I was made aware of this brother around 2011 when I was getting to know a relative of his who was a colleague of mine at the time. We are from the same neighborhood in Indianapolis, IN so I friended him on Facebook with the intentions of reaching out to him to connect at some point. Life does what it does but he has remained on my radar over the years.
Recently, I was scrolling the Instagram timeline and saw a flyer posted by a random account for THE MAN•KĀVE, which is a mental health experience designed for men to have real conversations. The event was to be held at the historic HBCU Morehouse College in Atlanta, Georgia and he was listed on the flyer as a speaker. So, since I was in the area, I made it a point to go introduce myself and support.
Robert Jackson is an international speaker and award winning author with several speaking engagements and books under his belt. During a break at the event, he and I had an impromptu conversation and discussed his upbringing in the neighborhood, his brief stint in the NFL, his calling as a consultant and mental health advocate, and his latest book, “Leading Through Pain: Transform Your Pain into Wisdom and Create Leaders who Create More Leaders”. Brightwood, stand up!
Mr. Jackson. Let’s start off with your background.
Okay. My name is Robert Jackson. I am an international speaker and bestselling author. I grew up in Indianapolis in a neighborhood called Brightwood in a single parent home with four sisters, my mom, and I. I lost a lot of my friends growing up to prison. Some of them ended up getting killed. It was pretty tough. I went to college on a full scholarship. I played football and ran track then went to the pros, briefly. NFL stands for “Not For Long”. I got cut by the Minnesota Vikings and I started teaching and coaching after that. Teaching and coaching led me to jump into pharmaceutical sales, which led me to come back to the route to work with young people, educators, administrators, corporate leaders, church leaders on leadership, mental health awareness, self-care, and social emotional learning. I really enjoy this work. Well, it’s really not work. It’s a ministry for me and I’m passionate about helping other people become a better version of themselves.
Let’s get into a little bit about the neighborhood (Brightwood) because obviously that’s one of the big connections that we have. The neighborhood is the neighborhood, right? Yeah. There is a lot going on in the neighborhood but a lot of good has come out of it. In your particular situation, what do you think helped you become the person you became today despite the circumstances in the neighborhood?
Well, I believe what helped me become the man of God I am today is having those experiences and growing up the way I did. If I hadn’t lost my friends Tony Binion, Larry Shotwell Jr., and a couple other friends, I may not be passionate about doing this work even though that was traumatizing for me. Working with kids, parents, and students is a ministry, you know?
Growing up in Brightwood, there is a lot of positive that we need to focus on that comes out of that neighborhood. It’s not just “everybody is getting killed”. We have doctors. We have lawyers. They come out of that neighborhood. We also have international speakers and authors. We need to start focusing on positive things because they (society) want us to focus on the negative aspects of growing up in inner city.
I remember before we got bussed to township schools, we were able to walk to school. That was a lot of fun. The culture, the camaraderie of my neighbors, the closeness, etc. I really miss that as an adult because back when I was a kid, if you got in trouble in school, you just didn’t get in trouble with your mom. You got in trouble with your neighbors, your extended family. There was a village that came out to support you, a village that would celebrate you, and there was a village that would scold you. That is what I liked the most about growing up the way I did.
[Afterthought] One day when I was around 6 or 7 years old, I was walking down Adams St. to my friend’s house with a fresh bologna sandwich that I had maybe only taken 1 bite of at that point. I looked down at it and there was a big bug that had flown into the sandwich and I was so mad and disgusted that I threw the sandwich down, stomped, and ground it into the sidewalk in front of my friend’s next door neighbor’s house. That lady used to be on our case’s all the time and she came outside, cussed me out, and made me scrape that sandwich up. Lol, she gave me a broom, dustpan, and all. [End]
My mom joined the military when I was young so we got around quite a bit, spent some time in Germany, etc. I had been back and forth my whole life but when I was 15, she got sent to Korea and I couldn’t go so I came back home to my grandma for my Sophomore year of high school at Perry Meridian. One thing that I noticed that year was that in almost all of my college prep classes, either I was the only black person in there, or there was 1 or 2 more, maximum. Lol, yeah. Me too. Mr. Benjamin Brown….I know Bam Brown. He put me in a program while I was there and we went to one of the colleges in the city for some program like every Saturday for some weeks. I enjoyed that. What did you learn while you were going there and how did that help move you forward in life?
At Perry Township, I learned patience. I learned about racism. I learned about culture barriers. I learned about discrimination. I also learned about grit. We had to get up early in the morning to ride to school. I played sports, so sometimes I stayed late into the evening and when you stay late into the evening, sometimes the bus may come and get you or they may forget you. So sometimes we would get home at 11:00 p.m. – midnight, then have to turn around the next day, get up at 5:00 a.m. in the morning and do it again.
So, I think it taught me accountability, being on time, and responsibility. It also taught me integrity. I would ride the activity bus to go out to the school to lift weights and I tell you, going out to Perry Township was challenging because sometimes, like you, I was the only person of color in my classes, and that taught me to keep going. Just because you’re the only person of color doesn’t mean you can’t do the work. Pain is temporary, but quitting is forever. The only place that success comes before work is in the dictionary. So, if you put in the work, you’re going to be successful.
I put in the work and that’s what I contribute some of my successes to. Going out to Perry Township taught me a whole lot. There were some bad things too but with anything in life, you’re going to have the good and the bad but the good far outweighed the bad.
You said you did a brief (Not For Long) stint in the NFL? Yes. How did that go?
Well, it wasn’t for long, but it was fun while it lasted. That wasn’t my calling. See, God had to remove me from that stage to let the person who manifested in that fulfill their dream because I thought the NFL was my destiny. I thought it was my dream, but that was somebody else’s dream. My destiny and my ministry is what I do now, which is traveling, speaking, writing, and touching lives. Whether it’s five lives or a thousand, it’s touching other people and doing it with humility and staying out of my pride.
I’m walking in my calling. I can say that now, but it was hurtful back then. When all you think about and work on is being a good athlete and playing on Sundays, when it’s over, it’s depressing. You deal with anxiety, depression, suicidal thoughts, and all kinds of things but I thank God he kept me through it. A person giving you advice has their own set of shortcomings, but it doesn’t mean they can’t give you the peace you’re missing. Even though I’m missing pieces, I was able to give some kids and some adults the pieces they’re missing as well.
Now, present day. We’re talking about trauma and how as a people, we’ve been through and continue to go through a lot. One thing that stood out to me today (during THE MAN•KĀVE event) was the gentleman that broke down a little bit when discussing his lack of assistance while working with young athletes. You said he suffered from “Compassion Fatigue”.
Yeah. “Compassion Fatigue” is like you’re passionate for this work but you can be over passionate to the point where you’re doing too much. Back in the day, my grandmother would say “Go sit down somewhere.” Right? Sometimes when you overdo the work, you’re hurting yourself. You’re causing yourself anxiety and other health issues. You don’t take a break. You’re not spending time with your family or with yourself on self-care because you’re so passionate about the work. The work is not going anywhere.
When I get on an airplane, the last thing they tell us before that plane takes off is if the air pressure drops on this airplane, put the mask on yourself first. That is because when you take care of yourself, you can take care of other people. So yes, I love and enjoy the work that I do but sometimes you have to take a break and it is okay to do that.
All right. So, in your attempt to help people, tell us about your latest book and the journey that you’ve taken from the first to now.
Okay. My latest book is called Leading Through Pain: Transform Your Wounds into Wisdom and Create Leaders Who Create More Leaders. Many of us walk around in pain. How do we deal with that pain? You go through a divorce. You lose your mother. Your kids are acting out. You lose your job. Or, you’re on the job and you’re miserable or you’re having a bad relationship. How do you continue to lead through pain? What are the steps that you can take? Throughout the whole book, it gives strategies on what you can do when you’re dealing with pain, because you have to acknowledge it. You have to grieve through the pain and that means that it is okay to cry sometimes and it is okay to get therapy. Lastly, turn those wounds into wisdom, whatever those wounds are. You’ve been knocked down, but you haven’t been knocked out.
You have to learn how to enroll in a class of discomfort because I have never met a comfortable, successful person. They had to enroll in the class of discomfort, just like that diamond. Diamonds shine but they go through the heat before they can get to the shine. So, that is the same thing that happens in life. It is okay to be uncomfortable because when you’re uncomfortable, you’re growing.
You mentioned six things you do every day. Break that down.
Six things that I challenge myself to do daily: Exercise. Eat right. Meditate. Pray. Rest. Laugh. Yes, I said laugh. Even when you’re having a bad day, laugh. Exercise. Spend some time moving, you know? Get yourself together. Get your shoulders and stuff. You have to move around a little bit. Eating right sometimes is pushing away from the table. Spend some time fasting. Spend some time praying. Exercise. Eat right. Pray. I pray every day. I meditate daily and praying and meditating are totally different. Praying is spending time with God. Meditation is just spending time with the universe and just (hoooo) breathing. Practice some deep breathing.
Exercise. Eat right. Meditate. Pray. Rest. Rest doesn’t necessarily mean sleep. It just means getting off your feet and just relaxing and not thinking about work. Don’t have a computer or a phone in your lap. Just chill and then laugh. Laugh in the morning, laugh in the afternoon, laugh at night, and then wake up and laugh some more. Spend some time laughing every single day. I promise you that joy is going to be the happiness that doesn’t depend on what happens. You’re going to be a happier person.
Lastly, how can people keep in touch with you, see what you have in the works, etc.?
If you want to keep in touch with Robert Jackson, I’m Robert Jackson on Facebook, @robjmotivates on Instagram, @RJMotivates on X, and I am on TikTok @robjnupe. Shout out to the Bruhs, N.U.P.E. You can also email me at robert@robertjacksonmotivates.com I have several books on my website www.robertjacksonmotivates.com.
