The Power of Jesse Paul Smith! Dreaming, exploring, finding and living from your authentic self!
In this episode of The Power of Healing Your Energy Show, host Christine J. Gold interviews Jesse Paul Smith, a former hip‑hop dancer who performed with artists like Rihanna and Justin Timberlake, and now works as a certified speaker, trainer, and coach with the John Maxwell Team. The conversation traces Jesse’s journey from early success in dance and music, through a family crisis that forced him back home, his first bout with depression, and a pivot into speaking after a chance speaking gig with Upward Bound. He shares experiences in Africa, insights on poverty as an awareness issue, and the financial collapse of his music career that led to a $170,000 debt and bankruptcy threat. Jesse describes how he rebuilt his career in sales, growing a hearing‑health franchise from $476k to $4.4 million, and later joining the John Maxwell Team, where he blends dance, music, and leadership training. A major theme is authenticity: moving beyond the buzzword, embracing one’s true self, and helping others discover their worth and purpose. He discusses burnout, the conflict between logical and non‑conscious minds, the importance of aligning actions with purpose, and the collective impact of individuals pursuing their dreams. The interview ends with practical advice on finding Jesse online and upcoming speaking engagements.
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Hello and welcome to The Power of Healing Your Energy Show. This show is all about your light, your intuition, your soul's purpose. And did you know depression and anxiety are a side effect of not living your life intuitively, not trusting your gut, the lost connections with your higher self and others? So let's go higher and feel deeper. Hello, I'm Christine J Gold, 24 Karat Healing. I'm spiritual medium, intuitive energy coach, and old soul healer. And this is episode 34, The Power of Jesse Paul Smith. And we're going to be talking about dreaming, exploring, finding, and living from your authentic self. And Jesse is a certified speaker, trainer, and coach, and he's also co-owner, inspired, motivated leadership, business development, faceto sales trainer, and hip-hop dancer. Yes, you heard me, hip-hop dancer. We're going to talk about that further, but he had— has danced with Rihanna. And Justin Timberlake and more. So welcome. Hi, Jesse.
Hello, hello, hello.
Welcome to the show. Thank you very much, uh, for, for joining. I, I know you're very busy, but this is an honor.
I appreciate— I love, I love getting to hang out with cool people like yourself, so this is an honor.
Oh, thank you. I guess, you know, the first question I've had lots of people ask me 'Cause they, of course, they seen that, you know, you're certified speaker, trainer, coach. Of course, they go right to the hip-hop dancer and then they see the names, you know, Rihanna, Justin Timberlake. And of course our ego, and we like to assume that you were living, you know, the magical star-filled life, right? The fast track. So what happened between hip-hop dancing to what you're doing now?
Yeah, that's a loaded question. I hope you have a full cup of coffee. Uh, so, you know, the, the, uh, when I was dancing out there, I moved out there in 2005, and, um, I was starting to get some success in the industry. I had done a Pepsi commercial with Justin Timberlake. I'd done a few, uh, reality TV shows on MTV. Um, I did a Nike promotional with Rihanna on her SOS music video, and then also started to, um, I got to do some commercial work with Channing Tatum and all of the Step Up 1 cast and crew.
Wow.
And it was at that time that, you know, the dance scene really started to get put in. I mean, with movies like Honey and movies like You Got Served and stuff, that started to happen. But really in that time frame was when, you know, Step Up 2, and that started to conceptualized, and that's also when the dance world started to get put in more mainstream, you know, media. And, um, and but, uh, I, I started, I started coming up, but, um, I had a situation that I needed to come home for. My parents are actually missionaries and we're getting ready to move to Africa, and at the time I was the only one— well, I have 4 siblings or 3 siblings, but I was the only one of 4 that could help manage their estate. So I came back and I came back and told my agency, I was represented by McDonald Sales Associates, I told my agency that I would be back in 3 months. Well, when I pulled into the driveway of my parents' place, my transmission fell out of my car.
Oh gee.
And at the time to get home, I mean, I had been doing some work, but when you're doing work like that and you're coming up in the industry, you're not making a ton of money. A lot of that stuff you're doing for resume builders, you're making some money, You know, but, you know, I had bills and other things to take care of. So I left LA with $380 in my pocket, and it took most of that to get home. And so when I got home and my transmission fell out of my car, I didn't know what to do. I was stuck. So I had to, I had to get creative and I had to reinvent myself and But that was when my first— soon, right around that time was when I had my first battle of depression and started to really understand what it meant to, you know, not just feel sad, but really truly understand what it means to not understand what the purpose of life was anymore.
Mm-hmm. Yeah. Okay. I, yeah, I get that. I feel you on that. I struggle with that my whole life. So, and Yeah, when you're in it, and I mean when you're really in it, it's very— it's like being at the bottom of a well. That's how I see it.
Yep. Yep. And so I had to get really creative. And, and, uh, you know, I, I obviously taught dance classes back home. Um, so, you know, people heard about what I had been doing, so I was able to do some workshops and stuff like that. But, um, but then how I got into Speaking actually was I got a call. I started to do dance for as many artists as I could even locally. So I started to put my name out there for Minneapolis and stuff like that. And there was a music festival that was in— it was actually a Christian music festival. Wilmar, Minnesota. I'm gonna go there and I'm just gonna dance my head off and Everybody and anybody's gonna see me and know that I'm a hip-hop dancer, and I'm just gonna try to get as much of attention as I possibly can. Well, it was interesting because while I was out there, I got a call from a— I got a call from an agency, or from a program called Upward Bound. And Upward Bound, basically, if you've never heard of that program, is they take first-generation college kids, so kids that have come from families that have never been to college. And, um, and they give them this program that basically prepares them for college and helps them understand how to get into it and understand how to succeed in college. And they asked me to come and share my story. They were like, hey, listen, we know that you're from Superior, Wisconsin. We know that, you know, you didn't have a silver spoon in your mouth. You came from a, you know, lower middle class family. And and, uh, no connections and made it out to Hollywood. And pretty much everybody thinks here that you're kind of a dream chaser and you won, and we would love to hear your story. And I was like, awesome, let's do it. We didn't talk about pay, we didn't talk about nothing. I was just super excited to be able to go, and I was like, man, I never thought about this. And so it was then that this whole idea of using dancing and speaking together really kind of was birthed for me because right after I was done, they asked me to do a 2-hour stint. I delivered. Everybody had a blast and they were super, super excited and they said, "We're gonna tell all the Upward Bound chapters that's connected to us about you." And they handed me this envelope and I didn't think much of it. I was like, "Oh, that's cool." You know, they gave me an envelope, sweet. So I go up to my car and curiosity had finally killed me at that point. I'm like, what's in this envelope? So I open the envelope up to find a check for $250. And I'm like, oh wow, wait a minute, I can get paid and do this and speak. And so I started calling high schools, I started calling colleges, I started calling anywhere that I could. And that's when I started booking high school assemblies and started traveling all over the world doing that.
Wow, that's amazing. That's amazing. I, I love that. I— and, and the fact that you gave something, I mean, that, that's how the, you know, uh, law of attraction works, that the more you give, um, it just— it's cyclical, it keeps coming back. And that's exactly what you did. That's how I— and that's what you continue to do. Um, and you've been 15 years, you've been traveling the country. Um, you And talk about Africa.
Yeah, man, that was such a cool experience on so many different levels. My parents now, they're missionaries in Belize. They work in a lot of churches in Belize equipping pastors and teaching them leadership and stuff. But for a long time, they were in Malawi, Africa, setting up churches. Raising up pastors, doing all that kind of stuff. And my mom brought me over there with her. It was just me and her. My dad stayed back at home. And I did a bunch of concerts at that point because I was just about to launch my album at that point. And so I went over there to do some concerts, and then she wanted me to teach some basic leadership stuff for village chiefs that they had, because my mom and dad had built up a lot of relationships with village chiefs. And we went there for 10 days and we had, I think we had a total of 10 different events that we did in 10 days. And, um, it was just back to back to back to back. And what, what, what was— there was some of the most pivotal things that happened in that. So in Malawi, um, where, where we were at, Malawi is considered, you know, at the time was considered the third poorest country on the planet. And where we were at, it was the capital of Malawi, and it's called the Long Way. And it was interesting because you would have shopping centers, people that were— I mean, I mean, they're selling, you know, big 45 or, you know, 46, 50-inch screen TVs where we can buy them here for $500. They're selling them for $1,700 over there, $2,000.
Wow.
They're selling iPhones for $2,200. I mean, when I went over there, I had an iPhone and it was the newer model at the time. It was an iPhone 5, and I had people offering me like $1,600, $1,700 for it because it was brand new. Yeah, like just the amount of money. So that was interesting to me because you'd have all that, but then literally right across the street You had— oh gosh, yeah, no indoor plumbing. And majority of Malawi makes less than $250 a year. And what I— what was interesting to me, and, and I'm not— I don't want to make this, uh, I don't want to make this a political or any kind of an argument. But this was, this was the first time that I recognized that poverty was an awareness issue, not a resource issue.
Absolutely.
Because I watched, there was men that were just sitting on the side of the street, right across the street there was hiring now signs everywhere. And when I would talk to the shop owners, one of the things that they said, that they would have a hard time finding people that were willing to work. And so, you know, I know that there's many more logistics that go into that. And I, again, I don't want to make this about a, you know, it's, it's because nobody wants to work over there. But at the same time, it was definitely a— it really hit home with me why, you know, poverty is, is more of a mind issue than it is a resource issue, because more often than not, we have the ability We just lack the awareness.
Absolutely. And I— there was a post. First, I want— before I go to the post, I just want to say hi to our— Champagne is saying hello. So we have somebody saying hi. Don't be shy, guys. Let us know where you're from. If you're on the replay, please comment any questions you have. Jesse or I will get back to you. We're not going to leave you hanging, okay? Because we realize not everybody can tune in at, you know, at the same time, and that's why it's put out all over the place. And that's the whole reason of being online, and social media is amazing. But there was a post on Instagram. I looked, there were two, and I made comments. Of course, I don't remember them, but it was about worth. Now, I work with women, and worthiness seems to be the biggest thing that shows up, and not stepping into who they are, not showing up. They feel that they want to hide, or they're not worthy, or they'll be judged. So I totally get the awareness. Once you figure that piece out— that's why I do this show— once you figure out your power and heal your energy as a being, it's like the Christmas— I say the Christmas tree lights up. It's like, boom. Yeah, yeah.
Well, I would say, I would say though, you know, I've been hearing this a lot, you know, and especially it's a bigger buzzword in women's circles. But I'm, I'm going to be the first male— I shouldn't say the first male— I'm going to be a male that raises their hand and says, listen, this isn't a gender issue, okay? This is a humanity issue. Um, I would say that most of the human race doesn't understand their worth.
Yes.
Not, not women. I'll be honest with you, as we talk about my story, this is something that, you know, I do deal with this a lot when it comes to my clients. I deal with it because it's a very big passion of mine, because I realized the reason why I went into depression was because I didn't understand that my value came from who I am, not what I do.
Oh yeah, I love that.
So, you know, I heard somebody say, I can't remember who it was, but they said, we're human beings, not human doings. And when I heard that, I was like, wow, that's so powerful. Because, um, you know, as men, we're supposed to be the provider. We're supposed to be— or that's, you know, that's what we've been taught depending on what you're growing up in. And so we look at worthiness in a certain fashion, just like women do, right? And so if we don't amount to the standard that's put on us as men Trust me, there's a battle we wage with every single day on, am I really good enough? Am I really worth it? If I, you know, I'd love to earn $100,000 a year, but do I really deserve that? Do you know who I am? Do you know all the things I've done? Do you know where all I failed? Do you know all the things that I don't have? All the things that I can't do? I mean, this isn't a gender issue. This is a humanity issue. And I think we need to— I think one of the things that needs to to break is this divide that women struggle with worthiness and men struggle with X. No, we all struggle with worthiness, period.
Yeah, very well said. I, I would agree with that. Um, Brandy is saying hello. Hi, Brandy, hope you're having a good one. And she's saying she agrees as well. And hey guys, if you're watching, please share this, share the light, share the love, and share the blessings. You never know what, you know, we're talking about might, you know, inspire someone else, might help someone else, might dig somebody out of a rut, you know, of depression, whatever they're going— whatever you're going through. That's why we're here. We're here to share. This is all about connection. And you mentioned, you just kind of, you know, when you're talking about Africa, you said, and an album. Album? What album?
Yeah, so I started working on an album actually in 2011. I had met some pretty prominent people in the industry and that agreed to work with me as an independent.
Okay.
And I started working with them and then in 2000, right at the end of 2013, the beginning of 2014, I signed a small deal with with Universal Records. And I toured around for about a year prior to the record deal and stuff. I was touring for a good year and a half, 2 years just doing music.
Nice.
And so yeah, I had that experience. I had the good experience in music and I had the bad experience in music because fast forward in August of 2014, I was $170,000 in debt.
Oh my goodness.
About to file bankruptcy, about to lose my house and lose my family. So it was a pretty— another tough, tough encounter, just like all of us, right? We all meet seasons of highs and we meet seasons of lows. And I think the biggest thing that I've learned through all of that is the lows don't mean you're done. It just means it's time for a pivot.
Nice, nicely done. Yeah, and, um, I agree. I mean, when you hit— well, I don't want to say bottom, and I don't wish anybody hit bottom, but there's only one way, place to look is up. Yeah, so there's always, there's always help, there's always hope. Um, it's just about faith and, and trusting in, in yourself mainly. So Family, now, are you— do you have a partner, children?
Yeah, so I, I, I have, I have a family. I've got 6 kids.
Oh, that's right, 6. Oh my goodness.
Yeah, I've got 6 kids, and that is, that is my family, and It's been amazing. My kids give me content for days, let me tell you.
What are the age ranges?
16 down to 4.
Oh yeah, okay, so you're covering it all. Wow, amazing. How do you have time for all of that? And I bet you each one is different.
Oh, we're all different, right?
Yes.
This tells us that, right? If you look at your— I do this all the time. I use it for for my teachings, right? So I'm fascinated by the thumbprint. And I was looking at it one time when I was just doing research, and it just struck me so hard because you've heard Gary Vee say this probably if you listen to him at all. He says, you know, you've got a 400 billion to 1 chance to be a human being. Like, the fact that you're here on the planet means you're a walking miracle. But before I ever heard him say that, I was looking at my thumbprint, and I was like, man, this is just kind of strange.. And, um, you know, whether you believe in the universe, whether you believe in God, however your— whatever your belief system is, um, you know, for me, I'm, I'm a man of faith, so God's the, the dude for me.
Yeah.
I was looking at my thumbprint and I was like, why in the world would you give me these squiggly lines on my fingers? I don't, I don't know. I started doing research and not only do the cops value that, right, there's a reason for that, but, uh, you know, science has valued it. And what it shows is that Science has proven that there has never been, never, never been a thumbprint that is identical to yours. Statistics will tell you that there will never be a thumbprint of yours. And what, what struck out to me is that not— not— that's not only your stamp of uniqueness, that's your stamp of perfection.
Perfection.
Because you're perfectly and wonderfully made.
That's right. Absolutely.
Quirks, everything perfectly wonderfully made. And so, um, I used to have a t-shirt that says, unless you own my thumbprint, don't tell me what I'm capable of.
Oh, that's great. Yeah, should bring that t-shirt back. People need to, you know, we need to be reminded because like we, we happen to be a Teflon, uh, for the good and Velcro for the bad, right? Yeah. Uh, and Braddy's just saying that's when she learns, I guess, when you're talking about hitting You know, and yeah, we, we are here for lessons and sometimes they come back around because we didn't learn.
Oh geez.
Oh, and how boring would life be if we didn't? Every day cannot be perfect.
No.
Every day is— I'm, I get, I'm excited when I get up every day because I'm like, okay, How may I serve? What's gonna happen today? Like, you know, rubbing the hands together. And yeah, and you mentioned Gary Vee. I just saw a clip of him saying, I'm 43 and I haven't even— well, he likes to use the F-bomb, but he hasn't even started yet. I'm like, yes, you know, I love him. He has, he is, he has the enthusiasm of a 4-year-old.
I just, I, you know, One of the things that I learned after I stepped away from my record label, my corporate background has been in sales. So I've done sales ever since I was out of high school. I was a one-semester dropout of college, never really figured out what I wanted to do other than I wanted to make money. I came from a family that we weren't poor by any means, but I always constantly heard my dad say there was more bills than there was money, and I didn't want to live the rest of my life in stress under finances. So I knew that I wanted to make a lot of money, but I knew that when I went to college, I just— it just wasn't for me. And so, um, the only jobs back then when I was looking for jobs, it was in the classifieds. We didn't have, right, we didn't have Indeed.
Oh yeah, looking through the old classifieds, guys.
Right. And the only job that was advertising, you know, making, you know, make good money without a college degree with sales jobs. So I got into sales early on. Well, once I got out of the record label, I actually had a friend of mine that was about to take over a failing hearing healthcare franchise selling hearing aids, and he had had some extreme success in that industry, and he and I had known each other for a long time. And he said, man, I got a great opportunity here. How about you hop on board with me and help me turn this franchise around? And we did. We brought that franchise from $476,000 in sales to $4.4 million in just 4 years. We crushed it.
And that's amazing.
One of the things that was the most valuable thing during that time was, I mean, I sat with people, your average, you know, the average age of our patients were, you know, 60 plus, right? They were in the last chapter of their life. And I remember, I remember really, I asked, I asked somebody this question and I phrased it in a way— the last time I ever phrased it was this way was when I asked this guy, go, so, you know, what is the— what, what would you ex— what would you give me for advice for a guy, you being in the last chapter of your life? What would you give to me for somebody that, you know, is, is maybe in the middle chapter? He says, young man, he says, I might be 88 years old, but I'm just getting started. Oh, and, and I, I, I got really taken back by that.
Wow.
He goes, he goes, no, don't— he goes, understand, age is a mindset. And he goes, the second I believe I'm leaving is when I will start leaving. He says, but the more I wake up every day understanding that today's a new day, so therefore I consistently experience new beginnings. And, uh, I'll tell you that I learned some of my most valuable lessons sitting down with people in that frame of my life because the wisdom they brought and the insight that they brought was, man, just spectacular.
It is. And they're a lot of fun. They're like, you know, having a second wave of children, basically.
Yeah.
I worked with seniors, so I know all about that. I mean, I felt like I had my grandma and grandpa with me at all times. It was, it great.
Yeah.
And we are not here to pay bills and die.
No, no.
And we all have, like, I don't know about you, but we all have this burning desire to find our soul's purpose. That's what we're here for. So, um, exactly, exactly. Oh wow. And I— yeah, that going from half a million dollars to over $4.4 million, that, that's amazing. I see I've seen that in your bio as well. And now it looks like you're working with, in a team, John Maxwell. Is that, I, for some reason I think realtor. Is that correct?
So John Maxwell is arguably the number one author on leadership.
Oh, okay.
Books on leadership. And I'm a certified speaker, trainer, and coach with his team. They have about 30,000 certified speakers and trainers and coaches worldwide. And I'm a part of that team. I have been with them now for almost 3 years. I have also been able to— that is where I really started to blend my dancing, my music, and my sales training together because I've done work work on stage now with John, with some of the leaders, and they've actually had me use my dancing as a part of teaching leadership. So it's been pretty fun.
Yeah, that is fun. I mean, I think of, you know, Tony Robbins. I mean, he gets everybody going because, I mean, I've been to some trainings before and I'll tell you, I felt like falling asleep.
So yeah.
Or if it's the Monday morning meeting, the sales meeting, I have 20 years of sales experience. It's like, no thanks, I'd rather watch paint dry. I just, it was awful. So if to have somebody like yourself.
Yeah, it's crazy. It's crazy how many, how much time is wasted with unproductive meetings. It's, meetings are Meetings are amazing if they're used properly and used, uh, you know, it blows my mind how many times I've gone into companies or work with entrepreneurs or anything when they go in, what you're going to do for your meeting? Oh, I don't know, we'll just probably talk about this, talk about that. You're just winging it. There's no, there's no plan in place. Now, I'm, I am definitely a visionary. I'm definitely not an integrator. I'm not super detailed, but I've had to learn that if you don't have a plan, one thing you will plan for is to fail. And so it's important to have a plan, but on top of that, you know, you need to make sure that you're in the right mindset to learn, and you need to make sure that your brain's firing on all cylinders. And as Tony knows, the reason why he gets up everybody, and I mean You go to a Tony event, if anybody of you, if any of you have been to a Tony event, you know, it's like a 5-day rock concert. And the reason for that is because he understands that if you're going to learn and experience everything that's going to change your life, you've got to be at a peak state. And the only way to get yourself at a peak state is if your body is in a peak state. And so you can't be in a peak state. And for those of you that have experienced depression, this is also really important. Your body operates based on the patterns that you're doing. So when you're depressed, your body acts a certain way. When you're excited, your body acts a certain way. When we're depressed, we're not at a peak state to be able to learn, receive. Um, we're not at a— we're not at— we're not at the best way for us to, to live our best life, to learn how to live our best life. And so if you want to be able to learn, you need to be able to put your body in a position where it's gonna learn. And if you're alert and you're in a good mood, you're— science has proven you're more receptive to learning and things stick better. And, and you, you, your brain just has the ability to put pieces together. So, you know, the John Maxwell team has brought me on to, to help them liven the room up so that, that way every morning and, you know, they're ready to go. Everybody's ready to go. We got 3,000 people in, in that event, uh, every, every 6 months. And you spend in 4 days of consistent learning, and your brain's about to melt by the time you're 2 and a half days in. You know, you got to keep your body up and in a peak state. And so, um, you know, they have used me to help do that. It's been a lot of fun.
Awesome. Keep the, keep the vibrations high. And I think there was a reason with confusion because up in Canada there is such a thing as Maxwell Realty. So anyways, yeah, so, oh, what a blonde moment. Anyways, um, I will do it to myself. I don't care. Um, if you can't laugh at yourself, I mean, come on. Uh, so authentic self, I— that was the whole— so what, what's your take on— because you hear it all the time, oh, I want to be authentic, or are you being your authentic itself. It's like we throw it around like, um, I don't know, we just like putting on perfume, we just kind of spray it around and, yeah, I'm authentic. I want your take on that, man.
This is, this is such a powerful, um, this is such a powerful topic because I, I agree with you. I think right now it's a real big buzzword, um, just like a long time, leadership was a buzzword that people threw around, but very few people went beyond the surface. And this is something that I'm right now in the middle of researching because I'm in another pivot of my life. But, you know, this moment of a'awthn, you know, didn't really become as real to me as, um, as honestly of August of 2018, and this is why. So as I told you, I was in music for a long time, and when that record label went bad, here's how I protected myself. I'm kind of a go big or go home guy, so I'm either all in or I'm all out, right? And so when my record deal failed, I walked away from everything that related to music. I stopped dancing. I stopped writing music. The only thing that I was doing is that I've been involved as a worship pastor for, um, and worship team leader for my church for a really long time. And so that's what I did, but I basically showed up on Sunday, played music, and that was about as much— we practiced on Wednesday, but that was about as much of music as I touched.
Yeah.
And, um, and you know, when I was in the hearing healthcare business, um, So, you know, you've probably seen as I'm moving my hands, I'm all tatted up. I've got piercings. I don't have my earrings in right now.
Your tattoos are beautiful, by the way.
Thank you very much. But when I was, when I was in the hearing healthcare business, I covered all that up, took all the piercings out, wore the shirt and tie. Now, this is not a conversation about whether or not you should wear a certain suit and tie, okay? But here's, here's the key, is that When I got— when we transitioned out of the hearing healthcare business into the consulting world where we wanted to work with business owners and, and stuff, um, you know, and I was going to the John Maxwell Team conferences then, um, I would wear these really expensive tailored suits because in my mind I wanted to work with CEOs of companies.
Yeah.
And so I had a thought in my mind what those types of people wanted and who they wanted to work with. So they would want to— who's going to want to work with some, some music guy? Nobody's going to take him seriously. Because if you see me walking the street right now, I wear ripped jeans and long tail tees like some 18-year-old. I still dress like I'm 18. And but I was all worried about what people were going to think. And as a performer, if there's any performers on here, creatives alike, I would say We all thrive off of the opinions of others because that's how we know we're creating something that people love.
Yeah.
And so as a performer that lives on stage a lot, you know, I read crowds for a living. I can tell if they're really into it. And at some point, sometimes if you get too over the top of being worried about other people's opinion, then you start living for other people. Mm-hmm. Now, every day I got up for work, I lived for the opinions of other people. If I wanted a new client, okay, they're gonna spend $20,000, $30,000, $40,000, maybe $100,000 with us. They're gonna want me to look a certain way. So when I would go to these John Maxwell team conferences, there's, there's 3 different people that typically go to these John Maxwell team conferences. One are speakers, trainers, and coaches that are trying to build some sort of a speaking, training, coaching business. Right? Well, then you have other people. John is also known for being an amazing personal growth and development mentor, trainer, teacher. So people will just go to the conferences just for that.
Mm-hmm.
Well, then you also have people that are a part of companies that are looking for speakers and trainers and coaches in the John Maxwell team to bring in to speak and train and coach their teams. Well, I wanted to connect with those types of people. So I would show up in my nice suit, make sure the tie was real nice, make sure that the tailor had this thing fitted for me just right, because, you know, that's how I was going to impress people. And I would go and I would connect with people at lunch, and, you know, I would, I would, uh, you know, I would maybe meet 10, 15 people maybe at a conference. And, and I mean have a genuine connection with those people, right?
Mm-hmm.
You know, all the while, music is still a heartbeat of mine. So, you know, the best way that I can, I can, I can identify it is my grandfather, before he passed away, had a, had a heart condition. So he was running on 25% of his heart. Well, that's how I felt. I was running on 25% of my heart because I thought that that passion of mine, that that chapter of my life was done. Because I looked at that failure, I looked at that failed record deal as an indication for this wasn't meant to be. This wasn't meant to be me. This wasn't, you know, this was a pipe dream. And, and here's what I want you— I want you to really understand. And I— my mentor Paul Martinelli taught me this, is, is rang true with me. Too many people don't live out their purpose because they fall in love with the plan. And when their plan doesn't work, they abandon their purpose. You want your purpose to look a certain way.
Yes.
You're walking around with a closed hand. You're not walking around with an open one. And that's what I did. So I thought, okay, my music stuff is done. My purpose now is to help people in the sales world. This is what I'm going to do the rest of my life. And I was good at it. But just because you're good at something doesn't mean you're passionate about it.
Exactly. Wow. We have a very similar sales story.
And so, and so I was going to these John Maxwell team conferences and going to these businesses and going to these You know, and in all honesty, half the time I met the business owner, I didn't connect with them. I didn't even— we didn't have anything in common. And I was just— I was trying to figure out what was the disconnect. And then somebody in the John Maxwell team saw me do a Facebook Live, and I had just hinted towards my past experience in LA. And the John Maxwell team has had a dance team for a long time. And really what it was was a bunch of eye personalities that loved pom-poms and high energy, and they got up there and they just jumped around with no real, you know, organization to it. And, and somebody said, why in the world do we have a dancer that used to dance for Justin Timberlake that actually knows what he's doing? Why do we have him sitting in the crowd and we have these people leading the dance team? And And it was a joke, but nobody knew my history because I hid it. I didn't want anybody to know because I thought that part of my story would devalue me as the person I was trying to personify. I was trying to be this person. Well, when it leaked out who I used to dance for, they're like, hey, listen, the president of the John Maxwell team said, listen, we want you on that stage. And, uh, not only do we want you on that stage, we're going to give you your own private spot. I just want you to dance on stage and, and, and kind of share your story. Now, the cool story about this was the audition place that I got discovered to move out to LA was the exact same place that this John Maxwell team conference is being held at.
Oh wow, synchronicity there.
And, um, and when I walked in the first the first time I got chills up and down my spine because I knew exactly what hotel that was.
Wow.
But again, not ever thinking that that part of my life was valuable anymore. And so when they came to me, I, you know, I had a secret crying session because it was like God was knocking on my door saying, listen, I created you for a reason. And it might not have looked the way that you wanted it to. It might not have gone exactly how you thought it was going to go. But listen, your time frame is not my time frame. And just because you think it's done doesn't mean I am done. And, and, and, and so I got up on that stage and I danced and I got to share a little bit of my story. And would you know, I told them, I said, if you're gonna have me dance, I can't dance in a suit. If I'm gonna dance, I gotta, I gotta be me up on that stage. You're gonna see the ripped jeans, you're gonna see the long tail tees, you're gonna see the tattoos, you're gonna see the piercings. They said bring it all. And so I brought it all. And that day I I must have taken 500 pictures with people. I connected with people in ways they came to me and said, Jesse, I just need to tell you how much your story touched me. I need to tell you how much. I remember having people come down to me and tell me that— I remember this one guy came to me. He was in khaki pants, this old Hawaiian shirt, and open-toed sandals. And he comes to me and he says, Jesse, My suit's up in the closet. He said, my suit doesn't fit me either. And it was at that point, and that is really the point that my business took off. And it was, it was at that point where authenticity moved from a buzzword to a reality. It was at that point that I understood the value of being yourself. Here's the thing. You're not supposed to connect with everybody. No, not everybody is your ideal client. And here's the thing, right? To be somebody you're not, you're really not serving your client to begin with.
Mm-hmm.
And so niching down, because really you serve at a better level to a small group of people that you're authentically connecting with. Than you could if you had a million followers and you're being somebody that you weren't designed to be. And so, and we live in an Instagram filtered, you know, fake life. I mean, I can't tell you how many people that are running Facebook ads right now that are leaning up against Bugattis and Ferraris and stuff, that they're taking those pictures in a car lot because they can't afford to buy those cars either.
They're writing checks that their body can't cash.
Yeah, they really don't have— they, in fact, they probably have 3 clients paying them $150 a month.
Oh my goodness.
But, but, but, but, but the thing of it is, is that, is, is that really, you know, I've had a chance to connect with some of the most successful people and spend time with some of the most successful people. And, and, and, and I'm talking people that are making, no joke, $5, $10, $15 million a year. And trust me, they aren't trying to be anybody but themselves anymore. And if you— here's the thing, money does not— is not the ruler for your value.
That's right.
Because— and I had that first lesson when I sat in a party in Bel Air when I was in LA. I went to a guy's house. We had a party. There was 1,000 people in his house. I mean, this guy had, I mean, money, cars, women, whatever you— he wanted, he could have. And he sat and talked to me after everybody left. We sat and talked to me. We went out to his garage. We went out to his garage. His garage was bigger than his house. His house was worth $10 million. His garage was bigger than his house. He had Ferraris, Bugattis, Mercedes. I mean, he had everything. The contents in his garage were valued more than his home. And this guy sat and talked to me about how absolutely miserable he was.
Yeah, money can't buy you happiness.
Absolutely miserable. It was at that point that I started to equate— now we have these moments where we realize it and then we lose it, right? But that was at that point that I really started to understand that you can't buy fulfillment.
Absolutely not.
You can't. But fulfillment starts when you start to understand not authenticity from a, from a buzzword standpoint, but authenticity from a real life standpoint.
Yeah, living from your heart. How does it feel? How does it— that's how I, I say with clients as well. How does it feel when you do this? How does it feel when you do that? That's how you know. If we're listening to our bodies more, our feelings, that's where they sit, in our bodies. If it's not connecting, you're gonna— your body's gonna tell you, especially your— I think your stomach, uh, is number one here. But, um, Lynn is saying hello. Hi Lynn, thanks for joining us. But yeah, no, that beautiful— what a story. Um, and I think that's why I wanted to have you on the show. I mean, we only talked for maybe 5 minutes and and I'm like, you got to come on the show. Yeah, that's, that's beautiful. Um, so you're, you're basically, you're, you're showing just by what you're doing, you're showing people how to— this is what being authentic is, this is what living authentic is.
And people are like, I want what Jesse has with that You know, I think, I think, and this is again where I'm going through a big pivot. So I've been, you know, I've been doing sales for a long time and, and I, about a month ago, um, and, and I'm going to tell this story out of pure transparency because I think on these podcasts, um, and in these shows and these different kinds of things, I've been on a bunch of them and I listened to a lot of them and I think I think what you can is you think that there's a point of arrival where all of a sudden you go through bumps and bruises and then you hit that point of success and then the bumps and bruises go away. And so I want to tell this story out of a pure authenticity because that's just how I live, and transparency. About a month ago, I hit burnout. About a month in, I a month and a half ago, I hit burnout to the point where if you go on my Facebook feed right now, if you go on any of my social media platforms, you'll see where I was consistently posting content and then all of a sudden, boop, I disappeared.
Hmm, yeah, that's true.
Okay, it got to a point where I was doing things because it's what I thought I should be doing, but there rub. And because I'm really passionate now about talking about and helping people embrace their design, embrace who they are, don't try to be somebody else, right? I'm really passionate about helping people step into their purpose and realize that their dreams are okay and their dreams are valid, their dreams are purposeful, and you need to live them out. But I could monetize sales a whole lot easier. And, and I have a good sales process. We have a sales process that are changing businesses all the time, making them lots of money. And I was good at it, but I was starting to deep dive into my business and start to talk about like, what is it that I really wanted to do? And And I started to realize that sales was what I was good at, not what I really was passionate about. I was passionate about helping people.
Yes.
But I wasn't passionate about helping them close another sale. And so, so I had to take a step backwards. And for any of you guys that, that feel that, don't wait till you burn out because it got to the point where I literally sat on my couch for hours frozen because I was overwhelmed and I was experiencing panic attacks and experiencing anxiety because my heart, my spirit wanted to do one thing and my brain wanted me to do another.
Yeah, that disconnect, right?
Because sometimes your logical mind, your, your, your, your, your, your logical mind, your conscious mind operates a lot on fight or flight.
Yes.
And so that's where your fear comes from. That's where all that stuff— and your non-conscious mind, it's, it's there to serve you and give you a bunch of— it's where all your ideas come from, right? Your spirit is constantly getting ideas. Well, a lot of times where your conscious mind and your non-conscious mind has a meltdown is when your conscious mind wants to ask one question that'll cripple you all the time. And that's how there are more dreams and more purposes that are buried.
Yes.
Question. And you don't stop because you don't know how. You start to explore because you don't know how.
True enough.
And, and where I was, I was the lie that I kept telling myself, how are you going to make money that way? How are you going to do that? How are you really going to make money that way? You need to stop because you're not going to be able to make— you're not going to be able to monetize it. You know, Trent Shelton and, and Eric Thomas and, you know, Lewis Howes, all those guys got that market on lock. You can't make money talking about purpose, making buddy— making people feel fuzzy. So that's not going to happen. And so I was having this angst. And so what I needed to do, and it's okay to do this, is I needed to stop. I needed to unplug.
Okay. Yeah, that's—
and, and, and so in this, in this day and age that we're in, so many people like, you got to be consistent, you got to be consistent, which is true, but never be a slave to consistency. And I was being a slave to consistency.
Like you're just going through the motions, you weren't really there, doing it, doing it. Yeah, no heart. Exactly. Live, live from the heart. And, uh, that ego, I tell you, it's a tricky one. It's tricky. And it looks like Lynn is definitely resonating with what you're saying. She knows all about it. Yeah, and she's going through that lots lately. Yeah, she's going through a lot of growth. I know that for sure, and it's, it's not easy, um, but it's, it's something we need to do. Yep. Yeah, that's, that's how I feel about it. Um, I asked you at the beginning of the show, I always ask my guests, so we're going to go to this question. Um, so how, you know, Collectively, how can we, like, at the collective energy, help make your dreams come true?
I love this question. I got a big smile on my face when you asked this question because it made me so excited.
Nice.
I am super passionate about this, this, this one thing I'm gonna say, okay? And, and your, your word is so spot on. You said as a collective because We are a body of people. Um, the arm cannot say to the hand, I don't need you. There is not— there is not a body part on our— now, can you make it work? Sure, but it's a lot harder. So the best way that you as a collective can serve me, to help me achieve my dreams, is I need you to achieve yours. I need you to get out there and to do what you are meant to do, because in all honesty, I can't do what I was meant to do to the fullest extent until you step in and start doing what you are meant to do, because we are 100% connected.
Yes, we are.
You know, they talk about 6 degrees of separation and, you know, how many— well, you know, and I love hearing stories. Well, this happens, so then this happens, so then this happens, so this— do you realize that your step that you take tomorrow could be the very thing that sets me up to crush it 10 years from now? Because you are willing to take your step, it set me up to take mine. Same thing for me when I was sitting on that couch and I was feeling down and I was wanting to give up, in all honesty, because I was so frozen. The thing that kept me going was remembering, hey, listen, if I sit on this couch, it's not just affecting me, it's affecting you. And so, you know, for, for those of you that are external people that don't get motivated by how things impact you, but you get motivated by how it impacts other people. Think about that. Think about the fact that you might have a best friend, you might have a, a loved one, you might have a family member that is waiting. Their dream is waiting for you to step into yours.
Boom! I love it. I love it. That's amazing. Yeah, collective, collaborative you know, collaborating, it's aligning, all of that energy. I love it. And then this one, you had to think about this one when I asked you at the beginning. What does magic mean to you?
Man, I— this is such a good question. Um, I think magic is when Something happens that was beyond your control that you never saw coming.
Boom.
And, and, and it ties right in with— it ties right in with, with the, with the previous question. And I think about this a lot because, you know, Paul Martinelli Martinelli, who is the one that founded the John Maxwell Team with John Maxwell. You know, he had several failed partnerships that happened prior to him partnering with John. And the type of ask that Paul Martinelli gave is incredible. See, many people had approached John Maxwell before and said, you know what, you should start a a training and a coaching certification program, and I'll run it for you. And what they really meant was, you should put all the money in, you should take all the risk, you should do everything, and then once you get it up and running, just put me in position and I'll run it for you. Paul Martinelli, his approach to John was this: Listen, how about this? How about I'll put in $400,000 of my own money, Everything that I got, I'll put it all in. You don't have to spend a dime. I'll put in all the resources, I'll put all the time in, I'll hire the staff, I'll do everything. You don't have to do anything. On top of that, on top of that, I'll do all the marketing, I'll do everything. You just have to show up and we'll start a speaking, training, coaching program. And, you know, John— Paul was the first person that ever gave John that kind of an offer. Now John goes, here's the thing, Paul, if one person signs up for this, I have to deliver. If only one person decides to sign up, I have to deliver. So for the dates that you're requiring of me— and you got to remember, John's the highest spate highest paid non-celebrity speaker on the planet. He's, he's, he's not cheap to bring into your organization. Above 6 figures, right?
Yeah.
And so John said, you are personally— not John Maxwell team— you, Paul Martinelli, in the contract, have to guarantee me $1 million. So one person signs up. I don't care, you make $5,000 on these books because I'm showing up. And Paul Martinelli looked at John Maxwell and said, anything else? And John said, nope. He said, okay, write it up. Now, had Paul never taken that step— I never saw it coming that they would ask me to dance on stage. I never saw it coming that that would be the very thing that gave me the leverage, the, the catapult to start to really, uh, explode my business. That magic happened on that stage that day because it was something that was outside of my control that I never saw coming.
Yeah, it was already in motion and You know what, whether you inherently asked or did not ask, the universe is like, okay, you ready, Jesse?
Yeah, here we go.
Wow. You know what, I could go on for hours talking with you and, and discussing, you know, the authentic self and all of your stories. You have so many stories. I can see why people come up to you, want pictures with you, are inspired by you. Um, I mean, the, the kids and the worship team alone are lucky to have you.
So I appreciate that.
Uh, now where can everybody find you? Is— do you have any events that are going on, anything special that people— where they can find you? How do we get a hold of you?
Yeah, so, um, I mean, I'm, I, I'm not going to be off of social media forever, uh, so I'll be, I'll be coming back. Um, and of course you can connect with me on Facebook Jesse, Jesse Smith or Jesse Paul Smith. Same thing on Instagram or LinkedIn. I am going to be speaking at a conference in Wausau, Wisconsin here called the Leadership Launch. It's called Launch Conference, and that is on April 7th in Wausau. And I'll be talking about authenticity, but also be talking about sales there. And then If you're not part of the John Maxwell Team, I'll tell you hands down, it's been one of my greatest growth opportunities in my life. There's a lot of programs out there. I've— and I'm a big fan of Tony Robbins. I'm a big fan of Lewis Howes and all these other guys that are out there doing programs. But I'll tell you what, there is not another tribe like the John Maxwell Team. And so If you haven't had a chance, check them out. They're phenomenal. You will not only grow personally, but you'll grow professionally. Those of you that are looking to be able to speak on stage better, have some content to be able to teach your tribe, they give you all that. It's a great organization. And, you know, then you and I can hang out for 4 days, 4 days every 6 months because I go to every conference and I hang out with the other people there.
Wonderful, that sounds amazing. Yeah, definitely. So you guys know how to get a hold of Jesse. Uh, if you have any questions, please leave them below, even on the replay. We— Jesse will make sure you get back to you. Anything for me, let me know. And, uh, thank you again, Jesse, for coming on the show. I can't wait to see, uh, what else she'll be doing in the future and to meet you. You know, to come to one of these conferences. That would be something.
That would be fun. I love meeting people, and I am the guy that wants people to come and chat with them, stop them in the hall. I might look like I'm a bulldog sometimes. I get going, and, you know, people have to stop me. But anytime you ever see me out somewhere or whatever, I love it when people stop me.
Wonderful. All right guys, have an amazing week. We will see you next week, same time. And hey, please remember, healing begins where the ego ends. Take care.
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