From the NFL to the Pulpit: How Entrepreneurs Can Outsmart Darkness and Flourish in Business

Host Justin Forman sits down with Derwin Gray — former NFL safety turned pastor and author — for a conversation that hits as hard as a blindside blitz. Derwin brings his playbook from the gridiron, the locker room, and the pulpit to reveal what entrepreneurs are most often running from — and why the answer isn't another win, another deal, or another acquisition.

Drawing on neuroscience, Scripture, and lived experience, Derwin unpacks the identity trap that snares high performers, the toxic shame-and-guilt cycle that fuels the hustle, and the one playbook that actually sets entrepreneurs free. This is not a soft conversation. This is a hard-hitting call to wholeness for people who build things.

Key Topics:

• Why idolatry is the real engine behind entrepreneur ambition — and how to recognize it in yourself
• The neuroscience behind why achievement can never heal your soul
• How Derwin's lowest NFL moment (on all fours in a hotel bathroom) became his turning point
• Why entrepreneurs are the worst — and the most beautiful — at trying to outrun their wounds
• What pastors and entrepreneurs can build together when mutual intimidation is overcome
• The scripture passages to turn to in the middle of a hard day

Notable Quotes:

"Idolatry is I'm gonna find my self-worth, I'm gonna find my being in what I do versus what God has done." — Derwin Gray

"You cannot fix your soul by accomplishing something, but there is someone who did do something to heal you." — Derwin Gray

"BUSY is an acronym for being under Satan's yoke." — Derwin Gray