The Uncommon Man
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The Uncommon Man
15. Lets Have a Little Fun
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In this episode, we kept it simple. Five questions each, no prep, and no idea what was coming.
Some of it got thoughtful, some of it got random, and a lot of it was just fun. Questions that made us think on the spot, you get real answers without time to filter or overanalyze. Enjoy.
Welcome And New Dad Chaos
DevinWelcome to the Uncommon Man Podcast. We are your host. I'm Devin Jeffries, alongside a very good friend of mine, Mr. John Pierce. John, how are you, bud?
JonI'm good, man. How are you? I'm good.
DevinHow's the baby? Um, well, within an hour the other day of each other, I um I I picked her up and like I had her I had her head right here on my shoulder. And you know, as a father, there's that's to me that was a very I guess bonding type moment.
JonOkay.
DevinAnd she just wrapped her arms around me and I just melted, right? Uh as one does. Yeah, and then I hear and then an explosion occurred. And um did it stay in the diaper? Uh negative. Oof. And uh it was running down the shirt. Your shirt? Oh, yeah, my shirt. Nice. And uh I look over and I was like, um, Brittany. Brittany just over there working on something. She goes, What? And I was like, we have a cobrown. And then she looks at me and she just busts out laughing. She laughs for a good 30 or 45 seconds before coming over there and picking the time bomb up. And then, you know, I don't think it's a time bomb anymore. It already exploded. Yeah, no, you're right. That's fair. And uh, so so anyway, so we we changed her. I changed shirts, and uh then Britney was like, Do you mind feeding her? So I did. And um, yeah, then she threw up all over that shirt, and I was like, you know what, Blakely, let's take a minute. I was like, you're going over there for a little bit, so it's fun. Eat, sleep, poop, cry. That's all she does. It's a lot of fun.
JonIn that order, in that order, yeah. Eat, sleep, poop, cry.
DevinYep, yeah, that's exactly it. So we're here now on episode 15. 15 whole episodes.
JonYeah, man.
DevinIf you listen to all 15, you win something. A t-shirt at least. I don't know. We don't have t-shirts, don't we?
JonWe don't say that. Um, um, maybe at some point we don't have t-shirts. What about a hug? Sure. All right, you want a hug. I'm not hugging you, Devin will. But sure.
DevinI'm game for it. Anyways, um, John approached me with this idea for this podcast episode. And my very first thought was, what are you on? Like, I've I figured this is going to be absolutely atrocious. And then the more and more I thought about it, the more and more I was like, this is gonna be awesome. So here's what we're gonna do we're gonna kind of take a little bit of a break from the emotionally, spiritually deep.
JonYeah, the thought was after those last two episodes, yeah. They're pretty, pretty deep, a little emotional. We'll do something fun and lighthearted.
DevinYeah,
Game Rules And Coffee Ritual
Devinso something kind of fun and lighthearted. So we each have for each other five questions.
JonReally four, because we're both gonna ask one question.
DevinAnd neither one of us know as we sit here recording this what the other person's going to ask. Um and then you get one bounce back.
JonThis is a game of questions. So you don't know the questions I'm gonna ask, like you just said, and I don't know what you're gonna ask, except for the first one, because we both wanted to ask that as we were discussing this. But if it at one point during my four questions, if you want to turn it around on me and me answer the question, you can, but you only get to do it once.
DevinOkay. So now I don't know what the questions are. Correct.
JonThat's gonna be it's like a game show.
DevinSo you've got to time that right. Well, I mean as far as which one you're gonna do.
JonYeah, just pick one and be like you're gonna be like, dang, I wish I picked that one no matter what.
DevinAre we allowed to ask more questions to your questions? So, like am I allowed to ask for parameters?
JonYeah, a couple of mine are like a question with like an A and a B. Okay.
DevinAll right, that's fine. So none of mine have that, by the way. Like what and why? Okay, all right, that's fair. Um, and then yes, we are here with our coffee today. Um, this is actually the second time we had to um that we hit record on this episode because we started it and then I looked down and I just hit the big red button and canceled everything. I was like, absolutely not. John's staring at me like, what the heck are you doing? I'm like, we don't have coffee. This is not gonna work.
JonI was like, that's why I can't think straight. Episode 15, and we still don't have a coffee sponsor. Caffeine is a drug.
SPEAKER_00We still don't have a coffee sponsorship.
JonI'm addicted to caffeine, I think.
DevinThat's fine.
JonIt's only 15 episodes. No one has a sponsorship from anything by 15 episodes.
DevinI'm just saying I want a coffee sponsorship.
JonGo find one, buddy.
DevinRemember, Kingdom Beans. Message them again. All right, so let's just jump in here.
JonQuestion number one.
DevinLet's do that. Do you want to go first or do I get to go first?
JonYeah, well, we're both gonna ask this question. Okay. All right. It's
Deserted Island Books And Movies
Jonthe the classic deserted island scenario. You're on a deserted island for an indefinite amount of time alone. Um, you get three movies and three books, not including the Bible, because we both are gonna carry that. We both know we're gonna take that one. So, really, four books. What are they?
DevinFor my books. The books and three movies. Uh okay, so I'm not an avid reader, but uh there are some books that I've read that I I truly do uh enjoy. And one of them, now this would be kind of a mute point, so I'm just gonna kind of go with my my favorite here. But the very first one is, and no, it is not because I'm an Alabama fan. It is because I truly believe in this man's leadership model, but it's the leadership secrets of Nick Saban. I would take that. I think that that book is so well written with a lot of his uh mentalities of how he orchestrated truly one of the greatest dynasties that the sports world has ever seen. Um, so but if I'm on a deserted island, I have nobody to lead except myself. So valid. Uh you know, there's I think you have to assume you're gonna be there for the rest of your life. So this is true. This is true. So uh that would be one of my books. Um you'd still take it. Yeah, I would still take it. Because you just like reading it, just because it's a good read. Okay. Um maybe I should read it. So uh the the second one that I would have to go with as far as my books goes. Um, I would have to go with a book I actually just finished reading not too too long ago called Emotionally Healthy Spiritual Spirituality. Um, and if you'll give me just a second, I can tell you who the author is. But um Emotionally Healthy Spirituality is actually one that I was reading when you and I were praying over this uh this podcast. And it for me, what it helped me to do was really to see um how's how to be more spiritually, I guess, intact and spiritually whole. And to look at what's beneath the surface, if that makes sense. Um Peter Sceter Schizaro is the is the author. Very, very good book. Um, probably one of one of my top reads. It's it's a difficult read, uh, no question, but it's a good one. And then the final one I would read or I would take would be um uh it's by Dietrich Bonhoffer. And it's um, oh my gosh, why is it leaving me right now? The cost of discipleship. And uh just a very I know so I I mean I got a sports one, a personal one, and then uh I guess a um a spiritual one, but that one to me, I read that back in college for the first time, and it was an absolutely phenomenal book. So uh really talks about what it actually takes to not just be in relationship with Jesus, but to be with Jesus and how that can look in our lives. So those would be my three books and the movies.
SPEAKER_00I gotta go with those now, too.
DevinYeah, three books and three movies. Okay.
JonAll right, so this is where you get to um the rules are simple.
DevinYeah, never followed rules.
JonSo was the question.
DevinOkay. Um, the first one uh that I would absolutely have to take. So I would you be surprised if I told you I have a kid's movie in this? No. The Lion King.
JonI've put zero thought into this until right now, but I'll probably have a kid's movie in mind. Okay.
DevinUh The Lion King.
JonOkay.
DevinIt was a childhood favorite. Always like could literally sit down and quote it word for word. I was about to ask you why, but if it's something you just watch as a kid, then you're not going to be able to do always watched it. Uh have introduced my daughter to it and um was absolutely heartbroken when she said she didn't want to watch that. She wanted to watch Monsters Inc.
JonSo um it is objectively a better movie.
DevinI will come across No, no, no.
JonI say that as a kid that also watched a lot of Lanky. We're talking about the the older 90s version of the newer live live version.
DevinWould it come out in like the early 90s? Yes, yeah, 92, I believe. The the new one, the the remade that they did that absolutely sucked. I hated that movie. I'm not a fan of that director.
JonUm I don't know who the director was, but the movie sucked.
DevinThe movie was downright terrible.
JonIf you disagree with that, well fight me on it.
DevinLet's go. But you have the right to be wrong. Listen, I'll that's right. It is your right to be wrong. But I will put it to you this way I will never forget being so excited for a movie to come out that when it came out, I legitimately I so I was a youth pastor at the time. And I took the students and I was like, we're going to see the Lion King. And absolutely nobody was more pumped than me, the student pastor. And I left and I was like, everybody get in the car, we're done. We're gone. Because I was ticked. It was a bad movie. It was horribly done. All right, next step. Um the the next one, I would have to go The Matrix. Mm-hmm. Because that is that is a series, I don't care what you say, from start to finish, is one of the best series that's ever been made. You know that I would agree with that. You know how they say, like uh, like if the first one's really good, oh, the next movie's gonna suck, the third one's even worse, or whatever. Fast and Furious. Yes, very okay. The first one of those were better, but regardless. I think it was like the first four of Fast and Furious. After that, it was terrible.
JonI would give it three. You didn't like Tokyo? That was the third one. Was that third?
DevinYeah. Okay, so fine. After the first three, then after the first three, it was terrible. The series absolutely stunk. Yeah, it's terrible. From there. Anyway, when we're launching cars out of planes, that's that's wrong. No. Yeah, so The Matrix. Um, it's where the world got introduced to Keanu Reeves. And probably, like I said, my favorite series from start to finish. And then my final movie that I what wait a second. If I'm on a deserted island, you have a TV. I have a TV on how do I have power? I don't know. I have questions.
JonI don't know. Um you got some lemons, and you made yeah, you can make electricity with like lemons or something like that. Yeah. That like fifth grade science experiment. Yeah.
DevinUm I would probably have to go my favorite war movie of all time, which is Save and Providen.
JonAlright. Here's a twist that I didn't tell you about. Oh crap. You can replace one book and one movie with a series. If I can replace a movie with a series, uh not a not a TV show. I mean like a movie series. I mean like a movie series. You can't take a whole seven seasons of a TV show.
DevinWhy can't I not movie series?
JonWhy can I not ditch the question movie?
DevinAnd give me the ten seasons of Friends. No. Movie series. Alright, so if I'm going a full movie series, then I'm probably, even though I feel like ditch the matrix and give me the full trilogy series.
JonOkay, that's fair. Book?
DevinYou said you I know you're not really an avid reader, so you probably there is one that I really like, but I don't necessarily enjoy saying I'm not I'm gonna give the the G-rated version of the actual name of the book. Um, but I would probably sub out the leadership secrets for a book called The Subtle Art of Not Giving Not Giving a Crap. Oh, yeah, yeah. I would probably sub it out for that one. I haven't read that. That's a I really if you can get past the language, obviously, because I mean it sets the record for the number of times the F bomb has dropped, but I I just I really liked it from the practicality standpoint. Uh the author of it made a lot of sense. So the subtle art of not giving a crap. All right. And I actually think he did let out like a G-rated version or something like that. I'm gonna look and see. Okay. Yours, your your three books and three movies.
JonMy turn. Okay, so normally I am not a nonfiction reader. I would I'll read things like The Power of Habits, one of my favorite books. I've listened to the audiobook like a hundred times. The power of habit, um some of Jordan Peterson stuff. I like I like reading things that make me think, make me figure out things about myself, learn things about myself, learn things about philosophy or whatever. Uh Marcus Aurelius is the quote unquote last good Roman Emperor. He's um his journal is has been turned into a book. That's kind of interesting to read. But it's like some stoicism stuff. Anyway, I like reading stuff like that. It's interesting. Okay. But I don't want to read it over and over again and only have three. So I'm probably not gonna take anything nonfiction because it's not gonna help me.
DevinOkay.
JonSo that being said, I would take if I gonna if I can only pick one, I'll I'll have to pick a one of the Harry Potter books. One of the because it's no, because it is rereadability. We're looking for re-watchability and rereadability.
unknownWhy am I not surprised?
JonSo I would pick one of the Harry Potter books.
DevinI've it's just a series that I I never You're stuck on a deserted island.
JonYou might as well be entertained.
DevinFair enough. Continue.
JonThe Lord of the Rings.
DevinYeah, that tracks too.
JonI don't even like the Lord of the Rings books, but it's a good story.
DevinThat tracks too. Yeah.
JonLike I would never sit down and choose to read that. But I could read it multiple times. Does that make sense?
DevinYes, it does. I read it once and said, thank god I don't ever have to read that again. I know I just made somebody mad out there, and I uh sorry, not sorry, it just wasn't my cup.
JonYeah, it's not everybody's cup everybody's cup of tea. I don't typically like books like that. Or even movies generally. I'll watch them, but that's not my cup of tea. I love nonfiction stuff.
SPEAKER_00Okay.
JonAnd my third one. I don't know. It would probably it probably honestly would just be I don't know, pick a sci-fi book or another Harry Potter book or something like that. Now, to flip my what I flipped on you back, I would probably just take the whole Harry Potter series.
SPEAKER_00Father in Heaven. Okay.
JonIt's actually it's uh have you ever read it?
DevinThe Harry Potter series? Yeah. No.
JonOkay, so I read the significantly book. There's a reason it's so popular. There's it's significantly better than the movies. Significantly.
DevinI mean, I I'll take your word for it. It was just never a thing that I I cared about. Now my wife's family. Same. I got really into it after I started reading it. I was like, this is really good. My wife's family, fun fact, she was not allowed to watch or read any of the Harry Potter stuff because it had witchcraft.
JonYeah, same. I didn't read it until I was 25. Or something like that. I could watch Bewitched. Couldn't watch Harry Potter.
DevinThat makes all the sense in the world when you don't think about it.
JonAlright. Um, my third book. You know, I think I still would take uh Marcus Aurelius meditations. Okay. I think I still would take that. Because it is it is rereadable. It's not gonna help me. Actually, no, it might. I was gonna say there's definitely areas it could. Because the you have to be careful when you start reading stuff about philosophy because it can very easily contradict the Bible. Sure. Like have a Bible also pointing out. That's right. But um I I think I would still take that. Because my mindset would probably be in the dumps, and a little stoicism might help me out there.
DevinYou know, me on a deserted island is literally like a huge, deep, dark fear of mine because I'm such a people person, I would be miserable. I will literally be begging for God to let sharks start talking to me.
JonAlright. Movies. We're going for rewatchability here. They're not necessarily one of them is my favorite movie of all time. They're not necessarily my favorite movies. Okay, Forrest Gump. Favorite movie of all time. Okay, solid. Very, very solid. Thousands of Easter eggs in that movie.
DevinJenny. All right, go ahead.
JonI love I love me some Forrest Gump. Yes. All right. Yes, I'm one, it has great special effects, it has a great story, and it's like three hours long interstellar.
SPEAKER_00Oh man, I haven't seen that in a very long time.
JonBut I watched the beginning of it and the end of it the other day. Solid pick. I slept in the middle. Alright, and third one I'm gonna have to agree with you on the Matrix.
SPEAKER_00Really?
JonYeah.
DevinWell, look at us. One night we'll get together and grill some burgers and see who can dodge bullets. You first. Okay. Uh just such a great series from from start to finish.
JonNow that we got that one out of the way. Yeah.
DevinYou go first. Oh my, I'm going first. All right. Why
Advice To Your 18-Year-Old Self
Devinnot? If you could go back and give your 18-year-old self one piece of advice, what would it be?
JonOh, only one? Yep. Man, I have like 50. That's the best one. Man, but see, some advice I would give to my 18-year-old self would significantly significantly change some things in my life, possibly for the better, but also some really good things, my kids, for instance, that have happened may not have happened. Sure. Right. So one piece of advice. This requires a little bit of why while you're thinking a little bit.
DevinI would I would also just say this the I it's it's really one of those things that we can look back and we can say, okay, I would do this, this, and this differently. And a lot of people say that about their lives. But here's the thing if those things those things happen to help shape who you are today. So to be mad and to hate yourself for, you know, to hate 18-year-old John or to be mad at that person or whatever is is really irrelevant because it's it's helped shape you to who you are today.
JonYeah. So I don't think I would necessarily try to do anything, like tell myself to do something different, I don't think. Because I don't like there's things about my life right now I wish were different, sure. Sure. But you know, is what it is, can't change it. And if I did change it, it would change other things, like I said. So I think I would there was a period there where I was out of church, to say the least. A little bit of a rebellious streak there. Sure. To some extent. Not terrible, like I wasn't doing drugs or anything, but you know, a little bit of a rebellious streak there. So I think and that's this being said, I wouldn't listen to myself anyway, because I was a cocky, arrogant little turd turd. Yeah. But I would tell myself, like, hey, you you need you need to go back to church. Sure. Find a church, go to read your Bible. It's important.
unknownOkay.
JonI'd probably just tell myself that.
SPEAKER_00Okay. I like it.
JonAlright.
What A Stranger Thinks After Lunch
JonIf someone, this is a bit of a long question. Okay. If someone just met you and had a 30-minute lunch with you, what would they say about you afterwards? Context, this is not business related or anything like that. It's a random person and you have zero mutual acquaintances. It is a random person off the street. They're not homeless.
unknownOkay.
JonWhat would they say about me? Mm-hmm. If they had a 30-minute lunch with you and someone said, What'd you think about that guy? What would they say?
DevinWhy did I only get to talk for one minute and he talked for 29? Hey, at least you know yourself. I do. But honestly, here's a what I believe wouldn't what I would hope would be said was that um he was he was very like obviously my passion for the things in my life that I am passionate about literally pours out of me. So I I'm just like I'm very passionate about certain things and whenever I am, that bleeds into other into how I carry myself. So they would they would say he's passionate. I think they would say um he's got it, he's that that I've got a big heart because uh one of the things that I have always said about me uh for a very long time, and it's a blessing and a cursing, is whenever I care, I care a lot. When I love, I love deep. And that means that when you know knives get put in backs or uh things go south or whatever, it hurts that much worse. So that's why it's a blessing and a cursing. So I think they would say he's a passionate.
JonYou get emotionally attached to people easily? Question mark.
DevinUh no, no, not emotionally attached because I know where to draw the line.
JonUh, emotionally attached is the wrong phrase. That's not quite what it meant.
DevinI do get I know where you're going with that, and but I do still know where to draw lines. That said, I'm not going to change certain areas about me. I believe that me having a big heart is just something that's that's just the way the Lord made me.
JonUm like some people are super duper empathetic. Yeah. And the two-edged sword.
DevinYeah, I am very empathetic. Yeah. Uh so I I think that that would that would probably be the be the biggest things is why didn't I get to talk? And that he um that it that he was passionate and somebody with a big heart.
JonWould they say you're passionate about something or just passionate in general? Just passionate in general.
DevinBecause whenever I talk, and and I know this about me, but I mean, like whenever I talk, I'm I I talk in a way that shows and that says I care. I actually care about the person I'm sitting across from. I don't it's it's just it's a habit to me. I I guess at this point in my life, I I genuinely care about the people I sit down with and and that I talk to. Now that said, I if if they're coming to me with a laundry list of problems, I'll help them with their laundry list of problems. But guess what? I'm still gonna give you the laundry basket back, and you're gonna take your problems with you. I'm not taking your problems with me. So then that and that's one area that I would say I I agree the most in. So all right. Good question. Your turn. Oh, all right, let's go funny.
The Most Old Man Moment
DevinWhat is the most old man thing that you have done recently? That I've done recently, yeah. Like, like you did this and you went, Oh god, I've become my father. Or you you've become an old man or whatever like that. I'm not saying your dad's old. I don't know how old your dad is, but he's old.
JonOkay. He's listening to this too. Hey dad. Um he'll he'll be 73 this summer.
DevinMy dad's 74, so yeah, my dad's old too.
JonYeah. He'll be he'll be he'll be 73 in June.
DevinBut my dad won't my my dad won't be listening unless his part's in a clip.
JonI won't put it in a clip. So actually, no, I will, so he can hear you telling him he's old.
DevinWell, I mean, that's fine, but here, true story, this is absolutely hilarious. My dad calls me one time after we talked about the work-life balance episode. My dad calls me and he says, Hey, I just saw your podcast. And I said, Really? I didn't think you even knew how to find the podcast. And he goes, Yeah. And I gotta say, I don't know that I that I entirely agree with that. And I said, What are you talking about? And he goes, Well, you said that we weren't just put on this earth to make money and die, but our jobs and our work can be a ministry. I said, Dad, how did you listen to this? He goes, Well, it came across my Instagram, and I said, How long was what you watched? And he goes, Oh, I don't know, about 20 or 30 seconds. I said, That's a real. And then I said, Here, go to this page, listen to a whole daggum episode. And then he did, and then uh I never heard from him again about it. So um, I need you to not put that in a clip, otherwise he will find that. So, anyhow, so yeah, what is the most old man thing you've done?
JonI can't think of anything that I've done recently. Are we talking like excited about getting a new washer and dryer kind of old man thing?
DevinOr no, that is that is an old man thing, but that's not really what I'm going with.
JonOkay, what are you talking about?
DevinGive me an example. So um the get off my lawn guy, the um I don't care if people are on my lawn. You oh no, disagree. I was gonna say that's mine. Um don't turn this question back on me. But anyways, uh yeah, you got excited because somebody got you uh a a new a pack of socks or something along those lines. Like old man stuff. Like I mean, this was at Christmas.
JonNo, it was before Christmas. Some somewhere in sometime in December, I I did get some new socks and I was pretty excited about it. That's I mean, that was a little while back. I don't recall anything recent quite like that though.
DevinUh but what's funny is like when you're a kid and you get underwear or socks for Christmas and you throw it behind you and you're like, screw that noise. I don't want any of that.
JonWell, see, I only get excited about socks now because I I used to be a black ankle sock guy. I wore black ankle socks, period. Funny all the time. Now I you wear funny socks. I wear anything, I try to make it not match whatever I'm wearing.
DevinOh, that's beautiful.
JonLike I try to make it as insane as possible.
DevinYeah, but see, now men our age, we get socks and underwear, and we're like, yes!
JonLike my church, my church socks. I call them my church socks. This is a really bad joke. I'm sorry ahead of time. They're my church socks. I mean, they're gray, but they have fruit on them. Fruit and spirit. They're my church socks.
DevinAll right. Um, so so you you you're just not gonna answer the question. I mean, or or is it is I think it was I think it was the socks. I can't recall any more. No, I didn't.
JonI was just trying to see if that's where you're going with it. But I can't think of anything more recent than that, honestly. Okay. There might have been something. Laura might disagree. I don't know.
unknownOkay.
JonI can't think of anything off the top of my head other than the socks that was in like December sometime. I don't think it was for Christmas, but I got some new socks in December. You got pumped about some socks. No, it was for Christmas. There were Scooby-Doo socks. Yep. I got a pack of Laura got me a pack of Scooby-Doo socks for Christmas.
DevinYou got pumped for it.
JonI was excited about the socks, yeah.
SPEAKER_00Okay.
JonMy turn.
What Really Drives You Daily
JonWhat drives you every day and why? Like what what gets you what gets you? I don't know. I guess what gets you out of bed? My girls.
SPEAKER_00My wife. My daughters. Hands down. I don't even need to think about this one.
DevinMy girls are why I get up and do what I do every single day. Because at the end of every single day, don't nobody care how tired I am, don't nobody care how stressed out I am. The mortgage company doesn't care. What matters is do my girls have what they need in their lives?
JonI phrased this question wrong. I should have known you were gonna say that, obviously. Okay. Let's change the scenario just a little bit. Can I re-ask it? Yeah, sure. I'll because that's a that's kind of a gimme. Um if you were single, what would get you out of bed every day? Like what what I'm getting at, I guess, is what are what's something that would you would be excited about? What's something you could do in your life that you would be excited about doing every day? Like a career? Doesn't matter. Because there is a career that I've always I'm not super excited about my current career. I'm excited about all of the other things I do. That's what gets me out of bed. And the fact that I have to be at work, but beside the point.
DevinYeah, I'm pretty passionate about money and um or not money, but being able to afford food. So I mean it's a bonus. Yeah, eating eating every now and then is nice. Um I saw that the other day. It was like interviewer, why do you want this job of me? Well, I'm pretty pretty passionate about being able to afford food.
JonSo I do like my job. I mean, let me say this. I do like my job. I like my job quite a bit. I'm not necessarily passionate about low voltage electronics. Right.
DevinI like it.
JonDon't get me wrong. I like it a lot. I'm not passionate about it.
DevinSo I I would I would honestly say what would what got me out of my bed even before all of that was I wanted to accomplish things in my life that would that would I mean I knew I was called to ministry at 15. Like I've known mo my entire adult life that God had a very unique or or he had a purpose for my life. And um I knew early on it was to help people. So truthfully, what always got me out of the bed was the option and the ability to be able to help people. So I it's just something that I that I love to do to to the feeling and the joy that I get to be able to be a blessing in somebody else's life is truly uh it's something that that that gets me going. It's I guess it's it's a it's it is a deep-rooted passionate of mine, but uh I mean I've never cared about being a millionaire, I've never cared about any of those things. It's to me it's it's literally been that. Uh I've just been passionate about helping people, but also I wanted to go and do things that nobody in my family had ever done. Um and I mean some of my family had graduated college, you know. I had a brother that I have a brother that's a chef, I have another brother that graduated of community college. I think my sister I don't think she ever finished college, but I actually completed a four-year degree. And um that was that was a big accomplishment for me. So it was accomplishments drove drove me for the longest. I'm sure that sounds incredibly selfish, but it's it's kind of have and have like accomplishments drove me, but helping people drove me.
JonSo you you were driven by both at the same time, you said yeah. That would be interesting to dive into at some point. That was the kind of answer I was looking for there, though. So thank you.
SPEAKER_00Well, you're welcome.
JonIt's your turn.
DevinUm
Secret Joys And The Bounce Back
DevinWhat is something you secretly enjoy that younger you would judge?
JonHow young, how much younger? How old are you now? 32. 33 when this comes out, actually. 18 to 25. 18 to 25? Yeah, like yeah, or 15. I don't know. Well it's 15 to 20. 15 to 20 year old John. 15 year old me and 25 year old here. 25-year-old me are two very different people. Okay, younger you, half your current age. Half, okay. We'll say 16. Um you secretly enjoy an activity?
SPEAKER_00Sure.
JonOr a thing, or sure. Doesn't matter. Probably art museums.
DevinWhatever, whatever footage about big guy. I'm here for it, but that's just that is not something that that no, mm-mm. Museums, all that. Mm-mm. No, I'm good.
JonAll right. Oh, I'm gonna flip that one back on you, actually.
DevinOh, there it is.
JonYeah, we'll go with that one.
DevinUh so something that I secretly enjoy that younger me would absolutely judge.
SPEAKER_00Dang sure ain't art museums, I promise you that.
DevinUm I was worried you were gonna do that with this one, and I knew I was like, man, if he does, I'm not gonna have a good answer.
JonThat's kind of the whole point. You get to see the thought process.
DevinYeah, so I mean, I think like because I mean, my so for example, my taste in music, sports, movies, all that has all pretty much stayed the same.
JonUm I would say same for me, actually. The only difference through three things. Actually, no, sports I used to really love when I was 16. I was playing football. Now I'm just like, I don't, I don't care.
DevinYeah. Um, whereas, see, like younger me, I liked country music and you know, like I liked a little bit of rap, not a whole lot. But I have never liked country music. And now I just despise all rap and I hate country music. All right, we're on the same page at least. Country music has absolutely taken a crap. And it was always crap, and it is terrible now.
JonUm still haven't answered the question.
DevinI I know because I'm trying to work through it. Like most of most of those things have all stayed the same for me.
JonFind something else. So uh something that I enjoy. It could be a food or an activity.
DevinThat younger me would judge.
JonFloating around in the lake on a boat. I don't know.
DevinYou know what? That's actually probably the most accurate.
JonYou think?
DevinI was just kidding. No, actually, tr truthfully, that's that's it. If you were to ask me today, what do you want to do this weekend? The weather's perfect, the water's great, what do you want to do? I would tell you, I want to go put the boat in the water. I want to go to a slough where nobody is, and the water's barely moving, so I don't even have to drop an anchor. I want to get my happy butt in the lake, and I don't want to move. That's what I would tell you. I want to sit there and float for the next eight hours and be a happy freaking man.
JonAlright, so here's the next question then. Who is
Childhood Heroes And Heroes Now
Jonyour childhood hero? Why, and who are your heroes today?
unknownOh.
DevinDeep. But similar to my last question for you. My childhood heroes were growing up. Um, well, naturally I loved I mean any movie that or anything that Keanu Reeves ever did because of the Matrix. Like I I wouldn't say he was a hero, but he was somebody that I was like, yes.
JonWho's somebody that was a hero then? Like you really looked up to and respected.
DevinCould be Batman. Are we are we going like public figure or are we going like doesn't matter. Okay, well, I never I mean I was Batman one year for for Halloween whenever I was like eight.
JonBut um Okay, but did you like spend your early life trying to become Batman because you really looked up to him?
DevinLike yeah, no. Um well, I would say probably one of my very first heroes. This is probably the biggest dorky thing I would say, I would say about me, but I was because anime today I'm not into, but whenever I was growing up, I would absolutely sit down all day long and watch Dragon Ball Z. And so Goku was like my first like childhood hero.
JonWhy?
DevinBecause the only thing. Yeah, I just I love the show. I never today or no. I'm a dork. Yeah, that was that's my biggest dorky thing.
JonI've never watched that in my life, and I never will. Right, nor do I know what the heck Pokemon is. I never got into Pokemon, it's cards. Drew loves it.
DevinI never got into it.
JonI'll talk about it with him all day or let him talk about it because I don't know what he's talking about. But right, right. I try.
DevinTalk to him about okay.
JonAnd who are your heroes today?
DevinUm today I would have to say John Pierce. No, I'm just kidding. Um really? Nothing. I figured at least a chuckle at it.
JonI saw that one coming.
DevinDid you?
JonYeah, from a mile away.
DevinI don't have very many like heroes or people that I look up to and and idolise. I would say there's a handful. Well, not idolise. Yeah, no, not I dang sure don't idolize anybody. Uh as far as like a hero to me today.
JonAnd it could be somebody, it could be somebody that or someone or people that you look up to for specific reasons, but not necessarily for other reasons. Like you look up to them for certain aspects of them.
DevinSo I would I would honestly have to say there is one that has has never wavered. He has always been a hero to me. And that is my father.
JonThat's awesome.
DevinUm, I have always had a very good relationship with with him, and I have told him many, many times I am the man I am today because of you. You taught me everything in a that that it means to be a man. You taught me what it means to never give up. You taught me what it means. You instilled things inside of me that I bring out today as a parent that I had not thought about in 30 years or 20 years. Things the lessons that I had, you know, whenever whenever I was growing up. Um I can remember one of them with my dad being uh he had a role because my love for the lake uh did come from my childhood. But I wanted to go out and go play. I didn't want to just sit there and float all day. Um but one of the things that my dad taught me was was the responsibility. If you want to go to the lake, the boat has to be cleaned, the camper needs to be ready, and this is what we're gonna do. And if it wasn't ready, when dad got home Friday afternoon from work, we didn't go. So he taught me responsibility and he taught me consequences. I bring that out today in how I parent my three-year-old. You didn't go sit down whenever daddy told you to go sit down. You don't get cartoons right now. Life has consequences. Um, so I would say my dad has always been a hero to me. Um, probably one of my first heroes uh was his dad, was my grandfather. Um tragically lost him whenever I was in college, but uh yeah, that was it. And then I am living proof, or I actually met one of my childhood heroes. Um he was a famous Alabama quarterback. I will not say who because he's a local guy, but I met him one day in Tuscaloosa at uh at an A-day event, at an Alabama football event, and the dude was the biggest jerk on the planet. And I remember like, don't meet your heroes. And he was the one that I was just like, dad gummit, man. I really liked this dude. He was a heck of a football player. He always gave great media interviews, he was a great dude. This this is a good guy. Met him in Tuscaloosa, could not have been a bigger jack wagon that day.
JonI mean, sounds about right. Um there's no way you know who those people are behind the curtain. Any anyone, anyone in the public eye like that. No, they're completely different people than who you actually see most of most of the time. And then some sometimes for good, sometimes. For not.
DevinBut I would say probably my biggest uh somebody that I look up to today in terms of a leadership person is obviously Nick Saban. Last question.
Dream Dinner Guests Living And Dead
DevinIf you could have dinner with anyone, living and dead. Living and dead or dead? Like you get two people. Oh. You get two people here. Oh. One has to be alive today. Okay. And one can be dead. Who would it be?
JonIt doesn't have to be a certain time period or no.
DevinAnd you can't say Jesus. Why? Cause it's against the rules.
JonFine. Probably the Apostle Paul. So we're between a founding father, let's just say George Washington, I guess. One of them. Thomas Jefferson. Thomas Jefferson. Or Paul. I don't know. I think I'd have to go with Paul. Till of the Hunt would be really cool. That'd probably a good meal.
DevinOkay. Yeah.
JonI'm gonna go with Paul. Alright, that's fine. Alright, and alive. Well uh I was gonna say Putin.
DevinBut not what I would have thought for you. Wow.
JonYeah. I mean, I want to know what the heck's going on in that dude's brain. It's very broken.
DevinUm is it?
JonIs it? I mean, I don't agree with literally anything, but like, why does he do the things he does? I I'd like to have a conversation with the guy. Anyway, probably not him though, because I'm just gonna get who knows what I'm gonna get. Judo rolled, probably, is what I'm gonna get.
SPEAKER_00Most likely.
JonUm gosh, I don't know. I can tell you who my dad there's not Jordan Peterson, I guess.
SPEAKER_00Jordan Peterson.
JonYeah.
SPEAKER_00I wanna know that.
JonWhy is it like he's wrote a bunch of books? Seriously. Not really popular, but had a fairly popular podcast till I got sick last year.
DevinOkay. Psychologist. Twelve rules for life. Yeah. We feel like you could have done better in terms of your picking there for who's alive, but nope.
JonOkay. That he is one of the most brilliant minds on this planet.
DevinCan't believe I'm not somebody you would want to.
JonHe is one of the I'd rather not. He's one of the most brilliant minds on this planet, hands down.
DevinSure.
unknownYeah.
DevinI I know who you're talking about. It came back to me, but yeah.
JonLike somebody like Elon Musk would be cool. Sure. Trump. He's paying for it. Would be cool.
DevinRight. So he's paying for what? But and I am ordering the most expensive thing on that menu.
JonBut like I don't feel like the conversation with Elon Musk would be as interesting to me as it would be. Sure. I don't want to ask him how to grow my photography business.
DevinYeah, no. No, no, no, no.
JonRight? Like, I don't I'd rather talk to Jordan Peterson.
SPEAKER_00All right, that's fair.
JonTrump's Trump would just do like accordion hands the whole time.
DevinYou're so not wrong, and use like the most hyperbolic words possible.
JonAnd you're what are you talking about?
DevinThere's a guy on the church staff at Cultivate. Oh, I know. Shout out Ben Bracken. That man does the best Trump impersonation I've ever heard.
JonI have it on video and it has been on the Facebook page.
DevinGod, it's fantastic.
JonAnyways. You still have one more question to answer.
DevinDo I really?
JonMm-hmm. Because you went first.
SPEAKER_00Okay, I'm so sorry. Please go ahead.
JonWhat's
A Hot Take On Personal Responsibility
Jonsomething that most people would disagree with you on? A hot take, if you will.
DevinA lot of our problems and our lives are our own dagum fault. And the biggest problem we have as a society is we want to blame everybody else for our own crap. When in reality, if you would just grow the heck up, we wouldn't have some of these problems.
JonSo you think people would disagree with you on that?
DevinYeah, because everybody wants to be either selfish or um it's everybody else's fault, not mine.
JonI think people would agree with you, but then turn around and still make it everyone else's problem. So like they they'll tell you you should just own up to your crap while they're blaming you for their own crap while they're blaming you for something they did. They're blaming you for something they did and telling you that you should own up to your own actions. And I'm like, it's your actions. Yeah. Right?
DevinBut so so I think that would probably have to be it. Um as far as like if we're if we're going in all seriousness, I would say that the majority of the problems you have are our own daggum fault. And the question needs to be, what do I need to do to be better, to be different, to be uncommon, so to speak.
JonWell,
One Last Answer And Closing CTA
Jonsince we're at the end here and you didn't make me answer one of my own questions. Dad gummit, I didn't pick one. All right. Um do you remember the questions? No. Okay. Someone just met you, 30 minute lunch. What drives you every day? Childhood hero, today's hero, something most people would disagree with you on.
DevinLet's go with uh the first one.
JonSomeone just met you and had a 30-minute lunch with you.
DevinYeah.
JonAlright. If it's somebody I don't know, and we're just randomly sitting at a table together, I'd probably be kind of quiet and reserved to some extent. Unless I just had a ridiculous amount of caffeine. So um they would probably say I'm quiet and reserved. Depending on where the conversation went, they might say I'm passionate. Because I'm not in I'm not in general a passionate person. I'm very passionate about certain things.
SPEAKER_03Yeah.
JonUm again, depending on where the conversation went, because it's only 30 minutes. They might say this guy loves his family. Or this guy's biggest goal in life is to grow the kingdom of God. Yeah. Something like that. Again, it depends on where the conversation goes. It depends on yeah. It depends on where the conversation goes, really. But um it would be something something along those lines, I guess. Because realistically, I talk it ideally, right? I talk for 15 minutes. It's not really that long. We've been sitting here for probably like an hour at this point. I don't know. Feels like forever. Thanks, Devin. You're welcome. Just kidding. Anywho, uh, I guess that I guess that'll be it. All right.
SPEAKER_00Good deal.
JonThanks for listening. Remember to like, share, and subscribe. If you know someone who would enjoy this, please pass it along. You can follow us on Instagram at uncommon.man or reach out at theuncommonman.com. Keep pursuing excellence, and above all, pursue that.