Failure: How Steve Harvey Almost Broke Comedy with Honesty!

Your gift can be anything. You can't look at it as simply running, jumping, singing, and dancing. Failure means you've now learned another valuable lesson that pushes you one step closer to success. Everything you see above ground that blossoms and plants and grows and that's beautiful, it was underground one time. When people try to figure out how to make a million dollars, they have no idea how daunting that is, 'cause if you knew how to make a million dollars, you gonna make it tomorrow. If I had as many followers as Kim Kardashian, I probably wouldn't even have to do this TV show. When you strike out on your goal, you're going to have to get ready for flexibility. The dream is free. The hustle is sold separate. I aim for stuff so big that the dream is bigger than the fear.

And I want you to take a look at this sign as they pull the cord. Can you see this?

Yeah, I'm looking at it.

He's an American comedian, TV host, actor, and author. He's the host of the Steve Harvey Morning Show, Steve Harvey, Family Feud, and Little Big Shots. He's a 3-time Daytime Emmy Award winner. He's Steve Harvey, and here's my take on his top 10 rules for success.

Your gift can be anything. You can't look at it as simply running, jumping, singing, and dancing, but I'll tell you one thing, your gift is the thing that you do the absolute best with the least amount of effort. For me, It was comedy. So once you identify it, then that's the beginning of it. But there's a lot of work to do even after you identify your gift. You know, you can believe you're something all you want, but if you don't work towards it, you just sitting there, it's gonna be empty. Failure means you've now learned another valuable lesson that pushes you one step closer to success.

It means go in another direction. It means you have to go in another direction.

Failure's not the end-all. No. People keep getting buried under failure. I bet you that you have failed more times than anyone in this room.

Absolutely.

I promise you, you have. I'm willing to bet that I have failed more times than anyone in this room, 'cause I have attempted so many things that you have no idea what I've attempted and failed at. But I don't let the failures define me.

It's God pointing you in another direction.

It's— and it's clear about that. And you've got to be willing to go with that bend, 'cause that bend in the road is the only way. Success is not a straight line.

It is not.

It's crooked, it's down in a valley, it's back up over a mountain. See, I'm a seed, I really am. See, but a seed has to be planted. A seed got to have dirt put on top of it. If you take a seed and throw it on the concrete and walk off, the sun just burn it up. But guess what? Logically, in my mind, it doesn't make sense that to grow something, you should dig a hole, put it down in there, and cover it with dirt. Logically, that don't make no sense to me. But holdo. See, dirt is necessary for growth and development. Dirt builds character. Dirt gives you the the push-through factor. Dirt makes you come with it when you don't feel like coming with it no more. And you get dirt in a lot of different ways. All of y'all that had dirt throwed on you, and dirt ain't always what you want. It's somebody talking about you down on your job. It's somebody accusing you of something that you didn't do. It's somebody telling you you ain't gonna make it. It's somebody sharing information about you that ain't true. Everybody get dirt put on them. But see, when you getting put under that stress, please know God is always working. Kirk Franklin's song, God Is Always working, so I smile because I know he back there. See, that dirt builds character in you. When they talking about you, it teaches you to withstand it. Then it gives you something to push through. So when you put the seed and you put the dirt on it, if you understand stress, stress really ain't just dirt. Stress, see, they don't call it dirt when they plant it. They call it soil because, see, soil has nutrients in it. What the nutrients, when people talking about you, dogging you, lying on you, backbiting, stealing from you, I'm talking about you. They're actually putting nutrients in you. They are building character. You got character now. And now the seed, if they put a camera under the ground, you'd have seen the seed sprout open and start coming through the dirt because the dirt is necessary so you can prove yourself. You know, if you don't really want to be— everything you see above ground that blossoms and plants and grows you use and that's beautiful, it was underground one time. All them potatoes, collard greens, they was underground one time. Them apple trees, they was underground one time. So they had to prove theyself. See, you want to be successful, well then you got to prove yourself. You got to push through the dirt. You got to come up through here. You got to come out. Then you sprout, and then Bishop say, then you become a tree. Next thing you know, you got fruit. So when people try to figure out how to make a million dollars, they have no idea how daunting that is because if you know how make a million dollars, you gonna make it tomorrow. But since you can't figure out how to— a million dollar idea— you go somewhere and sit down. That's the wrong approach. If you apply your gift, your God-given gift that he gave you, you have millions already at your disposal if you break it down inch by inch, anything's a cinch, or the 10 by 10 theory, which is very simple. You don't need a million dollar idea, you need a $10 idea. You need something that you do, your gift that God gave you, to make $10. That's all you got to be able to know. I don't care if it's cutting hair, cutting somebody's grass, washing somebody's car. I don't care if it's mowing somebody's lawn. I don't care if it's driving people to their destinations. I don't care if it's babysitting. I don't care if it's baking cookies or pie. You have something— braiding somebody's hair. You have something that you can do so well that someone will give you $10 for it. Write my paper for me. Do this for me. Somebody give you $10 for it. Once they give you $10, all you got to do is whatever you did to get that $10, do it 10 more times. You now, my friend, have $100. You have $100 simply because you took a $10 idea and you did it 10 times. Well, guess what? If you take that $100 that you made since you've done it 10 times and you do it 10 more times, I got news for you, my friend. You now have $1,000. $1,000. You make $1,000, guess what all you got to do? You got to multiply that effort again. Do whatever you did to do $1,000 $10,000. Do it 10 more times, my friend. You now have $10,000. You got $10,000 now. Imagine if you was making an extra $10,000 a month. Just imagine if you was making an extra $10,000 a month. That's $120,000 a year. But I got news for you, my friend. Whatever you did, whatever you did, whatever it took to make yourself $10,000, All you got to do is do it 10 more times. 10 more times, my friend, you now have $100,000. I got news for you now. If you can make $100,000, you just a step away from being a millionaire, man, because now you hire a few more people to help you out. That you can do portions of what you do so you can duplicate that effort. And one more time, just one more time, do it 10 times. Man, that sounds hard. It is hard. But what else you got to do? What, you gonna stop at the $100,000? All you gotta do is duplicate your efforts by 10. You duplicate your efforts by 10, 10 times $100,000, Welcome to the club, my friends. You are now a millionaire. Congratulations. You became a millionaire with a $10 idea. So stop trying to— stop bogging yourself down trying to figure out how to make a million. Do what you can do to make $10. And then do the 10 by 10 theory. Inch by inch, anything's a cinch. When you are a person who is success-minded, you have a wagon that you are pulling uphill. Attached to this wagon is this very thick rope. You are shirtless. You have a rope on your back and you are pulling this wagon uphill at all times. You are totally responsible for your wagon. You are the only one on rope. Now, in order for the wagon to go up the hill, you have to have people. Like-minded people, people on your staff, employees, people who you partner with. The thing of it is, though, you are the only one responsible for the pull. What you have to be careful of is as you pull this rope up the hill, you have to make sure that everybody that's on the wagon is doing something to get the wagon up the hill. Everybody's foot gotta be hanging off that wagon pushing. Somebody gotta get off the wagon and move rocks from under the wheel. It's an old wagon you pullin'. But what happens along the way, and you gotta be careful, there are people who will get on your wagon and have no value. Get on your wagon and become very, very comfortable. All of a sudden, they feet up off the ground. They just on the wagon ridin'. And you have 'em in your life as a mother, you have children.

Everybody has somebody in their wagon they're pullin'.

You all got somebody on your wagon.

Everybody has somebody in their wagon they're pullin'.

That's doin' nothin'. Just got their feet up. Seriously, sometimes it's your children. They done just put they feet up. Now, at a young age, you understand that, but once they get to a certain age, you want them to help out. Sometimes it's your business partner. Sometimes it's the people you hire. Sometimes it's the people in your other department that's supposed to be helping with a project and they just got they feet up. Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. You are now making my haul on this rope more difficult than it is. You must now shed yourself of this dead weight. If you don't, your climb with your rope will be, it's agonizing. One of my weak points in my personal life is I don't like technical stuff. So even though I have to be on Twitter and Instagram and Facebook, I don't care for that. So guess what? I find somebody who loves to do that. You know, I find somebody who has a strength where I have a weakness and I partner with them. All you're trying to do is get to the goal. No one gets there by themselves. Everybody needs help. Now, when you know what you got going for you, be confident, not cocky. Managing your strengths, knowing what they are, and don't let nobody talk you out of it. And that gets you fight ready. You get fight ready like that. You got to know you. Helps you develop your skills. All the while you're developing your strength. It's not, you just gotta keep developing the strength. Don't let nobody talk you up. At the same time, you must work on improving your weaknesses. So I've had to, in spite of myself, get on Instagram, get on Twitter, get on Facebook. I gotta do the videos whether I want to or not because the world is moving to social media. If I had as many followers as Kim Kardashian, I probably wouldn't even have to do this TV show.

Jennifer says, "Life is what happens when you're busy making plans. Should my plan be solid or flexible once I'm clear on what I want?

Well, it's a combination of both, but you got to get tunnel vision to reach your goal. You have to put blinders on and say, "I'm laser beam focused on this." But know this: the road to success is always under construction. So just knowing when you strike out on your goal, you're going to have to get ready for flexibility, 'cause there's gonna be detours, pitfalls, stop signs, Men working, delays, detours going around, that has to be expected. Terrell, who's our floor manager here, he runs the entire set. His first job out of high school was at Magic Johnson's theater in LA. That was his first job for 4 years. He swept floors, cleaned up the theater for 4 years. Boy runs a TV show now. Ain't that crazy? See, the hustle, man— somebody sent me a wonderful sign one day. It was like a sign that goes in front of a house that's for sale. It says, "The dream is free, the hustle is sold separate." And that's so true, man. You never— see, you can never give up. You don't ever know where God is just waiting on you to you pass the test. But you have to stay with something and go through the test to get to the end. See, you can't give up. If you quit, there's no way you'll ever know. You have to keep putting one foot in front of the other, even if you don't know the way. It's not your job to know the way. It's just your job to believe. That's what people mess up as people. You try to figure it out. Show me the scripture that tells you to figure it out. Where is that scripture at? There's no scripture that tells you to figure it out. It tells you to ask and believe. That's what you gotta do. Ask God for something and then believe in it. Now, if you gotta— faith without works is dead. You gotta be willing to hustle. Because the hustle sold separately now. The dream free. You can dream all day long. But the hustle sold separately. God want all of us to do the gift that he put in us. Now, your gift might be attached to a job. Some of y'all should have been and quit your job and tried your business idea. I got these bills, I can't quit. Tell you what, if you don't quit, if you do not quit and go fulfill your dream, you ain't ever gonna be happy. It ain't no way, 'cause you ain't living in your dream. You got to do it. Just take the leap of faith. What you waiting on? God be it, God hold you up. You gonna have a couple cuts and tears on you on the way once you jump, 'cause when you jump, just Just know this right away, the parachute not gonna open right away. When you jump, you gonna hit the rock edges of the rock and all that, but after a while it opens, but it ain't gonna open if you don't jump. Now you can stay safe, you can stand on the cliff, watch everybody soaring by and never jump. Keep that parachute on your back tucked in the pack. Be nice and safe, don't jump, but you gonna watch a lot of people soaring by with their parachute open until you jump. You will never have the life that God wants you to have if you ain't gonna jump. Man, you got to jump. Just jump. Let's go. Wanted to ask you, how do you overcome the fears and doubts? I mean, look, the fears and doubts are a part of it. Can I be honest with you? Everything I've ever done started with a fear. My walking out on stage, that starts with the fear. When Oprah came and got me for this life class, I told her, I said, Boy, this is like a stand-up appearance for me. I'm back there sweating. I don't want to talk to nobody. I have to overcome fear all the time. When I wrote my book, I was afraid. When they told me, "We wanted you to be a game show host," I'd never done that. I was afraid. When they said, "We want you to do a talk show," I was afraid. I have to overcome fear all the time. But the best way for me to overcome fear is the dream has to be bigger than the fear. That's the only way you turn around and run at it. I just want something so great. I aim for stuff so big that the dream is bigger than the fear. Look at it like this, man. If you don't ever go for this, how— would it be better for you to face the fear or just deal with the fact that you just never gave it a shot?

Oh, face it, definitely.

See, that's what the dream— and I saw you with your dream. With your tie on, I know that makeup mirror, that's backstage somewhere in a dressing room. Somebody's hiring guys like you. There's no such thing as too old. I'm 57, if I went back out there, I'd get hired tomorrow as a standup. If you funny, there's a marketplace for you. Now look, you gotta be—

Start where you are, right?

Just where you are. Start where you are.

Now behind me is a sign, and I want you to take a look at this sign as they pull the cord. Can you see this?

Yeah, I'm looking at it.

Here we go.

All right, Mr.

Harvey, I want to read the last paragraph of the proclamation. It says, now therefore I, Mayor Frank G. Jackson, the 5th as the 66th Mayor of the City of Cleveland, do hereby offer this proclamation in recognition of Steve Harvey Day. I invite all Clevelanders to join me in congratulating Mr. Harvey on his success and commending him on his contribution to the City of Cleveland and the community. One more time, happy birthday to Steve Harvey. Happy birthday!

Thank y'all. Wow, man, it's real. That's the best.

I mean—

What are your thoughts about all of this? I mean, my family, man, but you know— How about that?

Look at that.

I learned everything I know about survival on that block right there with them dudes you looking at right there. It's my mama's house.

Thank you so much for watching. I made this video because Tish and Stan asked me to. So if there's a famous entrepreneur that you want me to profile next, leave in the comments below and I'll see what I can do. I'd also love to know which of Steve's top 10 rules impact you the most and why. Leave it in the comments. I'll join in the discussion. Thank you so much for watching. Continue to believe, and I'll see you soon.

Whatever you think riches is, that's your definition. There's a survey that says riches and success is being happy. Well, all you have to do then is determine what is it that makes you happy and start down that path. Now, to find true success, I believe that you've got to do some work, 'cause it's not free. Everybody would love to wake up and just be happy and bubbly, but it requires some work. So I wanna share with you something from my book, chapter 11. There is no self-made man. Now most of us wanna believe that we're independent, that if we set our minds to do something, simply, it can get done. I got news for you. Unless you look to others, you can work twice as hard to get half as much. Sometimes you need a partner in a deal in order to aid you along the way. There is nothing wrong with asking for what you want. You know, for a long time, I used to think that the path to success was going at it alone, 'cause I was always busy pridin' myself on not asking for help. I was homeless, I didn't wanna ask for help. I lived in a car, I didn't wanna ask for help. And I almost missed out. I didn't realize how many people were willing to have discussions with me about success. You know, most people that are successful, if you ask 'em for help, they'll give it to you. I'm talking about advice, principles, solutions, not money. See, one thing is not, never a good idea, Don't walk up to a wealthy person and just ask for money. You know how many times they done got that? But if you're interested in learning how to fish, a lot of people will teach you how to fish as opposed to giving you a fish sandwich, 'cause they know if they give you the fish sandwich, you gonna eat it, you gonna have to come back. A lot of people have helped me along the way. Magic Johnson, Oprah Winfrey, the president. I've had some conversations with some people who have it together and they've taught me many things about succeeding. Now you might think that, asking for help is a huge ask, but it's not. People don't mind sharing knowledge. What is knowledge unless it's shared? If you have knowledge but you never share it, how we know you got it? And just remember, there is no shame in wanting something. This whole world is based on wanting something. You know, don't sit up and listen to some group, you know, wanting something is a sin. No, it's not. You gotta want something. The scripture says a man without a dream or vision shall perish. So the day you quit wantin' somethin', you might as well push your chips up to the window. It's a wrap. So lose the shame and you'll have access to more power. And so here's the key that I wanted to tell you about. Success is all about building relationships. It's not what you know, it's who you know. Some people might not step up when you ask 'em for help. They might not. But guess what? The worst thing can happen to you If somebody refuses you, you didn't have it anyway. What are you worrying about that for? Well, they might say no, or they might turn me down. Ask people, you never know. Suppose they say yes. That could be the turning factor. But you know, there are some principles that will increase your chances of getting a success. Know your worth. Don't let nobody else determine it. And don't assume anything. People aren't mind readers. They don't know what you thinkin'. Don't assume they know unless you ask with specifics. And then recognize that no is not a rejection. Every time you hear no, it moves you one step closer to a yes. Everybody can't say no. Now unless you got a harebrained idea. And just remember that success is about building a world that looks the way you want it to. Nobody else. Never be afraid to reinvent yourself. My career, my entire career is a study in reinvention. You know, I started out as a comedian, that was it. I never planned on hosting a radio show, hosting a game show, or hosting a daytime talk show. I never did. Writing books? None of it. Making movies? None of it. Reinvention happens when you diversify your gift. There lies your greatest secret for success. You've got to discover your gift, and when you discover it, you got to soak it. You got to wring it out, man. You gotta diversify it. Most of us only have one talent, but do you know that that's all you need? Mine happens to be to take information and immediately transfer it into other kinds of platforms. Now, when I was younger, I actually thought that I could only do that with comedy, but as I've gotten older, I discovered through diversification that it was a little bit more than that, that I could also take information, immediately transfer it into inspiration. I could turn it into motivation. I can offer it as guidance. So now, sitting on a talk show, I actually have something to talk about. All the failed marriages, I got something to talk about. The being homeless, I got something to talk about. Being dead broke, I got something to talk about. Having bad credit, tax problems, I got something to talk about. Whatever hole you been in, I done just about drug myself through it. But I came out of all of it because I was not afraid to diversify my gift. Even the book, Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Man, it was all about me diversifying the gift. Okay, I had taken two failed marriages and I had taken the love for my daughters and I combined those things. I taught my daughters what I knew about men. Now little did I discover that I had a little over 4 million daughters in this country, cousins and nieces and stuff like that who needed that same information. And that was a huge part for me to take that information and turn it into a book that turned it into a mega star movie, and it produced a lot of things for me, but it also helped a lot of people. One of the other tricks for reinventing yourself is not letting your background become a limitation. If you take that background that you're from and never let it define you, but allow it to redefine you, all that stuff works for the good. Do you understand that you needed everything that's happened to you to you to happen to you in the exact order that it's happened in order for you to be the person that you are today? All that failing and getting over, you needed all of that. So it's good to be steeped in the traditions of your gift, but don't get stuck in 'em. Look, if your gift is baking, don't assume that there's only one way to do it. If you bake, bake. But you can't just bake for people you know, bake for people you don't know. You're a musician, let yourself explore other types of music. I'll tell you an example. The Roots, who play on Jimmy Fallon's show, they steeped in hip-hop, but they're also great musicians. So what they do is they take all of that talent, and now guess what? Hip-hop, jazz, R&B, classic, pop, rock. They didn't just get stuck on hip-hop. I'm doing hip-hop, that's it. No, they do whatever. LL Cool J, Hip hop, one of the top actors on TV today. Queen Latifah, hip hop, big actor right now, you get it? Jerry Seinfeld, nothing but a comedian, one of the biggest actors on TV today. Remember, you can win if you're not afraid to reinvent yourself. Stop getting stuck. Just go ahead and give it a try, you never know. You also need some outside perspective. If you listen to people that's close to you that have your best interests outside, you can use these outside observers to gain knowledge to assess yourself. And when you reach out to get these outside opinions, be open, keep your emotions in check. "But you can't say that about—" Just keep your emotions in check. Now from there, you're gonna have a good feel about what your strengths and weaknesses are, and you can work on 'em to build 'em.