[: 00:04

[Thibodeaux]

Welcome, listeners, and thank you for joining me today for another episode of Faithful on the Clock, the podcast for Christian professionals where everything is autosaved to get your faith and work aligned. I’m your host, Wanda Thibodeaux, and my guest today is speaking coach and education advocate, Dr. Danny Brassell. In today’s show, Danny connects his faith and extensive knowledge of communication to show us how to energize audiences for maximum memorable impact. I know you’ve got meaningful messages to get out there, so here we go.

[: 00:40

[Thibodeaux]

Thanks for joining me again for another episode of Faithful on the Clock with me today is guest Dr Danny Brassell. Danny is an author and the co-founder of The Well-Crafted Workshop. He excels as a sought out speaker, but he also teaches others how to speak and be good communicators as well. So, Danny, your challenge today, should you choose to accept it, is to help us really understand how to use reading and speaking, first and foremost, to serve God, but also, as you put it, to transform our stories into seven figure growth engines. So, again, thank you so much for being a guest with us today. I'm thrilled to have you.

[Brassell]

Thanks so much for having me. Wanda, more importantly, thanks for spreading some joy in the world. We need a lot more of you, my friend.

[Thibodeaux]

Well, thank you. I really appreciate that. So, just to get us started, why don't you tell me a little bit about your background. You know, I know you do a ton of speaking, but if people are not familiar with you, just give us a little bit about Danny Brassell.

[omitted takes 1 and 2]

[Thibodeaux]

President Bush senior in the: 1992

[Thibodeaux]

Excellent.

[Brassell]

And ironically — yeah, ironically, I fell in love with teaching. I mean, I've taught all age levels, from preschoolers all the way up to rocket scientists. I can make that claim because I used to teach English as a second language to engineering students at the University of Southern California.

[Thibodeaux]

Okay.

[Brassell]

In: 2005

[: 04:02

[Thibodeaux]

That's very fine. So, I know you know, with all the speaking that you have done, you know you have done hundreds of engagements. So, with that and your teaching experience, I'm wondering what you have kind of settled on as what — what do you see the most that we struggle with, like, if you could just pick out a couple of things that say, yeah, those are the things I see all the time?

[Brassell]

Yeah. So, the two biggest mistakes I see in most presentations is a lot of people, first of all, love to brag during their presentations, and I'm a big fan of —

[Thibodeaux]

No, they don't.

[Thibodeaux]

Yeah. Brene — Brene Brown's a really good speaker. She talks about vulnerability, and I agree with her. Stop sharing your successes. Start sharing your failures, because not everybody in your audience has succeeded, but they have all failed, and the more you share your own failures, the more your audience is going to see themselves and you and this is what ultimately your objective is, is to get the audience to feel like you're a trusted friend that I've known for a long time. The second biggest mistake I see most people make is they don't have one clear call to action in their presentation. I was on a podcast yesterday, and the hostess, at the end, she said, “I hope you enjoyed today's episode. Make sure you like, subscribe, and give us a five-star review.” After we got off air, I said, “You just asked your audience to do three different things. They ain't going to do any of them.” So, you have to bear with me. I'm a former teacher. Everything I do either rhymes or it's alliterative.

[Thibodeaux]

That’s okay.

[Brassell]

So, choices confuse and cause you to lose. Give one clear call to action. If you look at the biggest grocery store chains in America — Food Lion, Kroger, Publix, whatever, they're not the number one grocery store in America. The number one grocery store in America by volume is Trader Joe's. And the reason is, when you go into one of these major grocery store chains looking for mustard, there's 38 different types of mustard. When you go into a Trader Joe's, there's one type. It's called mustard. They made the choice for you. So —

[Thibodeaux]

Yeah.

[Brassell]

— you really want to have a higher close rate, one of the first things you need to pay attention to is, have one clear call to action. Don't give people your LinkedIn, Facebook, web — website, it's just going to confuse people.

[Thibodeaux]

Yeah, well, I know for myself, you know, anytime that I have, like, where I encounter — I think we have just too much information anyway. So, if I see that, I'm like, well, what do I do first? You know, it is confusing, like you said. But I want to just come back to that idea of sharing your successes just for a second, because I know from my own experience that has always really felt like you said, alienating, simply because, like you said, not everybody has succeeded, but it's also this idea that not — like, we know — you can tell us how you succeeded, but do I have the resources to succeed the way you did? Can I follow the exact same path? If I can't, it's almost moot, right? Because then it's not relevant to me. I want to see how I can succeed, meet your level with what I have. So, if your story doesn't tell me that I'm lost.

[Thibodeaux]

That was really well said, Wanda, I love that. I'm a Baptist in your front row. Amen.

[Thibodeaux]

Okay.

[Brassell]

Girl, I love it.

[: 06:57

[Thibodeaux]

Yeah, yeah. So, does all of that connect to how you speak and communicate, though? Like, you know what you've seen, like, I would imagine that that's what you try and avoid when you speak.

[Brassell]

Yeah. I mean, here's a ninja strategy for your audience. If you really feel like you need to impress people with your credentials, just write an introduction and have somebody else introduce you. I mean, you, I didn't write your — the introduction you gave for me, but it was a beautiful introduction. I'm like, wow, I sound pretty competent.

[Thibodeaux]

Thank you.

[Brassell]

What was great was, I got you to make me sound like Jesus Christ, and so when I get on stage, I can say, “Yeah, Jesus Christ forgot to wear his dress socks today.” Now people are going to be, oh, that — you know, so how we say in the first five minutes of your presentation, you're trying to connect with your audience, and again, I'm a former teacher, so you got to RAP. RAP stands for, you gotta show you're relatable. You have to demonstrate your authority, and you have to ultimately share your purpose. So, relatable, I'm just like you. I have had that exact same problem. Authority, and I solved that problem. Purpose, and now I'm on a mission to help people just like you, so you don't have to suffer the way I suffered. If you can do those three things in the first five minutes, you're going to have a much higher connection rate with your audience.

[Thibodeaux]

Okay, I love that. So, coming back to that relatability point, I know that there might be some people who would be in the audience — or even myself, I've really struggled with it, where I know, myself, I have thought to myself, “Well, how do I know what's relatable? I don't know what the audience has experienced. Like, how do I make what I have experienced, how do I know what to pull and how to connect it? Like, how do you do that?

[Brassell]

Yeah, so the common is the best way to answer that question. So, right now I'm working with a client, and he's climbed the highest peak on all seven continents. He swam with sharks in Madagascar. He did the Iditarod in Alaska. And I look at them like, nobody in your audience can relate to you. Nobody in your audience is climbing Mount Everest. Know what they've all done? They all peed their paints when they were in first grade. A lot of people, they have these extraordinary stories. I'm like, those aren't the stories that connect. All of us have had that Thanksgiving where we burnt the turkey, or you had the annoying relative that talked politics the entire meal. Like, those are the experiences. It's those common everyday experiences. Those are the gold nuggets. Not — not that you — you became the MVP of the Super Bowl, or you wrote your first symphony when you were three years old. I mean, I always like to add humor to it. So, all of us have had that annoying friend that we're at a cocktail party and they're bragging that their three year old child, you know, created their own symphony. And I'm like, well, my son, he just learned how to pick his nose with two fingers at the same time. Gonna get people to like you more. That's how you do it. I mean, and again, when I use — I love watching different speakers, and whenever I use a politician as an example, it has nothing to do with the politics, it's just the speaking style. But President Reagan was ingenious. I mean, he was millionaire who lived in Bel Air, California. But he connected with audiences in a way that made auto workers in Detroit, Michigan feel like they could have a beer with him. That's power. That's very powerful, and that's something you should learn from.

[: 10:12

[Thibodeaux]

So, have you ever had a moment where you're just like, maybe you went off script and you just pulled something out completely? Can you tell me maybe a story when you did that during one of your —

[Brassell]

white British runners in the: 1920

[Thibodeaux]

Yeah.

[Brassell]

“When I run, I feel His pleasure.” I get chills every time he says that, because I'm like, oh my gosh, that's what it's like for me on stage, is, I feel God's pleasure. Every now and then I'll say something that is brilliant. And I know I didn't think of that. It came — I was used as a vessel by God. And so, the long answer to your short question is, all the time, things come out of my mouth, and they might sound great. That wasn't me. God used me. And that's, I mean, that's what it's all about. I love that. I get very excited for those moments.

[Thibodeaux]

Yeah. So, you know, when you're when you're talking about, like, having it kind of just come out of your mouth, does that ever, like, shock you, though, like the things you have said, like, obviously, you know you're saying that it is from God, but you're like, I didn't know I was going to be the — the vessel for that. Does that kind of, like, get like, spook you a little as you're up on stage?

[Brassell]

Totally shocks me. I mean, I'll give you an example. When I was a junior in high school, I ran for this thing called Boys Nation, which was, every state has two Boys Nation senators. So, I was at Boys State in Colorado, and it meant I was going to get an all-expense paid trip to Washington, DC. And so, it was between me and this other guy, and the audience got to ask us questions to see if they were going to vote for us, and the other guy, he got to answer the question first. So, the question was, if you were an ice — if you could be any type of ice cream, what would you be? And he took my answer. I knew exactly what he was going to say. He said, “I'd be Neapolitan, because Neapolitan, it's different flavors, and as your Senator, I will represent all of you.”

[Thibodeaux]

Good answer.

[Brassell]

And I'm just like, I'm like, because that was my answer. And so, then I have to speak, and I know I didn't say this, and I said, “Bubblegum.” And they're like, “Why bubblegum?” I'm like, “It's a little bit outrageous, and you can always blow it.” And everybody started laughing. I'm not that quick, Wanda, I mean, I'm pretty quick on my feet, and I'm not that quick. And I knew it was when I was 17 years old. I'm like, I didn't say that. I don't know where that just came from. Like, yeah, it's — whenever you have a line that connects like it — oh my gosh, that was — that was a great feeling. I've had other lines that have connected like that. And that's why I love doing podcasts. This is why I always tell my clients. I'm like, there's two ways to get better at speaking. I mean, first of all, you got to watch lots of speakers, and second of all, you got to do your reps. You know, I don't care what you're doing. Most of my — most of the people I work with, they don't want to be speakers. They're — they're either nervous as can be, of being on stage, or they have no interest in being on stage. And I'm showing them the power of stages to really communicate and turn your audiences into clients. But I'm like, speaking is just like any other skill, the more you do it, the more you're gonna — you're gonna improve every single time I do a lot of podcasts, because it gives me reps. I mean, you've already asked me a couple of questions that nobody's ever asked me before. I'm like, “Oh, that's good. Now I have a —” You've given me a chance to practice an answer to that question. I was at an event a couple of weeks ago, and this woman came up to me afterwards, and she said she wanted to be a speaker. I'm like, “Oh, that'd be great. What can I do to support you?” And she's like, “Well, I — I couldn't be like you. I mean — I mean you answered that question so well.” And I said, “Time out. The question you asked me, I've been asked 500 times before. So, before you asked that question, I had 500 opportunities to create the perfect answer that impressed you so much.

[Thibodeaux]

Yeah.

[Brassell]

So, that's what I would do to encourage everybody in your audience. I mean, it's a skill.

[: 14:49

[Thibodeaux]

Yeah. Well, one thing too, you know, you had mentioned the bubblegum thing, that — which kind of — I was going to ask you later on too, about your use of humor in your speeches. I think humor is very disarming, but not everybody is funny. Not everybody can have those moments where they just pull it out of the hat that way. So, what — what do you say to that recommend — recommendation? Because I hear it all the time. Just tell a joke, you know, because to break that barrier, break the ice a little bit. But if somebody is generally like, that's not me. Like, what can they do to use it but still, you know, be authentic and not overdo it?

[Brassell]

Yeah, this is why I watch lots of speakers. So, I watch a lot of comedians, and comedians are really expert at this. Wanda, if you watch Kevin Hart, Kevin Hart's a short black guy, so he tells a lot of jokes about being a short black guy. Jim Gaffigin’s a big fat white guy, so he tells a lot of jokes about being a big fat, white guy. What they've done so ingeniously, is they've taken a perceived weakness and they've exposed it so everybody's laughing with them, and now it's actually a strength. And that's what I mean. I'm working with a woman right now, and she literally shakes like this on stage. And she's like, how am I going to get through this? I'm like, tell your audience, “I’m — I'm nervous as can be. Look at — look at me shaking. I'm about to pee my pants.” Because, contrary to popular belief, audiences are actually pretty cool. Because you and I have been in those — those rooms where the person’s just having a tough time on stage. There's nothing worse. This makes you feel uncomfortable. If a person admits to you, “I'm so nervous,” people are gonna be like, “You can do it! You can do it!” People are actually a lot cooler than we think. So, I always say, you know, I'm working with a — I'm working with a group of engineers at a big firm in Silicon Valley. They're trying to — they're doing a new round of venture capital, and so they have to do some presentations to some venture capitalists. And so, engineers are very introverted. They're not exactly the people you want to hang out with to share a beer and tell jokes. So —

[Thibodeaux]

I don't know anything about being introverted. No.

[Brassell]

the Democratic Convention in: 2000

[Thibodeaux]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Brassell]

— know — I knew George Washington personally.” That would get people laughing. And what you've done is, you've taken an issue, his age, and you've made it into a — something that, oh, this is fun. He's — he's making, I'm telling you, it would have served him better than trying to ignore the age issue. If I was advising President Trump, I would have said, make fun of your humility. “Nobody is humbler than me. I'm the most humble person in the world.” It's gonna get people laughing, because they're going to be like, irony there. That's what we like, is, the irony is — I've always looked at people like, hey, if they can laugh at themselves, they must be pretty all right. I mean, because people tend to only make fun of themselves when they're comfortable with themselves. Most people aren't comfortable with themselves. And so, I work with lots of people that they don't think they're funny, but I'm like, you're actually hilarious. You just have a different type of sense of humor. So, let's figure out how to infuse your presentation. Because it's really important to me, Wanda, that you're having fun on stage. There's — that's a difference between me and a lot of these speaking coaches. You know, I see a lot of speaking coaches and they say, “Oh, share your darkest moment with your audience.” And I'm like, there's three reasons why I refuse to do that, Wanda. First of all, the world just survived a global pandemic. Everybody's had a lot of bad stuff happen to them. I don't think we need more sad stories. I think we need more stories of hope.

[Thibodeaux]

Yeah. For sure.

[Brasssell]

Second of all, I'm teaching people how to create what — I call it, a well-crafted story. Politicians call it a stump speech. You can call it peanut butter and jelly. It doesn't matter what you call it. This is a presentation that you're gonna deliver again and again to introduce yourself to new audiences. You're gonna be so — this is going to become so automated, it's gonna be like the Pledge of Allegiance and the Lord's Prayer. You're not gonna have to think about it.

[Thibodeaux]

Right.

[Brassell]

Do you really want to share the same sad story again and again and again? I mean, I have a friend, his daughter was killed in a school shooting. He shared that story with over 1,000 audiences. I mean, you gotta be stronger than me to talk about the worst day of your life. I could never do that.

[Thibodeaux]

Yeah.

[Brassell]

Third, this is where people get angry with me. I have one objective. When I'm on stage, I want you to leave feeling better than when you came in. I want you laughing, smiling, happy. I think there's something admirable about that as a simple objective. I believe that people who tell the same sad story again and again, by the 20th time they're telling it, now those are crocodile tears, and now they're being manipulative. And I'm not saying it's not saying it's not an effective sales strategy. It's actually a very effective sales strategy. But I personally don't want to have to take a shower after I get off stage because I just manipulated my audience.

[Thibodeaux]

Yeah.

[Brassell]

There are ways to get people to want to do business with you. And so, yeah, I'm trying to add humor. And I mean, this is the thing. This is what — I was really excited about your podcast, Wanda, because, like — your listeners, all you have to do is read the Bible. There's great stories in the Bible. Like, Jesus is the most frustrated teacher on the planet. He's sitting there with the apostles. He's like, telling them something, and they don't get it. He's like, “All right, well, let me tell you a story. Maybe you'll get it with the story.”

[Thibodeaux]

Yeah.

[Brassell]

It's great. It cracks me up, because if you think about it, He's right. I bet — you tell me if I'm wrong, Wanda. I bet you nine out of 10 non-Christians are familiar with the story of the Good Samaritan, or they're familiar with the story of the prodigal son, or they're familiar with the story of David and Goliath. Would you — would you agree with that?

[Thibodeaux]

Oh, yeah.

[Brassell]

Okay. But here's what I'd also bet. I bet you nine out of 10 Christians cannot tell you the 10 Commandments, because the 10 Commandments weren't presented as a story. They were presented as a PowerPoint slide with 10 bullet points. Remember these 10 points. People can't remember that. I mean, they remember — they might remember Moses bringing down the tablets, but they don't remember the 10 Commandments. I mean, I bet you — I bet you some pastors actually don't know all 10 Commandments, the way they're written. I'm willing to actually make that bet, and it's because it wasn't presented in a story, whereas when you tell it as a story, people start to remember those details, and they start to — they start to walk the walk with you. And that's what you're trying to do in a presentation, is, how do I get people to feel like they're — they're walking in my shoes?

[: 22:24

[Thibodeaux]

Sure. So, you know, as — as you're talking about Jesus being a storyteller, I'm wondering how — what other, you know, traits have you taken away from Him? Because obviously He knew how to use His parables. But were there specific things in those parables, like — like, His actual technique that He used that you have kind of like, absorbed from reading your own Scripture?

[Brassell]

Yeah. I mean, humility. If there's one thing I get every time I read the Bible, it's humility. It's like, wow, there's so much I still have to learn. I mean, you look at — and Jesus does — He's such a cool cat. Like, even if you're not a Christian, like, man, just read about this dude. What a neat guy. Like, there was a woman at the well, and she's a prostitute, and He knows all of this, and He's like, “Go and sin no more.”

[Thibodeaux]

Yeah.

[Brassell]

And then all the guys want to stone this woman. You just start scribbling things in the sand. He's like, “Okay, let He who has not sinned cast the first stone.” One by one, they leave. Okay.

[Thibodeaux]

Yeah.

[Brassell]

You know, He's a really neat guy. And the other thing — I don't remember reading about Jesus spending a lot of time in church. He's out there. He's out there doing things. Like, it's not the Book of Thoughts. It's the Book of Acts.

[Thibodeaux]

Yes. Yes.

[Brassell]

And I — I just dig Him. And I — even to the end, it — I just love the story when He's on the cross, and like, people are like, everybody's making fun of Him on the cross. And then there's two criminals, and one's like, “You — if you should be able to free us, if you're the Savior!” And then the other one's like, “No man. Man, I — I'm so sorry that You, like — I deserve this. You know, You don't deserve this.” And Jesus looks — “No man, you're gonna be in heaven with Me today, —

[Thibodeaux]

Yeah.

[Brassell]

— my friend.

[Thibodeaux]

Yeah.

[Brassell]

Like, yeah, that's such a powerful story. I'm like, there's nothing I can do to be worthy. And yet, I'm worthy in Jesus' eyes. And I'm excited when I get to meet Jesus, because we're going to sit back and He's gonna just laugh. He's like, “Oh, you remember when you were at your lowest point? I knew actually the ending to that. It was funny just watching you struggle, because I knew exactly where you're gonna be.”

[Thibodeaux]

Right.

[Brassell]

s situation. But it's Genesis: 50:20

[Thibodeaux]

Yep.

[Brassell]

Really cool. I mean, so this is why I always tell people — and again — and there's different types of Christians out there. I mean, there's — there's the guy that grows the long beard and he drives the Jesus van that — I would have never become a Christian if that was the guy that was trying to convert me. And there's nothing wrong with that guy.

[Thibodeaux]

Yeah.

[Brassell]

He converts. It was people like Joel Osteen that gave me these hopeful messages. And I know people have problems with Joel Osteen. I'm like, hey, you can say all you want about Joel Osteen. Joel got me in the door, and then it's my job to read the book and then to do my own interpretations or whatever. But he served. He did exactly what he was supposed to do. And I'm kind of trying to do that in my presentations, Wanda. To be honest, I — I'll have people come up to me after a presentation. They're like, “You're a Christian, aren't you?” I'm like, “Yes.” And like, “Yeah, you kind of tell. You — you have some things in your presentation that really kind of are pretty cool.” They're like, “You're doing a good job.” I'm like, “No, I'm not.” They’re like, “What do you mean?” I'm like, “I'll be doing a good job when non Christians come up to me to ask me those questions.”

[Thibodeaux]

There you go. Yeah.

[Danny Brassell]

And so, that's what I'm always praying for, is, God, use me — before every presentation. God, just use me as a vessel. Like, let me — because there's a lot of people hurt in there, and I don't want them — I get when people have a problem with organized religion. I'm like, but you don't need organized religion. All you need is your Bible, and you have — you have this one way connection right there with God. You don't need to — you don't need to go through anybody else. And that's where — that's where I love, yeah. I mean, I'm sorry, I'm just babbling at this point.

[Thibodeaux]

That’s okay.

[Brassell]

But I encourage everybody in the audience to read about Jesus, if nothing else. I kind of want to write a book called Focus on the Red, because in my Bible, every time Jesus talks, it's written in red.

[Thibodeaux]

Yep.

[Brassell]

And I've never heard Jesus say, “Blessed are those except —” No. He's always — He’'s got a pretty big tent.

[: 27:39

[Thibodeaux]

Oh, yeah. One — one thing that struck me while you were talking about Jesus and His storytelling and the way that you get up on stage is the accessibility that can come in just one moment. Like you're saying, you just need your Bible. You just need one moment on stage, one story, to connect with somebody. Because I think when you do read the Bible over and over again, you see people — one experience with Jesus. They hear one story, one, and they're in. Like you said, you don't always need a whole lot, but if you craft your story well, then you get them in that door, and then they want to hear more. And then all of a sudden, they're following you because of that one, and they want to hear more. That's what — that's to me, is like the goal. If you — if you — it doesn't matter what the story is. You know, you — you just want to have them so struck by what — the one that they've heard that they want the others. I think God does an awesome job of that.

[Brassell]

That's really well said. I loved — I remember, I'm from a small town, and in the newspaper, some guy had written in. I always love reading letters. Small Town, you're always going to have weirdos writing letters to the editor or whatever.

[Thibodeaux]

Yes, I'm from a small town, so I get it.

[Brassell]

And I consider myself a weirdo. So, one guy had written this letter. He said, “You know, I've been going to church for 25 years, and I can't remember a single word from any of the sermons. So, I wonder — I wonder if it's just a waste of time.” And like, a couple days later, another guy wrote in, and he said, “You know, my wife, she's been making me dinner for 38 years, and I can't remember a single dinner she made me, but I feel like I've been nourished.” It's like, Yeah, that's right. And it goes to your point, Wanda. You don't know what — what story it is. You don't know what it is, because everybody's a little bit different, but there's something there. And you know, that's what — for me, it's my response. It's kind of crazy. I mean, even — even in my men's Bible study, I'll read the same verse like 20 times and talk to other guys about it, and all of us got totally different interpretations of it. And I'm like, wow, I never considered it from that point of view. It's kind of cool. Or, you know, or you read it when you're — when you read something when you're 20 years old, it looks different when you're 50 years old. The words didn’t change. You changed.

[: 29:49

[Thibodeaux]

Well, yeah, for sure, I — I've had so many instances where I have come back to things like that. It's like, things pop, you know, and it's like, oh. And then you're — you're interpreting it a completely different way. But I do want to mention, because, you know, we're talking about how you read the Bible and what you're getting out of it, but with your experience as a reading person, working with people, how would you recommend that people really go about reading the Scripture in a way that they can understand it and not get overwhelmed? Like, they get the one story at a time so that they want to read more?

[Brassell]

That's great. I absolutely love that question, Wanda. I'll give you a couple of stories on that. I mean, first of all, what got me to read the Bible was I had read The Purpose Driven Life by Rick Warren, and Rick in that book says, “Hey, if you've never read the Bible, read it for 10 minutes a day. It should take you a year.” Well, I'm happy to say it only took me 10 months. But at first I really struggled because I had a King James Version, and I started with the book of Genesis in the Old Testament. My wife's like, “Stop. Here's the New International Version. Start with the New Testament.” And it was, I was like, “Oh!” The New International Version is cool because it gives you, like, little headings on — I'm like, oh, here comes this story, and here comes this story, and it's a lot easier to read. And I'm not telling a person that's the only Bible to read.

[Thibodeaux]

Sure.

[Brassell]

That's what — and then, I was able to impress my wife, because I used to read to my kids in bed. I had Robert Shuler’s children's Bible, and it gave all these different stories from the Bible, and there's an illustration. And so, I remember we were — we were taking a family trip, and we were in a hotel, and my wife's like, “Huh, where's David and Goliath?” I'm like, “Oh, that's 1 Samuel.” And she's like, “How do you know that?” I'm like, “Well, because when I read the story of David and Goliath to the kids I know exactly — like, it says 1 Samuel, right underneath the picture of of my — oh, actually, the Children's Bible was great because it showed me, like, I remember the pictures. And I'm like, oh, I can actually show you where the Scripture is for that. And that was kind of cool. So, the people that are — and then the third thing I would say, and I say this to business leaders, I'm like, you have to be intentional about what you read. So, if you want to have a better business then you should be reading business books, you know, if you want to be a better football player, read football books. You know, if you want — the thing that's amazing to me about the Bible is it covers everything. I'm like, wow!

[Thibodeaux]

Yeah.

[Brassell]

How did they think of this and — I mean, when I was thinking about my — my bankruptcy, a friend's like, “Oh, you gotta read Deuteronomy. Deuteronomy talks about bankruptcy.” I read Deuteronomy. I'm like, oh my gosh, there it is.

[Thibodeaux]

Yeah.

[Brassell]

Oh, well — I don't care what your problem is. It's in there. I've tried. I — believe me, I test it all the time. My wife gets annoyed. She's like, you are — you are always challenging the Bible. And I'm like, I'll tell you exactly why. God can take it.

[Thibodeaux]

Yeah, yeah.

[Brassell]

My mind, I'm not going to just sit here and agree with everything. I'm going to question and challenge things, and then when they're proven to me, then I'm like, oh, okay. And — and that's how I work. That's how I roll. And so, a person that's they're struggling with their Bible, you know, get a friend, read it with somebody else, get your different interpretations. If you want to — if you want to find the love of your life, I go to it — like, in a hotel. The — I mean, what a great organization, the Gideons, they put these Bibles in hotels. Because sometimes I'm — I'm sitting there, President Reagan said he was — his biggest fear in life was going to be stuck in a hotel without anything to read. I'm like, well, you don't have to worry, because —

[Thibdoeaux]

Yeah, yeah.

[Brassell]

And the the Gideons Bible is really cool, because I haven't looked at one in a while, but it's either in the front of the back it says, if you're feeling despair, read this. If — I mean, it gives you — like, it's kind of — and now it's even better, like, with AI. I can do AI and I can say, you know, because I actually used it the other day, because I'm not going to get political, but there's been this thing about immigrants in the United States. And so, I did an AI search. I'm like, what does the Bible say about immigration? It's like, go to this part of Leviticus, and Leviticus says you should be welcoming to the outsiders. And I was like, there you go.

[Thibodeaux]

Yeah.

[Brassell]

There's — there's always an answer. I mean, so I'll do AI. I actually use AI all the time now. I'm like, okay. Actually, yesterday I was reading Ecclesiastes. I'm like, who wrote Ecclesiastes? It's like, well, we think it's King Solomon, but we don't know.

[Thibodeaux]

Yeah.

[Brassell]

That was kind of cool. But so — so, that's what I would suggest to a person. Be very intentional about it. But you should always actually find another person, too, hopefully. I mean, I've been blessed because I have mentors, people — because I'm still embarrassed about the way I pray. I kind of pray like a kid. I didn't know. I don't sound like — some people, they give these prayers. I'm like, wow, they should put that on a tablet so — it's so beautiful.

[Thibodeaux]

Yeah.

[Brassell]

Like, God, can you help me with — you know, and a friend of mine who's been a Christian in his entire life, he said, “Danny, pray anywhere and pray — if not — if you don't know what to pray about, just thank God for things.” And that's how I pray. I actually, I start in the morning. I type out — I actually type out my prayers now because I want to hold God accountable. I’m like, “God, thank you for this. Thank you for this.” Please help me on here.” Yeah. So, a person that they're struggling with — what — and it — you want to be around somebody that's excited about the Bible. I'm excited about the Bible. I get very excited. I mean, I don't want to be around a person that's condemning me all the time. I mean, that's —

[Thibodeaux]

Yeah

[Brassell]

You know, I want a person that — I mean, I want a wise person. But to me, the book is — is something to be — to be read and to be — to be interpreted and to be practiced all the time.

[Thibodeaux]

Yeah. I know, for me, when I'm trying to read the Bible, because I know, like, you know you've got your Chronological Bible, you've — like, there's all kinds of different ones that you can use. And like, I know it's good to use different interpretations. I do different translations. But the one thing that has kind of gotten me through, and, you know, because you get in places like Leviticus and stuff, like, it's — it gets pretty, like, it can get hard. But for me —

[Brassell]

Yes.

[Thibodeaux]

Yeah. But like you said, you know, trying to — trying to find things, you know, what does the Bible have to say on this topic. But for me, it's — it's a roundabout way of doing that, because I think, “What am I — what am I feeling, and what does the Bible have to say about that?” Because there's — like, if — because I think that — I guess what I'm trying to say is, it opens up the stories that you can read. And it's not necessarily, like, topical index, but — but if you — if you can say, well, that story is about this person who was really depressed and, you know, whatever. So, if you're struggling with something — so, I kind of read the Bible based on what I'm feeling in the moment. And I try and find things that can, like, encourage me through that, give me some guidance on that. So, I hop all the way around. Like, I'm not necessarily, like, structured with it. I know some people, like, they can't do structure if they tried, and that's fine, right? So, I just want to encourage people that way, too. Like, it's — to me, it's a little bit deeper way to do it. But every way works. I think as long as you're reading.

[Brassell]

I mean, even in other ways, just open up the Bible randomly.

[Thibodeaux]

Oh yeah, yeah.

[Brassell]

I mean, it's weird. I'm like, whoa. This is like — people look at their horoscopes. I'm like, I don't need that nonsense. I just open up — just open up the Bible and, wow, it's telling me exactly what's going on right now. It's crazy. It’s weird. I don’t know why.

[Thibodeaux]

There have been multiple points where that kind of has happened to me where I'm just like, well, I'll just open it up and I don't know. Or sometimes I'll even go to church, you know, and I'll, like, maybe be struggling with something, and guess what the pastor's preaching on. Okay, well, all right, you know.

[Brassell]

My God — or, my wife, has a direct line to God. It's ridiculous. So, we're at church one day, Wanda, and my wife turns to me. She's like, “Wouldn't it be great if Jesus just told you He loved you?” Has nothing to do with the sermon. I'm like, “Yeah, that's great, honey. Let's listen to the sermon.

[Thibodeaux]

Yeah. So, we go to pick up the kids that I don't know. It's not childcare. They're learning the Bibles. I don't remember what they call it, but —

[Thibodeaux]

Sunday school.

[Brassell]

Yeah, yeah. Sunday school. Exactly. Sunday school. We go to pick up my oldest daughter, and her teacher, she grabs my wife by the — by the — by the forearm. And she's like, “Jeannie, this is really weird. Jesus told me to tell you He loves you.” She — this is like, a half an hour after my wife — I'm like, “What — you have a direct line to God. This is crazy.” I mean, it's the most amazing thing. I'm like, that is not a coin — I don't believe in coincidence. I believe in providence.

[Thibodeaux]

Yeah.

[Brassell]

And it's fascinating. Like, that's a weird thing to me. And some people — I mean, it's just — that's why I kind of wish — I always encourage my pastor. I'm like, “You know, it'd be kind of cool if you just had different people from the church at the beginning of church just share their testimony with the church.” Because I find my favorite ones are the boring ones. Because I'm like, wow, you didn't have, like, the Damascus moment. You just kind of decided to start coming one day. I'm like, that's kind of cool. The Damascus moment ones are also pretty amazing. But I'm like, but, you know, I mean, kind of, I mean, I had that. It took a catastrophe to bring me to God. But I'm much more interested, like, now that I realized, I'm like, oh my gosh. God's always been there. I just didn't know it. It’s an interesting thing. And so, I always love those types of testimonials.

[Thibodeaux]

Yeah. For me, when I hear those things, because, like, I think we maybe, you know, in the business context, we are, in my opinion, kind of conditioned to look for the big things. But I think those kinds of testimonies, like you're talking about, one, they are relatable because they're not the big everyday things. They're just, you know, Joe Schmo telling his — what he — what he experienced. But that kind of helps me to understand, like you said, that God is always there, and it doesn't have to be these big, huge things, that His presence is all around us all the time in these little ways. And I think if we can connect to that over and over again through the day, like, that's sustaining joy, you know, like, we don't have to necessarily look for the big things. It's it's there, if we just look, we can help each other find it.

[Brassell]

Wanda, you're such a good speaker. I just love listening to you. This is — thank you for that. Gosh, everything you're saying. Like, wow, that was really well said. I love that.

[Thibodeaux]

Well, thank you. I — just to be fair, I don't consider myself a decent speaker, but I'm learning. I'll take that.

[Brassell]

You're great. And I watch 10 speakers a day. I'll tell you right now.

[: 40:39

[Thibodeaux]

Well, thank you. Everybody’s listening, he lies. He lies. Well, as we're wrapping up here, I do want to talk just a little bit about your books, and you know, how you have incorporated your experience into what you are writing. So, tell me a little bit about that. What have you been working on?

[Brassell]

Well, when I was a middle school teacher, I was the only teacher in my school that none of my students were ever tardy, because I always started off class by reading aloud a Paul Harvey story. I don't know if you remember Paul Harvey.

[Thibodeaux]

I do.

[Brassell]

the radio. He’d come on at: 12:15

[Thibodeaux]

Yep.

[Brassell]

And for five minutes, he's telling you a story about a person, a place or a thing, and you're trying to guess, what is it? Who is it? And my students, they love those stories. But the problem with Paul Harvey is a lot of his stories are about Fred Astaire and Sears Roebuck. Well, kids today, they don't know anything about that. And so, I wrote the book, Leadership Begins With Motivation as an homage to Paul Harvey, but it was with more updated stories of people like Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos. But then, after I wrote it, I read it, Wanda, and I'm like, huh, that's interesting. Completely unintentionally, most of my stories, the examples were of white male Americans. And so, I wrote the book Misfits and Crackpots as an homage, but most of those stories are about women, minorities, and international people, because I think it's really important for people to hear very diverse types of stories. And I've gotten a lot of good feedback on the Misfits and Crackpots, as well. Well, then, you know, it's basically, God told me — I have a lot of prisoners for the — through the years that have asked me to send them books or whatever. So, I mail them, mail them books or whatever. It's really cool. And I don't know, and it was totally God just put this upon me. So, my latest book is called convicted. And it's 52 Paul Harvey-like stories of people, most of — many of them very famous — that were in prison, that found Christ in prison. So, Convicted is actually kind of a double entendre. They were convicted of a crime, but now they're convicted with the Spirit. And this is the first book — I'm going to make it available to every prisoner on the planet for free. If people buy — any of the proceeds from the book are going to go to prison charities. Because I — in researching the book, I'm like, wow, there are so many amazing charities out there that help. But you — even — even if you look at your Bible, there's a lot of pretty significant people in that Bible that spend some time in prison. So —

[Thibodeaux]

Yeah. Yeah. Just a little.

[: 43:00

[Brassell]

Yeah. But yeah. So, that's — that's my latest project. That was just published. It's coming out right now as we speak. And hopefully, I'm hoping that catches on to some prisoners or whatever. Because, you know, I had — I had a really good friend who was incarcerated, and he came out of prison a changed man, and he was a Christian beforehand, but he's such a better person now. And I don't wish — I don't wish that upon anybody. I don't ever wish —

[Thibodeaux]

Right. Right.

[Brassell]

— anybody — but some — I mean, again, God's very intentional about these things. There's a reason for that bad thing to happen, because all these good things happen afterwards. And so, what — he really inspired me, as well as some of the prisoners that have communicated with me. So, that's what I read.

[Thibodeaux]

That — that’s fantastic. One thing that I do want to say, based on what you had just said there, is, I know that God can use anything that we've been through, whether it's going to prison or what have you. But my view on that, I don't want to say it's changed, but maybe — maybe matured is a better word. Because I know a lot of people, the first thing that they do when they hear stories like that is, they say, “Well, God — God did that so that He could…” And my view reading Job is more of, the Devil did something and God fixed it.

[Brassell]

Yeah.

[Thibodeaux]

Like, like, it's more redemptive so that He can transform anything. So, yes, these bad things happen, but that wasn't necessarily the will of God, per se. Now, some things, you know, He — He charts a path. You know, he's got to teach you. He's got to, you know, refine the — through the fire. But I truly believe that if the Devil is tempting us into all of these negative situations, we're going to mess up. That's what he wants us to do. But God is always with us, as he was with Job through all of that. So, I just want to encourage people out there, no matter where they are, if it's in prison or whatever, that doesn't necessarily mean God is, you know, upset with you. It doesn't mean that He's not going to redeem you from that. He's watching everything and He can use you. You're not, you know, you're not wasted. You are not wasted at all.

[Brassell]

Completely agree. Well said. I mean, again, I look at the fun stuff with it. I was — that joke. The the guy's talking to God, he's like, “God, what's — what's a million dollars to you?”

[Thibodeaux]

Yeah.

[Brassell]

“A million dollars is like a penny.” And he's like, “What's a — what's a million years to you?” He's like, “A million years, like a second.” The guy's — the guy nudges, God. He's like, “Can I have a penny?” God's like — God's like, “Sure, got a second?”

[Thibodeaux]

Yeah.

[Brassell]

You know. So there's things. I — there are so many. And that's the interesting thing, too. I'm always praying to teach me how to pray. I mean, if you look at it in the Bible, like the — that's what the apostles are asking Jesus. If anything, they're like, teach us how to pray. You know, how should I be praying? Because sometimes there's something I'm asking for, but that's not what I'm supposed to be asking for.

[Thibodeaux]

Yes. Yes.

[Brassell]

Like I shouldn't be celebrating, oh, God just gives — God's like a genie. He gave me exactly what I wanted. You know, what I should be doing is what God wants me to do. That's where I need to pray. God just show me what you want me to do and use me. That — it's different. I mean — so, I like the word maturing. I'm maturing a little bit in the way I'm trying to understand these — these things.

[Thibodeaux]

Yeah, I get that, too. Sometimes, the way I have described it to people, or what I tell people is that God is not a vending machine. He is not. You don't just put the prayer in and get what you want out. And I think a lot of us, you know, we treat Him like that. And I've got an episode coming up for later on, but it's basically about how God is…we need to be grateful for the things that He gives us, but grateful for Him most of all, just as He is. You don't have to ask for anything except for Him to be with you. That's it. And as long as you are respectful, I think, like you said, He's — Jesus is a pretty cool cat. He — He'll get it.

[Brassell]

Gave us our life. I mean, this is a pretty big blessing, and, you know, don't waste it.

[: 47:21

[Thibodeaux]

Oh yeah. Yeah. Well, as we are wrapping up here and you're talking about praying, do you mind if I pray for you as we —

[Brassell]

Oh, thank you, I would love that. Thank you so much, Wanda.

[Thibodeaux]

Of course.

God, thank you for giving Danny the gift of speaking. We know that there are so many people who don't testify and who don't share You because they're scared to speak. They are scared to open their mouth. And I just ask that you use Danny to help them feel comfortable. Help them relate to him, so that they see that it's not quite as scary as it needs to be, and that You will give them the words as you have given to Danny, and that they can use their story to do great good for You. Amen.

[Brassell]

Amen. Well done. See, I gotta practice. You're a good pray-er.

[Thibodeaux]

Well, you know, I will say that too, like, you know, when we pray, God knows us anyway. Like, He sees — he sees us when we are in the bathroom. Like, there's nothing that we can hide from him. So, the messiness that we are, we don't have to worry about getting it, quote, right. We just have to be willing to do it, right? Yeah. Yeah. All right. Well, thank you so much. Danny. If there — is there a way that people can find out more about you and your work, if they would like to know more?

[Brassell]

Sure. I — as a thank you to you and your audience for having to listen to me, Wanda, I wanted to share a briefing with you. So, if you go to freestoryguide.com — guide, like a tour guide, freestoryguide.com. I'm gonna give everybody their own free, well-crafted story blueprint. What this is, is the exact process that my partner, Coach Jimmy, and I take our clients through to help you create your well-crafted story. What this does for you is, it takes the guesswork out of, what story should I use and where should I put it in my presentation? And what that means for you is you have an actual system to convert your audiences into clients and really increase your impact. You can get that at freestoryguide.com. And again, Wanda, I just want to thank you. This has been a real treat for me.

[Thibodeaux]

Thank you.

[Brassell]

Thank you. I appreciate that.

[Thibodeaux] Of course, and I will make sure that all of the links and everything are in the show notes, so that is very simple for people to communicate with you. Thanks again, Danny. This — this really has been a pleasure. I appreciate it. Thank you.

[Brassell]

Thank you. God bless.

[Thibodeaux]

Thank you.

[: 49:46

[Thibodeaux]

As we close out today, I’ll just encourage you to think about your own story. All of us have something of value to communicate — including you. Where can you take your message, trusting that God is going to work through you with it? It’s within your reach. For our next show, most of us will admit we want success. But are you really ready for it? I’ll be covering that in two weeks. Visit faithfulontheclock.com to sign up for our email list and explore the library, and be blessed.