I really got this green M and A?

• 29:11Speaker 01

  Yeah, is that a necessary? Like, I can't do the show unless I don't have, come on, man. You start to go like, that's ridiculous, you know? Now, I never was that far, but it, but anything along that line, little, little things that become like, you know, you know, hotels, if I don't have a suite, if I don't have a, you know, this kind of car, you know, like you, you like, okay, this ridiculous, you know, like this, you know, so. Those are moments and I think that you, you know, life will humble you one way or the other.

• 29:43Lewis Howes?

  Yeah.

• 29:43Speaker 01

  And so, because it is truly an ebb and flow to it all. You know, there's always somebody next, there's always, you know, I feel very blessed to be consistent. What I feel consistent for as long as I am thirty plus years in this business. Super highs, you know, of course, down periods, but overall.

• 30:04Speaker 01

  Consistent, like, you know, great career, good life, nothing, no, no scandals, you know, like, just.

• 30:14Lewis Howes?

  Consistent.

• 30:14Speaker 01

  Do my thing, man, like, just me.

• 30:16Lewis Howes?

  Uh huh. How do, how do, how do you feel? You mentioned kind of there's always someone next, there's always like, seems like there's so many talented comedians or people in comedy. Who are making a name for themselves, growing massive social media followings, selling out arenas, all these different things. How do you deal with comparison of the younger generation coming up? Maybe they're doing things differently or in a new way? How do you deal with that emotionally or mentally? Even with all your success, even with, you know, being on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, even with all the accolades? Does comparison ever creep in?

• 30:57Speaker 01

  I mean, you know, I think it creeps in to the point that it, you know, for me, it's either a motivator or uh, something I applaud. Most of the time, I just, I love to see people win, like, you know? And if you win in and you, you literally, your food, your food and your plate is yours, you know? And people who have learned to be able to be great at that, uh, especially like, you know, the, the rise of the social media fame and, and you're like, look, these guys are, they're unique. They, they do these skits, they wake up and they actually do the work, right? So you can't be mad at somebody that actually gets up and do it, like, they do it, they shoot them, I don't shoot them. So what I, what I'm gonna sit up and critiquing, that ain't real comedy.

• 31:40Lewis Howes?

  Right.

• 31:40Speaker 01

  But I never tried one, I never did it myself. I don't do it every day, I don't go and work to build an audience, so what am I critiquing? Something that I'm just observing, you know what I mean, and got opinion, like. Go, you win and kill it, you know, and then you meet. I've met a lot of these guys and you know, they're funny, unique, young people. And they motivate you. Now you start to think a different way. And so. You know, that's really been my space. I I try to really stay true to I am. So I actually developed with a lot of young.

• 32:10Lewis Howes?

  Hmm.

• 32:11Speaker 01

  Creators to get them bigger projects, you know. Your social media is your thing, but you know, I'm I'm in the world of television and film. Yeah, let's take that idea and develop it into a bigger idea. And those are the relationships I have with them as opposed to being anti or hating on or whatever that, yeah.

• 32:29Lewis Howes?

  Have you always had this collaborative mindset versus being a competitor to people in the industry?

• 32:35Speaker 01

  Yeah, I think so. And I kind of feel like that's a Midwest.

• 32:38Lewis Howes?

  Uh huh.

• 32:38Speaker 01

  Thing in a way is a very much like, you know. Uh, because we we all kind of feel like we we're. We, you know, we're we're here together in our own little niche, you know, and so. There's a lot of like, you know, help help the other dude up, come on up, and then we all go, right? So. So that's always been my thing. I love that environment better. I I'd much rather. Be with a group of my friends and and and family doing something than than to be the only one doing it. You know what I mean? Like, you know. So we gonna go on vacation like, you know, like, yeah, let's figure out how we all can do it. Like, sure, I can stay in the Four Seasons, but if everybody can stay in the Western. Then let's go there then. Let's go. It's gonna be more fun. Like, you know, right? You know, so but that's different. So like.

• 33:23Lewis Howes?

  Yeah. What would you say is your biggest limitation? Uh, after thirty years in this business, do you have any limitations?

• 33:32Speaker 01

  Uh, you know, I think, you know, for the most part, you know, this industry is is one that, you know. You you you have to, you got, you have to.

• 33:43Speaker 01

  Be in the deal flow in a lot of ways. So, you know. What does that mean? That that means like, you know, when, when, when movies are happening, TV shows are happening. People have to kind of know who you are, right? And if you're hot, that's one thing. If you've cooled off, then you have to prove that you're worthy. That's a different thing, like as you get older. So, because, you know, you, you kind of see that in this business always. Hot is always considered next, right? The next, the next dude is the it thing. And then you hit your apex of that, right? It doesn't, can't ride that forever. Right. Now you have to make sure that people understand that you are something that's consistent

• 34:24Speaker 01

  and is still worth value. It's a very interesting space in this town. So you, you have to kind of, you know, that's why, you know, like for me, like doing the neighborhood, doing a television show, end up being a smart move as opposed to struggling to continue to try to be a movie star. Really? Right? You know, because I had a bunch of movies and the movies did okay. Some of them did great and then some of them were hits. But if you do like just alright, then it's harder to kind of. They start to say, well. Yeah, let's go to the new dude, right? Because movies is a, is a kind of a hit thing. Television is consistent, you know? Wow.

• 35:06Speaker 01

  And so, you know, there's a strategy for me. It's like, I did that wisely and I did it for my kids. It was a couple, because movies took you everywhere. You, we, we. It's gone for three months. Yeah, in Prague, you're in Australia, you're everywhere. You like, and it was fun when you're young, but you know, and then when my kids were young, because they were young enough to, but when, when they started getting school age and got schedules, then you know, now you go three months, four months, now you're missing out a lot of life. You know, you're missing out on a lot of the world. You come home, you know, and, and they're like, I'm sorry, sir. Can I help you? They don't recognize you anymore, yeah. You're dad.

• 35:46Speaker 01

  Of course. Please, go to your room.

• 35:48Lewis Howes?

  Right.

• 35:49Speaker 01

  Yeah, they blocked my son, blocking me now.

• 35:51Lewis Howes?

  Sure. So you, you know, the goal was what I'm, what I think I'm hearing you say is the goal was, okay, let me transition from one thing to the next. And movies was kind of the apex opportunity for, for a comedian, I guess, right?

• 36:04Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 36:04Lewis Howes?

  Movies and TV.

• 36:05Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 36:05Lewis Howes?

  But movies was, movies was kind of like, all right, if you're in the movies, that's the biggest thing.

• 36:12Lewis Howes?

  And what I'm hearing you say is if, if you're not riding it high consistently, or the next hottest thing constantly growing up, then for you is like, well, let's try to make sure that TV, I can get the consistent gig for my lifestyle, my family, but also to really stay, I don't use the term relevant, but worthy of being in the industry at this high level consistently.

• 36:35Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 36:36Lewis Howes?

  Right? Is that accurate?

• 36:37Speaker 01

  Yeah, yeah. It's, yeah, it, it became, you know, a, a smarter strategy because, you know, becoming a, a TV star, you're in homes every week and you're in the home. People go to the theater, which is kind of, you know, Denzel can explain that really great. And I thought that was, it was really wise. When somebody sees you on a hundred foot screen, you're a big deal. You know, when I come into your, when I come into your home, I'm a family member. So it's the thing of like, you know, people seeing you and actually feeling like they know you already. And I get that, that reaction a lot, you know, somebody can just be doing their thing and they look over and they be like, say it.

• 37:14Lewis Howes?

  Yeah.

• 37:14Speaker 01

  And they'll say it like, I'm named man, like, and I'll be like, what's up? You'd be like, no, I know you. I just know you. But the way they said it, you're like, oh, okay. But is that, is that real familiar nature of like you sitting in your own living room and this person is a part of it, right?

• 37:31Lewis Howes?

  Is there a different energy to when someone sees you as a movie star versus when someone sees you as a TV star?

• 37:39Speaker 01

  Oh, for sure.

• 37:40Lewis Howes?

  Really?

• 37:40Speaker 01

  Yeah, yeah.

• 37:41Lewis Howes?

  Where it's more of like, they feel like they know you, you're a part of the family when you're on TV versus movie. It's more of like shock and awe when you see them or?

• 37:48Speaker 01

  Yeah, the, the movie energy is way bigger. For some reason, it's more of the, the kind of screams and pandemonium energy, you know?

• 37:57Lewis Howes?

  Gasps.

• 37:58Speaker 01

  Yeah, like it's a little more shocking. I feel like, you know, and you, and you react that way a lot, you know, you know, even as a human being, you can react that way to people that you, you, you see in a movie. Like they just kind of like. You know, I saw E- uh, Ewan McGregor one time and, and like, you know, and I was like,

• 38:19Lewis Howes?

  Really?

• 38:19Speaker 01

  Yeah, oh, hey, man. What's up, doc?

• 38:21Lewis Howes?

  Really?

• 38:22Speaker 01

  You had to play it off, though, when it was like, because you're watching the film and you, you know, the film just seems like they're really far away. And I mean, I'm in the industry, but it's one of these things, like when you, when that person like right up on you, it just caught me like, like totally different. Like, I was like, yo, and then, you know, but you'll see a TV star and you know them, they feel familiar, and you kind of talk to them in a more familiar way.

• 38:44Lewis Howes?

  Yeah, yeah.

• 38:45Speaker 01

  Different experience you're having with them, cause you're, you're at home, you're watching them in the bed, you're watching them. On the seats, you know?

• 38:53Lewis Howes?

  Toilet. You're watching your phone in the toilet, you know, you're just like, going to the bathroom.

• 39:00Speaker 01

  Hey, Paul Giamatti, what's up, man? I'm a big fan. I'm a big fan of Billions, bro, what's up?

• 39:07Lewis Howes?

  Billions is great. I love that show.

• 39:09Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 39:09Lewis Howes?

  He does amazing in that show.

• 39:10Speaker 01

  Yeah, well, yeah, he's, he, he, he's one of those great dudes that, you know, again, you saw him in movies early on, but again, made some really cool transitional, you know, moves to see as an actor. That's what I, like, I love about, you know, the space nowadays with both streaming and the way it is done. You don't have to be locked into either. It used to be a time, if you're gonna be a movie star, you can be a TV star.

• 39:35Lewis Howes?

  Really?

• 39:35Speaker 01

  Yeah, you can be both. Like, you gotta, you know, movie stars needed to stay movie stars, but now, you know, great actors can find a really good movie they love, and then they can also find a really great character on television, you know, such as like what we're talking about.

• 39:51Lewis Howes?

  Yeah, yeah.

• 39:52Speaker 01

  And, and run that and be like, yo, and you, and be just as beloved and just a big deal. And so, you know, I, I, you know, I think, I can't even think of the, uh, what's his name, Brian? I love the, the, the character on, uh, Succession, the dad.

• 40:06Lewis Howes?

  Incredible.

• 40:07Speaker 01

  But, you know, like, I mean, he was a big movie dude and he had that brand, but on Succession is where you see him go like now.

• 40:14Lewis Howes?

  It's deeper, yeah, yeah, I mean.

• 40:16Speaker 01

  That dude can get down. That's acting right there, baby.

• 40:19Lewis Howes?

  Incredible.

• 40:20Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 40:20Lewis Howes?

  Speaking of fame, what have you learned about fame over the last thirty years? You know, you've ridden the wave of fame.

• 40:28Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 40:28Lewis Howes?

  For thirty years, at different stages and seasons and heights.

• 40:32Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 40:33Lewis Howes?

  What has fame taught you? And? What do you think people don't understand about fame who want to be famous?

• 40:41Speaker 01

  Hmm, that's, that's a good one right there. I mean, for me, probably is um the false sense of finance fame gives you. Fame makes you think you're rich. You're not, you know, like you can be famous and don't have the money to back it up.

• 41:01Lewis Howes?

  And be broke.

• 41:01Speaker 01

  Yeah, so I think that's one of the real things that I feel like, and I saw that kind of early on with people I thought was famous. When I first started to kind of get into the business and you thought, you knew that, you knew that they were famous. But then you saw the financial side and you realize like, oh, I believed that you were all of these things, not realizing that. Your fame can get you caught up because you think that that is enough to be famous is enough to take care of everything else. And so you do have to understand that inside the fame, you gotta go to work, you gotta be humble. You gotta have connections, you gotta stay busy, you gotta stay aggressive.

• 41:42Speaker 01

  You gotta still strategize about who you are and you can't give your fame over to the machine. That's the other thing.

• 41:50Lewis Howes?

  What does that mean?

• 41:51Speaker 01

  This is, most people, they kind of work very hard to build their careers, you know, you, you, you, you know, as a stand up. You build your stand up, you travel, you do what I did, you, you go to all these clubs.

• 42:04Lewis Howes?

  Rode it out.

• 42:04Speaker 01

  Possibly grind and then I get one TV show and I believe that the agents, the managers, the lawyers in the town. Know me better than I know me.

• 42:16Lewis Howes?

  Oh my gosh.

• 42:17Speaker 01

  And I give it up. I give it, I give it over to the machine.

• 42:21Lewis Howes?

  Don't get me started on this.

• 42:22Speaker 01

  Right, yes.

• 42:23Lewis Howes?

  This is like.

• 42:24Speaker 01

  You trust them because you believe.

• 42:25Lewis Howes?

  You guys are the experts.

• 42:26Speaker 01

  They know, they know and if you add any little pop and they, and they were a part of it in any way, then they make you think it was because of them. And now you kind of like, you don't do your part anymore. You, you show up as the commodity, not as the, you know, not as this, this thing that's there to do the work. Like, you know, to, to build it off, to shape it, to. So only, you know, great creators and and people who really grind, you know, you'll see people that, you know, that that's able to do a number of things and that comes from their hustle. That's what I would say for me. I, you know, I'm,

• 43:04Speaker 01

  I'm stand up, I'm movies, I'm television. I did Broadway. I do, I write books. I'm, you know, I'm not gonna be in your box, bro. Like, I'm not in none of those boxes. I can do it all. I do side businesses, you know, I, I'm, I'm a, I'm an entrepreneur. I'm, I'm not sitting around like counting on that I'm famous. So.

• 43:26Lewis Howes?

  And even just saying, okay, I only do TV and and that TV is gonna be around forever for me. We're always gonna get a show or. I think a lot of people can get stuck in that if they're not willing to, not diversify, but have other projects going on as well than that main thing also.

• 43:43Speaker 01

  Yeah, no, for sure. And I think that that's important, you know, and you put family on top of all of that, too. Like, I got a great family. I've been married, um, well, coming about 24 years, got kids, wonderful, good house, good life, good wife, all of those things, good friends. All those things are important to the ecosystem. And so fame can oftentimes make you feel like all those people owe to be a part of that.

• 44:11Lewis Howes?

  Really?

• 44:11Speaker 01

  Yeah, you know, I mean, you've seen it, you know. It's kind of a very telltale Hollywood story. When people get extra famous, they started to kind of believe it's all them. But that's what kind of fame will lead.

• 44:22Lewis Howes?

  The friends and family or the person?

• 44:24Speaker 01

  Both. Yeah, the, the, the person usually believes it's all them. And then the friends and family have to fit into that. And, you know, and if they don't, then that's why divorce is big. And that's why, you know, you know, kids are, you know, all separated and don't know your dads. And it's, it's a very Hollywood tale.

• 44:44Lewis Howes?

  How have you navigated that? Obviously, being from the Midwest, I think might have, might have helped support you with those roots and the values that you grew up with. But how have you stayed happily married? Have kids that are grown and still want to be in your life and like you.

• 45:00Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 45:01Lewis Howes?

  Um, and without and also navigated, I'm assuming that for thirty years, there have been people and friends and family who said, I want money, I need this, I need, you know, give me this, I deserve this now. How do you navigate those elements of friends and family, maybe wanting something from you at different times? And you just being okay with all of it or navigating that?

• 45:25Speaker 01

  Yeah, I think, you know, again, it's a combination of being honestly, you know, being, you know, true to who you are. Then kind of go back to that Steve Harvey, you know, untrust that part like so. You know, people got to earn and they got to, you know, they got to earn their space around me. So, you know, you know, yes, is there some, you know, benevolent behavior for, you know, certain family members that you just take care of and love and give it to them, you know, yeah, but most people, you want them to, you know, learn to be self-sufficient and independent and and if they're gonna be a part of this, they gotta come truly come in and contribute. And so find, find the space for that. Earn it. Show me something.

• 46:06Lewis Howes?

  Add value in some way.

• 46:07Speaker 01

  Value. And if you can add value, then, you know, good, we'll figure out how to make that work. And I think that that kind of goes on all around. Again, you kind of say that to your kids. Y'all wake up every day, y'all got this beautiful home, you got all these things. What do y'all bring to the table?

• 46:23Lewis Howes?

  Really?

• 46:23Speaker 01

  What y'all do? Y'all just keep.

• 46:25Lewis Howes?

  Right.

• 46:26Speaker 01

  So good grades is a part of your thing.

• 46:28Lewis Howes?

  Through the charge.

• 46:29Speaker 01

  Being a, being a kind person and a good, that's a part of what you offer to the family. You don't, you, you don't, you don't do none of that. Oh, you gonna be a jerk, you gonna be, you know, mean to people, then, you know, then you gonna have to have a talk with me like that's not. So what is your contribution until you become an adult, until you, you know, get a skill set or something you love where you can start earning money, you know? You know, but you know, I always say I got a scholarship program and I tell the kids, that's what I my scholarships are loans. Like, you know what I'm saying? Yes, you can go to school, but like, if you quit, I want my money back.

• 47:06Lewis Howes?

  Wow.

• 47:07Speaker 01

  It's a joke, but that's what I do, but I but I say that to let people know, there's no real free money. Like, people can take that attitude. Like, if I, if I do something for you and you you decide like, ah, I'm not gonna do it, then, uh, you know.

• 47:21Lewis Howes?

  Hey, am I right? She was funny, Pat.

• 47:23Speaker 01

  Yeah, run that back.

• 47:24Lewis Howes?

  Right.

• 47:24Speaker 01

  Yeah, you don't get to just.

• 47:26Lewis Howes?

  Yeah.

• 47:26Speaker 01

  Cake it.

• 47:27Lewis Howes?

  Right, yeah. You gotta deliver on something.

• 47:29Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 47:30Lewis Howes?

  Um, you have a a number of things happening right now, which I love about you, because you're you're multi-talented. You're not just on TV or just doing one project. You're creating a lot. Uh, Flipping Boxes, uh, Flipping Box Cars.

• 47:44Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 47:44Lewis Howes?

  Is the book that is about to drop. Can you explain a little bit about this book and why you're deciding to do a book right now?

• 47:51Speaker 01

  Yeah, man. So Flipping Box Cars is a novel. And it's a novel, uh, loosely based on my machinations of my grandfather that I never met.

• 48:03Lewis Howes?

  Okay.

• 48:03Speaker 01

  So this is my father's mother, who I would just, as I started to climb in my career, he would pop in my head sometimes with.

• 48:13Lewis Howes?

  Never met him.

• 48:14Speaker 01

  Never met him. He would say things to me and I could see how he's dressed. I can I knew what he smelled like. And he would have these cool sayings about, you know, the suit don't make the man, but it makes the difference. You know, you'd be like, okay, you know, like, you know, like, and I would wake up and be like, oh, you know, even if it was a daydream, I would just have that and I'd write it down. I was like, yo. And so I would have, I had these for a long time. And so, uh, when I had an opportunity, they asked me, did I want to write a book? And I said, I got this novel idea about my grandfather. I never met him, but I have these little tidbits. I got little stories from my mother, little stories from my uncle, but I see him as a whole character.

• 49:00Lewis Howes?

  Wow.

• 49:00Speaker 01

  So we created this. Fictionalized tale and made him the center of it. So it's little true and fictional tale. Interesting. So and and that's what flipping boxcars is. It's so much fun, man, because of course, I had to go in and dig up some family history and go back and do some research. And all that was great. And then at the same time, get to tell this imaginative story of someone in the nineteen forties. If he could have been me, he would have been. That's what that's basically what I feel is the connection. Is that he was a person that, you know, you know, the world was totally different. He was in a small

• 49:42Speaker 01

  southern town in Missouri where, you know, as a black man, there's only so much you can do. But if he could have literally been who he wanted to be, he would have been his whole self, like me, like a person that's like I can't be stopped by nothing like and and I only had nobody stopping me. You know, so I can literally get up in the morning and try and try to do things and not do things and it's on me. Like, nobody's saying, say, you can't do that. So in nineteen forty eight, nineteen forty eight, nineteen forty eight, we based the story around that. Wow. Uh, the Fourth of July, he used to host this, but he was, he was a, he was a gambler, like a famous gambler shooting dice.

• 50:22Speaker 01

  And back in those days, dice players were a liken to the poker players we know today, like how we know famous poker players. Right. Like, like then, but dice players were known. People knew these guys, you know, Blacky Johnson and and Babe Boys, they were known, like they would be on, they would be on billboard, like on the, the, the, the, the the flyers that you stick on a light pole like that and say they're coming to town to gamble. You like, so so my grandfather was one of those guys. He also had a business with my grandmother. They had a cafe in this place called the Sportsman Hall that also had a, a, a big banquet room in the back that they would turn into a casino certain nights of the week. And and then he was friends with the sheriff.

• 51:07Speaker 01

  And these were real things. And so I took that whole story and tell this this made a caper. And so flipping boxcars is about dice. And so, uh, you know, two, a pair of sixes is about is considered the boxcar.

• 51:23Lewis Howes?

  Oh, cool.

• 51:24Speaker 01

  And then on the diet, then it's a it's a whiskey caper going on because they're moving liquor. He and his partner, the sheriff, are doing this big caper. And they have to do it with the trains. So the the boxcars on the train. And so you flip the boxcars is a whole little thing that's going on.

• 51:42Lewis Howes?

  Wow, that's cool.

• 51:42Speaker 01

  And and so it's a great story. We had so much fun writing it. And Harper Collins, Amistad and Harper Collins is putting it out. September 12th, people go check it out. Uh, man, and it it it was special and a real great journey for me to like allow that kind of creative come out, you know?

• 52:01Lewis Howes?

  That is beautiful. You know, it's interesting. It reminds me, my uh, my great great grandfather wrote a book about wrote just the history of his life. And we have it in a book format.

• 52:11Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 52:11Lewis Howes?

  I think like 20 people have read it in our family, but I have this historical data of what life was like back in the nineteen, early nineteen hundreds.

• 52:19Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 52:20Lewis Howes?

  From a grandfather's perspective, and I'm it makes me want to go back and read through this and really dig in and see what his perspective was. So I appreciate you.

• 52:27Speaker 01

  Yeah, man.

• 52:28Lewis Howes?

  Doing that. I want people to get the book. Flipping Box Cars. We'll have it linked up. We'll put a graphic up. Make sure you guys grab a few copies of that for some friends. Uh, that's really cool, man. I'm glad you're doing that.

• 52:38Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 52:39Lewis Howes?

  Um, you also got a show on A and E called Kings of Barbecue. I love the nod, the Kings of Comedy, but uh, amazing stuff. So people can watch that Saturday nights on A and E. It's all barbecue related stuff. You've got an amazing bland also out there called A C Barbecue, which is in Walmart, and I think it'll be in other places soon as well. Sauces, rubs, more things. So look for A C Barbecue. I think it's a brilliant thing, you know, that you're matching media and your own business and brand, which I think is brilliant. That you're not just thinking, I'm a talent and I'm just gonna do talent work.

• 53:19Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 53:19Lewis Howes?

  But you're building businesses, you're building products, you're adding value to your community and extending and using media to promote these things. I think it's really smart how you've strategized your career and your business mindset through the process. It's really impressive. Then you also have, you're the sixth season of The Neighborhood, which you're, I believe you're the executive producer.

• 53:43Speaker 01

  Yeah, yeah.

• 53:44Lewis Howes?

  Executive producer on the show as well, which is hilarious. I think I told you, I used to, I used to do CrossFit with Max like 10 years ago, almost for like every day. So,

• 53:54Speaker 01

  I got it.

• 53:55Lewis Howes?

  Funny guy. This is probably like just a tenth of what you're doing.

• 53:59Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 53:59Lewis Howes?

  But it's amazing, everything that you're up to. So I want people to check out Flipping Box Cars. You can order that now. I want you to check out Kings of Barbecue if you wanna laugh and see barbecue on Saturday nights, A and E, and then The Neighborhood.

• 54:15Speaker 01

  Yeah, man.

• 54:16Lewis Howes?

  We can't get enough of you, man.

• 54:17Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 54:17Lewis Howes?

  We need more.

• 54:18Speaker 01

  I'm out here, man.

• 54:18Lewis Howes?

  We need more from you, man.

• 54:19Speaker 01

  I'm outside.

• 54:21Lewis Howes?

  You've got so much other great stuff, but where can we follow you just to see everything else in your work?

• 54:26Speaker 01

  Yeah, yeah. You can follow me, you know, my IG is Sed The Entertainer. You look for the blue check down on IG. Then I am Cedric is my website that kinda has everything. And then I, you know, and I know that, you know, I'm on Facebook and Twitter and all the.

• 54:46Lewis Howes?

  But your website and Instagram are kinda like the main.

• 54:48Speaker 01

  That's what I mainly rock with.

• 54:50Lewis Howes?

  Okay. Sed The Entertainer.

• 54:51Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 54:52Lewis Howes?

  I am Cedric.

• 54:53Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 54:53Lewis Howes?

  Uh, dot com.

• 54:55Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 54:55Lewis Howes?

  As well. We'll have all this stuff linked up.

• 54:57Speaker 01

  Yeah, it has all the other links to everything.

• 54:59Lewis Howes?

  Amazing, man. We'll make sure to link all this stuff in the show notes too, but this is powerful. I've got two final questions for you. This is a question I ask everyone towards the end of my interviews called the three truths.

• 55:10Speaker 01

  Okay.

• 55:10Lewis Howes?

  So it's a hypothetical scenario, hypothetical question. Imagine you get to live as long as you want, okay? As long as you want. And you get to continue to live your life the way you envision it. Family, friends, career, it all goes the way you want it. But for whatever reason, in this hypothetical scenario, it's the last day on earth for you. You gotta turn the lights off. And you can't leave anything behind that you've created. So flipping boxcars, any other book, this interview, Kings of Comedy, all the TV shows you've done and gonna do the movies. For whatever reason, they're gone.

• 55:49Lewis Howes?

  But you get to leave behind three lessons to the world. So without having access to your content anymore, you get to leave behind three final truths. And this is all we would have to remember you by. What would be those three lessons you would leave behind or those three truths for the world?

• 56:06Speaker 01

  Oh, man. I think that, well, nobody can be you but you. So trust that your DNA is necessary, is an individual thing, and that it is

• 56:23Speaker 01

  is a reason to be. You're you. Trust that part.

• 56:30Speaker 01

  Be a good citizen. I think that we just live in a space where civility, understanding, sensitivity to others, what their circumstances is, is super important. If I can give you that as a citizen, you just, you live and I'm civil, we good. Like, don't come, don't come over here with your nonsense, I won't come over there with mine. And then, um, and then, you know,

• 57:02Speaker 01

  laugh, man. Laugh, man. Just try to get a good laugh here, man. That's it. Find, find, find a way to laugh, man, in life and, and, and, and find joy. That's, that's, those are the things I think are really important, man. Like, you know, if you can, you can have those moments, those, those, they, they lift you and they help you rise, they heal you. And, you know, they always say laughter is a good medicine, but really, you know, that, that good laugh is one of those things that can really change the trajectory. On a rainy day, on a sad day, on anything, so figure out how to get you a good laugh, Hamil.

• 57:43Lewis Howes?

  Those are good truths. I love that. Uh, before I ask the final question, Cedric, I wanna, I wanna acknowledge you for a moment, like I did in the beginning for Man, you showed up for, again, the St. Louis community. You showed up for the country in so many different ways. You bring healing energy through your entertainment, your laughter, your ability to be creative and, and bringing people together through your way of being. So I just want to acknowledge you for your consistency. It's, I don't think people realize how challenging it is to show up at the level you do for thirty plus years.

• 58:16Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 58:17Lewis Howes?

  And do it with a good heart, a kindness to you, a good energy, um, a consistent creativity to you. So I really want to acknowledge you for being a leader in this entertainment world, in comedy and beyond, the way you've done it. It's been really inspiring to, to grow up watching you, to know you now, and to see you continue to thrive.

• 58:41Speaker 01

  That's right.

• 58:41Lewis Howes?

  I acknowledge you, man. I acknowledge you.

• 58:43Speaker 01

  It was big.

• 58:44Lewis Howes?

  My final question, what's your definition of greatness?

• 58:47Speaker 01

  Definition of greatness, man, that's a, that's a, that's a really interesting one, man, because I think you have to, I think my definition of greatness would be to be excellent,

• 59:03Speaker 01

  and then one step past that.

• 59:05Lewis Howes?

  Hmm.

• 59:06Speaker 01

  Like, so be as, be as excellent, as proficient, be as, you know, unique as you can in the, as a person, as an individual, and then to be great, you gotta somehow cross, step right past that.

• 59:23Lewis Howes?

  Hmm.

• 59:24Speaker 01

  And, you know, it's a, it's a thing that's, uh, so that, that means that, that means that you, even when you are excellent, when you are at the, the top, that you, you, you, you've decided that I can actually put something else in the world that will, that everybody else can now aspire to, the line has changed. And that's what, that's what greatness is. It moves, it moves the line. It moves the line up to where now we gotta keep going, because if we all right here, that's dope, we killing it. But that one person that did that, you like, oh, I didn't even know we can go there.

• 1:00:00Lewis Howes?

  Right.

• 1:00:00Speaker 01

  And then you keep doing it, and now, that's what greatness brings about.

• 1:00:04Lewis Howes?

  I hope today's episode inspired you on your journey towards greatness. Make sure to check out the show notes in the description for a rundown of today's show with all the important links. And if you want weekly exclusive bonus episodes with me as well as ad-free listening experience, make sure to subscribe to our Greatness Plus channel on Apple Podcast. If you enjoyed this, please share it with a friend over on social media or text a friend. Leave us a review over on Apple Podcast and let me know what you learned over on our social media channels @lewishowes. I really love hearing the feedback from you and it helps us continue to make the show better. And if you want more inspiration from our world-class guests and content to learn how to improve the quality of your life, then make sure to sign up for the Greatness Newsletter

• 1:00:48Lewis Howes?

  and get it delivered right to your inbox over at greatness.com/newsletter. And if no one has told you today, I want to remind you that you are loved, you are worthy, and you matter. And now it's time to go out there and do something great.