What does it really look like to live out the love of Jesus in everyday life?

In this inspiring and often hilarious conversation, Willow sits down with bestselling author, attorney, and founder of Love Does, Bob Goff. Known for his joyful spirit and unconventional approach to faith, Bob shares stories and wisdom about living a life that moves from the sidelines to the field—where love becomes something we do, not just something we talk about.

Bob reflects on the power of availability, why influence matters, and how taking a genuine interest in people can transform relationships. Through stories about answering phone calls from strangers, building friendships across the world, and helping others pursue their dreams, he challenges us to live courageously and intentionally.

He also shares a powerful spiritual practice of looking into both the “eye of forgiveness” and the “eye of responsibility” in Jesus—reminding us that faith invites both grace and growth.

This episode will leave you encouraged to live boldly, love deeply, and take your faith off the bleachers and onto the field.

In This Episode, You’ll Hear About

1. Why Bob spends nights at Disneyland giving strangers a shortcut to the front of the line
2. Moving from watching life to actively participating in it
3. The difference between controlling outcomes and influencing people
4. Why being available might be one of the most powerful ways to love others
5. The importance of taking a genuine interest in people’s stories

About Bob Goff

Bob Goff is a New York Times bestselling author, attorney, and founder of the nonprofit Love Does. Known for his contagious joy and practical approach to faith, Bob has inspired millions through books like Love Does and his global work advocating for justice, education, and opportunity. His life message is simple but powerful: love isn’t just something we say—it’s something we do.

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Hey there. Welcome to the Collide Podcast. This is Willow Weston, and it is so fun to be with you today.

I just got to sit down with Bob Goff, who is a New York Times bestselling author, attorney, and founder of the nonprofit Love Does. And if you know him, if you've read any of his books, if you've sat in a room and heard him share, he's whimsical, he's fun, he's inspiring, he's real. And honestly, he's become a buddy of mine. I absolutely am so grateful for him and the investment that he's made into me.

In fact, he has inspired me and been one of the reasons, a pivotal reason why I'm finally able to release my new book. At one point, he looked at me and said, "Willow, what do you want?"

And I was able to put into words the thing that I had been dreaming about for decades, and it was to put my story on paper. And that is finally now become a reality, and so much so because he's taken the time to invest and help me and coach me a little bit.

And so this isn't a guy who hangs out with presidents and ambassadors and famous people and just sort of hobnobs and looks cool. This is a guy who's the real deal. He is truly not just telling us to love people. He loves everyone he's in front of, in my experience.

And so I'm so excited to hand you this interview. He's hilarious, he's wise, he'll challenge you, he'll inspire you. He's going to talk about the giraffes, God, and the things he's learning, the things that are inspiring him and the things he's having fun with. So I hope this conversation blesses you as much as it blessed me.

Bob, it's so good to have you on the Collide podcast today, chiming in from all your travels this week. Thank you for being here.

You bet. Great to be with you. Always a treat to get a little hang time with my friend Willow.

Oh, you're so sweet, Bob. You said recently, I saw you said spread joy like butter on toast. And I want to hear from you.

What is the most fun in the last week or two that you've had spreading joy?

Well, let's see. One thing that some people don't know about me, I go to Disneyland a lot. People know me there by name. There's a thing that happens.

It's so weird, but every Midnight I get 12 people. I can give cuts to the front of any line. So. And then I have to be, we can't call it in. I have to show up.

So I drive up from San Diego to Anaheim and I find 12 random people at the end of two hour line.

And I say, I know this sounds so creepy, like you know, some old guy, but say, like, if you want to walk with me 100ft to the gate there, we can get you right into the front of the line. Or you can stay at the back of the line, like, whatever you want.

But it's so interesting watching people like spin that Rubik's cube a little bit to say, josh, you know, I'm at the end of the line. Like, what do I have to lose? And then their thought, but what if it isn't true? They'll be so distressed.

Then they think, but I'm at the end of the line. I think that, like, I know Jesus wouldn't be. Who knows, maybe he would be hanging out at Disneyland.

But the whole idea, this was his idea with his disciples. When they were starting to split and spin off, he said, he turned to one and said, are you going to leave to me too?

And I remember the reading, he just said, where else would I go? I got no options. I'm at the end of the line.

And so I think I'm spending all my time these days finding people at the end of the line and saying, do you want to go to the front of the line? And then I want to find people in our faith communities and to say, how can we give you cuts to the back of the line.

How can I give myself the back of the line? Because I got an old pickup truck that runs just fine. I've got a house, I used to have a dog. I didn't want all these things.

And how can I take cuts to the back of the line? And when you've had a lot of opportunities, that's where the faith thing. So making changes in my life.

More time at Disney, finding people at the back of the line and take them to the front of the line. More time learning from people like you. And then more time moving me to the back of the line. Not in a, you know, sad. That's not a sad story.

That's like an accurate story.

That's the whole idea, the paradigm of faith and the paradox of faith that we move to the back of the line and not because you're the victim or the hero, but it makes you a participant. And we get to decide how do I want to participate. And that's how I want to participate. I'm going to spend the rest of my days doing that.

However many days that is. Like, whatever. Kind of depends on the guy driving the other car.

Oh, my goodness. I love that so much.

What's been the best response from someone who actually trusted you and said, okay, I'm going to leave this line, and I'm going to trust you're not a crazy guy who's lying in my face.

And then they realize I am a crazy guy that does that. Yeah, there was. It doesn't happen that I go two days back to back very often, but I did, and I was on Main street the next day.

And I remember, I never keep in mind who it was that I met, but I remembered somebody with a really big accent, like New Zealand, Australia, something like that kind of accent. And. And I was on Main Street. I was buying somebody an ice cream cone, and I was on Main street, and they ran up to me like, you're that guy.

And I'm like, oh, my gosh, do I, like, owe you money? And they're like, no, you're the guy that gave us cuts. And I was so fun because I never anybody at the other end.

And that's another, like, kind of thing that we don't. We just throw rocks in people's pawns. And we're not trying to control what shore the ripples land on. What we're trying to do is influence it.

So one of the things. Neat thing about being 67, which is like 6, 7. So one thing about being 67 is that I don't try to control anybody anymore. I want to influence it.

I want to move the needle in people's lives. I'm not trying to control the outcomes anymore. Just do it. And it's not apathy, it's strategy.

And if we release some of the control and go ham on influence, then.

I don't mean like influencers, like somebody with ugg boots on Facebook, but to say, like, to influence the outcomes in beautiful ways, that's what I want to do. And mostly at home with my grandkids. And I don't think I'll be around for great grandkids, but I'm going to try. Until then, I'm going to write books.

Oh, man, we sure hope you are. You have kind of become this love guru, and I'm sure you don't think of yourself as a guru, but you.

Incense and petals.

Exactly. Well, I grew up a hippie kid, so, I mean, it makes sense to me. I know.

I'm thinking of getting in the lotus position.

Yes, yes. Child's pose. When you think about our world right now, everything going on, all the hurt, all the brokenness, the mess, the hatred, the division.

What is one thing if God's people, People were to do every single day? It would move the needle and make a dent in all this pain.

Yeah. Get out of the bleachers and onto the field. For some people, that will be advocacy, but I'm not as interested. For me, at least.

And everybody's different with gifts that they bring. But somebody shouting louder in a really loud room doesn't seem like advocacy to me. But who knows? Like, I'm not the judge.

Everybody ought to do whatever. Seems like a really great idea, but I measure that against the effectiveness. Like, what's the outcome of that? So I'm more of a tangible.

Like, when things started getting crazy with North Korea, I translated love does into Korean and send Kim Jong Un a case.

No, you didn't. Are you serious?

I should have said, I'll trade you for, like, ground delivery, not air.

So.

But the whole idea, I want to engage that. Not so I can put something up on Instagram saying, here's his address, or that's not a bad thing.

But just like, not just do it and don't make a big deal about it, but just, like, do engage. I put love does in Russian and send it to Putin, and they probably never made it through. But I want to fail trying. I don't want to fail watching.

So when we think of things in different hotspots in the world to say, hey, what's my role in that?

If any, and we can usually find something that we can do, find somebody that you could connect with if you tried to find, as I started, gosh, maybe 35 years ago, one person in power and one unschooled, ordinary person. They kind of had Acts 4, 13.

It said they saw Peter and John and they knew they were unschooled, ordinary people, but they saw their courage and they knew they'd been with Jesus.

So I've tried to find one person like that in each country and one person now without regard to what flavor they are in power, and get to be friends with them and stay friends. Nothing on the other side of the equal side, just be friends.

Because I feel like if these guys are making decisions that affect millions of people, I want to at least be able to get a hold of them. I know that sounds silly, but. And if you can't get a hold of president, get a hold of Vice president. Nobody wants to talk to Them.

So does that make sense to just move from the stands of the field? Like, I don't know, boxing's your thing. Call Mike Tyson, like, I cover your ears, the Nibbler. But find people that are of interest and notable.

Not so you can take a selfie with them, but because you can influence in beautiful ways. Not manipulate. Influence people. Influence people with your love. Let them see that you're an unschooled, ordinary person that has been with Jesus.

And they see that because of your courage. They see that because of your action. And the crazy part in faith is that Jesus doesn't need our help.

I keep asking him every day, like, what can I do for it? He's like, not a thing. Because what he wants is our hearts.

And so that's just such a great reminder to me, like, how can I continue to turn my heart away from the things that I think and I have to contain in my thought bubble like a nuclear blast? And to say, is there any way. I'm pretty good about watching what I say, but is there a way I could watch what I think?

Because I usually say it in my mind. I'm like, are you freaking kidding me? And I want to edit that to say, oh, wow, somebody's in. Yeah.

So I'm trying to do, instead of just doing good job at self containment, which is a good step, can I start purifying my thoughts a little bit so I'm not thinking the ornery thing that came to mind? I mean, I'm a trial lawyer. I think of ornery things. And what I'm trying to do is just think of less ornery things. I want to be a participant.

I want to take cuts to the back of the line. I want to get people cuts to the front of the line. So that's helping me. So if you're listening and you share that idea, you're in good company.

Bob, you're infamous for putting your phone number on the back of your book and making yourself available to all the people, whoever they are, that call you. I've actually been talking to you before, and you got a call that someone rang you on a phone because they got your number on the back of your book.

I am so curious. Was there someone who impacted your life because they made themselves available to you, that showed you the power of doing that for others?

Yeah, there's a couple people that stand out in my mind. One of them is that original CCM artist, Keith Green.

Back in the day, he was a guy died way too early, tragically, but he was One of the first contemporary Christian musicians. And I wrote him a letter because it was before the Internet. And he wrote me back three sentences.

And I felt like such a boss because Keith freaking Green wrote me three sentences. I felt so seen and valued. I didn't even know what he said. But there's something about answering a phone that just makes people feel valued.

So sometimes we get this little mini celebrity thing going with folks. They write a country western song about a big old truck or a big old dog, and then they're not available anymore, or they get a bit part in a movie.

They're not available, and that's okay. Whatever seems like a good idea. People ought to do that. But I just see the pattern Jesus had. He was always available to people.

And life of constant interruptions. I'll keep your feet on the ground. And, you know, it might be just your creditors will start calling you and say, pay up, pal.

But you'll find some people who are really desperate. If I get a phone call at like 2 in the morning on my phone, it's either somebody who's totally wasted or completely desperate.

And it's usually easy to figure out which of those two doors it is. And if they're really desperate, then I'll just tell them, like, do 360 for me and just tell me, are you in a safe place?

Are you surrounded by safe people? Are they. Are you feeling, like, in a healthy place to talk about this stuff?

And if it seems like they're in some distress, I'll just say, I don't have the initials behind my name about this, but let's just call 911 and you won't be in trouble. You're just like, you're in Cleveland, I'm in San Diego.

And most people just need a little bit of sleep and something to look forward to. So why not just think, be. It's not just whimsy, it's strategic whimsy. I'm a big fan of that.

Because underneath all the confetti and unicorns is a mile of strategy. Know why you're doing what you're doing? We don't always get it right. But again, I'm back to fail trying. Like, just say, here's the plan.

Until a better plan comes up. Like, until the real guy comes, I'm going to be the guy always hoping there'll be somebody who has a lot more game than me that'll show up.

But until then, I'm gonna show up. And with all the game I've got,

I love that so much. You've become this huge proponent and cheerleader of other people's dreams. I know that. I have sensed that myself personally, from you. And you don't.

You don't have to do that. Like, you're so.

You have such a full, meaningful life with so many opportunities and so many people that want your attention and your voice and your words and so many things you can be a part of, and there's so many people to minister to. Why have you, in this sort of season of your life, decided to become a champion for other people's dreams?

Gosh, you make it sound like I'm being so generous when I'm actually being very selfish. Like, I just want to grab time and learn from you and other people. I've just got a limited time here on Earth. And so, like, what things can I learn?

What things are your experiences? You know, you've always talked to people that say, well, enough about me, let's talk about me.

What about flipping that a little bit and, like, Philippians 2:20. And I'm just a Bible verse guy, but I write books, and I don't put any Bible verses in them. Like, know why you're doing what you're doing.

So Philippians 20, Paul, talking about Timothy, he says, I don't have anybody like Timothy. He takes a genuine interest in other people's welfare.

If we could go through the day and just take a little bit more genuine interest in other people's welfare, zoom out a little bit, understand the context that they're talking to. But you'd have to give a damn to, like, understand context. You actually have to care. There's.

We had a gathering of men that are out on parole from San Quentin, where I've been teaching this last decade. So there's a fair number of them. And there's a guy there named Cooper, and Cooper's in for 20 years for 17 counts of armed robbery.

And so at first you'd say, like, yikes. And then you realize that when he was 18, he wanted an Xbox or whatever it was that was in the Gamestop.

And so he went over there and swiped one, but he had a gun in his belt buckle when he did it. And then he got home and realized, oh, I don't have any games. So he went, oh, geez, and swiped a Game with the gun in his belt bug.

Now, he shouldn't have been swiping any thing from anybody, and he certainly should not have had a gun in his waistband when he did it. But he did that 15 more times and got 20 years in San Quentin. Total haul, 1,100 bucks. Cost to incarcerate him, $98,000 a year.

I'm not here to advocate for or against. I just think people shouldn't be going into places and stealing things, particularly with guns in their waistband.

However, when you understand more context about his story, then you understand a little bit more about where he's come from. I invited him to bring a plus one if he wanted.

And so he and his girlfriend showed up, and on the last day we were there, I turned to her and I said, aren't you proud of your boyfriend here? I mean, look how much he's accomplished. And she interrupted me. She said, I'm his mom and she had him when she was 15. More context.

And so if we don't slow down, if we're just going for the headline news, we're going for the, like, this is the something the church doesn't want you to know, or this is something. We keep putting this sinister kind of headline on everything. We'll never take a genuine interest in other people's welfare.

And you need to set aside a little time to do that.

You need to pick up the phone and don't put people on a stupid speakerphone because, like, calling people is about the least personal thing you can do until you put them on a speakerphone and then you've reached a new low. Don't do that if you can't talk. If you want to play gator golf, play gator golf and call them afterwards. But don't do both.

Like, take a genuine interest.

So what I'm trying to do is, like, you know, the guy with all the ADHD initials, just trying to slow down, be really purposeful, take a genuine interest, and just kind of one at a time. And don't go there to teach, go there to learn. So Coop's teaching me tons of stuff right now.

Yeah, you. We talk a lot around here about colliding with Jesus, this idea of running into him.

And when people do in the New Testament and now, they experience life change, Their life is different before, after than it is before. They experience hope and healing and. And purpose. And you've been colliding with Jesus for a very long time.

I'm wondering what still, after all these years, still blows your mind about him?

Yeah, I'd say I would retitle that chapter near miss. So I keep doing this and he keeps doing that, but I think there's just so much grace. There's a.

In Mount Sinai, there's a St. Catherine's Church, and there's an iconic picture of Jesus, and he has two eyes. I'm going to see if I can show you this really quick. It's an eye of forgiveness, and the other eye is an eye of judgment.

And so do this practice of looking into the two eyes of Jesus. One is an eye of forgiveness, the other is an eye of judgment. And you just do this practice of looking into his eye of forgiveness.

That he loves you, that he accepts you, that he does desires you, that he calls you beloved. And then there's an eye of judgment. There's this responsibility that goes with your faith.

And that he has these standards that we're not the average of, you know, our three most insecure friends or three big accomplishments or whatever, but to taking time to understand each eye of Jesus.

It's a beautiful monastic practice that I think would do us well in understanding these just nuances of our faith and understanding colliding with Jesus means colliding both with his eye of forgiveness and his eye of judgment. But the trick is not to beat yourself up, because there's an eye of forgiveness and some people kind of eye lock for too long.

So if you and I were like in the same room, we were like five feet away, and we like connected with our eyes for a second and then we're doing something, then that's how people interact. But if you ever, like, eye locked for too long with somebody, just like an extra moment too long, which feels, like, awkward.

So we're used to socially breaking eye contact with people. We do that not because there's something insidious. It's just like kind of in our evolution as a species, we do that.

And I think what I want to learn is how to eye lock with Jesus, to actually spend some time with that eye of forgiveness. And if you've eye locked with an eye of judgment, just stop hitting yourself. You're not a pinata.

When you hit yourself, it's not candy that comes out of you. It's other stuff. It's envy, it's malice, it's. I'm going to get, you know, these grievances heard. I'm.

I'm looking for what's fair, and I'm not looking for what fair is great. It's just not what we're entitled to. I just Want to make sure that I'm doing my best to be present with people in the middle of it.

I don't feel like I have to be everybody's lawyer, and I certainly don't need to be Jesus's lawyer. When something gets something wrong about Faith, I don't feel like I need to be a bouncer. I'm more like Usher.

I want to show people to the seat they want. If they don't want a seat. That's awesome. Yeah. See Disneyland.

Bob, there's so many things I could ask you, and I know we're gonna close up our time here together, but I do want to ask you. It seems like you're in this season. You're doing so many beautiful, amazing things, and you're. You're enjoying your family.

And I have heard you a few times talk about sort of this season of looking ahead and maybe making some changes or transitions or thinking about legacy at the end of your life. What do you hope you're most remembered for?

Oh, I think maybe that I was available. I think that would be a really high.

That guy, like, really showed up, but he wasn't like, you know what they say, like, bright lights don't need spotlights like that.

We could each be available to the neighbor across the street because we want to talk about what we did across an ocean, but Jesus talked about what we did across the street. So it sounds noble to go to the ends of the earth. It sounds really practical to go to the end of your street. Smaller carbon footprint.

So what I'm trying to do. And yet I'm the guy that does everything on the other side of the world. I think fun, that strategic whimsy.

We're building a university right now in Uganda, which is crazy because, like, my worst subject in school was school. But we decided we wanted a zoo, and I needed giraffes. Like, you can't have a zoo without a giraffe.

And it turns out the president of Uganda owns all the giraffes in Uganda. Who knew? So he and I don't hang out that much, but he and his wife know each other pretty well, and so. Or me and her do.

So I told her about my giraffe idea, and she grabbed him by the ear and brought him over. We talked about giraffes for an hour, and I walked out with six giraffes. So here's the deal.

What I want to do, it's not this screwed up version of relationship called networking. I just want to be friend people that would be this High calling, say, I want to be really good friend with a couple people.

I want to have my eyes fixed on Jesus. This idea from Hebrews 12, running this race, not getting ensnared with the things that trip people up, but keeping your eyes fixed on Jesus.

And yet I don't want to be an evangelist. I don't want to try to talk people into or out of faith. I just want to live a life of courage.

So much so that they'll see an unschooled, ordinary person and they'll say, I bet that guy was with Jesus. Yeah, that would be what I'd like to be remembered for.

I certainly think you will be. And thank you for making yourself available for us today.

Oh, heck yeah. And let me say, just keep doing this. You could be running a small country.

I'm just so glad that you're, like, deciding to take a community of people and do the courageous work and it evolves for people that are listening. Sometimes we think that people can lead and it just like worked for them. It doesn't work for them. It involves a lot of sacrifice and commitment.

So this is an infomercial for what you're doing, but a thank you collectively for us to say thanks for taking the risks. Willow it involves a lot of sacrifice and carrying a lot of load. Like these people I see running with these vests that have all the lead in them.

I don't need a vest. I mean, I'm heavy enough so I just like to carry those extra burdens. Like, well done. Thanks for doing that.

Thank you so much, Bob. It's good to be with you, friend.

I hope that you enjoyed that conversation with Bob Goff and if you did and you thought of someone while you were listening, listening to it, that would be inspired by it. A simple share would be so fantastic. Go ahead and send it to a friend and they will be blessed by it.

And if you're inspired to love people and you're having a hard time doing it, if maybe there's some pain and some struggle, some unforgiveness or something keeping you stuck from fully loving people who are hard to love in your life, I want to encourage you to grab a hold of my new book, Collide: Running Into Healing When Life Hands You Hurt.

We've all experienced hurt in our unresolved pain sometimes comes out sideways and leaks out and hurts other people, people that we love. And so if we let Jesus collide with our life and truly heal us, it is then that we can bring healing to everyone. We collide with so. So check it out.

Have a great day. Keep colliding and we'll catch you next week.