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Terry Crews on Masculinity, True Power, Therapy, and Resisting Cynicism (#587)

Illustration via 99designs

“You can either have success or revenge, but you can’t have both.”

— Terry Crews

Terry Crews (@terrycrews) can do it all: author, action-movie hero, sitcom star, children’s book illustrator, advertising pitchman, playable video game character, talent show host, high-end furniture designer, and human rights activist. The list goes on and on. 

Terry’s new memoir is Tough: My Journey to True Power. In it, he chronicles the story of how he went from being a six-year-old boy with a goofy, toothless smile to being utterly selfish and angry to being a man who can finally acknowledge his own weaknesses and vulnerabilities and use his experiences to help motivate those around him. 

Terry has starred as a series regular in three consecutive TV series that have surpassed the coveted 100-episode mark: Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Are We There Yet?, and Everybody Hates Chris. Terry is set to star in Tales of the Walking Dead and hosts NBC’s top-rated alternative series America’s Got Talent and its spin-offs, AGT Champions and AGT Extreme.

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He recently added yet another title, children’s book illustrator, to his resume for his first-of-its-kind augmented reality book, Come Find Me. Terry’s Crew is Terry’s latest children’s lit entry, a graphic novel set to be released in November 2022. Terry’s Crew provides insight into his childhood in Michigan and what it was like trying to find his place. In 2021, Terry and his wife, Rebecca King Crews, released an exclusive Audible audiobook, Stronger Together, sharing the staggering ups and downs of their relationship and how they have weathered the myriad crises that have rocked their marriage. 

Terry, a lifelong artist, released his furniture collection with Bernhardt Designs in 2017, which premiered at the International Contemporary Furniture Fair in New York and was awarded the prestigious “Best of NeoCon 2017.”

Please enjoy!

Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, Podcast Addict, Pocket Casts, Stitcher, Castbox, Google Podcasts, Amazon Musicor on your favorite podcast platform. You can watch the interview on YouTube here.

Brought to you by Athletic Greens all-in-one nutritional supplement, Gravity weighted blankets, and Allform premium, modular furniture. More on all three below.

The transcript of this episode can be found here. Transcripts of all episodes can be found here.

#587: Terry Crews on Masculinity, True Power, Therapy, and Resisting Cynicism

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What was your favorite quote or lesson from this episode? Please let me know in the comments.

SCROLL BELOW FOR LINKS AND SHOW NOTES…

Want to find out what Terry Crews and I talked about the last time he was on the show? Have a listen to our conversation in which we discussed Terry’s art background, the vow that got Terry through his teenage years, maintaining optimism through tough times, the consequences of competition on creativity and overall success, advice for new and expecting parents, letting go of relationships and old friendships that have run their course, coping with self-induced anxiety, and much more.

#287: Terry Crews — How to Have, Do, and Be All You Want

SELECTED LINKS FROM THE EPISODE

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SHOW NOTES

MORE TERRY CREWS QUOTES FROM THE INTERVIEW

“If I lose my focus, I could lose my career.”
— Terry Crews

“Even when you’ve succeeded, when you’ve got this thing, you’re still starting at day one. Every day.”
— Terry Crews

“When you are self-righteous, you can now do the most heinous, inhuman things to other people, because you feel right.”
— Terry Crews

“You can either have success or revenge, but you can’t have both.”
— Terry Crews

“The greatest boxers in the world took punches.”
— Terry Crews

“The world really, really determines winners way too early. … But most of these people don’t end up winning long-term.”
— Terry Crews

“Competition is the opposite of creativity.”
— Terry Crews

“Any movement that doesn’t start with reconciliation, I don’t want any part of. We have to reconcile. We have to reconcile men to women. We have to reconcile black to white. We have to reconcile Republican to Democrat. We have to reconcile. That’s the first rule. Because if we don’t, what you’re doing is postponing a war. That’s all you’re doing.”
— Terry Crews

“I’m at war with cynicism. I’ve decided to be positive and be hopeful and believe the best about every human being.”
— Terry Crews

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