Miracle Mentality with Tim Storey

Episode 25: From $1 to $1 Billion: John Paul DeJoria on Building a Business That Gave Everything Back | Leadership

Air Date: February 2, 2026
Host: Tim Storey
Guest: John Paul DeJoria (Co-founder of Paul Mitchell, Patron, humanitarian)

Episode Overview

In this soul-stirring and practical episode, Tim Storey sits down with legendary entrepreneur and philanthropist John Paul DeJoria to explore his unlikely journey from poverty, foster care, and homelessness to building a billion-dollar empire with Paul Mitchell and Patron. The conversation focuses on high standards, overcoming adversity, leadership with love, and the vital importance of giving back. DeJoria opens up about how his mother’s wisdom shaped his worldview, how he defied victim mentality, the art of resilience, and his approach to business, philanthropy, and legacy.

Key Themes & Discussion Points

1. Early Life, Mother’s Influence, & The Power of Positivity

• Single Parenting & Poverty: DeJoria shares growing up fatherless and in extreme poverty, including time in foster care, but credits his mother for instilling positivity and love.
  • “My mother was one of the most positive people in the world. No matter what little we had, we never realized it.” (JP, 03:09)
• First Lesson in Philanthropy: At age 6, his mother brought him to give a dime to the Salvation Army, teaching generosity even when you have little.
  • “We don't have much, but we have a little bit. If everyone just did something little for somebody else, it's big.” (JP, 04:24)
• Rejecting Victimhood: DeJoria’s mother never spoke ill of his absent father or dwelled in negativity, instead focusing on possibilities.
  • “She always kept it positive and always said, boys, we could do this.” (JP, 05:45)

Timestamp Key Segment

• [02:27–05:01] – Early hardship, mother's approach, first act of giving
• [05:01–06:29] – Avoiding victim mentality; cultivating entrepreneurship (selling Christmas cards at age 7)

2. Community, Diversity, and a Growth Mindset

• Diverse, Welcoming Communities: Growing up in Los Angeles’s Echo Park and East LA exposed DeJoria to multiethnic neighborhoods, interfaith communities, and inclusion.
  • “We grew up kind of interracially, you know, black kids, brown kids, purple kids, everything was there. Everyone got along.” (JP, 09:46)
• Formative Years & Parental Involvement: DeJoria underscores the lasting imprint of parental attention and community on children’s development.

Timestamp Key Segment

• [06:29–10:00] – Descriptions of 1940s/50s LA, diversity, family values

3. Early Jobs, Drive, & The Vital Few

• First Jobs and Helping Family: Started working young (newspaper boy) with his brother, giving all earnings to their mom.
  • “We made about $30 a month, my brother and I … we gave it all to our mom to live a better life.” (JP, 11:59)
• High Standards: DeJoria’s ‘vital few’ philosophy—focus on what matters, ignore distractions—traces to his simple upbringing.
  • “In life, pay attention to the vital few. Ignore the trivia, many.” (JP, 14:04)
• On Technology & Distraction: He critiques today’s attention economy and emphasizes focused living.
  • “[Your phone] is handy in some ways. It's the greatest thing to have, but you gotta learn to shut it off a couple hours out of the day.” (JP, 15:04)

Timestamp Key Segment

• [11:07–16:02] – First jobs, drive, ‘vital few’, managing distractions

4. Openness, Discovery, & the Miracle Mindset

• Discovery Over Planning: Many of life’s key moments come from openness rather than strict decision-making.
  • “You gotta be open to the universe. It’ll just bring you the discoveries at your time.” (JP, 17:22)
• First Big Act of Giving (The El Torito Story): Paying for underprivileged children’s meal anonymously was a spiritual high point.
  • “When you do something for somebody else and ask nothing in return … it’s that God within you.” (JP, 20:21)

Timestamp Key Segment

• [17:22–20:46] – The value of staying open; first major philanthropic moment

5. Handling Rejection, Enthusiasm, & Grit

• Door-to-Door Sales: Lessons from cold-calling, persistence, and enthusiasm in the face of rejection.
  • “You gotta be as enthusiastic on door number 51 as you were on door number one. ... Be prepared for the rejection.” (JP, 22:21)
• Modern Application: Overcoming obstacles and rejection is still essential for business and life.

Timestamp Key Segment

• [21:37–23:19] – Lessons from sales, grit, and resilience

6. Partnership with Paul Mitchell: Friendship First, Then Business

• Long-Term Trust: DeJoria describes a 9-year friendship with Paul Mitchell prior to becoming business partners—a foundation for trust and mutual respect.
  • “I knew him inside and out. ... We were just pals.” (JP, 24:41)
• Launching with Nothing: Started Paul Mitchell with $700 in hand, no infrastructure, living in a car, but unwavering belief in the product.
  • “We had no office, no infrastructure. It was just a guy living in his car. And I had to live in my car.” (JP, 26:27)
• Context of Adversity: Highlights 1980s U.S. economic hardship—high inflation, unemployment—but they persevered by focusing on product quality.

Timestamp Key Segment

• [24:30–28:10] – Friendship, launching Paul Mitchell, adversity context

7. Patron, Perseverance, & Overcoming “Expert” Doubts

• Betting on Quality Despite Rejection: Struggled to get distributors for Patron because it was priced 10x higher than average tequila—persisted anyway.
  • “If you truly believe you've got the higher quality ... you will succeed.” (JP, 31:13)
• Key Law of Business: Don’t focus on selling, focus on repeat business.
  • “Go into the reorder business. ... Your product or your service ... is so damn good ... they'll want to repeat order it again.” (JP, 32:36)

Timestamp Key Segment

• [28:10–33:04] – Patron origins, rejection from industry “experts,” eventual massive success

8. Worry, Mindset, & The Nature of Success

• On Worry: Equates it to “praying for something bad to happen.”
  • “Worry is praying that something bad's gonna happen.” (JP, 35:26)
• Gratitude: Daily gratitude and giving thanks are core to his happiness and ongoing success.
  • “I wake up every morning happy. I go to bed every night happy. I thank the creator of souls for all the nice things that have gone my way.” (JP, 37:33)
• On Success and Humility: Don’t change who you are after success; share your success.
  • “If you act different, you're going to ruin your life. ... Success unshared is failure.” (JP, 38:23)

Timestamp Key Segment

• [35:12–39:05] – Philosophy of worry, stability, and lessons on success

9. New Book: “Success Unshared Is Failure” & Giving Back

• Purpose for Writing: To teach others how anyone—even those with nothing—can start over, succeed, and do good.
  • "How to start a business with almost nothing. How to be successful and even go into a business. ... But along the way, how to do it through kindness." (JP, 40:29)
• Power of Kindness: Reprimand or lead with love; inspire people through compassion.
  • “How to take somebody, reprimand them with kindness so they love you after you reprimanded them.” (JP, 40:35)

Timestamp Key Segment

• [39:05–42:47] – Book philosophy and purpose

10. Passion Projects, Philanthropy, and Leaving a Legacy

• “Greatest Good for the Greatest Number”: Focus on ventures and philanthropy that help people, environment, and future generations.
  • “Is this the greatest good for the greatest number? Because of this, will people live healthier, will they live longer?” (JP, 43:14)
• Global Impact: Feeding millions in Africa (via Paul Mitchell schools and World Food Organization); regenerative farming; job creation.
• Legacy:
  • “If they're going to do a tombstone ... while he was on this planet, he made the environment and people better.” (JP, 47:17)

Timestamp Key Segment

• [42:47–47:17] – Passion projects, impact, legacy

11. Practical Tools & Entrepreneurship for All

• New Venture – GlobalSKU.com: A new AI platform to help anyone with a phone sell goods online and generate income from nothing.
  • “You take your telephone, go in your closet and take a picture ... it tells you ... what you should get for it. ... It sells it for you.” (JP, 48:11)

Timestamp Key Segment

• [47:24–49:29] – Entrepreneurship made accessible via technology

12. Leadership, Love, and Final Reflections

• Enjoying Life & Success: Whether it’s doing ads, appearing on “Shark Tank,” or family, joy and gratitude matter most.
• On Leading with Love:
  • “Love is the most powerful thing you could ever have. ... If you move with love, you transfer with love, you create with love. ... It's love.” (JP, 53:09)
• Being True to Yourself:
  • “When I talked to them, I talked to you right now. I didn't change. I was just me.” (JP, 50:19)

Timestamp Key Segment

• [51:12–54:16] – Joy, leading with love, authenticity

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “If everyone just did something little for somebody else, it's big. … There'll always be somebody that needs it more than you do. Always be a giver.”
  (John Paul DeJoria, 04:24)

• “In life, pay attention to the vital few. Ignore the trivia, many.”
  (John Paul DeJoria, 14:04)

• “When you do something for somebody else and ask nothing in return … it’s that God within you. … There was no weed we smoked in the 60s that got you that clear and that high as doing something for somebody else without asking anything in return.”
  (John Paul DeJoria, 20:33/20:34)

• “Be prepared for a lot of rejection. You're going to get it. … Move on to something else.”
  (John Paul DeJoria, 22:21)

• “Go into the reorder business. … Always have something that is so good that they'll want to repeat order it again.”
  (John Paul DeJoria, 32:36)

• “Worry is praying that something bad's gonna happen.”
  (John Paul DeJoria, 35:26)

• “Success unshared is failure.”
  (John Paul DeJoria, 38:23 and title of book)

• “While he was on this planet, he made the environment and people better.”
  (John Paul DeJoria, 47:17)

• “Love is the most powerful thing you could ever have. … Do unto others as you’d have others do unto you. It’s love.”
  (John Paul DeJoria, 53:09)

Episode Flow and Highlighted Timestamps

| Segment | Description | Timestamp | |---------------------------------------|-------------------------------------------------------------------------|-------------| | Early life & mother's lessons | Values, philanthropy, positivity | 02:27–05:01 | | Rejecting victim mentality | Power of positive focus, entrepreneurship | 05:01–06:29 | | Diverse community upbringing | Impact on inclusion and open mindset | 06:29–10:00 | | First jobs & ‘vital few’ philosophy | Work ethic, avoiding distractions | 11:07–16:02 | | Discovery & openness | Universe, giving, the El Torito story | 17:22–20:46 | | Grit & rejection | Sales, persistence, lessons for business and life | 21:37–23:19 | | Building Paul Mitchell | Value of friendship, trusting partnership | 24:30–28:10 | | Patron: believing in the product | Persistence, overcoming industry skepticism | 28:10–33:04 | | Mindset: worry, gratitude, humility | On happiness, humility, gratitude, and sharing success | 35:12–39:05 | | Book: Success Unshared is Failure | Passing on practical wisdom | 39:05–42:47 | | Philanthropy and passion projects | Global impact, feeding millions, legacy as service | 42:47–47:17 | | Making entrepreneurship accessible | GlobalSKU.com pitch | 47:24–49:29 | | Love & leading with compassion | Joy, authenticity, final reflections and gratitude | 51:12–54:16 | | Closing thoughts | Encouragement to act, legacy of giving, preview of book | 55:23–end |

Takeaways

• Gratitude and love can overcome adversity.
• Success is found in giving — “Success unshared is failure.”
• Lead with authenticity: never forget your roots or change values with material success.
• Focus intensely on essentials (“the vital few”), ignore distractions.
• Business is about creating something people want to return to (“go into the reorder business”).
• Embrace rejection and keep enthusiasm up.
• Use new tools—like GlobalSKU.com—to democratize opportunity.
• Legacy is defined by making people and the environment better.

For Listeners:

• Preorder John Paul DeJoria’s book: Success Unshared Is Failure (Amazon)
• Entrepreneurs: Try globalsku.com as discussed for launchpad side hustle
• Share this episode with those stuck in the “mundane, messy, madness”—and start building your own miracle mentality.

Host Tim Storey closes by urging everyone to “wake up with wonderment every day,” live with intention, and pass the miracle mindset forward in their own lives.