Comedian's journey leads to motivational speaking

Pax Harvey is never satisfied and that's a good thing because it means he never settles for less.

"That's the thing with people," he said. "They set themselves limits and when they reach that point, they think that's it. For me, I'm never satisfied.

"I think there's always more that I can do and learn," he said. "I want more and I think people, companies, and organizations should strive for more individually and as a team.

"That's what I believe and that's what I can do for people," Harvey said.

Harvey, 35, has made a name for himself. He is a well-known master of ceremonies, as well as a motivational speaker and stand-up comedian. He's also learned a lot of business skills along the way.

And really, all he wants to do is to share it all.

"What I want to do is help people," Harvey said during a recent interview at a restaurant in Gallup. "I want to share my success with other people. Despite the various levels of education that people have, I believe in every one of our people out there. They have a gift and I want to help them find and discover that they have a gift and ability to achieve and succeed and to basically to help them live a better life than they have now.

"I want them to be able to build this flame, ignite this flame within their warrior spirit," he said.

Harvey studied business administration at Northern Arizona University and worked with Diné College, Fire Rock Navajo Casino and Wells Fargo Bank, where he was marketing champ in 2005.

Within that time frame he learned to host events as master of ceremonies and from that developed into a stand-up comedian.

Every experience has rolled into something bigger, and he's venturing now as a motivational speaker and workshop organizer to help businesses and individuals recognize and develop their potential.

"Being a warrior today doesn't necessarily mean how strong you are and how much you can bench-press or if you can get a kill when you go hunting and bringing in the biggest deer," he added. "That doesn't mean you're a warrior."

Harvey said that too often people limit their own warrior spirit by thinking that once you achieve a certain goal, you don't look beyond it.

An avid reader, Harvey said he absorbs lessons from a wide variety of sources, ranging from Navajo elders to author Stephen Covey ("7 Habits of Highly Effective People") and Christian minister and life coach Joel Osteen ("It's Your Time").

Harvey, who is Tód&iaacute;ch'&iaacute;i'nii (Bitter Water Clan), born for Maii Deeshgiizhnii (Coyote Pass Clan), noted that on the reservation the work is never done and chores, in particular, don't do themselves. As the eldest of his siblings he wanted to set an example.

"It takes hard work to be successful," he said. "And you got to be willing to take risks."

He calls fear the biggest problem most people face, adding, "People are afraid to try something different. Fear can drown you in your depression, your emotions and even in your successes. It can even drown you in your career. People feel like they are in rut today.

"I hear people saying, 'It's the same old thing,' 'I'm just living paycheck to paycheck,' 'I'm dealing with this and this and this,'" he said. "People don't know they can break through from that.

"I want people to find that passion to enjoy what they do," he said. "Passion is key to success. Passion is key to happiness. You have to be doing something you love.

"That's why I'm saying it's OK to take a risk. It's OK to make a change to find that passion. You're going to be amazed with changes you make."

If you don't know where your passion lies, Harvey advocates the trial-and-error method to find it.

"People always ask me, 'How come you keep quitting job after job?' It's not that I'm quitting, I'm just trying new things and new experiences," he said.

And, he adds, it's normal for a person's life goals to change over time.

"People say 'I'm going to be a carpenter' and they work at it until they get there," he said.

Carpentry is an honorable and ancient craft, and a journeyman carpenter makes good money besides contributing things of lasting value to society.

But no one is "just a carpenter," Harvey said. "I know that same person has the ability and capability to be something else."

The same is true for organizations, he said. The No. 1 problem he sees in organizations, whether corporate or otherwise, is laziness. They reach a certain level and start coasting.

"I want to help people overcome this laziness," he said. "People are mentally, emotionally, spiritually and physically lazy. Obviously if you're physically lazy you are not going to do much."

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