Your Affliction Has Purpose. Here is How to Use It | Chris Hendricks

One day long ago, mama picked me up.

I didn't want anybody to hear it because I thought, nobody wants to hear my sad story and, like, the struggles that I'm experiencing, and no one's gonna care about my message. Right.

You know better than the light.

And the producer at the studio walked by, and he sat across from me, and he said, if you don't put that song on the album, you don't get an album. The best thing to me about songwriting and performance is the one thing that I get to hold onto and give away at the same time. Wow. I realize that recognition doesn't have to happen on a stage. The song that I thought was only gonna save my life, but it went on to transform other people's lives. That's why what we're doing right now, it's not about the music. It is about the movement.

I'm always stunned.

Hey, guys.

Welcome back to Build. Super excited to see you guys again. Look, as you know, one of the things we're doing nowadays is we are trying to help everyone rise, lead, and last. And sometimes it's not about the business. Sometimes it's not about the subconscious program. Sometimes it's not about the psychology at all. Sometimes it's not even about the faith. Sometimes it's about the music. Why? Because music carries frequency, Frequency carries resonance, and resonance carries soul. And I'm super excited today because I've got a national recording artist here for you guys who's been a good friend of mine now for over a decade, and I've watched him go through immense challenges, be resilient as well as always show up with a heart of love. In fact, I've never seen him, in 10 years ever come to a place where he did not show up in complete authenticity and in complete love, which is a rare occurrence when you think about it. So I want to induce you guys to. Singer, songwriter, national recording artist Chris Hendricks brought in. What is up, man?

Bro, I. I don't even know what to say. Honored to be here, dude.

I.

This is about time.

Let's just.

Let's be real, right? You and I have known each other for a long time, so I don't know if you may or may not remember this, but, you know. So. Carolina Hurricanes. I was a Carolina Hurricanes fan. Used to be an advertiser with them and the whole deal, right? I began hockey, having hock my soul, and lo and behold, one of the things that was interesting was, is you had a song that came out. Gosh, it's probably mid-2000s. I think 2010, 2012, something like that. Called noise.

Yep.

And I remember being in the arena, and I hear.

Like, here goes. Rather in your system. And I'm like, what in the world? And then where on. Oh, yeah. I. I can't. I'm. I'm gonna screw it up, so I'm not gonna try. But anyway, the rhythm. But I would be. They would have it pumping through the speakers of the arena with all the. All the lights spinning and all kinds of stuff, and, you know, B roll, the canes getting ready to come on the ice and. And all this kind of stuff. And, dude, it encouraged me. It inspired my heart. Like, I was. I was in 2000, that. That time frame we were just coming out, the 2008 downturn. Right. Had weathered that with the company I owned at the time, we had began building momentum. But it was hard. Right. And noise, to me was a battle cry or a battle anthem for resilience. Right. And here I learned that you basically write a song a day, which is just insane. So help me understand a little bit about your journey thus far, because, you know, we were having dinner with Ken last night and stuff like that, and you shared kind of like, this is why I do what I do.

Yeah.

So I want to know, like, if you maybe just an origin story, and then maybe we'll get to jump into some more stuff as well.

Sure.

So here's what I say to people that I'm meeting for the first time as an artist. I say, I was diagnosed with cerebral palsy at the age of four, and I've been singing ever since. And that's true. Music has always been a huge piece about the way that I show up in the world, and it has lended itself to the lens through which I view the world. Right. And I think that we are given gifts on purpose. We are given gifts to shape the way not only that, that. That we see the world and we see ourselves, but we see other people. And the challenges that I face have served my songwriting over the years, and my songwriting has served the challenges that I've faced over the years. Right. So diagnosed with cerebral palsy at the age of four. Been singing ever since. I didn't actually start writing songs until I was a junior, a senior in college. And then that's when the world really opened up to me. That's when the combination of music and vulnerability really created a path for me forward to really make an impact. As a matter of fact, I'm going to shift from the song you mentioned, mentioned noise, to another song That I believe is a favorite of yours. That really became my. Really my life story in three minutes, which is a song called Affliction. And this is where vulnerability, which I think is really.

The keys to the core of me and really, I think the core to everybody. People fear vulnerability still. And when I first wrote Affliction, you want to talk about hardship, I mean, I wrote it in a moment where I truly felt like I was falling apart. I was falling apart physically, mentally, emotionally, and I absolutely felt invisible.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but in the way I remember the lyrics. And maybe we'll actually do Affliction here for just a couple minutes for fun, but.

It seemed like there was a breakup or something like that and tied into it as well.

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

So everything. Everything good comes out of a breakup.

Absolutely. Don't shy away from those breakups.

Don't.

Don't shy away from love, even if it falls apart. Because, man, the path that love, even broken love, can reveal for you is such a beautiful thing. And of course, you don't see it at the time. You don't feel like under the weight of that hardcore hardship, you cannot see the past.

Oh, you know. You know my stories.

Absolutely. Absolutely. I couldn't breathe. I literally could not sit up. I was laying in the middle of the floor in my room feeling sort of the crushing weight of feeling like a nobody. And the only thing that I could see out of the corner of my eye was my guitar. And I literally said to myself, if I don't find a way to sing my way out of this, I'm not going to make it.

So I was actually going to jot a note because this is what I. This is where the. This is where the. So you guys are in such for. In for a. Such a treat, because I know how deep the well is. I also. How often the music is.

I'm going to ask you a profound question.

Yeah, yeah.

What does it take to go from. Go from feeling like a nobody to feeling like a somebody?

Honestly, Vulnerability, Having the courage to be vulnerable with yourself and with others. Let me explain what I mean. Right.

I'm going to state the obvious. Pain does not feel good. Right. It doesn't feel good. But it's got to go somewhere. It can't stay here. It can't live around your heart, because if it lives around your heart, you're going to wind up having a heart of stone. If you wind up having a heart of stone, you can't connect with yourself. You can't connect with anybody. Else you have to find a way to release it. And that's scary. Like, even if no one's around, having the courage to state your pain out loud, really and truly express yourself, that hurts, man. That's why when we express pain, we express hurt. When we have that kind of courage, that's. That's why we have tears. Right. It's a cleansing, it's a washing away of that pain. And there is a misunderstanding of pain and tears, especially in the masculine. Right. You know, we're still living in an age where, you know, men are not allowed to cry.

Well, I think that's changed finally.

Absolutely.

I know I talk about it, I cry like a baby if I need to.

Absolutely.

Putting it out there.

Absolutely.

Don't have a problem with it.

And one of the ways that you can express pain is through music. Right. And when I first wrote the song, this is the truth, Right. When you are coming from a real authentic place, whether it's having a conversation like you and I are having a conversation right now, or whether you're trying to write a song. Right. The most.

Successful conversations, the most successful songs, the most successful businesses come from an honest place.

Yeah.

Right. And so honestly.

So honesty is probably the key to authenticity.

Absolutely. Absolutely. And I wrote. I wrote Affliction in four minutes. Like, it was. It almost felt like a stream of consciousness thing. But when I wrote it and I played it for the first time in my room, I didn't want anybody to hear it because I thought, nobody wants to hear my sad story and, like, the struggles that I'm experiencing and no one's going to care about my message. Right. But I was really, really fortunate. After I wrote that song, I was in a studio in Winston Salem, North Carolina. I remember it like it was yesterday and I had the door shut in the studio because this song in particular, again, I didn't want anybody to hear because I was like, this is. This belongs to me.

Yes, to yours. Yeah.

I don't want anybody to hear this. But the door wouldn't shut all the way. And so as I'm playing it, the door kind of like cracks open. Like there was almost like a. Like a gust of wind or the AC or whatever blew the door open just a little bit. And the producer at the studio walked by and heard the song and we were working on my first EP at the time, or what I thought was going to be my first demo of eps.

And he walked by and he goes, what is that song? And I said, oh, no, it's nothing, man. This is Just for me. I don't want anybody else to hear it. It's really vulnerable.

The girl that the song's about, it had been a relatively recent breakup, so I was like, I don't want her to hear it.

And he sat across to me and he said, if you don't put that song on the album, you don't get an album. And that's when I was like, wow. Actually, people are hungry for this stuff. They want to know about another person's vulnerability because they want to feel like they're not alone. And the song that I didn't think was going to take me anywhere, the song that I thought was only going to save my life, not only transformed my life in a way that was bigger than I ever imagined, but it went on to transform other people's lives and really facilitate and ground the message that I have now, which I. Which is, I want 1 million people to be able to look in the mirror and see a better version of themselves than they did before they met me.

Pull that mic a little closer and say that again, because I think that's profound.

I want 1 million people to wake up in the morning and be able to look in the mirror and see a better version of themselves than they did before they met me. That is my message. That is my mission, and that's what that song helps facilitate. Right. So, again, that's why the core of me and the message that I want to share is that to me, vulnerability and resilience are absolutely everything. And when you put those two things together, you truly become unstoppable, because your mission begins to write itself.

Your mitt. Holy.

Dropping the mic right there, dog. Your mission begins to write itself. You heard it first here, guys. Chris, I told you, Deep well meets music talent. I love it.

I'm trying.

I'm sure the audience would love to hear the song. I'm going to make them wait a little longer. Okay. I want to. You said something last night at dinner that I had never thought about before.

Yeah.

And you were sharing a story with me and Ken.

About.

How in many ways, people who are, you know, born with what some people call disabilities. Right. Are largely marginalized as far as how they're seen and not. I don't think it's done intentionally. I think people just don't know what they don't know and whatnot. And you made a comment last night about wanting to be a voice, and then you told a story about a young man who was a piano player who actually won a Grammy. Yeah, I'd like you to maybe share a little bit about that story. Your heart, what it taught you, why you do what you do, why there is a portion of you that really wants to be a voice for that community. Sure.

Well, first of all, what I'm going to share is a bit cliche, but just because something's cliche doesn't mean it isn't true.

Right?

So when I discovered that songwriting and music, you know, meant so much to me, it's been a piece of me and my family for so many years. And when I wanted to use that as a megaphone for storytelling, a megaphone for vulnerability, a megaphone for catharsis, I wanted to see how many people before me had done it. Right. And there is a story of a famous piano player. And I wish I somebody who's listening to this podcast is going to know.

Is going to know his name, who won a Grammy. He has cerebral palsy. And the story as I know it, as was shared with me, is.

Bob Dylan was making an album and he played keys. And he essentially, like, snuck into the studio while Bob Dylan's band, like, had left, and he laid down a keyboard part, and then Bob Dylan came back into the studio.

Watch the new movie about Bob Dylan, see if. To see if the guy made it right.

I wish I saw. So I thought I saw it in the theater, and I wanted that to be true. It's not. It's not in there. But anyway, the story goes, Bob Dylan heard the. That piece and left it in the. In the album. So as a result, he got a Grammy. But the thing about it is.

Those awards, and really any award in this industry, there are a lot more layers to it than people think. So for the longest time, I wanted to be someone with cerebral palsy who won an award solely based on the skill of writing a song and performing a song. So, you know, best new artist, best song. I, even, for the longest time, honestly, I wanted to win an award for.

A song on a soundtrack, because if I won an award for a song on a soundtrack, again, vulnerability, right? And this fear creeping up. No one would see my face. No one would see my face. They would love the song for the sake of the song and the merit of the song. And anyway, that's all I wanted right now. The way that I view the breaking of this glass ceiling for people with conditions, as I call it, has shifted a little bit. I realize that recognition doesn't have to happen on a stage.

Yeah, right.

You can make an impact with your gift, whether you are present or not in the physical space, because you come through with your gift. What I mean by that is when I perform a song, okay, the best thing to me about songwriting and performance is that if I'm sitting in front of an audience and I play a song, the song is the one thing that I get to hold on to and give away at the same time. Wow. Right? How beautiful is that? Right? Because whenever I play a song, I'm taken back to the moment that I wrote it and what it meant for me. But the audience takes that song and it becomes theirs. They take it and they think, what moment in my life is this song reflecting back at me? Right? And so they have their own energy, the audience has their own energy. And it's like playing this beautiful game of energetic ping pong where I sort of like, serve the song to the audience and then the audience serves it back to me, and the ball gets bigger and bigger and bigger and bigger each time. And by the end of that experience, there's this explosion of energy where everyone universally comes together under the carnal power that is music. And that's why I love it so much.

I love you, man. I do, brother. I love you so much.

I'm trying to.

No, no, I mean, I'm. I. I can't keep up with all the mic drop moments, honestly, which is a beautiful thing. You know, I was just thinking, too, that music's so powerful that it said that it's one of the things that's constantly ongoing in eternity, in heaven. Constantly ongoing. It never stops. It never ceases. It's a. It has its own frequency. All right, so I've made the. I've made the audience wait long enough. So Chris has been polite enough to.

Be willing to do maybe a couple few songs while we're doing the podcast. And if you want to grab your car, I'll. Yeah, yeah. Fast, but sure. You know, you guys just heard the heart behind the man who's writing this music and kind of what he's doing behind the scenes. And most of the most beautiful things in your life will actually come in the places and where you don't feel seen, don't feel valued. So before he plays the song, I would like you to consider thinking about a time where you felt unheard of, unseen, maybe under, marginalized, maybe forgotten about. And I want to remind you that in those moments, you are seen. You may not be seen by the people that you want to see you, but you're seen by a divine source that's surrounds you. And in my world, radiates through you. So, with that being said, we're going to go ahead and jump into Chris Hendricks and Affliction.

And feel free to.

Set the song up if you want to do some more as well.

That's such a cool tuner.

It is. I stole it from my guitar player, Matt. When he watches this podcast, he's going to see this tutor and be like, I was wondering where that went.

And feel free to sing it like you sing it.

Oh, I don't know any other way to do it, my friend.

Well, I just. I've seen you in a rock setting. I've also seen you in a ballad setting, so you rock it. You rock it both ways.

Well, y'. All. The only way I can describe this is. It's. It's my life story. It's my soul, really, in three and a half minutes. So I hope you like it. It's called Affliction.

One day long ago mama picked me up from school she said, son, won't you tell me what's bothering you? I said, no, mama, no Won't you leave me be? She said, son, you know better than and lie to me didn't they hurt you, boy?

No, no, no, no didn't they curse you, boy?

No, no, no, no didn't they mock you, boy?

No, no, no.

No.

Well, mom, it's gotta be my.

Affliction.

Let's rewind the clock maybe eight months ago when this the tracks of my tears were begging for snow My angel, my angel, what are you doing this for? And she said, I don't know baby I don't love you no more it's the way you dress oh, why, oh, why it's the way you dance.

Oh, why, oh, why it's the way you move.

Oh, why, why does it matter so much?

Whoa, yeah it's gotta be mine.

Afflict.

The devil he once told me you might stop this message son I said, didn't you hear Sammy say you change.

His.

Now I will be the message my people need, you see and I will give my broken roller sanctuary but they will hurt you, boy I know, I know they'll condemn you, boy I know, I know May kill you but.

I know I know it I got a beaten though.

Whoa Lord, I've got.

To be the man.

Affliction.

I'm always stunned, but I've had the portrait pleasure of hearing it numerous times.

Thank you.

It actually leads me into another important question.

Sure. And.

When I hear. When I hear you sing and I hear your song, with your songwriting, like how you write yeah, like it's about as authentic, as honest as it gets. It doesn't matter what it is. If it's like noise and it's like I'm, you know, it's like we're going to war. Like, you know, let's pop up, let's go or, or affliction or. Dude, you got so much new music that you, that you're about to release, which I'm excited about. We'll talk about that in a little bit. But.

I'm having a hard time understanding.

And I think the audience will too, which is why I want to talk about it. I'm having a hard time understanding why you chose to leave music for a while.

Oh, that's the easiest answer on the planet. I became a father.

I mean, my, my daughter, who is seven now, she's a seven year old tornado. And I wouldn't have it any other way.

My family is everything and she is everything. And as.

Wonderful and as high as my trajectory was going at the time.

It just was not. It wasn't paying, it was paying my bills, but it wasn't paying the family's bills.

Basically, the uncertainty of not knowing.

Yeah. Yeah. And so, you know, I.

Pulled my other half, Heather to my chest and gave her a hug and said.

We are going to figure this out. We are going to make this magic work. And so I stepped away from music and decided to sell insurance for a while, of all things.

And I did that for several years and I was successful at it, but I wasn't authentically successful and my other half knew it. That's just the fact. And Heather, several months ago had the strength to pull me aside and say, what are you doing? I know you. This isn't you. You are a musician. You are a keynote speaker. That is what you are supposed to be doing. You are supposed to be transforming the world, making the world a better place with your authentic self. And you are not being your authentic self right now. And I just looked at her and I said, sweetheart, we need buddy. She said, the buddy will come.

She called you higher.

Yeah. And that was it. She just, she. She said it. And really, how did it feel when she said it? Oh, man. Honestly, as a, as a person who talks way too much, there are no words to describe that feeling.

This.

Shield of faith.

That I just, I didn't know was there appeared and, and I was able to take the leap. And every time I leapt, the net appeared. And the net continuously has become this trampoline that has propelled me higher ever since. Opportunities have, have Shown up and, you know, I'm not. Let's. I'm just being real with your audience right now. Like, I'm not doing it full time yet, but I see.

Is. It is clearer than ever, and it becomes clearer and clearer every single day that this is. That this is the path and that everything is going to be okay and I am going to be able to serve. I am going to be able to take care of business.

You're already doing it. You're already serving, dude.

Thank you.

Like, it's not even. It's not. It's not an if and when. It's.

It's.

It's happening. You know, I didn't. You know, as your. As a close friend, I didn't understand the. I mean, I understood take. Wanting to take care of your family. That's. I've been motivated by that myself.

But I think during that season, I think a part of me.

Just, like, mourned a little bit for a part of you.

Oh.

You know what I'm saying?

Yes, absolutely. I mean, like. I mean, like, I. I was.

I've watched you move crowds of people to tears, to laughter, to connections, over and over and over again. And I was like, I don't understand. I mean, I understand, but I don't understand, you know, but to have a partner like Heather come to you and call you higher. Yeah. There is no greater partner.

Absolutely. Absolutely.

Just.

Just before I went to sleep last night.

As a matter of fact, I can re. I can. I'll read it really quick. Just before I went to sleep last night.

I just texted her. I said, I'm a very lucky man to have you. Because honestly.

As much of a miracle as my daughter is, and she knows that we do everything we can to let her know that every day.

I don't know.

I don't know where I would be emotionally. I don't know where my soul would be had she not pulled me aside.

And gave me that push. And it's funny because she wasn't the only one, but that is an important one. Well, that's what I mean. It's like sometimes it's not the message, but the person. Right.

And how important they are to you. Like, sometimes you just cannot see the forest through the trees until the ones you love the most step up and clear the path for you pro.

You're a walking mic drop machine.

I hope people are taking notes.

Wow.

Well, let me give you. I'm gonna give you a new awareness to share with Heather. So when Heather watched this, she can hear this but by calling you higher.

She'S given a voice to the marginless or margin to call him higher.

Yeah.

I'm a big believer in bat signals.

Oh, yeah.

Right. So I believe that it only. It only takes one, and it would be a wonderful miracle if all of a sudden, one became 100, 100 became a thousand, a thousand became a million, a million became 10 million of bats and signals everywhere of hope and inspiration and encouragement and empowerment and education, shifting the soul set, shifting the mindset. But when she called you higher, when she said, this ain't you, but you got to get your butt back out there. You know what I'm saying?

Yeah.

She unknowingly is calling and playing an active role in calling other people higher.

Yeah. Well, and that's the power of communication, right. Sometimes. And this is why I. This is why I write. This is why I perform. People don't often give enough credit to not only words that are said, but the conduit of those words. Right. I mean, words carry an energy and really a blending of. Of energies. You. You put your heart into words, and then the words are thrown into the ether, and the audience can catch them or not. Right. But when they absorb those words, they're absorbing a piece of your heart. Whether you like it or not, that happens, you know, which is why if you're called to be a speaker or a thought leader, whether you like it or not, you are giving your heart to the world.

Yeah.

Right. So you better be really, really protective of that heart and that and that messaging and who you're standing with and what you're sharing, because you are putting yourself like that is the ultimate vulnerability. Because you're saying to the world, I am willing to be vulnerable for your sake and an audience to receive that.

Man. That is risk. That is the ultimate risk. But the beauty in that risk is every time you step in front of an audience, if you choose to love that audience, no harm can come to you. So regardless of where any member of that audience is on their own journey, as long as you are loving them every step of the way, even if they disagree with you or your message, message, for whatever reason doesn't resonate. Yeah, you're. You're set.

If you.

If you lead with love, you are protected for all time.

Yeah. Yeah, man. You know, I've. Ken and I have a good friend, Henry Amar, who I'm. I'm excited for you to meet one day. I know I've been trying to orchestrate that for a little while.

But he has this saying. I Don't know if it's his or not. I'm gonna. I'll probably actually butcher it.

But it lends to what you were just saying. As far as other people be able to catch a frequency, if you will, word song, tone, whatever that. That they. That resonates with them. And he says, if you see it, you got it. So if you can see it in someone else, you have that same quality yourself, which is why you identify with that quality. And that's always made a lot of sense to me because again, I've. I've watched you move countless people in countless rooms. And again, a little piece of me mourned a little bit when you gave up music for a while. Right. And at the same time, I also understand family.

Yeah.

You know, so the beauty of Heather coming back around side, calling you, calling you higher, calling you back out, stuff like that are calling, you know, calling you forward, as my girlfriend would say. I always. She was. In fact, she told me one time, she goes, I always want to be the.

The.

Even if I'm the only one, I always want to be the one who reminds me of who you are, who you really are.

I love it.

Right? She goes. And she's. She's been telling me recently, she's been like. She goes. She reminded me last night. We're talking to her last night before bed, you know. You know, she lives a little ways away from me and stuff. So anyway, so she. She said a comment last. She goes. She goes, I just want you. When you go into tomorrow and the last couple days, I want you to remember that you've been talking about Safe Haven and having leaders at Safe Haven for months. And she goes, I don't want you to miss the fact that it's happening.

See, that's a quote for me, right? I don't want you to miss the fact that it's happening. Like, I almost want to put that on a. Like one of those fancy frames.

I know you. You'll probably write a song about it tonight. So.

You know, but, I mean, but that's. But that's so important, right? Yeah, it's so important to realize that so many times. And this is for anyone who's a high achiever or wants big things in life or wants to step out of the boat, so to speak, and walk on water in whatever, you know, lane or conduit that is. It's a reminder that nine times out of 10, most of us are focused on the destination rather than being present in the moment that is actually creating the meaning and the significance behind the. The maybe one day destination. I told you last night at dinner that I. I still see big things for you personally. This is me and bigger than you see them. And I know you have, you have, you have, you. You have large aspirations and you should.

But I also. There's also this element of the continuity of humility in the act of love in the service of others, in the voice of truth.

That creates the authentic conduit in which people can identify with. And.

One of the things that I think is really cool, and I'm super excited about this actually, because I don't think this has been done before, not in the music business, is.

Inviting.

People to come with you on the journey.

Invite them into the songwriting process, invite them into the producing process, invite them into.

What it means to create or co create, you know. So tell me a little bit about, you know, traditional music business and why you guys have decided to do something a little different and partner with people in creating the next album.

Well, so first of all, traditional music business, there's no traditional music business anymore. Traditional music business that people.

You know, learned about in the 60s, 70s, 80s, 90s, it's gone. It's gone. With the digital revolution completely gone. It is shifted completely from a.

I guess you would call it a conglomerate model, where you lean into things like labels and such, to a community model. Right. And here's the truth. The truth is that every single human being on this planet has cracks in their heart. Every single human being. But those cracks of the heart are healed by the gold of relationships.

Right?

The gold of the right relationships. Like the example that you offered with Heather. Calling me, calling me forward yeah Calling me forward Calling me higher Right. So why not take that to the next level when it comes to creating music and creating transformation and leading a mission? Why not offer people who are moved by songs and moved by words an opportunity to truly be a part of the community, to truly be a partner in what you're creating. Which is why I'm really, really excited about what we're doing, the me and my team. So first of all, first full length album set to come out, Q1 of next year, 10 songs. Okay. Which I've never done that many in. In. In speech.

It's funny because you have a thousand.

Songs in terms of like recording it.

Yeah.

Right. But actually like, it's. It's way more than the music. Again, I go back to the mission of ensuring that 1 million people can look into the mirror and see a better version of themselves as a role As a result of the things that I say and the music that I. That I perform. Right.

I pause you there. I don't want to. I want the. I want the audience to ensure that they capture this subtle shift. I can't tell you how many times I've been around people who am I, who carry a bright frequency and all this kind of stuff and are good people, and they're out there to do good in the world. Okay.

Yeah.

But when they say I just. They will historically say something around the phrase of I just want to. I just want to be in front of a million people.

Right.

Or I just want to serve a million people. You're saying this is where I think the purity needs to be dissected and separated.

Yeah.

Right. You're saying I just want them to see themselves.

Absolutely.

That is a very stark difference than the vast majority of us that put ourselves out there in a public arena.

And here's the thing. I don't just want them to see themselves. I want them to see themselves and be thrilled about it, because they should. The chances of us getting. Being able to experience this thing called life are infinitesimal. The fact that we are here in the blink of an eye is extraordinary. And I want people to recognize that that blink of an eye is indeed extraordinary. That the universe is extraordinary and that they are extraordinary. That the collective is extraordinary. This is an extraordinary experience. Extraordinary. There is nothing ordinary about this. And the more people recognize that in themselves and in their environment, the better the collective of this world is going to be. Hands down. That's why what we're doing right now, it's not about the music. It is about the movement.

All right? Yes. Music is this energetic, carnal things that make people feel everything from vulnerability to triumph. And that is beautiful. But what does the music lead people to do? What are we going to do beyond that? And right now, we need connection more than ever. And that is what we're doing with these 10 songs. That is what we're doing with this community that we are trying to build right in, you know, these. It's five phases of mission building that starts with humanity, and in the middle, somewhere is great material, and at the end is transformation.

Dude. And you know what? We were talking before last night, but one of the things I thought was really stinking cool was when you start physically accepting people to join you in helping put this album together. Yeah, you guys are going to memorialize that in an actual what, lp?

Yeah.

Like you're. They're going to see their name literally on the, on the thing as being, you know, co creators and producers and all kinds of stuff. So what made you guys decide to want to do that?

I mean.

Well, I mean, I take that back. I think I already know the. I think I already know the answer. The audience may not know the answer.

But again, you're, you're starting to flip music on its head a little bit. It's no longer about how big can the artist be. It's about how big of a heart can we build in the audience.

Yes. How big that is. That is the exact flip. It is no longer the. I mean, sure, the music will help create community, but that's not step one right now. We're flipping it on its head completely upside down. How can the community help create the music one person at a time? Because we've seen this happen. And I've. Over the last 20 years, the craziest thing that I've had the, the privilege of, of bearing witness to is when a song truly impacts someone, truly moves them. Right. I, I'm really, really fortunate to have had multiple instances of individuals who've come up to me after a talk or after a concert and said, this song or this moment took me back to.

ABCDEFG moment in my life. And then they've opened up and they've shared their vulnerability with me. Vulnerability. Here's what's beautiful about vulnerability is that it's sticky.

Tell me more, tell me more.

Vulnerability is a sticky, sticky energy. If you have the courage to be authentically vulnerable with someone else, it not only showcases the empathy that you have within you, but it opens up the opportunity for somebody else to be empathetic as well and join you in that empathy. And all of a sudden you have developed a genuine relationship in a really, really short period of time. I mean, you can have a conversation, you know, that lasts two or three minutes, but that conversation and that relationship sticks with you for a lifetime. I remember those moments after giving a talk, after performing. And there are countless stories that stick in.

My brain, names, places and vulnerabilities that help shape the, the message that I share in my writing now. And we were talking about this right before the podcast. You know, social media is the longest double edged sword, in my opinion, to ever exist. Right. It's a failed social experiment where people are feeling more disconnected than ever. But at the same time, if it is used in the right way, with the conduit of genuine authenticity and vulnerability, the megaphone that you can create with it, the closeness that you can create with it, and the ripple effect of that closeness.

Is infinite. It's infinite. And I think that we know that, as I think the human collective knows that. And so. And that's why no matter how harsh the social media environment gets, because, let's be real, we're disconnected right now. Right. But no matter how. How harsh it gets, I think that the. The heart of humanity knows that there is. There is a way forward. And the way forward is the. The stickiness of. Of that. That vulnerability and the courage to be.

To be willing to stick to somebody else because we're all. We're all hurting. But again, let's. Let's collectively be healed by, you know, by those golden relationships. I think it is truly, truly possible. And look, that's what we're doing with this. This album and this. This mission and this movement.

Yeah. Well, I want to make sure you guys give me the link, so I really want people to check it out. I really want people to become co founders of this thing. I actually. So I know this is, you know, I know, I know. Obviously, it seems like phase one is obviously just connection. Right? Just reaching, getting. Getting connected with folks. I wouldn't be surprised if you have a. And you end up having a phase six. All right. And here's my fate here. I'm going to call this out right now here in public on the air, if you will. I think phase six for you and the team.

Especially since I'm kind of talking to folks behind the scenes as well. I think phase six. I would be surprised if you guys somehow create a record label that is about the audience and not about the artist. And the artist that you bring in are about the audience, not about themselves. Yeah, I would not be surprised if that happens, honestly.

I mean, you sort of just blew my mind, but, you know, I. I think a. A piece of my heart just. Just got a little bit bigger.

Yeah, just.

Just based on. I just.

I don't. Again, I. I think I shared this with you last night. I mean, yeah, you could get signed with another major label or something like that. Make sure you pay attention to the fine print this time.

That's a whole nother story. Yeah.

You know, but, you know, you could do that.

But I think the journey that you've been on specifically kind of teaches against that. Yeah, I think. I think taking that route is an inauthentic route. Unless, you know, a future signing with somebody else is.

Yeah.

Literally what we're talking about.

Exactly.

Which I don't know it exists, so. Which means, I think you're Gonna have to create it.

I. I was gonna say I don't know of. You know, and I don't know every label that's out there, so I can't speak to the entire industry. But, you know, right now, all I hear is. Is horror stories, right? You. You.

Young kids who are really talented and they build an audience on social media because they made videos in their kitchen on their phone, which is what I'm doing right now. Right. But there's a difference between doing that and then walking on stage in front of 20,000 people. And labels will sign these kids just based on their following to get access to the audience, and then they'll put the kids on tour, and then the kids step in front of these huge audiences that they've never experienced that energy before, and they freeze up. They're terrified. Because there's a huge difference between sitting in your kitchen, at your kitchen table and singing a song, and having people digitally experience versus going in front of a live audience. There is still an energetic difference between those things. So I think the more we lean into building a community, a phase six, if you will, the more we take our power back as artists and we do what we want with those connections and the family, the community that you build start sort of feeding into itself, and the people that want to be there authentically with you will stay, and the wrong people will fall away, and you'll build exactly what you want to build, one person at a time.

It's so crazy you say that, because I feel like a lot of us try to hold on to the people that should not should go, and we almost resist the people that should come.

Well, you. You know that I have personally.

You know. You know that I have too.

You know that. I personally struggle with that.

So I just. All right, so I'm gonna. I'm gonna. Now my mind's spinning. I have a business brain, right? So.

I think it would be super stinking. So in the business world, they have something called going public. And when you take a company public, that means other people in the world have access to buying equity in that company. And as the company's value increases, it creates either more equity per person or it creates more people who are buying equity.

I think it would be super freaking cool that everybody who is actually consuming the music and using the. Sharing the music and loving on the music and like, all this kind of stuff, whether it's just you as an artist or whether it's other people as an artist, be super cool. If there was an environment in which basically Every time they purchased a song or purchased this or purchased that, they also have equity in the company. So it's like a. It's a. It allows for a complete circle of life.

Yeah.

Right. So there's. There's no You. There's no usury. You just mentioned some. Some poor behaviors, and it's usury. You know, take. Taking a young. Taking a young kid has never been X, Y and Z. Their character may not be shaped yet.

They have.

They're. They're twice as likely to get involved in all kinds of substance abuses or all kinds of other things, because to steward a voice that has massive reach, it takes a level of character to do it well.

Absolutely.

The ability to say no to stuff that, you know is not for you.

Absolutely. You know, and I would say that's probably the thing that, that most people.

Learn the, The. The latest or at the last minute. And it's another reason why I'm actually so grateful. It's so funny. Hardship is so important. Just a quick pivot. Hardship in life shapes life. It's just so important that we experience it. And I think that people with conditions, as I call it.

As a culture and as a subculture, specifically around disability, whether you can see it or not, we spend so much time focusing on the mountains that we have to face every day rather than focusing on the value that we bring to the table. Right. And life.

In general.

Or social media, I should say, is doing its best to convince us that those hardships and those experiences are not a good thing. And this is. I'm going to circle back to your point now. I am so thankful that I am 40 and I am experiencing this now. Had things worked out for me back when I was 21, 22, 23, when I wanted them to work out, it would not have gone well for me. It would not have gone well for me. And I went through a period of time where I was. Anger is not even the right word. I was livid because as you have shared with me personally, as a close friend, I feel that I've come so close so many times. And if you recall, several months ago, I wrote you a log email about how frustrated I was, and.

You gave me some tough love.

As you call it.

I said it in love.

Absolutely.

I tried to call you higher.

Absolutely, Absolutely. And a key part of that messaging was that timing is everything, but it's not your timing, it's not your time.

Divine timing.

And there is a lie, specifically in the music industry, that is finally being peeled back, which is youth is the only way forward. Right. You know, in order.

I think the youth. I think the youth strategy is. Because you can control the youth.

Absolutely.

So you can control what they saying. Because if you don't sing this or you don't do this song or dress this specific way or dance a specific way, then everything that we've given you is going to go away.

Yeah. Yeah. And they want to make you think that it's longevity, but I don't think that's true.

Right. Is it an authenticity.

Yeah. The original idea is if we sign you when you're 15, 16, 17.

You know the trajectory of your career, you'll last 10, 20 years.

Well, tell that to the Rolling Stones or Aerosmith or Bob Dylan or Frank Sinatra.

Exactly. Or Jelly Roll, who won artist of the year at the age of 39. And I mean, you want to talk about a dude who won from a basis of authenticity, man, that dude. Authentic as all get out. Yeah.

Yeah, man.

Well, first of all, I want to applaud you for doing. For. For bringing. For opening your heart and your mind, to bring people along with you. I feel like. And I watched a company, an organization called Angel Studios, do this. Yeah. With TV's production and shows chosen. Chosen was one. It was one of the major ones that was their. The one where they perfected the model. And despite their current relationship in general, I think that. I think it's very wise. I think it's very wise to put the audience first. Right. Because again, as long as I have known you, you've always put the audience first. You've always made yourself available. You've always sung to the heart. It's never, ever, ever, ever been about Chris Hendricks. It's always been about, how does the music change the heart?

How does this.

How does this. How does this. How can this music, this message. And what's unique about you.

Is.

You have a perfected depth that allows you to not just be a singer, songwriter, musician, but a voice of transformation.

Even when you. Even when you found it perfectly afflicted, which is your. Your nonprofit. Right.

Yeah.

Which. I want to talk about that in a couple minutes as well. But when you founded that, it was always about people that felt forgotten.

Yeah. We have to. As individuals.

It's funny. I come from an artist background, and you have a. A business mind, but I. I personally.

Are trying to build an audience with music, or you're trying to build a brick and mortar company. You have to have a steadfast belief that people are going to believe in you. And you also have to Believe that the more vulnerable, I should say, they're.

Going to believe in themselves through you.

Absolutely. There you go. That's a better way to put it. They're going to believe in themselves through you. And the more vulnerable you are, are the more that belief shines through. And there's a weight to that shine. Yeah, there's a weight to that shine. And the heavier that shine, the stronger that shine. And the wider that shine, the.

You know, the higher you. You grow as an influencer and the faster your. Your company is going to grow. So in other words.

What we're doing right now, we have no choice but to believe in the audience. That's why I was talking about TikTok live with you last night. The coolest thing to me about TikTok Live specifically is that you can press a button and then strangers over the next couple seconds or minutes or whatever enter your world. And based on the energy that you put out, they decide whether they want to stay or go. And they'll decide within seconds, two seconds, seconds. So you will know that's really, really direct feedback for you as a singer, songwriter, or as a business owner. You will know immediately. Is what I am putting out working, or do I need to pivot? And how do I need to pivot? And in a very, very short time in the last couple weeks since I started.

An audience has been showing up, which is. Which is telling me that we are on the right path as. As a team.

Yeah.

And I've never believed in the. In the music, the message or the movement more than I do right now.

Yeah. Now. Well, you got a lot of reason to. I mean, again, the world is.

The world is more divisive than it's ever been, and there's not a lot of bridge builders. And I'm happy that you're one. I'm happy that I'm one. A lot of folks that obviously I'm associate myself with are ones as well.

Yeah. I do think it's awesome, you know, in becoming vulnerable, there's a lot of risk with that. Yeah, right. There's a lot of, you know, there. Sometimes I think maybe we're vulnerable to wrong people. I don't. I don't know. But I think it's really important to be yourself.

It's absolutely everything. And the right thing is always worth the risk. The right thing is always worth the risk. And with, you know, masculinity in general, and that's. But this is true with, you know, the feminine side of things, too. But again, as you said earlier, on in the podcast, we are finally starting to peel back that layer of, you know. Yeah. It's hard for men to be vulnerable, not just with women, but with anybody. And that's because there's.

You know, there's, there's, there's two sides to it. Like, masculinity is a, is a, a beautiful and it's a powerful thing, but used in the wrong context and in the wrong way, it can be a really, it's, it's a dangerous. Yeah, it's a dangerous tool.

Yeah.

Right. And the, you know, the cure for that shadow side is vulnerability, you know, and being willing to put yourself out there. That's why I love your concept of the lion and the lamb. Right. Because it's the Merck.

You can't have polarity without duality. Absolutely.

Absolutely. And it's not about running away from anything. I mean, that's the beauty of cerebral palsy. I can't run at all.

Yeah.

That'S true too. It's about, I think it's about, you know, one of the things that I've been adamant about, and this is something that you've done from the get go. I've actually, it's funny now that I know this, this concept exists, I see in people like you and a handful of others, but it's actually the ability to love the, love the size of yourself that you've always resisted.

Absolutely.

And it's only. You can't ever become fully integrated. What I refer to as becoming one part lion and one part lamb. Right. Immaturity. Because there's an immature concept of it and there's mature concept of it. You know, immature lions, dominant, controlling, manipulative, immature lamb is going to be people pleasing, self abandoning, over functioning, stuff like that. Right. But you get a mature lion, a mature lamb. So stable, strong, protective, consistent. Right. Leadership, true leadership with the lamb side. Empathy, compassion, joy, mercy. Right. When you can integrate those two, then you really do become whole self. But you can't do that until you accept all of yourself. Absolutely.

Here's why I'm really, really happy to hear you say that. Because most people don't know this about me. Right. It took me a longer time than I would like to admit to really embrace my condition and the.

Side effect gifts that came with it, particularly as an artist, because not just as an artist and as a creative, but again, the culture of people with disability. Ultimately, at our core, we want to be taken seriously. We want to be seen as human and part of the collective humanity. And through, you know, honestly, Art, movies and just, just, just what we see from our able bodied counterparts is a lot of times, you know, people often feel sorry for us. People often.

People often.

Use, I feel, use people with.

With conditions to sort of lift themselves up in their, their, their day to day lives. Like you know, for instance, oh, look at the hardship that this person is experiencing. You know, I have nothing to complain about this, this, this makes me feel better as a person and there's nothing necessarily wrong with that. But at the end of the day, there are certain characteristics that people with disabilities, whether seen or unseen, whether they like it or not, that was actually.

Really something really that was really important. You said last night we were having dinner with Ken. Yeah. Is that you said something nature of at least I have my disabilities on my outside.

Yeah.

Yeah.

I'm so grateful to wear my scars on the outside. I'm so, so grateful because.

The story is out there for everyone and that story creates, you know, curiosity. It's funny, one of the, you know, back in the day when I was doing insurance sales, it was so funny because I got one of two reactions from individuals when I was presenting them the opportunity and any opportunity really. And one of those reactions was.

Confusion and concern because they had never interacted with someone with a disability for, and they didn't know what to do or a sense of curiosity because someone in their lives, it wasn't necessarily cerebral palsy, but someone in their lives had something going on with them and there was something that they felt they could relate to in that moment. But either way.

When it came to that interaction.

I won. I won as a person because if the person is confused and feels a sense of chaos in them and they're sort of stuck there, they're frozen, they don't know what to do, they can't leave because they're experiencing something. Their, their brain doesn't know what to do with it either. If you're stuck in the same place and you can't move, I still have three or four minutes to share my story with you. And because you can't move, you have to sit there and absorb it. And because you have to sit there and absorb it, we have no choice but to form some sort of relationship.

Right.

Nine times out of ten a person without, if you don't wear your scars on the outside, you don't have that same opportunity. But here's what I'll say. For those of us that have conditions on the inside, they too carry with them an energy. And so even if you don't necessarily feel like people.

Can. Can connect with your vulnerability. Believe me, they absolutely can.

Humanity, every single human being on this planet, is a magnet. And so, again, whether you like it or not, your trauma, whatever you have experienced right there, is a longing for other members of the human race to be drawn to you. And that longing is so powerful. They are so hungry for you. So I encourage you to really embrace that. The energy that you carry with you inside, that scar that you carry with you inside. I really encourage you to embrace the energy that goes along with it, because you would be amazed at your capacity to heal as a result of what's going on inside of you.

Wow. I'm going to share somebody. That's really random. You're not going to be seeing. I love them and I don't know that I've ever done this on camera before actually, either.

So I meet a lot of people. Okay. And.

I've been for a number of years now, ever since I kind of met Jesus at a litter box, which is a long story. It's in the book. If you ever want to read this.

I. I was your first book because I read your first book.

Yeah, my first book. Yeah. So you know the litter box story.

Most people, okay, if they're struggling.

They.

Have a guardian angel that walks with them, that weeps for them.

If they're thriving, they have a guardian angel that stands guard over them. What's really interesting about you is you don't have one angel, you have two. You have a male angel and you have a female angel.

And all I see them doing right now is we're just going.

Yeah, like they're. They are freaking excited.

Thank you.

I don't think I've ever done that on camera before. So that's may seem weird to some people, but I. There. It doesn't happen all the time, but occasionally I get glimpses into other spaces.

Time. Thank you.

I want you to surprise me, man. Surprise me. Surprise me. I mean, obviously we're gonna go to iamchrishendricks.com beyourself, which is where people can actually partner with you guys and play an active role in producing an album, which is freaking cool, by the way. I mean, like, the average. The average person can just say, you know what? I'm a music. I'm a music producer. You know what I'm saying?

That's cool. It is beautiful.

So Everybody go to iamchristendrics.com/, be yourself. You're gonna. You'll see a little way different ways you can partner if you're interested. I'm already, I'm doing it. I know I am. So I've already committed.

Thank you.

Well, I just. The world needs to hear you, bro. So it just is what it is. I don't know anybody else in the music space that is carrying. Carrying into the lives of other people what you're carrying in the lives of other people. I just don't know. I just. I mean I've, I've, I've met a lot of really amazing artists and. But most of the artists are about being seen and being heard.

Yeah.

You're about making other people feel seen and heard. It's very different.

Thank you. Well, we've got to, I mean, you know this in business you got to find your own blue ocean. Right. It's so important. And I recognize that as much as I love to. To sing and I'm not being self deprecating here. Right. As much as I love to, to sing and write music. There's billions of people on this earth and many, many of us have been gifted the ability to sing. Many of us have been gifted the ability to.

Not me.

To write songs. Well, not everybody. Everybody's got their thing. Right.

I can write books.

But, you know, and even with the advent of these shows like the Voice and America's Got Talent and stuff, I see the extraordinary again. I go back to that. That's like been my word on this podcast. Extraordinary. I go. You see these extraordinary voices like the, the guy that was the janitor for 20 years who just won America.

Yeah. Kenny showed us last night.

America's Got Talent. Absolutely. Absolutely. Insane Reincarnate Steve Perry.

Reassarment.

Absolutely. Absolutely. Journey 2.0. Right. It's, it's not a competition. I'm not here to, to compete with that. We're, we are again, we are, we are building something bigger than the music. Which is why I think people have been drawn to it and want to be a part of it. And I just, I'm really excited. This is going to sound strange.

I'm really excited about the fact that I don't know what's going to happen.

I do. Well. And that's the thing is a lot of times there's a fear that comes.

With the unknown for all of us. Right? Absolutely. But the fear has really turned into.

Possibility.

Thanks to.

Whatever you want. You know, the combination of vulnerability and, and resilience. Again, we go back to this idea of magnetism. I think that we've, we've drawn the right people.

Yeah.

Into the right spaces and it's honestly thanks to people like your, like yourself and people like, like my team.

Thank you.

That have really helped again.

Change the way.

I see the future of what we're building and the future of music. And I'm just so excited.

I love it. And I think one of the coolest things is a byproduct of people going to iamchristandricks.com BeYourself is not only can they join and become a co creator of the album, but I'm really excited that all these people will be lumped together and you'll do a private show with them and some of their friends.

It's my favorite thing to do really. Because what comes along with vulnerability is intimacy.

And look, I know you share this with me all the time and you've always been very encouraging, like big things for you, Chris. Big, big, big. And that is a beautiful image. But there is something really special about a bunch of people being together in a small room with, with me and an acoustic guitar or two acoustic guitars and playing the music and sharing the story behind the song. It's just, it's. It's different. Because what, because what happens afterwards after those experiences is those individuals come up to you and you have an opportunity to forge a real relationship. And that's not always possible when you're playing for 5,000, 10,000 people. I would love for that to be possible. I would love for that to be.

It's a different exposure. Yeah, yeah, it's a different exposure. I mean, think about the various artists that do, you know, that's all they do is large arenas. Yeah. You know, I think Ken was sharing with me that there's a place in Tennessee where artists are all kind of in the same neighborhood and they legitimately as artists just get together and play block parties for themselves. Right. But yet you, you know, but yet there's. There's a. I don't know, it's just. It's different. So I want to applaud you guys for doing that because I feel like it's really wise. I feel like it will, it will create long standing connection and, and I'm excited about that. So I'm curious. You told me you had another song, but you wouldn't tell me what it was. So I want you to tell me about it and then let's jump into it.

Okay, so I'm gonna give you two. I'm gonna give you two choices.

Oh, no choices.

Yeah, I'm gonna give you two choices. And I think I know which one you're Gonna pick?

Yes.

But you'll be happy. You'll be happy either way. So there's. There's two songs.

One. I mean, one. One I may not release. I told you about it last night.

Ah, okay.

Right. All right. It's the song that I. That I wrote for. For my wife and daughter that I may let another artist cut. The other song is.

One of the reasons why I've been able to really pour out over the last year or two is I turned 40 recently and I'm mourning my childhood. I'm a child of the 90s.

And one of the things that I did was.

I basically took all the songs that I fell in love with as a kid, all of the song titles, and used it to build a unique song.

A quilt.

Yeah, a quilt that I'm gonna gift to the musical. The community that we're building, that's exclusively for them, and both of them are intimate. I think you will appreciate either one. You tell me which one you want to hear.

Oh, gosh. Oh. So we have option A and option.

B. Yeah, that's what I heard. Option A is. Is the story of my family. Option B is which another artist is.

Really after you told me about the artist and, like, it's a. It's a big thing. It's after you cut that song. Okay, cool. So that's option A and option B.

Quest.

Option A or option B? Option B. All right. Option B it is. Okay. That means God is going to hold that song.

Back for a little bit.

I got you. I got you covered. All right.

So the working title of this song is. It's called mtv.

Mtv.

And I hope you like it.

Mr. Jones, where you been? I'm coming undone since back then I want to wake up where you are counting crowd out the window of a stick shift car? Going 500 miles and 500 more to find the dream lover we were looking for? But we both know at the end of the road That I can't make her love me if she don't.

I want my mtv.

I want my mtv.

I want my mtv.

Say my name black old sun tell me no rain's gonna come no leaving my religion at home Saying, hey, Barbie girl, you are not alone? You can color me bad? Cause black or white, you'll find our true colors? By the end of the night my heart will go on While you chase waterfalls? You and me gonna be just another sad love song?

I want my empty.

I want my empty? You ought to know I am torn between right now and when I was born. Back when I believed I could fly holding on never longing to get up again and try thinking one sweet day if I take a free fall I could break from the COVID of this wonder wall we turn back time just to save tonight if only we could all stay here at this one headlight.

I want my mtv.

I want my mtv One more old kiss from a rose Ain't that just the way love goes? You fall asleep to MTV and then it's back to life, back to reality.

Dude, I like, I heard like a thousand song titles in there. That was pretty freaking amazing.

Thank you.

Thank you. I just had a glimpse.

So when people go to iamchrisandricks.com.

Beyourself. Okay. And they choose one of a handful of options to play an active role in partnership.

I know that one of the things that you did for the folks who want to be executive producers on the album was actually come up with the idea of actually writing them a song that you'll perform for them. That's kind of. You've done it for me many times. You've created music and just done it for special occasions, which I've always loved and I appreciated. But I'm thinking that meetup should be the pre release party of the album. Right. So that's the pre release party. And if you and the team are up for it, once we've got the album fully produced and ready to release to the public.

Yep.

I think we do the entire thing here at Safe Haven.

Dude, I'm. I'm down. I'll. I'll declare it on the podcast. My team is just gonna have to be okay with it.

Yeah. Yeah. I'm just. I just. I just know. I. I know that. I know that. I know that people want to be some part of something bigger, and a lot of times we're scared to do it ourselves. So sometimes the best way to even step into your own calling, anointing, or purpose is to come along. Some come alongside of somebody else's that's actually doing something massive and won't applaud you for that. But we got a couple minutes left. I want to talk about Perfectly Afflicted.

And tell me the heart behind Perfectly Afflicted.

What was the genesis of it? I know. I know at one time they had a clothing line. What is your. What is. What is the future that you would like to see happen? Lived Perfectly Afflicted.

Well.

Really, the. The. The time and dedication is what I see. And. And here's what I mean by that. So the. The genesis of Perfectly Afflicted of course, the name comes from the song Affliction, which y' all heard. And essentially the message of Perfectly Afflicted, or at least as we originally conceived it, is you are not alone. That's the message. Pure. Pure and simple. You are not alone. It started as a for profit T shirt company where we would design T search T shirts with positive messaging, and then a portion of those T shirts would. Would go towards a cause that elevates the social, emotional empowerment of people young and old. Like, the original Genesis was specifically young people. And then we were like, we want to help everybody. We all wish we could help everybody. We can't help everybody, but we want to help everybody. Right?

And then again, as a result of everything that I had going on in my life for a variety of reasons, Perfectly Afflicted had to kind of go back on a shelf. And it needs.

It's. You know, it exists, it's present, all the bills are paid. But the messaging of Perfectly Afflicted has really shifted a bit, and I want to have the.

Time and the funds, honestly, to really build it out and again, reignite possibility with Perfectly Afflicted. And specifically. And again, we've got a board, and the shifting of messaging is always a board decision. But I have a specific passion for people with disabilities. I always have. I mean, it's a part of me, and it's a part of me that I. I don't know if we actually talked about this, but I tried to run away from it for a long time, ironically.

Yeah.

Because I wanted. Again, I wanted people to take me seriously. And I thought that if you put the condition, at least I thought if you. If you put the condition first, there was no way anyone was going to take my music or my speaking seriously. Because you see that a lot in the world of disability. And I'm not knocking any speakers out there who do this, because disability is part of your story and it's part of my story, and I embrace that. But a lot of times the only story you hear from this culture of individuals is the mountain of my life is my disability. I can climb it. You can, too. Yeah, that's great. But the takeaway from that is esoteric. It's ethereal. You can't really grab ahold of something there. Whereas I want people with disabilities around the country to really lean into the value that they have, not in spite of their condition, but because of it. There is value in standing out in a room because you have a condition. There is value in the inherent empathy that you bring out of another individual as a result of their condition. There is a tremendous value in the fact that you go into a world that was not necessarily set up for you, and therefore you have to become an adaptable human being. A lot of times people in the able bodied community have to have some sort of meteor hit them in their life in order to become adaptable people. I am super, super fortunate to have been born without oxygen because I had to become an adaptable human being from birth. And let's be real, ladies and gentlemen, at some point in your life, you're going to join my team. You're going to become disabled. It might not happen tomorrow, might not happen until you're 90, might not happen until you're 100, but you're going to join my team. This is the.

Where the body doesn't want to cooperate.

Absolutely. You will join my crew whether you like it or not. And so I've rethought Perfectly Afflicted a lot. And.

I really do want to use Perfectly Afflicted to specifically serve people with disabilities. So one of the things that I hope to do, you know, with, with this music and this movement that, that we are, are building is use its success to, to pour back into and to reignite Perfectly Afflicted so it can really serve the people.

Yeah, no, I think that's brilliant. That's why I wanted to mention it because again, the, you guys have seen, I don't know how many examples you need about where, where Chris's actual focus is, where his heart is, but I really believe.

I believe they needed to hear that.

Thank you.

And I think they needed to hear that because there's nothing about the Chris Hendricks ecosystem that is selfish in nature. Right. There's obviously taking care and providing your family for a nice, you know, for a nice life and, you know, raising, raising children and things that are great. But like, you're, you don't have aspirations to just do dumb stuff with money, right? And you're, you're the opposite. You're like, how can I use resource to fix areas of the world that are basically broken? Like whether, you know, how can, how can we do benefit concerts? How can we encourage somebody in a hospital? Like, you're, you're just.

This is where the, this is one of the reasons I always, I've always supported you as far as, like your, your passion for music. And I mean, the gift is the gift, right? So that's, that's beautiful and wonderful, but it's what you want to do with the gift. Yeah, it's what you want to do with the gift that makes it a gift.

Yeah.

You see what I'm saying? It's. It's the gift that creates gifts. You know what I'm saying?

Well, and it's the greatest proof of concept ever because nothing to me feels better than a person who you have connected with using us, using a song, or speaking. Then again, coming up to you and sharing your story, here's the. The craziest thing. I'll tell you a really, really quick anecdote. A couple years ago, I was invited to.

Speak and play music.

In Orlando over at Disney. And I went to the airport at rdu and again, because I have a condition, I went up to the agent early and said, hey, what's your pre boarding policy? What do I need to do?

And the guy at the, at the counter said, I know who you are. You're Chris Hendricks. And you, I saw you speak at my middle school years ago, and now I'm going to become a pilot. And you are partially responsible for that. So I'm going to upgrade your ticket. Congratulations. You're going to apply first class for this trip. And that demonstrate. That did two things for me. It was like, one, you're aging, right? Because this person saw me speak in middle school, is now an adult. Right.

But two, impact lasts a lifetime.

If a piece of that impact is a result of one or two people having the courage to be vulnerable, that lasts a lifetime. And it's those individual stories that carry me through to today, to this moment, to the faith that we can truly build this community that goes beyond the music and really turns into a movement.

Yeah, dude, I can't thank you enough, man. I really can't. Yeah, this has been an awesome episode. Again, everybody. Iamchrissendricks.com, be yourself. Check it out. Actually join a movement that's actually worth joining, honestly, please, please do. You know, bro, I love your heart, man. And again, I think you and the team have the capacity to build a audience. First label, it may start with you, which is a beautiful thing, but I would not be surprised if it legitimately takes that one story that you just talked about and it affects millions. I believe it. Your angels believe it. So anyway, brother, thank you so much.

For once, I have faith. Thank you.

Let's go. All right, guys, that's gonna do it for this episode of Build. Make sure you, like, subscribe and share as always. We will see you on the next episode. Much love. Take care. Peace. Hey, guys, I hope you enjoyed that amazing conversation and if you want more just like that, to help you level up your life and your business, you're not going to miss this next one.

Check it out. I'm sitting at my desk.

We had just done our open house. I'm balling, and I'm like, this is.

Not what I'm supposed to be doing.

And I said, there. I think the greatest movement I got is going to come through the marketplace. There's a lot of entrepreneurs have made money but lost meaning.

When's the last time you looked at.

An entrepreneur, said, be still? We don't know how to be still.