Latest / Life, Finance, & Real Estate with KirbyTheRealtor / Episode 23 | More Than a Preacher’s Kid with Michael Hargrove

Transcript

Episode 23 | More Than a Preacher’s Kid with Michael Hargrove · Life, Finance, & Real Estate with KirbyTheRealtor

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_00: Welcome to Life, Finance and Real Estate, where we discuss how to make smart money moves, the ever-changing real estate market, and of course, things going on in life.
• 0:12
  SPEAKER_00: And here to talk about it more with you is your host, Carmen the Rick.
• 0:18
  SPEAKER_01: Stay down came up.
• 0:23
  SPEAKER_01: I made away.
• 0:27
  SPEAKER_01: Let me tell you about it.
• 1:31
  SPEAKER_05: Hey family, hey family.
• 1:32
  SPEAKER_05: Welcome back to another episode of Life, Finance, and Real Estate with the girl Kirby the Realtor.
• 1:39
  SPEAKER_05: Yep, that's me.
• 1:40
  SPEAKER_05: And to all my faithful listeners, thank you.
• 1:43
  SPEAKER_05: Thank you so much for continuously tuning in, supporting, sharing, and growing with us week after week.
• 1:50
  SPEAKER_05: And to all of our new listeners joining for the very first time, welcome to the family.
• 1:55
  SPEAKER_05: Listen, this show is more than just about real estate.
• 1:58
  SPEAKER_05: This show is about life.
• 2:00
  SPEAKER_05: It's about you growing.
• 2:01
  SPEAKER_05: It's about your mindset.
• 2:02
  SPEAKER_05: It's about your purpose.
• 2:04
  SPEAKER_05: It's about healing.
• 2:05
  SPEAKER_05: And it is about faith.
• 2:07
  SPEAKER_05: And yes, we do talk about finance, real estate too, because I believe on it.
• 2:12
  SPEAKER_05: Your life helped you own a piece of America.
• 2:14
  SPEAKER_05: But on this platform, we have real conversations with real people about real life and real journey.
• 2:22
  SPEAKER_05: And today is one I believe many people will connect with.
• 2:25
  SPEAKER_05: Today we're talking about something people often see from the outside, but they don't really understand it from the inside.
• 2:34
  SPEAKER_05: We're talking about growing up as a preacher's kid.
• 2:38
  SPEAKER_05: Not only a preacher's kid, y'all, but a pastor kid.
• 2:41
  SPEAKER_05: And guess what?
• 2:42
  SPEAKER_05: I'm a PK.
• 2:44
  SPEAKER_05: My dad's a pastor.
• 2:46
  SPEAKER_05: And guess what I did?
• 2:47
  SPEAKER_05: I messed around and married a pastor's kid.
• 2:51
  SPEAKER_05: But we ain't gonna get into that.
• 2:52
  SPEAKER_05: See, many people see our church clothes, they see the smile, they see, you know, the ministry, they see you working in ministry, but the expectations, they see the leadership, but behind all of that is still a human being trying to discover who they are outside of everyone else's expectations.
• 3:10
  SPEAKER_05: So today we're going to have a very honest conversation about growing up in ministry, the pressures of and the expectations of others on us, identity, moving away, finding yourself, career purpose, coming back home, passion for music and how faith shapes the journey along the way.
• 3:30
  SPEAKER_05: This isn't about us being perfect people, but it's about putting things into perspective.
• 3:35
  SPEAKER_05: So, family, I need you to get comfortable, get your pens, get your notebooks, get your mind open, and let's get into the room and let's let's talk about it.
• 3:44
  SPEAKER_05: Because today I have a very special guest with me, and I am excited for y'all to hear their story because I believe somebody listening may see parts of themselves in this very conversation.
• 3:59
  SPEAKER_05: So, Michael Hartgrove, welcome to the show.
• 4:03
  SPEAKER_05: And uh we're gonna we're gonna do something different.
• 4:05
  SPEAKER_05: Normally I say, hey, introduce yourself.
• 4:08
  SPEAKER_05: And if you want to, you can, but I think we need to start with some questions and they can get to know you as you're answering the questions.
• 4:15
  SPEAKER_05: What do you think about that?
• 4:17
  SPEAKER_04: That's fine.
• 4:17
  SPEAKER_04: Okay, that's crazy.
• 4:18
  SPEAKER_04: Yeah, let's do it.
• 4:19
  SPEAKER_05: Okay, so um let's start here.
• 4:23
  SPEAKER_05: What was it honestly like growing up as a preacher's slash pastor's kid?
• 4:29
  SPEAKER_05: What was it like for you growing up as a preacher's kid?
• 4:34
  SPEAKER_04: I mean, for me, it was for lack of better words, it was fun.
• 4:39
  SPEAKER_04: I would say I had a lot of fun.
• 4:42
  SPEAKER_04: Cause I don't, I think my parents' expectations of me were different than uh society or the public's expectations of me, right?
• 4:53
  SPEAKER_04: My parents know me, right?
• 4:55
  SPEAKER_04: So they know what I'm capable of, they know what I do.
• 4:58
  SPEAKER_04: So sometimes, I mean, I think I think some things were surprising to them, but most things weren't, right?
• 5:06
  SPEAKER_04: Because they know themselves, right?
• 5:08
  SPEAKER_04: So they know that I'm their seed, right?
• 5:11
  SPEAKER_04: They know that they weren't always saved.
• 5:14
  SPEAKER_04: Because my my life, I mean, I guess it's the typical preacher's kids' life.
• 5:19
  SPEAKER_04: I mean, I don't know.
• 5:20
  SPEAKER_04: I would I consider my story more so like the prodigal son's story uh than anything, right?
• 5:27
  SPEAKER_04: Because I didn't always, I didn't always like lean towards the church.
• 5:32
  SPEAKER_04: You know, I was, or I was in and out.
• 5:34
  SPEAKER_04: So growing up, you know, I did, I did, I don't want to say I did what I wanted to do, but it was, I didn't grow up in a traditional preacher's house.
• 5:44
  SPEAKER_04: My dad was never a traditional preacher, right?
• 5:47
  SPEAKER_04: He he was AME, which is African Methodist Episcopal.
• 5:51
  SPEAKER_04: He was dead up until I was around the fourth grade, and then we went non-denominational.
• 5:57
  SPEAKER_04: You know, he started his own ministry.
• 5:59
  SPEAKER_04: So, you know, um, I was able to see church folks um really show out at a young age.
• 6:08
  SPEAKER_04: Right?
• 6:09
  SPEAKER_04: Like I would, you know, because half the church stayed and then half the church came with us.
• 6:14
  SPEAKER_04: Right?
• 6:15
  SPEAKER_04: So the people that stayed, it was it was a bittersweet thing.
• 6:18
  SPEAKER_04: Like, I mean, I'm still, you know, I I still have love for them, they still have love for me, but I think it was always a disconnect once their ministry, you know, separated.
• 6:30
  SPEAKER_04: Um, so I would say again, growing up for me as a PK was fun.
• 6:34
  SPEAKER_04: I participated in, I was, I was on the drum lines, I played basketball, I played baseball, you know, I got to do things that a regular kid could do.
• 6:44
  SPEAKER_04: I went to parties, you know, I rapped, I did music.
• 6:48
  SPEAKER_04: I started rapping when I was 13.
• 6:50
  SPEAKER_04: It wasn't gospel rap, it was not about Jesus.
• 6:53
  SPEAKER_04: You see what I'm saying?
• 6:54
  SPEAKER_04: So it's and I don't want to say my parents supported it, but they supported the gift that I had.
• 7:02
  SPEAKER_04: Like they didn't, they didn't necessarily support the message, but they definitely they knew that it was a gift.
• 7:08
  SPEAKER_04: They saw that I had a gift and a skill.
• 7:11
  SPEAKER_04: And so they wanted me to cultivate it because I I produced at a high level.
• 7:17
  SPEAKER_05: You know.
• 7:18
  SPEAKER_05: So so let me ask you this, because you know, typically, okay, uh I'm a PK, but I would not say we couldn't play ball and all that stuff.
• 7:28
  SPEAKER_05: I know some of the stricter churches back then, they wouldn't allow, you know, the ball playing or even going to the gang.
• 7:34
  SPEAKER_05: So I was able to participate, you know, and bang and things like that.
• 7:38
  SPEAKER_05: So by you saying not traditionally, do you feel like people expecting you to always like have it together because of who your parents were?
• 7:47
  SPEAKER_04: Like, if you Yeah, yeah, like you know, it was, it was, it was like a it was like a you know better.
• 7:54
  SPEAKER_04: You know what I'm saying?
• 7:55
  SPEAKER_04: Like you, you should know better, so you should be doing better.
• 7:59
  SPEAKER_04: Which I mean, it's it's it's something to be said about that.
• 8:02
  SPEAKER_04: I don't think this necessarily a wrong way of thinking, but it's it's like you, it's like, I don't know if you said this um before now, but it's we human, you know what I mean?
• 8:13
  SPEAKER_04: And you a child.
• 8:16
  SPEAKER_04: You know what I mean?
• 8:17
  SPEAKER_04: So you're gonna get things wrong, you're gonna mess up.
• 8:20
  SPEAKER_04: Um, because I can remember uh one of my friends telling me his mama was like, yeah, don't hang around that hard broad boy.
• 8:27
  SPEAKER_04: Don't you don't need to be around him.
• 8:29
  SPEAKER_04: Because I was, I was, I was definitely the roof around the edges.
• 8:34
  SPEAKER_04: Like I was, I was wild.
• 8:37
  SPEAKER_04: I ain't gonna say I don't I don't want to say I was wild, but I would I would go past the limit.
• 8:44
  SPEAKER_04: I would go past the boundaries that I should pass, for sure.
• 8:47
  SPEAKER_05: Okay.
• 8:48
  SPEAKER_05: Um, what do you think there were what are some things people misunderstood about you as a preacher?
• 8:56
  SPEAKER_05: I was gonna say about preachers' kids, but you made it plain, hey, you weren't the typical preacher's kid, but what would you say some things, well that you knew other preachers' kids, right?
• 9:06
  SPEAKER_05: Right, right.
• 9:07
  SPEAKER_05: And you felt like y'all kind of raised a little different, like the households they didn't really mimic because your parents, they understood, hey, he's a kid, we're gonna let him find his way, right?
• 9:18
  SPEAKER_05: Not saying you didn't have standards, but they just did not put all that pressure on you to be a certain way.
• 9:25
  SPEAKER_05: Um so what are some things you think a lot of people misunderstand about just people, preachers, kids in general?
• 9:33
  SPEAKER_04: Well, I've always had a I've always had a heart for for Jesus.
• 9:40
  SPEAKER_04: Right?
• 9:41
  SPEAKER_04: Like I I feel like what was misunderstood is that conviction was never there.
• 9:50
  SPEAKER_04: You know, um, that I just did what I wanted to do freely, and I just thought that I could get away with anything.
• 9:56
  SPEAKER_04: Um but the convict like for me, conviction, like when I did when I did bad things, conviction was it was, you know, I was always convicted.
• 10:06
  SPEAKER_04: You know, I I might have I might have gone astray for a while, but even in the even in going astray, the the the Holy Spirit that's in your good, it was it still was there.
• 10:18
  SPEAKER_04: It's like when you're doing something wrong, you know you're doing something wrong.
• 10:21
  SPEAKER_04: Whether you do it or not, you know that you're doing something wrong.
• 10:24
  SPEAKER_04: So it was that was always there for me.
• 10:26
  SPEAKER_04: And I think, you know, a lot of people, and I could be wrong, but it just seemed like a lot of people didn't see that, you know.
• 10:35
  SPEAKER_04: Um more more so, you know, for lack of better words, like a demon child or something, you know what I'm saying?
• 10:43
  SPEAKER_04: Like this dude bad and he knows he's bad and he wanna be bad, you know what I mean?
• 10:48
  SPEAKER_04: And that was that was never the case.
• 10:50
  SPEAKER_05: Okay.
• 10:51
  SPEAKER_05: So being that you said that, did you ever struggle with like trying to find your own identity outside of their expectations?
• 11:01
  SPEAKER_05: And when I say there, I guess the church, those people that called you that demon child, did you struggle with that?
• 11:06
  SPEAKER_04: Right, for sure.
• 11:07
  SPEAKER_04: For sure.
• 11:08
  SPEAKER_04: For sure.
• 11:08
  SPEAKER_04: It was, I mean, I'm still learning and growing myself at this big age that I am now.
• 11:15
  SPEAKER_04: I be 37 in September, right?
• 11:17
  SPEAKER_04: So I'm still, you know, I just started therapy like last, the end of last year.
• 11:24
  SPEAKER_04: And I I you know, I started learning things about myself that I never even knew.
• 11:28
  SPEAKER_04: So for sure.
• 11:30
  SPEAKER_04: It was, it was, it was a search for identity.
• 11:33
  SPEAKER_04: And I mean it it at some point in my life I made up, okay, this I made up my mind, like, okay, this is who I'm gonna be.
• 11:41
  SPEAKER_04: But that just wasn't who God, you know, called me to be or who God said I am.
• 11:46
  SPEAKER_04: But you know, I definitely had decided, okay, well, maybe this church thing, and for I mean, because I moved to Atlanta and I lived in Atlanta for three or four years, and I probably went to church maybe like twice.
• 12:01
  SPEAKER_04: You see what I'm saying?
• 12:03
  SPEAKER_04: So it was it was definitely a path and a journey.
• 12:06
  SPEAKER_04: Um, and then I moved to Seattle and I never went to church.
• 12:10
  SPEAKER_04: You know, but like I say again, the conviction in my decision making, the Holy Spirit was still always there, you know, and it was like almost like, okay, I I made the wrong decision, and okay, I know I made the wrong decision, I'm just gonna have to live with it.
• 12:27
  SPEAKER_04: Like I'm I'm willing to accept the consequences that come with it.
• 12:30
  SPEAKER_04: You know, at least I thought I was, you know, but I really wasn't.
• 12:34
  SPEAKER_05: Yeah.
• 12:35
  SPEAKER_05: Okay.
• 12:36
  SPEAKER_05: So you said something, and I know it's a little bit off here, but you mentioned therapy, and you're you being 37 years old, and you know, there's not not too many men, which you're starting to see a l a lot of men here lately.
• 12:50
  SPEAKER_05: Let me let me change that.
• 12:52
  SPEAKER_05: But I do I do love the fact that you said therapy because some men feel like it that's a a bad word for men, especially in the black community, like therapy, what?
• 13:03
  SPEAKER_05: So it's good to hear that you, you know, sought therapy and still seeking therapy and that you're learning because not only do men need it, you know, mental health is very important.
• 13:13
  SPEAKER_05: Um especially nowadays.
• 13:15
  SPEAKER_05: So kudos, kudos.
• 13:16
  SPEAKER_05: Can give you those props there.
• 13:18
  SPEAKER_05: Um but next question.
• 13:22
  SPEAKER_05: Um could you share some positive things uh about growing up in church?
• 13:28
  SPEAKER_05: Like growing up in church, what did it teach you?
• 13:32
  SPEAKER_04: Well, I would say, I would say the positive are is coming back around in the latter years.
• 13:42
  SPEAKER_04: Because I I kind of piggyback off of what I said as far as like people, well, me perceiving people to think that I'm this bad person.
• 13:51
  SPEAKER_04: I feel like I might have subconsciously adopted that idea about myself at some point in my life.
• 13:58
  SPEAKER_04: Right?
• 13:58
  SPEAKER_04: And so when I looked in the mirror, I probably, you know, I thought I was a bad person based off the decisions that I would make.
• 14:06
  SPEAKER_04: Now I can say, you know, the faith has never failed me.
• 14:13
  SPEAKER_04: Like, and it's like, like I said, I was I was I was in and out back and forth, I guess my whole life.
• 14:21
  SPEAKER_04: You know, I like it was it was definitely seasons and years that I would stray away and be gone, but I would always find my way back home.
• 14:29
  SPEAKER_04: Right?
• 14:29
  SPEAKER_04: And so this last time that I find that I found my way back home, it kind of stuck with me.
• 14:35
  SPEAKER_04: And I realized, like, okay, the faith, the faith is a journey.
• 14:40
  SPEAKER_04: It's an up and down hill battle, it's an emotional roller coaster, it's it's this and that, but the the word is constant, the faith is constant.
• 14:48
  SPEAKER_04: Jesus' love is constant, right?
• 14:50
  SPEAKER_04: Through my ups and downs, through my smiles and frowns, the love of God is constant.
• 14:55
  SPEAKER_04: And so that's what I that was, I would say that's been the best experience for me uh growing up in the church was was the faith being rooted in me at a young age, to the point where when I got older, it came back and it's like, okay, this thing is real for real, which I never thought it wasn't real, but at some point I may have thought, like, this ain't for me.
• 15:20
  SPEAKER_04: Like, my daddy, like you said, just finding your way, finding your identity.
• 15:24
  SPEAKER_04: My daddy life ain't, it's not supposed to be my life.
• 15:28
  SPEAKER_04: You know, my parents aren't even from Mississippi.
• 15:33
  SPEAKER_04: You see what I'm saying?
• 15:34
  SPEAKER_04: My dad is from Atlanta, Georgia.
• 15:36
  SPEAKER_04: My mama's from New Jersey.
• 15:39
  SPEAKER_04: They met in college and then ended up getting sent down here by a bishop.
• 15:46
  SPEAKER_04: You know, so I didn't I didn't grow up with relatives, like I didn't grow up with cousins and grandmas and aunties and you know, immediate, you know, as my immediate family.
• 15:57
  SPEAKER_04: Like we went and visited them, you know, in the summertime once, maybe twice a year, but it wasn't anything like it was immediate.
• 16:06
  SPEAKER_04: So um a lot of a lot of my church family became my real family.
• 16:13
  SPEAKER_04: That that was another positive thing about you know, growing up in the church.
• 16:17
  SPEAKER_04: Like I have brothers that I would consider my real blood.
• 16:22
  SPEAKER_04: Blood could make us closer, and I met them in church.
• 16:26
  SPEAKER_04: You know, I never had a big brother, I never had an older brother.
• 16:29
  SPEAKER_04: So that was something that I was always seeking, I suppose, subconsciously seeking, trying to, you know, get that in other other people.
• 16:39
  SPEAKER_04: Um, but and nothing like Jesus.
• 16:43
  SPEAKER_05: That's all right.
• 16:44
  SPEAKER_05: So, you know, I think um a lot of people assume preachers' kids automatically know exactly who they are and what path they're supposed to take.
• 16:54
  SPEAKER_05: But sometimes, you know, we have to discover ourselves.
• 16:58
  SPEAKER_05: So you have to discover yourself for yourself.
• 17:00
  SPEAKER_05: So let's talk a little bit about growth and life experiences because I heard you say, you know, you moved away, right?
• 17:07
  SPEAKER_05: You moved away to Atlanta.
• 17:09
  SPEAKER_05: And moving away, did you learn what did you learn about yourself by not being, you know, near mom, dad, and your sisters?
• 17:16
  SPEAKER_05: Because I would say with moving away being by yourself, but what did what did moving away teach you about yourself?
• 17:24
  SPEAKER_04: That's a good question.
• 17:25
  SPEAKER_04: That um if if you really want to be quote unquote successful, then it takes it takes uh it takes a s it takes a certain level of self-motivation and self-determination.
• 17:44
  SPEAKER_04: Right?
• 17:44
  SPEAKER_04: Like you have to you have to get up and and be about your business, right?
• 17:50
  SPEAKER_04: Um it taught me that you know the world is is is a big world.
• 17:59
  SPEAKER_04: You know, um, and that people aren't going to treat you like your family treats you, right?
• 18:08
  SPEAKER_04: People aren't going to treat you like your hometown people treat you, people that you know, people that you have favor with.
• 18:17
  SPEAKER_04: And it's a certain thing as a divine network.
• 18:20
  SPEAKER_04: Right now, this is this is what I learned, okay?
• 18:23
  SPEAKER_04: And this is this was significant.
• 18:25
  SPEAKER_04: I moved to Atlanta when I was 30 years old, you know, thinking that I would find something uh more beneficial for my life, more lucrative, you know, uh a record deal or you know, a production deal or something, right?
• 18:43
  SPEAKER_04: But this is what I learned.
• 18:45
  SPEAKER_04: Over the 30 years that I was in Mississippi, I had already built a divine network that's working for me right now.
• 18:54
  SPEAKER_04: That I when I came back home, it was right in place, waiting on me.
• 18:58
  SPEAKER_04: Right?
• 18:58
  SPEAKER_04: But I ran away from that thinking that it was something bigger or better for me in bigger cities, bigger markets.
• 19:05
  SPEAKER_04: Right?
• 19:05
  SPEAKER_04: What I learned is it's a million of me's that do what I do in Atlanta, in Seattle.
• 19:12
  SPEAKER_04: But what I do here in Mississippi, it's only one of me that does this.
• 19:16
  SPEAKER_04: In my region, it's only one of me.
• 19:19
  SPEAKER_05: Mmm.
• 19:20
  SPEAKER_05: That's good.
• 19:21
  SPEAKER_05: That's good.
• 19:22
  SPEAKER_05: That's that's another that's another show right there.
• 19:26
  SPEAKER_05: We're gonna put a pen in that one.
• 19:28
  SPEAKER_05: Um would you say that distance help you appreciate family or your faith differently?
• 19:35
  SPEAKER_04: Definitely, most definitely.
• 19:38
  SPEAKER_04: Oh man.
• 19:40
  SPEAKER_04: Oh man, most definitely, man.
• 19:44
  SPEAKER_04: Like, you know, this almost bring me a tear.
• 19:50
  SPEAKER_04: So when I was living away, you know, I would come home on holidays, and uh my older sister, Elizabeth, she has a daughter.
• 20:00
  SPEAKER_04: Her name is Ava.
• 20:02
  SPEAKER_04: And this was like maybe Ava might have been like one or two, she might have been one, maybe.
• 20:11
  SPEAKER_04: And uh, you know, I would come home and she didn't know who I was.
• 20:19
  SPEAKER_04: You know what I'm saying?
• 20:20
  SPEAKER_04: So I'm I'm I'm going to her for love, but she, I don't know you.
• 20:25
  SPEAKER_04: Who are you?
• 20:26
  SPEAKER_04: And my sister's like, that's Uncle Mike, that's Uncle Mike, but you're not around.
• 20:31
  SPEAKER_04: I don't know you.
• 20:33
  SPEAKER_04: You know what I'm saying?
• 20:34
  SPEAKER_04: And like it that that that did something to my heart.
• 20:38
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
• 20:39
  SPEAKER_04: So now now looking at it now, whenever I see her, she run and jump in my arms.
• 20:47
  SPEAKER_04: Cause I've been around.
• 20:48
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
• 20:49
  SPEAKER_04: Right?
• 20:49
  SPEAKER_03: Mm-hmm.
• 20:50
  SPEAKER_04: Like, you know, and my thing is I grew up with uncles and aunties that was across the nation and in other states, and I know what they did for me.
• 21:01
  SPEAKER_04: And I don't want that to do that to her.
• 21:03
  SPEAKER_05: Yeah.
• 21:05
  SPEAKER_05: Okay.
• 21:06
  SPEAKER_05: Um, would you say there were moments where life challenged what you thought you knew when you were away?
• 21:15
  SPEAKER_04: Yeah.
• 21:16
  SPEAKER_04: For sure.
• 21:18
  SPEAKER_04: For sure.
• 21:19
  SPEAKER_04: Like I had to learn to to really be intentional, especially at this age now.
• 21:25
  SPEAKER_04: Cause I like I I mean I lived, I lived the life most people would dream of live.
• 21:33
  SPEAKER_04: Would dream of living.
• 21:34
  SPEAKER_04: You know what I mean?
• 21:35
  SPEAKER_04: Like I was a bachelor, I had the condo, the the city view, you know what I mean?
• 21:41
  SPEAKER_04: Like the gator community, the the the garage parking, you know, and I was solo dolo in Atlanta.
• 21:52
  SPEAKER_04: The party city.
• 21:53
  SPEAKER_04: So I mean, you know, like I was, and I was partying.
• 21:57
  SPEAKER_04: I was I was I was living that life, but I wasn't intentional at all about my time, about my journey, about what I was doing.
• 22:08
  SPEAKER_04: You know, I was just flowing with the, you know, I was just flowing with the with the wind.
• 22:13
  SPEAKER_04: Right?
• 22:14
  SPEAKER_04: And so I wasn't as I wasn't intentional about the seeds that I was planting, but the enemy was.
• 22:22
  SPEAKER_04: The enemy was very intentional about the seeds that he was planted in my mind and in my life and the people that he had me coming in contact with, the people that I would put my trust in.
• 22:32
  SPEAKER_04: You know.
• 22:35
  SPEAKER_04: So that that's that's one thing I had to realize is that I I had to, you know, be a lot more intentional with my time.
• 22:44
  SPEAKER_04: Um because you you really don't get that.
• 22:47
  SPEAKER_04: God will give you, God will give you some other back, but he ain't gonna give you all the it back.
• 22:51
  SPEAKER_03: It's just not happening.
• 22:55
  SPEAKER_05: He'll give you, you know, there's a scripture said he will restore unto you the years the cake worm has stolen.
• 23:01
  SPEAKER_05: So he'll give it back.
• 23:03
  SPEAKER_05: It may not look like it right now, but eventually, you know, we still live, and they say you live long enough, you'll it'll come back.
• 23:10
  SPEAKER_02: Amen.
• 23:11
  SPEAKER_05: Um before before we talk about your career, though, because I want people to know a little bit more about you, but once you came back, did you see home differently um than you did before you left?
• 23:24
  SPEAKER_05: Did you see home differently?
• 23:29
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
• 23:30
  SPEAKER_04: Oh, you hesitate.
• 23:32
  SPEAKER_04: Well, it because this is the thing, Kirby.
• 23:35
  SPEAKER_04: I've always looked at Grenada like a gold mine.
• 23:38
  SPEAKER_04: If you go, I've always looked at Mississippi like a gold mine.
• 23:42
  SPEAKER_04: Because I knew I was brilliant.
• 23:44
  SPEAKER_04: You see what I'm saying?
• 23:45
  SPEAKER_04: I knew that that I had genius-like qualities.
• 23:49
  SPEAKER_04: This is something that I knew.
• 23:51
  SPEAKER_04: And I knew I came from Mississippi.
• 23:54
  SPEAKER_04: And I knew I wasn't the only one.
• 23:56
  SPEAKER_04: There's so many talented, you know, people that I graduated with alone.
• 24:02
  SPEAKER_04: You know, athletics, smarts, you know, talented musicians, not to mention the people that I met when I went to Delta State.
• 24:13
  SPEAKER_04: Them black folks over there in the Mississippi Delta?
• 24:16
  SPEAKER_04: Oh my God.
• 24:19
  SPEAKER_04: Some of the most talented, brilliant people in the world.
• 24:23
  SPEAKER_04: But this is the thing.
• 24:24
  SPEAKER_04: This is the thing, right?
• 24:26
  SPEAKER_04: So a fun fact, Mississippi has the most Grammy Award-winning artist in the nation.
• 24:32
  SPEAKER_04: Yep.
• 24:35
  SPEAKER_04: Right.
• 24:35
  SPEAKER_04: So I've always looked at Mississippi like a gold mine.
• 24:40
  SPEAKER_04: I just never looked at it as a resourceful place.
• 24:45
  SPEAKER_04: A place of resource.
• 24:47
  SPEAKER_04: Right?
• 24:47
  SPEAKER_04: I thought I had to go elsewhere uh to get the resources, but if you build it, they will come.
• 24:55
  SPEAKER_05: Absolutely.
• 24:56
  SPEAKER_05: Absolutely.
• 24:57
  SPEAKER_05: Now, let's shift into your career journey because I always love hearing how people involve into who they become.
• 25:05
  SPEAKER_05: So tell us a little bit about your career path.
• 25:08
  SPEAKER_05: Um, if you always like knew what direction you wanted to go in, and what keeps you motivated today to stay in that path or keep pushing towards that career path.
• 25:22
  SPEAKER_04: Okay, so um right now I work at a radio station.
• 25:27
  SPEAKER_04: I'm a radio uh host, radio station host, um, program director.
• 25:34
  SPEAKER_04: I pretty much manage the station for lack of better words.
• 25:38
  SPEAKER_04: Um so I always knew that I would do music.
• 25:43
  SPEAKER_04: I always knew that my life would be involved in music because like I just the passion that I had for it, the way it made me feel.
• 25:54
  SPEAKER_04: I just knew like I had a choice back in high school.
• 25:57
  SPEAKER_04: I had a choice to play basketball and play the drums, or just play the drums solely.
• 26:03
  SPEAKER_04: And I chose to play the drums.
• 26:05
  SPEAKER_04: I quit the basketball team.
• 26:08
  SPEAKER_04: Because I knew it was like, man, I I like I'm gonna do music before I before I play sports.
• 26:14
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
• 26:14
  SPEAKER_04: Just in life in general, you know what I mean?
• 26:17
  SPEAKER_04: Just as far as as far as like being an adult, you know, a career.
• 26:22
  SPEAKER_04: Like I'm I'm not gonna be, I'm not, I'm not gonna make it playing basketball.
• 26:27
  SPEAKER_04: I'm sorry.
• 26:28
  SPEAKER_04: It's just not happening.
• 26:29
  SPEAKER_04: So I chose, I chose the the drums, which I ended up going to Delta State on a band scholarship, but when I got to Delta State, they didn't have enough scholarship money for me.
• 26:41
  SPEAKER_04: Well, then that's when I found out about the program that I actually graduated from, which was the Delta Music Institute, which was, you know, exactly what I was interested in doing.
• 26:53
  SPEAKER_04: It was exact, it was exactly what I was already doing.
• 26:57
  SPEAKER_04: Like me, me and my friends, we we were the we were the guys who, well, first of all, I was signed to a record label when I was in the eighth grade.
• 27:07
  SPEAKER_04: Are you familiar with dramatize?
• 27:09
  SPEAKER_05: I am not.
• 27:11
  SPEAKER_04: Okay, well, dramatized with Marvin Perry.
• 27:14
  SPEAKER_04: You familiar with Dramatic?
• 27:15
  SPEAKER_05: Oh, absolutely, yes.
• 27:17
  SPEAKER_04: So he was in a rap group called Dramatize.
• 27:20
  SPEAKER_04: Okay, we, me and my friends, we were signed to the same record label that Dramatized was signed to, which was my homeboy, still my to this day, a good friend of mine, his stepdad was the CEO of that label.
• 27:35
  SPEAKER_04: So we signed to them in the eighth grade.
• 27:38
  SPEAKER_04: And so we were selling Marvin Perry CDs at school in the eighth grade.
• 27:42
  SPEAKER_04: We were selling those CDs.
• 27:44
  SPEAKER_04: So by the time we got to like the ninth or tenth grade, we had we had left that label and we were selling our own CD.
• 27:52
  SPEAKER_04: We burning our CDs, found out how to put our face on the CD and everything.
• 27:57
  SPEAKER_04: You know, we was in school selling.
• 27:59
  SPEAKER_05: Young entrepreneurs, huh?
• 28:01
  SPEAKER_04: Man, way back when.
• 28:03
  SPEAKER_04: I mean, way it didn't even know what we were doing.
• 28:06
  SPEAKER_05: Yeah.
• 28:06
  SPEAKER_05: Hey, all you need is an idea.
• 28:09
  SPEAKER_05: Um, now one thing I love hearing is how music became a part.
• 28:13
  SPEAKER_05: And like we just heard how it became a part of your story.
• 28:16
  SPEAKER_05: Um, because it has a way of speaking.
• 28:18
  SPEAKER_05: To me, music music has a way of speaking when we can't say it with words, right?
• 28:24
  SPEAKER_05: Words may fail us, but you can speak through your music.
• 28:27
  SPEAKER_05: Um, so I know that you have a passion for music.
• 28:30
  SPEAKER_05: How has music helped you express yourself emotionally or spiritually?
• 28:36
  SPEAKER_05: And and wait, before you answer, do you see music as a ministry, therapy, passion, or all three?
• 28:44
  SPEAKER_04: I think it's I think it's all three.
• 28:47
  SPEAKER_04: Right.
• 28:48
  SPEAKER_04: Um Faith comes by hearing, right?
• 28:53
  SPEAKER_04: So I think I think it is as it pertains to ministry, I think it's a gateway to to the church.
• 29:01
  SPEAKER_04: But I think it's a it's a way to I don't I don't want to even say bake people in, but it's a way to get people connected to to a preacher or to the source or to the word.
• 29:15
  SPEAKER_04: You know what I mean?
• 29:16
  SPEAKER_04: Because you gotta hear the word preached.
• 29:18
  SPEAKER_04: That's how it happened.
• 29:19
  SPEAKER_03: Right?
• 29:19
  SPEAKER_04: But but I but I think that that it's a gateway to that, right?
• 29:25
  SPEAKER_04: Um as far as ministry is concerned, as far as like passion, um therapy, it was always there for me, even to this day.
• 29:34
  SPEAKER_04: Like I stopped making music for a long time because I was so frustrated, because it it went from it went from me having fun to going to school, learning that it's a business to trying to make it a business, and the business not turning over the way that I wanted to, or me just really not putting in the effort and the time that I really should have, um to me getting frustrated with it, right?
• 30:02
  SPEAKER_04: So I man, I don't want to go off of what we were talking about, but I I'm an engineer and a producer as well as an artist.
• 30:13
  SPEAKER_04: Right?
• 30:13
  SPEAKER_04: So a lot of times I would pursue the engineering and production part of it because that's where the money was attached to.
• 30:22
  SPEAKER_04: And then I would put the artist piece on the side, which was which was really my real passion, the artist piece of it, the performance piece of it.
• 30:33
  SPEAKER_04: And so I think I got so frustrated with the engineering and production part of it that I just said forget all of them, because it was the people that I was coming in contact with that was discouraging me.
• 30:46
  SPEAKER_04: You know, it was it was just a discouragement because you see the potential, you see where it's gonna go, but then this person just really doesn't, they don't see it, and they don't want, they don't want that.
• 30:59
  SPEAKER_04: They don't want what you see for them, for them.
• 31:01
  SPEAKER_04: They don't want it for themselves.
• 31:04
  SPEAKER_04: So that that's what got frustrated.
• 31:06
  SPEAKER_04: But yeah, back to back to the passion in the in the you know the you said it was you said the passion, the ministry, and what you say?
• 31:16
  SPEAKER_05: Um, I was asking if you saw music as a ministry, therapy, or passion or all three.
• 31:22
  SPEAKER_05: Um Right.
• 31:24
  SPEAKER_04: And it was all three.
• 31:25
  SPEAKER_05: Yeah, okay.
• 31:27
  SPEAKER_05: So one final thing.
• 31:29
  SPEAKER_05: Um if you could encourage any anyone, especially a young preacher's kid listening right now, what would you tell them?
• 31:38
  SPEAKER_05: What advice would you give them if they were struggling with, you know, their identity, their faith?
• 31:44
  SPEAKER_05: Um Yeah, what would you tell them?
• 31:48
  SPEAKER_05: And I'm no, I'm I'm not gonna hit you with that, but yeah, what would you tell them?
• 31:53
  SPEAKER_04: Well, when I think about this, I would just say, if I could talk to my if I can talk to myself at 15 or 16, right?
• 32:04
  SPEAKER_04: This is what I would tell me.
• 32:06
  SPEAKER_04: I would tell me that you're gonna mess up.
• 32:10
  SPEAKER_04: You are going to fall short.
• 32:13
  SPEAKER_04: But don't let that define your journey because it's all a part of the journey.
• 32:23
  SPEAKER_04: You know, that's that's it's all a part of the journey.
• 32:26
  SPEAKER_04: The the ups and downs, the smiles and frowns, the good times, the bad times, the emotions, like all of that's gonna come.
• 32:37
  SPEAKER_04: But you have to you have to stay, you gotta stay down with the faith.
• 32:41
  SPEAKER_04: Right?
• 32:42
  SPEAKER_04: And then the thing is, whether you try to run from it or not, that faith is gonna catch you.
• 32:48
  SPEAKER_04: It's gonna catch you.
• 32:50
  SPEAKER_04: And if it don't, if it don't catch you, the F gonna catch you.
• 32:53
  SPEAKER_05: Yeah, yeah.
• 32:55
  SPEAKER_05: Well, I hate to cut this conversation short, but and I think we may have to do a part two.
• 33:01
  SPEAKER_05: But uh it because I mean it's very insightful, and and I know you can you probably could share a lot more, and I had a ton more questions, but I think the people understand and they kind of get the gist.
• 33:12
  SPEAKER_05: So if you'll come back next week, I think we can give them some more.
• 33:16
  SPEAKER_05: Um, because it was a very powerful conversation.
• 33:19
  SPEAKER_05: And I think today's episode reminds us that you know that those titles or saying, hey, I want to be this producer and all of that, it doesn't remove you being human.
• 33:30
  SPEAKER_05: It doesn't remove humanity because behind every preacher's kid is is a leader behind there's a leader, a worshiper, there's a successful person, and if you're someone listening and you're navigating the pressures of life or expectations, purpose, growth, or just trying to figure out who you are, just like everyone else.
• 33:50
  SPEAKER_05: One thing I hope people take away from today's episode is this never place people on a pedestal that you forget that you're human too.
• 33:58
  SPEAKER_05: Because y'all, we need grace, we need understanding, and we need room to grow.
• 34:03
  SPEAKER_05: And sometimes the strongest people you see are carrying expectations that nobody ever talks about.
• 34:09
  SPEAKER_05: So, to our guests today, thank you so much for your honesty, Michael.
• 34:13
  SPEAKER_05: Thank you for being transparent, thank you for the wisdom that you shared in from your heart, too.
• 34:18
  SPEAKER_05: And you know, not scripted.
• 34:20
  SPEAKER_05: This is just something you know you can talk about effortly because you know it's a passion of yours, and and I appreciate it just being honest and upfront.
• 34:27
  SPEAKER_05: I'm not the ordinary, you know, preacher's kid.
• 34:30
  SPEAKER_05: Um, so I appreciate you being here and sharing your journey with us.
• 34:34
  SPEAKER_05: So, family, as always, I want to thank you.
• 34:37
  SPEAKER_05: Thank you for tuning in to Life Finance and Real Estate with your girl Kirby the Realtor.
• 34:41
  SPEAKER_05: If this episode blessed you, encouraged you, or even made you think a little deeper, make sure you share it with somebody else.
• 34:48
  SPEAKER_05: You can listen again by searching Life Finance and Real Estate with Kirby the Realtor.
• 34:53
  SPEAKER_05: We are on um YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, iHeartRadio, Amazon music, and so much more.
• 34:59
  SPEAKER_05: But I need you to remember your life matters, your story matters, healing matters, and purpose matters.
• 35:05
  SPEAKER_05: So own your life so you can own a piece of America.
• 35:08
  SPEAKER_05: And until next time, bye for now.
• 35:11
  SPEAKER_05: See you soon.
• 35:12
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you for tuning in to Life, Finance, and Real Estate with Kirby the Realtor.
• 35:17
  SPEAKER_00: You can catch us every Thursday at 12 p.m.
• 35:20
  SPEAKER_00: on 92.1 WJMG, 93.1 WGDQ.
• 35:25
  SPEAKER_00: And also you can listen live at 921 WJMG.com or 931 WGDQ.com.
• 35:32
  SPEAKER_00: If you happen to miss the live recording, don't fret.
• 35:35
  SPEAKER_00: We'll replay it at 6 p.m.
• 35:36
  SPEAKER_00: tonight.
• 35:37
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you once again for listening to Life, Finance, and Real.
• 35:45
  SPEAKER_01: Stay down came up, God made a wake up, straight down came up, God made a wake up, stay down came up, God made away up.
• 35:54
  SPEAKER_01: Let me tell you about it.
• 35:58
  SPEAKER_01: I walk in a way around it.