The confident grandmother of the actor and musician Jamie Foxx’s stood up in a Texan small town church when the priest started to preach about homosexuality: “God created Adam and Eve not Adam and Steve.”
She stood up and said: “You stop that!” The whole church went silent, and she said: “Let me tell you something. I had this nursery school for 30 years. And I want to let you all know that God makes sissies too. These little boys I watch from the day they can walk. They play by different music. — You stop that, because you are making it hard for them to navigate. You stop making them feel bad.” She sat down, and the priest changed the subject. We may cringe by her using the word sissy to describe these little boys, but that was the 70s and the right word at the time to address the audience.
It took real courage to stand up in church and go against the pulpit and probably the sentiment in the room.
Listen to the full story on Tim Ferris’ very powerful podcast with Jamie Foxx. The above exchange starts around minute 33:38. By insisting that young Jamie learns to play classical piano, his Grandmother nudged him to be able to go to the other side of the tracks, and boy did he.
Let’s try to be that grandma to the folks around us.
Now, Tim Ferris is not everyone’s cup of tea. He sometimes comes across as too self promotional. I feel he has found his home in this podcast series, as it perfectly aligns his interests of self-improvement by giving him the chance to talk to the best people in every field and inquire what they do special.
One reason these podcasts are powerful is that he clearly puts in the effort to be prepared for every guest. I really like his recurring questions too. They bring out a different perspective on the person: What book have you given away the most? [Mine is Momo] What’s your morning routine …
You may also enjoy his: Will MacAskill on Effective Altruism. It is the time of year for charity giving. Find out which charities are making the biggest difference in the world with every dollar they get: GiveWell.org, which Will is a founder of.