You're Stronger Than You Think w/ Joel Osteen

Like many of you, I’m a person of STRONG FAITH AND CONVICTION. My LOVE of my GOD means everything to me and has brought me PEACE, PURPOSE, and STRENGTH throughout my entire life. Before I tell you about this week’s guest, PASTOR JOEL OSTEEN, I want to make it clear that I RESPECT and ENCOURAGE you to practice your faith and spirituality in any way you see fit. That said, I wanted to share this UPLIFTING interview with Joel because it goes way beyond any single religious persuasion, exposes you to NEW IDEAS, and most of all, GIVES YOU A LOT TO THINK ABOUT. For more than 20 years, Joel has combined his love of the ministry with a savvy approach to media and business to build one of the LARGEST FOLLOWINGS in the world. The Lakewood Church has become one of the most popular visitor destinations in Houston and currently draws more than 45,000 WEEKLY ATTENDEES. Joel’s international broadcast following has expanded into more than 200 MILLION HOUSEHOLDS in the United States alone. And his dedicated SIRIUSXM channel (Channel 128) and NIGHT OF HOPE events worldwide continue to amplify his messages to millions of more people. Incredibly, Joel never set out to do the work he does today. The story of how he reluctantly filled in to deliver a sermon for his ailing father that turned out to be the FULFILLMENT of his DESTINY is a powerful example of God’s hand at work that you need to hear, along with the importance of CONQUERING YOUR FEARS to live the life you were meant to lead. We talk about facing dark seasons in our lives, and how we can OVERCOME CHALLENGES and by holding onto our faith. Joel also reveals how he prays, why GRATITUDE is a big part of his conversations with God, and the role of DESTINY in our lives. If you struggle with CONFIDENCE (and most of us do), Joel offers advice on overcoming your fears and doubts by mastering self-defeating limitations. We also touch on LETTING GO of things that add nothing to our lives and FOCUSING ON WHAT MATTERS MOST, a lesson all of us NEED TO LEARN. JOEL OSTEEN is a tremendous force for GOOD IN THE WORLD, and after you listen to this week’s episode, you’ll know exactly why. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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

• 0:00Ed Mylett?

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• 0:45Ed Mylett?

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• 1:01Speaker 01

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• 1:36Speaker 02

  This is the Ed Mileage Show.

• 1:41Ed Mylett?

  All right, everybody. Welcome back to the program. I have a gentleman here today that probably needs no introduction, but I'm going to give him a decent one. He's somebody I've admired a great deal from a distance for a long time. And I was thinking about driving over here today. I think he's probably one of the three or four, five most influential people walking the earth, if not number one. He's certainly, in my mind, the number one force for good in the world. And has been for a long time. He's got a new book out called You Are Stronger Than You Think that I read in an entire setting in one day.

• 2:09Joel Osteen?

  Wow.

• 2:09Ed Mylett?

  Which is incredible. And I'm just honored to have him here and share him with my audience for the first time. So Joel Osteen, welcome to the program, brother.

• 2:15Joel Osteen?

  Hey, Ed, thank you so much. Man, you give a very nice introduction, but I gotta tell you, I love your work.

• 2:21Ed Mylett?

  Thank you.

• 2:22Joel Osteen?

  I was just telling you, I know you said it's not your main business, but man, you're great at inspiration and motivation and getting people going. I love that.

• 2:30Ed Mylett?

  Thank you. Turns out you're pretty good at it too, Joe.

• 2:33Joel Osteen?

  You're awesome at it. I'm glad to get to hook up with you.

• 2:35Ed Mylett?

  Me too. I am as well. And like I meant what I said, you've inspired me a great deal. And sometimes I even think, we were just meeting for the first time, that one of the compliments I could give you, we've never met before, and there are actually situations in my life where I've thought, I wonder how Joel Osteen would handle this.

• 2:48Joel Osteen?

  Wow.

• 2:48Ed Mylett?

  And I think that's one of the biggest compliments I could give another man is I have, I've really thought that several different times in my life.

• 2:53Joel Osteen?

  That's, that's very nice. Well, you know, I'm just, I never dreamed I'd be doing this. Maybe we'll get into some of that. But you know what? You never know what's in you and where God's gonna take you. And never, never imagined I'd be here with you.

• 3:05Ed Mylett?

  Yeah, well, that's, that's kind of the thing in the book that fascinated me. And so I'd like to start there, actually, because I'm reading about you. And obviously, to me, when I watch you speak, there's this tremendous anointing that's on you. But I start to read and I'm like, this guy was really never intending to be a pastor.

• 3:20Joel Osteen?

  No.

• 3:21Ed Mylett?

  Never wanted to be. You're, you're, take us through that. For years, like, like 17 some odd years, you're back in the video room, doing stuff for your dad who was leading the church and never wanted to be out front, which is crazy to me.

• 3:31Joel Osteen?

  I know, it really is. Ed, I never had any desire to get up in front of people and do any kind of, you know, my dad was, I grew up as a pastor's kid. And so my dad was a great minister and he'd get up there and talk and very powerful and all that. And I thought, that was just not me. I was much more quiet and reserved and just no desire to do it. Even during those 17 years. So I worked behind the scenes and I would do the production for my dad. And he did a television program and all the lighting and stuff. But I loved doing that. And I think it was right for the time. But my dad would try to get me up there to minister. And he'd even tell me, he said, Joel, you'd be a good pastor. Why don't you help me? I thought, I thought, what is he, I don't, I can't believe he'd even ask, because I just didn't feel like I had anything in me. And so, I don't know, to make a long story short,

• 4:13Joel Osteen?

  Ed, when my dad passed in 1999, 77 years old of a heart attack, and he'd been on dialysis for about three months, but it still, it was kind of a shock, you know. I was very close with my dad. We'd travel the world together, and like I said, I worked with him. And so, when he passed, you know, you know, I was in like a day, I was kind of in a shop for a day, but then all of a sudden, I had this desire to get up and pastor the church. And so, it was like, you know, God put the desire in me where I ran from it before. I knew I was supposed to do it. The funny thing is, I didn't know if I'd be any good, but I just thought, you know what, this is my chance to take a step of faith, and if it doesn't work, I'll go back and do television production. I thought, you know what, we've

• 4:54Joel Osteen?

  all failed at something. But I did have that, somehow had this boldness and courage to step up, although I was afraid and timid, and thoughts told me, nobody's gonna listen to you, Joel. You hadn't been to seminary, and you're not big and strong and bold like your father. But, you know what, I had to downplay all that, and I, I took that step of faith. And really, we're talking about, you mentioned the book, Stronger Than You Think. I didn't know this was in me. I didn't know this gift was in me. I didn't know I could get up and speak. And so, I believe God's equipped us for everything we need in life. In other words, that God knows every struggle, every disappointment, every setback, every dream that he's placed in our heart. Everything told me I could never do this, but I discovered it was in me. And so, that's kind of what the book is about. It's about,

• 5:39Joel Osteen?

  you know what, you're more talented than you think. You're stronger than you think. You're more favored than you think. You're probably more attractive than you think. And you're talking about, talk about it a lot, but you get your mind and your thoughts going in the right direction. It's amazing what can come out of you.

• 5:52Ed Mylett?

  It is. And it's, it's something you and I know that we talk about, but you know, God does not call the qualified. He qualifies the called. And in that case with your dad, I really, you know, learning more about you, you know, a little bit more about that was that you had actually, your dad called you, he was in the hospital, and actually said, would you please preach? And you, you actually, this is your dad, he's sick, he's on dialysis, he's in the hospital. This is how the Lord's, everything. Everything's always happening for us and not to us. We just, in hindsight, it ends up revealing itself, right? But so you actually tell your dad, no daddy, I can't get up and do it, right?

• 6:23Joel Osteen?

  I know, I know. It's crazy, Ed, because he had asked me, you know, a hundred times before over those seventeen years.

• 6:28Ed Mylett?

  Really?

• 6:29Joel Osteen?

  So when he asked me that night, I was at my sister Lisa's house, eating dinner. My mom was there too. Or that, no, I was at home. My mom and my dad was at my sister Lisa's house. And my dad said to my mom, it was a Monday afternoon. I remember it like it was yesterday. He told my mom, he said, I'm gonna call Joel and see if he'll speak for me this Sunday. And my mom said, John, you're wasting your time. Joel's not a preacher. And, and he laughed. He said, well, I'm gonna call him anyway. My dad called, and you know, Ed, he had, like I said, he'd done it a hundred times. And then he said, Joel, why don't you speak for me this weekend? Give me a week off. And, and I love my dad. I admired him. He's my hero. But I said, I didn't have to think. I said, Daddy, I'm not a preacher. I said, I'm honored that you think of me like that, that I could get up and stand and, you know, there's 6,000 people coming to the church. But I said, that's just not me.

• 7:14Joel Osteen?

  And so I sat down, and my dad, he never pressured me. He just, he'd encourage me. So I sat down to finish eating my, I was in dinner at the time. And I felt something on the inside so strongly, it said, Joel, you need to do it. And I don't know how to explain it. I just knew that I knew that I knew I was supposed to do it. It was so strong that in those, the first time in those seventeen years, I picked up the phone. I said, you know what, Daddy? I changed my mind. I'll speak for you this Sunday.

• 7:37Ed Mylett?

  Unbelievable.

• 7:38Joel Osteen?

  It was, it was, it was amazing. And I told Victoria, my wife, and she couldn't even believe it. But you know what's funny, Ed? That was on a Monday. That was the most miserable week of my life. I so dreaded having to get up there. I thought, what am I gonna say? And I don't know how to do this. But I knew I was supposed to do it. So my father had been on dialysis for about three months. And that Friday, he had a couple of complications. He had to go in the hospital. So he couldn't be at the service that weekend when I spoke, so I was gonna speak my first message. So it's 1999. We didn't really have the internet like, like today. So I, we just hooked him up by phone. So I get up there to speak and my dad's listening in the hospital by phone, some kind of contraption we hooked up. And I got up and I did my best. I was, I was so nervous. And I talked so fast.

• 8:23Joel Osteen?

  And I felt like I had to hold on to the podium. The thing is that people love my dad and my mom. They've been there for 40 years. So I could have got up there and, you know, read a chapter from the Bible and they'd have cheered for me. So I got finished and I went to the, I told Victor, I said, "Let's go to the hospital and see my dad, see what he thought." And the nurses stopped me in the hall. They said, "Joel, we've never seen your dad so proud. He's just beaming from ear to ear." So that was the first time I ever spoke as a pastor, ministered in the podium. And again, my dad was just beaming with joy. Well, the next Friday, my father had a heart attack and passed.

• 8:57Ed Mylett?

  My gosh.

• 8:58Joel Osteen?

  And so I thought, part of that, you know, God has a way of making things work for each individual. Cause I thought, what are the chances, I was 36 years old, that I've never done this in the 17 years or the 36 years of my life, and I just so happened to do it on the last weekend of my dad's life. And that was one of those signs that when I knew I was supposed to step up and pastor the church, that was one of those signs. I thought, that could not have been a coincidence. That's the hand of God getting me prepared. And it's those little signs that I believe God gives us along the way to keep us moving forward.

• 9:30Ed Mylett?

  I do too. And one of the keys lessons for me taking away from that, that I've learned in my life also is you're often one decision, one moment, one choice. You talk about this in the book, one relationship, one event away from completely changing your life. And you had that calling on you, but you answered it. And there's a lot of people, listeners, that have that. There's something, "I should start a business. I should, I should, I should ask her out, you know, I should, I should do, I should tell my daughter this lesson." I should say, and there, there's a fear in doing it, but you actually made the decision to do it, right? I mean, you're always one away.

• 10:01Joel Osteen?

  I know. It's very powerful what you're saying. Exactly right. And I think too, I don't want this to be negative, but there are some decisions, some opportunities that don't come a second time.

• 10:10Ed Mylett?

  Yes.

• 10:11Joel Osteen?

  Now, I know God gives us second chances, but my dad had passed. And I thought, Joel, you're going to sit back for six months and be too afraid, too afraid to do that and go to your grave not knowing what would have happened if you would have stepped up. And so I felt that sense of urgency and just, you know, that, that sense of knowing that this is, this is a, this is a destiny moment. And I don't, and again, I believe God because you know, I know somebody's thinking, oh yeah, I missed mine. No, you didn't miss it, but if you see another one coming, you've got to step into those moments. So I did. It was a, and I think too, Ed, you know, I didn't do it because I felt courageous, or all of a sudden I felt like Superman. I still felt fear, but you just, you just, you have to step past it. And even in the scripture I was reading the other day about Gideon.

• 10:53Ed Mylett?

  Yeah, it's in the book. You talk about this in the book.

• 10:55Joel Osteen?

  Yeah. And then at one point it told, God told Gideon, go in the strength that you have. Cause I think sometimes we're waiting, well, as soon as I get, you know, lose this weight, I'll do it. As soon as I get more finances, as soon as I get better connections. But when you know it's the right time, you need to do it now. And maybe, maybe it's time for all of us to be preparing for that, that step as well.

• 11:16Ed Mylett?

  Well, you say in the book too, you talk about this, it's something that I've talked about, you just say it more eloquently than I do, that, you know, you don't have to know or need everything in order to step into the space. I think sometimes people struggle in life because there's this threshold of what they think they have to know or be equipped or prepared for, before they'll step into the space. And that holds them back. Whereas I've found that God has this amazing way of revealing parts of me, or parts of other people that already existed, but they didn't know existed when you step in boldly in faith. And you talk about in the very beginning of the book, about the snail fish. And I think it's, I want people to hear this because it's almost the perfect example of, he doesn't, he doesn't put you in situations you're not prepared for or equipped for. You just may not know it until you get in that situation.

• 11:58Joel Osteen?

  That's so good. You say it very eloquently. I love that. Yeah, I think it's that, that Mariana snail fish. Well, let me, let me, well, let's go there. So there's this little fish, I may not get it perfect, but there's this fish that lives, you know, deeper than any fish in the ocean. Like it can withstand a thousand times the pressures of most fish. Well, you think about, how can that fish live, you know, five miles down in the ocean or whatever it is? It's because God designed the tissues in special ways, and it's got this unique digestive system and on and on. If I read the, you know, it's got all these special things about it. The point we make, Ed, is, is that God doesn't put you somewhere where you're not equipped. And so, you know, you may think, well, this dream's too big. Well, God wouldn't have given it to you if it was too big. You just probably don't realize

• 12:43Joel Osteen?

  that it's in you. And so, you know, I think when you do realize you have what it takes, you have the favor. You said another great thing too, is you may not feel it at the time. As you get going, you'll begin, it'll begin to reveal and you'll begin to discover things in you. Again, The last thing, when my dad would ask me to get me up to minister, I used to think, I wouldn't know what to say. What would I even say? And yet now, I've been speaking for 21 years in front of public audiences. Well, I could still be sitting back, nothing wrong, but running the camera, editing, that's nothing wrong with that. But you have to take those steps, do it afraid, and watch what God will do.

• 13:19Ed Mylett?

  And the other thing you did too, I watched your dad before I watched you. Your father was one of the greatest orators. I think it was an anointing, just an unbelievable, the voice he had, just, he was just incredible. And then when I watched you, I was struck by the fact that at least at some point, you made the decision not to be your dad, but to be you, and have your own style. Now, by the way, everybody, just to give you a context, spends all these years behind the camera. I know you may all know this, but just to give you a context of this man's reach, you're talking about 40 to 50 million people a month, listen or watch this man. When I say that I believe the greatest force for good, I don't say that because he's sitting in front of me. This is statistically probably provable. Yet, you really aren't like your dad when you preach. You stepped into your, with your own giftedness,

• 14:03Ed Mylett?

  your own talents. I think that's a lesson also that's in the book, about being stronger than you think. It's playing to the gifts and talents that you were given through God, right? Not just someone else's.

• 14:13Joel Osteen?

  Absolutely. And it's so important. And you bring in a great point, because think about this. So my dad pastored Lakewood for 40 years when he passed, and I stepped up. So when I went out to speak to the people, I knew everybody that's here came because of my dad, because they'd been there for, you know, he'd been there all that time. They didn't come because of me. They didn't even heard me, except for one time. So everything in my mind said, you've got to be like your dad. You need to preach like your dad. You need to lead like your dad. You need to, you know, my dad would come to the offices, you know, he was, he went through the Great Depression. He'd come to the offices, be the last one to leave, turn off all the lights, and just interact with everybody. Well, I thought, you know, and well, let me say this. At first, the first four or five months, I tried to be like my

• 14:56Joel Osteen?

  dad. And a lot of it was out of honor and respect, and let me preach his messages and all that. But I realized, along the way, that's not what I was good at. You'll never be the success and reach your potential trying to be like somebody else. And my natural gift is encouragement, and being positive, and

• 15:17Joel Osteen?

  You know, somebody said, why did you become a positive minister? And I thought, well, I was like this when I was playing sports. You know, it was just in me. But as long as I was trying to be like my dad, it wasn't working. My dad was more, you know, like you said, more loud and all this. My gift is to take a little part of the scripture and just explain it and talked about how to live life. Whereas my dad was more maybe of a traditional pastor and he may teach a whole book in the Bible, like the book of James or something.

• 15:41Ed Mylett?

  Yes.

• 15:41Joel Osteen?

  That's not my gift. But it's about six months in, Ed, I read a passage in the scripture. It said, David fulfilled his purpose for his generation. And I felt like I heard something on the inside say, Joel, your dad fulfilled his purpose. Now go fulfill your purpose. In other words, quit trying to be like your father. Honor him, but step into the grace and the giftings that I've given you. And when I did that, that's really when things started to take off. Cause I was, I was being limited by trying to be like my father out of respect. And I think sometimes we do it just because, you know, we need to be like somebody else because they look good and they're successful. But you know this, Ed, you talk about it, you're equipped to be you. You're anointed to be you. And you know what?

• 16:26Joel Osteen?

  I'm not the greatest speaker in the world, but I'm good at what I do. Nobody can beat me at being me.

• 16:31Ed Mylett?

  Right.

• 16:32Joel Osteen?

  And that's why I don't, I don't compare because I could be intimidated by you or we could be intimidated by somebody else. But nobody can beat us, nobody can beat you at being you. And so that's why even talking with you today, this is not hard for me. Cause I just, I'm not trying to be somebody else. And I think there's a lot of that going on in the world today. But I've just learned when stuff started to take off and I begin to see favor, it's when I stepped into my own shoes.

• 16:59Ed Mylett?

  I love that. You know, I feel like the people that I connect the most with and that I think are the happiest and most influential have some level of self-awareness, but also comfort with themselves. When I watch you, even when we met here today, I just sensed that this is a man who's comfortable with themselves. I have some of that as well. And actually it's not an ego thing. It's actually that I'm aware that the King of Kings made me in his, in his image and likeness. And so I'm kind of comfortable with me. I don't think I'm, my talents aren't better than someone else's, but I do have some that he gave me, and so do you that are listening to this or watching this. And I want to help some people maybe consider having God come into their life. One of the things I love about what you do is that you don't just preach to the church crowd. And I, and I think one of the cool things about me is that people that think, well,

• 17:42Ed Mylett?

  I want that private jet, or that fast car, or that mansion. And I can say, hey, you ought to get one of those. Those are cool. But what's really cool is this, but I can maybe potentially reach someone that, you know, people that walk into a church know what they're walking in to get. And so what I love about what you do is that obviously, you know, you're anointing is massive, but not everyone who listens to you is in the church. And I was thinking about something I heard you say preparing for this. It just took my breath away. And that was that oftentimes, I'd like you to speak to this because I want people to really consider, you know, peace in their life. And I, and, and I want to say what you said, which was that it just blew my mind. You said, you know, oftentimes people's version, or vision, or picture, perception of what their heavenly father is, comes from what their earthly father was.

• 18:27Ed Mylett?

  And that you were blessed to have such a wonderful earthly father. My father had his struggles, but I had a father that believed in me deeply and loved me. I knew had my back. And so when I think of God, when I think of Jesus in my life, that's what gives me the most comfort is that he loves me. He believes in me. He's going to protect me. He's going to deliver to me what I need, as you talk about in the book. Speak to that just for a second, for maybe people didn't have a great earthly father. Or maybe, maybe they didn't have any father in their life. And just being open to having a heavenly father, which is even more important.

• 18:57Joel Osteen?

  I know. I think that's where it starts, Ed, when you realize that you're created for a purpose, that you didn't just show up on earth, but you know, the scripture, I believe, and the scripture says that God knew us before we were formed in our mother's womb. So, so God put us here, our heavenly father. And you're exactly right. I believe many people get their idea of God from their earthly father. And sometimes, you know, they're harsh, and they're mean, or they're not there, or, you know, and it's easy to think of God that way. I was, like you said, I was blessed to have a earthly father that, that believed in me and that loved me and encouraged, encouraged me. I think when you, when you see your heavenly father like that, and somebody that's for you, that he's, I believe even now, he's breathing in your direction. He's planned out your days for good.

• 19:40Joel Osteen?

  He can help you overcome the obstacles. Well, I think that relationship with your creator, and some people, you know, I know they weren't raised in church. And you're right, I like to reach, I like to talk to people that, that didn't grow up in church like me. I mean, half of our audience today don't go to church or weren't raised in church. And that's, that's what I've always tried to do because I think sometimes we. You know, we keep God in the church and that's good, that's important, but there's a lot of great people that are looking for purpose and meaning and there's, they feel like maybe something is missing. And I think that's the relationship with our heavenly Father. And when you, when you believe in Him and you commit your life to Him, and I get up each day and say, God, help me to make great decisions today. And thank you for this day that you've

• 20:22Joel Osteen?

  given me. It's not being super churchy and super religious. And, you know, I think that's, sometimes people see it that, you know, religion, that's guilt and that's all these rules, but it's different than a relationship with God. And when you have that in your life, and I believe through it, through His Son, Jesus, that's where there's, you know, there's purpose, there's destiny. And then, you know, Ed, you know, God makes things happen that we couldn't make happen. That one touch, you say one, you know, one right person, you know, one touch of God's favor will bring the right person, will open a door, will bring gifts out of you. And so I think that's, that's, that's important to have that relationship with your heavenly Father. And, and to see God, I have a lot of friends that say, you know, the universe, and I know what they say because they weren't raised like me. I know what they mean, but I always just add two words, the Creator of the universe. It's,

• 21:07Joel Osteen?

  it's God.

• 21:08Ed Mylett?

  I love that. I love that.

• 21:09Joel Osteen?

  Yeah.

• 21:10Ed Mylett?

  You just gave me that gift. The other thing that you talk about, there's so many things and I'm frustrated I don't get nine hours with you, but in the book, something that just stuck out to me was that, you know, that God created the universe out of darkness. And, you know, a lot of times people end up showing in a dark time, I mean, in the evening. You talk about Genesis. I never thought about it this way. And I'd like you to speak to this. So, you know, there's a lot of people that are listening today that are in a dark time in their life.

• 21:35Joel Osteen?

  Yeah.

• 21:35Ed Mylett?

  There, it's, it seems bleak, you know, people have let them down or hurt them, or their finances aren't very good, or they just feel lost and they can't see the light in their life. They don't see the vision in their life. And you said something so profound in the book about that God didn't create the universe, create the world in the daytime. He actually created it in the dark, in the evening. Can you elaborate on that?

• 21:56Joel Osteen?

  Yeah, that's a-

• 21:56Ed Mylett?

  This is awesome.

• 21:57Joel Osteen?

  It's a great principle because there, there, we all go through these dark seasons and it's easy to get discouraged and bitter and give up on our dreams and give up on life. But I just like to think about, you know, the, the dark times, God's still in control. And I think the point in the book is, I call it victory begins in the dark. So anyway, the day, you think about it, a new day starts at 12 o'clock midnight. But it's dark, you know, why wouldn't, why wouldn't a new day start at, you know, 7:00 a.m. when the light starts to come up. But the way God does things many times is he'll start in the dark. And you think, well, it's not a new day, Joel. It's 1:00 in the morning, it's dark in my life. I've got this medical issue, or I've got problems with my children, or I can't, I can't talk about accomplishing my dream. I don't have the funds.

• 22:42Joel Osteen?

  Well, it may be dark right now, but you have to believe that, that sunrise is coming, that God is still working. I think about even that analogy of a, you take a seed and, you know, if it stays on the shelf, it's not going to do any good. But that seed has to go through the, a dark time. It gets planted, it's, it's, it's under, you know, it gets buried, it's in the ground, it's dark, it's uncomfortable. People may be walking on it, but you know what? God created the only way for that seed to germinate is to go through a dark season. So I like this thought about you're, you're not buried, you're planted, you're about to come up, you're going to blossom. Great things come out of the dark. And so I think that's when you have to just, that's when you have to hold on to your faith and say, God, I may not understand this. It may not be fair, these people didn't do me right, or I had this setback.

• 23:27Joel Osteen?

  But when you believe that God is still in control, that he's still directing your steps, that out of that dark season, you're going to come into a, a light season, you're going to come into a time where you bloom and blossom. But I think the key is we can't get bitter in the dark, we can't give up in the dark. And I know we have seasons where you think, yeah, you know, we may go through a season of, you know, a little bit of discouragement. But I believe you can get out of that and you can, you know, have that faith to say, God, I believe that victory begins in the dark. And it may be midnight in my life, but it is a new day and then I'm going to come into these bright seasons.

• 24:00Ed Mylett?

  I hope people don't forget that. It's one of the things out of the book. By the way, you can tell, I really loved the book. I mean, I really did. And in the book, you even talk about seeds, I just, I'll give a little bit of it away, so I want everybody to read it. But you actually, not only about that seed being planted, but you talk about the apple seed and how one apple seed can actually grow into an entire orchard, except it's got to get what on it first?

• 24:18Joel Osteen?

  It's got to get dirt on it.

• 24:19Ed Mylett?

  Yeah, it's got to get dirty. It's going to have to have a mess first. First, right? And that's the difference.

• 24:22Joel Osteen?

  I think those dirty seasons, those messy seasons is somewhere, you know, I, what I get Ed is well, where was God when this happened? But you know what? Everybody in the scripture went through difficulties, most everybody before they came into their, their prime, before they saw God's favor in great ways. I mean, I talk a lot about Joseph just in the book and in general, but I mean, think about his life, Ed, he was betrayed by his family. So his brothers were jealous. They, they sold him as a slave, 17 years old. For 13 years or something, 12 years or so, he was working for enslavery in another, in another country against his will, didn't speak the language, all these negative things. But one day he interpreted a dream for the Pharaoh and was made in, you know, was put in charge of the,

• 25:07Joel Osteen?

  of the nation of Egypt. And so you think about, I think about Joseph, all those 13 years, would I have been that positive? Would I have been, would I have done the right thing when the wrong thing was happening? Yet all those disappointments, his brothers betraying him, being put in prison falsely, falsely accused, all these disappointments were leading him to the destiny that God had. And I think that's sometimes what takes real faith to say, okay, wait a minute, God, I don't want to go through this setback. I don't want to go through the pandemic, or this person walked out of my life, or this business didn't make it. How do you know you're not a Joseph that that's, that's not leading you to your greatest days that are coming?

• 25:40Ed Mylett?

  Wow. Have you ever doubted your faith?

• 25:44Joel Osteen?

  I have not really, I'm not a big doubter, and I don't mean to sound super holy, but it's not, it's not, I haven't really doubted. I've, I've had difficult times, you know, my mom's going through cancer and, you know, just, you know, we all have difficult times. So I haven't, I'm not that type that doubt. I turn to my faith. I think, God, you know what? This is, this doesn't seem fair, or this is tough, or I don't understand it. But I turn to it to draw strength from my faith. To me, that's where I get strength. I can be, you know, you can wake up some mornings and just feel like the weight of the world's on you. But if I can have a half a, you know, a little time to just say, God, I thank you that I'm alive and I'm healthy and you brought me through in the past. And I, I remember the victories in the past. And I think you hadn't brought me this far to leave me.

• 26:27Joel Osteen?

  And that, that builds my faith back up. And I haven't really gone to A doubting place.

• 26:32Ed Mylett?

  I assumed you would say that, but I wanted to ask you just to see how you said it. Can I ask you a question? I've heard you say this many times. Maybe I'm getting personal, maybe I'm not, but about you said you'll say, hey, God, and then you'll say something. When you pray, I'm just curious, do you pray out loud like that? Or are you having these conversations in your mind and your heart? I know how I do it, but I'm just curious how you do it.

• 26:50Joel Osteen?

  I do both. I start the morning off. I try to start the morning off, you know, it's not every morning, but then I will pray out loud. You know, just this loud. I don't, I don't pray super loud, but, but, but during the day, a lot of times I'll just talk to God in my thoughts. I don't think there's anything wrong with that. There's a script that just talks about, says pray without ceasing or like pray all the time. We can't pray all the time. You gotta work, you gotta do this. But I think in your thoughts, you can keep, you can have a conversation with God. I think back to that, you know, people not being raised like me, prayer is just talking to God like you'd talk to a friend. And I think sometimes we, you know, I have a lot of, a lot of the people in our church back home in Houston, you know, half of them are coming out of a Catholic background or are still Catholic.

• 27:33Joel Osteen?

  And there's a lot of, you know, formalities there. And I think, you know, and sometimes even the way some people raised, it's, you know, holy God. And it's, it's a language that we don't talk into that. But I think you talk to God like you talk to your friend. You know what? Before I walked in here, Lord, give me the words to speak today. You know, help me to help me. Before I work out, Lord, help me get a good workout. Give me a safe trip home tomorrow. Just, I'm just talking to God in my thoughts. I really believe God will be as close to you as you want him to be. He's a friend. He's not going to come, you know, knock you over most of the time. But you can talk to God all through the day and you can draw strength from him and know that he cares. But I do pray in the morning. I, I, I do pray out loud. Just, um, that's the way I like to do it.

• 28:16Joel Osteen?

  But a lot of my prayer is thanking God, you know, I just, there's things I ask for, but, you know, I ask for wisdom and all and, you know, certain things. But a lot of times I just thank God. Thank you for your blessings. Thank you for bringing the right people into my life. I'm kind of, I like to thank God in advance. In other words, I think there's some, sometimes. We come, you know, I talk to people, "I'm begging God to heal me from this cancer, and I'm begging God to send me somebody," and I know what they mean, they're earnest, but I don't think you have to beg God. You ask God, "Lord, I thank you for healing me from this sickness," or "God, opening up a new door," "God, bring me a great spouse," whatever it is. And then I just like to, "Lord, thank you that you're working, thank you that you're bringing me a spouse, thank you that you're healing me."

• 28:58Joel Osteen?

  So I think that grateful attitude, you know, is a healthy attitude.

• 29:08Ed Mylett?

  Yeah, I think there's a level of, I feel it in your spirit, that you're a grateful man, and I think that that spreads, I think it's infectious. I also think that thanking God in advance, that there's a level of expectations in our lives that the world is going to reveal to us, and if we have an expectation that God's going to deliver to us abundance, and increase, and have us rise, and give us peace, and deliver the right people in that right conversation, that we're going to see it when it shows up, don't you?

• 29:33Joel Osteen?

  I do, Ed, that's exactly right. You're very good at putting that, making that, this message very broad, but what you're saying in, you know, growing up in church, about bringing that language, is God's going to meet you at the level of your expectations. And I think sometimes we don't have any expectation, we're just, "Let's just get through the pandemic, and let me just, let me just try to raise these kids," and I think we get up and we draw in negativity, but, you know, I think, I think God meets you there when you get up and say, "Lord, I thank you for abundance, I thank you for, you know, health, I thank you for..." Whatever your dreams are, you know, you get that vision, you get that down in you, and you're, when you're expecting it, it's really, you know, you're releasing your faith. In other words, you're saying, "God, I believe you're big

• 30:15Joel Osteen?

  enough to make this happen in my life." And I can go back to the scripture, you know all this too, and probably people listening too, but, you know, there's a lady in the scripture that'd been sick for 12 years, and she saw Jesus was passing through, and she reached out through the crowd, and she just touched Him. But she had a faith that when she touched Him, she'd be well. And you know what, Ed, there were hundreds of people around Jesus that day. I'm sure people were bumping into Him, it was crowded, yet He stopped and said, "You know, who touched me?" I don't know that everybody else got healed, or they all got their miracle, but when you release your faith, when she had an expectancy that- Hey, if I can just get to him, I know something's gonna happen. I know I'm gonna get well. Well, I think if we live with that expectancy of, you know, Lord, thank you. It's another great day that

• 30:56Joel Osteen?

  you're opening doors that I can't open. You're taking me where I can't go on my own, giving me wisdom, helping me to be a blessing, just an expectancy to, like, like you're saying, to be a force for good and to see dreams come to pass.

• 31:07Ed Mylett?

  I love that. I'm so grateful we're doing this, by the way. Thank you for this. I, uh, for me personally, but also I just, I just know millions of people are being affected by it. It just warms my heart to know it. Uh, but you're also a dude. And so I love this story in the book. I could like, almost identical thing happened to me. And I love this because it's about the enemy underestimating us. So you're about 10 years old.

• 31:29Joel Osteen?

  Yeah.

• 31:29Ed Mylett?

  You're playing in a little league game. And I was a little dude too. I know you love baseball. I played college baseball. We both share that in common. Phil's telling me about how when you gave your big talk, I think it was at Yankee Stadium, you set the podium up over second base. So I do know you love baseball.

• 31:42Joel Osteen?

  Yeah.

• 31:43Ed Mylett?

  But, um, I think it was one of those stadiums anyway. But, so anyway, I want you to tell them this story because I think it's so powerful. In the book, you talk about how you come up to bat and what do the, what do the coaches do? But I love your response because you're still a dude, right?

• 31:54Joel Osteen?

  That's it. That's it. Yeah. It's funny, Ed, because I'm, I'm, um, we're, we're both, we're not, we're not six foot five.

• 32:00Ed Mylett?

  Right, exactly.

• 32:01Joel Osteen?

  We're both good sizes, but I grew, I was always very, very small growing up height wise, size, yeah, height wise. And so I'm in like little league, like 10 or 10 or 11 years old and I come up to bat and I was a good player. I played second base, but I was just so small. So I come up to bat at a little league game. You got all the parents on both sides and, you know, as a kid, you're still trying to figure out who you are to begin with. So the coach from the other team comes out of the dugout when I come up to bat and he starts waving and hollering to his outfield saying, come in, come in, come in. And he's just way, way too dramatic, you know? He could have done, he could have done a lot more subtly and, you know, he's basically saying, come in, this loser's up to bat. And then you know what? I just thought, you know what? This guy does not know what's in

• 32:43Joel Osteen?

  me. He does not know what I can do. He didn't breathe life into me. He didn't equip me. And there's just something rose up at 10 years old. And that guy, the pitcher threw the pitch and I swung as hard as I could and it went over everybody's head. One bounce, hit the fence. I had an inside the park homerun. I was always very fast. But the funny thing, the point of the story, not just to brag on that, but the point of the story is the next time I came up to bat, I promise you that coach came up with the same enthusiasm and started shouting, "Back up, back up, back up." And I believe that's what happens to us many times in life, that, hey, listen, don't let somebody else label you or tell you what you can't do, or, you know, make you feel like you're at a disadvantage, or

• 33:27Joel Osteen?

  you didn't get it, you know, you're not strong enough, big enough, talented enough, good looking enough, you don't have a great personality. Listen, they're underestimating you. You've got to go out and, you know, hit the ball out. You've got to go out and use your gifts. And you let that boldness, that confidence rise up in you, because people don't determine your destiny. God does. And so I believe that you step up with courage and with confidence and, you know, you'll see those same people that put you down, they'll be the ones saying, well, you know, look out, look what they're gonna do.

• 33:56Ed Mylett?

  I love it. I hope those of you that are listening to this that may not even be people of faith, are just starting to feel something stir within you that you're capable of more. And that, you know, maybe you'll begin to consider what Joel and I are speaking about today. But at a minimum, that you begin to feel something stirring in you. And for all of you that listen to this, there's a reason why you've always had that question on your heart. It's the reason why your soul's always tugged at you is, what's the truth about this? Why is that the main question you've always had all your life? You ought to consider why you keep asking yourself that question. And I hope maybe today's given you some of those answers. I have to ask you a question. I wonder where your confidence comes from and if you've struggled with it. Because you have this very beautiful combination of people that I love, which is they're confident, yet it's combined with a tremendous amount of humility.

• 34:40Joel Osteen?

  Yeah.

• 34:40Ed Mylett?

  And I'm wondering if you struggle with your confidence in the past or currently, even do you have it now?

• 34:44Joel Osteen?

  Yeah.

• 34:45Ed Mylett?

  And, and what, what are some of the things you do to help yourself or what could other people do to help themselves with it?

• 34:50Joel Osteen?

  Yeah, exactly. Ed, I, I struggled with my confidence early when I was younger in life and especially when I stepped up to pastor. Because there are thoughts telling us, or telling me, I don't want to speak for you, but I think they come to us all saying, just what I said while ago, you're not, I'm not, I'm not as, you know, I'm not as talented as Ed, or I'm not as strong as Phil, or I'm not, there's always something trying to, to push us down, to keep us from our potential. And what, what helped me to build my confidence, a couple of things, let me see, let me get this one first. I started playing a different recording in my mind. When those thoughts told me, Joel, nobody's going to listen to you. You're going to get up in front of people and not know what to say. You're going to look like a fool.

• 35:31Joel Osteen?

  I quit playing that. They, they kept coming, but I quit playing them and I would just replace it with what the scripture says, with God says. Just, I'm strong, I'm confident, I'm well able, this is my time. I just, I just stayed positive toward myself. And you, you make a good point, Ed, because we don't, I don't mean this in arrogance or like, oh, you know, we're better than somebody, but we're not worse than anybody. And I think you have to have a right. I, I, I don't think you'll rise any higher than the way you see yourself.

• 35:59Ed Mylett?

  Hundred percent.

• 36:00Joel Osteen?

  And I think so many people see themselves limited and hey, what, the way I saw myself is I can't do what my dad did. I'm not, I'm not, I don't have that authority to get up in front of people and I'm too this, I'm too quiet, I'm too shy. I'm like the coach, I'm too small. But you know what? You gotta tune all that out. So I think a big part for me was letting the right recording play in my mind, just changing those thoughts. And I would, I would talk to myself, Ed. You know, maybe not always out loud, but there were times, especially early on, on a Saturday night, when I didn't want to get up on Sunday morning and speak in front of people because those thoughts were trying to, fear was trying to hold me back. I would look in the mirror and just say, Joel, you are strong, you are well able, you've been raised up for such a time, it says. I would talk myself into it.

• 36:42Ed Mylett?

  You did. You did. That's interesting because I, uh, I do the exact same thing. And I think some people, this is why it's so powerful, the way you said it, Joel. I don't, I don't know that some people are even aware that that recording's going on.

• 36:54Joel Osteen?

  I know.

• 36:54Ed Mylett?

  And I think if you just get quiet and ask yourself, what are you saying to yourself? What are you thinking about yourself? Second thing is, you don't have to believe everything you think. Not everything you think is true. In fact, a lot of the things you think aren't true. And you can actually take control of that recording, as Joel said. And you can, you can actually begin to believe those things. You know, Philippians 4:13 tells us that we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us. Well, listen to me. He didn't say some things or just things. He said all things. That's an important word, all. Too many people, I think, God's in their life on Sunday at church. Bible study's great, but when they walk into a board meeting or a speech or an interview like this, all of a sudden, they're alone.

• 37:33Joel Osteen?

  Yeah.

• 37:33Ed Mylett?

  And that's when that conversation starts to happen. My recommendation to everybody is, don't leave him at the door then. He said all things, right?

• 37:40Joel Osteen?

  I know. It's so good. Absolutely. That's just, that's very powerful. And I like that point too, that, you know, some people leave God out. Well, no, the, the point I really wanted to make is that what you said, that people don't know the recording's going on. And I think some people don't realize it's not supposed to be negative. I think that's just life has pushed us down or, or somebody's, some, what somebody said has got into that recording. And they don't even realize it's just kind of a subconscious of, you know, you're not as, you're not that talented. Or you, you can't get that position, or you can't make that speech. But I think it's a subtlety there. And it's very powerful to say, if you get quiet and listen and think, are there things that are limiting me? Am I defeating myself with my own thoughts?

• 38:23Joel Osteen?

  Am I defeating myself thinking that, you know what? Maybe that I've made too many mistakes in life? Am I defeating myself because this last thing didn't work out, that it's never going to work out again? You gotta get those thoughts changed and, you know, know that, you know what? I believe our brightest days are still out in front of us. I believe that God, you know, he's using everything. Like I said with Joseph a while ago, you've had some disappointments maybe, or a setback, or something didn't work out. But I believe that's still leading you to where God wants, wants you to go, to some bigger and greater things. So if we can get our recording going right, then I believe we can get there.

• 39:00Ed Mylett?

  So do I. And I just, as you were talking, I was just thinking about, so often I think people think their current mess disqualifies them. The mistake, "Yo, Joe, you don't know the mistakes I've made. You don't know the sins I've committed. You don't know how broke I am. You don't know the things I'm ashamed of." The truth is, God does know those things, and it does not disqualify you from a bright future. In fact, He loves you just as much as He did before you did those things. My children screw up all the time, right? Our kids do this, I'm sure yours have too. I've never thought once when my son or daughter's made a mistake, that disqualifies them from being happy or successful. And that's, your Father in heaven's not thinking of that of you either, right? But I think we judge ourselves with the mistakes we make, thinking somehow, "Okay, because I've done that, or I thought that, or I didn't do this or that,

• 39:44Ed Mylett?

  that that disqualifies me from my dreams." That's untrue, correct?

• 39:47Joel Osteen?

  That's so untrue what you're saying, because God gives us another chance. And I think we, like you said, a lot of times, we live with that guilt and that condemnation that's pushing us down. But I think of it like this, Ed, we've all made mistakes. You have to receive mercy and move on. But here's the point I want to make. You have enough people in life against you. Don't be against yourself. Don't be defeating yourself. "I've made too many mistakes." Or even that negative inner dialogue as well. But some of the greatest people in the Bible made big mistakes. I think about Phil, my friend Phil Muncy's over here. We talk about sometimes Abraham, the father of our faith. Well, he had a baby out of wedlock. He lied and said his wife was his sister. And yet, he's called the father of our faith.

• 40:32Joel Osteen?

  And so, God was showing us that, "Hey, don't try to make mistakes. Don't live sloppy, but we're all gonna make mistakes." And so, you gotta get back up. And like you said it earlier, get back in the game. I mean, there's a game going on. There's still a great destiny for you to fulfill. I really believe this, God can, His mercy is bigger than any mistake. And He can still get you to where you're supposed to be, but you have to get back in the game. I don't think God's gonna come and force us to do something. You gotta stir your faith up. And I like to think of it like this, somebody needs what you have. Your family needs your love. Somebody needs your gifts. This world won't be as bright as it should be without your smile, without your hug, without your, you know, you releasing your talents and your potential.

• 41:15Joel Osteen?

  So, you know, don't be selfish and keep it to yourself. Get back in the game and, you know, start moving forward. And as you do that, you're gonna see God open doors and make things happen that you couldn't make happen. Just signs of His favor as you step into, you know, just new levels of your destiny.

• 41:31Ed Mylett?

  That game, by the way, is important that you play your own game. So- I heard you tell this story. I hope you remember you could tell it. But you're out for like this jog.

• 41:41Joel Osteen?

  Yeah.

• 41:42Ed Mylett?

  And I just think this analogy is so unbelievable because I've done the exact same thing. But I think it's such a great metaphor for life. You only have so much energy. When you begin to expend it on things that don't serve your dreams, don't serve your family, don't serve you, you're a weaker version of yourself and you gotta play your game. So would you tell them, give them that example and a lesson from it too, which is so profound?

• 42:01Joel Osteen?

  Yeah, that's a good point, Ed. Yeah, you know, I was out running a while back and I run through the neighborhood of, you know, a track that I run on or through the streets, you know? And I got on this one path and it's a mile down the boulevard and I saw a guy about, I don't know, a block or two ahead of me and he was, I could tell he was running a little bit slower than me. But I just, in my mind, I thought, you know what? I want to catch him. I'm racing him. I just, you know, just a competitive spirit.

• 42:25Ed Mylett?

  Joel Osteen's racing him. He doesn't even know it.

• 42:27Joel Osteen?

  I know. That's the thing. The guy didn't even know it. He was way older than me too. So it wasn't really fair. So, but I just kept running and I ran faster and faster. You know, I think it's good to have goals, but this, I'll make a better point with this. So I kept running faster and faster and man, every block I was gaining a little bit, gaining a little bit. I kept going faster. I just focused. I gotta beat this guy. I gotta beat this guy. Didn't even know I was racing him. Well, I finally passed him. And when I passed him about, you know, 30 seconds later, I looked up and I had missed my turn. I was supposed to turn like four blocks sooner. So I was so focused on what's trying to catch somebody else, trying to, in a race that I wasn't supposed to be in, that I missed where I was supposed to go. And I think we do the same thing. We think, man, I gotta, I gotta outperform somebody.

• 43:10Joel Osteen?

  I gotta outdress them. I gotta out, outdo them. But you have to run your race and stay focused on your goals. And I think one thing you're so good at, Ed, is you're, you're very successful, but you're happy for other people that are successful.

• 43:24Ed Mylett?

  Absolutely.

• 43:24Joel Osteen?

  You know, you're so happy for me and I know you are for others. And I think sometimes instead of being happy for somebody else, we gotta compete with them and we gotta try to outperform and we gotta try to, I don't know, I don't know if it's competitiveness or jealousy or whatever, but it's, you have to stay in your lane, run your race. I've learned this, if you can't celebrate people that are ahead of you, Probably never get there.

• 43:46Ed Mylett?

  Hmm.

• 43:47Joel Osteen?

  And I think sometimes we try to pull them down and they're not that great. You know, I could do that if I had that much money, if I had this, but you've got to celebrate people that are maybe seem to be more gifted or more talented or more successful because pulling them down is just gonna, you know, talking about them, finding fault, because we all have faults, everybody does. But I've just learned to, you know, God gives you different strengths. And one of mine is, hey, there's a lot of people that are, you know, better speakers, more successful. But you know what? More power to I'm celebrate them. But I think it goes back to being comfortable in your lane and not comparing and trying to spend energy on, you know, trying to impress somebody. That that takes a lot of energy.

• 44:25Ed Mylett?

  It sure does.

• 44:25Joel Osteen?

  You know, Ed, you need that energy for your dreams and for your goals. So celebrate who's ahead, you know, and then just run your race.

• 44:37Ed Mylett?

  It's interesting. I know we don't have too much time left, but you're just saying, I've always been that way. But my dad passed last year. In fact, it'll be a couple of weeks, it'll be a year. And I was with him, my sister, who's Erica, who's here today, she was with him as well when he passed, which was a beautiful thing to be able to be with him when it happened. Difficult during COVID because you couldn't go visit him in the hospital. I feel for so many people who lost someone in the hospital. We were able to get my dad home for about a day or two before he passed away. But while I was sitting there with my father as he was passing, I was just thinking to myself, all the things of the world, of this world that we worry about, that in those moments are no longer going to matter. When my dad was there taking his last breaths with his family around him, he wasn't thinking about some guy that got a promotion in 1988 in front of him.

• 45:22Joel Osteen?

  Yeah.

• 45:22Ed Mylett?

  He wasn't worried about some other guy who was richer than him or had a plane. Or, and I think sometimes in life, most people think only everybody else is gonna die. I don't think most people, one of the great things about faith is it makes us think about. The limited time we have here on earth and the extended time, hopefully for eternity, that we have somewhere else. And in those moments, just the idea of worrying about how much more successful or what other people are doing. In the end, is that going to matter?

• 45:51Joel Osteen?

  I know.

• 45:52Ed Mylett?

  In your last breaths, is that going to matter? And more and more, as I just get older.

• 45:56Joel Osteen?

  Yeah.

• 45:57Ed Mylett?

  And have these experiences, that perspective, I wish I could have given my 25-year-old self. That I hope maybe even just sharing it right now gives it to people that are a little bit earlier in the game than I am. Run your race, play your game. It's so profound, brother.

• 46:10Joel Osteen?

  It's so good. I feel the same way in that the older I get, the more I realize that, man, each day is a gift from God. We gotta make the most of this day. And some of the things that we would have worried, I would have worried about 20, 30 years ago, man, I don't have time for that now.

• 46:26Ed Mylett?

  Yes.

• 46:27Joel Osteen?

  You gotta make the most of each day. And I think that's why Ed and I are probably closer to the same age. We're trying to encourage somebody that's younger than us. There's a lot of things in life that you can't control. You're gonna look back, I mean, when we were trying to get our big building, the Compaq Center, Ed, that was 15, 20 years ago. You know, a lot of nights, Ed, I would wake up in the middle of the night sweating and think, what if this doesn't work out and all that? But, you know, if I could look back, when you look back and you see the grace of God of guiding your steps and all, I just, I'd tell my younger self, don't worry so much. It's gonna work out. And if the door closes, it wasn't supposed to open in the first place. But I think so much of this that we are, we're missing the beauty of this day.

• 47:08Ed Mylett?

  I do too. And that's, you have this great skyscraper, I'll let everybody get the book analogy about the Compaq Center in the book. I mean, I'm telling you, brother, I loved this book. I can, the recall is right there, right? I loved the book because it's true and it's backed with scripture. But, you know, the other thing I think everybody should consider, and we're limited on time, so I wanna make sure I ask you one or two more things, but, you know, oftentimes, I think when people come to a decision point, like you with the Compaq Center, it ended up being a tremendous blessing. But you know what I think? I think had you not bought it, there'd have just been another blessing.

• 47:35Joel Osteen?

  Yes.

• 47:36Ed Mylett?

  In other words, I think there's this false belief system that every decision that we make is either going to turn out good or bad. Is it possible that if you just call a shot and execute and step in faith, that God will bless either decision? Is that not possible?

• 47:48Joel Osteen?

  I think it is, Ed. You put it very beautifully well. Yeah, that's right. That God opens doors, God closes doors, and I don't really see it as a disappointment if a door closes, rather than hey, it's just another opportunity is coming. And sometimes you have to go through the closed doors to get to the open ones. And I think, like you said, sometimes we put too much emphasis on it. But I just believe that God's ordering our steps. And sometimes the steps are not always in the direction that we think they're going to be. God doesn't always take in a straight line. Sometimes you'll be looking the other way, "God, what are you doing?" But there's a curve coming that you're going to get there. But I think you're right. It's not, you know, if something... I think another way to put it in my mind, my thinking is, what's supposed to be yours

• 48:31Joel Osteen?

  is going to be yours, and nobody else can get it. And so that's why if the compact center didn't open, okay, there's going to be something else. If that last business didn't work out, or the contract, or even a relationship, you know, unfortunately, sometimes it doesn't. But you know what? What's supposed to be yours, who's supposed to be in your life, is going to come. You keep doing the right thing, and you know, you'll see the right thing show up.

• 48:53Ed Mylett?

  I really believe, everybody, if you rewind that last minute of what Joel said, I really believe that's true. And I think there's this pressure we put on ourselves as leaders and as parents, "I better not make the mistake. I better not make the mistake." I think that all goes back to your earlier point about our earthly father. I think sometimes that a father or parent's role in our life is to rebuke, is to punish. Jesus rebuked in the Bible several times. But I think oftentimes that pressure of making a mistake or getting in trouble, even as an adult, "I'm going to get in trouble if the compact center doesn't go right." There's this fallacy in our life that you have a God that's blessing you. Call the shot, be decisive, step in faith. It's maybe both will work out. Just think about that, everybody.

• 49:35Joel Osteen?

  That's good, Ed. That's good. You're very inspirational. I think, Ed, too, I think, too, you know, we put too much pressure... On ourselves, we we sometimes we we're fighting everything, but I I've learned to live from a place of peace, a place of rest. I'm gonna do my best. I'm gonna study. I'm gonna prepare. I'm gonna do my best to make good decisions. But you know what? Every one of them may not be great, but God is full of mercy and I'm not gonna beat myself up if it doesn't work out because he knows how to close doors and open doors and just, I think, you know, sometimes I think we can get so focused on our dreams and everything's uptight. We're living, I gotta get this done. I gotta get that done. But you gotta enjoy this moment, enjoy today. Still, I think Ed would tell you, let's work hard. Let's let's use our gifts and talents. Let's stretch and believe.

• 50:19Joel Osteen?

  But along the way, we have to enjoy it and and know that God's directing our steps.

• 50:24Ed Mylett?

  Bust your tail, bust your tail, but have some fun doing it and have some gratitude when you're doing it. Couple last things, by the way, I'm so grateful for this today. I just a personal thing. I wonder, does it dawn on you the magnitude? And I know that, listen, you're a man and I'm a man and that's all we both are. But does it dawn on you? It makes me emotional to ask you this because sometimes it impacts me in my little way, too. Does it dawn on you the magnitude of how important you've become? And is there, do you feel a pressure about the weight of the millions of people that you carry and who you are in the world? Do you ever have moments, Joel, honestly, where you sit back and go, my gosh, this is, this is big. This has turned into something pretty big here. There's gotta be a flash.

• 51:05Joel Osteen?

  I do, I do, and I do it in the in the in a right sense, I think. I still am in awe of what God has done and where I am. I don't feel like I've lost that, you know, I feel like it just the other day I was back running camera, which is a good thing, too. But yeah, I just feel humbled by it. I don't really feel, I feel pressured in the right sense of responsibility. I'm not gonna get up there and speak if I don't, if I'm not prepared because I feel like, two, people are giving me their time. They're giving you their time and I think you feel like I do. I don't want to waste their time, so I want to be prepared. And and I feel very honored to be to be able to speak to people. I never dreamed this would happen. And so I think it helps me to stay humble because I realize that, especially when you come from my type of background where I didn't think I could do it,

• 51:50Joel Osteen?

  that is, is God giving me? The strength and the wisdom and some other favor and some other connection with people. I don't know where it all came from, but I mean, I know it came from God, but I didn't, I didn't know again, it was in me. But I think it's important to live, you know, don't lose the wonder of what, what God has done. You know, I think sometimes, hey, we were, we were on cloud nine when our babies were born, but you know, how about 15 years later? You know what I mean? I think it's just, oh, when that, you know, sometimes God gave us that job and we were so thrilled, but you know, sometimes you look up and 10 years later, you're complaining about it. I think it's important to, to remember, you know, stay in awe of the, of the, look back over your life, the great things that God has done. You know, when you met somebody and fell in love and I don't know, I, I think it's important not to lose the wonder.

• 52:34Ed Mylett?

  Beautiful. I just think of how I feel like you were being prepared. I just, I think oftentimes God is preparing us for this next level in our lives, even though it probably doesn't feel like it at all right now. I'm thinking about this, I'm just picturing you as a young man. You come back from college, you go to work in your dad's church. By the way, your dad's church for like the first decade, basically went from like 90 people to a couple hundred. So your dad was planting all these seeds. And then eventually there became this much more abundant harvest, but it was the first decade, it didn't really grow very much. Most people don't know that, but I'm picturing this kid back there, kind of shy guy, you know, and he's cutting tape. And he's cutting these sermons down. Your dad would talk for 40, 45 minutes, you'd have to make it like 25 minutes for the show. But you're watching these over and over again.

• 53:18Ed Mylett?

  I just have to think that that was God preparing you to, to even have more of the word in you, to have more of the inspiration in you, to have more of the understanding of how to deliver it on the stage in you, even though you do it differently, you were being prepared. And many people listening to this, you're being prepared right now.

• 53:32Joel Osteen?

  Yes.

• 53:33Ed Mylett?

  True? Preparation is huge in life, even though it doesn't feel like it.

• 53:36Joel Osteen?

  Yeah. And, and I didn't know that I'd ever get up and speak, but yet those 17 years, I was, I was having to get my dad's train of thought to edit the sermon down, listen to each sermon, probably four or five times to take it from 45 minutes to 25. So I, I like what you're saying, Ed, because you're being prepared right now for the great things that God has in your future. Keep doing the right thing, keep being good to people, keep, um, you know, getting to work on time, being your best, cause. You don't know where God's going to take you. Cause I, you know, sometimes we think, well, I'm just a business person or just an architect or just a school teacher, but you're not just anything. You're made in the image of God and he has awesome things in store. And so I believe you are being prepared. It may not be to be on a stage, but you don't know what, you don't know what God's going

• 54:21Joel Osteen?

  to do. You may be working at a company, but you're going to own a company one day or you're, you're teaching at a school, but you're going to run that school. You don't know where God's taking you.

• 54:29Ed Mylett?

  You were born to do something great with your life, period. And some of them are going to seem like very small ways. Phil asked me to ask you this, so I gotta ask you, what's the story with you wearing your dad's shoes for a year?

• 54:37Joel Osteen?

  Well, that when, when my dad passed, I'd, I'd worked up in the production. So I didn't have any, you know, nice suits and shoes. I'd climb ladders on Sunday morning. So we'd bought my dad some shoes in Italy about 20 years before my father passed, some alligator shoes. My dad would never spend, you know, $600 back then on a pair of shoes because he came out of the great depression. So he wore them for all those years. Well, when he passed, I didn't have any dress shoes, so I just borrowed my dad's shoes. And so I wore them for the first year he passed in, in January, but I didn't even think about it. I just wore them because they were nice shoes and we wore the same size. But in a sense, I guess I was filling my father's shoes.

• 55:15Ed Mylett?

  Oh my gosh, that's true. You really wore your father, you would, you'd be, you'd be pastoring in your actual father's shoes.

• 55:21Joel Osteen?

  For the first year, for the first 11 months, I was wearing my dad's shoes. And then, then Ed, at the, that was 1999, when we hit 2000, I went and bought a new pair of shoes and as 2000 on, I wore my own shoes. But Victoria, my wife says, Joey, you, you weren't just filling your dad's shoes, you were drawing strength from his shoes. And it's really, it's something, I didn't even realize it was symbolic until somebody started writing about it, but I still have them in my office though.

• 55:42Ed Mylett?

  It's incredible story. I just picture your dad listening to you on the phone that day before he passes away and just how proud he must be of you, brother. And what you've become and what you've done in the world. It's just, uh, just unbelievable. Last question, I'm proud of you. By the way, before you answer that last question, I just want to tell you that I'm praying for you. That you continue to grow, um, that your spirit grows, everything about you just continues to expand and grow because you're such a tremendous force for good in the world. And if there's ever anything I can do to support you or help you, I want you to know you have a brother here and anytime you need me, just want you to know that.

• 56:14Joel Osteen?

  I believe that Ed, thank you.

• 56:16Ed Mylett?

  You do, brother. I feel that meeting you is, uh, wonderful because you're everything you were presented to be and more. Um, last question. So I'm listening to this or I'm watching it, I'm on YouTube.

• 56:27Ed Mylett?

  I just don't know where to start. I'm not happy in my life. I don't feel like I'm fulfilling my potential. And I do believe, I think you've convinced me today, Joel, I am stronger than I think. Where should I begin? Give me a practical, something first step, first thought that I should do to be taking the next step in my life towards proving that I'm stronger, towards proving I can make my dreams come true. What would you say to that person listening today?

• 56:50Joel Osteen?

  Well, I think a first step is get your vision, write your vision out, get something in front of you, and then just whatever, whatever steps you can take, just, you know, to start moving toward that. In other words, don't just pray, don't just believe, start taking some steps. Well, maybe a door will close, but maybe something will open. But I believe you have to start taking those steps, get it down in writing what you want to do, and then start taking some steps.

• 57:13Ed Mylett?

  Yeah, you gotta get moving, I think is the point. Very few pastors talk about that part of it, right? And one of the things I love is the parable of the sower. You can look at it many different ways, that parable. But one of the things I do love about it is, yeah, you're gonna plant some, and it's gonna go awry, and the weather's gonna get all of it, and some of it's just not gonna work out. But if you plant with faith, that there becomes a harvest that is multiplied many times greater. The greatest confirmation of my faith is any of the external success I've had, because I know God's used a dork like me. He must be one powerful God. And I'm meeting you today, I'm not calling you a dork, but it's unbelievable that two average and ordinary men have been able to make a little bit of a difference in the world through the power of God.

• 57:54Ed Mylett?

  Yours is just obviously so inspiring, and you inspire me to get better, too. So, thank you for being here today.

• 57:59Joel Osteen?

  I'm very honored to be with you. Great to meet you, and blessings to all your listeners.

• 58:03Ed Mylett?

  God bless you, guys. Hey, all right, everybody. You saw, you've been all asking for it for a couple of years. You saw the two of us together today, or you listened to it. You need to share this with people that you love, that need to be inspired, that need their lives to change. And I just want to thank all of you for doing that, because that's why the show is now in the position that it is, because of all of you sharing, commenting, and spreading the word about our beautiful show here. God bless you all. Max out. This is The Ed Mileage Show.