178: Overcoming Fear and Taking Steps Forward with Jason Philips - #GrowYourLife

Hey, everyone. Thanks for listening to the Grow youw Life podcast. My name is Jeremiah Krakowski, and if we haven't met yet, I help course creators, coaches, trainers, authors, mentors, speakers, get more clients, make more revenue, and reach more people with their message. And so if you're a coach, trainer, author, speaker, mentor, even minister, like the man that I'm about to bring up here, I'm going to introduce you to this podcast is for you, to help you grow your vision, to reach higher levels and to break past what's stopping you from getting there. Now, today I have the honor and privilege of having Jason Phillips. He is a father, international speaker, follower of Jesus. He runs a ministry called Revival Town Ministries. He started a number of businesses. He's a humanitarian that believes in. In giving back and taking care of people and getting deeply involved in. In communities. Help me welcome Jason Phillips. How are you doing, Jason?

Hey, good, Jeremiah. Doing great. Thanks for having me on today. Appreciate it.

Yeah, you're. You're quite the. Quite the pioneer in your space in a lot of the stuff that you're doing. I think that that best describes you. It's awesome. How did you get started in doing what you're doing now? How did you get started? I guess in ministry, in business? Tell me a little bit about that story.

Yeah, so in ministry, I always knew that there was a calling or something on my life to be a risk taker and see massive change happen. And so I got involved when I was 23 with an organization called Youth with a Mission. Ywam. And I went for three months to a missions training center. And then I spent three months in India and I was 23 years old. And the first time. It was the first time I'd actually traveled outside of the US and, you know, I got to go to Mother Teresa's home and just saw amazing things. But at the same time, you know, I was broken over. Over the needs of the planet. And so during the next five years, we started several ministries. We raised $40,000 and built a church and an orphanage in India, one of the places that we've been to. And we just started to really spread awareness about the needs of the planet. And, you know, I began to speak and teach and, and you know, that. But that was the very first place that I got impacted, you know, 23 years old. And. And now this October, it'll be 25 years since that that happened. And.

Wow.

So it was. It was several encounters really, that happened to me. That, that just kind of launched us into going to the nations as well as, you know, just sharing about the kingdom of God and everything. It was just a real powerful time.

What, when you talk about the needs of the planet, what would, what would those be like that really pulled you because like what impacted you that the needs of.

Yeah, just, just things we take for granted here as far as clean water, you know, food and things like that. You know, there's billions of people that don't have access to clean water. There's people access to proper sanitation. And so that, that was things that, you know, basic needs that people had that weren't being met. And so that was one of the reasons why when you asked about business, we started, I started two businesses. I started a juice bar and we had a one for one program for a long time. So every time somebody bought a juice, we would provide a meal for somebody in a developing country. It's like a one for one kind of similar to what Tom Shoes has done. And then the same thing, we started a, a water bottle company and we were doing the same thing with that as well.

I, I should have had you send me a water bottle before we. Yeah, start.

Yeah, sure.

We'll pretend like it is.

Sure. Yeah. So, so base. Basically. I had a lot of time in full time ministry and then I transitioned into business and. But my heart has always been to give back and that, you know, whatever you're doing in life, whether it's business or ministry or you're just starting a business right now and you're thinking about, you know, getting your business going. One of the things that I always feel is that when you get your vision beyond your current need, then God begins to pour back into your vision and into the things that you're on. So I always, I always didn't want the business just to be like, let's make revenue. But how can we change the planet? How can we make a positive impact whether it's just giving somebody a meal or clean water, you know, and so I was using that give back system as far as, you know, in business.

Awesome. I want to ask you about that is when people have a vision. A lot of the people who especially they listen to this podcast, they have an idea of what they want to do, they have an idea of where they want to go, but it's risky. And you are a man that knows about taking risk. What would you say to people that are just like, it's too risky for me to go after the vision that I have?

Yeah, I mean, that's a really good question. And a lot of what I've done on the outside, people, you know, might see confidence, but it's really. It's fear and trembling. And so one of the things I say, if there's something burning inside of you, and you know you need to do it, number one, do it afraid. You're probably going to have some fear, you're probably going to have some doubt, but you need to let the vision that's burning inside of you propel you to do something that will get you beyond that. That fear. And so I've taken a lot of risks. When I started our juice bar, it was called Zoe Juice Bar. You can look it up now. It's still in business. And I was actually able to sell the thing after. After six years, and it's. It's still operating and they've got a great team. But I risked everything. I had, you know, wife, a mortgage, and I quit my job, and I had loans and. And I was full of anxiety because I had never done before. But the other thing that. That I realized is, is. And I know you talk about this a lot, Jeremiah, is that. Is that you need to be willing to ask for help. And if you don't know something, somebody knows it somewhere and you can find out. And so I wasn't the guy that, you know, there's nothing new under the sun. So there's juice bars all over the place. And I just found some places in California that were doing it well, and I thought, well, what kind of spin can we do on it? But then I started getting business coaches in the local area that would help us with our profit and loss and. And pricing our products and things like that. And so, yeah, basically, really quickly, I figured out what I didn't know. And then I. I just kept going forward. And I made a lot of mistakes, especially in the beginning. I had our products price too low. I had employees that I shouldn't have had working for me in the beginning and. And all different things. And. And then I learned a lot about systems, too. You know, that I need to create systems in the business. And so. But back to their original question. You know, if somebody's watching today and you're afraid to step out, you know, find somebody that's doing what you want to do and ask questions and find a coach or a mentor or that can really guide you. Because one thing that happened that was so crazy is I was meeting with a business coach of mine, a local one, and he's like, jason, you have a lot of revenue coming in, but you have this much profit. I'M like, yeah, I know. That's why I'm with you, man. I'm stressed out. And he said. He said, have you thought about raising your price 50 cents? I'm a man of action. And so, I mean, I was a little bit nervous. You don't, you know, like, hey, why are you raising your price? But literally three days later, our price was raised by 50 cents. Almost no customers thought about it, you know, brought it up, and that brought us in $200 every day of additional profit.

Wow.

By just raising the cost of a drink by 50 cents. And so, like, little keys can open up big doors. And. And my coach, buddy of mine, his name's Daryl, he, you know, he saved us there, got.

Got our.

Got us back to where we needed to be.

So we have a lot of people that follow me especially they listen to this podcast who. They're scared. They have beliefs that they've been taught. They don't want to be a bad steward of the resources God's given them. They don't want to make unwise decisions. They know that time is valuable. They don't want to waste time. And. And yet they. Because of that, they're sitting idle for year after year after year, burning with these ideas, not doing anything.

Yeah.

What would you say as some wisdom to that person, as somebody who. It sounds like you've broken through that.

Yeah. I think, you know, you have to take action because it's not just going to pop out of the sky and your business is going to take fire. There's. There's. There's little steps that you have to take. One of the things that. That really put me under the fire is with, uh. And I. I know probably most people watching aren't brick and mortar businesses. I'm sure some are. But with the brick and mortar business, I had a lease that I had signed. I had the city, the county, the health department, the building owner. I had everybody and the employees, like, Jason, you have to open on June 1st. Like you have to. And so that put a fire in me to get that done. But. But when I switched and I started doing businesses like this, I realized I could overthink things and I could try to make. I have to make this perfect. I have to do this, and I have to do that. And. And even a lot of what you have been sharing really helps me because it was, no, you need to take action and get revenue happening now. And I. I've heard it said, maybe it was you that said it, that, you know, even Nike and these major Companies that have been doing it for years, they still make mistakes. And so you just have to, you have to take action. You have to roadmap out what you want to do and make goals. That's what we're doing now for one of the next businesses we're working on or we're, we're doing some goals. And my wife is actually the one that's really helping me be accountable. And so.

That's awesome.

Yeah. Yeah. So, I mean, there's no, there's no cut course plan as to how to take action, but you just have to what feels right for you and just make some smart goals and step out and, and, you know, again, do it afraid because if we're honest, everybody's afraid to start something new. You don't know if it's going to work out. Got a dream. But, but if you don't step out, you're never going to know.

What would you say to some people? They don't want to, they don't want to ask somebody who's been successful for help because they're afraid of being a burden and a bother to that person. And they think that. Well, I, I've asked people for help and most people say no, so I'm just not going to ask again.

Yeah, I would, I would say for me that, that really hasn't been my experience as far as far as asking for help. So I know people, A lot of people think that. Yeah. So people fear rejection. Yeah. So sometimes they won't stop and ask. Or maybe it's pride or maybe, you know, there's all different reasons why people won't ask. But I remember when I was on the other end of that, our juice bar, we got a couple reward or nominations or for best juice bar in the Northwest. And we were in some Spoon magazine, which was, you know, a healthy eating thing. And like, this is cool. So we got a little bit of attention on the media and somebody called us up from a juice bar in another state asking, asking me some advice. And I gave them free advice. I talked to them and it made me feel good because I'm like, wait, somebody wants to hear what I've been through? And I was able to save them a lot of pain and misery because there were things that are specific to this industry that I've been in for five years and I could save them pain by, okay, don't buy that piece of equipment. Use this, and you'll see how things will grow. So I would say just ask. Just, just ask people if you get turned Down, Ask somebody again. There's always somebody that, that will want to help you because, you know, it's a win, win situation. You know, people that are successful love to help other people that are, are about to.

It's absolutely true. And you're, you're hearing, watching this from two people that have been there, had to ask for help, have had success. Ask, don't be afraid. A lot of people are so afraid of getting turned down. Here's the thing. If somebody gets rude or mean with you for asking for help, they're, they're misrepresenting their success. At that point, they're, they're probably insecure about their success and they're trying to hide it behind their anger. Yeah, you know, it's not like you're not normally gonna run into that. Now I'll say, if you're going up to somebody and saying, hey, I need you to buy this and I need an investment from you, you got to be strategic as to the type of help you ask. So what would you say? Like, because if that guy said, hey, Jason, I see you're so wealthy, can you buy my business and run it for me? You probably say, click and hang up the phone. Like, but like, and sometimes that's that type of help that people need. They don't understand how to get capital or whatever that is, but they're not asking the right questions. I tell people, you know, the fact that you're getting rejected is just. It's the wrong question. And here's what I see people do then they beat themselves up for asking the wrong question. They never try to find out what the right questions are because they feel embarrassed for asking the wrong questions. So once you break past that embarrassment. I've asked a ton of really dumb questions before of mentors and, or the wrong people or whatever. But once you start doing it, it gets fun and exciting. What are some of the strategic questions? For example, the guy who came to you, like, how did he approach you initially to ask, how have you approached mentors?

Well, the people that approached me, I, I think they were probably nervous too. You know, I got this, I got this message at our store that some juice bar, and I think it was Idaho wanted to talk to me and got on the phone and, and it was a lady, and she was a new business owner. And, you know, basically a lot of her questions revolved around the process as far as working with employees, working with staff, advertising, really the whole gamut of everything. So, so basically I just had a casual conversation with her. I Said, hey, I'm not an expert. I have one store. I'm not Jamba Juice, but this is how I did it. These are some of the mistakes I had made. And if, if, if any of this makes sense to you, that's great. If it doesn't, you can flush it. You know, we're in different cities, different counties. You know, you can, you can take what, what helps you. And, and I think that that really empowered her and then made me feel good. But as far as, you know, my businesses, I've, I've asked people directly for questions and help even, even if they're not in the same space as me. The business I'm working on now, I'm asking people in the restaurant industry some questions, even though it's not exactly. It's not a food business at all. But there is one piece of restaurant equipment that we do use in the business. So I've already been asking about commercial kitchen space and, and really just keep knocking is, is what, is what I would do because, like, there's been many times I asked somebody, they're like, oh, I don't know. I, I have no idea. And then I contacted my buddy that, that made cookies, and I'm like, hey, can you tell me about these massive, like KitchenAid on steroids blenders? Where do I get them? Do you know anybody that's got used ones? Because that's one of the things that we use to make our next product. And so. And I've asked a lot of stupid questions before too, and some of the input you get might not be helpful, but it's like that one word that can unlock everything or they might know somebody. Yeah, that, that can just open up a brand new door for you. So I don't know that really helps answer.

It does help a lot.

Kind of like, kind of like just fishing, you know, you just, yeah, you just try it and try it and try. And then you'll have those connections where you're really linked with somebody.

And how do you do that and find time with your family and not neglect your family?

I put family first. So family for me is the most important thing. That's why we do what we do. That's why even going forward, we're trying to create things that have more family time or that we can all be involved. And so either early in the morning or. My daughter's 5 right now, so she goes to bed about 7:30 or 8. So yeah, I can, I can make phone calls. And like, I was up till midnight last night working on Projects. And so I just try to be creative with my time, but then I don't beat myself up because I know there might be short seasons where I might not be home to tuck in my daughter every night because I got stuff going on, but I always make that the number one priority.

And I talked to a lot of business owners where they, they're, they're actually terrified of even having a night where they don't tuck in their daughter. Like as if that makes them a horrible.

Yeah.

Or whatever. Or just that they just, they don't see literally any possibility of even one hour in their day from morning to night where they could ever do anything in a business. What. How would you say that you found your time and how did that, how did you develop that?

Yeah, for me, I just started to schedule things that worked with our, with our family. When I opened Zoe Juice bar, I didn't have. My daughter wasn't born until 2017 and we opened in 2013. So there's a big window where, you know, I wasn't, wasn't a parent. And so even when my daughter was born, I just, even things like I let the store know you can't call me all the time was something that was really important is I set up boundaries and then I also set up systems so that my time was my time. And then what I tried to do is set us like you can work in your business and then you can work on your business. And so a lot of the goal is to free yourself up so you have more time. And so I would set aside time. I would set aside time where I'm not in the business, just grinding away, but that I would step back and work maybe an hour a day on the business on systems and things that would ultimately free up me and my family to do more things that we love to do. But I didn't have just a full blueprint of time with family, but I just made it a priority. And the other thing too is, is. It sounded like what you're saying is, is a lot of people, you said, can beat themselves up if they feel.

Guilt and shame like they have. They call it their obligations, they can't go out. They, they're. They're non negotiables that I'm with my family 247 at their beck and call and I literally can't do anything.

Yeah, I mean, family is the most important thing. But again, it can also. You have to, you have to balance that. Like you can't. I mean, if you got a regular job, you're 8 to 5 Monday through Friday, or your boss tells you to work overtime, or you got to get. I mean, I have a lot of friends that are flying all over the country, and, you know, things come up. You. You just have to do the best you can, but never have shame. There's, like, a few days that goes by where you don't and somebody. I mean, now with. With social media and Zoom and Facebook, like, we're more connected than we ever have been.

Yeah.

And so you could be on India on a missions trip and not see your family for a week, but you can still connect with them every single day. And so I think it's important to not beat yourself up if there's a little bit of time you miss.

And so do you don't think that. That connecting with them digitally is destroying the family structure and regressing back or. Or being an unloving father?

I mean, if that's the only time you see your family is through a screen, then. Then. Then we might need to sit down and have a talk.

Right.

If occasionally you're on a business trip or traveling or building an orphanage in Uganda and you're gone for a few weeks, this is like heaven.

Like what?

I mean, we've dreamed of how. We've dreamed of having this type of technology to communicate and see people. And so. So, yeah, I mean, I think it's.

Great you said something powerful about involving the family in it. Involving them in the vision.

Yeah.

So, like, when you're gone overseas, the family. Would you say that your family is excited that you're gone?

Yes. Yeah, definitely. I have now. I haven't went overseas since my daughter's been born, but my wife and friends and other people, very, very excited. Yeah, they feel part of that connection because they're. They're supporting with you, praying for you, and. And just. Plus, you know, back when I first used to travel, you know, 97, it was just an email that you would send to somebody, and now you can update. You can update your Facebook from the middle of the jungle. And people. People feel more connected to you.

Yeah, that's true. That's. That's amazing. And so there's so much opportunity out there for people to get into business, to. To learn from a mentor, to be able to learn what they don't know, if they have a vision. Any, I guess, final thoughts on this? As far as. I think this podcast is really about, you know, how you practically take a vision and make it happen. Yeah. So any final thoughts on that for people? They have a Vision for their life. They have a vision, but they just. They feel stuck. And some things that you wish that you knew when you first got started.

Yeah, I think a lot of it is mindset that. That you really have to have. You know, you can't have a positive life with a negative mind. And these are the best days to be alive. Tv, the news, social media, you know, the economy, all this stuff going on is fear, fear, fear, fear. However, these are the best days to be alive. And the greatest opportunity for maximum impact in whatever space you're in, whether it's coaching, training, you know, writing a book, music, anything. Like, with social media and the way things accelerate, TikTok, you name it, there is such an opportunity to reach large audiences, really from your home. And this is a great opportunity for people and the people that are walking in doubt and fear and unbelief. And I mean, I have people that I know that are. I'm not gonna. I'm not gonna make any decisions till the next election or. I'm not gonna do anything until. Until this happens. Well, you're. You're missing out because there's a momentum that can happen fast when you begin to. To step into your calling and your gifting.

Yeah.

You know, it's. For me.

Wow.

I just had to do it. Afraid, like. Yeah, very afraid. Many times. And you can't let that stop you. And so whatever vision you have, whatever passion you have that's inside of you, you know, now is the time to start. Now is the time to get involved and just take. Just take steps. I. One last thing I was thinking about is, you know, everybody's looking for a sign or something to fly in the sky, whatever, and. And, you know, I've had friends that, you know, I want to start a coffee shop. Well, what are you doing? I don't know. I just drink coffee. But what are you doing to start your coffee shop and. And instead, you know, start to start to look at coffee shops, what they're doing, how they're doing it. Start investing a little bit or a book or a course and. And then just take those small steps.

Yeah, that's amazing. That's incredible. You know, I have a big vision to create video games, and I. So I broke down and like, okay, what are the steps of this? Okay, we got programming, we got art, we have 3D design, we have storytelling, we have game structure. I'm not very good at all of those, except for maybe storytelling. And so I was like, okay, what's the fastest way for me to get Better at storytelling. And I dove into that and I was like, okay, study comic books. And I was like, okay, novels, like writing novels. And I've been studying story structure because I see that as the gateway that's going to kind of get me into that because it's already using gifts and talents that I have.

Yeah, storytelling. That's awesome. And just you sharing that. A friend of mine that I, excuse me. That I did missions with my, my buddy, his wife became so successful in her business that he actually left his full time business to make video games.

Oh, wow, that's awesome.

Yeah. So I can, I can share more offline, but yeah, yeah, great. That's so cool that you're going for that.

Yeah, I, again, I'm like, I know that the business that I'm supposed to build right now is in this space, but like long term vision. And then I realized, okay, I'm probably going to need some investors. So I've been connecting with different people that do roll ups and venture capital and things like that just to build relationships with them.

So. Yeah.

Yeah.

Another quick thing too that somebody spoke me, spoke to me. That really helped me out is I was stuck as far as I was doing water bottles and I was really focused on that. And a friend of mine met with me and I was talking about water bottles and basically he's like, bro, Jason, you can do more than one thing at a time. You know, this is not taking up 40, 50, 60 hours of your week, even though maybe in your mind it is.

Once it's systematized, it doesn't have to.

Yeah, exactly. And he's like, Jason, I can see you doing this. You can do this and you can do this and, and a few other things. Like, you know, you look at Elon Musk and different people, they run, you know, people that run huge companies, several of them. And so that, that really freed me up to, to start doing other things. And so, you know, people that are watching right now, you're like, well, I'm working a full time job or I have this happening. Well, if you really prioritize and get your mind in the right place and your actions in the right place, you'll be surprised at what you can accomplish. And so I, for me personally, I stepped out in that. And so now I got my hands in a few different things and, and it's fun, you know, you just, it's just enjoyable.

That's great. That's wonderful. I absolutely love that. Did you find. I guess I have another like, kind of question I want to ask you before we close here. I know we were going to close up, but we can just keep talking a little bit. So my journey, every level that I go to is. And sometimes I, I ask questions of people when I have them on the podcast, like I want to know for myself. I found that I have to say no to the good to get to the great. Yeah. No to the good ideas. No to the, you know, a couple clients we've had to say, okay, we can't serve you at the same level. I'm gonna have to say no to the obligation and restructure our contract to be able to build this calling that I have. Yeah. So what would have you experienced that and, and any wisdom in that area?

Yeah, I think, I think I had to like a little bit to. What you're saying is I had to really focus in, into what I was doing. And I think you said it. You know, sometimes good is the enemy of best. And, and there were some, there's some doors that will open for you that you're not supposed to go into.

Yeah.

There's things that'll come in front of you, but, but really it's, it's a distraction from some or something greater, you know, entity that's, that's going to come your way. And so, but I've made, sometimes I've made mistakes as far as there's been something I knew I needed to change.

Yeah.

Because I didn't want to hurt somebody or I didn't want to let somebody down. I just went through this recently with, with a non profit that I was involved with. It's like, I'll stay in. Sometimes we can stay in something when the grace is gone.

Yep.

And, and it's important to, to really try to take action and, and pivot quickly. And it's almost like, you know, you just rip the band aid off and it hurts for a minute. And then you, you know, when I, when I made the transition recently with the thing I was talking about with the nonprofit, doors begin to open up as, as I shut, as I shut another door.

Yeah.

And so, yeah, I think there's a lot of, a lot of room to. And, and it's almost like I think we get so rigid that, that we've got this vision and idea that we want to accomplish. So we hit on our gps, okay, this is where I'm going. This is my destination. And then it doesn't work out and we take a side road and we freak out. But the nice thing about GPS navigation is you turn the wrong Way it says rerouting, you can turn. You can turn the wrong way for a week. And that GPS is still going to tell you this is the way you go.

Yep.

And so, yeah, I think with all that, with, you know, changing contracts and telling clients, you know, hey, this might not work. It all serves the purpose that the, the attend, you know, that you have.

For your life or, or some people have to say it to people at church or their family or. And I, like, I'm not like in the home, immediate family necessarily, but even sometimes I have to say, like, no, I can't do that right now, but I can do that tomorrow.

Yeah.

Not always giving people what they want to build your life. And, And I feel like we're taught that that's selfish when in fact, it's the most selfless thing we can do.

Yeah. Yeah. One thing I learned, and I really learned it a lot from my wife. She's been very strong for me in this season because, you know, these last three years have been challenging for me. It hasn't. Hasn't all been roses, but I. I get up and I go and I go. But what I. What she would tell me, she didn't say these words, but I've heard this. Like, an emergency on your part doesn't constitute an emergency on my part. And a lot of times, like you said, church, but it could be business. Somebody might call you and they think the world is falling apart and they want to call back immediately. Usually if you give them 24 hours, whatever emergency they had.

Yeah.

Worked out on its own.

Yeah.

Yeah. Now, obviously, with family and different things, you know, we want to be really accessible, but you don't just want to be accessible to the entire planet or your entire team.

Right.

20, 24 7.

Right. And it's, It's. That's so important is to learn to have those boundaries, to learn that people get different levels of access. Thank you for being on here. This has been incredible. I. I think this is a lot of value for people. I love the points that you had. I'm going to listen to this again as well.

Yeah.

Where can people find you online?

Well, we've got. We've got a couple things going. Revivaltown.com is. Is our ministry website. And then the, the next thing that we. We started is a. Is a kid slime business. So we have.

Okay.

Shakaslime.com. nice. Yeah.

Yeah, that's awesome.

Yeah.

Well, that's exciting. Shaka Slime. He's like this little pineapple guy.

Exactly. Yeah.

That's awesome.

Yeah. So we're making healthy, healthy slime for kids and putting in essential oils instead of, you know, fragrance that most companies use that have, you know, oil based and won't go into that whole thing, but natural is always better.

That's really fun. That's really exciting. I'm gonna have to share this with. With. With my wife and with my mom, too. This is cool.

Yeah.

All right, well, I'm excited. I think this will be a fun business for you.

Yeah. And again, like I said, whole family's involved, so it's. It's like my, you know, my wife and daughter basically the one steering it. I'm just helping out with.

Yeah.

The other things, but, yeah, family stuff.

Awesome. Well, hey, everybody, listen, if this podcast has helped you make sure that you share it with somebody, don't keep this information to yourself. That's how the podcast grows, and by sharing it with other people and so you can be a part of getting this message out and encouraging somebody to take risks, to go after their vision and to. To do the big, hairy, audacious things that are inside of them. Instead of letting fear be the master and commander of your life, you can go after your life and create it and ultimately fulfill the calling and the purpose that God has put on your life. Thank you, Jason, for being here.

Yeah, thank you.

Pleasure, everybody. Grow your life. We'll talk soon. Have a good one. All right. That was good. That was great.