Season 3 continues with Tom interview his friend Jose Rodriguez. They talk about the mindset necessary to overcome the threats that cause failure.
3 Must-Hear Takeaways from this episode
Money is not a big enough motivator, the vision adds value to the work.
Take ownership of what caused your pain in order to move past failures.
Get a mentor who can see beyond your scope to help you overcome internal and external opposition.
Show Notes:
Jose Rodriguez knows about the struggles of kids. He overcame a childhood filled with drug dealers, fights, and handcuffs to running a nonprofit that gives hope to others.
Rescue A Generation is focused on reaching at-risk students with Jose being a motivational speaker that talks to audiences ranging from school auditoriums to major conferences all across the country.
“I believe in young people. Any avenue I can take to get a message of hope to this generation, I do it,” he said.
Growing up with his own sense of dysfunction — a household where his father was a drug dealer — caused traumatic experiences in childhood that spurred PTSD by middle school. Growing up around a different race, he felt he had to literally fight to prove and defend himself. It wasn’t until he was arrested for stealing cars, that he was given a fresh start.
Right out of probation, he left the country with a church group to find people who had a worse life than he did. That shook him and showed him there were still people he could speak into and help.
Then, his life took another drastic turn in college. Failing class, he met a businessman who shifted his direction in life via the book, “Success Principles: How to get from where you are to where you want to be”. That transformed how he views success.
Jose says he realized that most motivational speakers make money off people that “don’t have.” He saw that if those people could come into contact with people like him, there would be a bridge.
“Some of these gang members that grew up with little to no hope are some of the best entrepreneurs there are, they’re just going about it the wrong way. I saw a bridge to connect people who have resources to those who don’t,” Jose explains.
So, Jose started a nonprofit without any business degree or general knowledge. That led him to overcome the internal failures of not believe in himself and dealing with a lack of administrative and financial skills.
Jose reveals that the mindset necessary for overcoming failures is what he calls “the burden”.
He continues, “It’s not passionate people that change the world, it’s the people who have a burden. When I hit a brick wall and get ready to give up, I think of the thousands of people waiting for our organization to get on their campus and change their lives. I’ve seen that happen.”
He also advises people to hold themselves accountable to move past failures. Jose says, “People do dumb stuff all the time, but people were dealt with worse hands and have better outcomes. Pain can be turned into a purpose to bring healing and hope to others.
Lastly, Jose says the roadblocks to look out for when chasing a dream are the external and internal forces. He notes that when you set off to chase a dream, people will tell you it’s a bad decision or you’ll feel that yourself. That’s why finding the right people to put around you is crucial.
“As you’re facing those obstacles, get the right voices of a mentor or leader around you who can see beyond your scope. You need a voice for motivation and a voice for wisdom,” he advises.