The video for Part 4 starts at the ~33 minute mark.
Finding the Strength to Persevere
Andy: So, you talk about that Bob, “You want a friend, then be one,” but then there’s some tough times where, and you’ve been this for people, they don’t know where to turn and they have friends, but even as a friend sometimes there’s just no matter how much you want to or how close you are you don’t have the right words to say. You can’t do that and so where do they turn? I feel like the answer is not the book, but what’s in it, the book 2 Chairs. You take them back to the core, to the root, to the root of it all, and you made this book for that. So talk to me a little about 2 Chairs, what inspired the book, and who is it for.
Bob: Yeah, so this book’s for everybody right off the bat. I gotta just this goes wide, this goes deep, and the issue is is that even when I was doing The Power of Who, there’s 29 million people out of a job and they won’t tell their friends that they’re out of a job.
Why? They’re humiliated. They don’t know how they got in this spot. My whole identity is focused in on my business card or me saying, “I do this for so and so and I’ve got this,” and they can say something positive.
Then, all of a sudden, just like we said trouble comes. I can’t…I solve things. As each of you in the room can handle a garage door, you can handle the leak in your ice machine, but what do you when cancer hits? What do you do when your dad moves into your house and he has Alzheimer’s?
It’s a little tough and you’re trying to keep your kids safe. This is their grandpa. This is the guy you love. This is my dad and he’s not the same. What do I do when all of a sudden your relationship’s gone wrong? It’s gone wrong with 60% of the country. There’s no difference between Christians and non-Christians. I mean so its everybody.
So, I went home my junior year. I was in college. I turned to my mom and said, “So, how do I…” My dad’s my go to guy in business, but my mom’s the spiritual kinda had woman all over the country.
Moms, I just have to stop for a second, moms are amazing. They just have that touch. They’ve cradled you. They get you your Hi-C. They take care of you and let you stay home from school when you when you just need to stay home and then dads are trying to kick your tail and go and get to it.
“I used to walk 4 miles up the road,” and mom would turn to you and tell you, “Uncle bill picked him up.”
So I said to my mom, “How do you find your goals? How do you do dreams? How do find your mate?”
She said, “Those are really great questions, but I don’t have those answers,” and she goes, “I don’t have those answers, but I’m going to point you in the right direction,” because there are times in life that you just can’t breathe. You’re stuck. You believe that your current circumstances disqualifies you from anything further.
“I did that. I can’t get this. I don’t have any Who.” You got Who. I don’t have who. I’ve all a sudden been, you know you’ve had people who have beat on you for years. Now, listen, I have answer for that. I got a point. My mom said, “I’m going to ask you 3 simple questions.” They’re simple in the fact that you can’t believe you didn’t ask them. They’re disruptive in the fact that they showcase your limitations, okay? So you know when you’re in trouble, I find that when I ask these 3 questions, there’s 3 types of groups around the world.
There are believers that when I talk about this, they dive in and they want to believe. Then I got seekers who like to dive in, but they don’t know how to. Then we have skeptics, okay? They just don’t believe in necessarily anything yet and they don’t know what it is or how and they don’t care. So here’s the questions, so you’re in trouble. Now, if you’re on a gurney heading to the hospital, you aren’t thinking about rehab programs and prescription plans. You’re screaming out, “God, help me,” but in other times when things are good, you just don’t know what to say.
Just like you said, “What would I say to a friend? How would I do this? What would I say to my daughter when I don’t have the answer? Do I enable her? Do I take over and try to solve everything?”
So here’s the questions. The first one was does God know your situation? I mean that’s a simple question because if the guy that created the whole world knows you and knows your name and knows your situation, then everything that’s out of order gets back in order. Of course in times of crisis, the highest priority in a time of crisis is getting your mind above it and the highest thought? God.
Of course, we kind of think of God as an old time phone operator, that he has 6 phones lines for 7 billion people. He’s really busy. He works on ISIS, heart attacks, and natural disasters and I gotta tell you that I’m not that good a person so why’d he talk to me, right? And my mom says, “No, he knows,” and she says, “Do you believe that?” and I said, “Yes, I do.” And she said, “Okay, number 2. Is this too hard for him?” I said, “No.”
I have to digress for a second. I’m an executive recruiter. I look at people’s backgrounds everyday. I look at your resume, I look at all the demonstrated record of achievement, all of your references, everything about you. How you’ve done it, what you’ve done, and I’ve seen God’s resume, it’s really good and he’s never really lost. He’s not overwhelmed by your trouble. Your trouble and he’s done some things that are significantly beyond and there’s something hopeful in the fact that he knows and its not to hard for him, but it comes to a pivotal question.
My book really is going to point here and what is that? Hey, so this question is does God know your situation? Yes. Is it to hard for him? No. Does he have a good plan for you? Yes. What is it? That’s right. We don’t know. 2 Chairs. What if we could setup 2 Chairs in our house? One for you and one for God and you meet him and talk and our conversation at the moment is what? We pray. That’s what the believers do. They pray. They dive in, but I have a ask a question, what did he say?
Wouldn’t it be logical that God would want to say…why would he say, “Renew your mind daily,” if he only wanted you to do it on Sundays and Easter? Why would he say, “Ask, seek, and knock,” if he didn’t have something to say to you? He does. God’s calling you. You didn’t setup the meeting. He set it up and then listen, why would he say seek him first if meant for you to do it seventh?
So like, we get up and shower, we run, we do this and then we’re gonna talk to him in the car while I’m texting and drinking my coffee. So what happens is we wonder in this process what do we do in times of trouble? Wouldn’t it be unbelievable if the guy that created the whole world and manufactured you, knows you, and has a plan for you, he was going to tell you some specific things today. Today, he wants to talk about some things and so I have people everywhere all over the country, I don’t even have a book out yet, all over the country sending me pictures of their 2 Chairs.
Why? Because he’s showing up? He called it.
I was halfway through my book when, all of a sudden, I had a conversation with God. I’ve been doing this for 40 years and in this process, in 40 years, he asked me halfway through the book, “Now, listen, don’t seed anyone in. Don’t talk them into going in to the room if you don’t believe that I’m going to meet them.”
Now, I want to tell you with the greatest clarity, he will meet you. There’s no question about it. “What’s he going to say to me?” There’s not 3 chairs. I don’t get to go. It’s just you. There’s no moderator. Now, listen, all you have to do is have the faith to set up your 2 chairs. If there’s a 1% chance, this is what my mom asked me, “If there’s a 1% chance that God would meet you tomorrow, would you go?” Of course you would!
What we do is we get into espresso coffees, we’re doing some running, we’re into our plans, we’ve got 15 things on our mind, we’re in the metro section looking for murderers in the newspaper. Hold on a second. Stop. 2 Chairs. You walk in disheveled. What do you say to God? Um, Mensa stuff like this. “Good morning. Hey, thank you for coming. I’m a mess,” and then you 80/20 rule now. You get to talk for one minute, you get to inform, and tell him of all the stuff he knows and what’s really happening and then he gets to talk for 4. I’m telling you, “Be still, and know that I’m God.” There’s a quote in Proverbs 123. It’s not religious, it’s relational.
“If you’d heard my rebuke, I would have shared all my thoughts to you. I’d have given you all my counsel for this day.”
Now, listen, we’re missing out on everything. How do we handle it? How do I talk to some friends? Listen, I got to introduce them and say, “God has a plan for you,” and once you’re done with that, I’m going to give you 7 steps in my book that are going to show you how your friends help you, how you can get to higher group, how you’re all of sudden going to have to make a few slight simple changes, how you’re gonna have to be courageous because you’re not thinking like the enemy’s going to like this conversation with God thing.
This is awkward to talk about to start with! No one wants to talk about God! No one even knows how to talk to God and the answer is, this is simple and the answer is it could be, listen, this is the most important thing.
“Bob, I don’t have time.” Well, make time!
“Well, I’m not that good of a person.” He likes you just the way you are.
“Listen, I pray a lot.” This is different. Tomorrow, 2 Chairs. Just you and him. Get in and have a meeting with God and actually talk. Don’t just…let him talk and tell him how much he loves you, how he’s got a plan, and how he can show up and show up on your behalf.
Andy: You’re listening to the Tuttle Group Radio Hour. Bob, one of the things I found out, by the way, the problem is we don’t remember that God is real. The answer is in the book 2 Chairs. This simple practice and I did this and it was kinda awkward, even though I pray everyday. Actually, there’s a reality to it. I think you say it in the book that if we talked…it’s like if Warren Buffet was going to be in your house, would you give him a chair? If he had to talk to you about investment and financial advice, would you talk or listen? Probably listen.
So let’s give him the same creative universe. He knows it. It’s not too big for him. Listen, if you are, wherever you’re at in your life, honestly this is a great book, but especially if you’re going into something that is a little heavy. Maybe you don’t know how to answer and you need to get on some strong footing. Great way to establish yourself and ground yourself. 2 Chairs. Pick up the book. You can call us (469) 319-0660. It is released Tuesday. It releases Tuesday. We’re going to have it on all our social stuff. Jimmy’s gonna put it up on his. Bob where is the best site to go for this?
Andy: 2chairsbook.com. Get the book, read it, and get, more importantly, into the habit every morning. I mean, just to start…10 minutes?
Bob: 5-10 minutes. It’ll change the trajectory of your life. Connect. Just connect with God and see how your whole perspective is changed.
Andy: And your gratitude is changed. You wanna connect more with your friends? Go vertical first. You’ll have more to give to them in a genuine way. I’d like to thank my show contributors. Obviously, Jimmy for stopping by today. My whole production crew. My show producer Liz and everybody in the whole family here at 660AM, The Answer, and thank you for listening to the Tuttle Group Radio Hour where we are making financial intelligence and today maybe a little spiritual and emotional intelligence a priority in the community. Have a great weekend!
Jimmy: Thank you so much for watching. So much! If this was impactful for you, I’d love to hear a comment. Let me know what resonated with you. Share it, like, and until next time, pull up your 2 Chairs.