Mana Mentality Podcast
Mana isn’t just strength — it’s presence, purpose, and power.
The Mana Mentality Podcast is a high-impact show hosted by a proud Polynesian voice bringing real conversations around sports, athletes, entrepreneurship, sales, and mindset. This platform is built to inspire the underdogs, the grinders, the leaders, and the next generation chasing greatness.
From locker rooms to boardrooms, we break down what it truly takes to win — mentally, physically, and spiritually. Whether you’re an athlete, a business owner, a sales professional, or someone striving to level up in life, this podcast delivers raw stories, actionable lessons, and a mentality rooted in discipline, culture, and resilience.
For all ages. For all backgrounds.
If you believe in hard work, legacy, and building something bigger than yourself — this is your tribe.
Mana Mentality Podcast
TWO HEAD COACHES AS PARENTS. ZERO EXCUSES. - JUSTIN JONES
Use Left/Right to seek, Home/End to jump to start or end. Hold shift to jump forward or backward.
JUSTIN JONES
Two Head Coaches as Parents. Zero Excuses. A Life Designed on His Own Terms.
When your dad coaches in the NBA and your mom is also a head coach — you either rise to the standard or you shrink under it. Justin Jones chose to rise. In this episode he unpacks how an athlete's household wired his mindset, how he transitioned from college basketball into becoming one of the top closers in the game — sweeping every early career award — and how he took a leap of faith to design his future, get engaged, and build real financial freedom.
This is what it looks like to stop building someone else's dream and start building your own.
💬 Are you building a career or building a life? Tell us in the comments.
🔔 Like & subscribe — new episodes every week.
#AthleteMindset #Sales #Entrepreneur #FinancialFreedom #DesignYourLife #DoorToDoor #SolarSales #Leadership
Welcome to the Mana Mentality Podcast, where we cultivated cultural success, empower the underdogs, and give a real game for people who actually did it. This platform is built for the 99%, the overlooked, the doubted, the underestimated. But today we're interviewing the top 1%. Tune in. What's up, everybody? Welcome back. This is Monica, the host of Monumentality Podcast. I've been looking forward to this episode. This is someone that literally just showed up as we spoke. You pulled up from Nashville, Tennessee, drove three hours from Portland, and now you're here.
SPEAKER_00I'm here.
SPEAKER_03This guy has not only been a college athlete, he has been a dog when it comes to sales. He's won every single major sales award at his previous companies. He's uh one of my partners here uh for Solar, and he's currently building and developing one of the top performing organizations in the PNW as one of the directors. Welcome to the podcast, Justin Jones.
SPEAKER_00Thank you, Monon. I appreciate it. Thanks for having me, bro. Um, I've been waiting to do this and I'm excited to get after it today.
SPEAKER_03So I start at the beginning, Justin. You know, for those uh who are tuning in, your story's a little bit different because you come from a good background. Talk to us about family, where you're from, what was life like for Justin Jones at an early age?
SPEAKER_00Absolutely. I mean, I moved around a lot because my parents were both basketball coaches. That's actually how they met. Um where were they coaches at? Like high school? Yeah, actually, great question. So they were at a my dad was a he played at Lambeth University, which was an NAI at the time, and is now um not even there. Shows how good of a job they did. But um it's now University of Memphis at Lambeth. And then my mom actually he had to go pick her up, and my mom came in and she was gonna be the cheer coach and the volleyball coach initially. After a year, she became the women's head coach there. Um they started dating, and then I was actually born there in Jackton, Tennessee, but they were pretty good at their project uh sorry, their profession. They just keep gotten better, and so they went from my mom went from NAI to her alma mater, which was Southeastern Louisiana University, and she was the head women's basketball coach there for 13, 14 years, and my dad actually transitioned and we all moved to South Louisiana. When that happened, my dad had um he was a teacher at the college, like an adjunct professor, like kind of here and there, but he was also he started advanced scouting for the Utah Jazz. Um a little bit of his own doing because he's a good coach, but also we had some family connections. My great uncle rest his soul is Jerry Sloan, Hall of Famer. Goatie, one of the goatest greatest all-time coaches, most winning coaches in in Utah basketball history, and has his jersey uh his jersey retired both there in Salt Lake, and he was the first bull, even before Michael Jordan, to have his jersey retired as well.
SPEAKER_03It's crazy. I know. What does it feel like knowing that you know both parents come from competitive background, and you have two literally coaches, and you're in you're as a kid, you're growing up in that household environment. What was that like for you?
SPEAKER_00Um, well, I I probably didn't see it that way at the time. I look back at it, and it probably had to do with a lot of my tendencies, but it's definitely very disciplined, very strict.
SPEAKER_03What's discipline like it was it just more of like tight knit, you have to keep your stuff together, or were they just really on you?
SPEAKER_00Uh it was more just like be organized. They always told me as a kid growing up, kids are to be seen and not heard. And so it was like you talk about being a well-behaved kid. My mom came from as one of six, and she talked about getting beat all the time, and I did not want to get beat by my mom.
SPEAKER_03So you're six foot and I'm was your mom raised in that type of environment from just like a strict household?
SPEAKER_00Oh, very strict. And then my dad was on a he was in a strict household as well. Um, I don't know if it was as strict. They had a little bit more leeway because uh both parents work kind of different schedules, but they both came from like strict backgrounds, and I mean I I wouldn't trade how I was raised by any means, but it's definitely very structured. Wake up same time every day. We're leaving for school the same time every day. You got your practices, we were in every sport that there was just because our my parents were busy.
SPEAKER_03So who was the disciplinary uh out of the parents? Because I mean it's it sounds as if your mom was like the one that was pretty strict, but then your dad too. But who would do the discipline in the household?
SPEAKER_00Well, I was a great kid, and if you ask my parents and my grandparents, I was probably the best kid. So my mom only had to hit me a few times.
SPEAKER_03By design, or are you?
SPEAKER_00I think I was just scared. Realistically lived the fear a little bit. A little bit, a little bit. Because uh my mom's a you you met my mom, she's 6'1, my dad's a big guy too, he's six three. Um and just going growing up around it, like seeing my mom coach more hands-on. Yeah, she was not maybe the nicest coach uh as far as like yelling, screaming, stuff like that. And I just knew like after she dealt with her players, I didn't want for her to come home and be like upset with me if I didn't have stuff done. So dishes were always done, everything was always taken care of. So I just made sure. And even with school too, like I always wanted to be like straight A's, all that stuff, and I think that a lot of that comes from just doing your work and getting your dis like being disciplined about it. Yeah, so I think that had a lot to do with like growing up.
SPEAKER_03Because I I think for me, I didn't really, I don't, I didn't obviously my dad was working, so yeah, for disciplinary is my mom. You know, she was the one that typically, you know, if we had bad grades, um, she pulled that belt out. Yep. Right. So I think for you it's just that that edge, and I want to talk about it a little bit because when you have, you know, two coaches in in the household, they obviously have number one, a certain mindset. I think that's one of the things I noticed that just the way you carried yourself early on when I first met you, I was like, yes, sir, no ma'am. You know, really formal and a lot of things. And do you feel like uh that's helped you a lot when it came into transitioning into sales? Because I think for a lot of people that don't know you, you were working um for a previous sales company and that didn't work out. Then you transitioned to you know college basketball. Was your goal to like go to the NBA? What did your parents told you to do?
SPEAKER_00Um so growing up, my goal was definitely to go to the NBA. Um you were a decent baller. Uh something like that. Uh I wasn't necessarily super blessed athletically or anything like that, but I was a pretty solid basketball player. I developed super late.
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
SPEAKER_00So I only had a few NAI offers and then D3 offers coming out, and then like one D2. Um, because I was I was 5'10 when I graduated college. I was like, I mean, sorry, when I graduated high school. And I weighed maybe 165. So the reason I even went anywhere is just because I could play.
SPEAKER_03And I feel I feel I feel like because you, you know, your dad's obviously, you know, was a was a coach at the highest level in basketball, being able to see that upfront, close personal front row, right? Yeah. On a day-to-day basis. Did you feel like man you could you could look and see like, hey, this is what it takes to be a pro? And then really kind of just size up like, hey, well, where I'm at currently to what it takes to be, there's some work to do.
SPEAKER_00Absolutely. Um, I think what I learned a lot just seeing both sides of it, my mom's side and then my dad's side of it. Um, there's a lot of work that goes in that people that's not noticed, number one, and that you don't get rewarded for immediately. And so I think, especially being in solar now, um, I think that's why I've been able to weather the storm and be so successful, is because with solar, we we both know it's it's not instant gratification. And especially when we started, it's a six-month gratification on there dang near. So um I I think that had a lot of doing in it or a lot of involvement in it of being able to put in the work when no one's watching and then reap the rewards, not necessarily the next day, the next week, but was that something that you saw from observing your parents, you know, your mom and dad?
SPEAKER_03Was that because obviously, you know, running uh being a coach at a high level in organization, there's a lot of attention to attention to detail.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_03Did you what are some of the things that you remember as a kid seeing that your dad did? Um, just his approach, or maybe your mom did, that like taught you.
SPEAKER_00Well, uh when you just think about coaching, whether it's football, whether it's basketball, whether it's anything, you practice for months and months and months ahead before you even get into official practice. And so the thing that really resonated with me is like they're doing all this work on the front end and they don't know how the solution is going to come out at all. Um, and that's something where I really liked being able to put the work in on the front and keep going and keep building. And then, like, for example, in solar, the reason it relates is because like if you get good in basketball, right, um, it's not just you're good overnight and then you can just get everyone buckets, but if you get good and then get better and better, there's days where you can go in there and just give everyone buckets. And it's the same thing with solar, I feel like there's weeks when you can go six, seven, eight, but you don't see the return on it, and then you have a forty-fifty thousand dollar paycheck on a Friday. Um, and that's when you see like the pipeline burst, and that's what almost equates to or what I saw equating to like a winning season or winning a game in certain aspects. So you think it's more of the competitive? I think it it has a lot to do with the competitiveness. I think they laid a great foundation for hey, do the work. You got to do stuff that you don't want to do sometimes. Um, and then from there, as long as you keep putting it in and putting in the effort and do it intentionally, you'll be able to get to where you want to go.
SPEAKER_03Was there any like players in the NBA that you saw up close and personal that amazed you, or you have some stories that you were like, man, seeing this guy, because you know, you what year was your dad working for the Jazz, Utah Jazz?
SPEAKER_00Um, so he he started the bench. On the back of the bench, he was um, I think about the use all jazz, I think about like Karolinko. Yep, so well that was Uncle Jerry. So Uncle Jerry was Carolinko, D Will, Carlos Boozer, uh Mamenoker, those guys. Um, but he was also, I mean, the reason he stayed around that long was because he was John Stockton and Carl Malone. He he lost to MJ in the back-to-back finals. Um, but my dad was involved at that point, but he was just a G League head coach for the Flash, which was when the G League was brand new. Um, but his first year, he was uh player development under Ty Lu. If you remember Yeah, I know Tyloo. Sorry, no. Tyrone Corbin. Sorry, incorrect. Uh, I don't know if you remember Ty Corbin.
SPEAKER_03I think he had a son, right? Did you have a son that played at West High?
SPEAKER_00Yeah.
SPEAKER_03Okay. Yeah, he was nice. He was pretty good. Yep. So this is his dad.
SPEAKER_00Mm-hmm. Got it. So he was under him, and then um my dad worked his way up the year after, and then came the switch. My dad actually interviewed for the head job when Ty Corbin was released, and then it came down to him and Quinn Schneider, and then Quinn got the job, and um the Jazz kept my dad on as the number one assistant under Quinn for a few years. And so that was it's it's a really cool experience, but kind of jumping back to it is like I would say I got asked this question the other day, and I would say my favorite player just from seeing what they did when no one was. There's two examples. One I saw up close and personal, Gordon Hayward.
SPEAKER_03Okay, Gordon Hayward, okay. Okay, this is back, this is beat pre-industry. Gordon Hayward is really nice.
SPEAKER_00Yep. So came in. Uh, I thought the Jazz made a mistake by drafting him because he was 6'8, no muscle on his bones, anything like that. But put in the work, and after year two, my dad was like, you know, Gordon Hayward's the only person in the league right now to average more than 15 points a game in both two seasons. I was like, really, that's an interesting stat. And then to put on 15 in the NBA every single night is obviously very impressive. And then the one that resonated closely to me, but I didn't really get to see him practice, I only saw him in games, was Kimba Walker. Um Kemba? I know about UConn, Kemba? Yeah, and that's why I loved him because he was small, he was allegedly six foot, but he was super small, probably like 5'9, 5'10, put in the work, big time player, always showed up when the lights turned on. And you could just tell the reason he was so confident is because the work that he put in when no one was watching, and that's how I feel about it. I mean, those two are probably my some of my favorites.
SPEAKER_03I've just seen their approach because I think there's a lot of similarities when it comes to the sales game, right? You know, obviously you got the you got you got the game of basketball, but then the sales game is pretty similar because there's this competitive mindset you gotta have. Absolutely, but there's also like an approach that most professionals take when they're looking at the details and attention to details, whether it's you know, the prep work, you know, the rehab, folks working. So I thought that was always cool seeing, you know, knowing that your pops was in the NBA because that was my dream to go to the NBA. Yeah, and I just really was fascinated why on how do these guys become pros? Because I was at the park every day. Yeah, you know, at the rec shooting.
SPEAKER_00I know what you mean.
SPEAKER_03But there was something that separated them, and I'm gonna talk about this. Um, but you go play college and uh you you you you tell your parents that are gonna go and do door-to-door. Yeah. Um what did they think about it? And so what was the story here?
SPEAKER_00Yeah, so here's the story. I went and uh everyone knows Vivent, of course. Um I went and sold with Vivent for I was supposed to go for two months my going into my sophomore year of college. Um didn't go super well, mainly just because there's there's some mix-ups. They said they were paying for housing. I was supposed to be there two months. I broke my ankle literally the day before I left, couldn't go, rehabbed super hard just to get out there, and did okay. Um and honestly, for a month I got paid like $3,300, which is more than I would have made anywhere else. But my parents saw it because I was supposed to make like closer to six grand on there, and I didn't get a back-end check, which how long were you out there for? I was only out there for like 28, 29 days because I had to go back to college and start preseason and stuff like that. But it was it was a great experience because it told me that I never wanted to knock doors again. And then look at us now seven years after, six years after college, I'm still doing it. Um but they were not when I told them, so I graduated COVID 2020, um, literally didn't even go back to school after spring break. Um, I told them May 27th that I wanted to go sell solar in California. And they said, uh, okay, we we don't think you should do it because of what happened with the last company. Not because they didn't believe in me or anything, but they're like, you're about to drive 3,000 miles away with no money and go and and try to make this work when a similar experience in the past didn't work. So it's not that they didn't believe in me, they just didn't believe in the process behind it, which is fair of them. Um but it it was very difficult at first, as you remember. You were there a week and a half before me, and I struggled a lot at the beginning. Um, but it was just, I mean, you probably remember, and you you could probably share some light on that. You probably remember the work that me and Matthew McMillan would put in just every night walking around the walking around the block, pitching for hours and hours and hours. Yeah.
SPEAKER_03Just being obviously in a new city. I mean, it wasn't the best city, you know. We were in uh in Central Valley, you know, where it's one of the most dangerous cities in California, but yeah, we didn't know any better. No. With your parents obviously not being obviously a fan, obviously, and it came from good intentions because they wanted you to win. How did you feel?
SPEAKER_00Um, I just I felt I felt like I had to make it work. It was like not that they were doubting me, it was just like, well, I already came out here. Uh literally, as soon as I pulled out the driver, I was like, I I gotta make money, I gotta make this work. Because if not, I'm gonna go back to my house with with no money, and then I'll really be starting from zero again. And it was more along the lines just to do it for the summer and make some money and then find a career. But when I got paid that year uh and I saw how much I actually made by the end of the year, because I started May 29th, so almost June, it definitely put a big perspective on like my dad always said it growing up, there's a lot of ways to make money. I was like, wow, this is one of those ways to make a lot of money. And it was like it was almost baffling to me.
SPEAKER_03Like I did not really before you know, before making the money, I want to talk about that a little bit because um was it the was it more of the fear of you failing at the job, or is it more of a fear of letting your parents down?
SPEAKER_00No, well, a little bit of both. It was more along the lines for me because it was the first time I was actually on my own, um, failing, of course. Like obviously, you know, you you can't make every single shot, but also I didn't want to let my parents down as well, realistically. I mean, that that definitely was a big part of it, especially growing up. Both of them were winning coaches, both of them got to their their highest perspective or highest level in their perspectives. And I mean, starting out as a 21-year-old kid, fresh out of college, I just wanted to go as far as I could. Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_03And I mean, it's and I think that's something that that most athletes typically deal with is the identity. Because you know your whole life you're you're a basketball player, and then you're like, boom, life hits, and you gotta go, you know, be something else. I think that's something that I struggled with was what's life like after hoop. Yeah, and I you know a lot of my buddies are still struggling with that today. Um, I think it's the best thing jumping into sales because it number one teaches you a new a new challenge, but it also helps you develop a skill set that you kind of already have because basketball teaches you, you know, consistency, discipline, showing up every single day, being culture, being able to um outwork the competition when no one's working. With that said, you come in first year, right? And I remember this is uh the ghetto story I tell everyone, but you weren't that great in sales, you know, something that no you you you you didn't just come in with just this huge amount of like sales game. You kind of had to learn it, but like how long did you go?
SPEAKER_00So I I did I was not getting the sale, because I mean you were out there for how long?
SPEAKER_03Um you got your first sale?
SPEAKER_00So I'm I'm trying to remember exactly. I I know I didn't get my first sale until close to a month, but the first few weeks, like I think I only got I got one bill my first day, two bills the second day, and then they're just like, Hey, you are gonna be setting for mana now. And I was just like, Oh, okay.
SPEAKER_03I was like I I I from what I remember, um, it was longer than a month. No, it's still I still remember this long time. I remember there was back to back-to-back weeks where you're just like bageling. And yeah, for those who don't know what bagel is bagel is, is you go out there for a full day and you don't get in a cell. Um, and then it's just in this job, right? If you don't get a sale, you don't get paid. And so with all that going on, what was your mentality of like, I gotta go figure this out?
SPEAKER_00That's exactly what it was. I have to figure this out. There was no like if, ands, or buts.
SPEAKER_03What did you do though about it?
SPEAKER_00Well, I just I resorted back to what I did in in college and getting to that next level, practice. And it's like, I mean, you you often think it's like, hey, it's a job. Are you actually practicing your job? I was practicing my job. It's like even if it didn't work out during the day, I was getting in the gym after work, essentially. And I would literally have my buddy who I brought out there just act like a total D-bag, like, dude, give me every objection, give me everything, tell me every reason that you don't want this, you don't want to set up an appointment, and I'm gonna try to get around it. And we would literally walk around for hours and hours and just pitch each other um after the doors, so we could get better. And then um after that, I mean you you probably remember it, but it it kind of clicked after that, and I got good. And then all of a sudden I got okay again because I went to self gen in and I was consistent.
SPEAKER_03But I want to pause here because I mean there's there's some parts in this story that I think are really unique into what obviously. Helped you personally, but the practice part, right? You know, you know the famous Allen Irison practice. You know, we talk about I'm a franchise player, but I think that's overlooked. Walk us through like the practicing of the job. Like what exactly were you doing on a day-to-day, nightly basis to practice?
SPEAKER_00So at first, because I was just a setter, so just a door knocker. Um and I don't know if you remember this exactly because it's a little bit blurry, but for the first week I only had like three total bills. And the first week I wasn't doing any practice. So like I come home, I would just be exhausted from the day, relax, chill, go to sleep. And then once I started seeing like the money that I actually had go down and down, I was like with Justin, I had to look at myself in the mirror. I was like, dude, I'm 3,000 miles away from my house. It was like, if I don't have any money, how am I gonna drive my car back? You know what I mean? How am I gonna even get back? And then that's when I was like, dude, it doesn't matter what you know in the past, it doesn't matter how well you did in the past. This is not basketball, this is not your previous experience. Um, you have to absolutely check your ego out the door. Um, and that's when I was like, okay, like I'll do whatever it takes. And that's why when we started saying whatever it takes after is funny, but I would literally do whatever it takes to make sure that I succeed in this situation.
SPEAKER_03And I I think that's the most powerful principle right there is the practicing. You know, you're never gonna be perfect, but if if you're practicing gain speed and anything you do, yeah, um, number one, you're going to put yourself, I would say you're like in a comfortable situation, but it's the best thing you can do because that's how you grow. You know, if you're constantly just doing things and just kind of flying by the seat of your pants, you know, you're you're not gonna get the results you're looking for. Um, but in this type of job, it does require a sense of intensity. And that's something that I did take away, you know, obviously seeing it firsthand when you first started out. You know, you were 10 o'clock, 11 o'clock, sometimes midnight, still at the dinner table, you know, reviewing, okay, your pitch. I remember you having literally AirPod, uh notepad, you know, your pen and paper, and you were going. Right. And so fast forward, right? You you get into it, you make, you know, it was cool. I remember I think I visited you back in Memphis. I went back and I went to go say what's up to the fam. Yeah. And uh I think your I thought your parents hated me because they were like, Yeah, you stole my son, and like, you know, he came and did this. But it was cool because you actually made some money and they actually were like, you know, and I was it was cool meeting your parents or start coming in, right? Yeah, you know, you know, you know, after that first year, you solidified yourself in one of the hardest markets. You know, Cali is not for the fun, but one of the things that I think people understand is the work it took for you to get to that point. What did that mean to you?
SPEAKER_00Um it definitely meant a lot to me because it's it's kind of like we talked about is is gratification, whether it's delayed, whether it's one month, six months, eight months. I mean, all the incentives were cool too. Don't get me wrong. I mean, we've been all over the world, but uh it's the gratification and actually being able to like set your mind to go do something and then do it. And it's like one of those things, well, hey, what if this doesn't work out? You also have to think, what if this works out better than anything that I ever imagined? You know what I mean?
SPEAKER_03Because I think that's the that's the mentality we had, is we just never even thought about things going wrong because all we saw was it's gonna work out. Yeah, you know, we had those binders on.
SPEAKER_00And that's where I think me and you got along because it was like it was so competitive. Well, I mean, we remember the conversations that me and you had, of course, but we were just competitive against everyone else in our office because it didn't matter if we were making a thousand dollars on a deal. We didn't, we barely understood how to price. Yeah, we we gave uh uh Rob Bar.
SPEAKER_03We gave some we gave some some some free deals away. We definitely some homeowners got a dealer to life.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. Um, but I think I honestly I think that's why we work together. I mean, we're we're not I consider you like one of my best friends in the world, and um, but it's also just because like we were so competitive and we wanted to win, and we just we liked the challenge of it. So getting to that point was definitely like an epitome for the time. But now you look back at it, it's just like, oh, it was just another thing that I did. Um, but it definitely meant a lot more going from. I mean, we remember those conversations that that our leaders were having about me and you specifically.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, I think they were they didn't want us working together because like you were their recruit.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, and then they also thought we were both dumb pretty much because I was from the south.
SPEAKER_03And yeah, I was some tonguing guy that's from LA that came from gang banking. Exactly. I get it.
SPEAKER_00Exactly. And then when we started to outshine them, there was obviously the the issues that came with it. But uh, dude, I I wouldn't trade any of it for the world.
SPEAKER_03I mean, and I think that's the I think that's the unique thing is with all that going on, we just really didn't give we didn't give a shit because we we knew our wives were strong. You know, for me, it was you know, I had a daughter at the time, so it was more of like I gotta go provide for my for my daughter, and then for you it was more about I know I gotta go back and show something, come back with something.
SPEAKER_01Absolutely.
SPEAKER_03You know, with your parents and the type of path that they created for themselves, it's important for you to go do that.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_03Um, this is the part where you know, we talked about just your upbringing, the mindset, the perspective. Obviously, your parents were high-level coaches, and you know, you starting in, I think that's one of the unique things about the industry is it always teaches you something every single year. I've learned that like the marketplace is always gonna be you know, effed, you know, there's always gonna be something that's coming up. But I think this is one of the most pivotal things we face, and I want you to talk about it, but you know, being with a company and then getting sucker punch for like a hundred grand and then pay you out.
SPEAKER_00I remember it like it was yesterday.
SPEAKER_03Because I mean, you know, like how did it feel from you going and making all that money and then you know putting your blood, sweat, and tears in the company, and then boom, you're like, you know, you won every award of that company, and then now you're left with nothing.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, but I mean, I asked for a three cent raise, and they couldn't give me a three cent raise, and I was like, okay. And for those speaking and that don't know solar chumps, three cents is not very much. Um, it's like uh it's barely anything, but that's all I asked for. When they couldn't figure something out for that, what was a three cents wire?
SPEAKER_03Like, why were you asking for it?
SPEAKER_00Because the year before they had promised that all the baselines were gonna stay the same when they transitioned to a new management uh roles, essentially, or like team leads. I can't remember the exact wording, but they said hey, it's gonna be the exact same. And then we got through uh January, February, middle of March is when we we took that trip and I asked for it.
SPEAKER_03And they didn't change it, they didn't change.
SPEAKER_00Well, they said they would work on it, and uh I don't know if you remember that year, but because we had a lot of stuff going on with the the DeFi and stuff like that. I try not to remember. Okay, me too. Hey, me too. Um, but that year they had said that, and I was they had released a leaderboard like the week before based on PBWs and stuff like that, uh, or maybe the week after, and I was at 499,000 in commission generated before May. And so personal, not team or anything like that. And so I was like, dude, I'm pushing the envelope, I'm incentivizing all these guys to go and catch me. So it's like I got a big team.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, and I think yeah, you were running, you were running, you're running a big orc. I mean, you that East LA group was was throwing in numbers, yeah. Um, and I think that's something that is unique about your story um because you you're challenged, you know, it's not easy, number one, to do the job, but then obviously to go actually earn what was yours and then have that taken away like that. Yeah. Like when did you find out that I'm probably not gonna get paid?
SPEAKER_00Well, uh I had a 12K check coming in. I was like, okay, yeah, this would be nice. Uh the week after was a big one coming. I think it was like 30 something or close to it. And on my 12k check, they had retracted me for for something stupid. I couldn't remember. I think it was like they were attracting me for 55 uniforms, and they charged like 12 or 15,000. And I was like, Well they like the Lanciaga or Versace type ones, or just no, they were khaki that were made probably uh like uh downtown Alley in LA essentially, yeah. Like the the logo was uh pressed on with the iron. So I know they didn't spend that much on it, but that it was super frustrating. Uh, but then we were in a great, a great place. We both had money in the bank, and when we said, Hey, we're gonna go start our thing, like it was just like, okay, we're just gonna keep doing the same thing, just different uniform.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, I mean, because you know, starting from from scratch, you know, ultimately, of like boom, I got 100,000, or I think it was more than 100,000 taken away from you.
SPEAKER_00Um, I don't even know collectively. Uh I don't know.
SPEAKER_03I think it was up into like the 200s.
SPEAKER_00Collectively, between me and you is it's probably like probably close to a million. I guess like, yeah, I guess a lot, a lot of money. Because you're also talking like our downlines and and those and that stuff too. It was a SHIG ton.
SPEAKER_03But you know, the lesson learned behind that is you know, every obstacle, there's there's things you're gonna face. And you know, for you, what mentality did you have to be like, you know what? Cool, another bump in the road, we're gonna go figure this out.
SPEAKER_00Well, I just figured I'd already figured out how to sell in California. Um, I'd already gone through the hard part of it, uh, knocking doors for eight, nine hours a day and not pulling a single bill. So I was like, oh dude. You can't get much work. Someone, someone took that. I was like, dude, at any given point I can go knock on a door and make five grand. It's like that's the skill that I already learned and took from it. So at any given point, if my back's against the wall, knock, knock, knock, 20 days later I can get a check in my bank account for five grand. So I just figure like once you once you have that, no one can ever take that. And that like whenever I hop on these recruiting calls, that's what I say. I was like, look, you're coming here to join an awesome organization, an awesome company. We don't miss payments, we don't miss paydays, anything like that. But what you're gonna learn here is so much greater. You will literally be able to have a skill where if you're ever in a bad position in your life, where it's financial, whatever the case may be, you can go knock on a door and sell something. Doesn't have to be solar, sell something and make a lot of money from it. You can turn a doorknob and a 10-minute conversation and a two to five grand almost instantly.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, and I think that's I think that's why we rock together is because you know, um, I still ask myself, I'm like, how is Justin still following me? Because, you know, there was a lot of times, you know, I came to you like out the blue, like, hey, this is what we're doing. And, you know, you'd be like, all right, I guess we're doing it. Uh what for you, obviously, you know, when I when I made that change, and you know, it's not safe, you know. I mean, I look at some of the risks I took. I think I was pretty dumb to like take those decisions, but I'm glad because I just didn't overthink things, I just did it. But you know, in California, we were able to go build something. What made you say yes, knowing that damn, we gotta go start this again?
SPEAKER_00Um I think, bro, honestly, I just a lot of it goes back to the loyalty to it. We've we've had this conversation multiple times throughout the years where it's just like uh those two reps that brought me out there, yeah, I probably would have figured it out, and it it might have taken longer than the process, but you're the one that had my back that pretty much, I mean, bro, that first check, $756, John and Epifania, Cardonia.
SPEAKER_03It was like 14 cents, too.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. Um, I was like, I was just the happiest. I was like, man, this dude literally made sure I got paid. Um, and then from there, it's like we kind of got grouped together by association when we got kicked out of our house and had to go start a different uh a different office an hour away. But um after that, bro, I was it was just like, hey, he has my back.
SPEAKER_03So I think that was good because you know that you know that first the first the first you know job that we actually got, we went to go help homeowners. I think that couple was like 94 years old, 96 years old. And I just remember not something that it wasn't about the money for us, it was more about man, these are in my opinion, people that are so vulnerable that I felt like it was our job to go protect and service people in the right way. Yeah. Because in that in that area, there was like scams going on, things going on, um, the news, right? Yeah, but we had this like sense of responsibility, like, hey, if we gotta go and and meet with them two, three times in a week just to make sure they are good, we did that. Yeah, and I think that's one of the things that I was like, do your heart in the right place. Yeah. And you know, what's the hardest lesson has been for you since that? Obviously, starting from scratch, you know, from Cali. Um anything that comes to mind when it comes to rebuilding.
SPEAKER_00Um no, I you know, I I feel like I'm a little bit too comfortable with it, just being honest with you. And that's like, which I can I can talk about it. Um, just being able to go somewhere else somewhere else and restart immediately. Um, and the reason I say that is because like, dude, we we have something awesome going on right here. Yeah, and we've we've talked about it, of course, but it's time that I build the same thing that we built somewhere else here, and that way we can reap the rewards of both of it, and then I can go do it again.
SPEAKER_03And I think I'm I'm a great fit for that, but it's like um, sorry, no, I just think because with you like you know, coming from that, starting from scratch and then seeing what's being built now, right? Yeah, you know, being able to see, you know, we're running one of the top performing markets in the country, in my opinion. Now, like we run one of the best organizations, you know, what does that mean to you? Oh, seeing where we come from.
SPEAKER_00It means a lot, it means a lot. I mean, you're I don't know if you remember this, but last year, uh, it was like the week after we got a warehouse. I came in here and we we had nothing in here. I was like, bruh, we used to run this out of out of Airbnbs, and we have 30 people in there. It's like we've come a long, long way. And it's just it's exciting because just based on what we've done, like Me, you and Cy has been added to the mix, and he's done an absolutely fantastic job, and we have leaders that are really excited about helping us grow. It's like this is just a small stepping stone, and we talk about a thousand, it's like, bro, in two or three years, we're not gonna be talking about a thousand. We'll be we're gonna be talking about ten thousand, twenty thousand in a year. And it seems like such a large number, but just based off our projection, it's like now we're gonna really start to compound, and that's where we're gonna go. So it's it's exciting. Uh it's also a bit scary. I mean, we we talk about this every Sunday with with Saya and all the guys. It's like we got a lot we got to get better at too, but it's it's super exciting, it's a little bit scary because what we can actually do with this and actually having good leaders and people that can go out and perform is gonna be something that people are gonna talk about. Like they'll have us in the books instead of Zig Ziggler and stuff like that. Yeah, you know.
SPEAKER_03I think that's the that's the that's the beauty of it, is you know, why why why I pride ourselves on systems and processes is because we've we worked with no systems, we worked with no processes, and that's why we're a little bit more like granular when it comes to it, because we don't want you know a single point of failure to just rock the shit. Yep. And you know, obviously seeing you know you're a big part in in building out the setter organization out with Saya, you guys done a phenomenal job of just creating systems that are able to duplicate, but then also being able to um implement them. Because I think you know you can have all the plans and you can have all the different strategies, but if you can't execute, you know, you're nowhere, no one's gonna get that thousand install go, right? It's like out the window.
SPEAKER_00Yeah.
SPEAKER_03Um, I want to talk about how you think, Justin, because you have an interesting way of your philosophy in life, and it's almost like you have this subtle I don't give a F type mentality, which I love because it's an abundance mindset. Talk to me about the mindset that you have when it comes to just there's more out there.
SPEAKER_00Um I mean, there is as simple as it is, like there's always gonna be another opportunity. Um, there's always gonna be another option. And even these last few weeks, um, just starting small, bringing my recruits out to Ohio, driving up, it's like I know all those doors are knocked, and like some of those doors are knocked by our guys, and when I knock on them, it's just different. You know what I mean? It's so every opportunity, even if like uh another solar company or whatever the case may be, there's always opportunity to go out and get more. And this is one of the few jobs out there that's like your abundance is directly like your idea on abundance is directly correlated to your idea on what you can actually earn or what your actual paycheck is. And so like when I say, hey, let's go out and write our paychecks today, it's like, bro, if I haven't written my paycheck at 6 p.m., like if I start at 8 and haven't written a six uh paycheck by 6 p.m., I can work until the sun goes down. I can work an additional two hours and I know I'm gonna find something. So it's I recently I've had a lot of changing ideas about I've always thought about abundance, but also the grace and abundance as well. And I'm just thankful for uh it's weird, like I'm thankful for every no, I'm thankful for every problem that I that I have that I face because if I was in different shoes, I I might not be able to handle those problems realistically.
SPEAKER_03And so this last segment is for the underdogs, for the big dogs, the underdogs, but you know, coming from you, Justin, you weren't talented, you didn't start out, you know, on fire. You you went through a lot of disappointment, adversity early early on when you first started. What do you what advice if someone's going through this right now, you know, and they're not seeing the success, maybe they're not seeing the the flow state of getting into the job, what do you say to that person?
SPEAKER_00Um it's cliche, but don't give up. And believe in yourself because the the mind is the most powerful thing that we have. It's like I was excited to come and do this, I was excited to come out here and knock. It doesn't matter that I woke up at at 3 a.m. to get to the airport and leave the airport at 5 p.m., which is 3 here. Like after this, I'm I'm going to customers' homes, I'm going to knock some doors where I can. And it's just be excited about the opportunity that you have. And like the grass isn't the grass is gonna be green where you water it. It's like that's all I can really say about it. And I know it's that's like super, super like surface level on there, but just every opportunity it's it's in that. It's an opportunity, you know what I mean? Every opportunity is an opportunity. So like go out there and get it, and that's that's all I'll say to it. I mean, yeah.
SPEAKER_03What's the what's the mission to you? Like, what's what's your mission right now as you're building? I mean, I heard little birdie told me that you know you're going for 30 days, 100,000. Yeah, so I but like what's the ultimate, what's the goal you're building towards?
SPEAKER_00Um, I just so the reason I'm doing that is because one, um I've I've won everything in other companies, but since we've been here, we've been a lot more focused on different things. Like, I haven't gone out and sold like I should, realistically. And that's just being truthful about it. So I'm just gonna go and smash everything this year. So I'm gonna go and do 100K in 30 days, um, starting May 5th. When I come back out here, I'm gonna bring two setters with me. I'm gonna document the whole thing. Um, and I believe it or not, I'm actually willing to put a stake of my commission up if I don't hit it so that we can reinvest back into the organization because I already know I'm gonna hit it. So it's just another challenge that I'm gonna smash. I'm gonna document it so I can show my kids. And then also I hope that being able to watch that is, dude, I'm just a regular guy. Like, I'm not crazy with AI where I'm making 100K just typing on my computer or anything like that. Um, like I want to be able to show the new guys that are coming in, the the Nate Otises, the Chris Sanchezes who have been here, um, my little brother who's gonna come work with us. I want to be able to show them it's like whatever your situation is, if you put enough work in, you can change your life in this job in the matter of 30 days. Because 100K, it's it's great money, don't get me wrong, but it's not the end goal on there. Um it's just gonna be something that I do. And then We'll celebrate it for a day and then I'll come up with another thing where I want to recruit 100 people in 100 days. I don't know, something like that.
SPEAKER_03Mr. Beast, huh?
SPEAKER_00And then I'll just go smash it again. Yeah, I mean, that's my biggest goal is like I want to start going at because we've done a great job with Inspire. You've done a great job with your personal brand on there. Now, if I'm gonna be able to replicate this in multiple other markets to where we're all eating for years and years and years to come, and we make a fantastic IPO because I said that because we got the owner in the building today. Um but whenever we make a fantastic IPO on it, like our families are able to eat and survive for as long as we want them to. And if we want to work, we can. And then if we don't want to work, we can go play golf and then check our bank accounts at 5 p.m. and see how much money came in. You know what I mean?
SPEAKER_03Justin Jones, two-time All-American award winner, one of the directors here at Inspire, and somebody who proves every single day that it's not the end of the story, it's just the beginning. Appreciate you, brother.
SPEAKER_00Bingo. Thank you, brother. Please.