← Going Big! with Kevin Gentry
Going Big! with Kevin Gentry
Going Big with Rep. Burgess Owens: Faith, Grit, and the American Dream
00:45:29
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- [00:01]
Burgess Owens
Because it doesn't matter what we do. It's how we take the opportunities we have to make the most of it. And in that process, what I found, because I was following my dreams of working with kids at that time, when I came to Utah, it allowed me to say, you know, finally, after all the years of working and not having that time to do it, I'm going to start up a program to work with at risk kids called Second Chance for Youth. And I did that for a couple years and I finally realized if we don't change things in dc, nothing will change. If our kids can't read and write, if they have no appreciation for our country, for our culture, if they want to take instead of give, that they can't commit to young men, commit to their families and their wives and kids, then it's just going to get worse and worse. Because the policies in D.C. was leading us in that direction, is pushing our kids and our families in that direction. So that was when I decided, literally about a month before we had to announce, I decided I'm going to run for Congress. And so here I am.
- [01:05]
Kevin Gentry
Welcome to the Going Big Podcast. I'm your host, Kevin Gentry, and this is the place where we celebrate bold moves and big ideas. Each week, I sit down with inspiring leaders, entrepreneurs, and change makers who are making a significant impact in their careers and in their communities. Whether you're looking to level up your leadership, pursue your passion, or just get inspired to take your next big leap, this is where those stories come to life. Now, if you're listening on iTunes, YouTube, or anywhere else you tune into podcasts, be sure to hit that subscribe button so you'll never miss an episode. Now let's dive in to what it means to truly go big.
- [01:48]
Well, ladies and gentlemen, welcome to another episode of the Going Big Podcast. I'm your host, Kevin Kevin Gentry. And it's such a pleasure to have as our guest today someone who truly embodies the whole spirit of going big. As you're about to see, Burgess Owens has gone big in every aspect of his life, from sports, professional sports, to being a Super bowl champion in 1980 to a successful entrepreneur, bestselling author, and now today, a member of the United States House of Representatives. But as you're about to see, what is the great inspiration of all of this is the story of his journey, which is a journey about grit and faith and belief in the American dream. And he has lived it. And in fact, as you'll also see, he is such a believer in the American dream. He also tries to help others rediscover that dream, especially with a mentoring program that he has called Second Chance for Youth, which helps young people coming out of the criminal justice system. And, of course, he's living it through policy, public policy, as a member of Congress. Congressman Owens, it's such a pleasure to have you as our guest today on the podcast, Kevin.
- [03:02]
Burgess Owens
I'm looking forward to it. And you, you kind of nailed it. It's all about the American dream and what the possibilities are. So I'm excited to kind of share with. With everyone out there how I've kind of come to where I am at this point, for sure.
- [03:13]
Kevin Gentry
Well, awesome. All right, well, that's a great way to start. Okay, so you've gone. I mean, your story. You grew up in the segregated South. You went into sports, professional sports, the NFL, 1980, Super Bowl. You've gone now to ultimately being a member of the United States Congress. What's the common thread in your life that kind of kept you going, kept you motivated? Was there something that you were aiming towards all your life?
- [03:44]
Burgess Owens
Boy, that's a good question. And I'll say this. I was truly blessed to have been raised when I was in the Deep south in the 60s and raised by a remarkable family, raised in a community that was all about trying to command respect and how we did. So in those days, there's segregation, kkk, Jim Crow. But it was a community just like every other community that even though we were not assimilating, we had one thing in common. Our dads had just come back from World War II. We believed the way that we command respect was by winning through merit. And our goal was we wanted to be respected as Americans at the end of the day. So what does that mean? Well, there are tenets that I was raised with that I'm so thankful to have here in Utah, and those tenets, basically, and this is every community that was thriving and growing and trying to command respect on our time. Those tenets of faith, family, the free market, taking a risk dream, being going after it, and education. So those things are really what made, I would say, the foundation what it was. And I grew up going to day at the time of. I don't know if you guys remember the movie, remember the Titans, but that was my high school experience. I was one of four black athletes to go to this formula, all white school. And it was amazing that the things we had to go through because we're all trying to get past the really, the hatred of our parents and our parents. Parents. And we're going through that process, and it's amazing what happens when you get into sports and things. Would you just try to kind of stop focusing on those things that make us different or folks, those things that really want to be that we see in common? In this case here, we were all about winning. We realized my second year there that we just wanted to win. And all of a sudden, we begin to almost forget. Not totally, but almost forget that we differ and the tones of our color, of our skin. And that's really what America, if I can highlight that process that was America's all about. I just went to a event today where several. I mean, there were about maybe 40 or 50 people that were raising their hands to become American citizens. And the diversity was across the board. Different countries, different languages. But they were so proud to raise their hands. They're so proud to pay the price they did to now say, I am American citizen. And the ask was, and now that you're American citizen, give back. Make sure that your appreciation is shown by what you can leave as a legacy. So I'm just excited again that I was raised in that type of environment. My dad was a college professor, also an entrepreneur, and his message was basically this dream big. If you dream big, you'll be amazed at the things you can. The person you can become and the obstacles you can overcome, because obstacles will come your way. That's part of life. That's part of the growth process. And when you learn to appreciate and embrace those obstacles, to see what can I learn from it, we all do become a better, better, better person. And that's how our country has become a much better place as we continue to go through the process.
- [06:53]
Kevin Gentry
Wow. Well, see, I knew you were perfect for the Going Big podcast. All right, So I want to. I want to continue along, and I want to understand a little bit about how you consider your calling. But even before that, you touched about, you know, growing up, especially the 1960s in the South. You know, there are lots of people that are listening to this podcast today that are younger than you and me. I think we're. We're close to the same age. I grew up in the south, too. Different circumstances, I'm sure, than. Than you. And I wasn't as far south, but still, it was different in the 60s and 70s than it is today, clearly. And you know that far better. Speak a little bit about. But you also spoke about the sense of community and just give a little perspective about how that really shaped your outlook as well as your determination.
- [07:45]
Burgess Owens
I'm glad you asked me that because there's a lot of history that many Americans, particularly young Americans, have no idea about. And I always like to highlight how every generation in our country has always looked at how can we leave a legacy that's better for our kids than it was for me? And that's the environment I grew up in. So I want to give you a little bit of what I grew up in to realize the greatness of my parents and my parents parents, what they were doing, what that community was doing, from Booker T. Washington to self sufficiency, of grit, of giving back, of command and respect. That was the community I grew up in because I mentioned those four tenets. Faith, family, free market, education. Now how did that translate to success when I grew up in the end, in the 60s, in the 70s, here's what we as a country, I mean as a community, the black community started from the 40s until the 60s, early 70s, led our country in the growth of the middle class. We led our country. And men were trickling from college. There's no community had more percentage of college graduates than the Black community with HBCUs. Again, my dad was a college professor at Floyd A&M HBCU. My uncle was a professor at Pear View. So education was everything. And here's the other thing. We had the highest percentage of men, not only particularly from college, but men committed to marriage. Somewhere between 70, 80% of black men married the mother of their children. Because in my community, if you didn't do that, you were not respected as a man. You expect to go out and work hard, protect your family, give it a good name, make sure that you left the community better than you came. That was a thought process because at the end of the day, it was about how can we make sure that my kids grow up in an environment where they are accepted based on merit. How my kids can they can my kids, they will see past the color thing because they're so much better than the way our country was at that particular time. And also here's one other thing that was important about being in a segregated community. We also led the country in percentage of entrepreneurs. And think about this scenario. We lived in a segregated community. So we didn't go outside my community to buy anything. Everything was done, whether it be the plumber, the engineer, the teachers, the coaches, I mean, you name it, we had it in our community. So in my community it was baker's pharmacy, percolate, service station, speech, grocery store, a hospital of black doctors and nurses. So guess what? It happened as we Were growing up, we realized as young men that we could do anything. You know, just don't feel sorry for yourself. Don't look at yourself as a victim. Know that if you work hard, you respect people. Yes, sir. No, ma'. Am. Yes, ma'. Am. We respect people. You go out there, hold on to that good name your parents gave you. Success will come your way, and yes, there will be obstacles. And that was another thing that we were taught. Don't ever. I mean, if one thing would upset my parents, and that is them being looked at as victims, that was to them, it just. It motivated them even more so to make sure they changed that. That perception. Because it was all about being a winner, being respected through merit, wanted to be part of what we were doing because we were succeeding. That was the theme of that community. So we all. My parents, they all work. My parents and adults of that at that time all worked hard to make sure their kids had the best opportunities out there. So it was a very positive place to be raised in. And I think the most important thing that came out of it is I now have this view. It's not hypothetical. When we say we're going to become a more perfect union. That first of all was put in place by very humble founders. They realized they were not perfect. They realized there was a God in heaven, that they will always make them better. And by being better people, by being more educated, by. Through merit, we'll come to that place where we, today, many of us don't even look at color anymore. I mean, it's amazing because when I was growing up, that was everything, by the way. I have a family now of six kids, and my family is represented black, white, Hispanic, American Indian, and Trinidadian. And my grandkids look at each other as cousins, which they are. And my kids look at each other brothers and sisters. I mean, it is. That's where our countries come to. And what we do have to do is hold on to that. We cannot allow the ideology that divides us, the ideology that hates faith, family, free market, education to overwhelm us. And a lot of that's going to be through education. So thankfully, that's my passion, because my dad, again, was a college educator. So I understand the power of that. But the key is we need to educate ourselves and our kids, particularly about the foundation of our nation, that we were the one nation that began with things like all men are created equal, a more perfect union, those kind of concepts that no other nation ever had, that we the people can come together as one and do some Remarkable things. So that's the foundation we need to learn to be taught about. And more importantly, we need to understand that we are continually growing and becoming a better, better nation. For us to be pushed back and some people want to do as if we're still back in 1930s and 40s is a lie. And it takes away the hopes and dreams of good people that they can succeed and they can move forward. We need to hear about the struggle. We need to hear about those things that. That allow us to dream big and overcome. Because when other people hear that, they say, you know what? If that person could do that, maybe I can do that. And therefore, that hope kind of goes to someone else who can then share with someone else. So that's what I guess our biggest responsibility is, is go through the struggle, go through the pain, learn your lessons, and then share with others what you learned, how they can get it through the whole process. At the same time. Let me just say this one thing. I just want to make a point just to highlight that I played with the Raiders back in the days when the Raiders used to win football games. Remember those days, Cap? You turn on Monday Night Football, the Raiders didn't win. They're gonna figure out a way to do it. Well, that was my first year of the Raiders was a Super bowl championship. What led to that is my greatest lessons. My last year in high school was a losing season. My four years at University of Miami, all four years of losing seasons went to seven years with the Jets. And the jets are doing today what they did 40 years ago. They can't figure out how to win. And so seven years of losing to a point where my seventh year with the Raiders, I mean, with the Jets, I actually for a hot minute, considered retirement. I was so frustrated. I've been working so hard. You know, every year, this is going to be the year it's going to finally turn around. And once again, I'm watching at home, watch my buddies on playoff games and all that kind of stuff, and not even getting close. Well, it was that eighth year that I was traded to the Raiders. And that team you talk about, a team that just came together, supposed to be underdogs, we're supposed to be rebuilding, but yet every player had the same feelings I had. I was so sick and tired of losing. I was going to do anything. I would run harder, I would study harder, I would do whatever it took. And the guys on that team felt the same way. And we slowly but surely went from a team that was just supposed to be rebuilding To a team that was an underdog in the playoffs every single game. To a team that into one winning Super Bowl 15. So it was a 13th season that I let people know we all have it. We all have an opportunity to experience that time where everything just comes together the way we'd always hoped. But it takes the 12 to get you there, and that's where you learn all the lessons. I learned so much about grit, about hustle. There's a motto that we have on my team, my culture, D.C. team, that's very simply, you cannot control the school board, but you can control the hustle. How did I learn that through 12 years of losing? To figure out what can I do to keep motivated? I mean, at some point, we got to keep ourselves moving. And that was my. My effort. I could look at the film on Monday morning, and my teammates would see that hustle on Sunday. Then to Matthew, me was a winning, winning game. And that's how we have to approach life. Hustle is what we can control. Being nice, be respectful, caring, service. There are things we can't control. If we can control that, everything else works out. All of a sudden, people are pulling for us. People want us to win. They give us opportunities we might not think we're ready for, but we found out we can do okay with. But it all comes down to controlling what we can control. I want to say that I look at that very simply. If you don't realize there's a God in heaven, and you know that he will bless you if you do your very best, and if we make our mistakes, it's going to be okay. We can learn from that. That's the beginning. And that's what our country began with, from our foundation. And that's why we have the greatest country in history, mankind, with this unbelievable mosaic of people and cultures and language and religions, because that's the way God wants us to be. We want us to be one, even though we might be different in so many different ways.
- [17:03]
Kevin Gentry
Well, thank you for sharing all of that. My gosh. Wow. You are a true inspiration. And again, you are perfect for this. And by the way, in 1980, you were a key leader. Very modest. You're very. A key leader of the Raiders victory. Now, I want to touch on, when we see people go into professional sports, you're at the prime of your physical health, and you can't play forever. Even Tom Brady, you can't play forever. What happens and how did you handle that transition? My understanding is it wasn't clear what to do next. What did you do? And how did that shape your continued determination and grit?
- [17:51]
Burgess Owens
What a good question. Because the decision I made back then in 1982 is what's led me to what I'm doing now, even in our 2025. I think the key when I go back to dreaming big, it's so important to get to a point where you realize there's something bigger than you. You need to find out what that is. If you find out what that is, and that's your passion, then you just think about it all the time, what you're doing right now. Your podcast. This has been a dream. So you in your element and you don't mind trying to be better at it and figure out how to make sure we can nuance even better. That's the way the dream should work. I was blessed that my dad was a great example of a servant. Our dad was very, very successful as a professor for 40 years. And by the way, I'd like to give that story before we finish up how he got there, but he also very successful.
- [18:41]
Kevin Gentry
Why don't you divert? Divert now.
- [18:43]
Burgess Owens
All right, let me do that. We're gonna come back to this. All right?
- [18:46]
Kevin Gentry
Okay. Okay.
- [18:49]
Burgess Owens
When dad passed away again, he was a professor 40 years. Entrepreneur, very successful entrepreneur. When he passed away, I remember going through some of his documents, kind of putting things in place, and I ran across this box of letters. These letters were rejection letters. Now, he grew up again in Texas. He went to Purview, a black college. And in Texas in those days, in the 40s, there was no place else to go. There was no postgraduate areas to go to, because that's the way the segregated south was. And so I saw these letters of colleges across the country that were gesture letters. But you know what's interesting is that that generation used that as motivation. If you said, no, they're going to work harder. And they taught that, by the way, to us, to their kids. So he kept trying until he finally got to Ohio State. Ohio State accepted him. So he got his PhD in agronomy in Ohio State. That's where I was born. His older brother also got his PhD in Ohio State and economics, where he went on to Purview and then University of Houston. Both were entrepreneurs. I would say they were the. If you look at the life of bookie Washington, I think this generation was a lot of that. And not only did they think outside the box as innovators, they believed in education, they leaned in hard, but they also gave back their lives to the kids coming through. So I remember Washington dad. He had developed this big apartment unit. Part of that was putting together a little store where kids would come and run their little store as entrepreneurs. That was something he thought about that I now realize how important that was, that the fact he's teaching kids how to, how to think outside and how to have these dreams. So at the end of the day, that was the message of what my dad did now because he was an entrepreneur, because he would give back his time. I remember him taking some of the kids from this apartment complex and packing them up and taking them down to Disney World so they get a chance. These, most of the kids had no fathers, by the way, but they were to have them to have a chance to experience and see other things. He ended up, toward the end of his life the last 30 years, bought a 500 acre farm, five spring fed lakes. And his goal was to bring kids out to have them experience what it was to see the sun power and water power and all those kind of things. His idea was always thinking about how can he educate. So that led me to the last year of the Raiders. I ran across a business. The year before that I started to build on off season. And that was going to be my dream. To one day build this remarkable business, Successful business, great, great network. The funding I needed to some kind of way impact the community that out that, that I had grown up in. Because by the 1980s the black community was going sideways. The things I just talked about was not happening anymore. Education wasn't happening, crime was going up, fatherless homes were going up. And I felt this is maybe a way I can start a business that would help to kind of bring us back. So that's why I left. And it was interesting because once I left my last year, it was really one of my better years. It was all pro going into a, a, a, what is it called, a free agency. I was a free agency that year. And I had just finished jumping in a good season, moving to California. And I made a decision that this would be the time for me to go ahead and still and do my business instead. Great decision. It was not a good move for the business because I realized you could hustle, but you all need to have a book, good concept and if good concept wasn't there. So nine years later, actually my business went under. Which was a whole different chapter in life. Was so important because this is something I never ever thought that I would ever fail. When I say fail, it was a spectacular failure. Lost everything. The home they lived in, a beautiful home in long island with a beautiful pool and nice cars. Moved into a one bedroom basement apartment in Brooklyn for about six, seven months with four kids. And I didn't know what the next step was going to be. I remember standing at the bottom, by the way, I was also, I did know this. I was really raised by remarkable again parents. My dad taught us that no, it doesn't matter what a man has to do to provide his family, as long as it's honest and hard. And so I didn't know what I was going to do next. And at the point I figured, I'll go ahead and I was a security guard at night and a chimney sweep during the day. Yeah. And it was interesting because it was not. It was a very humbling process. I remember standing in that basement one night, hearing gunshot outside, gunfire, thinking, how in the world did this happen? I mean this was never in my, in my wildest dreams, a process I thought I journey I have to go through. But as I was asking that question myself, the answer came, this is for your good. This is going to be okay. Just hang in there. And so I just did the best I could do. And about four or five months later, I ended up getting an opportunity to work with a company called WordPerfect Word Processing. So for the next 25 years, I was in the corporate world, corporate sales, which I found a niche and found a talent, something I never would have done, by the way. I was very shy, introverted when I was a kid, so sales was not something I thought about. But when you figure out how to survive, you find a way. And I got to be really good at it. So I make that point because it is a struggle that we need to share. And when I go to colleges, particularly back before deciding to do what I'm doing now, I would tell the story of America, that this is a place of opportunity that you can do anything. You dream big, you work hard and you respect people. And of course the idea that the pushback from these kids were, yeah, you could say that because you were, you're, you're an athlete, you're a football player. I said, yeah, I was an NFL player, but more recently I was extremely sweep and a security guard. And my message, if I can do it, you can do it. Because it doesn't matter what we do, it's how we take the opportunities we have to make the most of it. And in that process, what I found, because I was following my dreams of working with kids at that time, when I came to Utah, it allowed me to say, you know, finally, after all the years of working and not having that time to do it, I'm going to start up a program to work with at risk kids called Second Chance for Youth. And I did that for a couple years and I finally realized if we don't change things in dc, nothing will change. If our kids can't read and write, if they have no appreciation for our country, for our culture, if they want to take instead of give, if they can't commit to young men, commit to their families and their wives and kids, then it's just going to get worse and worse because the policies in D.C. was leading us in that direction, is pushing our kids and our families in that direction. So that was when I decided, literally about a month before we had to announce, I decided I'm going to run for Congress. And so here I am. I would say this. I think about even the things I was doing here in Utah with Seth and Chance, the opportunity I now have with the team, the cult, the conference we have, the president we have, is unbelievable. We were able to pass a school choice bill just a few months ago that allows, literally, parents across the country can have choices of putting their kids in the best school possible. And we all know that only through merit, only through competition can we get the best. If we have school systems that are insulated, that can be just as bad as it can be and still get the same income, they will never change. So we need to make sure there's competition, make sure parents can take a look at what works best for their child, and they can look back one day and say, I'm so proud that my son and my daughter's doing this, that and the other, because they got the right type of educational process for them. So that's kind of my decision to leave the game at the top, to go to the bottom and work my way up. I can say that this is a 13th season for me.
- [26:58]
Kevin Gentry
Wow.
- [26:59]
Burgess Owens
It's amazing.
- [27:00]
Kevin Gentry
Well, that is awesome. But thank you for, for sharing that. You know, I think a lot of people, when they see successful people, they just think they've been successful all their life. And thank you for just showing how the adversity actually motivated you and kept that drive. Well, I want to touch a little bit on your reference to second chances. You've talked a lot in your life about America as a country that believes in second chances. Tell us a little bit more about that and also your mentoring program and what your sense is, what motivates you with respect to that.
- [27:42]
Burgess Owens
Well, the thing about America, and this is why our history is so important, Kev. It's important to kind of know where we started. Those pilgrims coming across with a remarkable faith and a little boat, no guarantee, knowing they'll never come back and actually not even big guarantee they'll get there. You go from there to the Revolutionary War, these patriots that said, you know what, we're small, we're a small group, but my goodness, I have a God in heaven I believe in and we need to have freedom. You go throughout history and you see that we are a country that always has to kind of reboot, make sure that we can have another shot at it. And the biggest message we could have is I can have a second chance. I can mess up and still have a second chance. And we're going to go back to the Raiders of old, which I told all the blessings I had when it came down to sports, the three years I was with the Raiders was the icing on the cake. We have to understand, see many of the folks that might be listening, that might not remember Al Davis. Al Davis was a maverick. Al Davis was an owner, a coach and an owner who only believed in one thing. It was one thing. Just win, baby. That was it. He didn't golf, he didn't vacation, of course later made a lot of money, but his money was focused on how can I make sure I understand what's out there for me. So he would literally scour the colleges and scour other teams to find talent that one day might be his. I was with the jets for seven years and when I was traded to the Raiders, the first thing he did was bring some of the guys in and have a one on one conversation. And what was impressive to me, this was my eighth year in the NFL. Al Davis brought up a play that I made my last year in college. He a play, a defensive play. He brought it up as if it was yesterday because that was the kind of genius he was. And he's also one of those guys who believed when I say second chance, you think about his team. Best way I could say it was a motley crew. It was guys that were too old. Two ranked Bucks is too crazy, too wild for any other team, but just right for the Raiders. And it kind of made a mystique about the Raiders that people are pushing the silver and black into it. You have a whole new way of looking at the Raiders, but we all respected it. Even as a jet, I would look at the Raiders. I mean those guys have a lot of fun and they know how to win. So it was that second chance. And Al's idea was very simple. This. It didn't matter its personality. It didn't matter if they had issues with other teams. As long as you showed up and you put your foot on their team, you're all about this team. And that's what the concept. Once a Raider, always a Raider, because it doesn't matter if you came there first or last in your career. That experience was one that you always kind of held onto because it was such a unique place and culture that Aldell Davis had. So that, to me, really is the country, our country is about thinking outside the box, realizing again that we can make big mistakes, but always have a chance to make it better and leave that legacy that really, at the end of the day, want to leave when it all shakes out.
- [30:53]
Kevin Gentry
Congressman Owens, the whole objective of the Going Big podcast is just to encourage people to dream big, think big, go big in their life. So you're awesome for this. And so many of the guests I've had have talked about two things. One is that it's finding their gift. And some say they spend all their life trying to find their gift, but they apply themselves as best they can. And the other thing they talk about is mentors, the importance of mentors in their life. And you mentioned your father, you mentioned Al Davis, you mentioned tell us a little bit about how mentors are important and how you might even recommend to those listening how they may think about seeking out mentors.
- [31:37]
Burgess Owens
We all need them. We all need mentors. We all need someone that we can open up, be humble, listen to the advice and the experiences, and say, you know what? I might not know how to do that or why do that, but I'm going to take it on faith. I'm going to change the way I think or the way I act. That's what the mentorship comes down to, is relationship in which whoever we're working with or talking with realize they're looking out for our best interests. The lesson I learned from my dad was very simply, he wanted me to grow up and be a good, strong, solid man, a courageous man, a principal man, and someone that could take his name and be proud of that process. So that mentor piece is a very big, big piece of it. Mentors are not perfect. I mean, we're still learning also. So we also have to have a way or a reference to what's right and wrong. And I'll say this one thing we all can do, whether we have that special person in our lives right now or not, we have the scriptures What I love to do is know that there is a way to understand every single day. How can I be a better person? What can I do to recognize things in myself that need to change? How can I be more patient? How can I be more humble? All those things come. Some of it comes from life. One of the most humbling things I went through was when I went broke believing. So that's a little bit of that. But the rest of it is that we'd always, always get better at that. We'd always be more empathetic. And a lot of that is just as we read the scriptures and get closer to our Lord and Savior, then that also happens. So I would say I have been very, very fortunate. The time I grew up in the family, I grew up in community that I don't have to talk about hypotheticals. The community I just talked about was not hypothetical. It was real. And I had a chance to see it real time and see how excited that group of people during that time were about winning and moving forward as a community. So we have to continue to do that as a country. I'll say this. It's important to recognize that we have had a spiritual start, that we start off with this idea of becoming a more perfect union, which means, very simply, if it's spiritual, there's going to be another spirituality that's anti what we're doing. There's an evil, there's a darkness. There's a destructive ideology that hates everything we stand for. I call it Marxism, called socialism or communism, whatever you want to call it. It's a godless ideology that hates faith, family, the free market, education that hates it. So everything we're doing right now is not in a vacuum. There will be pushback, There will be lessons to learn. There will be temptations. All that stuff happens because there's a battle of good versus evil. I think we're on the. On a good lift, on a good step now toward good. We just have to continue to. To stay the course. And I'll say this, the biggest thing we can do is just be courageous. Be courageous in our stance, be courageous in our voice. It's a. It's not an easy thing, by the way. Courage is habitual. It's doing little things a little bit at a time before, you know, it becomes habit. Because muscle memory and. And I've been able to take advantage of things like sports. Sports is a good chance for me to learn courage by recognizing when I was on the field, I was going to be as aggressive. Running toward a runner than I can be. I was not going to pull back. I was not going to say, I got so big, I won't do it. Be aggressive. And before you know what happens, it just becomes muscle memory. It's just you're running toward this big guy coming at you, full steel. You wonder how the wrong and take this guy down. But you do it because that's the way even you've trained your mind to think. And that's the way we should always be in everything we do is be courageous. Not only in our actions, but our principles and what we stand for. And recognize sometimes people are not going to like it. Sometimes people turn their backs on you, but that's okay. You can look yourself in the mirror, say no, I stood for what I believed in. And as long as you know you're doing the right thing, that that's all it really matters. That does matter. Wow.
- [35:43]
Kevin Gentry
Well, a lot, a lot of good advice and wisdom packed into that response. And I've never thought about building a habit of going after just driving to tackle the other guy. That's, that's awesome. So you talk about these principles of faith, family, free markets and education. They clearly have anchored your life. If you would just talk a little bit more about, I mean, is that what keeps you motivated at this stage in your life? I mean, you could have just stopped with professional sports, you could have stopped with business. And by the way, I might add, you're a best selling author. Your book I love this, why I Stand, and this was written before you were elected for Congress. People ought to check this out. What keeps you motivated?
- [36:33]
Burgess Owens
Well, you know, it's interesting because, and I watched my dad and I keep talking about my dad, but my mom was just as impactful. She was my best friend. She was the one that, that all of the kids would call in to see what the rest of the game was doing. That was my mom. She supported my dad big time. But what it comes down to is we want to be happy. And you know, there's certain things that we can do that's going to be temporary. You know, you buy that car and before you know it, a year later, then that is not the same anymore. But things that we do that really kind of highlights our talents and our legacy, those are things that are so important. And I would say if you keep in mind the tenets to faith, family, free market, education, in that process, we'll find something that can motivate us, that keeps us moving fast past something bigger than ourselves. So I would say now it's kind of interesting because, you know, I'm at that point of figuring out what is it that I truly do want to be remembered for. And one is I want my parents and my parents generation to be remembered. I want them, I want people to be proud of what they did and what they accomplished and, and how they weigh us down their shoulders. The other part is I have six kids and 18 grands. So I want my kids and my grands to be proud of the legacy of what I'm doing now and what I can leave for them in a community where my name is good. And I want them to be able to know they can use that good name and they will do the same as they move on. And the other one is what started off back when I retired from, from the Raiders. That is I've always wanted to have an impact on our kids, to be able to now do the things we're doing in Congress. And one day I'm going to get back into the entrepreneurial world. And the goal at that point is how can we now fund, make sure we're funding our kids across this country so that they can have an opportunity, no matter what the financial status is of their parents, where they live, what zip code, that their kids have a chance to experience American dreams by going to the school of education or trade that they might want to do in the future. So I would say it's kind of nice I've been tied it down to those three particular areas. But it all, it all began again with watching a dad who felt the same way. He wanted to leave a mark. And my goal is, of course, is to carry that on, to pass it on to my kids in the same manner.
- [38:56]
Kevin Gentry
Well, outstanding. I tell you at a point that many people would just say it's time to retire and take a little bit easy. You are just as charged up to keep going and grateful for that. And you keep going. All right, I want to bring this to a close. I have two final questions. The first, this is one I often ask thinking back on a younger version of yourself. Let's say maybe when you were 20, knowing what you now know, what would you tell that younger version of yourself to do any differently?
- [39:29]
Burgess Owens
I would say fail faster so you get humble quicker.
- [39:33]
Kevin Gentry
Number one, that's great.
- [39:38]
Burgess Owens
And just learn to serve earlier. I mean, I got into service after my first NFL life and career and started having a family. But the sooner we could serve, the sooner we could truly understand our value. And this feedback we get from other people, I think that's the Power of service. We fall in love with folks that we serve, but that's because they see an appreciation. We see appreciation when we give value to somebody else's life. I would say even though I have overcome a lot of my shyness and my insecurities, if I could have started that earlier, of reading the right books, of taking more chances, of getting past my comfort zone, if I'd done that earlier, I could have done more, but it took me a while. It took me, actually, after I got through the NFL, that I got into a real serious reading program. Think and grow rich. Magic of thinking big. How do we imprison, influence, people? All those things happened after my NFL days. If I started that and I was in college, my goodness, I wouldn't have been shaking so much when I started talking to people.
- [40:50]
Kevin Gentry
Wow.
- [40:51]
Burgess Owens
But anyway, there's a lot. Here's a great thing, Kevin. You know, no matter where we are, how old we are, there's always something we can say. What can I do better right now? That's what it comes down to if we're humble enough to get there and ask those questions. So I would say, of all the things we can do, be humble or you will be humbled. With the Ed. The Ed. Humbled is not a fun place of bait. So the goal is to get there quicker, quickly, open yourself up, say, okay, what do I need to do, my goodness, to change? And when you do that, good things begin to happen for sure.
- [41:25]
Kevin Gentry
Well, this has been really awesome. All right, now close this out. We have people listening from all over the world. What advice would you have for anybody who's just struggling thinking, how do I live a life of purpose and meaning? How do I find my gift, identify my gift, and really do as Burgess Owens has done? What advice would you give to anyone listening about what they might do?
- [41:50]
Burgess Owens
What a good question, Ken. What a good way to finish this up. I would say it's important to live a life of purpose. And purpose is not how much money, much money you have in the bank. It's not how many, quote, friends you have hanging on purpose. It starts off with having a connection and conversation with heavenly father. What is it? What am I here to do? What is my mission? What is all the talents you've given me? First of all, help me understand what those talents are. What are my talents here to accomplish? So that's the first one. Find out what your mission is. The greatest joy in life will be your family. With everything said and done is watch those little ones grow up and then becoming individuals Them going through their struggles and maybe, you know, not getting along for a while, that everybody kind of coming back and just being family and friends. So start your family as long as you can. Have as many kids as you can. You know, I have six kids. I'm now here in Utah. I thought it used to be a lot. I used to walk around and say I have six kids until I run into people. I have eight mannequins. So anyway, have a family. And Charlie Cole, just say have more than you think you can afford. You'll be amazed what happens when it's not about the dollars, when it's all about the growth. You thinking outside the box, how to make sure you take care of those kids and your family, doing what you have to do. Them watching you that go, that process, having those kids around the table, dinner and breakfast, and just having a good time with them and then watching them grow up and go through their struggles and go. So I would say those are things that truly will bring happiness. When you have grandkids that love being around not only mom and dad, but their grandmom and granddad, and you're doing things together, those are things that you care with you. Those are the eternal things that will really mean a difference. The other things, the cars, the house, the travel. Travel is good if you're doing it with the family and developing memories. But just know there's certain things that are eternal and there's certain things that are very temporary. And temporary will never bring your happiness. So be a person that really, if you say, you say something, you mean it. Be a person that your word is good, that you have a reputation of just being the best person you can be. If you do that, you go through life, you'll feel good about yourself, number one. And more importantly, you have a family that will love you and will be sad when you go. So all those things kind of make a big difference there for sure.
- [44:19]
Kevin Gentry
Well, Burgess Owens, Congressman Burgess Owens, thank you very much for being part of going big. You were just perfect for this. Thank you for everything you're doing. I hope we can have you back in a couple of years so you can talk about the next thing that you're doing. It's been great having you today.
- [44:33]
Burgess Owens
Let's do it. And thank you for this opportunity and thanks for the podcast. This is what people need to hear, need to leave and have hope, and you give that to them. So thanks so much for giving us, Giving us your talents, buddy, for sure.
- [44:45]
Kevin Gentry
All right, thank you very much.
- [44:47]
Thanks for tuning in to the Going Big Podcast. I hope today's conversation left you feeling energized and ready to tackle your biggest goals. Don't forget to subscribe and leave us a review on iTunes, YouTube, or wherever you listen to podcasts. It really helps spread the word and it gets these inspiring stories out to more people. You can also find more content, resources and updates at our website, goingbigpodcast.com Remember, the only limits are the ones you don't challenge, the limits that you impose on yourself. Keep pushing, keep growing, and above all, keep Going big. See you next time on the Going Big Podcast.