A Crucial Message For The Youth

My friends, if you have a teenager or a young adult, please share this message with them.

I just got a very alarming phone call and I wanted to address this video to the teenagers, the kids in school, elementary, middle school, high school, so I'll try and keep it G rated for you.

I got a call from an old employee of mine.

The young man is a senior in high school and he worked for me for about six months doing video work.

And he just called me and he said, "Sean, I need to ask you a personal question." I said, "Okay." And he said, "Listen, I just had a really bad experience at school and I want to know your opinion of what I should do." I said, "Cool, man. Tell me what's up."

Long story short, two of his friends decided to essentially set him up.

One of the friends was recording while another friend took an American flag off the wall, threw it on the ground, and stomped on it right in front of this kid who used to be my employee.

Now this kid, he's a pretty cool kid, he's not a fighter, he's not a big old scrappy kid.

He's a videographer, he's really good with computers and things like that.

But he also loves America and he loves the country and he's here in Utah in a pretty conservative area.

And he said, "I didn't know what to do." He's like, "I became so upset and frustrated that I just walked out of the classroom." He's like, "I literally had to leave school because I got so upset."

Now here's the interesting thing, my friends.

This is a kid who, had he grabbed the flag, had he punched somebody, had he hit somebody, he would have been suspended or expelled from school and he would have gotten in trouble.

So the message that I want to share with you guys, those of you that are reading, you teenagers, you young kids, is simply this.

Number one, those kids are not his friends.

Those kids are not his friends.

Your friends would not do something to you.

Playing pranks is fine, man.

You kneel down and push another kid over or you hang something funny up or you find a funny picture and you blow it up and put it on the wall in the classroom, that's a funny prank.

But doing something that would literally have your "friend" expelled from school, suspended from school, a charge of assault if he ended up hitting a kid, not cool.

Second thing, too, is why would your friend throw an American flag on the ground and stomp on it to try and be funny, to try and play a prank?

Guys, I understand that we live in a really interesting time, and I understand that all of you watching this probably have cell phones, you probably watch YouTube videos, and you think that a lot of this stuff is funny.

But I want you to understand something.

Number one, if you have people in your life, if you have "friends" who push you to do something or are encouraging you to do something or are sharing something and setting you up to do something that would ultimately become illegal or get you in trouble at school or suspended from school, those are not your friends.

Okay?

There is no harm in walking away from those people.

There is no harm in not texting them back and not hanging out with them.

Those are not people that you want in your life.

As a grown man who was once in school, I played tons of pranks.

I still play tons of pranks.

I'm known for my pranks.

But I would never in a million years do something to someone that would ultimately have them expelled from school, in trouble with the law.

So understand that tempers get hot, man.

Trust me, I know.

I know.

And it would be really hard for me to watch somebody step on the American flag right in front of me and not throw a chair at him or punch him in the face.

But I can tell you, I enjoy my freedom and I enjoy being with my kids and not being in jail more than I enjoy the company of somebody, a friend that would ultimately do that in front of me.

So kids, guys, listen to me.

There's no harm.

There's nothing wrong with walking away from people.

You need to learn this early in life, that some kids who claim to be your friends, they're not your friends.

Some kids who think something is funny that would ultimately get you in trouble with your parents, with the law, with your school, that's not cool, man.

I love pranks, trust me.

If you want some tips on some really good pranks, let me know and maybe one day I'll do a video for you and tell you some good pranks.

But I want you to understand that your future relies on who you hang out with.

There's nothing more important that I do in my life right now as an adult than hang out with the right people.

So understand that right now, make a decision, look around at who your friends are.

Are they kids that are smoking weed?

Are they kids that think it's cool to do drugs and to drink and to play pranks that ultimately would humiliate somebody or have them end up in jail?

Are your friends gossiping, are they talking smack about other people?

Guess what?

If they are, they're probably talking smack about you too.

Get those people out of your life, hang out with cool people.

And if that means hanging out with nobody, so be it, but choose your friends wisely.

That's it.

Be a good kid, stay in school, don't do drugs, respect your parents, respect your teachers, say please and thank you, open doors, and have manners.

You'll go a long way in life.

See you.