Thom Black is a writer, speaker, innovative strategist, and human resource pioneer. He has helped build one of the biggest churches in America and he has guided thousands of individuals navigate their lives with a clear vision on what they want and what their purpose is.
Listen now to learn more about Thom, his spiritual journey, and what he has learned along the way!
Key Talking Points of the Episode
00:00 Introduction
01:33 Who is Thom Black?
02:17 What is Thom’s background?
07:30 How do our mistakes shape our lives?
08:26 How did 9/11 change our lives?
12:06 What was Thom’s spiritual journey like?
14:11 How did Thom get involved in starting a church?
16:15 What did Thom realize about how churches teach people about God?
19:45 How did Thom’s realization about churches help him start his business?
22:13 What was Thom’s most memorable encounter with a Santa Claus in the mall?
27:40 What did Thom realize from that moment with Santa Claus?
28:26 How does being able to disappear become a gift?
30:07 How was Thom able to write 500 books?
32:38 What was Thom’s journey as an athlete like?
35:13 What lessons did Thom learn from being an athlete?
39:49 What is the importance of being courageous enough to reach out?
41:05 How can you connect with Thom?
Quotables
“We’re here not because of what we did right, but because of what we did wrong.”
“You’re always complaining about something that you think was happening to you, when in reality, it was happening for you.”
“When you came to our church, no one asked you for money, no one asked you to sing a song, no one asked you to introduce yourself – you can come and go.”
“I started a company about 40 years ago about helping people find their gifts and their passion in what it is they did, because most of them didn’t know what they do.”
“When I did it for years, I worked with individuals and talked with them simply about what it is they love to do and then I was able to take them to the experience of introducing them to themselves.”
“Along the way, I was able to learn and understand that I had these profound moments.”
“Some of us have been designed to do all kinds of really cool things. Some of us have been designed to disappear, because something kinda comes through us.”
“You’re running three miles. You don’t win your race in the last mile, you win your race in the first.”
“You think that when you’re hurting that that’s your limit, you don’t know that there’s another level underneath that.”
“If you take on a big project, it’s not how fast you finish, it’s how fast you start.”