An Aha Moment (Key Katt Takeaways)

You don’t have to be a fan of the kind of comedy that is one, Micah Katt Williams’ life’s work, nor do you have to believe any the explosive revelations and perspectives he espoused during his instant classic interview on the Club Shay Shay YouTube Podcast earlier this month in order to simply chew the meat and spit out the proverbial bones.

After more than two and a half hours of scorched earth bombardments, many people chose to unpack what they’d heard by calling into question the 52-year old’s ability to actually run a 4.3s 40-yard dash, or the plausibility of him reading 3,000 books in a year (side note: although I’ve never read more than 35 books in a single year, I think that perhaps he misspoke and meant that he’d read enough books every year of his life to have achieved the 3,000 mark in his lifetime so far; but that’s just me).

While fair critiques all things considered, I do believe that skepticism erected blinders for some, disallowing them to appreciate the many truly valuable nuggets Katt did drop that could apply to anyone’s life at any given time:


1. Who’s Side Are You On? – This is the churchy refrain I’ve heard every Sunday in one iteration or another for 30+ years, but I’d never considered it quite the way Katt proposed it. Throwing down the gauntlet early, he declared that “It’s God’s side and the other side…”

Ooop.

2. Gatekeeping Isn’t as Impactful When You Own The Gate – After naming names, the comedian discussed the debaucherous pay-t-play structure he says is established in Hollywood as a springboard for wealth, stardom and success. He also shined light on those put in place to restrict the access and success of their peers. Do with that information what you will, but the entrepreneur in me understands why Katt chooses the way of self-promotion and self-funding for the sake of his craft and integrity.

3. Birds of a Feather – I’d be doing everyone a disservice by attempting a conveyance that could never be more profound or true (philosophically) than Katt’s exact observation of Shannon Sharpe’s devil’s advocacy by noting that “you having an unnatural allegiance to losers is not like you.” Simply stated, if you aren’t a loser, you ought not be aligning with one.

With another comedic tour on the horizon, many found the interview—as compelling as it was—to be nothing more than a brilliant marketing strategy for the funny man. Still, if one took the time to truly decipher the message beneath the mettle, I believe there is a cautionary tale to consider, as well as many poignant reminders to always bet on yourself.