A Call To Leadership

EP283: From Agnostic to Finding a Spiritual Step with Joe Thompson and Jason DiPietro

• Dr. Nate Salah

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What happens when a bootlegging teenager becomes a purpose-driven business leader? In this episode, we explore Jason DiPietro’s transformation from early entrepreneurial hustles to building a franchise rooted in helping others. We talk about what leadership really looks like when it's driven by values, service, and radical love. If you’ve ever wondered how your business, faith, and personal growth intersect, this conversation will shift your perspective.

Key Takeaways To Listen For

  • Why being set apart is essential for meaningful leadership
  • What franchising taught him about risk, purpose, and integrity
  • How business can be a vessel for spiritual growth and personal refinement
  • Why “loving radically” requires you to let go of old definitions of success
  • What it means to lead from your zone of genius rather than obligation

About Jason DiPietro
Jason is a seasoned entrepreneur with a heart for leadership, service, and personal growth. From early ventures in real estate to building a successful home healthcare franchise, Jason has continually sought opportunities that align business success with community impact. Known for his clarity, humility, and commitment to high-integrity decision-making, he believes skill development is a lifelong journey best used to serve others. Today, Jason helps aspiring entrepreneurs navigate business ownership while exploring deeper purpose through faith and radical love.

Connect with Jason 


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To learn more, visit our website at www.greatsummit.com.

For tax, bookkeeping, or accounting help, contact Dr. Nate’s team at www.theincometaxcenter.com or send an email to info@theincometaxcenter.com.


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[00:00:00] Dr. Nate Salah
Money is important. It's necessary. It is essential. Can't get very far without it, but it's not the thing. The thing is what we do with our hands, our feet, our minds to help heal people of whatever infirmity that they're facing. When it comes to the journey of life and finding our pace with faith, it can be an arduous one, especially if you've grown up in. At the church environment, and maybe you checked out. Maybe you thought, Hey, you know, I don't know if this whole God thing is for me. Well, you're not alone. In fact, I was there myself, and I have invited a very special guest, a dear friend, Jason DiPietro, and he is going to hang out with Joe Thompson and myself. We're gonna talk about this journey. This journey from a belief that, yeah, you know what I don't have all the answers of, of space and what happens out in the cosmos and what happens here on earth, but I'm willing to go wherever the road takes me to find answers, to find truth. And so this is a fun and endearing conversation and I can't wait for you to listen in.

[00:01:18]
I'm Dr. Nate Salah, and this is A Call to Leadership. Jason, thanks for being here. Thanks for having me, Nate. Joseph, it's nice to be here. Nice to see you again. Thank you for inviting me. You're welcome. Jason, we, we're so thrilled to have you on the show today as we talk about leadership, business, spiritual life, all that good stuff. You're a definitely a precious member of our community, and I don't mean that in a, in a negative way. It's, it's a positive way. Because you, you know, you come from a, a little bit of a different, perspective, right? you, you grew up, in a family, that had a, a strong, faith if you'll religious experience. And, and, and you, you, you moved away from that and now you've, you've been in on this sort of journey that you've, that you've embraced to, rekindle a spiritual walk wherever that might take you, right? Yep. And so this is something that's fascinating. Because one of the things I love about you is that you have a clarity about you.

[00:02:30]
 You have a clarity in the way you speak, the way you think, and the way you behave. And it's, it's, it's partnered with decorum and care. And I'm not just saying this to make you feel good, warm me up. I'm feeling good for the, for the, yeah. Yeah. But it's, it's just, it's who you are. And so I want the listener to know. Where, you know, where I see, you and how I've seen you and, and Joe of course has, has, has worked with you very closely, especially as we're working on G three and our platform and a lot of our, our internal operations. As we, as we get that launched. Where does that come from? Is that like, family brought you or this, these are your character traits? Are, is this like parents? Tell us about that part of life and coming up. 

[00:03:15] Jason DiPietro
Probably from, family. Yeah. You know, where it's community working together, helping everyone around you. Mm-hmm. You know, if we had a family gathering and, you know, somebody's working on a thing, it was like, you know, sitting on the couch. My dad was like, get up, go help them. And, you know, it's just, that's kind of carried through and, uh. That's my happy place is just to always offer a hand to anybody in need. I like that a lot. 

[00:03:50] Dr. Nate Salah
Your dad, you, you know, you're close to your dad. 

[00:03:53] Jason DiPietro
He's my hero. Yeah. Yeah. How so? Because you can always count on him. He's always there for everyone. he will bend over backwards to help. and it's just, it's such a virtuous way to live. he's respected by everybody in his orbit. You know, and, and I look up to that a lot. Mm-hmm. 

[00:04:12] Joe Thompson
Is that, is that a, a family trait on his side too? Like, oh, he is passed down to be helpful and Yep. And he's continuing to do it with you? Yeah. Nice. Yeah. 

[00:04:23] Dr. Nate Salah
And you grew up on, the East Coast? The East Coast, yep. Upstate New York. Upstate New York. What's different between upstate New York and downstate New York? Is there, are there distinctions? It's better. 

[00:04:36] Joe Thompson
You don't often hear downstate. 

[00:04:39] Jason DiPietro
No. We, we've got wine country always. It's always upstate. We've got the lakes, you know, it's a, it's a beautiful place. 

[00:04:45] Dr. Nate Salah
Would you, would you consider people from Manhattan a different, a different culture? 

[00:04:49] Jason DiPietro
Oh, dramatically. 

[00:04:51] Dr. Nate Salah
Even upstate New York, I mean, there's a, there's a distinction. Yeah. 

[00:04:53] Jason DiPietro
It's that population density difference, you know? in a large city it's a lot of get out of my way. I have stuff to do.

[00:05:02] Dr. Nate Salah
because us in the Midwest, generally when we hear New York, we just think Manhattan. Like we think everybody in New York. Is like your typical stereotype of Manhattan, like you said, get outta my way, worn in a hurry. You're, everyone's a buffoon, essentially. And I'm just, I'm not saying that's the case. I'm just saying it's a bit of, is it, is it not a stereotype? 

[00:05:26] Joe Thompson
Yeah. Yeah. I think, anytime you hear New York, you just think of the city. Yeah. You don't think of the state like, you know, or other people living around. 

[00:05:34] Jason DiPietro
I have to specify when people ask where I'm from, I always say Upstate New York, because otherwise people will tell me like I always wanted to go. And I'm like, no, it's not, it's not New York. 

[00:05:46] Dr. Nate Salah
It's different is do people in upstate New York have your accent? You sound like you're from the Midwest. That's, I'm just saying, you know, it's a very Midwest accent. 

[00:05:55] Jason DiPietro
I get mistaken for Wisconsin Uhhuh a lot. But yeah, it's, it's like a different country from New York City. There's, it's, a lot of it is, you know, family values, family oriented. Right. Which, which I think is one of the big differences too. 

[00:06:13] Dr. Nate Salah
Yeah. I mean, being from Chicago, I've lost most of my Chicago accent. Most of it. And the only time you know is if you're talking with someone from Chicago and you're like, oh wait. Those are some of the words Nate says. But otherwise, I've, in fact, when I would talk to my friends in Chicago when I first moved to St. Louis. They told me I sounded like I was from the country. I was really offended by that. I was very offensive, Joseph. Even in St. Louis, there's different accents in St.

[00:06:44] Joe Thompson
Louis. Oh yeah. Oh yeah, it's, it's really obvious too, like, you know, you could tell, so in St. Louis is the big word. You go to high school because once you know that, you know where they grew up, you understand almost everything about 'em. So, I see. 

[00:06:58] Jason DiPietro
Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. I've, I've been overseas sitting in a bar talking to someone, and a stranger will walk up to me and go, where are you from? I'm like Rochester, and they're like, me too. 

[00:07:09] Jason DiPietro
That's how distinct the Rochester accent is. 

[00:07:13] Dr. Nate Salah
Really. Yeah. Interesting. Fascinating, fascinating. I love New York. I love, the whole state. I, we've done some, a little bit of driving through the state of New York and it is a very pretty state. It's big state.

[00:07:26] Jason DiPietro
Huge. Yeah. 

[00:07:27] Dr. Nate Salah
Yeah. Yeah. It's because again, there's this sort of geographic block that many people have and you've got a lot of beautiful scenery in New York. People don't realize that the Niagara Falls at the Adirondacks. 

[00:07:41] Jason DiPietro
The Adirondacks are amazing. Yeah. Yeah. 

[00:07:44] Dr. Nate Salah
All there. Yeah. Makes you wanna move to New York, Joe?

[00:07:48] Joe Thompson
No, it just makes, wanna get a comfortable chair? 

[00:07:50] Dr. Nate Salah
Is that chair not comfy? Adirondack. Oh dang. I, I missed that one. A mile away. Away. Yeah. That was a. 

[00:07:56] Jason DiPietro
Ironically, they're not very comfortable to city. No, they're not. 

[00:07:59] Dr. Nate Salah
So, when did you leave New York? 

[00:08:01] Jason DiPietro
I moved to Florida mm-hmm. For about two years. And then I lived in Boston for about 12. Oh wow. And then now I'm in Denver. I've been there about seven. 

[00:08:12] Dr. Nate Salah
Mm-hmm. Well, do you have a favorite of those four places? 

[00:08:15] Jason DiPietro
Probably Boston. Boston. But it was the time in my life as much as anything too. Mm-hmm. Right. It was like, it was the first big city I'd moved to. I got to explore a lot of culture and things like that. It was. It was a lot of fun. I don't think I'd wanna live there now. Yeah. I think it's a little faster pace than I'm interested in 

[00:08:33] Dr. Nate Salah
Boston. 

[00:08:34] Jason DiPietro
Boston.

[00:08:35] Joe Thompson
I think, I think your age has a lot to do with how, you remember things. I went to Denver when I was, 21. Yeah. And then I went back, in my thirties. Uh. There was this huge difference yes. Between what I remembered and, like what I was doing there now. So I think that goes with, any place you live your age. It's dependent on what you're doing, what you're getting into. So, yeah. 

[00:09:07] Dr. Nate Salah
And you were in it for a while. Is that correct? Or or not necessarily in tech? In the tech kind of tech, yeah. Kind of. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah. I was a technician. Technician, yeah. More than anything. Yeah. More tech was in the name. Yeah. Yeah, yeah. And then you became an entrepreneur. Yeah. I've always been an entrepreneur. 

[00:09:23] Jason DiPietro
Oh, let's hear about that. Always. I like that. So my aunt and uncle had always, espoused how great real estate was. You know, they talked about the tax benefits and stuff like that. And, you know, at 16 years old I was like, what are tax benefits? I don't know what that means. Right. And, but no, I had, because they kind of put that in my ear. I bought my first duplex when I was like 19 and I moved into the kitchen of that place, slept on the floor because it was the only room I could sanitize to make it. Did you buy it on your own? Yeah. Did you have a cosigner? I bought it on my own. Amazing. But it was in a place where I could buy a duplex for $70,000 still and 3% down. You know, back in those days, back in 

[00:10:11] Dr. Nate Salah
FHA, you sort had FHA loan. 

[00:10:14] Jason DiPietro
Yeah. And it was an 80 10, 80 10 mortgage, whatever those were. Mm-hmm. And it was, yeah, 80 10. 10. 

[00:10:21] Dr. Nate Salah
I own a mortgage company for 10 years. I was not the reason why the housing crashed, but we were, our office was definitely a part of the, we were definitely partly responsible. Yeah. My dad, my, uh. All that's true. Is that true? What was that movie? the Big Short. Big Short. Yeah. Yeah. Was it all that true? I'm like every word of it, son. Every word of it. So you had Yeah. You 19 in the, in the rental real estate business. Fantastic. And so from there, did you have like, just sort of trials with different kinds of businesses, or was it always real estate? 

[00:10:56] Jason DiPietro
It was always real estate. Mm-hmm. At the beginning. I started in high school, bootlegging CDs. That was my first what dude? Yeah. Yeah. What is cool on Hello. 

[00:11:06] Dr. Nate Salah
First, per bootlegging CDs. 

[00:11:08] Jason DiPietro
Yeah. Yeah. It was good money in high school. 

[00:11:10] Dr. Nate Salah
That was like, that was like the, that's the next, that's, that was the next generation. See, I bootlegged cassette tapes at the flea market.

[00:11:18] Jason DiPietro
Yeah. And you CDs, so how do you bootleg a CD? You just, you go pre-order them Uhhuh from the, the shop right? And then you'd have it a couple days before everybody. Yeah, because I was a tech nerd. I had a CD burner and a label maker, and I sold 'em at school before they were out for like five bucks a CD. And I was like, good money. 

[00:11:38] Dr. Nate Salah
Sweet. I mean illegal but sweet. So is mine. My mine was highly illegal too. We would buy, because I know it's, it's. It's funny, it's a funny convo we would buy back in the day, we cassettes were a little different. You'd buy them in bulk, from a wholesale. Bootlegger. Yeah. So I wanted to get the equipment so that I could be the wholesaler. I was always trying to like cut out the middle man, I hate the word man, but improve it. The margins. Yeah. It would improve the margins. Right? Right. And everything I did legal or illegal. So I would go to the flea market and if you don't know what flea market is, you're listening. It's a place where it's not, you know, I don't just call it flea market, but basically it's like secondhand goods or a farmer's market.

[00:12:19]
It can be like a farmer's market. Yeah. We have a place here in St. Louis called Sard Farmer's Market. I would have to get there at like five 30 in the morning on the weekend to get a good spot. Mm. But like, you know, I was in high school as well, just trying to hustle. Right. Make some bucks. Yeah. And I'd get all my, my tray, I had a tray of, of cassettes and I'd sell them one for three, two for $5. I'd have my boombox going and enticing people to come buy my, my stuff. Then I got into bootleg, not DVDs because they didn't have DVDs back then. I only had one run, one run, and then it was over. I was the guy who I was selling it to. He had a spot next to me. I had made the, I had made all of them, by the way, statute of limitations, Joseph, this is long, long time ago. Then I bought, I sold them 250 of them, so I was gonna sell 'em the other two 50 the next day, and they got busted and that was the end of that. Illegal. So you were, so, you were, I didn't know you. You were a hustler. Always. Always. Yeah. So, okay, so the bootleg, the bootlegs, this is great. We never talk about this stuff on the show. We're gonna talk about, God, we never talk about this stuff on the show. 

[00:13:34] Joe Thompson
Yeah. You've had a, you've had a couple prospective businesses shut down by the law, the feds. 

[00:13:40] Dr. Nate Salah
Yeah. I've had a few man, you know, this was BC bro before Christ. I mean, let's not open it up on air. No, but that's the thing, like we do things when we're young. We hopefully only when we're young and then we, we get wiser. Yep. Right. We get wiser as we, this is also important because this is really a question of what's leading us, what mentorship do we have? What, you know, you talked about you being close to your dad and all that, and that's great. I, I didn't have, most of my mentorship was less than ethical. Growing up. Right. and so I didn't have, I didn't have those, it was okay, I guess it was okay to do that kind of stuff until I had a, a different pathway. Right. So, so you, so you were selling the, the bootlegs. How long did you do that for? 

[00:14:34] Jason DiPietro
Probably a year or two. 

[00:14:35] Dr. Nate Salah
You made a little bit of cash and then give it up?

[00:14:37] Jason DiPietro
Yeah. Then I bought the, my first duplex. 

[00:14:42] Dr. Nate Salah
Did you buy it with the stolen money from the It helps. 

[00:14:48] Jason DiPietro
It helps. And then I bought, two more, rental properties while I was there. And because I, my favorite game is the Game of Monopoly. Oh, I love Monopoly. I, I literally owned three houses in a row on the corner. And I just wanted to have that because it was, you know, I was young, I was like, yeah, this isn't even that good of a deal, but I want that third one 'cause it's cool. So, that's, that's awesome. Yeah. So you were really into it. 

[00:15:15] Dr. Nate Salah
I mean, you were really, you that was, it was a pathway for you. 

[00:15:18] Jason DiPietro
Yep. I bought a couple in Boston when I lived there. Condo ized them, that kind of thing. Mm-hmm. 

[00:15:23] Joe Thompson
So, do you think for most entrepreneurs, it starts off very young, like a very young mindset. Yes, because we, we were very young and we did a few ventures here and there. Mm-hmm. and, and always shooting for that, you know, that next thing, whatever it's gonna be. I, I think it's a mindset that, you're kind of born with it. Like, you know, there's a lot of people who are fine going to work for a company, you know, for 35 years and then retiring and getting the gold watch or whatever. We need those people. 

[00:15:54] Jason DiPietro
My nephew is like that. I can, he's always asking me about business ideas. You know, he did a, a car cleaning business for a bit while he was in college, and he's got, he's got a good working gig right now, but I can tell every time I talk to him, he's like. Hmm. And he's, he's just looking for the thing and I'm excited for him. Yeah. And it's in him. 

[00:16:13] Dr. Nate Salah
Yeah. I think there's traits, there's definitely traits that are closely associated with the, with the entrepreneurial levers, right? So resilience, self-determination, independence. Problem solving. You know, there's a number of of, of what we, we consider natural skills. 

[00:16:34] Joe Thompson
Yeah. That are, that are. And when you see a kid pushing a lawnmower down the street in the summertime Oh yeah. Like he's got an entrepreneurial spirit. Right. Yeah. Yeah, yeah. so I think it is something that happens to you when you're very young. you just don't realize it's gonna take most of your life to like get it. Yeah. Perfected you.

[00:16:56] Dr. Nate Salah
Good point. So rental properties and then I guess a, a, a day gig, right? Yeah, yeah. Yeah. So how many years ago did you get into the home healthcare business? 

[00:17:07] Jason DiPietro
About five and a half years, yeah. Now, yeah, I've always wanted to like own a business and run a business, and I have a business degree, but. I didn't know how to start a business. I didn't, you know, the risk involved with inventing a thing, didn't appeal to me. I didn't know what I was gonna invent that everyone was gonna wanna buy. and I serendipitously met a franchise consultant when I moved to Denver and I was like, oh, that's interesting. So franchising really appealed to me. It's a business in a box, which is nice, right? It's. They show you, here's the system averages and, you know, five years, 10 years. And if that's the system average, if your average intelligence and average hardworking, that's probably going to be your outcome. Mm-hmm. and as long as you picked the brand that, you know, aligns with what you wanna do, it's a great way to get started.

[00:18:06] Joe Thompson
Yeah. Don't pretend like average intelligence is an easy thing to find because. I didn't mean to look at you when I said that. You looked right at me. I was just, you looked right at me. You know where I'm coming from. No, I, 'cause you know who I deal with me too. So.

[00:18:22] Dr. Nate Salah
So you picked that business Yeah. And you thought, okay, this is, this is good. Yep. Well, okay. And then what happened? 

[00:18:30] Jason DiPietro
So, in the interim, I started another business, with a friend of mine. And, but at this point I've, the home business I've realized, I really enjoyed. It's been super fulfilling. I get to help people. The more people I help, the more money I make. Yeah. That's like a win. but I've realized that I wanna pivot. Mm-hmm. And do different things. Yeah. And so I'm in the process of an exit right now, which is exciting.

[00:19:00] Joe Thompson
So I have a question for you. As you start a business and you end them and start 'em and end them, which we all have in this room, what do you think is like. The driving force that makes you pick up again and move on. Yeah. Because you know, sometimes when you're doing a business, even if it's successful, it's kind of depleting on you. Mm-hmm. And then when you end that and now you go into something else, you gotta almost re-energize for it, you know? 'cause I gotta take on this project all over again. Like I'm starting from scratch. Yeah. What? Like I know where I call. How do. 

[00:19:39] Jason DiPietro
For me, when I take on a new venture, it's, it's partially, you know, for the financial gain of it, right? That's why we're in business. but it's, I like to grow my skillset, so I feel like with the home care agency, I've gotten everything out of it. I needed to, to build my skills, and then as I pick my next venture. It's to build a new set of skills and then it's exciting again. And I think that's where sometimes people get hung up with just the money of things. Because money, you can make money and you can make more money. You can make more money, but there's not, you're not accomplishing anything at, at a certain point, right. maybe more cars, more boats or something. More stuff, more stuff. But for me it's, it's like I build my skills be to help more. The more people I can help. That's interesting. 

[00:20:35] Dr. Nate Salah
Yeah. The more marketable you are, that's what that's, that's, that's the thing about your offering, if you will. Right. What's my irresistible offer? It's really how I can help people to solve their problems. I mean, that's essentially the, your, your, your, your, your value in Jesus' day. There's so much physical and spiritual infirmity in his day. You think about that, right? So many people were having physical issues as well as spiritual, mental, emotional, right? And of course, you know, the financial right, all of that. And he comes on the scene at a time where people need to get nourished, whether it's spiritual nourishment or emotional nourishment or physical nourishment in terms of, and of course, understand how all these things work together. And so if you will, if I say this, nons sacrilegious his market value, his street cred right, is magnified intensely by the people who need that. And, and his, his message and the way he he shares it is so different than anything or way anyone had heard to that day. And that's why he was so com one of the reasons why he was so compelling.

[00:21:51]
 But he met people right where they were. He didn't judge. He didn't shame. He was there to shape. He wasn't there to condemn. He was there to consecrate. And in that people were drawn to him. And I think in this, in a very similar way in the marketplace today, we can learn from that. We can learn from that and say, you know, how are people healed by the skills that I possess, right? My time, talent, and treasures. And then how do I share that? And so your plight, man, and I wanna encourage not only, this isn't just not to encourage you, of course it's encouraging. However, the listener or listener, same thing. You know, money is important, it's necessary. It is essential, right? Can't get very far without it. But it's not the thing. The thing is what we do with our hands, our feet, our minds. To help heal people of whatever infirmity that they're facing, whether it's, in your case, you've learned so much about franchising, you've learned so much through your journey, and you're such an astute person that you've taken these amazing notes and now you have the ability to help walk people down this journey.

[00:23:05]
 Right. And you've already begun to do that naturally. Oh, somebody's got a question just today, right? One of one of my clients is like, Hey, I'm getting ready to percent perhaps get a franchise like, oh, you need to talk to Jason. And Jason's like, Hey, sure, let me walk you through some of this. And that way you have better information, better knowledge on how to make a wiser choice.

[00:23:25] Joe Thompson
Yeah, I, I moved through different industries myself that. Is what enables me to do what I do today. Like if I consult a business, because you know, you keep increasing your knowledge. You see how different businesses work. You also see the similarities between them, which a lot of times the mistakes that are made are the same mistake from one business to the next. I mean, I decided that I love growing things. Like I love growing things, so. You know, I, I even garden. 'cause I just love like, growing things, planting those seeds, growing 'em, and businesses are kind of like the same thing. I, I love to grow them and see them grow. So that was a, a real, you know, that was a tough decision to leave some really steady in the corporate world and go out and, and do that. One thing to the next. 

[00:24:24] Dr. Nate Salah
And here's the other thing you've experienced. You've experienced the ups and the downs of it, right? And we all know this. It ain't easy being cheesy, right? Just your cheat ahead, right? And people need to hear that. They need to hear, look, here's the troubles I face. Here's the challenges. You know, I love doing this. I hated doing that, right? Mm-hmm. And you also have to find where your genius is. Otherwise, you will consistently not only let yourself down, you're gonna let everyone else down unless you live in your genius. For me, I can manage. It's not my love. It really isn't. It never was. So when I first, you know, when I first started, okay, so a first person I hired was Henry. Okay. Old friend, high school friend of mine. Right? 

[00:25:11] Joe Thompson
It's a lot of history. 

[00:25:12] Dr. Nate Salah
Yeah. A lot of history. Right. So, Henry. Old buddy from high school. I'm like, Hey, I'm giving you a job. So, 'cause I thought I was gonna be like a big shot entrepreneur. Now this is my check cashing booth, right? It's in the hood where actually I met Joe in the hood because that's where I used to live. And so I had, it was check cashing money orders, lotto taxes. We bought jewelry, you know, if you had, you know, a diamond or you know, a chain. I had my little, I could tell, tell you if it was real or not, and I had my bulletproof glass. You had to slide stuff underneath it, metal booth, all that. So I was like, Henry, giving you a job. Why? Because I thought I was gonna be a big shot entrepreneur, right? For you gotta have employees, so you're gonna be big shot entrepreneur. I hired him and then I told him, he, and I told him, I'm gonna be the boss, you're the employee, and that's how we're gonna do it. So he is like, sure, you know, he's, he is got a job, right? And, and then he told me one day, he said, Nate, here I got an idea about improving the business. I said, Henry, I don't pay you to think. I pay you to work. What a bonehead? This is just something I must have read or saw in a movie or something. I must have watched a gangster movie or something.

[00:26:14]
 What? Just like the dumb things you say when you're a new entrepreneur. Not that all, new entrepreneurs say that, but I was a, I was definitely wet behind the ears in that journey. Of course, I learned better skills, right? Better communication skills, et cetera, et cetera. However, in that journey, I also learned, you know, I can manage, but I don't, I don't prefer it. I prefer. To do two things. I prefer to be a, an artist and perfect my craft and to lead and to share large vision and to motivate and to prepare people for the journey ahead. Those are, that's really my genius and I need to live in that genius. I. And like you the same thing. And I think we need to make sure that entrepreneurs know, or anyone knowing that they're getting into, whether it's a franchise or a business, like what is your God-given strength or the strengths that you have. Like all knows. And the first question, you know, people are gonna ask, well, I can't afford to outsource or pay people for the areas that I'm not strong in. What? You know, what's our response? What's our response? Well, I mean, what do you, what would you, how would you respond to someone maybe you can't afford not to?

[00:27:23] Jason DiPietro
Right. For me, it's like my first thing I do in business is I identify what I enjoy doing, and then I find other people that enjoy doing the things I don't enjoy doing, and then everybody in the organization is doing what they like doing. That seems like a winning mix, right? 

[00:27:45] Dr. Nate Salah
Yeah. Because that's where motivation comes in. 

[00:27:47] Jason DiPietro
And they'll, they'll stay, they'll be happy status. Like I'm happy. They're happy. 

[00:27:55] Dr. Nate Salah
Yeah. Increases effort levels, too, right? 

[00:27:58] Joe Thompson
Sometimes third parties, you gotta think of it more as an investment instead of cost, you're hiring somebody. Mm-hmm. Really investing in your business. And if you wanna increase your bottom line, sometimes you have to spend. Usually I, when I'm met with, you know, I can't afford you or blah, blah, blah, I, you know, will tell. Whatever we'd make together. Like, how's that? And that way I have a stake in it. They have a stake in it. 

[00:28:26] Dr. Nate Salah
So I was gonna tell you, bro, 90%, that's kind of steep. Well, you know, it's a big investment, you know, would wait, would you rather have. Yeah. Nine, 10% of something or 90% of something, right? Yeah. Yeah. I like that. 10% of a watermelon or a hundred percent or something. 10% are great. This guy, he's here all week. So in our community, you've been a part of our community for, for a long time now, and. As we've moved into a real faith-infused journey, you've embraced the call, if you will, to walk right to, to walk alongside of us who, and everyone's at a bite, by the way. They're at a different stage of the walk. Right. And interestingly, and I wanna, I want to come to this because it's important to share with our listener, especially the listener who's like in the same place you are. Yeah. Interestingly, you know, many of Jesus' disciples. Early on, we're in the exact same place that, you know, we're gonna describe with Jason and other listeners.

[00:29:21]
 Think about it, Joe. Right? Think about like, you know, the first thing Jesus said was to, to most of his, his disciples, his students were, follow me, right? By the way, no miracles performed. No, you know, super cool stuff like walking on water or, you know, turning all this, you know, you know, a couple fish to, you know, to many or, or, or watered wine and all this other stuff. It was really a calling like, Hey, you know, I've got some answers for you that I think will help you in this journey of life because you may be in a situation to where you're not only unfulfilled, but you believe that there's a greater sense of purpose. 

[00:30:08] Joe Thompson
And I'd like to walk with you to discover that there was a hesitation in their answer. You know, because throughout the, throughout the Bible, even like after the miracles are performed, there's still a lot of times where they're like, you know, is this guy who he says he is? You know what I mean? And they're like right there with him and they're watching all of it. They're seeing all of it, and they're still hesitation. Okay, I'm probably wrong, but I don't think there's many Christians that at some point in their life didn't consider. That possibly. There's nothing there. 

[00:30:45] Dr. Nate Salah
Say that one more time for our listener. 

[00:30:47] Joe Thompson
So I think whether you're, you're Christian or, or whatever religion you are, I think there's a point in your life where you kind of question, you know, it's a good story, but is it real? You weren't there, right? I mean, at the, weren't there we, we have. Anything that we're not there for and we can't see with our own eyes. And even today we see stuff with our own eyes and deep fake and all this other stuff. It may not even be real. Right. Can't believe it. 

[00:31:17] Dr. Nate Salah
Yeah. That we have to take on faith. Right. That's, that's the nature of having a belief in something that you have not observed directly. Right. 

[00:31:28] Joe Thompson
That's, that's a lot of what we're talking about. Right. And that's why he called fishermen and tax collectors and not rabbi and that, that's why he made that calling because they were regular guys. 

[00:31:41] Dr. Nate Salah
And prostitutes, by the way. Hello? Yeah. I mean, this is like a very, seedy group, right? Like, like, you know, think about it. Is there any dozen? Think about it. This is really important. I don't think we've talked about it on the show. This is like, think about it just for a second. You're a rabbi, you're a teacher. Of, of the, of the law, of the, of the, the Holiness we talked about, and we'll talk a little bit about Arby Holy challenge. So you think I'm gonna pick people who will represent this exquisitely. I'm gonna go to the brothels, right? Right. I'm gonna go to the seashore, right? Genius. These, you know, these are people who are unschooled. Now there are some who were, you know, we couple, few Zealots and Nate, Nathaniel was certainly very religious. However, the majority of them were, and some of them were like not necessarily even focused on religion. They just wanted to overthrow the Romans. There's a guy named Judas who was pretty zealous. You might have heard of him. So all that said, it's just a real interesting mix. It's a fascinating mix of people who were probably, sometimes they probably even question like, do I even belong in a air quotes a religious group, and what does Jesus say?

[00:33:00]
 He's like, this isn't a religious group. This isn't a religious community. This is a community of relationships. And in that, that's how he, you know, that's how he begins. And so this, we bring this to our, our current context of, of what we're doing with G three and our, our grow give, go model, grow purposefully, give generously, go love radically. Right? Those are, those are our three components. And as you hear them, Jason, and, and maybe as you heard them for some of the first times, what, what was going through your mind? 

[00:33:32] Jason DiPietro
So one thing that really appealed to me about the group in general is because I'm, I have this intrinsic, need and drive to like, help people around me, right? It's just, I felt like I've always been that way, and as I've looked around at the world, there's a lot of people that are just very self-serving, right? They, their only focus is their own enrichment, right? And we're all people. We have our own selfish things. but then when I, I joined G three, it was like, it was so interesting to me to see all these other people that actually see the world like me, they're, they have a different name to it, right? And in a different purpose, you know, from the spiritual. Religious standpoint, but the values are still aligned of like, yeah, I like want to be better so I can give back to my community. And that was like such an amazing thing to see and I, I love that alignment. So yeah, it was perfect. 

[00:34:43] Joe Thompson
So we Jason, we've discussed this at length before. Yeah. You know, Christianity and you know, it not being a religion, you know? Yeah. Born faith-based. And you had told me, about, this need to help people like this calling to help people. Yeah. And I said, you know, the only difference between. You and the rest of us when we think about calling is that you're not certain where it's from yet. Like yeah. What's, what's driving it? Is it an external thing? Is it just internally inside of you? You wanna talk about that at all? 

[00:35:21] Jason DiPietro
So before, before I joined the group, I would've described myself as agnostic. And you know, I always had this like understanding of I can't prove or disprove. Than, than anyone else can. Right. And what being in this group has helped me realize is I'm not agnostic, I'm spiritual, I just don't have a name for it. Mm-hmm. so I, I feel that drive to, to go out and do good. Right. And, yeah, it's just, it's very interesting 'cause it's, it's, as I sit with you guys and I talk to you guys. It's like we, we feel the same thing. We just call it a different thing. I've really appreciated and, and it's given me, some nudge to just kind of put more thought to my own spirituality and, and that so. 

[00:36:22] Dr. Nate Salah
I love that. I love, I love that. And even the language, like you said, it's just, it's language, right? We're looking at different ways to, to express the, the behavior that is life giving. Right? And we, we use all kinds of language. We even look at the original Greek on things, which is super cool. We've taught, we had several episodes on it and fantastic. The one thing I. Is a, a, a game changer in, in how you're done and you do good. This, this, this third mandate the go, which is obviously an action word. They're all action words, but the go love radically. That term had, had you heard the term love radically or radical love. Can you remember hearing that term prior to being a part of this community? 

[00:37:12] Jason DiPietro
Yes, I've heard the concept before. But not an application of it.

[00:37:19] Dr. Nate Salah
Exactly. It's important. It's important. Application is, is really important because that's where, you know, and Jesus is, is being questioned and he's talking about, you know, what the commandments are and how it's all summed up. Right. Summed up in love. He says Love, love God. Love people. Like that's, that's the, you know, that's the journey. Not just any people, and not people who like you. In fact, people who are maybe unlike you, people who you may not like at all.

[00:37:49] Jason DiPietro
People that are diametrically opposed to you. 

[00:37:56] Dr. Nate Salah
Yes. Even that's why it's radical. Yeah. Because it fundamentally alters and transforms you talking about language, the meaning. Because in the past we would just say, well, you know, you should love people who love you, but what does Jesus say? He says like, that's not enough. Like that's people who don't walk like we walk, do that kind of stuff. We, we have to be set apart, and that was this whole be holy challenge. That's, that's like our, that's our entrance exam, if you will, to the community. And that's why it's, it's not for everyone, at least for everyone that isn't ready to accept that challenge. You think, well, who could be holy? Right. I mean, that's a weird, that's a weird thing to ask someone, especially a business person. Like, where does that come from? Why? But when you break it down, it's really, it means to be set apart, right? To be set apart for a, a divine purpose that's beyond ourselves. And then you're like, oh yeah, of course I want to be set apart.

[00:38:52]
 And not necessarily because I'm better than anyone else, but because I don't wanna just be the status quo because the status quo never worked in business. It's, I mean, when have you ever said, Hey, guess what? Here's our business model. We're gonna do everything the exact same way as everyone else. There's no differentiation. There's nothing about us that is better. That's, that doesn't fly. I mean, imagine like commercials like that. What would you like if you were watching a Doritos commercial? Like you're a very average chip.

[00:39:29] Joe Thompson
We taste just like the off-brand chip. 

[00:39:36] Dr. Nate Salah
In fact, we're more expensive than that one. So that's how, that's how we're different. So the be holy challenge, how did you interpret that as someone who's early on the journey, if you'll. 

[00:39:48] Jason DiPietro
You're gonna put me on the spot. Because, because we've talked about this getting tougher now. 

[00:39:54] Dr. Nate Salah
New York talk, we're, we're 40 minutes in.

[00:39:57] Jason DiPietro
Yeah, so, so initially it really took a lot of the other concepts we've talked about I've connected with very quickly. I was like, okay. Yep. Got it. Uh, the be holy one, I really, it took me a while to kind of figure out what that meant. and every, and I'd ask you to explain it to me and you'd explain it with a look on your face of like, did you get it yet? And I'm like, no, I haven't. I'm working on it, I promise. but the idea of it's, it's to be set apart really, I think is the best way to describe it, because, you know, to be holy is. It's not an individual thing, it's a, it's a way of being. Right. and I think that the radical love is, to me is a, like a large part of it because, you know, it's, it's even in the face of adversity, you know, conflict, anything. I think a lot of people's natural propensity is to. Condemn or speak poorly or, or wish ill on someone who opposes them or has wronged them or whatever it is, and the ability to go, you know what? That's okay. I wish you the best. Mm-hmm. I, you know, I don't think we're gonna continue this interaction. That's fine. But hey, I hope you find your way. Like, to me, that's, that's a big part of it. That's it. That hits it, doesn't it, Joe? 

[00:41:39] Joe Thompson
Yeah. I mean, I think Jesus solved the world's problem in, in one small verse when he said, love your enemies. I mean, three words, bro. Can you imagine three words if that actually happened? Like if people could empty themselves out enough to do that? 

[00:41:56] Dr. Nate Salah
Yeah, I know. We like, we, we gloss over it, right? Because we've heard it so much, but like, just stop. Yeah. Like your enemy, right? 

[00:42:02] Joe Thompson
Now you have people you don't. Right. Maybe you don't like them. Like you, how do you get yourself to love them? You know, like to love that, that person, regardless of what they've done to you, because Jesus, it doesn't matter what anyone does to you, pretty much. Yeah. You just gotta love them. And he still did love, radically, like, even like during his crucifixion, very first words. 

[00:42:31] Dr. Nate Salah
He, he very first words forgive them. 

[00:42:35] Jason DiPietro
It's, they're, it's so radical. They're just other people. They have different belief systems or different understandings, and you know, it doesn't make them even wrong. Maybe you are wrong and they're your enemy. Right. And you have to understand that and recognize that if I saw the world that the way that they see it, I very well may be taking those same actions. 

[00:43:01] Joe Thompson
Yeah. Hmm. And, and you know, there's nothing expressed that they have to love you back. No, because they may not love you back, but the onus is on them to follow that, that command them themselves, right? Mm-hmm. But man, when you're in business, like, like we are, there's a lot of times you butt heads with people at different concepts, different things you want to do. There's, you know, politicking and ego and it's really a big playground for. Practicing this like love your enemy because sometimes your enemy is just sitting across the table from you and you're both working on the same, same thing, just in completely opposite directions, right? And you're like, man, this guy is just really on my nerves. But like, if you really could love that person and start to see it from their perspective, even if they're wrong, you still love them, right? Yeah. Sounds like it's so easy. Right? 

[00:44:02] Dr. Nate Salah
It sounds like it. 

[00:44:03] Joe Thompson
It is tough, man. And part of my journey, like a big part of my Be holy journey 

[00:44:08] Jason DiPietro
Yeah.

[00:44:09] Joe Thompson
Is really letting go of some of the stuff, my baggage and stuff from the past where like I've fought with people or butted heads with people. so I, I think about that as part of my Be Holy journey, that forgiveness part. Mm-hmm. So that's a huge part of my, my journey. 

[00:44:23] Dr. Nate Salah
That's got a nice ring too. We need to put that into like a journal. Be Holy Journey. Your be holy journey. Be holy journey in the community. 

[00:44:30] Joe Thompson
And it's so different for everybody. 

[00:44:31] Dr. Nate Salah
Yeah. J Ja, Ja. Jason, if you were someone listening like, wow, you know, it sounds like you guys are doing something cool. What, what would you say to somebody who is like, considering wanting to be a part of our community, getting plugged in? What would you say to them about your experience? 

[00:44:47] Jason DiPietro
The feeling that you have, that you're like alone in your journey? is. You just need to surround yourself with the right people. It is a large part of it because you can, you can struggle and you can, you know, talk to your friends and family and loved ones and they may love and support you, but not all of them are on that journey necessarily. Right. And to be surrounded by people who are on that journey to be holy, is so fulfilling. Yeah. 

[00:45:26] Joe Thompson
You know, if you mess up, you can always look at me and know. Well, he's struggling with it too. Yeah. Look at you. Yeah. 

[00:45:34] Dr. Nate Salah
Well, we're thankful for you. We're thankful you're on this journey with us. We're thankful to be on this journey with you and I radically love you as my brother, my friend, and I'm so glad. Absolutely. That we're connected. Absolutely. And you too, Joe. Absolutely. Hey, you're okay. Two Italians. I love you guys. Two Italian Love you. Two Italians. I love you Jason. Mate. You're, you're okay. Okay. Well, my friend, thank you for joining me on this episode of A Call to Leadership. If you've been listening, you've probably heard me talk about our accounting and advisory business, and this show was actually born out of that business, those relationships, I found that entrepreneurs and professionals were missing aspects of their leadership that fed into their bottom line and helped their businesses be successful.

[00:46:19]
 So I'm so thankful that I've had all those years in that area to feed into this. And the truth is that so many people still need accounting and advisory help, and they don't know where to go. If you're in that place where you feel, oh my goodness, my tax person or my accountant, I can't find them, or maybe the service wasn't up to my expectations, do not despair. I'll leave how you can find us in the show notes and one of my team members can do some discovery and help you along your journey. You're not alone, my friend. You always have help. I'm Dr. Nate Salah. Can't wait to see you on the next show of A Call to Leadership.





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