Josh Link: Building Culture And Leading When It’s Hard

Overview: 

What if obedience cost you everything—but gave you more than you imagined? 

In today’s episode, Daniel sits down with Josh Link, founder of Visionary Meals—a seven-figure, software-driven meal prep company born from grit, conviction, and a four-burner stove in a modest apartment. Raised on a farm in Ohio, Josh shares how discipline, hard work, and his close-knit family shaped the entrepreneur he’s become. The conversation explores Josh’s journey from college football and the police academy to stepping out in obedience toward a God-given calling, ultimately building not just a business, but a meaningful culture where people feel deeply valued and challenged to grow.

Dive in as Daniel and Josh talk about staying grounded in faith during tough times, leadership lessons from setbacks, and the power of seeing potential in others—even when they can’t see it themselves. From navigating the pressures of entrepreneurship to re-centering vision in years of uncertainty, Josh opens up about leading with love, making tough decisions, and why "no one's watching" became his company’s guiding mantra for 2025. Whether you’re chasing a calling or grappling with your sense of purpose, this honest and inspiring conversation is packed with wisdom and practical takeaways you won’t want to miss. Let’s get started!

 

Time-Stamped Overview:

00:00 Roots of Discipline and Accomplishment

09:43 Social Media's Storytelling Power

10:54 "Prioritizing Employee Development"

17:07 Dual Entrepreneurship Challenges

21:48 From Cop Dream to Meal Prep

27:18 "Business Began on Stovetop"

31:47 Future of Business Degrees?

39:52 AI Guidance Concerns and Legal Actions

46:03 "2025: Building Beyond Perception"

49:58 Overdrawn Beginnings

57:29 "Identity and Pursuit of Stability"

01:00:11 Perseverance and Purposeful Persistence

Resources:

Daniel’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/danielkelleyx/

Podcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/danielkelleypodcast/

Josh’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/josh.link.visionary/ 

Watch on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@daniel.kelley 

Episode Transcript

(00:00):
What's going on, guys? Welcome back to the Daniel Kelly
Podcast. I'm your host, Daniel, and today's guest
is Josh Link. Josh, I'm glad you're here, man. Man,
I'm so excited to be here. Yeah, dude, I don't think the people are ready
for this. I don't think they're ready. They better lock in. I want to give
you a proper introduction, so I hope that. I hope that's all right. So Josh
is the founder of Visionary Meals, a seven figure, software driven

(00:23):
meal prep company built from nothing but conviction, grit, and
a four burner stove in his apartment. Well put.
Yeah. Josh was raised on a farm in Ohio, played college
football, and even spent time in the police academy. But when God laid
a new vision on his heart, he chose to walk away from the safe path.
And he's never looked back. His story isn't just about business.

(00:45):
It's about impact, obedience, and building a culture where people
feel seen, valued and challenged.
Dude, that's good. I am glad you're here, man. That's it,
man. What an introduction. I didn't deserve all that. No, dude, you do. You do.
You're doing it. I'm happy to be here. Thanks, brother. Appreciate everything that you're doing
in the community. I. I've seen some of the individuals on this

(01:06):
podcast and they are, they are amazing individuals and I
just. It's such an honor to be on the same podcast with, with some of
them and, and yourself here. I just love what you stand for, brother, and I
appreciate everything that you're doing in our community, dude. Yeah, it's. And likewise too. I
just, you're. You're a magnetic individual and like, I just knew that
off the bat when, you know, I was stalking your Instagram over the last

(01:28):
few days, just figuring out and you know, this wasn't
gonna be my. Actually, you know what, we're gonna, we're gonna get to that. I'm
trying to try and stick to some. There's a lot of exciting stuff to talk
about. I know, I know, I know. But I wanna, I wanna dive in, just
kind of, you know, beginning of your story, because I just love to just
paint the picture of people's lives, people's walks, just because we can,

(01:49):
you know, the listeners can relate in some capacity. So I've
got you quoted saying, discipline was always rooted in.
In me. Who do you think planted that seed? How is that seed planted? Where
does that come from? Yeah, I would, I would have to give credit to my
parents on that one. Growing up on A farm at a very young age. And
really just my entire life, it was. It was one of those things that

(02:12):
on a hot summer day, my old man would be out there. Let's, let's go.
Let's get out there and have some hay. And, you know, while
you're doing all that hard work and you're expecting or wanting, I should say,
compensation. Right. And my old man would be like, boy, you got a roof over
your head. Right?
Get out here and bail this. Hey. And man, it's just. It's

(02:32):
times like that, you know, on the. On the Hay wagon and 90
degree weather. Yeah. And we're just tossing hay, man. And it's just.
It sucked, but it was always so rewarding. Yeah. Jumping in that
pond afterwards. Oh, yeah. Refreshing. And just the feeling
of accomplishment and knowing that we did just do all that work. And
when I say we, because I always did with a couple of friends, football buddies

(02:53):
and stuff. Yeah, we did just do all that work. And. And yeah, we
didn't receive, you know, a monetary compensation for it, but. But we saved
a work ethic that no other city boy or anything else out there was
getting it. So I would say that's where discipline truly was
rooted. And then going forward,
going through college, that was an eye opener for me

(03:15):
when it came to just true discipline. Playing college football.
Yeah. Come on. That experience there was incredible. Did you grow up with any
siblings? An older brother? Yeah. Tyler. Was Tyler out there
bailing him? Yep. And that's the other thing, man. That's actually a great point. Keeping
up with the older brother. Yeah, he's three years older than me, and so
trying to keep up with him my entire life, including all of his friends. Yeah.

(03:37):
It just really pushed me to excel at a high level. Yeah. What was your
relationship like with your. Your parents? What's it like?
Great. Yeah, it was. It was great then. It's great now. I love my
parents. I'm so thankful for my parents. Yeah, they are. They are a
big reason of. Of my success today. Yes. They are a
pivotal moment, even in Visionary Meals to this day. And we would not

(03:59):
be where we are today without them. Yeah, it's never been.
It's never been much of a monetary compensation, but their time, their love and their
compassion. Yeah. I mean, their support for me and just belief, overall belief,
I'll never forget. Like, one day I brought this. This idea of starting
Visionary Meals to my mom, and she said, josh,
I believe you can do it. If there's anyone that can do it. Yes, it's

(04:21):
You. And that was that. That. That stamp that I needed say, okay, I've
got the belief of, of two people that I adore and look up. Isn't it
crazy that that's like. That
is the approval that we crave is just our
parents approval. Yeah. It's like it. The rest, like, doesn't really matter. But if
you can, like, I mean, sure, you know, feeling appreciated for like on

(04:43):
the outside, it's great. But if your parents like it, that creates
a chip on your shoulder, bro. It does. And you know, I never
realized that growing up. And honestly to this
day, I didn't realize it for myself personally until I started
meeting individuals that did not have that. Yeah. And I was like, wow,
what do. You notice about them? What's the difference between you and them? That's a

(05:05):
great question. I. I would say trust.
Yeah. Trust and belief in their.
Them, in their selves. Yeah. It's.
It's a huge implication. And. And actually multiple people very, very
close in my life did not grow up with either both of
their parents or one of the other. Yeah. And. And the role

(05:28):
that I see myself playing in their lives. And not that it's a father
figure role, but in a way it is this support and
encouragement. I believe a gift that God has given me is that
I can see someone's potential before they do. Yes. And sitting down with these
individuals and really helping them maximize and truly seeing
what their potential is because they never had someone at a young age saying, you

(05:50):
can do this. I believe in you. And so being that individual
says, wow, I see something inside you. Yeah, you can do this. I believe
you. And at 30 years old, these individuals are like, okay, wow. Yeah.
I've never had that in my life. Let's go do this. It's cool. It's crazy.
I was. I read in this book, I
think it was Practicing the Way by John Mark Comer. He's a

(06:12):
pastor out in Portland, Oregon. But he's talking about how
like, your ability to love is
in direct relation to how like, how much love you've received.
So like, amen. If you don't come from a background
of, you know, like, loving parents or just like your
ability to love other people. Love yourself is

(06:34):
like, it's. It's not where it could be. Correct.
100. Love is the key ingredient to all things. Everything. I
mean Jesus set that example from us. Everything. Years and
years ago. Right. And. And going through life now. That is what
I've learned at, you know, at age 30, it's just like love
Trumps all triumphs. Dude, you couldn't have said it any better.

(06:56):
Dude, that's. That has been a big thing that, you
know, I've been loving, learning
about. Yeah. Love. Yeah. Because
can change absolutely anything. It changes your business. It changes
all your relationships. Like, if there isn't loving it, like, things
crumble and it's crazy. It is crazy. It's.

(07:19):
It's the. It's the foundation. And. And I have. I have done life
without love at the center. Yeah. And I've done life with love at the center.
And I promise you, keeping love at the center. Yeah. What's that. What's that look
like when you're not. What's that feel like? Dude, you can feel it, bro.
100% feel it. You. It's. You live selfishly. Yeah. You live
selfishly. You live fleshly. Right. Living

(07:40):
in love is so much more than just
being kind to someone. Yeah. Right. It's being empathetic. Yes.
Being compassionate, but it's. It's supporting them
and an emotion that they have maybe never felt before. Right.
We come back to not having that at your childhood. Right. You
have. Everyone has the opportunity to show love. Right. That is one of the greatest

(08:03):
gifts we have, the ability to do. Right. And God allows us to freely choose
to love others. Yeah. Right. And so when we choose love
over frustration or. Or hate, no matter the
situation, it. It will always be a positive outcome. I
1000% believe. Oh. And when you get a
taste of love and you're. And you see it, you

(08:24):
see it in other people, dude, it's like.
Things. Start to come alive. Yeah. Yeah. Like, that's the best way I can put
it is like, dreams come alive because it's like. Yes, you're. What you're saying just
about, you know, I'm. I'm able to see the potential in
people before they see it in themselves. Yeah. That is just you being, like,
radically loving, bro. Absolutely. And it just takes one individual

(08:48):
to just see a little something in somebody that can change their.
Radically change their life, the whole trajectory of their life. Just because,
like, you see something in them, but you. But you don't just, like, motivate them
and encourage them. You love them. Yeah. Right. And you. You love them through the
good, you love them through the bad, and, of course, the ugly. And I've been
able to do this. I've had the opportunity to do this, I should say, with.

(09:10):
With all of my employees. Yeah. These individuals that come
into our organization where maybe
they've never experienced that type of love. Especially in a work environment.
Right. And to, to say, like, someone comes in
and they have their struggles and they have their hardships and say, I'm going to
choose love over anything that you've ever experienced before and I'm going

(09:32):
to show you what you're capable of. Yes. Right. And when you bring it from
a compassionate way like that. Yeah. They're so much more open.
Right? Yeah. They like, okay, Josh, I trust you. I trust you.
And that's all it is. Yes, that's all it is. I know. Well, we were,
we were talking a little bit off camera and when I was doing
my, my deep dive over the last few days, I was

(09:54):
like, well, first I was going through your pictures and I was like, all right,
man. Like, I just want to try and pull some quotes. See, you know, because
it's like, dude, our social media tells such a story. I know. I was like,
is this guy, is he a business owner? Is he a douchebag?
Is he. I don't know what he is trying. To figure him out. But then
I went to your tagged photos.

(10:15):
Open it up. No, no. And it was, it was great because,
dude, I just saw like, I could,
you know, I see the pictures, like your employees. It's like you guys have
such a unique and cool relationship with
all of them. Yeah. And it really does give off, like

(10:36):
family vibes. Thank you. And yeah, it's super, super
cool. Like, I could literally like feel it like through the pictures. Yeah.
Which was super cool. I think the, the reason that is,
is, is number one, I gotta give credit above and God has blessed me
with some of the most amazing people. Yes. But
furthermore, the individuals that we have here

(10:58):
is that my number one focus with my people is number
one to create a top tier
experience for our customers, but a generational impact for the
employees. And I, I am huge on development
and, and, and knowing that, first off, one
employee can get from A to Z much different than another employee can get from

(11:21):
A to. But it doesn't mean one's right and one's wrong. And
if the approach that I take with all my employees is
development, and I think in today's society, especially young
entrepreneurs and business owners, we're so quick to just fire
someone, let someone go. And I'm often reminding my people, when they
come to me with X, Y and Z issues with said employee, I'm

(11:43):
saying they're like, hey, this person might not be a good fit here anymore. Well,
I was like, number one, I'll decide that. Number two, I was like,
let's do it. De. Let's dive into why you feel that way.
Because their issue is an issue that can easily be fixed with
development and that development comes from love. Yeah. That's all it is.
Yeah. You don't quit on people. No, no. I. And that's. And that's.

(12:05):
And I'll say it's a double edged sword too. It's also gotten me into trouble.
I've heard that from multiple people on this podcast. Also got me into trouble.
Because something that I have also had to learn in business
recently is, is that because I approach everything
with such a compassionate, loving way, it also can be blinding.
Does it, does that ever hurt? In what way? Like,

(12:26):
you know, you're. I guess, have you ever experienced like,
you know, you're. You wear your heart on your sleeve, you're radically loving in
people and you have a bad experience with somebody.
Has that ever has a situation like that? I mean, you've been in entrepreneurship
for the last eight years. Six plus years. Yeah, yeah,
yeah. How do you keep your heart soft in the. And like not

(12:49):
callous yourself too? It's good. Number
one, of course. Relationship with Jesus. That's. That's my foundation. Yeah. And
I have done business without staying close to Jesus. And
things got hard. Yeah, things got very, very hard. And I'll probably talk about that
here in a little bit. I'd love to hear that. But
relationship with Jesus and surrounding yourself with the right people. Of course.

(13:12):
My mother is fantastic. I love her to death. She is a director
for rehab and wellness at Knox Community Hospital Physical Therapy and she
manages 80 plus employees. And
being a business owner, a young entrepreneur. One thing that I've always said
that I don't like about entrepreneurship and starting your own company,
and this is the reason that many people go into it. But I

(13:36):
don't like not having a boss. Unpopular opinion. Right.
Most people are like, I can't wait to work for myself. Right. I don't like
not having a boss because I know I'm young, I know I'm ignorant,
I know I have a lot to learn. And so when you don't have that
mentor right over you, sometimes your
backs up against the wall and you're trying to make decisions that you've.

(13:58):
No one's telling you what to do. And so I've. Thankfully. My mother is
fantastic. Yes. Like, like I'm a mama's boy. Yeah, sure. And I,
I could, I could feel it. I know you are a mom's boy. Like, I
look up to my mom. She's a dog. I respect her, I love her. I'm
thankful for her. But, I mean, I go to her for a lot of. A
lot of my direction. Yeah. And. And. And it's. And it's rewarding

(14:19):
in that way. Yeah. I like what you said about, like, I'm young,
and this is even great reminder for me because it is like,
you. We don't know at all, by any means. And the moment you think you
know it all, you're. You're screwed. Yeah. And that all comes from a place of
pride. Absolutely. Absolutely. And that's, like, one thing I've been
wrestling with the last, like, several months is, like, when you get a

(14:41):
little bit of. A little taste of, you know, quote
unquote, success early. Yeah.
It can be great, but if your heart isn't, like, in the right
spot, it can be, like, devastating too.
So. Yeah. I don't know. And here's. Here's
the thing, man. Like, God will. God will take it away as

(15:03):
fast. As he gave it to you. Yes. And have you experienced that?
Yeah. So this is good.
Lock in, everyone. So 2023
in business was our greatest year yet.
We were putting up record numbers, like, out of nowhere. Yeah. There
was a lot of clout around the company. We were starting to get a lot

(15:25):
of great traction. A lot of people wanted to work for the company,
and people were just coming to me, like, wanting to be a part of it.
Yeah. So I'm like, okay, like, I will create a position for you. I see
the potential in you. Right. I sit down with them like, okay, wow, you have
this skill set. Let's utilize it here. And so I've always pushed the business
in a very lean standpoint. Right. I've always, like, pushed the envelope

(15:46):
as far as cash flow purposes. And just because the goals and aspirations
are very grand for the company. And we'll probably get into that here in a
second. But I. I in
2023 hired a handful of amazing individuals,
and we were putting up record numbers.
We were breaking ground on our new headquarters that we. That we launched

(16:08):
inside of in 2024
and 2023. The flesh got a hold of me.
Right. I started living for the world. Yeah. I started.
I spent less time in the word why. How did that.
I, like, how did that happen? Yeah. How did that happen? What was that?

(16:29):
Can you pinpoint the moment where you were like, all right, looking back on it
now, it was at that moment when I started.
Probably getting semi reckless
and some of my hiring. Yeah.
And probably working too much off of emotion

(16:50):
versus numbers and Facts. Yeah. And
just not that I put the wrong people in place, but it was the wrong
timing. Yeah. And my judgment was probably
skewed, bro. Emotional intelligence is
like everything. Everything. I was also having.
And we'll talk about it here in a little bit, because right now, if. If

(17:11):
you're listening to this and we haven't got into it yet, I'm referring to my.
My Baby Visionary Meals, which is a healthy meal prep company, but I also
own Visionary Restoration, which is a roof construction, but we
specialize in roofing side gutters. Yeah. But prior to
launching that company, I was with another roofing company just in sales, and I was
also having a lot of success there. And so we hear it all the time.

(17:33):
Money can be the root of all evil. Right. And I say can be the
root of all evil, because money can also be used for a lot of. Yes,
absolutely. And I love talking about money. Absolutely. We love money like
we making money like we love money like there's nothing wrong with. Exactly. There's a
right one or wrong way. Yeah. But cash flow got.
Got very healthy and got reckless. So

(17:53):
2023, that was that period of time. And then
putting up record numbers. We moved into our new headquarters 2024,
and sales dropped and we weren't really sure why. I
think part of the economy was very up and
down. 2023. I know a lot of money was interject, like
put into the economy. Right. And so people had, you know, money to play with.

(18:16):
Yeah. But regardless, our sales dropped in 24.
And I had to. There was a point in time I was
running payroll bi weekly and I was transferring
over 10G's every payroll just to.
To make payroll. Pressure. Pressure. Back was against the wall.
Yeah. And so this happened for majority of 2024.

(18:39):
I mean, we took a loss in 24. Yeah. 23 was
a positive year, 24 was a loss. And 25 will be positive. But
there was a point in time that I had to look at myself and said,
okay, Josh, the decisions you're making do not align with the
spirit. Yeah. Do not align with why God put this vision
on your heart. Yes. And I was walking in the flesh.

(19:01):
And as I was. As I was walking in the flesh, I was literally watching
things fall apart around me. And that was an eye
opener to me. Yeah. I was just like, Josh, you either. You either fix this
now or your dream is going to be ruined by the world.
Yeah. It was heavy. Wow. It was tough. And it was
a really hard year. Yeah. And well, I think too is.

(19:22):
Correct me if I'm wrong, but I heard in a interview you don't.
You haven't. Or maybe. Maybe this was last year on
podcast that we were talking about.
Inside Story. Yeah. It's an inside joke, guys.
But you're saying how you haven't. You don't

(19:45):
take, I guess, profit or like,
you don't pay yourself from that business. Yeah. Also a very unpopular opinion.
So six years now, Visionary meals. I haven't taken one penny. Dude,
I love that. One of my mentors was telling me about,
you know, Cardinal health. Right. Yeah. So I guess their. Their founder,

(20:05):
I'm. Dude, who I'm talking about, he's pretty close with or him
or someone in the family. And he was saying how
this guy didn't take a penny from. For the first 10 years. And he.
And he asked me, he was like, how long are you willing to invest,
endure, and to like, not see the, you know, the
fruit. The fruit from it. Like, how long can you endure the process, bro, it's

(20:28):
because we do not have long time
horizons don't exist in, you know,
the younger generation. Which that's like, one thing I'm really trying to
get better about. Because, like, when you extend your time horizon, you kind of.
You can breathe a little bit because it's like, wow, I'm not going to figure
this out overnight. I just need to be diligent with what today is. But,

(20:51):
yeah, it's just, how long can you endure? Yeah. Here's
the thing. I'm not doing this business for me.
Yeah. This business was not my idea. This business
was laid on my heart. Yeah. And talk about that Saturday night when
it was late on your. When you're calling out to God, you're like,
I need clarification. I need confirmation. Yeah.

(21:13):
So. So. So long story short here, I'll keep it short.
Police academy. Law enforcement was always my plan. I was gonna kick down
doors, catch bad guys. And I could totally see you doing that. Everyone says that
you're like, you look like a cop. That's good or bad.
Undercover cop. Undercover, right. Exactly. When that was the thing I was like, I wanted
to do like, special for like swat, like undercutter, stuff like that.

(21:37):
And that was always a passion. I thought that's what my purpose
was. And I go to college playing football at Wittenberg University.
I'm getting a degree, sociology minor. Minor in sports management,
sir. My social degree was specialized in criminal justice. Like I said, I
was going to be a cop junior year. The individual I was seeing
at the time, we were visiting her family In Texas, came across this brick and

(21:58):
mortar meal prep. It was after a workout. We're like, we want something healthy. Went
in there, we sat down, started eating this meal, and we're like,
this is cool. Like, what if we brought this back to Ohio? I mean,
this was almost. Almost ten years ago, probably. Wow, dude.
Yeah, almost ten years ago. Incredible. Incredible. Right? And that's kind of like
where the idea was, like, kind of planted. Yeah.

(22:21):
And we'll just keep rolling. Yeah. This sounds like an air
compressor. Yeah. That's kind of where the idea
was planted. And
fast forwarding. We went back to college. The whole flight home, we're kind of
like just dreaming of the business. Yes. Start coming up with the name of the
business, the colors, and just. Just the fun stuff of a business.

(22:43):
Yeah. When we get back to college, and of course, I'm playing sports, I'm getting
my degree. Like, this is the last thing. It's on my mind.
Fast forwarding. Graduate, I enroll into
the police academy and I start that process. I start all the training,
the testing. I'm getting prepped to. To take my
journey through. Through. Yeah, through the police academy.

(23:05):
And for about three weeks in a row,
I started waking up in the middle of the night around the same time with
just 3am A lot of. Yeah, around 3am oh, bro. Things
happen at 3am I tell you. It was like 2, 3am Yeah. I was like,
just a flood of ideas. And I was like, okay, this is weird. So I'd
get out and I'd start just writing these ideas down. And I was like,

(23:27):
okay, let's just entertain this. Oh, my God,
I'll entertain this. So I start doing the business plan, right.
Pick the name, pick the. Pick the slogan. Envision the best you. And then
being strong on my faith, I was like, if this business were to happen, I
know I'm going to want to have some type of foundation in the Word.
Yeah. And so I prayed over and selected a Bible verse, First Corinthians,

(23:49):
10:31. So whatever you do, whether you eat or drink, do it all for the
glory of God. Yes. And if
there's anything that I knew about business at that time is that if
you can spend more or spend less. Excuse me. Than you're making,
you're going to stay afloat. Yeah. Right. Keep your overhead low. Yeah. And so I
was like, okay, if. If we're to do this business, where would we do this?

(24:10):
Out of, like, kitchen. That sounds expensive, right? Yeah. And so the
church that I was attending or we were attending at the Time
has this. Had this brand new
commercial kitchen, immaculate. Everything that we would need to. To
operate this business. I was like, well, we go to church every
Sunday. Yeah, I'm cool with the pastor. Like, they'll definitely let

(24:32):
us use this, obviously. And
it was a Saturday night. I was coming home from a buddy's house, and this
just, like, emotion just, like, hit me. And again, like, I'm like, probably a quarter
almost a. Halfway through. Through the police academy. And
I just felt God, like, put this on my heart. Talk, bro. You got to
talk about that feeling. What did that feel like on your heart? Pressure.

(24:55):
Pressure. Like, pressure in a way of, like, nudge. Yeah. Like, it's
like, you have to do this. Yes. You ever get that? You ever get that,
like, nudge when you're with someone and God's like, pray? Yes. Pray over them, dude.
I've had that heart starts racing multiple times. I don't. So I don't know if
you knew this. So I. I was going to Miami University, and I dropped out
of college, kind of begin my entrepreneurial journey. And it

(25:16):
was that I experienced that where it's. It's almost like.
It's like, oh, I'm not going to be able to have rest
until correct I make this decision. And I think that's what the waking up in
the middle of the night was. It was like, God, like, come on, come on,
dude, put this out there. And it was Saturday night,
and I said, okay, God, like, I. I feel

(25:39):
everything that you're putting on my heart. Yeah, like, I feel it, but, like, God,
like, come on, man. Like, I'm supposed to kick down doors.
I'm supposed to catch bad guys. I'm gonna be a cop. Like, this is what
I've been training for. God, what's this meal prep thing?
And I pray that night. And I said, you know, very, very
heavily in that prayer. I was like, God, I feel you putting this on me.

(25:59):
I need you to show me. Please show me that this is what you want
me to do. Yeah. Went to bed that night. And
the next morning, it was. It was Sunday, and we went to church. And as
we were leaving church, the individual I was with, she goes, josh, we're
gonna go look at this kitchen a little bit further to see if it will
actually work. So, yeah, that sounds great. We're walking out. We walk into the kitchen,
and we're just looking around like, oh, my gosh. Okay, this space is perfect. Yes.

(26:22):
We can do this there. We'll do that there. We'll set up a Line there.
We'll do that there. We'll prep here. Perfect. Like,
this is everything that we need. Let's go talk to who we need to talk
to. Yeah. And as we're leaving, she goes, josh, stop, stop.
She goes, look up on the wall behind you. And behind me on
the wall was Decal First Corinthians 10:31. Whatever. You

(26:43):
can't make that up, bro. Do it all for the glory of God. And I
said, wow. I said, okay, God, I literally asked you to show me,
and you showed. Me, and he showed you, bro. And. And the funny thing is,
why don't. Why don't people pray those prayers? God, show me it's.
I need it. Faith over fear, man. Yeah. Faith over fear. And
funny story, as I was leaving or we left, and then that. That week, I

(27:06):
hit up. Hit up the pastor. His name's Tom. Said, tom, got a great idea,
man. He said, great. Pitch it to me. Pitched to him. He said, josh, I
love it. I was like, I'll talk to the. The board, the trustees, and, you
know, see what we can do. Yeah. He speaks to him. Not. It was an
hour later, he got back to me, he said, josh, they shut you down.
They're like, it's too much of a liability. I said, okay, cool. So I was

(27:28):
like, God just used that space to, like, show me that this what he wanted.
So the business ended up starting on a four burner stove. Yeah. So small you
couldn't even fit four pans. We were in there for a few months. Moved in
my mama's kitchen. We were in there for a few months. We moved into about
a thousand square foot storage space. Yeah. It's just a shell. Had a
bathroom. My old man's a master plumber. Him and I went in there, we plumbed

(27:48):
out the whole thing to be a functional commercial kitchen. We operate out of there
for a few years, and now we sit in a 7,000 square foot headquarters.
Come on, man. That is good. Incredible. Come on, bro. That's
incredible. Yeah, that's. You could have
definitely took that. You could have took in that
shutdown, quote, unquote. One or two ways you can be like, well, I guess,

(28:10):
yeah, my discernment was absolutely there.
Or. But you're like, no, I saw what I needed to see. Yeah. And I'm
gonna. I know this was placed on my heart, so. Absolutely. And, you know, looking
back, it's. It is crazy because, like, there. There were so many things that fell
into line on why this business never should have started. Yeah. Like, I tried to
get, you know, capital got denied. I was so young, I didn't have anything. Yeah.

(28:32):
So God bless my grandma, grandmother, she loaned me $10,000
and that allowed me to put a little bit money towards a website. Come on.
I purchased a couple refrigerators for our pickup locations. Right. Yeah. And
that everything else from there has been 100% bootstrap crazy.
Do you have any investors now or is it just. That's incredible.
That's super cool for. I mean, you've been in business for seven years.

(28:55):
Yeah. Yeah. That's another thing that I like, literally, as you were talking about, like,
oh, I got this idea that was laid on my heart ten years ago,
and guess what? Ten years later, you're. You're doing it now. And
you're still. And you're still fired up about it because you're like, I know this
is going to have such a big impact. Absolutely. And it is having an impact.
Right. The impact might not be in my bank account. Right.

(29:17):
But the impacts and all the people. Yes. Touch the impacts.
And my employees, creating a place for them to call home.
A career. Right. And that's partially why I don't pay myself. There have been times
where I've been like, okay, I'm probably in a position to pay myself, but the
plans are so grand for the company. I'm not here to be a small
business. No. We're here to be an everyday household. And Visionary Meals will be an

(29:38):
everyday household someday. Yeah. Right. We will be in everyone, everyone's homes.
That's guaranteed. Yeah. Right. But I'm choosing now
to wait on. On my nut. Right. Yes. So I can take care
of my people. Create a, Create a, A legacy and a life for them.
Right. Because I know my time's coming. Yeah. And. And that's how. Oh, I
love. That's how roofing ends up. Getting tied into things. Cuz obviously I got to

(30:00):
support myself. Yes. Yes. So, dude, I love that. Well,
I, I heard in a interview that you did,
you were talking about how. Well, there's a
teacher who said, who told your mom,
Josh should really start considering trade schools because college is not going

(30:20):
to be for him. Facts. How did that make you feel?
If anything, I think that made my mom feel a type of way more than
anything. Yeah. Right. I was pretty young, I think, when this happened. But it is
a true story. This teacher at a young age. I, I grew up with an
iep. School was never my thing. Not a test taker.
I never missed a class. I can say I've never missed going

(30:42):
through college, I never skipped one class. That's always. I was always on top of
my stuff. Yeah. But I just, I just had a hard time retaining the information.
So I had an IEP growing up my entire life. But yeah, this teacher said,
Debbie, my mom, Josh should consider trade school
because that's going to probably be the best route for him. And at that time,
too, like, we know now, like, trade school is such

(31:04):
a smart decision. Oh, my gosh, bro. Like, yeah.
Looking back, the teacher responds. But at the time, though, she's
most likely saying that from a place of, oh, Josh isn't that smart.
Which is total bull crap. It's almost lessening their, their potential. Yeah,
absolutely. Like that here's. He can't do what everyone else is striving to do.
So this is an option. Yeah. And. And shout out to all

(31:28):
of our trade people. I mean, oh, my gosh. Especially nowadays, like, you can't find
someone that knows how to plumb electric. I mean,
anything. So shout out to all of our trade. Yes. And also, not to mention
those guys make bank. They kill it. They kill
it. It's crazy. So when someone tells me they're an. Electrician, I'm like, baller.
And how about this dude? I just recently actually just made a

(31:51):
post on LinkedIn, like earlier this week talking about. I
was like, okay, I asked the question, what is the utility of
a business degree in 2025? Like, is there some serious in.
Because. And I'm just going to try to remember these facts off of my top
of my head, but for fees,
tuition and all that, you spend $117,000 on higher education,

(32:13):
it's crazy. About 50 of
grads are underemployed. That means that they're working
jobs that they don't even need a degree for. Wow. In
big businesses like IBM, Google and Accenture
don't even require college degrees anymore. They. It's
skills and certificates. Yeah. And

(32:35):
college is a scam. Yeah, bro. And like, I mean, I, I try
and. Because obviously I'm biased. Just. But I
was, I was at school, I was like, man, like, I'm taking.
I'm at school studying, I'm trying to finance.
But, like, I'm looking at all these individuals, these professors. I'm like, I don't
want to have the same exact results as you. And I'm like a big believer.

(32:57):
And just like, listen, I'm gonna. Listen, I'm gonna really internalize what
so many. Like, I respect them. Absolutely respect them. Absolutely. But as far as, like,
me, like, marrying to what they're saying, like, I just.
I kind of. Kind of justify it in my head. Yeah. And.
But yeah, man, it's just like we live in an age now where
actually another mentor. Mentor of mine told me this is for the first time

(33:21):
in human history with the introduction of AI and the way things are,
Tiger, the value of info and knowledge has
gone down. I can believe that
more. Yeah. And it's.
Well, I've been wrestling with that like, a lot. Not necessarily wrestling, but just like,
dude, chatgpt and these language models. It's like you can find

(33:43):
like, I have friends who are still in school. I'm actually going down to Miami
University this weekend. To my friends there, they're
graduating, which is great. I mean, good for them. Congrats.
But I also talked to them. I'm just like, they're all using like,
chat. Yeah. Chat. Yeah. It's crazy. It's crazy. I. I don't know how
with the. The upcoming of AI, I don't know how

(34:05):
schools, let alone learning. Yeah. I like
the way it's going to develop is so scary. Like, I'm very
concerned. It's. And it's one of those things that it sucks because, like,
you either get on board or you get left behind. Yeah, dude. And that's. That's
the thing is we need to start, which, like. So I've been.
Over the last month and a half, like, I've been doing like a deep dive

(34:26):
on it because my eyes were kind of up and opened. I was like, holy
crap. Like, this is huge. And also too.
Only like, 5% of businesses are actively implementing this. This. So
this is a whole. Another 5% of businesses actively implemented.
Yes. And so there's this thing. It's called the technology life. Lower than I would
have thought. Yes, it's. I. So I was at the Ohio Tech Summit last

(34:47):
week. It was all right. Okay. Wasn't really that great.
But the president of Ohio State was there and he dropped that stat. He said
5% of businesses are actively using it and trying to, like,
implement it, which is crazy. So there's this thing called the technology
adoption lifestyle life cycle, and it goes like this.

(35:12):
Show me this curve. I'll have to. I can send it to you. But so
there's the. In the very beginning, there's the
innovators, and then there's the early adopters, then there's the early majority,
then there's the late majority, and then there's just the whatever
after that, and we're in the early adopter stage. Interesting.
Yes. So, but the thing is, is

(35:35):
most people are using AI as, like, chat, as just like a search engine.
But the thing is, if you can learn how to interact, if you can learn
how to prompt, that's what all these schools are going to be starting to
teach, is how to prompt AI because. So it's like,
I've been learning this. It's like there's a total framework on how to get it,
like, super efficient, dialed in on chat. Yeah. And it's all about

(35:55):
your prompting. But, like, even I was messing around with this. I
just created a reel, actually, the other day for the podcast on
an episode I released today, and I used this thing called
Runway. It's Runway AI. And it literally takes a photo
and will animate it into a video, and you just prompt it, tell it what
to do in the video, and then it'll create. So, like, I. I animated, like,

(36:18):
Aristotle. Yeah. And I, like. I was like, in the prompt, I was like, oh,
okay, I want you to do this kind of shot. Zoom out, and then I
want him to, like, look intently at the camera. And it did
that. It's crazy. And so it's just.
Yeah, bro, the. I. So much is changing right now.
Like, in. What do you think of AI? I.

(36:40):
I, personally, honestly,
I don't even think you can say. Like, I think to say like,
oh, it's good or bad is like, I think it's
insignificant because it's just something you have to learn to do. It's like, because if

(37:01):
you say, oh, it's bad, it's like, okay, well, everyone in the world
is still going to use it. Correct. So it's like, you're literally for. What you
said a couple minutes ago is like, you're either going to get.
You're going to adopt it, you're going to get left behind. And, like, especially, like,
as a business owner is like, you aren't in the business of getting left behind.
Correct. Yeah, no, we're. We're actually currently working with a company, Shout Out

(37:21):
My boy Cass. It's called AI Al. And they come in and
they. They help you integrate this software with your business. Yes. And.
And to teach you how to learn AI. And it's actually. It's actually
supported and funded by the government. What? Swear they have,
like. Like, dude, we're applying for this. And it's like they give out thousands of
dollars to. To make this happen. Trump. Actually, I saw this.

(37:44):
This is going to be a big difference. But it was either 500 million or
500 billion. So that's a huge difference. I know. It's
500 for sure. A lot of dollars still. A lot of dollars, regardless. Yeah.
But they're investing in building out, like, AI infrastructure in the United States, which
is to. Oh, I'm sure, like, China. Like, they're already way ahead of that. Oh,
yeah. Well, and my mom, actually,

(38:05):
because she knows I'm going down this rabbit hole, and I still live at home
with my parents. Love it. Nothing wrong with that, bro. Nothing wrong with that at
all. But she comes. You know, my mom's always listening on the radio in the
morning. Yeah. Sometimes I'm like, why do you have the radio?
But she. She's like, oh, my gosh.
Like, Donald Trump was just talking about how schools need to start implementing, like,

(38:26):
AI and like, elementary schools and things like that, because
China's starting to do it. Yeah, absolutely. And absolutely.
If you're gonna. It's not. It's. It literally your
preference is. Actually, it doesn't
matter. It's irrelevant. Your preference is irrelevant. You either have to. You're either gonna adopt
this or you're gonna.

(38:48):
You're gonna be lost. Yeah, well, in our. In this AI meeting, they're like, you
know, Josh, where do you think you can implement, you know, AI the most? And
I was like, I have no idea. Customer service. Everything. Yeah. Customer
service. Seriously. Yeah. Which. That's an interesting, like,
transition, because how much does the customer hate that? Right. But they
won't know. Seriously. I know I've seen some modules of, like, AI, and

(39:11):
it's incredible. Yeah. It's. It's scary. It's scary. And so back
to the question of, like, do you love or hate AI? You know, I agree
with you. You can't love and. Or hate it. Right. You just have. You just
have to. You have to learn to. To accept it. Yeah. And deal with it.
But it's scary. It's going to be interesting how it changes the world. I actually
just read an article yesterday

(39:34):
about this. This young boy,
and this is really sad, but this young boy was in a
relationship. Oh. With AI or something like
that. With AI, with CHAT or some type of platform, and
he ended up taking his life. Whoa. And from.
From my understanding of the article, the

(39:56):
AI, the chat helped guide him on how
to do so. And I know that the family
is, of course, like, lawsuits and stuff are taking place,
but it's really sad. It's really scary, and it's concerning. It is concerning for our
young generation. I think there's going to have to be some very, very strict parameters
Put onto this not only for the safety of everyone, but

(40:18):
for the well being of us as a society.
We can't stop learning. Yeah. And yes, we're learning how to use AI and
it's, it's eventually going to be in everything that we do. But I, but I
implore that like people need to continue to challenge their minds. Yes. And
as I've integrated AI and ChatGPT and things that I do
because it's made me more efficient, it's made me more accurate, it's made me just

(40:40):
a better, better all around. Especially with like emails and stuff. It's
crazy. I even at times check myself
like, like Josh, don't, don't stop challenging your
mind. Yeah. Right. Because I, I, I, I enjoy writing. I, I like
to think I'm such a good writer. Yes. But I use
AI so much now and I'm like, am I going to lose that skill set?

(41:01):
Yeah. Right. And so these are skill sets I think that we're never going to
get from people because an artificial intelligence is
doing it all for them. Yeah. So it's a love hate for sure. You're not
exercising your brilliance. That's what it sounds. You're
not, you're not. And like I'm like, I, I, I beg the question, like, are
we gonna get stupid? Yeah. As a culture, as a society, I mean, I think
we're going to be smart in our own ways of artificial intelligence, but like,

(41:24):
man, it's, it's scary. I know. I don't know if it's,
if we're gonna get stupid. I just think it's
gonna look very different. Very different. Which it's like,
yeah, I, I, I don't even know exactly how to
wrap my mind around that. But that is what you shared about that

(41:45):
kid. Like that is, yeah. Terrible. Because like the
thing is. Yeah, I, because like
AI is like, I, how do I put this? I don't,
it's going to give you whatever information you want. It's not going to direct you
because it doesn't have, not from, from what we, from what we

(42:06):
know. It doesn't have emotion. Right. So it's like if a kid is hinting at,
yeah, how do I do this? Yeah. It's going to give you exactly how to
do it, which that is like. Do like
people, like, are there parameters like that that need put on is my question. Yeah.
But then like, do we, do we start, Next thing we know, we're start handcuffing
AI and it's just like, are we not maximizing The. The tool.

(42:28):
And so, like, I think at the end of the day, though, this is a.
This is a much deeper. This is a much deeper issue.
And, like, rest in peace, of course, to that
individual. Yes. But the AI was not. It was not the
issue. No. Right. And I can't. I'm not going to sit here and say what
was. But it's deeper than. It's deeper than AI. Yeah, well, it's kind

(42:50):
of like the whole. I mean, I'm going to say this is like,
you know, in, like, school shootings.
Was it the gun's fault or was it. Right, exactly. No, it's not the guns.
Yeah, exactly. So it's just like. But now figure out it's
like. Yeah. And it's like, there's probably
some people who may be listening to this and be like, oh, we need to

(43:12):
get rid of. Cancel. Cancel AI. It's like, no, bro. It's
like we have a much deeper rooted issue. Yeah. And I
think it comes down to connection. Human connection is like. We long for connection.
Yeah. And we just don't get that because
of things like social media, you know, it's just.
It's so. I mean, dude, you're. The kid

(43:34):
had a relationship with an AI for a reason. He's feeling validated,
which is crazy. But. Yeah. Oh, yeah. That
incident, the end result of that, it stems back way
farther. Way, way farther back of what led to that.
Yes, that was just, unfortunately, the end result. Yeah, man.
All right, well, that was heavy. I'm gonna take a. I'm gonna take a

(43:57):
turn or. Yeah, we're gonna. We're gonna turn into another direction.
Yeah. Yeah,
we're good. We're good. It's beautiful out. We're chilling
back to. You know, this year is
20, 25, and I believe that your guys's
company slogan is no one's watching.

(44:20):
He did his research, y' all. I tried, man. I tried. Hey,
the podcast y' all are listening to, this man does his homework. Right? Like,
I've been on some. Some funky podcasts, but this dude, he does his homework.
And it's. Yeah, it's. It's all legit, authentic information, so
keep tuning in. Thank you, bro. Thank you. Well, what does

(44:40):
the term no one's watching mean to you? And I want to know why you
chose no One's Watching, because I know you're talking about 20 with what you
shared about 20, 24. It's like, just, man, we gotta get back to the basics.
Like, let's talk about that. Yeah, man. So
2023. Our slogan was move faster. We're
a young company. We had a lot of momentum, like I said.

(45:02):
And we said, let's keep moving, like, move faster. Like, if you think we're moving
fast now, go even faster. Right. In business,
you know, no decision is the wrong decision. Yeah, right. Just make a
decision if it's still faster. Exactly. Yep. Fall. Yeah, exactly. Fail
forward. So that was move
faster was 23. 24 was chop wood, hall water,

(45:25):
basically. Meaning just like the everyday, mundane task, just like,
keep moving, keep chopping that wood, keep hauling that water. Right. And
that's when we're in the building phase of our new headquarters. A lot of. A
lot of new transitions and a lot of new processes.
And we, like, when we moved into this, in this current headquarters that we're in,
it was like, okay, it's time to start acting like a business. I mean, previously,

(45:46):
we're operating out of, like, a storage unit, which it got us to where we
are. Yeah, yeah. Praise God. But we just
didn't have, like, true policies and procedures that we were following.
Yeah. And 24 became that. And that's also why 24 was a hard year, is
because we implemented all these things. Yeah. 25
hit. And the foundation, you know, was

(46:07):
built immensely over 2024. And
I got looking at our team, I spent some. Some alone time in my office
one night, and this was the end of 24. And I said, okay, what is
this year gonna look like? What is 2025 gonna look like?
And the idea around no one's
watching is that two things, there's really two

(46:30):
meanings in it is no
one's watching what you're doing. No one cares about you. Yeah.
Right. Yep. Like, they don't. They care about themselves. Yes. No one's watching.
So stay in your lane and just be the best individual that you can be.
But also, furthermore, as we have created and cemented these
foundations and standards for us as a company,

(46:54):
no one's watching means when no one is watching, are you willing
to do the little things right? Yes. When it comes to, you
know, our meal prep containers and prepping these meals, I mean, we.
We are very strategic, and we weigh everything that goes
inside these containers. So, employee, when
your scale wasn't zeroed out, are you fixing that

(47:17):
to do it the right way when you know no one's watching? When you know
a manager's not breathing down your neck? When I'm not watching the cameras. Right. Are
you willing to do the little things right? Yeah. When, you know I got on
my. My Team the other day, I was like, you know, hey, guys, when we
get up from this meeting, you push your chair in, push your chair, and no
one's watching. Right. When you toss in

(47:37):
something in the trash can and crumbs hit the. The rim and it falls on
the ground, are you walking away from that? Are you picking it up and setting
the standard? Yes. The next person. Right. Those are the things
that we're doing as a company, the little things. It's
not about someone watching us. It's about
ourselves watching ourselves. Right. So when no one's watching, are

(47:59):
you willing to do the extra step? Are you willing to go the extra mile?
Are you willing to do what is right when, you know, if you didn't pick
up those crumbs around the trash, you know, it's not going to be a big
deal. No one's going to know it was you. Yeah. Right. And that all
starts with the leadership. Yeah. And that's where I failed in 23. I was not
setting that standard for myself. And. And people will follow you. Right. As a leader.

(48:19):
And so 24. Or, excuse me, 24 and then so 25,
it's been about making sure I hold myself to a higher standard.
That self awareness is so key because, you know, you're a person
of influence. You have influence. Yeah. Like what
I was saying earlier, like, you're magnetic. And, you know, I'm sure you probably
got told that when you're younger. Yeah. It's like, oh, Josh hangs out with

(48:42):
the right people. He's going to lead people. Because, like, I got told the same.
Same thing, man, my whole life. Yeah. And that's so true. Because people will
follow your footsteps. Yeah, they will. And. And that's. That's one
thing, too. It's when I got. I got laxadasical in 2024, and I got
comfortable. I got comfortable, like, because we just came off a killer year. And so
this was before numbers and our. And our curve started to dip.

(49:03):
Does that scare you?
Yes. But even when I was transferring thousands of
dollars to make payroll, I.
I never had, like, a fear of doubt. I
always had this, like, feeling that, like, we're gonna be okay. We're
gonna be okay. We're gonna keep showing up. But I was scared.

(49:26):
Yeah. I mean, there was. There was nights I didn't sleep.
But it's crazy, man. At that
point in time, I finally woke the F up and said,
okay, like, I see. I understand. God, like, I understand that,
like, you. It's not that you've abandoned me, but Like,
I'm. I'm not living for you, so

(49:51):
why do I deserve your help? Almost right? And I know
God never left me. And I know his love was always there. Yeah, always. But
even in those times where I was transferring money from. From a savings
account, and every week watching that balance just get
smaller and smaller and smaller, I eventually got to a point
it was leading up to payroll, and I said, okay, I

(50:13):
think I've got one more transfer in me. And
I woke up that Monday morning
to a bank account that said, like, negative, like, 400 some dollars.
I've got the picture. And I said, oh, crap, I
have to frame that. I've got. I've got, like,

(50:34):
$15,000 to run in payroll today or something like that.
And that week
for Visionary Restoration, my business partner and I started
that, and we ran that company for a few months before we saw pay from
there. And by the grace of God,
that was the week that we were able to pay ourselves. Come on, man.

(50:57):
And we were able to pay ourselves
very healthy. It was a very healthy pay. And.
And the timing of him. Yeah.
And. And for me, it's just like, I don't
deserve that. Yeah. I don't. I'm not deserving of
that type of help or that type of love. That's just the father he is.

(51:19):
The father he is. And. And I got to.
I had the opportunity to stay faithful. He gives us free
will. So I. I still got to choose him through the
hardship. And. And to this day, I'll still say,
like, even if that money didn't fall, like, I still choose
him. Yes. Right. Yeah. But I also got to. I got

(51:43):
to experience. I really got to experience
how life. How hard life can be. Not putting him at
the center, flipping that script, and him
saying, I'm here. Yeah. And showing up. Come on, bro. That's
incredible. It's incredible. Yeah. And things
are still, like, challenging. Yes, they are. But I

(52:06):
move differently, and I move him. I move with him at the center. Yeah.
What did that. You know, in the time when you're transferring from
savings account, things aren't going. What did that do to your ego?
No, it had to have offended it a little bit. For sure. Yeah, man.
So roofing the company that I. That I
was with prior to launching Visionary Restoration,

(52:29):
a buddy of mine started the company. He approached me, say,
hey, Josh, I got a sales position. At the time, I was
doing personal training. I used to train athletes. This is like, in parallel of
running Visionary Meals. Of course, I was running the business, supporting myself by training
athletes. A lot of time sometimes can be decent money, but
not the type of money that I was necessarily chasing. And

(52:51):
he said, josh, I got an opportunity for you. I said, okay. We met, sat
down, he spelled it out to me. I said, wow, sounds like
a great opportunity. Sounds like a great opportunity for anybody in
roofing or that knows the business. There's. There's a reason. There's a lot of people
that do it. It's a very saturated market. But
I said, okay, let's do this. So I start in roofing.

(53:14):
And it wasn't long that I was able to drop training. Right. Okay.
Yeah. Now I see done training. Right. I was like,
wow, I can make three times the amount and literally a fraction of the time,
say less, right? Yes. Crazy. And
I forget what I was going with this. What was I just saying? I was
talking about the money that we were making and, And

(53:36):
God being faithful. Yeah. Well, so the question what I was asking, I was like,
what did that do to your ego? Yeah. Yeah. Then you're saying how
it's tough and. Yeah. So
started. Started making. Started making that money. Yeah. And, and,
and at that time, I
was able to flush a lot of this capital. Yeah.

(53:58):
Okay. Right. Yeah. And. And for
three years in a row, I was the top sales producer at the roofing
company. Let's go. Multimillion dollar producer while running a company. And that's
why when, like, when I. With my guys, now that I hire, I'm like, I
don't want to hear your excuses. Like, I was running, like, now the largest
meal prep company in the state of Ohio while the top producer and

(54:20):
sales for this review is like, your excuses suck. I don't want to hear them.
Right. So as a multimillion dollar producer for. About three years,
knocking doors still. Yeah. Oh, you're knocking doors indoors, bro.
I would grind through the business usually Monday through, you know, Thursday or Friday, I'd
go knock doors Friday, Saturday, Sunday, sometimes on a Wednesday.
And I just mastered my craft. I mastered my craft. So I maximized my time

(54:42):
that I was in the field. Yes. But. But I was out there. I was
out there, you know, till sundown. You know, I was knocking on people's doors as
they were getting ready to sit down for family dinners. Right. I'm just like, like,
I'm just. I'm here though, right? Yeah. And so
I was a multi million dollar producer and found a lot of success there and
was able to really create a healthy cash flow of reserve.

(55:03):
Right. I think the key too, is what you're just Saying about
I was knocking doors until the sun went down
is most sales reps who are just doing that for
their normal job aren't going to do that. Correct. But because you had
a seed, and then with the Visionary Meals, it's like, no, I have to do
this so I can support that. I literally, I don't have a choice. There was

(55:25):
no choice. Yeah. And that's why I tell people all the time, I was like,
the guys that come to me, that they're like, backs are against the wall. I
was like, you're going to be successful at this. Right. It's the guys that.
That think they walk into this space controlling their own
schedules, and they're like, great, I've got all the time and freedom. And like, they.
They fail within the first couple months. Yeah. Right. But anyways,

(55:45):
just to finish my story, it was just like, I had. Because of my success,
thank God I was able to reserve as
much cash flow. But talk about that ego. I saw
hundreds of thousands of dollars, like, go away from
my bank account. Yeah. And that hurt. And that sucked. I got
to a point in my career was like, I made it. I did it. Like,

(56:06):
I accomplished it. I was like, growing up, like, you know, years ago, it was
like, my goal is to make six figures. Nowadays, like, I feel like six figures
is, like, low key, a must, you know, I mean, to survive. Right? To support.
Yes. Seriously. So the goal is definitely much higher now. But, you know, I
did that and I was just like, okay, like, I did it and I thought
I made it. And next thing you know, Visionary Meals was not rolling

(56:27):
like it was in 23. And next thing I know is just all this money
that I worked so hard for. Yes. Literally just got interjected into the
business just to keep it afloat. Yeah. Dude, that's incredible. What advice
would you give to someone who feels torn between stability
and a calling they can't shake? Oh, I
mean, chase the calling all day long. Like, stability.

(56:50):
What is stability? Right? Like what. Like,
what do you consider stability? You know what I mean? Yeah. Like, stability to
one person is another, is something else to another.
But chase the calling all day long because.
Yeah, sure, if you chase stability, what do you get?
Stability and nothing else. Yeah. If you chase the

(57:12):
calling, you get purpose, you get passion,
and if you do it right, you get stability. Yes. Yes,
bro. So, like, why not chase the calling? And if you
fail, fine. Go find something stable.
Yes. Yeah, I know. And I. Well, I think
what it all comes back to, though, is the. It all comes

(57:35):
back to, like, why somebody would rather pursue stability
than like they're calling with like the, the gray. The unknown
is because it goes back to identity is they don't actually
believe that they're one of a kind. That like the dreams and the visions that
are placed on their heart and mind, they don't actually believe
that those are for them. Right. They think everyone just has those.

(57:58):
So then it's easy just push those. Things for just a select few people. Yeah,
like the 1 percenters. Like, no, like God. God puts a vision
in all of us and he has a purpose for all of us. I know.
You just need to, it's. You need to wake up to that. You do.
People, People need to. People need a big wake up call. Yeah. Like, I mean,
it's a very soft society. Don't start on that. And that's, it's super important as

(58:18):
like, you know, you're a leader and just
like, literally you're talking about instilling
that in the people, bro. Because when they're gonna. Just once
they're like, oh, wait, what? Yeah, I've got a calling on my
life. I gotta go make it happen. I know. Like, I'm like, I'm not
here for just no, like, reason. Yeah. Every customer

(58:41):
that orders with visionary meals, every order, whether they order once a
week, twice a week, once a month, whatever it is, they get a thank you
card. Yes. Right. And the first time customers get a thank you card from
me. And, and on that thank you card, I always
end it with, you know, you know, remember, you know, whatever
you do in this life, just continue to chase your passions

(59:02):
because your purpose is not far behind. And I am
such a believer in that. And so many people do. Let me make this clear.
So many people do get mixed up with like,
that your purpose does not have to be your career. Right.
My purpose is not necessarily healthy food. My
passion is, is helping people. Right. And I have found

(59:24):
a way in my career to help people. That's my passion and
has now become my purpose. Yes. Right. And so I encourage so many
people, just whatever you're passionate about, chase that.
Because that passion was instilled into you for a reason. Yes.
You'll find what the purpose is. Come on. And then I just got
one more question for you. Let's go. What's the best

(59:46):
piece of advice you have ever received? You can take
a second to think about that too. That's a great question.
Best piece of advice that I have ever received. It's a hard
one. That is a. That's. And I Think question two is, like,
it could just be one that you recently heard that really stuck with you too.

(01:00:06):
Or.
I think that some of the best advice that.
That I have ever, like, not just received,
but been able to watch from people that
I aspire to be or look up to

(01:00:31):
is almost cemented
the season that I'm in with my life of, like, because so many
times some people will hear,
josh, you're not paying yourself yet. And they're like, man, there must
be something wrong with the business, right? But that only ever
comes from people that have never accomplished what I'm trying to accomplish.

(01:00:55):
And so when I hear that, I take
it with a grain of salt, because the individuals
that have achieved what I want to achieve
time and time again, they just keep to saying, keep your
head down, keep showing up, serve the people,
give it your all. And if you

(01:01:19):
do it with so much passion and love,
the outcome will come that you're looking for. And I think for
me, it's not necessarily one line of advice, but more of action
steps of just showing up every single
day, trusting that, like, you, you are fulfilling the purpose
that was laid out for you. As long as you show up like that every

(01:01:42):
single day and you keep God at the center,
you can't fail. You just can't. Yes. And that's what I
have so much confidence in. That, like, I don't know when
that grand slam or that time is going to come where I'm, like, looking at
the account. It's like, okay, yeah, it's time.
But I do know it's going to come. It will. I do know it will

(01:02:03):
come. And I do know that if as long as I show up
with a. With a servant's heart and a servant's mindset,
that's all that matters. Yeah, that's all that matters for me, and that's all that
matters for my people. It's all that matters for our customers,
and that's all that matters for our time here on this earth. Yes,

(01:02:23):
man, I love that answer. Thanks, bro. I love it,
baby. All right, guys, well, thank you for tuning in to
another episode of the Daniel Kelly podcast. Actually,
Visionary Meals is going to be sponsoring the podcast
coming soon, which I'm super excited about.
So, yeah, guys, just thank you for tuning in. Subscribe to the YouTube

(01:02:46):
channel, follow along on Spotify, Apple, all that good
stuff, and I seriously appreciate everyone who tunes in, so thank you,
guys. Thank you, guys.