Mick Unplugged - Pastor Keion Henderson: When Your Flaws Become Your Superpower

Episode Date: June 30, 2025

What if the key to transformation isn't finding your "why" but discovering your "because"? Pastor Keion Henderson delivers this game-changing perspective in an unforgettable conversation that cuts straight to the core of authentic leadership and personal growth. "I do it because I was born to," Pastor Keion reveals, sharing how this simple yet profound realization shaped his leadership journey. Unlike your "why" (your family, friends, community), your "because" is the divine purpose encoded in your very design—it's what you're built for, just as planes are built to fly and cars to drive. This distinction becomes a foundation for living with greater authenticity and confidence, even through doubt and struggle. The conversation takes a powerful turn when addressing the perfectionism that plagues so many high-achievers. Pastor Keion brilliantly articulates the battle between ego and effectiveness: "The ego says you would have been better if you said what you thought. Effective says you said what you said and it worked." This liberating perspective helps leaders trust that what emerges from a prepared soul is enough—preparation doesn't guarantee perfection, but it enables impact. Most revolutionary is Pastor Keion's insight that "problems can't be solved by the same mindset that created them"—a principle that host Mick credits with quadrupling his business. This philosophy, explored in Pastor Keyon's book "The Shift," challenges listeners to continually evolve their thinking, recognizing that what brought you to your current level won't take you to the next one. The conversation also previews his newest book "Lazy Love," which examines how our past experiences shape our capacity to love effectively. Whether you're looking to transform your business, improve your relationships, or discover your divine purpose, this episode provides practical wisdom for embracing imperfection, shifting mindsets, and recognizing that your greatest impact might come not just from your successes but from how you've navigated your failures. Your "because" is waiting to be unleashed—and it might just be your greatest superpower. Connect & Discover Pastor Keion: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/pastorkeion/?hl=en Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/pastorkeion/ YouTube:https://www.youtube.com/@KeionHendersonTV TikTok:https://www.tiktok.com/@iampastorkeion?lang=en Book:The Shift FOLLOW MICK ON: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mickunplugged/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mickunplugged/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@MickUnpluggedPodcast LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mickhunt/ Website: https://www.mickhuntofficial.com Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/mick-unplugged/

The ego says that you would have been better if you said what you thought Effective says you said what you said and it worked Ego makes you try to backtrack to go grab words that you didn't use and effectiveness said you were enough in the moment And so it's an internal battle that you have to recognize Welcome to Mick unplugged the number one podcast for self-improvement, leadership and relentless growth. No fluff, no filters, just heart-hitting truths, unstoppable strategies, and the mindset shifts that separate the best from the rest.

Ready to break limits? Let's go. Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to another exciting episode of Mick Unplugged. And today we have something very special for you. There are voices that motivate and then there are voices that move your soul. He's turned pain into purpose and led a generation into transformation. He's not just preaching change. He's living it and he's living the shift. Join me in welcoming my pastor, Pastor Keon Henderson. Pastor Keon, how you doing today?

It's such an honor to be here with you. How are you today? Man, I am the honored one. I am so glad that you took time out of your crazy busy schedule. I know that there are, I would say thousands, but there are millions that you personally touch, but I know that you've got your hands on the people that are close to you. So again, just thank you for taking the time with us today. You know, somebody told me yesterday and I don't, you know, I don't know if it's true. He said, you know, one of the things that I admire most about you, he says,

you could be in a room full of people, but you make the person that you're talking to feel like they're the only person in the room. And I looked at him and I said, that's because at that moment they are right. The only person that matters is the person that you're giving your attention to. So, you know, thank God for the thousands of people or hundreds of thousands of millions, as you say, but for now, my job is to serve you and to serve the people that you have influence with through you. So thank you for allowing me to be here with you.

I appreciate that more than you know, definitely more than you know. You know, Pastor Keeyon, on Mick Unplugged, I like to talk about your because, that thing that's deeper than your why. I call it like your true purpose, right? Like everybody has a why or multiple why's and I could probably guess right? Your spouse, your kids, your family, your friends are probably your why. But for you internally, there's a because there's a reason that they're your why. So for you, Pastor Kiyama, with all the things that you do and in your involvement, what's your because?

I think that's probably one of the best questions I've ever asked and I have been asked and I've never heard that before. I've never heard of because. I do it because I was born to. Like I don't have any other option. And that's the truth. Like I have tried not to do it. I have said I

wasn't gonna do it. I tried to run away from doing it. I convinced myself I wasn't good at doing it and I keep doing it because I'm supposed to. Because I was born to. Because I was created to. And I think that the because is a reflection of the purpose that you were divinely given. And you do it because you were designed to do it. Why do cars drive? Because that's the ability they've been given. Why do planes fly? Because that's the ability they've been given.

Why do dogs bark? Because they can. I do it because I can. And there are some things I don't do because I can't. So I do it because I can. And I think that that's something I'm gonna put in my repertoire as a way of encouraging and motivating myself like you do this because,

and I'm gonna fill in the bank. Hey, that's how I built the foundation of my life. And I always tell people I'm nothing but a 10 year old boy who made a promise to his mom to change her life and then impact my siblings' lives. And because of the promise that I will always keep, that's why I do what I do, man.

And so I love and appreciate your take on your because and you stating it, because to me that is genuinely who you are. And the way that you so eloquently described your because is one of the reasons why I'm always live streaming or following or watching all the things that you do because you have this unique superpower, Pastor Kion. I don't know if anybody's told you this.

You have this unique superpower, and it probably goes back to your always being with the one to relate to everybody and to communicate on the level that they need to be communicated on. You have this superpower that I know you can talk literally to everyone, but not just talk, but then impact them. When did you know that that was you and a gift that you have? Probably around 14 years old. And it's crazy you said that because my my ninth grade basketball coach, his name was Mr. Ronnie Edmonds. And he told me that when I was 14, and he

made me the captain of our basketball team. But here's the thing about it. I ended up playing division one college basketball, but I started out on the freshman B team So I wasn't I wasn't even a starter. Yeah, I was on the bitch for the B team Hmm, and I was the captain So that doesn't make sense, right? So you're the captain of the team that you don't play in the game for. I wasn't good enough to get in the game. And he said, but I need you to pray before every game and I need you to lead these guys.

And eventually that leadership led me to being a starter on a division one basketball team and being the captain. And so I learned it at 14 because somebody told me that they saw it in me. And here's the big idea or the thesis that I think that comes out of the question, is that you don't know who you are because you are who you are. You know who you are because people

start to tell you who you are. I think that greatness is discovered by the friction that happens between people rubbing up against each other. And you'll know you're great because you don't have to tell anybody you are somebody will tell you, hey, my life changed when you found your because right when you started to operate in the thing that you do. So I found it out at 14. But here's the thing, Mick, I doubted it until recently. But, man, people don't believe me. Sometimes I leave the pulpit and say,

oh, that was so horrible. I could think of 5,000 things I could have said. Why did you rush through that? Why didn't you take your time? Why didn't you think deeper about that? And then somebody like you will come up to me and say, man, that's the best sermon I've ever heard in my life. It changed.

And I'm like, what? No. Because I think that when you're good at something, you're probably the last person to know it, if you operate in humility. I think when you find out first, that's called pride. So I found out at 14, doubted it until recently, and now I'm settling into, you know what? I can do this.

I can do this. If I stay prayed up, if I stay humble, if I keep studying, if I keep caring about people, if I don't allow light to become my reality, if I don't allow light to become my reality, if I don't allow applause to make me high or rejection to make me low, because I give both, then I can do this. And I think that when you do it for people and you don't do it for yourself, that why and that because come together, it makes magic.

And you talk to me today, that because come together, it makes magic. And you taught me something today, that because is gonna stay, listen, you're gonna hear me say that on the stream and Mick, I'm gonna give you credit the first time. I'm gonna say the first time I'm gonna say, my buddy Mick said, you gotta have a because. The second time I said, I'm gonna say,

you know, I heard somewhere before that you gotta have a because. The third time I said, I'm gonna say, when the Lord laid it on my heart. That's the trajectory of revelation. You told me, I heard it somewhere before God told me. Hey, that's how it works, right? That is totally how it works.

Man, so you just brought up something and it's an internal conflict for me, right? Like I work with leaders, right? You are a leader and you also coach other leaders as well. One of the conflicts I have is perfection, just like you. You're just like, man, there were 20 things I should have done differently. And if I would have just said this and I can't go back and do it, but I sometimes hurt myself in perfection that it either becomes a stumbling block

or I don't accept how good something actually was until like you said, someone tells you, man, that was awesome. But I'm still, even when they tell me that was awesome, I'm like, but you don't know the speech I had in my head. You don't know what it was supposed to be like. How do you, one, internally deal with that because I need you to coach me on that.

And then two, how do you coach others about you don't have to be perfect every time? Yeah, so I've learned that there is a difference between ego and effective. The ego says that you would have been better if you said what you thought. Effective says you said what you said and it worked. Ego makes you try to backtrack to go grab words that you didn't use and effectiveness

said you were enough in the moment. And so it's an internal battle that you have to recognize that you are a divine creature. And that you are a human who has prepared themselves for the moment. You've got to trust, I've got to trust, we've got to trust that what comes out of a prepared soul is enough. And perhaps everything that is derived in preparation is not necessary for presentation. Just because I studied it and gathered it and thought it doesn't necessarily mean it would have worked. I probably would have cheapened the moment had I used

unnecessary words that would have only shown people that I was a little more intelligent and people are not interested in your intelligence. They are impressed by your effectiveness. So I have to tell myself after I get through all of the sympathy sessions and the guilt trips of what I could have said and been better. You know what I said when I left home, I wanted to help people. If a person told me that they were helped, then the the the win is their expression and not what I thought I should have done differently.

Mm-hmm. I needed that. You saw me taking notes. I have some things I'm gonna go fix right now. Yeah, I appreciate that. It's absolutely the truth. And you know, not being afraid to let people, and not on every case,

but not being afraid of letting people be the mirror for you. Like if you keep looking in the mirror at yourself, you're going to find all of the imperfections. You're gonna find everything that's wrong. And the only reason why we find what's wrong is because we're comparing it to what somebody else has that we perceive is right, but it might be right for them, but it ain't right for you. What if, what if my arms were on your body? that would make you look awkward. Right. Right. If your arms were on my body, they say, who's a skinny guy with the built arms?

Who's a skinny guy with the biceps? You know, it's like my anatomy fits with what I have and that we can accessorize our life based on everybody's high points and then mesh it all in together because then that isn't the authenticity of who we are as individuals. A lot of people come to our church, not because I'm successful, but because I failed where they failed.

Everybody that's in that room isn't there because I'm good at what I'm good at. Some of them are there because I didn't quit when I felt Inadequate and there's some place in their life right now feeling inadequate and they get for me. Well, I won't quit either So my testimony isn't just my success it's also my stretch marks like how how much I've been ripped and Pulled and the amount of tears I've cried and the amount of moments I felt like not enough and the amount of tears I've cried and the amount of moments I felt like not enough

and the rejection of my father and, you know, I didn't even meet my brother who I'm so close to right now. I've known him my whole life, but he didn't even know I was his brother until I was a teenager. Like that's crazy that I was around him my whole life. And it took me to be 15 years old

for him to know that I was his blood brother. Like I've been through so much. You know, like our church being hit by a hurricane and our team coming together to figure out how to just keep the doors open. Like we've been through so much and there are people in our lives, Mick, who are not there just because we're great. Some of them are there because we got a grind that we didn't quit when it wasn't great,

and that we kept a smile on our face through all of the hell and the high water. So you get it from both ways. Some people are there because of their education. Some are there because of the survival of ignorance. All things work together. Yes, sir. For the survival of ignorance. All things work together. Yes, sir. For the good of them that love the Lord

and are called according to their purpose. Man, that was a sermon in and of itself right there. Wow. Again, you're giving me things that I need. I already have like six different things as notes that I'm gonna go start working on today just because of this man. Like that is why you are who you are. Right? That is why you are who you

are. But it's also, I've got to give you credit because I could spend the same half hour with somebody and they will get nothing. So don't discount the efficacy of your ability to translate information into actionable items. I was with a mentor of mine at a breakfast not too long ago. And he had one of the country's most prominent lawyers at the breakfast with us. Both he and his wife are attorneys. I was just happy to be there. So Mick, this is what I did.

I sat at the breakfast. I didn't say a word. I was just in my phone taking notes. And I even said to them, I said, if you see me in my phone, I am not texting anybody. I'm just writing down the things that y'all saying accidentally. So I'm typing it. I'm typing it. And so the mentor introduces me to the lawyer

and he says, I want you to also help him. I want you to help him. And these are his exact words. He said, I want you to help him to wrap the quilt around his vision to keep it warm in the winter. I was like, oh, it's brilliant. The lawyer says to me, it would be my honor to help you. And he says at the table, he says, I want to help you because I've learned something about you in the last 30 minutes that I didn't know coming in. He says you will listen. Say if I had been at the table talking and you know texting and and cheapening the experience because I go to the table

thinking I know more than I know then I don't leave with someone who's willing to help me post the breakfast. Okay, so you have to give yourself credit for being able to take the opportunity and get something out of it because there would be somebody sitting right in that same chair with that same amazing background, by the way, I don't know where you are, but I absolutely love everything about that background and not get the same thing. And so it's not about being in the right place

as much as it is being the right person in every place. Because if you're the right person, you can get good out of the wrong place. See, another one, another one. You sound like DJ Khaled when you said that. And another one. Wow. Man.

So I'm taking a lot of notes, a lot of things I'm going to put in. I told you offline, I can't put this book down. The Shift, right? It is definitely one of my go-tos. I have like three or four books aside from the Bible, obviously, that I'm in every day because just like the Bible is a collection of books that most people, most Christians go to daily, I also think that you can have your own collection of books that you go to on a daily basis. And to me, this is one of them, man. that you go to on a daily basis. And to me, this is one of them, man. And so, and I mean that sincerely, I mean that genuinely. If people could see the inside of this book, I have a whole bunch

of highlights and handwritten notes so much so that I've got another copy on this bookshelf over there too. But I had a couple of things down, man, because I can go directly to the source. And I'll tell you, I'm an audio guy. I'm an audio book listener because I'm always traveling. And so I was listening. And starting in chapter one, you had something that made me go by the hard copy of this book. And you said, problems can't be solved

by the same mindset that created them. Brother, when I heard that on the audio book, I literally pulled over, I was driving, I stopped my car, I wrote that down, and I just stayed in thought for 15 minutes on the side of the interstate with that, because while I probably knew that, I never heard it. And when I heard it, and then when I saw it,

I said, wow, that's the key, right? Problems can't be solved with the same mindset that created them, man. Like, can you break that down for us a little bit? I'm gonna tell you where, can I tell you where I got the concept from? Where I first heard it? Absolutely. So I was at a, um, a conference and I was the poorest person in the room.

This one guy said, Oh, I want you to, uh, praise God with me. I just sold my company for $70 million last week. I was just like, my company for $70 million last week. I was just like, one guy said, another guy, it was 30 liters. I mean, they were all amazing. I was the least of everybody in the room.

Every, I mean, everybody in the room. One guy said, uh, it was called the brag session. One guy said, I want to brag because last week I purchased seven thousand acres. Wow. So it got down and I saw it coming to me, Micken. I was like, oh, don't come over here. My braggers, I'm here. I'm in the room. I mean, don't bring it over here because I didn here, I'm in the room. I'm in, don't bring it over here. Cause I didn't sell a company for 70 million

and I don't have 7,000 square feet, let alone 70,000, 7,000 acres. Don't even come over here. It gets to me and they say, what are you going to brag about? I said, biggest brag I have is I'm in the room with the 29 of you. And that I'm going to learn something in this room that I didn't know when I

came in. One of the guys leaned up to me and he said, you know, to me and he said, you know, the mindset that you have has accumulated the things that you do have. He said, but it is the same mindset that will keep it from doubling and it blew my mind. Yep, and I thought at that moment that what got you here can't get you there. The mindset that you have is the reason why you make $50,000 a year. It's also the same mindset that will keep it from being $5 million a year. So if you're going to go to the next level, even the the Bible says this if a man is going to be changed

It has to be by the renewing of his mind. I tend to believe that a majority of the Successes and blockades that we experience in our life start in the mental capacity Not physical if it's physical How do you explain a? If it's physical, how do you explain a man with no arms and no legs being one of the most prolific self-help motivational speakers the world has ever seen? Exactly.

Born with no limbs but didn't let it stop him. Next to somebody who has the capacity for everything and doesn't have the energy to think themselves out of the day. So it starts here and so if it starts here then it's multiplied here. Yeah. If it starts here and it's multiplied here it can diminish here. So your mind created the problem that you have. Well, then you cannot solve the problem that you have with the same mindset that caused the problem that you have. You have to think on a higher level. It sparked something in me and that was about eight years ago. And it made the book, I wrote that book in the pandemic. I literally wrote that book. It was released on the day. I had a book tour scheduled. It was scheduled to launch on March the 20th, I believe 2020, which was the day the mayor of Houston declared that our city had to go on lockdown.

The book tour had to be canceled. The best book that I had ever written. I thought nobody would see it because all of the book tours. Have been canceled and it is the most successful book that I've ever had out of the three that I've written. I've actually written that book again and added three chapters to it. I don't know if you knew it, but I actually wrote that book again, re-released it with three additional chapters and it's called The Shift as well. And it goes into the different dimensions of how we think, live, breathe and all of

those things. But yes, it was sparked by a conversation in the room with people who had done more on accident than I had ever done on purpose. Well, I just want you to personally know this, and I waited for this to tell you this. I could have told you on social or sent a little note. I wanted to look you in the eye and tell you this. This book, and I know it's not a business book, right? That's not the intent. But the messages in this book quadruple my business by implementing with my

leadership team and my sales team. Every quarter we have a conversation. What do we do? All right. And we use these words. What's the shift we're making next quarter? Because what we just did this quarter, if we're trying to double that output, we can't do it the same way. It doesn't mean you got to start over and rebuild everything, but there's got

to be something that you do differently, a mindset, a product, a service or whatever. So I wanted to tell you, brother, that is why I keep this book with me 24-7, because every quarter when we have our 90 day meeting, all right, what's the shift? And I give you praise every single time. I've got to get my hand on that copy of that book and I'm going to write a letter to you in that book. I would appreciate it more than you know. Yes, sir.

Because this book, and for everybody, the shift, right? And we're gonna talk about the other books now, but this book didn't change my life, it changed my business. Wow. Changed my business, brother. Which ultimately changed my life, but it changed my business first.

I needed you to know that. I appreciate you telling me that. Absolutely. Absolutely. So you have other books, right? Let's talk about what Pastor Kian is doing now. What do you want the audience, the viewers, the listeners to know to follow, to pick up whatever it is the floor is yours, sir. Yeah, I just wrote a new book called Lazy Love. And the premise of that book was, you know, I love Animal Planet. I love Animal Planet. I've watched Shark Week every week, Shark Week has ever come out. I know National Geographic so well that I know that when they have a lion week, it's the same lion that's eaten the same gazelle in 2025 that they showed in 1979.

They just enhanced the picture because I can just tell by the scene. I'm like, yep, that's not new. But I was reading up on the sloth and it just so happened it was around Valentine's Day one year I wrote a sermon called Lazy Love because the Bible talks about that we should not be like the slugger which is a sloth and how slow they move. I did some research to find out that they don't just move slow because they are slow animals. They could actually speed up and move a little quicker. But the leaf that they eat puts them in a state of mind where they are anesthetized by, you know, for lack of better term, they're almost high off of what they eat. So they're responding to the leaf. So the substratum of the book was, is that in love, sometimes we show up slow or lazy because

of what our diet presented. Right? So maybe you got a little bit of envy from your father and a little bit of jealousy from your mother and a little bit of lack of forgiveness from your auntie and maybe a little rejection issues from your personal experiences. And all of that makes you very lazy and hesitant in love where you are supposed to go the extra mile for somebody, but because you've been hurt in the steps, you don't wanna go forward.

And so this book is telling us that we have to look at our attachment styles to look at how we were raised, how we were hurt and what we have been through. Because the truth is, it is the reason why we show up in love the way we show up. And it also helps you to have more grace for the people you love, because now you recognize that they're not

showing up to you to spite you. They're showing up to you in spite of you, because of the things that have happened in their life. So it's a book that helps us realize that one of the most important things on the earth, if not the most important thing about love, is that we have choices as to how we show up in it. Right. But it starts with going back to realize how you got to the point you are in life. And it's a book.

It makes you look yourself in the mirror. You know, you got to deal with you in order to get through it. But we've been hearing rave reviews about it. We've been all over the country talking about it. New York and California and Florida, we've been all over. And so it's moving. And then lastly, as I said I reintroduced the shift we have another second edition of that book well we've

added three chapters to it because even my shifts have shifted it never stops that's right it never stops because success is a journey. It is not a destination. You will never get there. You will always be on your way there. Right. Right. And the moment you get there, you will change the definition of what success is and you will start another journey.

You have to. Yes, sir. You have to. Brother Keeyan, man, from the bottom of my soul, I thank you for today's conversation. Wow. Again, I needed it. I have notes, I have things I got to start implementing today because of this conversation.

I'm not waiting until tomorrow because we know tomorrow is not promised. So as soon as we're done, two of these things are getting implemented right now, I can promise you. Well, no wonder you're quadrupling. I mean, if you're moving that fast, then life has to catch up with you because you're already on the move. I honor your work. I honor your mindset.

I can tell you right now. I can tell you right now and tell all of your listeners. Guys, if you're listening to Mick weekly, however you're digesting him daily, monthly, if you're watching him on repeat Listen to me When you're watching this podcast Don't look at the backdrop and say oh I want to make sure that I've got that rustic

Look that that warm light look You know that Western infused look because all of that's good But you need to watch this podcast for one reason and one reason only, to adopt a mindset. Let Mick be your mentor until you can meet him face to face. Because if you can adopt his mindset, something's going to happen

where the law of attraction is going to get at work, and you're either going to meet Mick or you're going to meet somebody like him because thoughts attract that upon which they are directed. And if you can borrow that mindset, you're going to find yourself in rooms that you never thought you could be in. So it's my honor to be here with you. Brother, I needed that again. Thank you, man.

Like, I'll tell you offline too, but if that again. Thank you, man. I'll tell you offline too, but if there's anything I can ever do, you don't have to ask, you just tell me and consider me there, consider it done, because you genuinely mean that much to me. You mean that much to my businesses. You mean that much to my family.

I love you with everything I got, brother. I love you too, man. God bless you, brother. You got it. And to all the viewers and listeners, remember your because is your with someone who needs it. And most of all, make a plan and take action. Because the next level is already waiting for you. Have a question or insight to share? Send us an email to hello at mcunplugged.com.

Until next time, ask yourself how you can step up.