Sadie Robertson Huff's life was impacted by stardom from a young age, and she had to choose what to do with the platform God had given her. Like so many celebrities, she could have kept chasing the fame. However, she found her bullseye—to be a sister and a friend to millions of other females. Today, her ministry—Live Original—is impacting the lives of women around the world.
Whether you're an influencer or just follow one, Sadie reminds us that we all have a God-given platform. The question is, “What is your bullseye?” Even you can leverage what God has given you to impact the lives of others right where you are.
Continue reading for highlights from this episode of the Even You podcast, or watch the full interview with Sadie Robertson Huff below.
Tell us about your background.
I'm from West Monroe, Louisiana. I'm actually from Calhoun, Louisiana, which puts me even more in the boondocks. We lived right across from a chicken farm, like very small town vibes. And whenever I was young, I always loved Jesus. My family loved Jesus. That was just naturally a part of my life. I was really little, though. I just was very intrigued by God and the Bible in a way that I feel was kind of unique to a child. I would ask my mom really deep questions about God, and she would be like, “Why is this kid asking me all these questions?”
I would even preach on our countertop. There are videos of me doing that. I say that because people ask me, “Did you ever think you'd be doing what you're doing?” And I say, “No, and I really didn't. I really, really didn't.” But that always was kind of in me.
So my family on my dad's side, they made duck calls for a living. My dad was the only brother that went to college. So when he came back from college, he was working at our family camp for a long time, and then he decided to take over the Duck Commander business because he and my mom felt like they could with their college degrees.
And when my mom and dad took it over, my mom was like, “You know what the best thing for our business would be is if we could get a reality TV show,” because my mom was really into reality TV.
So that was the initial thought. And the first route that they went was getting a show on the Outdoor Channel because it was about hunting. Well, that's what they do. And they got a show. But instead of it just being a hunting show, like the traditional Outdoor Channel shows, they included all of our families. So it was very family-centered. There were storylines with the kids, with our school, our football games—just fun, family stuff. And so wives and kids started watching. And this was the first time wives wanted to watch the Outdoor Channel with their husbands. So it got a really great rating to the point that bigger networks started noticing. A&E was one of those networks. They ended up picking up the “Duck Commander” family TV show and renaming it “Duck Dynasty,” which we thought was really funny because it was not a dynasty.
I was in eighth grade when we filmed our pilot episode. And for the first year or two of “Duck Dynasty,” my life didn't change that much. I still went to school, and we filmed a lot, but I had a relatively normal life. My parents' lives changed, and I was a part of the Robertson family.
People would come up to me and ask, “Are you Willie's daughter?” They didn't really know who I was. And then in my junior year of high school, I got asked to be on “Dancing with the Stars,” and that's when my life changed. All of a sudden, it wasn't like I was Willie's daughter. I'm Sadie, and who am I? It was the big question. I had so many people telling me who I was and what I should be and what I should do. That was a time that I really had to get with the Lord and be like, “Who do You say I am? What have You called me to do?” Because a lot of my life on paper seemed like it was going awesome. But personally, that was the hardest time of my life. I didn't really know who I was or what I was going do. But that time in my life led me into doing the things I'm doing now.
What’s the story behind launching Live Original?
I got asked to speak at places with my brother because we were the “Duck Dynasty” kids, and I did not like that. I hated speaking publicly. I was so scared of it. My brother was super funny, and so he would talk mostly, and I would just be awkward in the corner. And people don't believe me. I seriously was, so much so that the first place I spoke, they asked for their money back.
So I was telling my mom, “I'm never doing that again.” Yet, I love that kind of stuff. I led Bible studies from the time I was young. So my mom was telling me, “You love this; it's just a bigger platform.” And I'm like, “No, that's so scary.” And so I told my mom, “What if I wrote a book? Then, I could get out the things that I feel like God has put on my heart, but I don't have to do public speaking.” She said, “Sure.” So I wrote “Live Original,” which is so ironic, because now obviously that's why I'm speaking.
So I write “Live Original,” and it happened to come out when I was on “Dancing with the Stars,” which couldn't be better timing. People got to know that message. Fast forward, I'm like, “God, what are You doing with my life? This feels chaotic; this feels crazy.”
I grew up in a really traditional church where women don't preach. I never saw that. I did not have that on my radar. That was not something I thought, “Oh, I'm going do that.” I was thinking I'd use my platform on YouTube and different things to encourage people or write books.
And then it was summer before my senior year. I went to this conference that a woman was speaking at. And I saw this woman speaking, I was like, that's really cool. What she was saying was ministering to me so much. I was like, “God, like give me vision for what You're going to do in my life.” And He started giving me vision for me doing what she was doing. And it made me go, “OK, this would make fame make sense.” Because if I were saying things that matter, like actually using my words to preach the gospel and it was changing people's lives, then that would be amazing. So that day, I started journaling for the first time about Live Original live events. And I started planning my first live event months after that.
I did my first live event in Nashville, and it did really well. That led to doing a tour, which was nine years ago. And then seven years ago, a friend who still works with me helped me start a website called Live Original. It just kind of all started launching.
The heart though behind LO and why I started it was based out of that conference. I was praying to God, and I said, “God, I don't want to be famous. I don't like this. That route doesn't seem right for me. But if You're going to use this, then You’ve got to show me how to do that.” I remember the first time I ever felt God speak to me. He said, “I'm not calling you to be famous. I'm calling you to be a sister and a friend to those who don't have one.”
And that line, that word from God, has been the word I come back to for every single thing. How do I be a sister and a friend to those who don't have one? And that freed me because it didn't scare me like fame did. I think God speaking to me in such a way that was ordinary, even in the midst of fame, is what made me go, “I can do that.” It's not about being famous. It's just about being a sister and a friend. When you strip it back to the call to go preach the good news, you can do that in the way that fits you. If that’s podcasting, do a podcast. If that's through acting, do acting. Do what fits your thing. For me, it wasn't like I had this big vision of like what LO is going to become. If I did, it would be way smaller than it is now.
When God was opening doors and moving you along this story, was it your faith leading you? How did you get yourself there if it wasn’t your faith leading you?
I don't think it was my faith leading me because I didn't even know to think that way. I relate to Moses' story so much because when God came to Moses, Moses was not looking for that call in his life. He was so insecure. He's like, “I have a speech impediment.” And I'm like, “They asked for their money back. No, I'm not a speaker.” You argue with God, but it's actually not about you. It's about the plan God has for your life.
When you read Moses' life, you realize it had to be Moses because he was the one that grew up in Pharoah’s home. So, Moses, it had to be you—not because you're awesome or because you're such a good talker, but because the great I Am is who He is, and He's going to be with you. He's backing you, and he has this greater plan that's for a generation, not just for you.
When I look at my life, I think God had a plan for my life that I needed to get on board with and say, “Yes,” to. I needed to realize it's not about me; it's not even about my gifting. It's about His plan and what He's going to do. And it's the greatest ride of my life, getting to say, “Yes,” to that.
I think, though, I didn't have the faith to believe how big it was going to be, but I always, always, always had this prayer, and it was to tell one person about Jesus. This is what I want to do in life. I want to tell people about Jesus. God answered that in a way bigger way than I was thinking he would. I always did want to do this. It just scared me so badly. I believed for this, but not this. And that's what I always try to tell people when they say, “I want to do what you do.” I'm like, “Well, I just want to make sure you understand. Don't just say you want to do what I do because you want to do the platform or you want to do the thing, you want to have the microphone.” When I think about what I do, I think about the Bible studies I was leading in eighth grade— telling someone about Jesus, being a sister and a friend. Ministry starts like with loving people and loving people well and telling people about God. And if God uses that heart of yours to elevate it into a platform, then do it on a larger scale. And if he doesn't, do it right where you're at.
I remember being at a church service when I was 18. It was the first time I ever went to Bethel because one of my friends was speaking there, so I went to go listen to her. That was before I was doing what I'm doing fully. I had started LO, but I wasn't fully speaking yet. So, I'm in this church service, and this girl comes up, and she's like, “Girl in the orange jacket, stand up. And I was wearing a very notable orange jacket. So I stand up, and I'm not used to this kind of stuff at all, like prophetic moments.
So she's like, “God is going to do something so crazy in your life. It's going to be like Abraham. You're going to have to step outside of the tent, look up at the stars, and you're going to have to ask God for the faith to believe what He's actually going to do.” She goes on to say all of this stuff that was really crazy because it actually did happen. I went home, and I remember being so struck by that line that she said: “You're going to have to ask God for the faith to believe what he's going to do.” And I remember thinking that was such an interesting way to say that because I thought God does all that God does, and it's on you to have faith. But I thought it was cool that she said you can ask God for faith.
His ways are higher than ours. His thoughts are deeper than ours. How could we think of the things that He's thinking about? He's on a different level than us, a different realm than us. He sees the beginning and the end. He sees it all. So, you're going to have to ask God for the faith to believe something that's so much higher and so much crazier. So, I started asking God for the faith to believe it. I think a lot of things we've done with LO have been because I said, “God, this seems crazy, but this seems to be where You're leading. So, we're going to go for it.” And man, the way He meets you in those moments is absolutely crazy and amazing.
The Even You Podcast
On the Even You podcast, we want to empower ordinary people to say, “Yes!” to extraordinary purpose. Hear how everyday believers are using their gifts to have an eternal impact on people’s lives around the world. Learn more, share, and listen to the podcast now!
