Dave and Maya

Last night we pulled up an episode (love DVR) of Iconoclasts on the Sundance channel and it happened to be about Dave Chappelle and Maya Angelou. It was a fantastic show, and I was in awe of the wisdom and prophetic voice that Dr. Angelou had. But what impressed me as much was Dave Chappelle.

He walked away from $50,000,000.00 just because what he was being asked to do for that money no longer felt right to him. Of course the thing "they" were asking him to do was to continue on his trajectory of becoming the next great comic of our generation on one of the biggest hit shows for a comedian ever. I am sure they said, "Dave we just want you to be yourself!" To that he answered by walking away, and he says he never felt more free.

That kind of integrity is just astounding to me. I do think Dave Chappelle is a great comic, and the future is bright for him. But his decision to walk away from a situation that would have taken his soul is very powerful and is a great reminder that there should be no price on your integrity.