Catholic Founders #31 Are You Running From God's Creative Calling? | Max Haben
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Welcome back to the pod, everyone!
Today you get to hear from someone who’s YouTube channel recently had a pretty breakout moment. One video put him at nearly 100k views. This led him to pursue the 1-man creator business. He also shares some YouTube video tips and part of his journey.
Before we start!
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In today’s post:
* Intro to the Guest and Topic
* Core Takeaway
* Episode References
* Select Quotes
* Key Moments
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Today’s Topic & Guest:
* Max Haben | The Contemplative Dad
* How Max’s YouTube channel took off after his job ended and he invested in it. That’s the core of Max’s story today. But given his wisdom, we spoke broadly about how to grow a YouTube Channel, how to know when God is calling you to go deep in your artistic project, and how to make money on YouTube. This is an especially good episode for anyone who is hesitant to get started on their entrepreneurial journey. Reason being, Max gets pretty real about what it was and is like today, to learn to trust fully in God for his daily bread, as a husband and father who is also a creative.
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Core Lesson:
Pursuing a ‘Risky’ Artistic Pursuit Might Be What God Is Calling You To, but You’ll Never Know Unless You Spend Time In Prayer
Taking the leap into full-time content creator was not easy for Max. He had all the pressures of needing another job to provide for his family. But he invested the time. He has spent a lot of time in prayer trying to figure this out. He thinks he’s found the answer. But the truth is, none of us ever knows all the answers. That’s why we need to pray without ceasing.
Through constant prayer we’ll come into a closer relationship with God so He can lead us in different ways as we go on our journey.
God Bless & Happy Building!
~Silas Mähner
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Our publication is ready by devout Catholic founders and business owners across America.
Best for anyone selling services or products to those audiences. (Plus they’d all rather buy from another Catholic).
Key Episode References:
* The Contemplative Dad Substack
Select Quotes:
Here are 10 incredible quotes from the episode that will hook people into listening:
* "Whether you have a full-time job or you're self-employed or whatever you're doing, there is some level of dependence on God." — Max
* "Your faith gets stronger when you see God show up and provide for you. …if you want to grow in your faith, then put more dependence on God and put more in his hands." — Max
* "I was losing my interior quiet. Like I was losing that sort of ability to listen to God just with all the noise and distraction and stress and anxiety that we're surrounded with." — Max
* "This security of having a job where… you're kind of like a slave to the company." — Max
* "Most people don't make it, most people fail because they stop or they don't start. That's really the number one reason people don't succeed on YouTube." — Max
Key Moments: (outline)
* 0:00 Cold Open & Guest Intro
* 4:40 Dependence on God for Provision
* 8:30 Illusion of Job Security
* 10:56 Why "The Contemplative Dad" Started
* 13:08 When to Pursue Creative Callings
* 17:08 Going Full-Time with "The Contemplative Dad"
* 20:54 Balancing Work & Life as an Entrepreneur
* 26:55 Entrepreneurship in 2025: Anyone Can Do It
* 30:01 Historical Context of Self-Employment
* 31:23 Detachment from the World & Financial Needs
* 34:48 Monetizing a YouTube Channel
* 39:40 Vision for The Contemplative Dad
* 43:18 Who Should Start a YouTube Channel & Basic Principles
* Rapid Fire Questions:
* 50:18 Inspiring Scripture
* 52:24 Inspiring Entrepreneur
* 53:17 Favorite Saint
* 54:11 Favorite Devotion
* 55:18 How to Reach Max
* 55:52 Join the Catholic Founders Guild!
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