From Worship Pastor to Million-Dollar Entrepreneur | Josh Dominguez DSH #1195

Summary

Digital Social Hour Episode Summary

Title: From Worship Pastor to Million-Dollar Entrepreneur | Josh Dominguez DSH #1195
Release Date: February 21, 2025
Host: Sean Kelly
Guest: Josh Dominguez, Founder of RefreshLED

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1. Introduction

In this episode of Digital Social Hour, host Sean Kelly engages in a candid conversation with Josh Dominguez, the founder of RefreshLED. The discussion delves into Josh's unique journey from being a worship pastor to establishing a thriving LED technology business. The episode explores themes of faith, entrepreneurship, family, personal responsibility, and the intersection of technology with modern life.

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2. LED Technology and Business

Josh introduces his company, RefreshLED, which specializes in providing innovative LED solutions for various settings, including churches, retail stores, restaurants, and podcast studios. He highlights the rapid advancements in LED technology and its increasing adoption in immersive experiences both indoors and outdoors.

Notable Quote:

"LED is really the way of the future, and we're seeing a lot of podcasts utilizing it."
— Josh Dominguez [01:16]

Josh emphasizes the versatility and cost-effectiveness of LED installations, noting their prominent use in high-traffic areas like Las Vegas's strip and new casinos undergoing renovations.

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3. Josh's Journey: From Worship Pastor to Entrepreneur

Josh shares his background in church ministry, where he served as a worship pastor. His passion for integrating new technology into worship settings naturally led him to the LED industry. Transitioning from ministry to entrepreneurship, Josh founded RefreshLED in 2017, focusing on delivering cutting-edge LED solutions.

Notable Quote:

"I really fell into this industry. I left the ministry and got into this by helping a friend of mine with his church."
— Josh Dominguez [02:12]

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4. Balancing Family and Business

With a rapidly growing business and a family of six children, Josh discusses the challenges of juggling entrepreneurial responsibilities with parenting. He underscores the importance of core values and intentional decision-making to maintain balance.

Notable Quote:

"It's a daily battle... you filter your decisions based on your core values."
— Josh Dominguez [06:27]

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5. Accountability and Personal Responsibility

Sean and Josh delve into the significance of accountability, especially in personal and professional spheres. Josh aligns his business practices with his faith, believing that success is a duty and a responsibility to one’s community.

Notable Quote:

"Success is your duty. It's your responsibility."
— Josh Dominguez [10:13]

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6. Parenting in the Modern Age

Josh speaks passionately about parenting in today's digital era. With children ranging from seven months to 16 years old, he discusses setting boundaries around technology usage, such as delaying the introduction of smartphones to his younger children to foster healthier habits.

Notable Quote:

"Being a parent right now is a tough, tough feat... raising our kids in a godly home and teaching them morals is very intentional and difficult."
— Josh Dominguez [13:16]

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7. Social Media and Mental Health

The conversation shifts to the impact of social media on mental health, highlighting the dangers of comparison and the importance of intentional usage. Both Sean and Josh share their strategies for managing social media consumption to maintain mental well-being.

Notable Quote:

"Social media is a highlight reel, and we cannot compare ourselves to it."
— Josh Dominguez [19:56]

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8. Continuous Learning and Personal Growth

Josh emphasizes the necessity of lifelong learning for personal and business growth. He shares his methods for consuming knowledge through podcasts, audiobooks, and intentional reading, highlighting how these practices have contributed to his business success.

Notable Quote:

"You have to be in learning mode constantly. That's the only way you're gonna level up on your competition."
— Josh Dominguez [23:46]

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9. Health Challenges and Business Growth

A pivotal moment in Josh’s story is his battle with kidney disease in 2020. Despite being diagnosed during the COVID-19 pandemic, Josh persevered through a kidney transplant donated by his sister. This period was simultaneously marked by significant growth for RefreshLED, demonstrating his resilience and faith-driven approach.

Notable Quote:

"In 2020, I had a kidney transplant, and our business went from zero to about 10 million in five years."
— Josh Dominguez [31:05]

Josh credits his sister’s generosity and God’s guidance for his recovery and business success, reinforcing his belief in blending faith with entrepreneurial endeavors.

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10. Conclusion and Contact Information

As the episode wraps up, Josh shares how listeners can connect with RefreshLED and him personally. He encourages those facing similar challenges or needing resources to reach out, emphasizing his commitment to being a community resource.

Notable Quote:

"You're an incredible influencer to thousands. You'll never know the full impact you're having on people."
— Josh Dominguez [17:03]

Contact Information:

• RefreshLED Instagram: @refreshled
• Website: refreshled.com
• Josh’s Personal Instagram: @joshdom619

Sean Kelly closes the episode by expressing gratitude for Josh’s openness and inspiring journey, leaving listeners motivated to pursue their own paths with faith and determination.

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Key Takeaways

• Integration of Faith and Business: Josh exemplifies how personal faith can guide and enhance entrepreneurial ventures.
• Importance of Accountability: Emphasizing responsibility in both personal life and business fosters trust and growth.
• Balanced Parenting: Setting intentional boundaries around technology is crucial in raising well-rounded children.
• Resilience Through Adversity: Overcoming significant health challenges while growing a business showcases determination and faith.
• Continuous Learning: Lifelong learning and adaptability are essential for sustained success in a competitive landscape.

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This episode offers a profound exploration of blending personal values with professional ambitions, providing listeners with valuable insights into overcoming challenges, building successful businesses, and maintaining strong family bonds.

Transcript

[A]

I actually had one guest on here talk about how Jesus was a businessman. Yeah, Isn't that crazy?

[B]

Yeah. I mean, he was a carpenter. God and business and money are all intertwined in etho. I think it's important that we look at that, because without money, what can the church do? What can ministries do without money?

[A]

No, I agree. Because certain people go down too far where they neglect money. They go too religious, too spiritual.

[B]

Exactly.

[A]

And then it's a. It's like, how are you providing for your family?

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

All right, guys, Josh from Refresh LED here. He provides the LED screens at my events and soon to be at the studio, man. So thanks for. Thanks for hopping on.

[B]

Absolutely, man. Glad to be here. It's been awesome just being a part of your events thus far.

[A]

Yeah. Very innovative product. I haven't seen it before.

[B]

Yeah, Yeah. I mean, LED's coming a long way. Technology's coming a long way, and we're just happy to be on the forefront and helping people like you take advantage of it and be able to use it.

[A]

Yeah. We got this whole strip here. This is cool.

[B]

Yeah, this is cool. I love. I love the design you got going on. I mean, LED is really the way of the feature, and we're seeing a lot of podcasts utilizing it. We have our own podcast on the east coast, and we have a huge LED wall that we use and.

[A]

Love it, man.

[B]

We're seeing it just pick up like crazy right now.

[A]

Yeah. Pods are taking off. I'm curious if the sphere uses LEDs. The whole thing.

[B]

Yeah, the whole thing, man. Well, the whole exterior, yeah.

[A]

Wow.

[B]

Man. It is insane what they've done here in Vegas and with the new casinos popping up and, you know, even, like, the Cosmo is doing all the precursors, some renovations, and they're going to be doing some LEDs there. It's just. It's exciting to see.

[A]

Yeah. The old strip, too. Have you been out there?

[B]

I have, yeah.

[A]

Yeah. The whole.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Tunnel Bing is led, Right?

[B]

It's incredible.

[A]

I mean, that can't be cheap.

[B]

Well, that's. That's the thing, man. I mean, right now, immersive experiences are everything, you know, even in people's homes. Like, people are starting to put them really, in their home theaters, in their spaces where, you know, they want to have entertain entertainment spaces and everything, even outdoors by their pool.

[A]

That's baller.

[B]

I mean, it's pretty cool.

[A]

That's super cool. When did you get into this? Was it even like a. An emerging technology?

[B]

Yeah, it was back in 2017. First got into it. I was in church ministry. I was a worship pastor, man. Just loving what I was doing. And obviously in any type of church venue setting, you're messing with gear, kind of like what you are here.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

And we were just always integrating new equipment. I was always trying new equipment. Really got into it and really just loved playing around with the new technology that was coming out. And I just kind of fell into this industry. I left the ministry and got. I got into this by helping a friend of mine with his church and I just fell in love with it, man.

[A]

That's cool.

[B]

So now we do it. We got about 30 team members now, and it's just a lot of fun.

[A]

And you're in a lot of churches now too?

[B]

We're in a lot of churches. We're in a lot of retail stores, restaurants. It's really cool because the sky's the limit of who we can help.

[A]

Yeah. So do you help with the installation too?

[B]

We do, yep. Our team comes out, we do everything from start to finish and yeah, it's just fun to be on site.

[A]

Yeah. From a podcast studio point of view, it puts your studio at another level when you have a nice LED wall.

[B]

It does, it does. It just brings a whole nother. I mean, like we. What you got going on here?

[A]

Yeah. And I think. I think Pineda or Bradley has one too.

[B]

He does, yeah. Ryan Pineda. We helped him out with his screen.

[A]

Right?

[B]

Yeah. And it's just. It's awesome to help guys like, like you and. And Ryan over there. So.

[A]

Yeah, man, let's talk about some non led stuff.

[B]

Yeah, yeah, for sure.

[A]

The church stuff. Talk to me about that journey.

[B]

Yeah. Well, I went to Bible College back in 2002 and really felt a call and go into ministry, specifically in the worship leading space. I'm a musician. I love playing keyboard and just love doing it. I had a position in San Diego, then I moved to Virginia, then I had another position in New York there. Just helping multiple ministries with music. In New York, we did a lot of street ministry, which is really cool. Just helping people that didn't have access to just a lot of technology and just being able to hear the gospel in a. In a fresh way. So that was really exciting to be.

[A]

A part of street ministry. So are those the ones that are like on the side of the street reading the Bible out loud?

[B]

No, we actually went out, we set up full stages and you know, we would do music on the stage. We'll give out free food, give out some bikes to the kids, draw People in and then be able to preach the gospel and whatnot. So what my part was was putting together all the technology and then also being able to do some live music there as well. So that's always been a big passion of mine. I love doing it. I love tying my passion for music into the business as well.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

And it just ties in so well because we work with a lot of stages, whether it's a theater out in San Diego or churches all over the country.

[A]

Super cool.

[B]

Yeah, it's really neat.

[A]

So you went to Bible college?

[B]

I went to Bible college, man.

[A]

I didn't know that was a thing, to be honest. I never heard of that.

[B]

It's not as prominent now. I mean, back then, in the early 2000s, there were a lot more Bible colleges than are now. And you know, if you're feeling called to go into a ministry type of vocation, you. You want to go to a Bible focused school that will teach you theology, but then also be able to teach you how to work with people. And if it's music like what. I focused on you learning the craft of music itself and learning how to implement that in a church and ministry setting. So I went there, met my wife Amanda there. We have six kids now. So after moving all over the country, we have landed in Pennsylvania. And it's been quite the journey, man. The Lord led us out of the last church, we were out in New York. And then that's when I got into this business now with doing LEDs. And it's been quite the road, man, just having six kids, launching a business and you're trying to juggle it all, which I'm sure there's a lot of your listeners are entrepreneurs and they have families and they're trying to juggle the kids, the business and the other life responsibilities and everything.

[A]

It's a daily battle.

[B]

It's a daily battle.

[A]

Yeah, it's ongoing. Going to. I don't think there's ever like a solution that stops it.

[B]

No, I mean you, you focus your, your goals and really what your personal core values are and you kind of, you filter your decisions and the direction you want to go.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Based on those core values. And that's been the key factor that has been leading me every step of the way. And obviously for me, my faith is a very strong part of my decision making process with anything even in business. And we were talking before we hit play here and man, business and faith, for me, they go hand in hand. And it's really important for me that we do that. And it's been such a key part to our success, and, you know, just doors opening up and being here with guys like you, you know, I just. I believe that God opens those doors. And when you walk through it, I mean, God does the rest.

[A]

What's up, guys? Shout out to RX Sugar, one of my favorite snack brands. I'm about to try a flavor I've never had before. Vanilla cream. See what we got here. Not solid. I love vanilla. It's my favorite ice cream flavor. Definitely. Check them out, guys. R Sugar. I actually had one guest on here talk about how Jesus was a businessman. Yeah, Isn't that crazy?

[B]

Yeah. I mean, he was a carpenter. He had a skill trade. And if you look at Paul, you know, he was a tent maker. And, you know, God and business and money are all intertwined. Look at how many times the Bible talks about money. You know, money is all throughout the Bible. And he talks about the parable, the talents, and, you know, the Bible talks about giving your first fruits. And, you know, back then, that was their form of currency, you know, was their first literal fruits as they farmed their land, you know, So I think it's important that we look at that, because without money, what can the church do? What can ministries do without money?

[A]

No, I agree, because certain people go down too far where they neglect money. They go too religious, too spiritual. And then it's like, how are you providing for your family?

[B]

Yeah. Yeah. And I really felt that the Lord kind of shifted my. My life focus to be more in business, to help support ministries, to help launch ministries. You know, I'm on the board for the Philly Dream Center.

[A]

Nice.

[B]

And they're right down the road from Kensington, where, Man, I don't know if you've been out there. No, it is insane. It's like Zombieland, really. And you can go on YouTube and check out the videos, but, man, people are strung up on drugs. Crazy.

[A]

This is in Philly.

[B]

This is in Philly. And it's just. It's infested with needles. Everywhere you go, you literally see needles all over the place.

[A]

Holy crap.

[B]

It is insane. So the vision and the mission of the Philly Dream center is to help bring life and bring the gospel and bring opportunities to those people looking to get out of that lifestyle. And being in business and having an entrepreneurial calling now, which I call it a marketplace calling, I'm able to give now to those type of initiatives to help. So I think it's really neat when you tie in ministry and business and you're calling from the Lord altogether.

[A]

I love that. Yeah. I do. Like when I see churches giving back to the homeless or to the less fortunate.

[B]

Yeah. Yeah. I may not be on staff at a church. I may not be a pastor by any means, but I feel stronger than ever that my ministry is my business and my job is to make money. So that way I can be a resource in my community. And you just had Grant Cardone on.

[A]

Yeah. Scientology.

[B]

Yeah. Well, he. He has a saying that success is your duty. It's your. It's your responsibility. I've seen that, you know, and I take that to heart too. You know, he's one of my mentors and just hearing him say that really stuck with me.

[A]

Yeah, I think it's your responsibility. Like, accountability for me is the main thing. Yeah. Like, please take accountability, good or bad.

[B]

Absolutely.

[A]

I get so annoyed when people don't take accountability, man.

[B]

Absolutely. Especially when you have kids and, you know, just responsibility for, you know, what's in front of you.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

But let alone responsibility for your community, for those who you're interacting with, you know, it's important that, you know, you. You look at what you're doing and you ask yourself, who is it benefiting? Is it just benefiting me? Is it just benefiting my family or my kids? Is my community that I'm in benefiting from what I'm doing? And I think that's important to ask yourself.

[A]

Absolutely.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Yeah. That's why I actually love chess players. Because when you lose a game, it's on you. You have to be full accountability for it.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

So I tell all my friends to play chess.

[B]

Right.

[A]

It's one of those games where it's just on you.

[B]

Yeah. You can't point the blame anybody else. You have to look at yourself.

[A]

Yeah. It's going to be one of the first things I teach my kids how to take some accountability, you know?

[B]

Yeah, absolutely. Absolutely, man. Because you cannot raise people that will point the finger and say it wasn't my fault, you know?

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

You have to take responsibility.

[A]

I love talking with parents. I have a lot of kids actually. You have six children.

[B]

Six kids.

[A]

What are the ages of those?

[B]

Seven months to 16.

[A]

Wow. That's a wide range.

[B]

It's a wide range. Yeah. So you have, you know, they're all in different stages of life and just growing and developing. So I kind of have to shift my mindset from kid to kid.

[A]

Right. Because they're also growing up in different generations.

[B]

Yeah, absolutely.

[A]

Cuz now technology is. Is everywhere. But the oldest one probably wasn't really experiencing that, right?

[B]

No, no. I mean, he barely got his phone a couple years ago.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

You know.

[A]

Oh, you waited out.

[B]

Yeah, we did. Yeah. In fact, my 12 year old, she doesn't have a phone yet.

[A]

Wow. Yeah, I was like 13 or 14. I was late though, in my school.

[B]

Yeah. Yeah.

[A]

But I hated it at the time. But I looking back, it was great.

[B]

Yeah. Yeah. Kind of sucks is you're all your friends.

[A]

Oh, it sucks.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Yeah. You can't text anyone. Yeah. All your friends are on Facebook.

[B]

Yeah. You feel like you're the oddball without.

[A]

A phone, but I think they could be dangerous for kids.

[B]

Yeah. And that's why we're waiting. You know, even though a lot of our peers have, you know, 10 year olds with phones at year olds with phones. And I'm like, why? You know, okay, they need to call you for emergencies or whatnot. But then the rest, 99% of the time they're looking at their phone, scrolling on social or just playing games.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

I don't think it's healthy.

[A]

If it was just for the reason of calling, you could just get them a regular flip phone.

[B]

Yeah, yeah. I mean, they make those phones that.

[A]

That's what I started.

[B]

Only make phone calls and that's it.

[A]

Yeah, yeah.

[B]

I mean, if that's really a concern and get them that.

[A]

It's a tricky one, man. There's a lot of influences at that age.

[B]

Being a parent right now is a tough, tough feat, man. I mean, with the influence of social media and culture and all of the options out there for identity and, you know, media is shaping the minds of our young kids sooner than what we were exposed to with getting phones and from getting online and everything. Being a parent now is a fight. It's a daily fight. We're fighting against culture. You know, when culture and YouTube and everything else is saying it's okay to do this, it's okay to think you're that, you know, and then us trying to raise our kids in a godly home and trying to teach them morals and we're trying to raise good people with strong character. It is, it is a very intentional process and it's very difficult and you have to be very committed to it.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

You know, I see too many parents nowadays that just get their kid a phone and just see ya, have fun. You know, the kids go off in their room, shut the door, you won't see them for a couple hours and who knows what they're doing?

[A]

You know, that's why I'm preparing now. I Don't even have kids yet. But I know it's a full time job and it's a lot of work.

[B]

Yeah, it is a lot of work.

[A]

Especially with six man. Hats off to.

[B]

Yeah. I mean, we're not perfect, you know, but we try our best and we try to be intentional with it and we just want to raise quality people, you know, quality people that contribute to society and hopefully they follow the Lord and, you know, they follow the same steps that we've laid out in front of them.

[A]

Yeah, yeah. No one's perfect. I learned that.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

You know, I tried to be a perfectionist when I was younger.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

It's super toxic.

[B]

Yeah, Yeah.

[A]

I mean, it's because nothing's ever good enough.

[B]

You're not gonna be perfect. Nothing's ever good enough. And if you keep telling yourself that, I mean, you start to believe it, you know, but you gotta be who you are. And as parents, you know, when you're gonna have kids, you know, you kind of, you have to live that example.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

It's one thing to tell them what they should do, but the reality is that kids are gonna mimic exactly what you're doing. You know, if you're on your phone scrolling 24 7, you give them a phone, guess what they're going to be scrolling 24 7. If you're cursing in your house and you tell me don't curse, well, you're cursing.

[A]

You know, what's your rule with cursing in your house?

[B]

We just don't, I mean, I don't personally curse, so for my kids to do it, it wouldn't be picked up for me. And we just don't allow it because, you know, we want to speak life. I think you have two choices when you're talking to somebody. You can speak life to them. You can speak death, you know, and the power of life and death is in your tongue.

[A]

It's a bad habit of mine, for sure.

[B]

It's, it's, it's okay because what's in your heart, you know?

[A]

Yeah. It's like Gary Vee, how he drops the F bomber offense, but he's trying to help people.

[B]

Yeah, yeah. I mean, what's in your heart? Yeah, you know, and that's really what matters, you know, I feel that. Yeah.

[A]

What does the Bible say about using words like that?

[B]

Well, the pipe. The Bible literally says that the tongue has the power to give life or death. And when you are speaking to somebody or you're in a situation where you're upset, you can literally speak life over somebody by Saying, Sean, man, you are such an influencer to thousands. I mean, there's people you haven't even met that you have touched and you have moved their hearts and minds. Yeah. You'll never know the full grasp of the impact you're having on people, you know, and that's hopefully life giving to you to hear, you know, Or I can say the opposite, which I don't want to say, you know.

[A]

No, I know what you mean, though.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

I grew up in a negative environment, so I've experienced both sides right now. I get a lot of praise these days, but I definitely experience the other side. And you can start believing it just as easily.

[B]

Yeah, yeah. And it's. It's one of those things where you will repeat to yourself more of the negative that you heard than the positive.

[A]

Oh, easily, you know. Yeah. It's something with our wiring. I don't know if it's a survival thing or something, but we definitely think about the negative stuff way more.

[B]

Yeah. Yeah. Because we believe it quicker than the good things we hear.

[A]

Yeah. I wonder if that's from like insecurity or something, you know?

[B]

Yeah, it's. It's, you know, there's a battle in our minds going on all the time, and we're trying to measure ourselves up to everybody else around us. And the second we hear somebody or something say to us that we are not good enough or we're not as good at this as that person, it only amplifies what we're already fighting in our head.

[A]

Right. You know, did you struggle with comparison growing up?

[B]

I think we all did, you know, as kids, we're comparing to other kids, teenagers. And then we get into our 20s and, you know, comparing to other people our age. I mean, I'm 41 right now. Still doing it.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

You know, my man, that guy's 41 and he's already done this. This isn't there.

[A]

Yeah, I think it's natural.

[B]

Yeah. Yeah. You look at people that are your age or in your stage of life and you're comparing like that missed a boat, you know, and it's not healthy.

[A]

It's not. It's just like inevitable, though. Like, I still do it even though I'm aware that I shouldn't be doing it.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

You know?

[B]

Yeah. And it's a mental discipline because you need to catch yourself in those moments, you know, those self talk moments where you're saying, man, I've missed the ball there, or I wish I was that, or I wish I could do this. Just like how Sean does it? You know, I wish I had a podcast with millions of viewers. Well, that's not healthy for me to think.

[A]

It's not.

[B]

You know, it's a negative talk. And I'm speaking death over myself, really. You know.

[A]

Yeah. I'm not a fan of completely copying one as well. Like, I think you can learn and kind of mimic, but a lot of people copy, and that's just not productive.

[B]

No.

[A]

You'll never be yourself.

[B]

Yeah. Yeah. I mean, you're made to be you. There's no other person with your DNA, with your traits on the face of the earth or ever will be. You know, so you have been put on this earth to do something specific, you know, and so be you. Why copy anybody else? Why try to be like anybody else? Sure. Pull inspiration from your mentors, from. From those you're following. Sure. Gain skill sets from other people. But at the end of the day, you are gonna be you.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

You know?

[A]

Yeah. This hits deep with me. Cause they're doing a lot of studies now on social media, mental health, and the correlation, and it's like a direct cause of mental health issues because of comparison.

[B]

Yes.

[A]

And people trying to copy each other and trying to, like, mimic lifestyles. Cause on Instagram, you could portray whatever you want.

[B]

Yeah. It's a highlight reel.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Yeah. And we cannot compare.

[A]

No, we just can't.

[B]

And I'm trying to teach my kids that.

[A]

So I actually don't scroll on my feed, which is crazy.

[B]

Really?

[A]

Yeah. So the only time I'll scroll is when I'm studying the algorithm, but it's on the for you page, so it's people I don't follow. And that's because I have an intention of. I'm looking for interesting guests or topics to talk about.

[B]

Okay.

[A]

So I use it for a business.

[B]

So when you're in line for coffee or at a restaurant or whatnot.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

You ever just scroll just for the heck of it?

[A]

Uh, yeah, but not on my feed. It'll just be for business.

[B]

Gotcha.

[A]

You know?

[B]

So you have an intention.

[A]

I have an intention. But that's not what most people are doing on social media, and I acknowledge that.

[B]

Okay.

[A]

And at the same time, these are the people that watch my show too, so I gotta. I gotta see it from their lens as well.

[B]

Okay.

[A]

So it's a tricky dichotomy, you know?

[B]

You ever fight that urge to just wanna binge scroll like people do?

[A]

No. Cause I'm so. I haven't looked at my main feed in years at this point, so I Don't ever crave that. So even though I follow 7,500 people, I don't know what my. What they're up to. I only use the for you page.

[B]

Okay.

[A]

Do you scroll on your. Your main feed?

[B]

Sometimes I do. Yeah. Sometimes I do. I have a lot of family and friends.

[A]

Well, that's different, I think family.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

You want to keep up to date with them.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

I've cut off most of mine, so that's where we differ on that.

[B]

Okay. Okay. Yeah, maybe that's something I can do too, is just scroll with intention.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

You know, and that can be a different mental shift. And just scrolling to kill time.

[A]

Yeah. Because you could scroll with the intention of, oh, maybe I could get this guy as a client. Maybe I could do this podcast there or whatever.

[B]

And you find yourself sending a lot of messages every day.

[A]

That's how I've grown the show.

[B]

Gotcha.

[A]

Cold DMS, baby. Or cold email. Because some of them, their DMs are closed.

[B]

Gotcha.

[A]

So you gotta cold email them.

[B]

That's good. I wish I would have known that six hours ago. I was on the airplane.

[A]

Oh, flights. I'm deadly.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

The whole flight. I'm cold DMing people.

[B]

Wow.

[A]

Or I'm texting people, catching up with people.

[B]

Okay.

[A]

That's where I'll kind of review my Rolodex.

[B]

Nice.

[A]

And see who I want to keep building with, see who I want to cut off.

[B]

Okay. And how did you build that muscle of just, you know, because you, You. You got a phone.

[A]

Probably what I was in high school, but I wasn't using it for business then. I was. Okay. I don't even know if they had a for. No, they didn't have like a for you page back then. It was just your feed. But once I started the pod, I've been DMing people. Yeah. Every single day. That's how I get so many gas. Yeah. Because I've had 1400 episodes, so I'd say most of those were from DM email.

[B]

Nice. So you have that built in discipline when you're just waiting in those in between moments you're doing something for the business.

[A]

Yeah. I usually set aside time, but yeah, I'll do it occasionally like that too.

[B]

Okay.

[A]

Yeah. I also watch a lot of podcasts and I get guests that way.

[B]

Gotcha. Yeah, Love that.

[A]

Do you watch any other shows?

[B]

I do. I follow Grant. I far. I follow Ben.

[A]

Ben Sparrow.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Yeah, that's a good one.

[B]

Yeah. I mean, anybody in the real estate world? I do real estate on the side as well.

[A]

Graham Stephan.

[B]

Yeah. Pace Morby, Ryan Pineda, right down the road here. So I just draw a lot of business insights and just inspiration from those guys. But, you know, my time killers, if you will, are more so just listening to audible books and listening to podcasts and just trying to gain something. I always take the mentality of, what can I learn today? Yeah. You know, what's one thing that I didn't know that I can gain, you know, out of this time on the plane or staying in line for coffee or whatever it is. Yeah. You know, sometimes I'll just even have it playing in my pocket while being, you know, I'm walking around and sometimes I'll catch something, you know, and I'll just take a mental note.

[A]

I love that.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Yeah, you gotta be Constantly be learning. Right.

[B]

You have to. Yeah. Especially if you're. If you're driven, you're in business, you're trying to grow a podcast, trying to grow a business. You have to be in learning mode constantly. And that's the only way you're gonna have a level up on your competition. And that's probably why you've grown as quickly as you have.

[A]

Yeah, I got a pretty crazy audible strategy, actually.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

You wanna hear it? Yeah. So there's a site called Goodreads. Have you heard of it?

[B]

I have.

[A]

Y. Yeah. So I'll go on there, I'll see what books my like, mentors are recommending. Like say Grant Cardone recommended a book. The Goodreads has all the books he's recommended.

[B]

Nice.

[A]

So I'll click on that, read the reviews a little bit, then I'll go on chat, GPT summarize the book. If I like the summary, I'll get the book on audible and then 2x speed.

[B]

Okay.

[A]

While I'm in the car.

[B]

Okay.

[A]

So when you're in the car, you could really focus, Right. Cause I try to play them while I'm working, but then I get distracted. So I noticed in the car or working out, that's like the best time to listen to them.

[B]

Nice.

[A]

Cuz you're locked in.

[B]

Nice.

[A]

Okay, and then 2x speed. You could get done with the book in like a day or two.

[B]

Okay. Is there any one book you're listening to right now?

[A]

Not right now. Right now I'm on a podcast, Bender. But once in a while I'll do like a audible spree. Do like 10 in a row.

[B]

Okay.

[A]

Yeah. I just got choose your enemies wisely by Patrick Bet David.

[B]

Okay.

[A]

And Mel Robbins just dropped the book I forget the name, but those are my next two.

[B]

Nice. Yeah, I have to check that one out.

[A]

Dude, books are amazing. It's the best ROI of all time, I think.

[B]

Do you. Do you read physical books ever?

[A]

I collect them, but I don't read them.

[B]

Okay.

[A]

But I like having them. Yeah, we got a bookcase out here of all the previous guests.

[B]

I was looking.

[A]

Yeah, but I'm more audible. There's different types of learning.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

So you're a reader?

[B]

I love to read. I love both sometimes.

[A]

Oh, you're both?

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

That's rare, man.

[B]

Like reading a book book. And I think that when you can highlight or write notes on the page or underline things, it just connects on a deeper level.

[A]

Oh, it does.

[B]

There are certain books too that I feel you need to read once a year. One of them, Atomic Habits.

[A]

Yeah, that's classic.

[B]

How to win friends and influence people. So those genre of books for me are once a year reads that need to be worked on. I mean, atomic Habits. You take one area of the book and apply it sometimes for. It'll take me months, you know, just to master, to get the concept, put it to practice, come back to it, read it again before I can get to the next chapter, you know, so there's probably 10 to 15 books that I like to physically have and I'll just pick up and look at some lines that underline. Maybe last year. But I do like to do audible as well.

[A]

Yeah. Yeah. Something about highlighting and underlining. It just makes it sticks to the brain. No. Yeah, they've done studies on that for me. 100 million offers was a game changer.

[B]

Oh, nice.

[A]

Have you read that one?

[B]

I've not.

[A]

Alex Hormozy.

[B]

Okay.

[A]

That one doubled my revenue in a year.

[B]

No kidding.

[A]

Yeah, just that book.

[B]

Okay.

[A]

So crazy. Shout out to Alex. He lives in Vegas.

[B]

Does he? Okay. Yeah, I do follow him too. I love watching his videos.

[A]

Yeah, he's cool.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Yeah. I go through phases where I'll do like, business, I'll do spirituality. I had a little dating phase, like a relationship phase, wanting to improve my relationship. So read like five books there. Depends on the phase of my life.

[B]

Yeah. Yeah. So you're a learner too. So you like to grow and always.

[A]

Yeah, because in. I thought I hated learning in school.

[B]

Did you get good grades?

[A]

No, bad grades. Didn't care about the topics.

[B]

Wow.

[A]

And I thought I hated learning, hated reading, because all the books I didn't like. But once I started watching Grant Cardone and like, people like that on YouTube, I'm like, wait, I'm like, interested in this. This is weird, you know?

[B]

Yeah. Yes. You had a mental shift.

[A]

Mental shift. Yeah. Well, just topics I cared about, I think right at the time was making money.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

That was like my first seven years.

[B]

Nice.

[A]

Now it's probably going to be shifting towards family and purpose.

[B]

Yeah. Yeah.

[A]

I still like making money too, but that's not like the number one thing.

[B]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. But you said family and purpose, though, so that's.

[A]

That's where I'm at now. Yeah, that's. That's going to be the next phase, I think.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Making money is probably number two. Number three.

[B]

Yeah. And that's the thing. When you, when you look for purpose and you find your purpose, then that gives you the energy that you need and then the money comes. Because if you have a purpose and your purpose is tied to money, I mean, you're unstoppable.

[A]

That's what I'm saying. With the podcast, I feel like I'm really close to figuring out the purpose part. And I know the money will follow because I can almost feel it. It's like weird feeling. Like I just feel. I know I have a lot of eyeballs now, and I know there's a way to like, really make some money.

[B]

Yeah. How old are you now?

[A]

28 on Friday.

[B]

Okay.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

What would you say is your purpose with this podcast?

[A]

Still figuring it out, but it's definitely tied to this podcast somehow. Certain episodes, just seeing the feedback makes me feel, like, incredible. So I don't know how to, like, summarize it yet, but I'm on the right track.

[B]

It's good.

[A]

Yeah. What about you?

[B]

That's awesome. Yeah. For me, my purpose is to leave a lasting legacy for my family, my community, my church, my business. Leaving something bigger than myself behind, you know, and if it. If it doesn't even has to do with my name, I'm okay with that. You know, we are a kingdom minded business. I'm a kingdom minded family guy. And what that means is building God's kingdom. And sometimes, sometimes that's working on stage or working in Philly or it's that little moment at a restaurant where you get the blessed. The waitress who's been struggling.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

You know, I'm just speaking life to her, you know, that's building the kingdom. And that's my. That's my purpose. Man, I love that. Yeah. Leaving a legacy. I find that entrepreneurship and my purpose go hand in hand because I. I want to make a lot of money. You know, I want to I want to do what Grant Cardo is doing, being an impactful person to his community, where, hey, my family needs something. I got it. My community needs something. I got it. You know, there's somebody sick in my church that needs help with medical bills. Let's take care of it, you know, and for me, that is. That is a driving factor to why I get up and work as hard as I do.

[A]

I love that. Yeah. I think mine's tied to either, like, exposing the truth, waking people up, something along those lines with the podcast.

[B]

Right.

[A]

That's where I feel, like, the most fulfilled, I'd say.

[B]

Okay.

[A]

Yeah. On those episodes where we're really exposing stuff.

[B]

Yeah. Yeah. Is there anything in particular that you've seen exposed that really help open up eyes?

[A]

The health thing's been big with. With the vaccines and, you know, just natural living. I like talking about that. Talking about purpose.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Spirituality, religion. I think all that's really interesting, too.

[B]

Awesome.

[A]

Yeah. And then teach people how to make money is. Is a good feeling, too.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

If you could teach someone that, I mean, you're changing not just their life, but generations.

[B]

100%.

[A]

Like, their kids, their wives, whatever, their whole family.

[B]

Hundred.

[A]

So that's a powerful thing to teach someone.

[B]

Yeah. When you get. Teach them how to. How to work and how to have the mindset of an entrepreneur or just how to be driven, how to be disciplined, I mean, that will go into their kids and their kids, and I love that.

[A]

Yeah. So that's really fulfilling to me. So, yeah, I got to figure out how to bundle everything up and then explain it.

[B]

Well, you mentioned health. I had a kidney transplant back in 2020.

[A]

Damn.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

That's crazy.

[B]

Yeah. And funny thing, I started my business, this business, in 2019. So I have a fresh new business out the door. Zero money, no investors, no loans. 2020 got hit with a kidney disease and find out I need to go on dialysis, and I need to get a kidney transplant. The whole. The whole deal. 2020, they weren't doing surgeries.

[A]

Oh, yeah. Covid, right?

[B]

Yeah, Covid. And so I'm fighting the health journey, the health struggles, launching a new business at the same time. And it was just such a challenging season, but I'm so thankful for it. And, man, what God did through that season of growing my business, I mean, we saw growth from year after year after year. While I was going through all the kidney issues, I did get a transplant in 2020. My sister donated her kidney.

[A]

Wow.

[B]

And, man, it's. I've been great ever since. It's been awesome. What. What medical technology can do nowadays.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

You know, and here we are, 2025 and our business has gone from zero to about 10 million.

[A]

Incredible.

[B]

Five years. So it's been. It's been awesome to see.

[A]

American dream, baby.

[B]

Yeah, we're getting there.

[A]

It's alive.

[B]

Yeah, we're getting there.

[A]

Shout out to your sister. You guys must have been real close for her to do that.

[B]

Yeah, she. She really came through for me.

[A]

That's beautiful.

[B]

She lives in San Diego. I live on the east Coast. She flew out.

[A]

Wow.

[B]

A couple times just to do tasks and everything.

[A]

Wow.

[B]

Yeah. And man, it was just a powerful time.

[A]

Yeah. I'm an only child, so I can't relate really. But I want multiple kids.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

And that sounds beautiful, man. I want them to be tight like that.

[B]

Yeah. Yeah. I mean that's. That is the foundation of why I am the way I am. Because I was raised and a tight knit family and now my kids are tight knit.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

So I have no doubt if something were to happen to them, their siblings will step up and, you know.

[A]

That's beautiful. Did they tell you what caused that kidney issue ever or not?

[B]

They didn't. They could have done a biopsy, but it just wasn't worth the risk of finding out why and going through all the procedures. Got it to get the biopsy done. It's just sometimes it happens.

[A]

Was it all of a sudden or did you have like gradual signs?

[B]

I think it was gradual, but I just didn't get the test. Yeah, I didn't get the test. I didn't find out till it was too late.

[A]

Damn.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

That is crazy.

[B]

By the time I found out my kidneys were working at like 13.

[A]

Geez. Yeah. So I was like, wow, kidneys are.

[B]

My body was just overcompensating the whole time. Wow.

[A]

How were you even working on that?

[B]

I don't know.

[A]

That's the power of the mind.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Wow.

[B]

Yep.

[A]

Just going, hats off to you, man. That's a crazy journey, Josh. Where can people find refresh leds and keep up with you, man.

[B]

Yeah. We're on Instagram. Get refreshled or refreshled.com. my personal Instagram is joshdom619 and love to connect with any of your viewers and your listeners that have kids or struggling with anything in their health journey as well. And just love to be a resource for people.

[A]

Love it. Shoot them a message if you need oed. Guys, thanks for coming on.

[B]

Absolutely. Thanks for having me, man.