June 19, 2024 • 31 mins
Have you ever found yourself talking endlessly about your dreams but never actually taking steps to achieve them? This episode of the Soul Fuel podcast is all about breaking that cycle. I take a deep dive into my own past, from childhood acting dreams to facing the harsh reality of my filmmaking ventures. Join me as I share candid reflections and lessons on moving beyond just words to making things happen, emphasizing that talk is cheap unless backed by action.
We'll explore the consequences of getting lost in our own narratives and the critical role faith plays in turning dreams into reality. Drawing on personal anecdotes, I discuss how faith in Jesus has been a vital foundation for progress. Listen as I dissect people's varied reactions to our plans and goals—supportive, skeptical, and self-serving. Understand the importance of keeping promises and the dangers of over-promising, while learning how to navigate the fine balance between faith and action for true success.
Finally, let's talk practicality: aligning actions with words in both spiritual and professional realms, and tackling personal finance and fashion with a dose of humor and wisdom. From the pitfalls of over-sharing on social media to the benefits of moving in silence, I cover it all. Plus, a light-hearted yet earnest critique on fashion choices that might just make you rethink pairing long sleeve shirts with shorts. Tune in for a session that promises to fuel your soul and propel you towards your goals.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Instagram is so loud, facebook is so loud what other
people are doing is so loud thatit's easier to mimic what you
can see rather than walk it outand walk and take the steps of
what it takes to get what yousee.
What's up, everybody?
(00:25):
Welcome to another episode ofthe SoulFuel podcast, the pit
stop for you to get your soulfueled up for your journey in
this life, and also doing itwith Christ.
I'm your host, willie RobbinsIII, aka Pastor Will.
I am.
I don't know what to say aboutthis episode.
I don't know what to say aboutthis episode.
(00:45):
I don't know what to say aboutit.
Let's just jump right into it.
All right.
I used to be somebody who dreamta lot, dreamed a lot about
doing certain things, achievingcertain goals, and it took me a
while to actually do it.
(01:05):
And one of the things that Irealized about me is that I
loved attention.
Growing up, I loved attentionin terms of being a class clown.
I loved being talked about in agood way.
This followed me from middleschool to uh, from elementary
(01:31):
school to middle school uh.
When I was in elementary schoolin chattanooga, tennessee, I
remember being at my uncle'schurch and my dad made me my
costume, for he was an associatepastor at my uncle's church in
Chattanooga and I remember Ithink I was four or five, but I
(01:51):
remember playing the soldier whostabbed Jesus in his side.
Say what you want.
Somebody could have probablysaid I was going to hell because
I was.
I played my role like youcouldn't tell me nothing, you
could not tell me anything.
I played my role like youcouldn't tell me nothing, you
could not tell me anything.
I played my role.
I went out there, I stabbedJesus in the side and I pulled
(02:14):
it out.
It was like and I remember theway my dad made it it was like
cardboard with um aluminum foilwrapped around it and I even
also had aluminum foil, aluminumfoil helmet that, as a Roman
soldier, my dad put thattogether.
So if I was going to hell forplaying that role, then my dad
(02:37):
is too for supplying me with thearmor.
But anyway, I being beingcongratulated for, uh, doing
such a great job, remembering myrole, remembering my lines, and
it just moved on.
Middle school class clown, youknow, I really funny man, you
funny, you funny, you funny.
(02:58):
Uh, high school, you funny, youfunny.
You know, when I actually foundmyself, I had my little thug
face, but when I actually foundmyself, I was an actor, like I
really acted, I really put myall into it, and so some of you
that are listening to this, andsome of you who know me, know
that this is true, and so I Isay this because, um, out of all
(03:19):
those things that I did, itmade me want to achieve certain
dreams, such as being an actor.
I was getting all of theaccolades, I was getting
applauded, and usually what youget applauded for you continue
to do, especially when theapplause feels good.
And so one thing that I kept ondoing from the moment of
(03:47):
receiving all of these accoladesis talking, talking, talking,
talking, talking, talking,saying what it is that I wanted
to do, but I wasn't moving on it.
I kept talking about it, but Iwasn't doing it.
(04:11):
In the beginning of, you know, ashort acting career, I was
doing a lot of theater.
I was doing a lot of theater inin my city and, um, I just got
kind of got tired of it and itwas like, okay, I'm not really
booking anything serious, I hadan agent and all of this.
(04:31):
I'm not really getting anything.
So I get fed up with waitingfor an opportunity, and so I
start creating opportunities.
So it took me a couple of years.
It took me a couple of yearseven after getting into ministry
, as I talked about in one ofthe previous episodes.
I get into ministry and I'mstill chasing acting, but then
(04:55):
acting gets boring for me.
I always loved it, and I stilldo to this day, but I got bored
of it, and so I ended up goinginto another world of
storytelling, which isfilmmaking.
And so, as I chased the dream offilmmaking, I noticed that I
(05:15):
was doing a lot of talking.
I was doing a lot of talking,but I wasn't doing no doing.
Can I say that?
And so this is our conversationtoday in this episode is that
you're either going to put up orshut up.
You're either going to put upor shut up.
(05:35):
It's time out for all of thetalking.
I'm going to do this, I'm goingto do that, I'm going to do
this, I'm going to do that, I'mgoing to do this, I'm going to
do that, I'm gonna do this, I'mgonna do that, I'm gonna do this
, I'm gonna do that, oh, andthen I'm gonna do this and then
I'm gonna do this.
You gotta stop you.
You have to stop just talkingabout it and there comes a point
(05:55):
where you just have to stoptalking about it completely,
because talking about it doesn'tdo anything but get you excited
for something that isn't realyet.
And, of course, my uncle had asaying.
My uncle, derek, had a sayingyou got to see it before you see
it or you'll never see it.
And what was he talking about?
(06:16):
I believe that he was talkingabout anybody else you can
correct me if I'm wrong my uncle, my other uncles and my dad.
They know him better than I didin terms of what, how and why
he used to say this and whatcontext he said it.
In business or any aspiration incontent creation and even
acting, just the creative space,whatever it is that you do.
(06:55):
When you say you're going to doit at some point you have to
stop talking.
One of the biggest things thatreally gets under my skin with
people and I had to learn to bepatient with people, and I am.
I am, and sometimes when Icatch myself in, in in my
feelings and I when I say that,I mean when I catch myself
getting irritated becausesomebody is just talking, I you
(07:16):
know I don't want to say thewrong thing, I'm very careful
about what I say, and so I.
This is why we got againwalking in the spirit.
So we're careful about what wesay.
It don't mean that the thoughtthat comes to your head is like
a real thing that you need, thatyou probably should say, but
you probably shouldn't say itbecause that person is not ready
(07:39):
to receive the hard love thatyou want to give them in that
moment.
And so I just I hear a lot ofpeople do a lot of talking about
what they're going to do, whatthis, like I'm going to do this
and then I'm going to do thisand then I got this lined up and
then I'm going to make thishappen.
Okay, what's the first step?
And the reason why I can talkabout this is because that was
(08:01):
me.
That's the reason why I tookyou all the way back to
elementary school, middle school, high school, high school I
started doing it even more.
I was working at it a littlebit.
I was making little films.
In high school we did somethings in acting class, in my
drama class, and I had a camera.
Then I did not know thatfilmmaking was going to be the
(08:25):
thing that was really going topush me to make waves in my life
and really cause me to beeffective.
Or I didn't know that I wasthat good at it.
Had I known that, I would have,you know, had acting be my
secondary and directing andcinematography be my first, my
(08:48):
primary, and so the reason why Ican again, why I can say this,
is because I've been there,where I did a lot of talking,
where I did a lot of talking,and I'm talking about dreams,
I'm talking about work, I'mtalking about dreams, I'm
talking about work, I'm talkingabout your business plans and
really, at the root of all ofthat, I'm talking about faith,
(09:11):
really, right.
So because we can't do anythingwork based, work related,
talent related, creative related, whatever field that we're in,
we can't.
We can't talk that withouttalking Jesus, right, we can't
talk that without talking faith,because some of those things
that we do when it comes to our,our dreams and aspirations, it
(09:34):
can only be done by our faiththat we have in God, not
ourselves.
There is a certain kind ofbelief that we have in ourselves
and our ability to do things,but it is first in Christ Jesus,
because that's where ouridentity is right.
I just want to get that.
I want to get that straight outthe gate.
So, going back to you know,talking a lot, not doing, it's
(10:01):
very, it's cool, because what itdid for me was make me excited
to see other people excitedabout what I said I was going to
do.
Right, I used to get excitedabout other people's excitement
about what I said I was going todo, and then I talked myself up
(10:21):
so much and I talked about itso much to where people are
expecting it, and I'm notrealizing that this is
essentially causing me to dowhat we talked about in the last
episode of the Soul Fuelpodcast, right, which is keep
your word.
See, it's hard to keep yourword when you talk too much.
(10:43):
See, it's hard to keep yourword when you talk too much
because you say so many thingsand you make so many promises
that you know that you know youcan't keep, but you keep doing
it because it it gets theapplause.
It gets the applause, it getspeople, um, excited about what
you want, what you're, whatyou're trying to accomplish, and
more so because some people aregenuinely happy for you.
(11:04):
Some people are genuinely, uh,excited about the things that
you're getting ready to dobecause they believe they
actually believe in your talent,they believe in your skills,
they believe in what you have tooffer to the world, in your, in
the creative spaces, in in thework force place, in in the
business place, you in the, inthe, in the workplace.
(11:25):
There there's some people.
And then there's some peoplethat are like, okay, I'll wait.
So when you do this, this gonnabe my opportunity with the
birdman hands.
Ah yeah, so when you do that,make sure you come hit me up.
Don't forget the little people.
You know these things, thesetypes of people.
So there are different peoplethat are that are rying or
(11:47):
rallying in your corner becausethey have different motives.
Again, some that have reallygreat intentions and they really
want the best for you and theyreally want to see you win Right
.
And then, on the other hand,you have people who are just
just want to see what they canget out of it.
And then you have another groupwho just doubt you and then and
(12:07):
you can't be upset because insome cases, those people who
doubt you are probably spot on,because you're doing too much
talking and sometimes noteverybody that doubts you don't
uh, not everybody that doubtsyou are people who don't believe
in you.
Oh, let me say that again.
(12:28):
Let me say that again Noteverybody who doubts you does
not believe in you.
Let me say that one more time,because that sounded confusing
to me, even me.
Let me say that one more timeNot everybody who doubts what
you say does not believe in you,does not?
(12:50):
It's not true that they do notbelieve in you.
Let me say that.
Can I say it that way?
Y'all got me, y'all got me.
Okay, get it, got it, good.
So it's not that, it's thatthey're peeping game, they're
peeping that you're doing a lotof talking and not no walking.
And so we can and we'll tiethis, tie this, we'll tie this
(13:12):
to faith.
But I but you have to reallyunderstand this, because if you
don't understand this, you won'tunderstand faith.
If you don't understand faith,you won't understand how to be
successful in business.
See, the reason why the worldis so successful in business is
because they have faith in theirtalent and their abilities and
faith in people to at some pointopen the door for them.
(13:37):
And it always happenseventually.
I don't care if it takes 10years.
You got to put in 10,000 hoursfor everything.
In any industry almost you haveto put in 10,000 hours to be
considered an expert or tomaster it.
You have to put in 10,000 hoursto be considered an expert or
to master it.
So there are some people whoare literally waiting for an
(14:00):
opportunity.
They're waiting for thatopportunity.
They're waiting for theopportunity to get their shot,
to get their chance.
But there are other people againwho, going back to that, I kind
kind of lost my train ofthought, but let me get back to
it, and I'm not, I'm not editingthis out, it's the dog barking
(14:20):
in the background.
He just threw me all the wayoff but, as I was saying, so
he's still barking.
But, as I was saying, thepeople who doubt you do not
always not believe in yourability.
They just see that you'retalking too much and you have to
be able to walk.
So if you don't have faith inGod and this is what I was
(14:43):
saying if you don't have faithin God, if you don't believe in
the way that you're supposed tobelieve in him, it pushes you to
believe in self, and a lot ofpeople don't have the confidence
that some people in the worldhave, and that comes in
different shapes and sizes.
There's some people that are inthe world that don't believe in
(15:04):
God or whatever, they stilldon't have no confidence in what
they know how to do, right.
But then there are people thatliterally are sure and certain,
they are whole of themselves intheir ability to, to, to
accomplish whatever they set outto do.
So, when you're in Christ,whatever, whatever you, whatever
(15:26):
you, however, you believe inChrist, that is the same type of
belief you can take to yourdreams and your aspirations,
right?
And so, when you are able towalk the walk of a Christian,
when you're able to walk thewalk of a believer and for real
be a believer without being ahypocrite, without being any of
(15:49):
these things, without being thefake Christian, without being
the 2024 Christian, right Eventhe legalists, the hyper-graced
people and the legalists,because those are unjust
balances and an unjust balanceis an abomination to the Lord.
So, walking the straight andnarrow is the balance, it is the
(16:14):
way, it is the way Jesus said,he is the way, the truth and the
life right.
And so, with that being said, Ihave to be sure of myself,
because I'm sure of who I belongto in Christ.
So I can't just do a lot oftalking like, oh, I love the
Lord, I love the Lord.
(16:34):
I love the Lord.
I love the Lord.
Yeah, I love the Lord.
He always working out for you,always working things out for me
.
He always doing stuff for me.
He always fixing it.
He always, he always this.
But my walk is different thanwhat I'm talking Like.
My walk cannot be a walk thatis living willy, nilly, right.
My walk cannot be contrary tomy talk.
(16:54):
It has to match and so the samegoes, as that is the base,
because I probably started thisconversation off backwards, but
it still works.
It still works because y'allstill rocking with me and y'all
SoulFuel podcast family.
So you know it's the root of itall is your integrity and your
(17:16):
ability to keep the word of Godright, because you have to
acknowledge him in all of yourways that you can't do anything
without him anyway.
And when you acknowledge him inall of your ways, it makes it
easier for you to navigate andhave the confidence to do the
things that you set out to do,the things that you said that
you were going to do.
And so, again, I hear a lot ofpeople who say they're going to
(17:38):
do this, they're going to dothat, they're going to do this,
they're going to do that andthey don't have a plan and it's
not that.
And some people say, well, Idon't need a plan, I work better
off the cuff, but can you atleast write something down?
Do you have like some kind ofnote somewhere?
Can you do?
Is there some type of thingthat will hold you accountable?
Because I know for me somethings that I didn't write down.
(18:01):
I found myself putting it onsocial media.
Sometimes I would get excitedabout things that I wanted to do
and I didn't even have a planon how I wanted to get it done.
But I would talk about it andthrow it on social media but
still didn't do it, because Ireally wasn't.
I didn't, I wasn't planning ondoing it.
I had the idea to do it and letme take that back.
(18:24):
I planned it in my mind.
See, what happened was Ithought it was a good idea, but
I really didn't, because Ididn't write it down and I
didn't act on it.
But I talked about it a lotbecause I saw that it was going
to get me thumbs up, it wasgoing to get me hearts, it was
going to get me likes.
It was going to get me.
You know these different typesof emojis that speak to my ego.
(18:57):
So what I believe the Lord isleading me to tell each and
every last one of you that arelistening is that you got to put
up or shut up for one with yourfaith.
You got to live that life ortake your sign down.
If you're not going to live forJesus, go ahead, be the biggest
sinner you can be.
Yes, I said it.
If you're not going to live forJesus and obey his commandments
, be the biggest sinner you canbe.
Yes, I said it.
If you're not going to live forJesus and obey his commandments
, it don't make no sense for youto straddle the fence, because
(19:18):
if you straddle the fence, itmeans that you picked your
master.
And Jesus said you cannot servetwo masters.
Right, you cannot serve twomasters.
You got to love one or hate theother.
So you got to pick, choose youthis day whom you're going to
serve, right, and so, when youserve the Lord again, this makes
(19:38):
it easier for you to be able togo out and do the things that
you desire to do.
But one thing I just I can'tstand is people who talk a lot
but don't do nothing.
Right, and I won't say I can'tstand the people, I can't stand
(19:59):
that action.
Let me, let me clean it all theway up, because I am a pastor
out here.
So I love all people and I andI and I love, I love all people.
I may not like what people do,but I really do love all people
and I just, and I love allpeople.
I may not like what people do,but I really do love all people
and I just.
That is one thing that I cannotstand.
But I have grace with thesepeople because, again, like I
(20:20):
said at the beginning of all ofthis, it started, the root of it
started with attention seekingright, and so, again, seeing how
much, how many reactions youcan get on social media should
not be your motivation, becauseif that's all there is, you
won't make it.
(20:41):
If reactions on social media iswhat you feel that success is,
then you will never make it is,then you will never make it,
because all talk means nothing.
It means absolutely nothing.
(21:06):
So we can't just talk about it.
You got to be about it.
Talking about it is one thing,walking about it is one thing,
walking about it is anotherthing, and so one of the things
that really pushed me over theedge was my desire to do things
(21:31):
the Hollywood way, my desire topitch my first feature film that
I did like.
It was yesterday streaming onAmazon Prime and Tubi.
I again was looking for a bigbudget, I was looking for how
everybody else does it, notrealizing that I literally I
(21:54):
have a phone, I had cameras, Ihad all the gear, but I was
looking to do it like everybodyelse would do it and I kept
posting about making a movie.
I was posting pictures of thescript, I was posting little, I
was posting table reads, I wasposting these things.
(22:16):
But you know what?
Something shifted in me After.
I got tired of pitching todifferent film companies at film
festivals, or really at onefilm festival.
I got tired of pitching and Isaid you know what it's time for
me to make it?
I'm going to make it, I don'tknow how I'm going to do it, and
watch this.
I stepped out by faith.
I used the same pitching and Isaid you know what it's time for
(22:36):
me to make it?
I'm going to make it, I don'tknow how I'm going to do it, and
watch this.
I stepped out by faith.
I used the same faith that Ihad in the Lord and I applied it
to the process of filmmaking.
I didn't have money to makeanything.
I cast my actors.
I had actors.
I promised them certain budgets.
I had a sound guy, certain, youknow, certain budgets.
I had a sound guy.
He signed a deal memo for anamount of money.
(22:57):
I did not have y'all, I didn'thave it, but he signed it and so
I was like forget it.
I mean, what's the worst thatcould happen?
One thing I did not have is aplan like on releasing it.
Like I didn't know.
I just knew I needed to make amovie because I had been talking
about it for the the past fiveyears and I think this probably
was the when the movie I'veactually finished it from the
(23:20):
first draft all the way to, uh,the premiere shout out to ibff
nashville the premiere in 2018,at that film festival, at IBFF
2018.
That was.
It took me three years toactually do what I was talking.
(23:40):
It took me three years to walkit.
It took me, going through theups and downs and the applause
and all of these things, toactually go ahead and make the
movie, and so that was theturning point for me and why I
am able to say everything thatI'm saying, even all the way to
(24:03):
moving to Los Angeles in themiddle of a pandemic, at the
start of a pandemic, getting aplace to live, flying my family
over 1500 miles from Nashvilleto Los Angeles that that took
faith.
That took faith in believing inthe ability of what I had the
(24:23):
power to do, not knowing if wewould make it for real, for real
, just off faith alone, stillknowing that the Lord was my
help.
You know, I kind of strayedaway in 2020, but I came back
before the end of the year,right, and so I'm able to speak
(24:44):
to all of these things because,you know, doing a lot of talking
it doesn't do anything.
And this is why and I believethat this is why, thank you,
holy Spirit, this is why somepeople fall into depression, why
people fall into anxiety,because they have talked
themselves up so much that theirconfidence level, while they
(25:06):
have talked up their confidence,went down, producing nothing.
It produced absolutely zero.
And so, with that being said, Iwant to read this scripture
found in Proverbs, chapter 14,verse 23, in the message version
, and I like the message versionhere because and I rarely quote
(25:27):
the message version, but itsays hard work always pays off.
Hard work always pays off.
Let me say that again.
Let me say that one more timeHard work always pays off.
This is why I said you know,it's unnecessary to pray for
money.
It's unnecessary to pray formaterial things, because anybody
(25:50):
, at any time, can go and buythe material things.
Anybody could even go and stealthe material things, but
stealing doesn't profit youanything because you won't get
to enjoy it.
But hard work pays off.
This is a proverb.
This is true inside church andoutside of church.
It's true.
This is why it don't make sensefor people to be praying for
(26:12):
money.
Pray for my finances.
Well, there are a lot of thingsyou can do to better your
finances.
You can budget better.
You can spend better, right.
You can spend less by that.
Spend better by spending less,being smart with your money,
right.
Downsizing.
Stop trying to live above yourmeans.
There are many ways, right.
But because the talk is so loudInstagram is so loud, facebook
(26:37):
is so loud, what other peopleare doing is so loud that it's
easier to mimic what you can seerather than walk it out and
walk and take the steps of whatit takes to get what you see.
So I'm not saying chasematerial things by any means,
because some of y'all y'all knowhow I preach, you know what I
believe, you know how you know Ibelieve the word of God.
(26:59):
And so things are easy toobtain.
Money is easy to obtain.
All you got to do is work hard.
This is why Proverbs 14, 23says again hard work always pays
off.
It didn't say it sometimes paysoff.
It always pays off when youwork for the Lord.
(27:21):
When you work for the Lord, itpays off.
When you believe in the Lord,it pays off.
It always pays off.
You don't have to, you don'teven have to, you don't have to
trip.
It always pays off when youwork hard on your job.
Listen, it always pays off.
(27:43):
It does Don't.
Don't worry about it, it willpay off.
But this ain't even all of theverse.
It says hard work always paysoff.
Mere talk puts no bread on thetable.
Come on, no, listen.
All talk.
(28:04):
It doesn't get anything done.
This is why hard work alwayspays off, because it's the
actual walking instead of thetalking.
It's cool in the very beginningto talk about it, but you got to
make sure that you be about it.
This is why you have to makesure that you're passionate
about the thing.
You got to make sure thatyou're passionate about the
(28:27):
thing Before you start runningoff at the mouth, you start
posting.
See, now I move like a ninja.
Now I don't say anything.
I may talk to talent, I maytalk to a couple of people about
an idea of what I'm doing, butI learn to move.
They say gangsters move insilence.
I'm not claiming to be nogangster, god knows.
(28:47):
I'm not claiming to be agangster, but I'm moving in
silence with all of the thingsthat I have going on.
And sometimes I even do thiswith church, some things that
that that I want to work on,that I'm working on, I
prematurely announcing, and I'vebeen working on that, I've
stopped doing that.
So I literally, when it seemslike I don't have anything else
to say, it's not that I don'thave anything going on, it's
(29:11):
just that I want to just bequiet and just move in silence.
But I also I think it's alittle bit different when you're
dealing with church, becauseyou want people to know the
plans for the ministry andthings of that nature.
But listen, you got to put up orshut up.
You got to put up or shut up.
(29:31):
So I hope this blessed you.
Remember that verse, rememberthat verse.
Proverbs, chapter 14, verse 23.
Hard work always pays off.
Mere talk puts no bread on thetable.
I want you to join me in thisnext segment.
Y'all already know what it isby now.
I know I, I know, you know, Iknow, you know what it is, but I
(29:52):
need you to say it with me theymust be stopped.
Listen, people who wear longsleeve shirts with shorts, you
gotta stop.
You gotta stop because ninetimes out of ten, no, listen to
me, listen to me.
Nine times out of ten, eventhough you got on a long sleeve
shirt and you put on some shorts, you probably you might be
(30:13):
wearing white socks with blackshoes.
You might be, you might be.
I listen, I'm not trying tojudge you, I'm not Listen, I
just, I just, I just want you tomake it make sense.
I just want you to make it makesense.
Can anybody tell me if thatmakes sense?
You to make it make sense.
I just want you to make it makesense.
Can anybody tell me if thatmakes sense?
Like and this might bedebatable in a lot of circles,
(30:34):
but I'm not a big fashion guy.
I don't claim to be a fashionguru, but I I will say that this
has to be stopped.
You know the the, the longsleeve shirts with shorts.
You know we, we gotta that.
We really do.
We really need to.
We really really, really needto.
(30:55):
All right, so listen.
I hope you enjoyed this episodeof the soul fuel.
I hope your soul has beenfueled up.
I hope you got a lot out ofthis pit stop.
Listen, I want you to tellsomebody, I want you to share it
with your mama, your daddy,your sister, your cousin, your
brother, your auntie, your uncle, your best friends.
(31:15):
Listen, tell them, check outthe SoulFuel podcast, available
on every single platform.
All right, until next time.
I'll see y'all at the nextPitstop Peace.
Instagram is so loud, facebook is so loud what other
people are doing is so loud thatit's easier to mimic what you
can see rather than walk it outand walk and take the steps of
what it takes to get what yousee.
What's up, everybody?
(00:25):
Welcome to another episode ofthe SoulFuel podcast, the pit
stop for you to get your soulfueled up for your journey in
this life, and also doing itwith Christ.
I'm your host, willie RobbinsIII, aka Pastor Will.
I am.
I don't know what to say aboutthis episode.
I don't know what to say aboutthis episode.
(00:45):
I don't know what to say aboutit.
Let's just jump right into it.
All right.
I used to be somebody who dreamta lot, dreamed a lot about
doing certain things, achievingcertain goals, and it took me a
while to actually do it.
(01:05):
And one of the things that Irealized about me is that I
loved attention.
Growing up, I loved attentionin terms of being a class clown.
I loved being talked about in agood way.
This followed me from middleschool to uh, from elementary
(01:31):
school to middle school uh.
When I was in elementary schoolin chattanooga, tennessee, I
remember being at my uncle'schurch and my dad made me my
costume, for he was an associatepastor at my uncle's church in
Chattanooga and I remember Ithink I was four or five, but I
(01:51):
remember playing the soldier whostabbed Jesus in his side.
Say what you want.
Somebody could have probablysaid I was going to hell because
I was.
I played my role like youcouldn't tell me nothing, you
could not tell me anything.
I played my role like youcouldn't tell me nothing, you
could not tell me anything.
I played my role.
I went out there, I stabbedJesus in the side and I pulled
(02:14):
it out.
It was like and I remember theway my dad made it it was like
cardboard with um aluminum foilwrapped around it and I even
also had aluminum foil, aluminumfoil helmet that, as a Roman
soldier, my dad put thattogether.
So if I was going to hell forplaying that role, then my dad
(02:37):
is too for supplying me with thearmor.
But anyway, I being beingcongratulated for, uh, doing
such a great job, remembering myrole, remembering my lines, and
it just moved on.
Middle school class clown, youknow, I really funny man, you
funny, you funny, you funny.
(02:58):
Uh, high school, you funny, youfunny.
You know, when I actually foundmyself, I had my little thug
face, but when I actually foundmyself, I was an actor, like I
really acted, I really put myall into it, and so some of you
that are listening to this, andsome of you who know me, know
that this is true, and so I Isay this because, um, out of all
(03:19):
those things that I did, itmade me want to achieve certain
dreams, such as being an actor.
I was getting all of theaccolades, I was getting
applauded, and usually what youget applauded for you continue
to do, especially when theapplause feels good.
And so one thing that I kept ondoing from the moment of
(03:47):
receiving all of these accoladesis talking, talking, talking,
talking, talking, talking,saying what it is that I wanted
to do, but I wasn't moving on it.
I kept talking about it, but Iwasn't doing it.
(04:11):
In the beginning of, you know, ashort acting career, I was
doing a lot of theater.
I was doing a lot of theater inin my city and, um, I just got
kind of got tired of it and itwas like, okay, I'm not really
booking anything serious, I hadan agent and all of this.
(04:31):
I'm not really getting anything.
So I get fed up with waitingfor an opportunity, and so I
start creating opportunities.
So it took me a couple of years.
It took me a couple of yearseven after getting into ministry
, as I talked about in one ofthe previous episodes.
I get into ministry and I'mstill chasing acting, but then
(04:55):
acting gets boring for me.
I always loved it, and I stilldo to this day, but I got bored
of it, and so I ended up goinginto another world of
storytelling, which isfilmmaking.
And so, as I chased the dream offilmmaking, I noticed that I
(05:15):
was doing a lot of talking.
I was doing a lot of talking,but I wasn't doing no doing.
Can I say that?
And so this is our conversationtoday in this episode is that
you're either going to put up orshut up.
You're either going to put upor shut up.
(05:35):
It's time out for all of thetalking.
I'm going to do this, I'm goingto do that, I'm going to do
this, I'm going to do that, I'mgoing to do this, I'm going to
do that, I'm gonna do this, I'mgonna do that, I'm gonna do this
, I'm gonna do that, oh, andthen I'm gonna do this and then
I'm gonna do this.
You gotta stop you.
You have to stop just talkingabout it and there comes a point
(05:55):
where you just have to stoptalking about it completely,
because talking about it doesn'tdo anything but get you excited
for something that isn't realyet.
And, of course, my uncle had asaying.
My uncle, derek, had a sayingyou got to see it before you see
it or you'll never see it.
And what was he talking about?
(06:16):
I believe that he was talkingabout anybody else you can
correct me if I'm wrong my uncle, my other uncles and my dad.
They know him better than I didin terms of what, how and why
he used to say this and whatcontext he said it.
In business or any aspiration incontent creation and even
acting, just the creative space,whatever it is that you do.
(06:55):
When you say you're going to doit at some point you have to
stop talking.
One of the biggest things thatreally gets under my skin with
people and I had to learn to bepatient with people, and I am.
I am, and sometimes when Icatch myself in, in in my
feelings and I when I say that,I mean when I catch myself
getting irritated becausesomebody is just talking, I you
(07:16):
know I don't want to say thewrong thing, I'm very careful
about what I say, and so I.
This is why we got againwalking in the spirit.
So we're careful about what wesay.
It don't mean that the thoughtthat comes to your head is like
a real thing that you need, thatyou probably should say, but
you probably shouldn't say itbecause that person is not ready
(07:39):
to receive the hard love thatyou want to give them in that
moment.
And so I just I hear a lot ofpeople do a lot of talking about
what they're going to do, whatthis, like I'm going to do this
and then I'm going to do thisand then I got this lined up and
then I'm going to make thishappen.
Okay, what's the first step?
And the reason why I can talkabout this is because that was
(08:01):
me.
That's the reason why I tookyou all the way back to
elementary school, middle school, high school, high school I
started doing it even more.
I was working at it a littlebit.
I was making little films.
In high school we did somethings in acting class, in my
drama class, and I had a camera.
Then I did not know thatfilmmaking was going to be the
(08:25):
thing that was really going topush me to make waves in my life
and really cause me to beeffective.
Or I didn't know that I wasthat good at it.
Had I known that, I would have,you know, had acting be my
secondary and directing andcinematography be my first, my
(08:48):
primary, and so the reason why Ican again, why I can say this,
is because I've been there,where I did a lot of talking,
where I did a lot of talking,and I'm talking about dreams,
I'm talking about work, I'mtalking about dreams, I'm
talking about work, I'm talkingabout your business plans and
really, at the root of all ofthat, I'm talking about faith,
(09:11):
really, right.
So because we can't do anythingwork based, work related,
talent related, creative related, whatever field that we're in,
we can't.
We can't talk that withouttalking Jesus, right, we can't
talk that without talking faith,because some of those things
that we do when it comes to our,our dreams and aspirations, it
(09:34):
can only be done by our faiththat we have in God, not
ourselves.
There is a certain kind ofbelief that we have in ourselves
and our ability to do things,but it is first in Christ Jesus,
because that's where ouridentity is right.
I just want to get that.
I want to get that straight outthe gate.
So, going back to you know,talking a lot, not doing, it's
(10:01):
very, it's cool, because what itdid for me was make me excited
to see other people excitedabout what I said I was going to
do.
Right, I used to get excitedabout other people's excitement
about what I said I was going todo, and then I talked myself up
(10:21):
so much and I talked about itso much to where people are
expecting it, and I'm notrealizing that this is
essentially causing me to dowhat we talked about in the last
episode of the Soul Fuelpodcast, right, which is keep
your word.
See, it's hard to keep yourword when you talk too much.
(10:43):
See, it's hard to keep yourword when you talk too much
because you say so many thingsand you make so many promises
that you know that you know youcan't keep, but you keep doing
it because it it gets theapplause.
It gets the applause, it getspeople, um, excited about what
you want, what you're, whatyou're trying to accomplish, and
more so because some people aregenuinely happy for you.
(11:04):
Some people are genuinely, uh,excited about the things that
you're getting ready to dobecause they believe they
actually believe in your talent,they believe in your skills,
they believe in what you have tooffer to the world, in your, in
the creative spaces, in in thework force place, in in the
business place, you in the, inthe, in the workplace.
(11:25):
There there's some people.
And then there's some peoplethat are like, okay, I'll wait.
So when you do this, this gonnabe my opportunity with the
birdman hands.
Ah yeah, so when you do that,make sure you come hit me up.
Don't forget the little people.
You know these things, thesetypes of people.
So there are different peoplethat are that are rying or
(11:47):
rallying in your corner becausethey have different motives.
Again, some that have reallygreat intentions and they really
want the best for you and theyreally want to see you win Right
.
And then, on the other hand,you have people who are just
just want to see what they canget out of it.
And then you have another groupwho just doubt you and then and
(12:07):
you can't be upset because insome cases, those people who
doubt you are probably spot on,because you're doing too much
talking and sometimes noteverybody that doubts you don't
uh, not everybody that doubtsyou are people who don't believe
in you.
Oh, let me say that again.
(12:28):
Let me say that again Noteverybody who doubts you does
not believe in you.
Let me say that one more time,because that sounded confusing
to me, even me.
Let me say that one more timeNot everybody who doubts what
you say does not believe in you,does not?
(12:50):
It's not true that they do notbelieve in you.
Let me say that.
Can I say it that way?
Y'all got me, y'all got me.
Okay, get it, got it, good.
So it's not that, it's thatthey're peeping game, they're
peeping that you're doing a lotof talking and not no walking.
And so we can and we'll tiethis, tie this, we'll tie this
(13:12):
to faith.
But I but you have to reallyunderstand this, because if you
don't understand this, you won'tunderstand faith.
If you don't understand faith,you won't understand how to be
successful in business.
See, the reason why the worldis so successful in business is
because they have faith in theirtalent and their abilities and
faith in people to at some pointopen the door for them.
(13:37):
And it always happenseventually.
I don't care if it takes 10years.
You got to put in 10,000 hoursfor everything.
In any industry almost you haveto put in 10,000 hours to be
considered an expert or tomaster it.
You have to put in 10,000 hoursto be considered an expert or
to master it.
So there are some people whoare literally waiting for an
(14:00):
opportunity.
They're waiting for thatopportunity.
They're waiting for theopportunity to get their shot,
to get their chance.
But there are other people againwho, going back to that, I kind
kind of lost my train ofthought, but let me get back to
it, and I'm not, I'm not editingthis out, it's the dog barking
(14:20):
in the background.
He just threw me all the wayoff but, as I was saying, so
he's still barking.
But, as I was saying, thepeople who doubt you do not
always not believe in yourability.
They just see that you'retalking too much and you have to
be able to walk.
So if you don't have faith inGod and this is what I was
(14:43):
saying if you don't have faithin God, if you don't believe in
the way that you're supposed tobelieve in him, it pushes you to
believe in self, and a lot ofpeople don't have the confidence
that some people in the worldhave, and that comes in
different shapes and sizes.
There's some people that are inthe world that don't believe in
(15:04):
God or whatever, they stilldon't have no confidence in what
they know how to do, right.
But then there are people thatliterally are sure and certain,
they are whole of themselves intheir ability to, to, to
accomplish whatever they set outto do.
So, when you're in Christ,whatever, whatever you, whatever
(15:26):
you, however, you believe inChrist, that is the same type of
belief you can take to yourdreams and your aspirations,
right?
And so, when you are able towalk the walk of a Christian,
when you're able to walk thewalk of a believer and for real
be a believer without being ahypocrite, without being any of
(15:49):
these things, without being thefake Christian, without being
the 2024 Christian, right Eventhe legalists, the hyper-graced
people and the legalists,because those are unjust
balances and an unjust balanceis an abomination to the Lord.
So, walking the straight andnarrow is the balance, it is the
(16:14):
way, it is the way Jesus said,he is the way, the truth and the
life right.
And so, with that being said, Ihave to be sure of myself,
because I'm sure of who I belongto in Christ.
So I can't just do a lot oftalking like, oh, I love the
Lord, I love the Lord.
(16:34):
I love the Lord.
I love the Lord.
Yeah, I love the Lord.
He always working out for you,always working things out for me
.
He always doing stuff for me.
He always fixing it.
He always, he always this.
But my walk is different thanwhat I'm talking Like.
My walk cannot be a walk thatis living willy, nilly, right.
My walk cannot be contrary tomy talk.
(16:54):
It has to match and so the samegoes, as that is the base,
because I probably started thisconversation off backwards, but
it still works.
It still works because y'allstill rocking with me and y'all
SoulFuel podcast family.
So you know it's the root of itall is your integrity and your
(17:16):
ability to keep the word of Godright, because you have to
acknowledge him in all of yourways that you can't do anything
without him anyway.
And when you acknowledge him inall of your ways, it makes it
easier for you to navigate andhave the confidence to do the
things that you set out to do,the things that you said that
you were going to do.
And so, again, I hear a lot ofpeople who say they're going to
(17:38):
do this, they're going to dothat, they're going to do this,
they're going to do that andthey don't have a plan and it's
not that.
And some people say, well, Idon't need a plan, I work better
off the cuff, but can you atleast write something down?
Do you have like some kind ofnote somewhere?
Can you do?
Is there some type of thingthat will hold you accountable?
Because I know for me somethings that I didn't write down.
(18:01):
I found myself putting it onsocial media.
Sometimes I would get excitedabout things that I wanted to do
and I didn't even have a planon how I wanted to get it done.
But I would talk about it andthrow it on social media but
still didn't do it, because Ireally wasn't.
I didn't, I wasn't planning ondoing it.
I had the idea to do it and letme take that back.
(18:24):
I planned it in my mind.
See, what happened was Ithought it was a good idea, but
I really didn't, because Ididn't write it down and I
didn't act on it.
But I talked about it a lotbecause I saw that it was going
to get me thumbs up, it wasgoing to get me hearts, it was
going to get me likes.
It was going to get me.
You know these different typesof emojis that speak to my ego.
(18:57):
So what I believe the Lord isleading me to tell each and
every last one of you that arelistening is that you got to put
up or shut up for one with yourfaith.
You got to live that life ortake your sign down.
If you're not going to live forJesus, go ahead, be the biggest
sinner you can be.
Yes, I said it.
If you're not going to live forJesus and obey his commandments
, be the biggest sinner you canbe.
Yes, I said it.
If you're not going to live forJesus and obey his commandments
, it don't make no sense for youto straddle the fence, because
(19:18):
if you straddle the fence, itmeans that you picked your
master.
And Jesus said you cannot servetwo masters.
Right, you cannot serve twomasters.
You got to love one or hate theother.
So you got to pick, choose youthis day whom you're going to
serve, right, and so, when youserve the Lord again, this makes
(19:38):
it easier for you to be able togo out and do the things that
you desire to do.
But one thing I just I can'tstand is people who talk a lot
but don't do nothing.
Right, and I won't say I can'tstand the people, I can't stand
(19:59):
that action.
Let me, let me clean it all theway up, because I am a pastor
out here.
So I love all people and I andI and I love, I love all people.
I may not like what people do,but I really do love all people
and I just, and I love allpeople.
I may not like what people do,but I really do love all people
and I just.
That is one thing that I cannotstand.
But I have grace with thesepeople because, again, like I
(20:20):
said at the beginning of all ofthis, it started, the root of it
started with attention seekingright, and so, again, seeing how
much, how many reactions youcan get on social media should
not be your motivation, becauseif that's all there is, you
won't make it.
(20:41):
If reactions on social media iswhat you feel that success is,
then you will never make it is,then you will never make it,
because all talk means nothing.
It means absolutely nothing.
(21:06):
So we can't just talk about it.
You got to be about it.
Talking about it is one thing,walking about it is one thing,
walking about it is anotherthing, and so one of the things
that really pushed me over theedge was my desire to do things
(21:31):
the Hollywood way, my desire topitch my first feature film that
I did like.
It was yesterday streaming onAmazon Prime and Tubi.
I again was looking for a bigbudget, I was looking for how
everybody else does it, notrealizing that I literally I
(21:54):
have a phone, I had cameras, Ihad all the gear, but I was
looking to do it like everybodyelse would do it and I kept
posting about making a movie.
I was posting pictures of thescript, I was posting little, I
was posting table reads, I wasposting these things.
(22:16):
But you know what?
Something shifted in me After.
I got tired of pitching todifferent film companies at film
festivals, or really at onefilm festival.
I got tired of pitching and Isaid you know what it's time for
me to make it?
I'm going to make it, I don'tknow how I'm going to do it, and
watch this.
I stepped out by faith.
I used the same pitching and Isaid you know what it's time for
(22:36):
me to make it?
I'm going to make it, I don'tknow how I'm going to do it, and
watch this.
I stepped out by faith.
I used the same faith that Ihad in the Lord and I applied it
to the process of filmmaking.
I didn't have money to makeanything.
I cast my actors.
I had actors.
I promised them certain budgets.
I had a sound guy, certain, youknow, certain budgets.
I had a sound guy.
He signed a deal memo for anamount of money.
(22:57):
I did not have y'all, I didn'thave it, but he signed it and so
I was like forget it.
I mean, what's the worst thatcould happen?
One thing I did not have is aplan like on releasing it.
Like I didn't know.
I just knew I needed to make amovie because I had been talking
about it for the the past fiveyears and I think this probably
was the when the movie I'veactually finished it from the
(23:20):
first draft all the way to, uh,the premiere shout out to ibff
nashville the premiere in 2018,at that film festival, at IBFF
2018.
That was.
It took me three years toactually do what I was talking.
(23:40):
It took me three years to walkit.
It took me, going through theups and downs and the applause
and all of these things, toactually go ahead and make the
movie, and so that was theturning point for me and why I
am able to say everything thatI'm saying, even all the way to
(24:03):
moving to Los Angeles in themiddle of a pandemic, at the
start of a pandemic, getting aplace to live, flying my family
over 1500 miles from Nashvilleto Los Angeles that that took
faith.
That took faith in believing inthe ability of what I had the
(24:23):
power to do, not knowing if wewould make it for real, for real
, just off faith alone, stillknowing that the Lord was my
help.
You know, I kind of strayedaway in 2020, but I came back
before the end of the year,right, and so I'm able to speak
(24:44):
to all of these things because,you know, doing a lot of talking
it doesn't do anything.
And this is why and I believethat this is why, thank you,
holy Spirit, this is why somepeople fall into depression, why
people fall into anxiety,because they have talked
themselves up so much that theirconfidence level, while they
(25:06):
have talked up their confidence,went down, producing nothing.
It produced absolutely zero.
And so, with that being said, Iwant to read this scripture
found in Proverbs, chapter 14,verse 23, in the message version
, and I like the message versionhere because and I rarely quote
(25:27):
the message version, but itsays hard work always pays off.
Hard work always pays off.
Let me say that again.
Let me say that one more timeHard work always pays off.
This is why I said you know,it's unnecessary to pray for
money.
It's unnecessary to pray formaterial things, because anybody
(25:50):
, at any time, can go and buythe material things.
Anybody could even go and stealthe material things, but
stealing doesn't profit youanything because you won't get
to enjoy it.
But hard work pays off.
This is a proverb.
This is true inside church andoutside of church.
It's true.
This is why it don't make sensefor people to be praying for
(26:12):
money.
Pray for my finances.
Well, there are a lot of thingsyou can do to better your
finances.
You can budget better.
You can spend better, right.
You can spend less by that.
Spend better by spending less,being smart with your money,
right.
Downsizing.
Stop trying to live above yourmeans.
There are many ways, right.
But because the talk is so loudInstagram is so loud, facebook
(26:37):
is so loud, what other peopleare doing is so loud that it's
easier to mimic what you can seerather than walk it out and
walk and take the steps of whatit takes to get what you see.
So I'm not saying chasematerial things by any means,
because some of y'all y'all knowhow I preach, you know what I
believe, you know how you know Ibelieve the word of God.
(26:59):
And so things are easy toobtain.
Money is easy to obtain.
All you got to do is work hard.
This is why Proverbs 14, 23says again hard work always pays
off.
It didn't say it sometimes paysoff.
It always pays off when youwork for the Lord.
(27:21):
When you work for the Lord, itpays off.
When you believe in the Lord,it pays off.
It always pays off.
You don't have to, you don'teven have to, you don't have to
trip.
It always pays off when youwork hard on your job.
Listen, it always pays off.
(27:43):
It does Don't.
Don't worry about it, it willpay off.
But this ain't even all of theverse.
It says hard work always paysoff.
Mere talk puts no bread on thetable.
Come on, no, listen.
All talk.
(28:04):
It doesn't get anything done.
This is why hard work alwayspays off, because it's the
actual walking instead of thetalking.
It's cool in the very beginningto talk about it, but you got to
make sure that you be about it.
This is why you have to makesure that you're passionate
about the thing.
You got to make sure thatyou're passionate about the
(28:27):
thing Before you start runningoff at the mouth, you start
posting.
See, now I move like a ninja.
Now I don't say anything.
I may talk to talent, I maytalk to a couple of people about
an idea of what I'm doing, butI learn to move.
They say gangsters move insilence.
I'm not claiming to be nogangster, god knows.
(28:47):
I'm not claiming to be agangster, but I'm moving in
silence with all of the thingsthat I have going on.
And sometimes I even do thiswith church, some things that
that that I want to work on,that I'm working on, I
prematurely announcing, and I'vebeen working on that, I've
stopped doing that.
So I literally, when it seemslike I don't have anything else
to say, it's not that I don'thave anything going on, it's
(29:11):
just that I want to just bequiet and just move in silence.
But I also I think it's alittle bit different when you're
dealing with church, becauseyou want people to know the
plans for the ministry andthings of that nature.
But listen, you got to put up orshut up.
You got to put up or shut up.
(29:31):
So I hope this blessed you.
Remember that verse, rememberthat verse.
Proverbs, chapter 14, verse 23.
Hard work always pays off.
Mere talk puts no bread on thetable.
I want you to join me in thisnext segment.
Y'all already know what it isby now.
I know I, I know, you know, Iknow, you know what it is, but I
(29:52):
need you to say it with me theymust be stopped.
Listen, people who wear longsleeve shirts with shorts, you
gotta stop.
You gotta stop because ninetimes out of ten, no, listen to
me, listen to me.
Nine times out of ten, eventhough you got on a long sleeve
shirt and you put on some shorts, you probably you might be
(30:13):
wearing white socks with blackshoes.
You might be, you might be.
I listen, I'm not trying tojudge you, I'm not Listen, I
just, I just, I just want you tomake it make sense.
I just want you to make it makesense.
Can anybody tell me if thatmakes sense?
You to make it make sense.
I just want you to make it makesense.
Can anybody tell me if thatmakes sense?
Like and this might bedebatable in a lot of circles,
(30:34):
but I'm not a big fashion guy.
I don't claim to be a fashionguru, but I I will say that this
has to be stopped.
You know the the, the longsleeve shirts with shorts.
You know we, we gotta that.
We really do.
We really need to.
We really really, really needto.
(30:55):
All right, so listen.
I hope you enjoyed this episodeof the soul fuel.
I hope your soul has beenfueled up.
I hope you got a lot out ofthis pit stop.
Listen, I want you to tellsomebody, I want you to share it
with your mama, your daddy,your sister, your cousin, your
brother, your auntie, your uncle, your best friends.
(31:15):
Listen, tell them, check outthe SoulFuel podcast, available
on every single platform.
All right, until next time.
I'll see y'all at the nextPitstop Peace.
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