"Part: 8 Listen to Michael Davis's In Search Of Heroes Interview" by Ralph Zuranski
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Ralph Zuranski: That’s okay. It’s important to share what you believe because everybody wants to relate to somebody that has emotions and they’re not just a robot. They actually live, breathe and feel.
Everybody does. That’s just the true basis to life, especially in how they relate to others.
Michael Davis: I sort of went on really long about the guy who called me a fraud and I probably gave him way too much power by going on that long but I will say this. Those are the sort of things that you do if you are a lesser human being in terms of your self esteem.
My self esteem is very powerful. I think I’m all that and a ham sandwich. I tell kids, “You are all that and a ham sandwich.” Some of the biggest names in the comic book and animation industry have come out of my mentor program.
These kids are not kids anymore. They are grown men but they are absolutely the best at what they do. What we try to do in the program is instill in them a sense of self and a sense of purpose and their work with a sense of excellence.
I still get a little pissy faced over stupid things people say about me.
Ralph Zuranski: I think we all do. Do you experience service to others as a sense of joy?
Michael Davis: Oh, yeah. That’s why my mentor program, the biggest thrill that I get out of that is seeing somebody achieve something they didn’t think they could.
My favorite time of the year is Christmas because I just like doing stuff for people. I’m impossible to buy for because I collect toys. I collect GI Joe’s and Barbies but I want everybody to know out there that real men can collect Barbies.
It’s impossible to buy for me at Christmas time because first of all the GI Joe’s I collect are from the 60’s and you don’t want to spend that kind of bank and not know whether or not I have one or not. Second of all I’m pretty much at peace. I don’t need a whole lot of stuff, so buying for me is like, “Hey I appreciate it but you really didn’t have to.”
I get a lot of joy going out and buying stuff for my family and friends. I love that. I love the look on parents’ faces when their kid gets into a school that they didn’t think they could get into because they were tutored by people in my program or by me. They get this sense of excellence, this sense of self. So yeah; I really get a kick out of doing stuff for other people. I don’t know what it is. I just get a kick out of it.
Ralph Zuranski: When was the lowest point in your life? How did you change your life after winning a victory over the obstacles you were facing at that time?
Michael Davis: I touched on this a little before. When my sister died it would have been really easy for me to end up in jail or dead myself. My cousin, William T. William, that’s his name, and my mom, Jean, made it really, really, easy for me to overcome those obstacles, those dangers in my life.
They really took care of my not by preaching but by teaching. There was some preaching in there but it wasn’t over the top. It wasn’t, “You have to do this to be a better person!”
It was, “Here’s what you need to do. Here is how it’s going to affect you if you do this. Here is how we are going to help you.” That was the lowest point in my life but I was able to regain it so the path to victory, so to speak, was the support system in my life.
Ralph Zuranski: So, it was family members that helped give you the ability and the willpower to change things for the better.
Michael Davis: Right.