Podcast Summary: Going Big with Rep. Burgess Owens: Faith, Grit, and the American Dream

Podcast: Going Big! with Kevin Gentry
Host: Kevin Gentry
Guest: Congressman Burgess Owens
Release Date: November 3, 2025

Episode Overview

This episode of Going Big! features Congressman Burgess Owens, who shares his remarkable journey from growing up in the segregated Deep South, to winning a Super Bowl with the Oakland Raiders, to enduring business failures, and ultimately serving as a U.S. Representative. The conversation centers around the foundational American values that have guided Owens—faith, family, education, free markets, and a relentless belief in the American dream. Throughout, Owens reflects on resilience, mentoring, humility, and the power of “going big,” all framed in stories and advice meant to inspire listeners to pursue purpose and meaning in their own lives.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Power of Faith, Family, and the American Dream

• Foundational Values
  • Owens attributes his resilience and life philosophy to core values instilled during his upbringing in the 1960s segregated South: faith, family, free markets, risk-taking, and education.
  • "Our dads had just come back from World War II. We believed the way that we command respect was by winning through merit." (Burgess Owens, 03:44)
  • These tenets enabled his community not just to endure, but to thrive.
• Sense of Community
  • Owens describes a self-sufficient, entrepreneurial Black community where strong marriages, hard work, and local business were the norm, and success was measured by one's contribution to and respect within the community.
  • "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." (07:44)

2. Overcoming Adversity and Embracing Obstacles

• Early Challenges
  • Owens shares his experiences as one of four Black students integrating a formerly all-white high school, where sports became a unifying experience.
  • "We were all about winning. And all of a sudden, we begin to almost forget...the tones of our color of our skin." (03:44)
• Sports as a Metaphor
  • His years as an underdog athlete, especially with struggling teams before eventually winning the Super Bowl, highlight the theme that perseverance through years of “losing seasons” is often the prelude to success.
  • Memorable Quote: “You cannot control the scoreboard, but you can control the hustle.” (16:35)
• Life After Football
  • The transition out of sports brought both entrepreneurial aspirations and spectacular failures: “Lost everything...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.” (18:48)
  • Owens worked humble jobs and credits this season for building humility and reinforcing his faith that “this is for your good. This is going to be okay. Just hang in there.” (18:48)

3. Legacy, Mentorship, and Second Chances

• Influence of Family and Mentors
  • Owens highlights his father—an academic who overcame racial barriers, became a successful entrepreneur, and continuously gave back by teaching and mentoring youth— as a model for his own life.
  • “His message was basically this: dream big. If you dream big, you'll be amazed at... the obstacles you can overcome.” (03:44)
• Second Chance for Youth
  • Owens founded “Second Chance for Youth,” working with at-risk youth and focusing on literacy, appreciation for country, and family commitment.
  • Eventually, he realized that systemic political change was needed for broader impact, motivating his run for Congress. (00:01, 25:56)
• America: A Land of Second Chances
  • Drawing on history and personal experience, Owens views America’s greatness in its capacity to grant and embrace second chances: “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.” (27:41)

4. Finding Purpose and Building Habits of Courage

• On Mentorship
  • “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 ... but I'm going to take it on faith.” (31:36)
• Role of Faith in Adversity and Success
  • Regular scripture study, self-reflection, and conscious habit-building (including habits of courage) are described as essential tools for growth.
  • “Courage is habitual. It's doing little things a little bit at a time before, you know, it becomes habit.” (34:43)
• Enduring Motivation
  • Motivated by a desire to honor his parents, create a legacy for his six children and 18 grandchildren, and empower future generations—especially through educational opportunity and policy changes like school choice.
  • “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.” (36:33)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “You cannot control the scoreboard, but you can control the hustle.”
  — Burgess Owens, 16:35

• “Fail faster so you get humble quicker.”
  — Burgess Owens, 39:28

• “At some point, we got to keep ourselves moving. And that was 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.”
  — Burgess Owens, 15:00

• “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.”
  — Burgess Owens, 16:00

• “America 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.”
  — Burgess Owens, 30:52

• “Be courageous in our stance, be courageous in our voice. It's not an easy thing, by the way. Courage is habitual.”
  — Burgess Owens, 34:43

• “Purpose is not how much money... 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?”
  — Burgess Owens, 41:49

Timestamps for Key Segments

• Values and Early Life

  • Foundation of faith, family, and merit: 03:44 – 07:44
  • Community entrepreneurship and respect: 07:44 – 17:00

• Sports, Failure, and Grit

  • Integration struggles and sports: 03:44 – 06:53
  • Professional football lessons: 13:00 – 17:00

• Failures and Humility

  • Post-NFL business failure and recovery: 18:48 – 26:58
  • Humility and faith during hardship: 18:48 – 25:56

• Second Chances, Policy, and Mentorship

  • Second Chance for Youth and motivation to run for Congress: 25:56 – 27:41
  • Role of mentors, faith, and American values: 31:36 – 36:33

• Reflections and Advice

  • Advice to younger self: fail fast, serve early: 39:28 – 40:51
  • Keys to purpose and happiness, family legacy: 41:49 – 44:18

Flow & Tone

The conversation is upbeat, generous, and filled with direct, practical wisdom rooted in the real struggles and triumphs of Owens’ life. Owens frequently credits others—family, mentors, and historical figures—while emphasizing personal responsibility, humility, and service as keys to “going big” in life.

Key Takeaways

• Resilience is forged through adversity, and learning to embrace obstacles is a precursor to exceptional achievement.
• Mentorship and community are essential: no one thrives alone, and lifting others is part of the American ethos.
• Personal legacy is built through faith, consistent values, courage, and service; material success is fleeting compared to generational impact.
• Failure is not the end; in fact, embracing and learning from failure is foundational to lasting growth.
• America’s uniqueness lies in its commitment to second chances— both individually and collectively.

This episode serves as a blueprint for anyone aspiring to achieve lasting, meaningful impact and legacy—whether in sports, business, public service, or everyday life.