1 00:00:01,440 --> 00:00:04,680 Speaker 1: Hey, everybody, it's Bill Courtney's Shop Talk number forty seven. 2 00:00:07,480 --> 00:00:09,319 Speaker 1: Welcome in. How you doing, Alex Good? 3 00:00:09,360 --> 00:00:11,479 Speaker 2: I wish everybody could see that big smile of yours 4 00:00:11,520 --> 00:00:12,520 Speaker 2: when you're ringing the bell. 5 00:00:12,720 --> 00:00:15,760 Speaker 1: Love the bell, And I'm going to do a reminder 6 00:00:15,840 --> 00:00:19,759 Speaker 1: shout out. This is the Army of normal folks bell 7 00:00:20,120 --> 00:00:22,439 Speaker 1: that was sent to us because I wanted a bell 8 00:00:22,640 --> 00:00:25,280 Speaker 1: by a listener named I remember. 9 00:00:25,360 --> 00:00:25,959 Speaker 2: Do you remember? 10 00:00:26,400 --> 00:00:26,560 Speaker 1: No? 11 00:00:26,840 --> 00:00:29,920 Speaker 2: Oh yeah, I just called you out. Yeah, Vita Scott. 12 00:00:29,800 --> 00:00:33,159 Speaker 1: Vita Scott, Vida Scott. I sent an email and I 13 00:00:33,400 --> 00:00:35,760 Speaker 1: remember when you said it. But anyway, that's why I 14 00:00:35,880 --> 00:00:38,199 Speaker 1: like it so much, because it's a bell for the 15 00:00:38,280 --> 00:00:40,839 Speaker 1: shop from Vita Scott, a listener who was kind of 16 00:00:40,920 --> 00:00:45,160 Speaker 1: enough sent it to us. Hey, I remember my mom 17 00:00:45,320 --> 00:00:48,320 Speaker 1: telling me it doesn't matter what you do, just be 18 00:00:48,400 --> 00:00:51,000 Speaker 1: the best at it. If you're going to be a 19 00:00:51,200 --> 00:00:55,120 Speaker 1: ditch digger, be the best daggum ditch digger on the block. 20 00:00:55,760 --> 00:00:58,560 Speaker 1: I bet some of you have heard that today. We're 21 00:00:58,560 --> 00:01:03,560 Speaker 1: going to talk about that right after these brief messages 22 00:01:03,560 --> 00:01:09,040 Speaker 1: from our general sponsors. Everybody, welcome back Shop Talk number 23 00:01:09,040 --> 00:01:14,959 Speaker 1: forty seven. Be the best at what you are. There's 24 00:01:15,000 --> 00:01:19,640 Speaker 1: a thing called the street Sweeper speech by doctor Martin 25 00:01:19,720 --> 00:01:24,240 Speaker 1: Luther King and April fourth, nineteen sixty eight. The man 26 00:01:24,319 --> 00:01:30,320 Speaker 1: was assassinated in my hometown in Memphis, and the anniversary 27 00:01:30,560 --> 00:01:37,720 Speaker 1: of that horrific day is upon us. And ironically enough, 28 00:01:38,000 --> 00:01:44,920 Speaker 1: there's a speech that fits a lot about something we 29 00:01:44,959 --> 00:01:48,560 Speaker 1: want to talk about shop talk today. And so here 30 00:01:49,560 --> 00:01:52,320 Speaker 1: is a excerpt from that speech. 31 00:01:56,120 --> 00:02:00,320 Speaker 3: What I'm saying to you this morning, my friend, even 32 00:02:00,360 --> 00:02:03,040 Speaker 3: if it calls your luck to be a street sweeper, 33 00:02:04,920 --> 00:02:08,959 Speaker 3: go out in sweet streets like Michael Angelo painted peace Kitchen, 34 00:02:10,360 --> 00:02:16,480 Speaker 3: sweet streets like handle and Beethoven composed music sweet streets, 35 00:02:16,560 --> 00:02:20,160 Speaker 3: like Shakespeare wrote Portrail a right sweet streets so well 36 00:02:20,200 --> 00:02:22,120 Speaker 3: that all the hosts of Heaven and Earth will have 37 00:02:22,280 --> 00:02:25,920 Speaker 3: to pause and say, He'll live, the great street sweeper 38 00:02:25,960 --> 00:02:29,320 Speaker 3: who swept his job well. If you can't be a 39 00:02:29,400 --> 00:02:32,040 Speaker 3: pine on the top of a hill, be a scarb 40 00:02:32,200 --> 00:02:34,720 Speaker 3: in the valley, But be the best little scruff on 41 00:02:34,760 --> 00:02:36,680 Speaker 3: the side of the riel. Be a bush. If you 42 00:02:36,720 --> 00:02:39,359 Speaker 3: can't be a tree, if you can't be a highway, 43 00:02:39,840 --> 00:02:42,560 Speaker 3: just be a trail. If you can't be the sun, 44 00:02:42,680 --> 00:02:45,799 Speaker 3: be a star. It isn't by size that you win 45 00:02:45,919 --> 00:02:48,560 Speaker 3: or you fail. Be the best of whatever you are. 46 00:02:50,200 --> 00:02:54,239 Speaker 3: And when you do this, when you do this, you've 47 00:02:54,320 --> 00:02:56,880 Speaker 3: mastered the length of life. 48 00:02:58,200 --> 00:03:01,720 Speaker 1: Even though that was a ninth teen sixty seven, I 49 00:03:01,840 --> 00:03:05,960 Speaker 1: still get chills when I listen to it, just now 50 00:03:06,360 --> 00:03:15,560 Speaker 1: hearing it. There's something about the way Mlka delivered what 51 00:03:15,639 --> 00:03:18,560 Speaker 1: we all know as human beings is an obvious call, 52 00:03:18,840 --> 00:03:23,880 Speaker 1: but the way he delivered it just, you know, it's 53 00:03:23,919 --> 00:03:27,840 Speaker 1: just poignant. I hope you enjoyed listen to it. I 54 00:03:27,840 --> 00:03:31,200 Speaker 1: hope you'll. I hope you'll look it up and listen 55 00:03:31,240 --> 00:03:32,200 Speaker 1: to the whole speech. 56 00:03:32,480 --> 00:03:36,000 Speaker 2: But hold on before you move on. I don't think 57 00:03:36,000 --> 00:03:38,040 Speaker 2: it's totally obvious. I mean, I think there's so many 58 00:03:38,080 --> 00:03:41,760 Speaker 2: people out there today who are sweeping streets or being 59 00:03:41,800 --> 00:03:46,120 Speaker 2: a janitor or being a bus driver and just you know, 60 00:03:46,480 --> 00:03:49,960 Speaker 2: just viewing it as a paycheck or they just don't 61 00:03:49,960 --> 00:03:51,760 Speaker 2: think they're all that worthy. And there's all these other 62 00:03:51,920 --> 00:03:55,119 Speaker 2: special people out there and they're not, you know, really 63 00:03:55,200 --> 00:03:57,320 Speaker 2: viewing it the way that I'm Okay, just did that 64 00:03:57,920 --> 00:04:01,520 Speaker 2: sweep streets like Michaelangelo painted picture, and like our interview 65 00:04:01,520 --> 00:04:05,000 Speaker 2: with Chris Ollman, which I think will be out by 66 00:04:05,000 --> 00:04:06,760 Speaker 2: the time the Shop Talk errors, you know, he talked 67 00:04:06,760 --> 00:04:10,360 Speaker 2: about the parking garage, you know, attendant who brought joyed 68 00:04:10,400 --> 00:04:12,920 Speaker 2: everybody there, you know, and his station in life of 69 00:04:12,960 --> 00:04:15,320 Speaker 2: being his role of being a parking attendant, you know 70 00:04:15,360 --> 00:04:17,520 Speaker 2: what joy he can bring and not viewing that in 71 00:04:17,520 --> 00:04:20,640 Speaker 2: some deminimous way of I'm just a parking attendant or 72 00:04:20,680 --> 00:04:24,000 Speaker 2: I'm just a sweet sweep street sweeper. So I really 73 00:04:24,000 --> 00:04:26,480 Speaker 2: think there're you know, much of our culture needs to 74 00:04:26,560 --> 00:04:28,560 Speaker 2: learn from this speech and has never heard it before. 75 00:04:29,040 --> 00:04:31,240 Speaker 1: I think it's true. And when you talk about an 76 00:04:31,320 --> 00:04:34,919 Speaker 1: army of normal folks, what better can you have but 77 00:04:35,000 --> 00:04:38,679 Speaker 1: a bunch of normal folks street sweepers, ditch diggers, parking, 78 00:04:38,760 --> 00:04:43,040 Speaker 1: a lot of attendants. It doesn't matter what you're engaged in. 79 00:04:43,160 --> 00:04:45,080 Speaker 1: You have an opportunity every day to make a difference 80 00:04:45,120 --> 00:04:49,400 Speaker 1: in somebody's life and be the best at whatever it 81 00:04:49,440 --> 00:04:53,359 Speaker 1: is you're going to be. And I think it's an 82 00:04:53,520 --> 00:04:57,080 Speaker 1: encouragement to all of us to understand you don't have 83 00:04:57,160 --> 00:05:02,920 Speaker 1: to start a multi million dollar one three to be effective. 84 00:05:03,160 --> 00:05:05,240 Speaker 1: You can be effective down the hallway. You can be 85 00:05:05,279 --> 00:05:09,599 Speaker 1: effective helping a kid read, giving blood, the small things, 86 00:05:09,880 --> 00:05:13,919 Speaker 1: but just be good at it and be committed to it. 87 00:05:13,920 --> 00:05:18,000 Speaker 1: It was April ninth, nineteen sixty seven that Mka gave 88 00:05:18,120 --> 00:05:22,320 Speaker 1: that speech at the New Covenant Baptist Church in Chicago. 89 00:05:22,400 --> 00:05:26,080 Speaker 1: In the speech, he considers three dimensions of life It's length, 90 00:05:26,600 --> 00:05:33,520 Speaker 1: its breadth, and its height. Here's more of that clip 91 00:05:33,560 --> 00:05:36,400 Speaker 1: that I will read. There will be a day and 92 00:05:36,440 --> 00:05:39,240 Speaker 1: the question won't be how many awards did you get 93 00:05:39,240 --> 00:05:43,520 Speaker 1: in life? Not that day. It won't be how popular 94 00:05:43,920 --> 00:05:48,800 Speaker 1: popular were you in your social setting? That won't be 95 00:05:48,880 --> 00:05:51,800 Speaker 1: the question that day. It will not ask how many 96 00:05:51,880 --> 00:05:54,880 Speaker 1: degrees you've been able to get. The question that day 97 00:05:54,920 --> 00:05:58,520 Speaker 1: will not be concerned with whether you are a PhD 98 00:05:58,760 --> 00:06:02,640 Speaker 1: or no D. It will not be concerned with whether 99 00:06:02,720 --> 00:06:04,560 Speaker 1: you went to more house or whether you went to 100 00:06:04,600 --> 00:06:08,760 Speaker 1: no house. The question that day will not be how 101 00:06:08,800 --> 00:06:12,359 Speaker 1: beautiful is your house? The question that day will not 102 00:06:12,480 --> 00:06:15,400 Speaker 1: be how much money did you accumulate? How much did 103 00:06:15,440 --> 00:06:18,039 Speaker 1: you have in stocks and bonds? The question that day 104 00:06:18,080 --> 00:06:21,120 Speaker 1: will not be what kind of automobile did you have? 105 00:06:22,000 --> 00:06:24,960 Speaker 1: On that day? The question will be what did you 106 00:06:25,040 --> 00:06:28,880 Speaker 1: do for others? Now I can hear someone saying, Lord, 107 00:06:28,960 --> 00:06:30,719 Speaker 1: I did a lot of things in my life. I 108 00:06:30,760 --> 00:06:33,120 Speaker 1: did my job well. The world honored me for doing 109 00:06:33,160 --> 00:06:35,760 Speaker 1: my job. I did a lot of things, Lord, I 110 00:06:35,800 --> 00:06:38,160 Speaker 1: went to school and studied hard. I accumulated a lot 111 00:06:38,160 --> 00:06:41,000 Speaker 1: of money. Lord, That's what I did. It seems as 112 00:06:41,040 --> 00:06:43,359 Speaker 1: if I can hear the Lord of Life saying, but 113 00:06:43,440 --> 00:06:48,080 Speaker 1: I was hungry and you fed me. Not I was 114 00:06:48,160 --> 00:06:50,680 Speaker 1: sick and you visited me. Not I was naked and 115 00:06:50,720 --> 00:06:53,800 Speaker 1: you clothed me. Not I was in prison and you 116 00:06:53,839 --> 00:06:56,680 Speaker 1: were concerned about me. So get out of my face. 117 00:06:57,080 --> 00:07:00,320 Speaker 1: What did you do for others? This is the breadth 118 00:07:00,400 --> 00:07:04,520 Speaker 1: of life. Go out this morning. Love yourself, and that 119 00:07:04,600 --> 00:07:09,520 Speaker 1: means rational and healthy self interest. You are commanded to 120 00:07:09,600 --> 00:07:13,160 Speaker 1: do that. That's the length of life. Then follow that, 121 00:07:13,360 --> 00:07:16,800 Speaker 1: love your neighbors. You love yourself. You're commanded to do that. 122 00:07:16,800 --> 00:07:20,720 Speaker 1: That's the breadth of life. And I'm going to take 123 00:07:20,760 --> 00:07:23,360 Speaker 1: my seat now by letting you know that there's a 124 00:07:23,440 --> 00:07:27,559 Speaker 1: first and even greater commandment. Love thy Lord, that God, 125 00:07:27,600 --> 00:07:29,760 Speaker 1: with all thy heart, with all thy soul, with all 126 00:07:29,800 --> 00:07:33,840 Speaker 1: thy strength. I think that the psychologists would just say, 127 00:07:34,360 --> 00:07:38,080 Speaker 1: with all that personality. And when you do that, you've 128 00:07:38,120 --> 00:07:41,240 Speaker 1: got the height of life. And when you get all 129 00:07:41,280 --> 00:07:43,920 Speaker 1: three of these together, you can walk and never get weary. 130 00:07:44,120 --> 00:07:46,400 Speaker 1: You can look up and see the morning stars singing 131 00:07:46,440 --> 00:07:50,360 Speaker 1: together and the sons of God shouting for joy. When 132 00:07:50,400 --> 00:07:52,920 Speaker 1: you get all of these working together in your very life, 133 00:07:53,480 --> 00:07:56,840 Speaker 1: judgment will roll down like waters, and righteousness like a 134 00:07:56,960 --> 00:08:02,160 Speaker 1: mighty stream. And the words of Martin Luther King three 135 00:08:02,160 --> 00:08:08,120 Speaker 1: dimensions of life, length, breadth, and height, and his explanation 136 00:08:08,720 --> 00:08:12,440 Speaker 1: for all of that is, if you're a street sweeper, 137 00:08:13,520 --> 00:08:17,840 Speaker 1: sweep streets like Michaelangelo painted art, be the very best 138 00:08:17,880 --> 00:08:21,360 Speaker 1: you can be at whatever your discipline is. And certainly 139 00:08:21,400 --> 00:08:25,440 Speaker 1: that's at your job, and that's as a parent, that's 140 00:08:25,480 --> 00:08:31,000 Speaker 1: as a spouse, that as a friend, but it's also 141 00:08:31,880 --> 00:08:35,520 Speaker 1: as you interact with your community. You don't have to 142 00:08:35,600 --> 00:08:38,400 Speaker 1: have a massive five OHO one C three or be 143 00:08:38,600 --> 00:08:44,240 Speaker 1: part of some massive grassroots earth shattering policy changing organization. 144 00:08:44,840 --> 00:08:46,760 Speaker 1: You don't have to do any of that to be 145 00:08:46,800 --> 00:08:49,360 Speaker 1: a member of the army in normal folks, all you 146 00:08:49,480 --> 00:08:52,760 Speaker 1: have to do is MLK taught us in nineteen sixty seven, 147 00:08:52,920 --> 00:08:56,120 Speaker 1: is be the best at what you can do and 148 00:08:56,760 --> 00:09:01,000 Speaker 1: expand the three dimensions of your life, its breath, and 149 00:09:01,040 --> 00:09:04,720 Speaker 1: its height by being the best you can be, serving 150 00:09:04,760 --> 00:09:10,040 Speaker 1: others and making a difference where you can make a difference, 151 00:09:10,400 --> 00:09:14,680 Speaker 1: which might be just down the hallway, giving blood, helping 152 00:09:14,720 --> 00:09:20,280 Speaker 1: a neighbor, reading to kids, going to an old folks home, 153 00:09:20,320 --> 00:09:24,960 Speaker 1: and keeping a lonely old person company. The army of 154 00:09:24,960 --> 00:09:30,120 Speaker 1: normal folks is a ground up, ground up, bottom up 155 00:09:30,800 --> 00:09:34,160 Speaker 1: group of people seeing area needs and filling it to 156 00:09:34,240 --> 00:09:37,840 Speaker 1: the best of their ability, where their discipline and abilities 157 00:09:37,840 --> 00:09:42,280 Speaker 1: and passions lie. Martin Luther King says, if you're going 158 00:09:42,360 --> 00:09:44,640 Speaker 1: to be a street sweeper, be the best you can. 159 00:09:46,160 --> 00:09:50,559 Speaker 1: And likewise, to be an army of normal folks, all 160 00:09:50,559 --> 00:09:52,360 Speaker 1: you got to do is be a street sweeper who 161 00:09:52,400 --> 00:09:55,360 Speaker 1: tries real hard and sees her he needs and fills it. 162 00:09:57,800 --> 00:10:00,440 Speaker 2: We think, Alex, I don't think I have anything sad. 163 00:10:01,400 --> 00:10:02,640 Speaker 1: That is shop talk. 164 00:10:02,840 --> 00:10:04,440 Speaker 2: I just wish I had seen him in person. You 165 00:10:04,480 --> 00:10:05,319 Speaker 2: never saw him speak. 166 00:10:05,360 --> 00:10:09,520 Speaker 1: Did you know? I was born four months after he 167 00:10:09,559 --> 00:10:09,840 Speaker 1: was shot? 168 00:10:09,960 --> 00:10:10,040 Speaker 3: Oh? 169 00:10:10,120 --> 00:10:12,920 Speaker 1: Really? Yeah? I was born in sixty eight in the 170 00:10:12,920 --> 00:10:16,760 Speaker 1: same city he was shot in. Yeah. No, But I 171 00:10:18,600 --> 00:10:22,480 Speaker 1: took a class in college, an English class, and a 172 00:10:22,520 --> 00:10:26,959 Speaker 1: lot of a lot of his speeches were actually covered 173 00:10:27,000 --> 00:10:30,880 Speaker 1: in that class. As it talked about it was poetry 174 00:10:30,920 --> 00:10:35,280 Speaker 1: and prose, and not that he was a poet, but 175 00:10:35,440 --> 00:10:38,439 Speaker 1: his prose and his cadence and his way of delivering 176 00:10:39,080 --> 00:10:41,920 Speaker 1: messages is actually very poetic. 177 00:10:42,000 --> 00:10:44,199 Speaker 2: Actually I noticed it in this one which I had 178 00:10:44,240 --> 00:10:46,959 Speaker 2: never noticed before, him saying whether you went to morehouse 179 00:10:47,400 --> 00:10:49,760 Speaker 2: or no, no house? And then the next line was, 180 00:10:49,960 --> 00:10:51,560 Speaker 2: and it's not about your beautiful house. 181 00:10:52,000 --> 00:10:55,079 Speaker 1: I mean, that's that's how he delivered things. And that's 182 00:10:55,080 --> 00:11:05,120 Speaker 1: what I mean by simplifying, making obvious or simplifying thoughts 183 00:11:05,520 --> 00:11:07,920 Speaker 1: is how can you not how can you argue with that? 184 00:11:08,120 --> 00:11:11,720 Speaker 1: You know? But I studied a lot of what he 185 00:11:11,760 --> 00:11:15,200 Speaker 1: was saying, and it was more from for that particular class, 186 00:11:15,200 --> 00:11:19,760 Speaker 1: from a standpoint pros and cadence and delivery and amazing 187 00:11:19,840 --> 00:11:24,440 Speaker 1: writing and storytelling. But in doing that, I ended up 188 00:11:24,480 --> 00:11:28,600 Speaker 1: reading a lot of his speeches, and it is when 189 00:11:28,960 --> 00:11:33,559 Speaker 1: I was awakened to the power of what m ok 190 00:11:33,840 --> 00:11:38,760 Speaker 1: staid and stood for. It's more than just civil rights too. 191 00:11:38,880 --> 00:11:45,800 Speaker 1: He was he was He was big on. 192 00:11:44,000 --> 00:11:46,360 Speaker 2: On economic justice. 193 00:11:46,520 --> 00:11:50,199 Speaker 1: Well economic justice. He's also big on patriotism. Believe it 194 00:11:50,320 --> 00:11:54,280 Speaker 1: or not. The man was a good man and he uh, 195 00:11:56,120 --> 00:11:58,960 Speaker 1: you know, I just wonder what is what is his 196 00:11:59,040 --> 00:12:02,400 Speaker 1: Legacy's insane? But I just wonder if he had another 197 00:12:02,440 --> 00:12:06,640 Speaker 1: ten years, how much more good and awakening he would 198 00:12:06,640 --> 00:12:09,800 Speaker 1: have done for our society and culture. But at any rate, 199 00:12:10,480 --> 00:12:14,160 Speaker 1: Shop Talk number forty seven. If you're going to sweep streets, 200 00:12:14,200 --> 00:12:17,800 Speaker 1: be the best you can at it. Likewise, be an 201 00:12:17,880 --> 00:12:20,120 Speaker 1: army and normal folks where you can how you can, 202 00:12:20,160 --> 00:12:24,760 Speaker 1: and just be the best at that. And there there's 203 00:12:24,840 --> 00:12:29,640 Speaker 1: no organization that is more important than any individual doing 204 00:12:29,679 --> 00:12:31,880 Speaker 1: what they can. You be the best at what you 205 00:12:32,000 --> 00:12:35,200 Speaker 1: can be, join the ranks of the army. Let's change 206 00:12:35,200 --> 00:12:37,880 Speaker 1: our culture. That's shop Talking number forty seven. We'll see 207 00:12:37,880 --> 00:12:38,400 Speaker 1: you next week.