Episode 377 – Unstoppable Servant Leader with Raheem Lindsey
In this powerful episode of Unstoppable Mindset, I sit down with Raheem Lindsey, a man whose life journey defies the odds. Born three months premature and raised in a challenging environment shaped by his mother’s drug addiction, foster care, abuse, and incarceration, Raheem shares how faith and purpose led him to become a minister and founder of Relentless Living Online Ministries.
Raheem walks us through the transformative power of self-reflection, accountability, and a deep commitment to servant leadership. He introduces his "Relentless Living Pyramid"—Consumer, Service, Leadership—as a model for turning personal pain into purpose. His message: don’t chase money, chase purpose, because purpose leaves a legacy.
Michael and Raheem explore how faith becomes the anchor in moments of doubt and how seeing past our circumstances can help us step into leadership. Today, Raheem is transitioning from construction to full-time ministry and speaking, using his story to inspire others to lead with empathy and serve where they’ve been broken and healed.
Listeners are encouraged to connect with Raheem at raheemlindsey81@gmail.com or via his Relentless Living YouTube channel.
Tune in for an unforgettable conversation that proves anyone—no matter their start—can lead an unstoppable life of service and significance.
About the Guest:
Hello, I’m RaHeem Lindsey, which means "merciful one" or "one who establishes a deep connection." I’m 43 years old, born on August 12th. I’m a father of three, husband, entrepreneur, and servant of God.
My purpose is to please God and serve His people. I believe life is not about personal gain, but about serving and impacting others. As a follower of Jesus Christ, I strive to make a positive difference in the world.
Growing up, I faced significant challenges. My father was murdered when I was 15, and I overcame foster care after experiencing abuse at a young age. Despite these difficulties, I’m grateful for my journey and the lessons I’ve learned.
I come from a humble background, raised by a single mother in government housing. However, I’ve learned to see these experiences as opportunities for growth and blessing. My story is one of resilience and determination.
As an empath, servant, student, and leader, my goal is to impact the world in the name of Christ Jesus. I’m driven to serve others and make a positive difference. I love and bless everyone, and I’m grateful for the opportunity to share my story.
Ways to connect with RaHeem:
https://youtube.com/@rltalkrelentlesslivingglob7210?si=0Km3z7m7Ie_e2Ul4
https://open.spotify.com/show/5Mr5x2456rf31d7R36bfmv?si=ZUCs8yBaSJG664vFeuHoCQ
https://www.instagram.com/relen_tlessliving?igsh=aW53b3RhcXc1ZWFv&utm_source=qr
About the Host:
Michael Hingson is a New York Times best-selling author, international lecturer, and Chief Vision Officer for accessiBe. Michael, blind since birth, survived the 9/11 attacks with the help of his guide dog Roselle. This story is the subject of his best-selling book, Thunder Dog.
Michael gives over 100 presentations around the world each year speaking to influential groups such as Exxon Mobile, AT&T, Federal Express, Scripps College, Rutgers University, Children’s Hospital, and the American Red Cross just to name a few. He is Ambassador for the National Braille Literacy Campaign for the National Federation of the Blind and also serves as Ambassador for the American Humane Association’s 2012 Hero Dog Awards.
https://michaelhingson.com
https://www.facebook.com/michael.hingson.author.speaker/
https://twitter.com/mhingson
https://www.youtube.com/user/mhingson
https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelhingson/
accessiBe Links
https://accessibe.com/
https://www.youtube.com/c/accessiBe
https://www.linkedin.com/company/accessibe/mycompany/
https://www.facebook.com/accessibe/
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Transcription Notes:
Michael Hingson ** 00:00
Access Cast and accessiBe Initiative presents Unstoppable Mindset. The podcast where inclusion, diversity and the unexpected meet. Hi, I’m Michael Hingson, Chief Vision Officer for accessiBe and the author of the number one New York Times bestselling book, Thunder dog, the story of a blind man, his guide dog and the triumph of trust. Thanks for joining me on my podcast as we explore our own blinding fears of inclusion unacceptance and our resistance to change. We will discover the idea that no matter the situation, or the people we encounter, our own fears, and prejudices often are our strongest barriers to moving forward. The unstoppable mindset podcast is sponsored by accessiBe, that’s a c c e s s i capital B e. Visit www.accessibe.com to learn how you can make your website accessible for persons with disabilities. And to help make the internet fully inclusive by the year 2025. Glad you dropped by we’re happy to meet you and to have you here with us.
Michael Hingson ** 01:17
Hi everyone, and welcome to another episode of unstoppable mindset. And today, by my standards, we have a guest who really is unstoppable. You know, one of the things that I hear regularly from people who talk to me about my own experiences of being in the World Trade Center is it’s amazing what you went through and how you survived, and you’re resilient and all that. I don’t think tend to think a whole lot about that. I understand what people are saying, but our guest today, RaHeem Lindsay, I think, has a much more resilient and unstoppable story than I do. A lot of people might disagree, but that’s okay. We’re both we’re both unstoppable, and I think most people are more unstoppable than they think they are. It’s just that we tend to underrate ourselves. But we’re going to hear a great story today, and I know Raheem has got a lot to tell us. So Rahim, let’s start by welcoming you to unstoppable mindset.
RaHeem Lindsey ** 02:18
Thank you, Michael, such a pleasure and an honor to be a guest on your podcast. It’s really an honor. I couldn’t believe that you actually have reached out to me when you did. I was like, Really, I’m just very flattered, because just to have to have accomplished the feats that you have, and yourself you’re you’re a definition of relentless living, which is the name of my online ministry, relentless living, refusing to take no for an answer. You know, seeing life’s obstacles as opportunities, things of that nature, right? That that resilience, that that that grit, that fortitude, that we all have, but we have to be willing to embrace in order to go forward in life,
Michael Hingson ** 03:01
right? I agree. Well, tell me, what? What does Raheem
RaHeem Lindsey ** 03:05
mean? It means merciful.
Michael Hingson ** 03:09
There you go. Yes, sir, you’re, you’re committed, right from the name,
RaHeem Lindsey ** 03:14
yes, absolutely yes. And it’s funny that you asked that, Michael, because in totality, so Raheem, Lamar Lindsay, so in totality, it means Merciful One, one who establishes a deep connection, which very well fits me, defines me to a T cool
Michael Hingson ** 03:31
well, and I’m really looking forward to hearing a lot more about that. Why don’t we start by you telling us a little bit about kind of the early Raheem, growing up and and I know that that’s an integral part of your story, is you get a little bit older, if you will. But tell us about you growing up and all that.
RaHeem Lindsey ** 03:49
Okay, so Raheem growing up, I like to tell individuals, friends, etc, that I am, I’m I’m well, I’m well, diverse when it comes to my my growing up as a young man into adulthood, I have a mixed upbringing. I was raised with my mother, right? And then I was actually, let’s start here. I was born in Houston, Texas. I left there as an infant, okay, and as a infant, I was hospitalized because I was born premature at six months years old. I mean, at six months old, rather, what did you weigh? I weighed, oh, my goodness. Oh, I was about six, so I six pounds or so. Was that
Michael Hingson ** 04:41
I was born premature about two months, and I weighed two pounds, 13 ounces, so I was a little
RaHeem Lindsey ** 04:47
Okay, and it might be less than that, actually, just to be honest with you, Michael, it’s been quite some time I would have to ask my mother
Michael Hingson ** 04:54
you don’t remember, huh?
RaHeem Lindsey ** 04:57
But, but long story short. Up, though, and that’s really amazing that we have, that that’s another connection that we have, as well as being, you know, individuals that are resilient, that are relentless, right? And so I was hospitalized in the incubator for the first, I believe, what two months of my life, I had to be fed through an IV in my head, actually. So it was, it was very, was a very tough
Michael Hingson ** 05:24
time for you. Were one of those people who lost eyesight because you were in an incubator.
RaHeem Lindsey ** 05:30
Oh, my goodness. So yours is. Your journey has been from birth, right? Okay, wow, wow. Come on. Wow.
Michael Hingson ** 05:41
You know, the the issue is that medical science, when I was born, wasn’t ready to believe although some doctors were starting to recognize it and say it, but most doctors were not ready to admit that even too much oxygen could be a bad thing. And the result was that the retina didn’t develop properly. But that didn’t happen for everyone, but they also eventually did figure it out. And so a lot of times, children aren’t necessarily given an absolute pure oxygen environment nowadays for 24 hours a day, just depends on what they weigh and what’s needed, and it can still be that a person could lose eyesight if they’re in an incubator with a pure oxygen environment. But medical science understands it a lot more now. So it doesn’t happen like it did back in the 1950s where we actually because of the number of premature births, lower the age, the average age of blind people from 67 to 65 years just because of premature birth.
RaHeem Lindsey ** 06:43
Interesting. Okay, wow.
Michael Hingson ** 06:47
So anyway, you were so you were put in an incubator
RaHeem Lindsey ** 06:50
for a while. Yes, no, I was put in incubator for a while. And so I went through that opportunity of resilience. It started at a young age for us both, right? I don’t want to say an issue. I don’t like to really use that word. I say opportunities for growth and development, right? Because while we might have had an area of concern, let’s say that it, it enabled us in other ways, right? It made us more resilient, more more built for the race, right to go forth in the future, right? So that’s awesome. So in the incubator, and then raised with my mother, of course, up until the age of seven. Right now, here’s my life begins to take a another dramatic turn. My mother, at the time, was battling a crack addiction. God bless her heart, okay, and but much respect to her. I never lost not one ounce of respect for her, because she always remained a mother to me, even over even, you know, facing those odds, right, facing the the adversity of that she still remained a mother, and I appreciate that. And so with my mother, while being a Christian woman, a woman of faith, as I am, a Christian man myself, she was still, she was a believer, but also still in the world, not fully transitioned, as most of us have. We all go through that time in our lives where we’re still, you know, trying to make that full transition. And matter of fact, honestly, we will always be in the event, in the race of transition throughout our entire lives, because we’ll never have it fully correct, or know everything for that matter, right? So anyhow, my mother, she was following a crack addiction at the moment, and so I had a family member that ended up calling Child Protective Services on my mother, an older cousin, so I ended up going into the foster care system. I was in the foster care system for a round just under a year, I’d say, seven to eight months during this time while in the foster care system, I was beaten and molested, all while staying right next door to a cousin. But at the time, I’m only seven, going into eight years old, right? So for me, as much as I wanted to reach out and I wanted to make this known, I felt, I felt conflicted once again, I’m still an adolescent, right? I’m still a child,
Michael Hingson ** 09:49
yeah, so you don’t have the tools yet to really deal with that.
RaHeem Lindsey ** 09:54
Absolutely, yes, exactly, not having the tools yet necessary to deal with that. Certain. Stance. So I was very reclusive, and I never mentioned it to anyone. So about let me see seven, eight months was my stay there, my aunt Andrea, my great aunt, ended up getting custody of me, which is my mother’s aunt, my great aunt, etc, end up getting custody of me. Now, once again, mentioning my mother was always in a very deep rooted transition, both battling addiction and just her personal life itself, and also being a woman of faith. So my mother, my upbringing with her was not as structured as, say, it should have been, but I grew up, my mother cared and she was very hands on, but yet and still, she was a single parent, and so I somebody grew up in in the streets a bit, if you will, okay,
Michael Hingson ** 11:06
your father wasn’t around at all. No,
RaHeem Lindsey ** 11:08
my father was not around at all. Okay. And funny story mentioning the father, he was in my life up until about four years old, and then my mother and him had separated, and they were, you know, in other relationships, whatever have you. And I went to visit him. One day, my mother took me to visit him, and he asked me, Hey, who’s your dad? Now, me not having a normal, typical, constant relationship of seeing him on a regular basis. I say my mother, I mean my wife. I mean, I’m sorry, my mother’s boyfriend at the time and so kind of all hell broke loose with that. He wanted nothing else to do with me. Keep in mind, I’m only four at the time, right? So from that point, yes, so from that point forward, he was out of my life. Okay? So now we fast forward back again to getting in custody with my aunt. My aunt has gained custody of me after getting out of the foster home. So with my aunt, my aunt Andrea, my great aunt, with her, the home is very structured. It’s just me and her, her only child, which is my older cousin, Todd. He’s in the Air Force, whatever have you. He’s in his mid 20s at the time. Okay, okay, and so it’s just me and my aunt Andre so with her very structured. Sunday church, Sunday evening church, Wednesday, youth night church, if church was open, we were attending. And it wasn’t enough to just attend. We had to be operating. We had to be serving in some capacity. So I was involved in, you know, the youth crowd, any and everything that had to do where we could serve in the church we were doing it. And so that helps create kind of a illustration, if you will, a visual of who Rahim is. I am, both one who is street smart, also one of I love to seek Intel. I love to read. I am a avid reader, so forth and so on. That was very much encouraged within the household with my aunt, so she very much stressed those areas. I was made to memorize Scripture and so forth in her household, things of that nature. Got involved in activities outside of school, baseball, things of that nature. So that helps bring you to who I am today, as of relentless living. To kind of give you a a quick synopsis, if you will, because I know we know we like to talk about some other topics and so forth, but that gives you a bit of my background and who I am. So I tell people I’m very textured, for that matter.
Michael Hingson ** 14:07
So what, what did you do, school wise? Then, once you were growing up,
RaHeem Lindsey ** 14:14
school wise. So I, you know, went through, you know, the elementary and so forth, as everyone else does. I ended up dropping out my 11th no my senior year, I dropped out. Reason being, I was working, obtained a full time job, and I was kind of in that time as most of us are exploring the world, getting to know myself as a young man and a young adult, if you will. So there’s the girl aspect, right? Then there’s, you know, hey, rahims, now I have a job, so I’m bringing in my own finances. So I. Have responsibility of self, and also being back in the presence of my mother, because my mother gained custody of me again after about three to four years with my aunt. So she battled, she overcame her crack addiction and also regained custody of me. So kudos to her. So being back in the presence of my mother, she always instilled responsibility upon me. She’s very big on that, so I’ll be responsible for, say, a particular bill. Maybe it was the electricity bill. Obviously, not as high as they are now, right? The economy’s changed. Their face changed. So not as much, right? Now we’re talking, you know, hundreds of dollars, you know, when then it was like, you know, hey, maybe you know, 150 you know, for light bill. No big deal. So, and those things just helped me to learn about responsibility at a early age as a young man, setting me up also for future success, I will say, so school, so I dropped out. Like I said, 12th grade year I was I got in a little bit of trouble. I always had a great head on my shoulder. Always had great values and morale. But as we all know, bad nature or Bad company corrupts good nature, Bad company corrupts good nature. And so it is not enough to simply do well on your own. It was never meant for us to do anything simply on our own, because you can’t be great alone. It takes a team. It takes a strategic alliance of a group of individuals. It may be somewhat semi minute. It could be Lacher, depending upon the need and the desire and the the vision itself. But you cannot be great yourself. It takes a team. And so I tended to I would do well for such a period of time, I was always very much into church, but then there’s that street side of Raheem, and I have some street friends, so therefore I would find myself regressing, or rather, let’s say, digressing, from the progress that I’ve made because of my choice of friends. Now, not all of them were in the streets, per se. Others were doing well and focused on the future and doing an accomplishing great things on the positive note. But there’s that conflict, right? I’ve got this internal conflict because my homeboys, you know, and so forth from my mother’s end of, you know, the spectrum, you know, we’re in the streets, we’re products of the environment, right? And it’s very easy to become a product of your environment, and then also to get to a point where you sever some of those relationships, not because that’s so you’re too good, because you’ve outgrown such a thing, and you’ve been outside of the environment. So if you see better, logically and hopefully, we will then do better. So it was conflicted, so I I got in a bit of trouble, you know, throughout my childhood and and young adulthood, from, I say, at the time of 14 to, oh goodness, mid 20s, maybe about 2627 I would, you know, I do well, and then I would have a issue, you know, with the law. You know, I was, there was times when I was younger, I know, broken into homes, things of that nature, and it would be quite, I wouldn’t even say, like, quite unexpected to those who knew me and had relationships with me, because I was, I was a great person. I really was, you know, good morale, good values, things of that nature, but when I got around the wrong company, then there we have it. Now, Rahim is no longer who I know to be, but I’m who I was, or the tainted version of Raheem, and not the more fulfilled, better version of Raheem, for lack of better terms. So I went through, you know, in and out the system for a while. You know, I’ve been in on the in the county jails. I’ve did a year in the penitentiary at one point in time. But I saw this to say, for anyone that has battled such things, no matter what it is, Do not despise it, because, because, because of those situations, it has helped make me who I am today. So I’m able to help other individuals who have battled or in the same storms as I face and I stand today before you as a victor, victorious over those. Circumstances, adverse situations and so forth and so what nearly killed me is situations for yourself. Michael, what nearly you know killed you things that you thought were nearly impossible to get out of, challenges that we face, so much adversity, that caused so much pain, that caused us to have to be resilient because we had no other choice. Right, right? What nearly killed us. Now we can reach back and bring life unto others, because we were able to overcome it, but I have to go here because me, being a man of faith, I will say, not by our power nor our strength, but by God’s Spirit. Thus saith the Lord, because of that, because ourselves, we’re not capable of such things on our own. We’re just not it would be insane to think that we could do the things that we have accomplished, and furthermore that we will accomplish going forward without a divine entity, without divine help, because some things are simply limited to the the carnal existence of
Michael Hingson ** 21:05
being, did you ever, did you ever finish high school?
RaHeem Lindsey ** 21:09
I Okay. So, great question. Michael, so when I was in the penitentiary for a year, I actually ended up getting my GED. So I was, I came up. I had the mindset like, you know, what, if I want to be here, I’m going to, I’m going to go ahead and I’m going to use the system against itself. So, okay, I’m going to be here. You will pay for my education. I’m going to better myself while I’m here. I’m not going to, you know, be depressed and be in this, this slump of a mind state and existence of being No, I want to better myself and come out with a vengeance to succeed and be a better version of Rahim. Rahim, 2.0
Michael Hingson ** 21:48
Did you? Did you ever go into college after you got out of the penitentiary and all that?
RaHeem Lindsey ** 21:53
Absolutely, yes, I did. I did not finish, not because I could not, not because I didn’t have the intellect, just simply I didn’t have the motivation to stay in tune with it, because and now seeing Hindsight is 2020, it wasn’t my purpose. Wasn’t connected to my purpose, added value to who I am. It helped me to find my purpose, but it wasn’t my purpose. So I ended up going to college for Business Administration for a little under a year, Phoenix University, online, okay? And then another time I went for personal training. I’ve always been a fitness head, so forth and so on. So I love you know, to have, you know, a good overall health, along with, you know, a good mindset, so forth, mind, body, spirit, right,
Michael Hingson ** 22:47
right. So what did you do then, from a job or profession standpoint, to support yourself?
RaHeem Lindsey ** 22:57
Okay? So throughout those times, a lot of times, I delved in sales. I’m very much a people person, so being a store manager at one point in time of GNC, okay, telemarketing, oh, my God, an array of things usually having to do with retail. Because, like I said, once again, I’m very much a people person. I’m an introvert, but I’m a, I mean, I’m an extrovert, but I’m an introvert. When it comes to my issues, I don’t share a lot of my issues with
Michael Hingson ** 23:31
individuals. That’s fine. Okay, so you did, you did a lot of sales, and yes, and I think that’s a very honorable profession, having been in sales for many years in my life as well. Okay, what did sales teach you? What did what did you? How did it help you grow as an individual?
RaHeem Lindsey ** 23:54
Sales taught me how to be a great consumer. Because in order to be a great salesman, you need to consume the needs of others. What’s why, who, when, where. I love that I will, I will say in part, I learned from GNC, because when you’re trying to sell, I don’t sell. I like to build relationships and a rapport. So henceforth, once again, the who, what, who, what, why, when, where. Why are you doing these things? What are you doing this for? When do you plan on achieving the goal that you want? Etc, etc. So being a great consumer helps you to be a great salesman, because then you make it personal when you ask these questions.
Michael Hingson ** 24:48
Well, yeah. And you also learn how to be a good communicator if you’re doing a decent job,
RaHeem Lindsey ** 24:55
yes, as well, absolutely.
Michael Hingson ** 25:00
I unexpectedly ended up going into sales, but I’ve learned those same basic tenants and those same basic things. And the reality is, you learn to be a good communicator, and you also learn that ultimately, good sales people really don’t sell anything. First of all, the customers really got to want to buy it. And the good sales people guide customers to find what it is they really need. And I know I’ve had situations where my product wouldn’t do what the customer wanted, and the last thing I would want to do would be to and I probably could have done it, convince them to buy my product anyway, even though it might not do everything, because I knew that come back to bite me.
RaHeem Lindsey ** 25:46
Yes, absolutely. Michael, I so concur. Um, touching on that real quick. So exactly the same thing with me, right? I would never sell a individual on something just because it was the item of the week, so to speak, right? We would have conference calls, and so we have, you know, one item, maybe two items, for the week that were the main point of sale, make sure that we’re pushing this item to each and every customer, while I would offer that I was more in tune and cared about what they needed and what they wanted. So those questions we spoke about briefly here just a moment ago. And so by doing that, as you said, you develop a rapport and trust. They trust you now because they know that you’re just you’re just not going to give them any product, sell them any product just for the sake of the monetary gain, but we want you to get what you truly need. We want to make sure that your needs are met, and so they’ll come back. And that’s how you establish, you know, long term Jeopardy and long term relationships with customers, and then customers become friends clients, and there you have it, and that’s how you know, you establish it and build from there. Absolutely what you said.
Michael Hingson ** 27:09
Did you ever have situations where your boss is wanting you to sell a product and you knew that it wasn’t going to be what a particular customer wanted? Did you ever have some discussions or conversations with your bosses about that kind of thing.
RaHeem Lindsey ** 27:24
Did I ever have a conversation with them about that indirect, indirectly, that usually it went over well, once again, it’s not about what you say, but it’s how you say it, right? Michael, so I would say, what ifs what if I have a customer that is not in need of this particular product, but I mentioned it to them, so I’m still doing my job, right? I’m still doing as directed by the superiors. So I’m asking, What do you think about this product? Now, here’s the funny thing, though, when we’re dealing with, you know, GNC, right? So it’s vitamins. There’s a lot of things that compliment the other so sometimes, while not really pushing that specifically, I would say, hey, based upon your needs. I recommend this, but just so happens only if it was applicable, this product here will enhance your will enhance the results that you’re looking for. And so I would present that to my superiors, my manager, because I was a store manager myself at my own store. So I would present that to them, and they would say, okay, Raheem, Hey, as long as you’re, you know, mentioning the product, and you are pushing the product, to some extent, that’s fine, okay, so that ended up working out for me, right?
Michael Hingson ** 29:03
So how long did you sell for? GNC?
RaHeem Lindsey ** 29:06
Ah, GNC, I sold for a little over a year. I enjoyed that. That’s one of my favorite jobs. One of my most favorite jobs that I’ve ever had was GNC, just being able to serve. Being able to serve Michael is my thing. I find myself when I’m not able to serve others, I’m not content, right? I’m not I don’t feel miserable at times, because I really live to serve. I have the heart of a servant.
Michael Hingson ** 29:41
So what did you do after GNC?
RaHeem Lindsey ** 29:43
After GNC, let’s see here, after GNC, I was in restaurant for a minute. Worked at Five Guys Burgers as a store manager there. Also I’m an entrepreneur. I started. In a fried ice cream business? Yes, absolutely. So fried ice cream the first of its kind, right? Ever put into pints and gallons? Okay, so I started that myself back in 2017 the funny way that that even came about was I had lost my job building house trusts. Okay, so I’ve also done construction, which I’m in now. Currently, I do construction. I do concrete right now, but in this season of time, at the age that I am, I’ll be 44 in August, everything is about purpose. Everything is about purpose. And I feel the Lord definitely pulling me more into that direction and being more in tune with that. So henceforth, opportunities like this to be on this podcast, this is in alignment with purpose. But anyhow, so 2017 I started the ice cream. I fried ice cream led me into being into retail for myself. I was in the mall twice. I had a few partnerships with a few local restaurants and so forth and so on. I was supposed to be on food, carnival foods, but I ended up missing that. I had a Oh my God, has some meaning of some sort. I end up missing that. So I fried ice cream was actually supposed to be on Carnival foods on Food Network. So we make quite a bit of feats and accomplishments with that. So there’s that. And then I’ve also, like I said, the construction, telemarketing, my gosh, what else have I done? Probably more sales. And like I said, most recent, I’m in concrete construction. I’ve been doing that over the last three years, and so that kind of brings you to current but I’m kind of growing quite weary of it, just because I know that I have a story, I have a message. There’s some things that God has put on my heart to teach as a minister, as a servant, as an evangelist, so many things that that that wrap up and make up Raheem, I don’t put one title on myself, because the Lord has allowed Me and enabled me to be many things due to what I’ve endured throughout my life, has given me that, you know, variation of existence.
Michael Hingson ** 32:31
So, so tell me more about what you’re looking at in terms of being an evangelist and so on, what you’re what you’re moving toward, and what you think you’re
RaHeem Lindsey ** 32:40
going to do. So Well, I’ll say, you know, right now, over the last, oh, my god, probably see three, three going, Whoa. No, four years. Let’s say four years. Online ministry has been my go to my YouTube channel. Very much, relentless living online ministries where, you know, I do reels, so forth and so on. Really wanting to, I want to do much more than just give a word, but in today’s society, you kind of draw them in more with the short term, you know, short term memory is very, very dominant anymore. We’re not as much as consumers as we once were. And I think that’s just due to the the way of, you know, the AIS and technology and so forth. It’s made mankind a bit lazy if you let, if you let. Now, it’s also very innovative and creative. And it challenges us to go further in our you know, our mindset, our cerebral capacity and so forth. So it can make you lazy if you allow it. By the same time, it can challenge you and allow you to express yourself in new ways and insight and creativity if you let it, such as myself, yourself, others, etc. So, but just you know, teaching others how to understand the word more, also giving, showing truth and Revelation through the word that applies to your everyday life, that will inspire, that will encourage and edify you, and then also helping you to be able to build business from it, which I’ve done and and and coaching and things of that nature. It’s such a variation of it, but all stemming from what I shared earlier, which is, well, I didn’t completely share, but I like to call it my relentless living pyramid. And the base of it is being a consumer. The middle of it servant in the peak is leadership, being a leader, but the most important is being a great consumer, because in order to be a great leader, he was first be a great consumer. Take in the needs, evaluate the. Needs of others. Do an assessment, if you will, right. And then, based upon that, we can better serve who are. Demographic is our tribe is right. And then, as we prove ourselves, we develop a rapport, friendships, so forth and so on. And now there’s trust, and when there’s trust, people allow you to lead them. And then, in order to remain a great leader, I like to call a servant leader, because the greatest leaders are servant leaders, because a great leader has to be a servant to remain a leader. And so you repeat that process in order to remain relevant, whether it’s in marriage, business school, you name it, the relentless living pyramid applies for every facet of life. So in that space alone allows me I see myself speaking engagements, coaching, leadership, development. There’s so much that comes from that space and that pyramid, because it applies to everything. And I’ve been through a lot, if I haven’t been through it myself. Personally, I know someone close to me who has so that’s the great thing about acknowledging and knowing from what you’ve come from and not despising it, but instead seeing that as a vehicle of momentum, as long as you have changed and learn from your mistakes, right to become better, that is actually added value, because now you can teach others where you did not fail at because you got through it. So remember that God brings you to it. To bring you through it, the storm that you face today is not to kill you. It’s not to stop you, but it’s meant to propel you. Because you are eagles. We are eagles. Eagles fly a fly with the storm. They fly towards the storm and use the momentum of the storm to carry them into the next destiny, step, destination for us, purpose. So do not see the storm as a opposition. See it as a opportunity for growth, development, pruning so
Michael Hingson ** 37:26
you you emphasize faith a lot. Yes, tell me. Tell me more about faith and what how you define it. And another question I would ask is, what role do you believe that faith plays in discovering your purpose? Okay? A lot of questions
RaHeem Lindsey ** 37:44
there. Okay, okay, okay, yes, absolutely, okay. I’ll start the last one because that because I remember that one best. So okay, what role does faith play in finding purpose? Correct? Michael, yeah, okay, so I’ll start with this. I guess maybe I could call it my mantra for relentless living ministries. And this will sum it up. And then I will go into more in depth, live in pursuit of your God given purpose, and then you will find life and life more abundantly. But how do you find your purpose? Okay, so how do you find your purpose? I want to start here. I believe you for myself speaking, I believe you have to incorporate God, because how can you find purpose if you do not include the One who created you with a purpose for himself, I believe is the purpose. So now further going, going even more in depth, finding purpose, going through the obstacles, going through the storms. So me going through being in the system as a adult, a young adult, me going through being in the foster care system as a child. Me going through being beaten and molested. Me going through being the black sheep of the family. Me going through at times, being deserted, okay, sometimes not being liked, not because of who I am, but because of who I am, because of a light that is in me, because of my faith, because of my belief, right? So being facing the facing the trials and the tribulations. Each and everything that you face and that you overcome helps establish you into walking into your divine purpose. I believe that your divine purpose is based upon everything that you have overcome, because most of us, and matter of fact, I can almost guarantee all of us in some way, shape or form, what we have gone through has helped shape our future. It’s inevitable what we go through helps to shape our future. That’s why decisions are so important. The decisions that we make today will affect our tomorrow. So everything that I’ve gone through in my past has. Purposed me to be able to help those that are in the same situation that I face, to help them overcome. Like I said, What nearly killed us will nearly kill the individuals that will be watching this podcast that they’ve endured, the trials, the hardship carrying their own cross, if you will. But yet they survive. Yet they’re victorious. It’s a reason why you’re victorious. So you have to become what you were meant to say. So to speak for those that are you know men and women of faith, everybody knows Jesus, our Lord and Savior. Okay, I’ll just go. I’m just going to go here. Scripture says, He who was, I’m sorry, He who knew no sin became sin. You have to become what you want to overcome. You have to go through what you are meant to overcome. Because if you don’t endure it, you can’t overcome it. There is no testimony without the test going here, being chosen, right? And being chosen, I believe, is part of purpose, because you’re chosen for a something we’re chosen for a someone you know in marriage, right? There’s a someone we’re chosen for that we choose, they choose us. So everyone wants to be chosen. Everyone wants to be the one, until they find out how much it cost, because to be chosen, it will cost you something, and it will cost you everything. To be chosen, it’s cost you a lot, Michael, to be the man who you are today. It didn’t just drop off the sky to you. Wasn’t just fed to you. You had to endure some things, some hardships, some struggles, but you turned them into opportunities. Nonetheless. This is why you stand here today as the strong man that you are, because you never gave up. You remained relentless in the face of adversity.
Michael Hingson ** 42:04
So how do people learn to recognize that, and learn to recognize whether they’re making the right choices?
RaHeem Lindsey ** 42:12
Okay, great question. So how do people learn to recognize that? I think the recognition is easy when we take ourselves out of the equation, and we look at it from a broader scope. And stop looking at why me, like in the, in the in the in the victim perspective, and think, Why me so the why me. The second why me is, why am I enduring this? There has to be a reason for this. Now, some things are self inflicted, and some things happen. Life happens. But even within that, there’s always a lesson to be learned. Always lesson to be learned if we want to evolve now the lessons there, whether we like it or not, but we have to choose to want to see it, or we can be naive and we can neglect the fact that this has happened, and we can play the victim in every world and every role. Or we can choose to see that, hey, I’m victorious. I did overcome this, whether it’s self inflicted or just life happened. But the easy way to know about these things are, I think every experience will increase the knowledge of the knowing.
Michael Hingson ** 43:33
But what I’m getting at, I think, is that in reality, until you are willing to stop and analyze and look at what you’re doing, look at what’s happened, look at why it’s happened, and listen to your inner voice, if you will. Yes, that guides you until you’re willing to do all of that, it’s really very difficult to find out what your purpose ought to be or how you should proceed, and that’s the thing that most people don’t do, is take the time to be self analytical.
RaHeem Lindsey ** 44:10
Come on, absolutely. Michael, I agree 100% Absolutely. We don’t take the time to be self analytical, and that it takes, it takes courage to do that, because sometimes we don’t want to look at the reflection that’s in the mirror. We brother, you know, cast the, you know, the judgment or the the you know, it’s someone else’s fault, play someone else at fault, the situation’s fault. Oh, you know, I’m always, you know, the innocent one, but yet, at most times, if we’re really honest with ourselves, we are our own worst enemy, and it’s very unfortunate, and so that’s why it’s very necessary to confront ourselves on a daily basis and hold ourselves accountable. It so that we can have positive growth and development, because where there’s accountability, there’s also confrontation, whether it’s with yourself or can be with others. Now, confrontation is good. There’s good confrontation and bad confrontation, but ultimately, confrontation is good, because confrontation there has to be something confronted, and so something is a dress, then we cannot, we can’t cover we can’t we can’t address it unless it’s been spoken of, unless it’s been, you know, brung up, right? We have to address it. So with that comes, you know, the accountability, and so accountability requires being uncomfortable
Michael Hingson ** 45:52
Well, or it requires that you recognize that there are lessons to be learned Absolutely, and you go out and recognize that you’re going to be your best teacher and that you need to learn them. How do people overcome self doubt when they’re when they’re going through life and so on? How do you how do you get beyond all the self doubt? I think we’ve talked about it some, but, you know, I’m curious to see if you want to add
RaHeem Lindsey ** 46:17
to that absolutely, I’d love to Michael, so overcoming self doubt at some point in time in life, and there’s been a few times, for every single individual, you have overcame something that you thought was nearly impossible, because if you, if you didn’t, each and every one of us wouldn’t be where we are today. Now. We could all be, obviously, maybe doing a bit better, but could always be a lot worse. So we discover so I lost print thought, repeat that one more time. I’m so sorry, Michael.
Michael Hingson ** 46:55
I was just asking how people deal with and how do you overcome self doubt to be able to advance and move forward.
RaHeem Lindsey ** 47:01
Okay, so overcome this self doubt. Remember that you know what. I have to go. I have to go here. I have to go here. Greater is He that is in you than he that is in the world? This is how I help myself, and I hope that it helps all of us. It will help all of us say that once more, Greater is He that is in you than he that is in the world? Okay? So you get some people, may, you know, it might be the inner voice for me, it’s God, Jesus, you know, he’s the wrong. Same thing, okay, same thing, right? What does the inner voice say about you? What does God say about you? You are fearfully and wonderfully made in God’s image. See the this thing here, the flesh, the carnality, will always feed you the lies, because you’ll always see just what is in front of you. But the inner voice is what gives you vision, right? So when you have vision, when you’re looking outside the physical parameter of things, you see the greater, okay? And you want to see yourself by the inside voice. The inside voice says that you’re perfectly, wonderfully made the image of God through Christ, Jesus. You can do all things. You are great. You are amazing. You are wonderful. These things, you are the you are the victor, no longer the victim. Okay, you are the head, not the tail. These are the things, the positive things that are truth, that are said about you, said about me, each and every one of us. So when we learn to see beyond the present circumstance and remember this, it’s not always what it looks like, especially when it comes to yourself. Anything that is that is opposite of the positive things that have been spoken of you, that you know about yourself, even is a lie of the enemy. So you have to be willing to know the truth, willing to walk by faith and not by sight. I will add this in, for faith comes by hearing and hearing the Word of God. Faith. Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. So you may have been the drug addict, you may have been the the alcoholic, but I see you as the doctor, as the lawyer, as the nurse, as the store manager, so forth and so on. We have to feed ourselves with the positivity, but the knowing who you are, for me comes from the word. It’s times I struggle with myself. I’m like, I don’t think I’m the greatest person in the world, but then I have to go back and I reflect. I go back to the world. What does God say about rain? What does God say about you? That’s the truth, not the lies that the world may spill upon you and try to demonize your name and slander your reputation, assassinate your character, not those things. Things that might have happened, but you are not that. So seeing the greater in you for me and that will share with anyone that I have the opportunity to encounter you, got to go back to what the inner says about you, the inner self, because the inner you is great, despite what you may go through on the exterior and what is inside will soon come outside. It will reflect
Michael Hingson ** 50:29
you mentioned earlier, the whole concept of being a servant leader. What is a servant leader?
RaHeem Lindsey ** 50:34
A servant leader? A servant leader is one who, obviously, they I see them as being an empath of some extent. I think a great leader has to be empathetic. Because I believe you have to be empathetic in order to want to solve one’s needs, to care about their needs. Now it’s one thing just to be in business, and this is what separates a servant leader from a leader. A leader may be great and sells the sofa and so on right, and they’re leading. But do they care? Are they gathering the Intel of the consumers because of a want and a desire to change lives and to help others. So you have to be a great servant in order to be that great leader. And when you’re a great servant leader, you serve based upon the needs of others, and that brings life into you. By giving life unto others by fulfilling their needs. You find your need being met, and you develop that trust and that relationship, and then you leave. But you lead, not only to have that title, forget the title. It’s not about the title, but you’re led because you’re called to lead, because the people trust you and you have been enabled to and you have the insight to based upon being a great consumer, and you want to serve others, you have to be a servant. So consumer servant leadership, once again, the pyramid kind of sums that up and gives you, you know, a synopsis of that. How you know being a great servant leader. They have to be all those things, consumer, servant leader, servant leader, and then repeat, in order to remain relevant, it can never be about you. To be a great leader, it can never be about you. It has to be about the people whom you’re serving. Because the moment it becomes about you, it becomes singular. And if you’re only there to help self, guess what? At some point in time, you may run out of needs, but when you’re serving the capacity of many, there is always a need to be met, and not only that, you’re operating in purpose. So I like to share with people this, this, this, this train of thought, if you will. Everyone’s always, you know, concerned about financials, right? Money, right? Not me, it’s purpose. Because if you chase purpose, the money will follow chase your purpose. Because here’s the thing, as scripture says, I’ll go here once again, money answereth all things, not something people may say initially and whatnot, oh my god, money, money, money, right for those that are, you know, you know, into the word things like that, right, as myself, sometimes we get it misconstrued and say, Well, money is evil. No, it’s not. It depends on whose hands it’s in. The word says the love of money is the root of all evil. The love when you love the money over the inner voice over God so forth, then it’s the root of all evil, because people will do anything for money. But when you’re operating on purpose, you’re on divine assignment, it’s bigger than you, and so money answers all things, right? But what happens when it’s singular? It’s just you. There’s only so many needs one person can have, so there’s no longer a call for the money to answer. And this is kind of a illustration, a parable, if you will. You know, you pick up the phone, it’s because someone called Money answers all things. So there has to be a call in order for the money to answer, being a need the call a need for money to answer. But what happens when all your needs are answered as a one individual? It’s done, but when you’re operating out of purpose, your purpose outlives you. Purpose creates legacy, and purpose helps fulfill others other than yourself, so you’re constantly on assignment, so therefore you always stay in motion.
Michael Hingson ** 54:48
So how do you balance personal ambition and serving others?
RaHeem Lindsey ** 54:54
Personal ambition and serving others? Wonderful question. Michael, personal ambition. And serving others, because it’s it’s why, it’s why I’m here. It’s my assignment, Michael, it’s my purpose in life. As I mentioned earlier, I literally I feel terrible when I’m not able to help others. I’d much rather give than receive any day, because I’ve been through so much, and I know what it’s like to need and others have the wrong perspective of you and not want to help you based upon what somebody else has said. And it’s the wrong narrative, it’s the wrong story, it’s a lie. And then some things may be a bit true. There’s some things that, oh, well, yeah, that that is true, but I’m not that. I’m not the individual anymore. That was, that was a mistake that I made, but it does not define me. I know it’s like to be misunderstood. I know what it’s like to be in need. That’s why it’s so good that I have went through and endured everything that I have in my life because it’s made me appreciative of help when it comes, and it’s given me such a capacity with the void that has been left in me because of what I have endured to want to help others, that that’s that’s my purpose. It may it makes when I, when I, when I have a chance to speak unto other people. I speak life unto them. If I have the opportunity to help somebody financially, it’s, it’s my pleasure, it’s, it’s a duty, because I know it’s my assignment. Based upon everything that Rahim has went through. I went through and experienced homelessness. I’ve, I’ve had a mother that was addicted to hardcore drugs. I’ve been in the system, both incarceration and as a child, you know, being in the foster care and so forth. I’ve endured all these things. So it’s given me a heart for people that are in the same situations. So it’s not too many people you know that themselves or don’t know somebody directly close to them, that hasn’t been incarcerated, that hasn’t been a victim of something in the system as a child, that hasn’t had a close loved one, that’s battled an addiction, if not yourself, that hasn’t went through homelessness, that hasn’t been, you know, rejected by the family, you know, a black sheep or whatever have you, that you know all those things and some so I remember what it’s like, and some of those things I still endure. And I’m like, all I want to do is to help and to love and to serve. If I do nothing else in life, I’m good with that. I’m fine with that, because I know that’s my purpose. Well, oh, go ahead, yes and yeah, go ahead and so just just just knowing that. Like I said, You know what you go through life, ladies and gentlemen, what you go through in life, pay close attention. Hindsight is 2020. That is a part of your purpose, what you overcame. I promise you a lot of people, how do I find purpose? How do I find purpose? It’s not as hard as we make it, and I can probably deny and I share this with so many people, and they you’re absolutely right, and if it doesn’t lead directly, if it doesn’t define purpose for you, it helps lead you to your purpose. So don’t despise anything that you grow through. But yet, please, learn from it. Learn from it and gain insight.
Michael Hingson ** 58:38
How do you think one can cultivate a let me, yeah, how do you think that one can cultivate a servant leadership mindset in their lives?
RaHeem Lindsey ** 58:52
By I would say by first, you can’t it can’t be about self. You can’t be about self. Now we’ll say this, okay, and it’s not contradictory, if you, if you take it in the right state of mind, okay, and get what I’m saying, what I’m not saying, you have to be able to help yourself before you can help someone else, because you cannot pour from an empty cup. But knowing that what’s in the cup is for you, in the overflow of whatever it may be, your anointing, your finances, your time, your energy, your space, the overflow, once your needs are met, it’s for others. So there’s a time to think about self initially, because you have to work and develop yourself, you have to fill yourself so that you have something to give. But then once those need once the need is met. So I guess next would be, when is the need met? Well, let’s put it in this kind of illustration. Let’s say you’ve got rent, right? Right? It’s going to this something everybody can relate to. You got rent, or you got your mortgage. The mortgage is paid, right? The the electrics paid, but you got an exceedingly, you know, amount of of financials left after that. Now you have to be wise. Always exercise wisdom, right? But after that, okay, well, I’m good. My needs met. You know, I’ve got clothes on my back. You know, there’s gas in the car, etc, etc, whatever. Now it is not good for you to hold because God gives seed to the giver. I mean seed to the sower. You see, if you hold what you have in your hand, once again, dealing with singular possessiveness, right? It stays there. It goes no farther than where you set your feet. But the moment you open up your hand, what do you have in your hand? What do you have in your hand? And you spread it and you then it multiplies, right? It multiplies. So it cannot be just about you. We have to get out of the the self mindset? But know that, yes, you have to be able to help yourself before you can help others. Once again, you can’t pour from empty cup. But after that, remove self from it and realize that everything that you’ve gotten, everything that you have obtained, is by the grace of God, that’s simply what you’ve done. Because some things, I’m quite sure, if you look back, how in the world did I do that? And someone helped you, like I said, we cannot be great by ourselves. So it takes a community. It takes individuals. It takes a unit in unity, right? So how to go about that? We move self out the equation and think, How can I serve in a capacity where I have been afflicted in my life, where I overcame, because if you’re a decent human being, by my beliefs, you will have a void in your heart, a concern in your heart, and you’re drawn towards individuals who are going through what you went through, because you remember what it was like. I wish I had someone who would have understood. I wish I had someone that have spoken a kind word to me, said, I love you when I needed it most, instead of turn their back on me, instead of opposed me, I wish someone would have lended a hand when I was short on the rent, short on the electricity bill, and yes, I was doing everything that I could. So Wow. To reflect back on those things, should give you a heart of gratitude, because obviously you were able, you were able to overcome it by some way. Someone gave you a hand. Somebody, everybody’s had somebody help them. And so you may have more rejections than the help. And so the thing
Michael Hingson ** 1:03:00
yes please. And so the thing to do is to pay it forward. Pay it
RaHeem Lindsey ** 1:03:04
forward, simply put, Michael, yes, I’m sorry. I’m long winded at times.
Michael Hingson ** 1:03:10
Well, I hear you and I understand and I appreciate all the things that you’ve said. If people want to reach out to you, how do they do that?
RaHeem Lindsey ** 1:03:18
You can reach out to me there’s I’ll start with email. That’s Raheem Lindsey, 80 one@gmail.com
1:03:29
spell that for me, if you would. That’s K, A,
RaHeem Lindsey ** 1:03:33
H, E, E, M, as in man Lindsey, L I, N, D, S, e, y, 80 one@gmail.com Raheem Lindsey, 80 one@gmail.com Okay, and then, and you can reach out to me for you know, whatever speak, counsel, leadership, whatever it may be. Then also, I have my YouTube channel, relentless living online ministries. It is exactly that relentless living International Ministries on YouTube, you’ll see this gorgeous face here.
Michael Hingson ** 1:04:13
Okay, so the name of the channel, again, is relentless living. Relentless living, yes,
RaHeem Lindsey ** 1:04:19
okay, yep. Relentless living ministries on YouTube. And so, yeah, I have those two things there. And, you know, if need further, then, you know, I’m always free, you know, to, you know, give out my contact, you know, which is more than more than more than welcome to utilize. I have no problem with that as well.
Michael Hingson ** 1:04:40
Well, I want to thank you for being here and giving people a lot of insight. I hope people will take it to heart. I’ve always been a great fan of the whole concept of servant leadership. I think it’s extremely important. And I think any good leader is or should be, a servant leader. Otherwise you’re. Are missing a lot of the dimensions of what leadership is all about. So I want to thank you for being here, and I want to thank everyone who was listening today for being here. Love to hear from you. Love your thoughts. Please email me at Michael H i@accessibe.com accessibe is spelled A, C, C, E, S, S, I, B, E, so it’s Michael M, I, C, H, A, E, L, H, i@accessibe.com, and wherever you’re listening, please give us a five star review for the podcast episode. We love it, we appreciate it, and we really do value all that you have to say to us and about us. If you know anyone who ought to be a guest on the podcast, and Rahim as well. For you, if you know anyone else who ought to be a guest, we’d love to hear from you, or please give us an introduction to anyone who you think ought to be a guest. We’re always looking for people, because I think everyone has a story to tell. And the reality is, as Rahim is so greatly demonstrated today, we can deal with whatever circumstances come along, but it’s our choice to make, to deal with things, and we can choose to do it or not that is up to us. Absolutely. We can listen to God or not, that is up to us. So thank you again, everyone for being here. And Rahim, I want to thank you once more for being here. This has been wonderful,
RaHeem Lindsey ** 1:06:21
absolute pleasure. Michael, I just, I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart, once again, complete honor. I’ve enjoyed just your your your intellect, your wisdom and the Great, the great questions that you’ve asked may for, I think, a great podcast session as many others before me as I’ve had the privilege of watching, so I just I thank you. God. Bless you, and continue doing what you’re doing, being an inspiration, a great servant leader and just innovation to many an inspiration and motivation.
**Michael Hingson ** 1:07:00
You have been listening to the Unstoppable Mindset podcast. Thanks for dropping by. I hope that you’ll join us again next week, and in future weeks for upcoming episodes. To subscribe to our podcast and to learn about upcoming episodes, please visit www dot Michael hingson.com slash podcast. Michael Hingson is spelled m i c h a e l h i n g s o n. While you’re on the site., please use the form there to recommend people who we ought to interview in upcoming editions of the show. And also, we ask you and urge you to invite your friends to join us in the future. If you know of any one or any organization needing a speaker for an event, please email me at speaker at Michael hingson.com. I appreciate it very much. To learn more about the concept of blinded by fear, please visit www dot Michael hingson.com forward slash blinded by fear and while you’re there, feel free to pick up a copy of my free eBook entitled blinded by fear. The unstoppable mindset podcast is provided by access cast an initiative of accessiBe and is sponsored by accessiBe. Please visit www.accessibe.com . AccessiBe is spelled a c c e s s i b e. There you can learn all about how you can make your website inclusive for all persons with disabilities and how you can help make the internet fully inclusive by 2025. Thanks again for Listening. Please come back and visit us again next week.