Steve Prussack
Okay. Welcome to another edition of Juice Guru Radio. I’m your host, Steve. It’s so great to be with you. You today we’ve got RJ Monae. She’s the CEO of Juiced Obsessions. You’re going to want to hear her journey to becoming a Certified Juice Therapist. All the amazing work she’s doing as a Holistic Health Practitioner and spreading the message all these years. So get yourself a juice, some water or tea. We’ll be back right after this with RJ Monae.
Steve Prussack
Well, welcome back to the show. I’m Steve and I couldn’t be more excited. I actually remember enrolling RJ in this program about a year ago. I was on the discovery call with her, and she had a juice bar called Juiced Obsessions. You got to check that out. It’s at juicedobssessions.com. Don’t worry, I’ll have a link in the show notes. But I was really impressed with her branding, and it’s only gotten better. Now I’m looking at it and like, “Well, it’s even better than last year.” But anyway, she’s actually been in the health and fitness industry for eleven years.
Steve Prussack
She holds an MBA in Health Science, program mentor for MBA Healthcare Graduate students, a Certified Juice Therapist, and Holistic Health Practitioner. And we’re going to hear about her journey. Let’s welcome to the show right now, RJ Monae.
RJ Monae
Hi, Steve. How are you?
Steve Prussack
Well, I’ve come to mumbling through your bio. I’m sorry to destroy it in that way.
RJ Monae
You good, you good.
Steve Prussack
She does all this other stuff, too. So anyway…
RJ Monae
Awesome.
Steve Prussack
What I’m most excited about is hearing about your journey to the juice. Journey to the juice, right? The passion for the juicing and the entrepreneurial journey. So I thought those are the couple of things we could focus on. It would be a lot of fun. So, for you how did it begin? What was your inspiration and what led to the juice?
RJ Monae
Well, I would have to say, my number one inspiration is my mom. Always has been. My mom passed away in 2011. And right before then, she was trying to transition into holistic health and that’s juicing. At that time, I wasn’t aware of what juicing was. I was 24 years old, so it was like, “What you’re talking about?” But she was trying to transition because she has some health concerns that she was going through. And she was trying to resolve them, a more holistic way to transition into that.
RJ Monae
And so at that time, like I said, I didn’t understand anything about it. And so she will always be on me about, “You need to…” Now this time, I was overweight. My skin was bad. I could eat five pieces of fried chicken and biscuits in a sitting, okay? My diet was horrible. I had high cholesterol. I was near heart disease. This is 24, okay? Twenty-four years old. No water. Didn’t even like water, okay? Didn’t even know what water was and drink it.
Steve Prussack
No vegetables, no fruit. But we’re not even- we’re talking about no water. No water even. Thats…
RJ Monae
No vegetables, no water. No nothing. I was like, “You can keep all that.” But she kept encouraging me all the time, “You need to get better. You need to do better. Eat right.” And she just kept preaching that, preaching that to me. And then I had a youngest brother, the same thing. Preaching that to me because I was just all over the place.
Steve Prussack
Oh he was more into health? He was more into health? Yeah.
RJ Monae
Yes, yes, definitely. And so fast forward 2011, when I moved to Dallas, Texas, I made a commitment to my mom. Okay. You know what? I can at least go to the gym. So, I started working out and started drinking water, right? So two easy things that I could commit to that was hard for me, right? Going to the gym and even, okay, drinking water. So I bought a gym membership and I committed every day to working out, right? So in April 2011- so I moved February 2011 and so in April, I lost my first 10 pounds, okay?
RJ Monae
Now I live in Dallas, Texas, my mom lived in Arkansas. So she hadn’t saw my transformation. Like I was doing really good. And so long story short, on Good Friday, my mom passed away, right? So again, remember, I moved to Dallas, Texas. My mom never seen my results. When she saw me, skin was bad, I was just all over the place. I wasn’t at my best. But I made a commitment to her that when I come home around Easter time, she can see me because she knew I had been working out.
RJ Monae
And so when that happened, it kind of put a damper on my spirit because I was doing it for her. That’s my mind, right? I’m doing it for her and she’s gone. And I’m like, “Well, who am I doing it for now?” So Steve, I’ll be honest. I stopped, okay? I just took a damper down. Like, I got no reason. Why not you know? Bye. Okay? I just got bit a little depressed.
Steve Prussack
Right. Plus, you wanted to numb those emotions from losing your mom.
RJ Monae
Right. And so, the feeling that I had was- I had the wrong feeling and the why I was doing it for. Because I was doing it to please her, right? And I wouldn’t really do it for myself. So it was easy just to kick it off and just go. So I went back to my old habits, okay? And I was still kind of working out and drinking my water and everything. So I was still doing that. But it wasn’t until I went to the doctor and they found cyst on my ovaries. And I was back in my high cholesterol range. And I got back on cholesterol pills and I had a strict diet.
RJ Monae
So it wasn’t until that came back full circle back to me. And at that moment, I was like, “I did tell my mom that I would do better. But this time, I’m going to do it for myself.” Because I got kids and the rate I was going, I was almost 200 pounds. So the rate I was going, I want to see my kids, my grandkids. And so everything started going- flashing before my eyes. And I remember, if you know, but the Juiceman, he was on an infomercial one night and I’m going to tell you what was life changing for me. When he said, “If you don’t like eating vegetables, you can drink them.”
RJ Monae
I said, “What? I can drink them? I need to try that because I’m not going to eat them. Okay?” I’m not going to eat them. And so that particular night, it registered with me. I was like, “Wow, so I don’t have to eat my vegetables?” Because you know growing up, “Eat your vegetables, eat your vegetables. You got to eat your greens.” And that was hard to do at the age of 26, right? Like, I’m going to eat something? And so I found a better way to incorporate vegetables into my lifestyle.
RJ Monae
And juicing then took off from there. I started with simple juices, then incorporated to my everyday. It was just from easy to more complicated juices. But I started making juices every single day because once I discovered that, I was sold. I was like, “Oh okay, I can make a juice. That’s easy.” And I bought my first juicer for $20.
Steve Prussack
Wow. It’s funny. I mean, Juiceman Jay was my inspiration, too. So you know that. You and I have that in common, don’t we? We have to hit rock bottom. Because who knows? I mean, if you continued on that path, I don’t even know if you’d be sitting here right now.
RJ Monae
That is true. Because I tell most people that I coach and teach because I share my own personal story, juicing and just health period, did change my life. Not only my health, but it changed me as a person. I was able to search myself and to really figure out. Okay, who am I? It’s more to me. It was a pathway to discovering me.
Steve Prussack
Yeah. And so this tool that you learned, where did it go off in your head? “Well, you know what? I’m going to become a Certified Juice Therapist. I want to actually become a leader and teach others. I want to become a Holistic Health Practitioner.” Where did that come into the journey?
RJ Monae
Okay. So you have heard the saying, Steve, where people come to you for stuff all the time? Like they made you this advocate, right? For so long, I will post- let me tell you something, Steve, what I did. After my divorce, I was going through a separation, after my divorce. Something told me, “Just post on social media.” So I will post what I ate. I will post that I was working out. I wasn’t posting it for no one to like it. It was just accountability, right? So if I post what I eat, my juices. I mean, I got old juice pictures.
RJ Monae
You’d be like, “Oh, that was your juices?” Yeah I was like, “I was making them.” I will post everything I did. And so I was branding myself and didn’t realize I was branding myself. Because people kept asking me question, “Can you train me? Oh my god, do you have recipe books? Or how do you do or how did you make that juice?” And after- wow. I’m like, “Okay.” So from then, friends and family, people who met me, they just saw the way I live my life. They saw my lifestyle.
RJ Monae
And so they began to ask me questions. They began to inquire about, “Oh my god, your skin.” I have pictures where my skin was looking- I have blemishes. I have spots all over my face. I did a complete transformation. And so, I didn’t realize my transformation until people begin to see in me. And when they begin to see it- at first, it didn’t dawn on me. But after a while, I’m like “Okay…okay.” I said, “Oh, all right.” So I started teaching other people how to juice.
RJ Monae
I started educating people. And mind you, Steve, I haven’t went to school yet, okay? This is just about researching. I watched the Juiceman. I watched the other people that I knew that were plant-based. And back then, it wasn’t a lot like it is now. So I was researching and I did my own thing. And I was just going by what I read and then personal experiences.
Steve Prussack
Right. Same with me.
RJ Monae
And so people just gave- they just kept coming. I was even making juice for people in jars, in mason jars. They would actually go and give me the money. And I will go buy the vegetables. I won’t even get paid for. I did it because I really wanted to help them. Because I wanted people to understand the value. And so I would go. They would give me the money. My nephew would go and deliver their juices to them. Take them to them, and they would drink them. And then I will reuse their mason jars. Once they would finish the mason jars that week or whatever, I’ll go pick them up and redo it again.
RJ Monae
And I even did- one of my good friends, I went to her home a couple of times. She bought the same juicer I did and I was showing her how to juice, how to prep. It didn’t really dawn on me until Covid with the last year has started. And my boyfriend came to me and he sent me your program. He was like-
Steve Prussack
Hey. I owe you, man. I owe you. I owe him a commission.
RJ Monae
I know, right? Because he was one of the persons I was juicing for and I was going through the process with. And he lost weight and things like that. So he was sold. He was like, “I think you need to-“
Steve Prussack
Our ads targeted him rather than you?
RJ Monae
Yes. That’s what I said. I’m like-
Steve Prussack
It doesn’t seem right. Well, ’cause he must be interested in juicing though, right? Is he?
RJ Monae
Yes. As I was saying, I was making juices for him during that time. And so he was getting into the health thing, too. And so he lost weight. His blood pressure went down, because he had high blood pressure and everything. And he looked at me. He’s like, “First of all, these juices are really good.” He was like, “Have you thought about just having a business?” I’m like, “I hadn’t thought about that.” It hadn’t crossed my mind. And so he was like, “Well, you should. You should think about it.”
RJ Monae
And so around Covid time, he sent me your link. He said, “I think you need to look into this.” I said, “Juice therapist?” Now mind you, Steve, I have never heard of such things. As long as I’ve been juicing, I’ve never heard of a certified juice therapist. I was like, “Is this for real?”
Steve Prussack
But you have heard of a holistic health practitioner which-
RJ Monae
Yes, I have.
Steve Prussack
So you get that too.
RJ Monae
Right. Yes, I heard that. And so I was like, “Okay, I’ll check it out.” And now first thing, I’m not gonna lie because you know in Facebook, they send you a lot of stuff. You don’t know if the stuff real or not. So I’m like, “I’m going to see.” And so he said that to me, “So I’m telling you, babe, they for real. I went to the website and everything. I think you’re going to like it.” And so, I went and I said, “You know what? I was like, I’ve been doing this for so long, right? I know from personal experience.”
RJ Monae
I said, “I’m missing a piece, and this may be the piece.” Because I was telling him I said, “I’m missing a piece. I need some more education. I need to go back to school.” And so I was telling him all these things. And he remembered me expressing to him that I need more education.
Steve Prussack
Well, you saw it was accredited and there are doctors involved. Is that what kind of made you think that it’s not BS?
RJ Monae
Exactly. Accreditation. Went to the ‘About’ and then you know, you Google. So I Googled you, saw you have books. “Okay. This is a real person.” Because during that time, you just wasn’t sure.
Steve Prussack
Well, the internet is a crazy world. There’s a lot of fake things out there. I don’t take that personal.
RJ Monae
Yeah. And that’s how I ended up beginning. I was on a journey and I got to a point where I was like, “Okay, I need more. I need something else.” And Juice Guru Institute gave me that more. And I still even look at the content today. I still go back.
Steve Prussack
Well, I hope so. You’ve got that Mastery stuff, and I want to make sure you’re going to utilize that because there’s a lot of gold in there. There is a lot of shortcuts to help you.
RJ Monae
Yes, it is.
Steve Prussack
And it’s designed for you because you’ve got to be busy with this Juiced Obsession, the Juiced Obsessions. And I’m going to have a link to that at juiceguru.com. So you guys will see that under the show notes. I remember because- well, I’ll say this publicly. I don’t do all the discovery calls but I was on this one.
Steve Prussack
We have other people that do that. But sometimes I like to connect and I do remember your story. And I remember you talking about your mom and about the cysts, I remember all that. But I remember the branding. Like I remember, I loved the logo. I love the website. I loved that you were already were- you were a go-getter. Like you had that entrepreneurial spark even then. Even before you even came in the door, isn’t that right?
RJ Monae
Yes, I did. I’ve always been- my mom was an entrepreneur, okay? And I knew I had it in me. But you know, how sometimes you’re just not sure what that is, intentionally, right? Because I get it all the time. But I have to take time to figure that out for me. And I’m telling you, for the past five- three or four years, it’s been like awesome in knowing your purpose and what you are here to do.
Steve Prussack
Yeah. And this is powerful. And when we can really hone it in, that’s where we take off. And Juiced Obsessions, what’s the vision? So, where do you see this all going? Because we’ve got the Mastery tools for you, you can run your own cleanses, you could run your own retreats. We give you everything you need to hit the ground running with all that stuff. And to position you as a leader, because look at you. You guys don’t see her but we’ll have the video link up at juiceguru.com, so you can see.
Steve Prussack
But they see your image and that you’ve turned your health around and you are living the passion. Where would you like to take it all? We always say- and when we talked, I know I said, “You can make your own juices or you can become a leader and really write books and empower people.” I think you did say you wanted to do both.
RJ Monae
Yes. I tell most people when they ask me, Juiced Obsessions, my organic whole cracks juice, was part of the drive for me. That really sealed it. And when I say that, that was my launch. Meaning that, outside of just Juiced Obsessions, one of the things that I tell most people, “Our motto is to Educate, Empower, Engage, and Entertain.” Those are my four core values. I’m all about educating. I believe that when people know more, they do more. You know, in most cases. I find that in coaching my clients, when I do my cleanse. When I educate my customers and clients, they instantly fall in love with the brand, they instantly fall in love with me. And empowerment, we focus on that because we want not only to educate. We want to empower our clients, that you can make a change just by one juice a day. Just 32 ounces first thing in the morning. You can make a difference just by starting there.
RJ Monae
And a lot of times people get so overwhelmed, they want to just jump in. But I educate my people that it doesn’t have to be that demanding. You just need one juice a day. And that one juice, Steve, they’re sold. It leads to other things. Now they want to eat salads, now they want- they’re going to do the work. That’s how I pretty much take my clients. Then the engagement, once I educate and empower, I continue my engagement. I reach out to my clients, I talk to them. I keep that consistent contact. Because when I was going through my health journey, I had contact. Even though it was virtual, I did have consistent contact with individuals like me, okay?
RJ Monae
And then, of course, entertainment people like to have fun. And so I have some clients Steve, they take the juice and they put it with their mixers at home, okay? So no judgement. I’m like, “Okay, you want to entertain.” They say, “They buy it and they add it.” I said, “Okay.” They mix it. But this is one of the things that I’m working on currently, is a couple of e-books. Since Covid has lifted somewhat, I’ve been talking to my boyfriend about doing workshops and different retreats and things like that.
RJ Monae
Now, since everything is somewhat back to normal. But those are some of the goals that I want to incorporate in my business. This is just a part of my business that will consist of different umbrellas.
Steve Prussack
You know that you’ve got those tools, right? We have e-books that you could brand in there. Juice therapy book in there in your Done-For-You programs. You’ve got the workshop training with Mark Reinfield, the retreat with Amber Sears, married to JP Sears. You checked all that out?
RJ Monae
I have. Actually, that’s where some of the ideas came from. I was watching some of those videos that were in there. I’m telling you, they are awesome. Like they break it down from ABC and 123. And they don’t only tell you, they teach you. It is a difference. I tell people all the time, “You telling me and teaching is not the same thing.” They literally break it down for you to understand it. And not only that, they even show you examples. They even give you the tools within that to show, “Okay. This is what you need to do.”
RJ Monae
And it’s phenomenal, because that’s where a lot of my ideas start to flow. When I listen to your webinars that you have in the Mastery Program, that’s where my ideas just start going. I’m thinking, “Oh, I can do this or put this down.” So those videos are very, very helpful. I recommend the Mastery Program.
Steve Prussack
Yeah, that was really purposeful. Because I thought for someone like you, you’re so busy. Do you have time? When I put cleanses together, it took me months to put all that material together. And I was like, “Well, what if I take my best cleanses or sugar detox and you can just put your Juiced Obsessions brand on it?” You could run a sugar detox right off this website, either as an opt-in to get more people to follow you or for $9. And there are so many ideas on what you can do with those Done-For-You materials.
Steve Prussack
I’m looking at your website right now. The other thing I love is- well, you said the three E, the four E’s. ‘Educate, Empowerment, Engage and Entertainment.’ Do I have that, right?
RJ Monae
Yes. That’s our core values, yes.
Steve Prussack
Yeah. I like the core values. I don’t see it on the site. We should have it here.
RJ Monae
Okay.
Steve Prussack
I would like to see it here somewhere. But I do like ‘Reset. Restore. Rebuild.’ We always had ‘Juice. Share. Love.’ And I look what you have, ‘Reset. Restore. Rebuild.’ How did you come up with that as sort of the slogan? Is that the slogan?
RJ Monae
Yes, it actually is. That is the slogan. Let me tell you something about that. So if you notice everything is with R’s, right? I want to say it was one of your videos, I want to say. But I read where certain things resonate with people, right, when they see it. And so if you keep it consistent, they remember it. And so I was trying to think of something like, “Okay, what does this do? What can this do, right? What has it done for me?” Okay? And so, I came up with ‘Reset. Restore. Rebuild.’ because you can’t start over, right?
RJ Monae
You only can start from where you at. So I called it a reset, okay? So now we’re in a reset. We’ve been able to get out, incorporate juicing, get our health together. So we’re in a reset mode, okay? And then while we’re resetting, we’re moving to restoring. Because now we’re getting ready to what’s about to happen. Because now in the restorative phase, you’re learning. You’re engaging with yourself, you’re figuring it out. And once you’ve done that, now you’re going to rebuild and that’s the end. You rebuilding whatever that is life, family, health, whatever it is.
RJ Monae
And so those are the three models that I went through with my life. I reset it, I restore it, and I’m currently rebuilding and I’m almost finished.
Steve Prussack
And I’ll admit it, I think it’s better than ‘Juice. Share. Love,’ okay? I admit it. But the other thing I’ll admit, or I think you should consider that would be under your book title. Ours was JuiceGuru… God, I don’t even remember. Let me see.
RJ Monae
You sound like me, Steve.
Steve Prussack
I don’t even know the name of my own book. ‘Transform Your Life by Adding One Juice A Day.’ Well, that’s nice, but I think what you have- that’s hard to remember. Isn’t it hard to? I couldn’t even remember it. I can’t believe I can’t remember the name of my damn book. I think that would be great, though. And when we were trying to think of that for my book and I came up with that. Well, I like what you came up with. They’re better, I’m saying. Or ‘Transformed With One Juice A Day,’ might have been even better. But anyway, I like what you have there. I think you should run with that. So you get Juice Guru of approval on that.
RJ Monae
Thank you.
Steve Prussack
No, but I think I interrupted you. What is the vision? So where do you see it all going? Are you looking to have a physical juice bar? Are you looking to get out on stage, give the Ted talk, write the book? You’re going to do some e-books but how far do you want to take it? And who do you want to serve? Who is your ideal avatar customer?
RJ Monae
Well, the first part of that is how far they want to go. You know Steve, right now, currently. I await to hear back but I’m actually in the process of getting a storefront, okay? For Juiced Obsessions. Currently, this is right now. I’m actually waiting to hear back from my realtor and everything. So a storefront is definitely in the works currently, now. And it is going to be a juice bar, but with a different swag to it, of course. But that’s what we’re currently working on now. We have an online website where we ship and we also service our community.
RJ Monae
Some of the things that I’m working on, I was telling you about the e-book, as well as workshops. And just more of the education part. One of the things, Steve, where I come from, I’m from Arkansas. Blackfish, Arkansas. It’s a small country. It’s in the middle of nowhere, it’s the country. And one of the things that when I was growing up, okay? We ate everything, right? Everything. All types of food. And as time has went on, I’m 36 years old, but along the way, I’ve lost people just from simple things that could have been prevented, if that makes sense. My goal for my people and just people in general, to educate.
RJ Monae
When I grew up in school, I graduated in 2003, no one educated me about health. Yeah, you have a health class that’s gym, that’s physical education. Biology that really don’t count. But education when it comes to health is not taught. It is not related to- my kids are 14 and 18, it’s not communicated to them that health is important. Not only that, how and what you should eat. How to learn about your body, know what’s good signs, bad signs, just things like that.
RJ Monae
I see myself and I’ve seen it in my dream and I’ve seen it all the time. I will be speaking in front of crowds. I will be that educator that will go into organizations, and go into places and educate people, because I’m an educator by nature. I’ve been educating since I was 19. So, my goal is to create a curriculum and just get the word out there about this. Because again, it’s the education part that people lack. Because you should see people’s faces when I just tell them what lemon water does.
Steve Prussack
But it could be that easy.
RJ Monae
That easy, Steve. What lime does? These are things that you would think a person would know. But I’ve met so many people that does not know that. So I do see myself on a platform and an influencer beyond juicing. But juicing is going to take me to where this has taken me and expanding me into thoughts and ideas that I never would have gotten without this education. And so this will all be the foundation.
Steve Prussack
And the sooner you get that bar set up, and you’ve got the manager in place, and the people that are working in the business, so you can work on the business. And you’re not the one behind the counter. And I know that could be a challenge, getting the right people, hiring the right people and trusting them to run things. But it’s a process and I do see you in that role. And I think, it’s going to be the way to empower and cause more change rather than- I thought you were in Texas, though. No?
RJ Monae
Yes, I am in Texas.
Steve Prussack
Okay. You grew up in Arkansas. Is that right?
RJ Monae
I grew up in Arkansas, yes. That’s where I’m from.
Steve Prussack
I love that vision. And like we say, the entrepreneurial journey is the roller coaster. And it has its ups and downs and it’s not for everyone. You’ve really got to live your passion. What are the greatest lessons you’ve learned so far as an entrepreneur? Whether it be through mistakes or how can you shortcut that for others? What are some of the best lessons you can share?
RJ Monae
Two of the best lessons I would say I have learned: first, I had to learn myself. I had to get to know myself as an entrepreneur and a business owner. Even though, sometimes you think you know yourself, but when it comes to being a leader, an entrepreneur, that’s a different role you play. And when you have people that are looking to you, you cannot communicate with them like you would like your kids at home and your friends. You have to carry a different ambiance about yourself. So learning to know myself as a leader.
RJ Monae
So anybody that transition entrepreneurship number one, definitely learn your leadership style. You have to know who you are in order to lead others. And then the second thing, I would say that really transformed me is, I cannot do it alone. I can’t. I had to hire. Steve and some people, I was honest, “Hey, I can’t pay you, but I need your help.” Be honest. But I realized I couldn’t do it alone because when I was doing alone, it does become stressful. It does become hard because you’re trying to get everything out and you think, you know it all.
RJ Monae
But really, you put a lot on yourself. So you cannot do it alone. So I would say, get you a team. I got kids, 14 or 18. They own the team. I got people on the team, so you can’t do it alone.
Steve Prussack
You can even get- there’s interns, too. Right? There’s the idea of interns?
RJ Monae
Yes, interns. Yes, my daughter’s friends have helped. Oh, yes.
RJ Monae
And I said thoroughly trust yourself. So first, get to know yourself as a leader. Number two, don’t be afraid to ask for help. Even if it’s just print or putting labels on bottles, ask for help. And number three, you have to trust yourself. You have to trust yourself. That’s one of the biggest things I had to learn, was to truly trust myself. And once I truly have faith and trusted myself, my team was like, okay, we’re onboard.
Steve Prussack
Beautiful tips. Tips that I wish I had way back. Well, those are tips I had to learn the hard way. The other thing I’ll ask you- so, yes don’t learn the hard way when you can learn from people that have been there and done that. And thank you for that. Your favorite book on entrepreneur, or is there a certain book that inspired you or took it to the next level? For me I mean, it’s always changing. There’s one I’m going to mention after you share yours and then I’ll share mine.
RJ Monae
Let me see. It’ so many. Oh, wow.
Steve Prussack
I’ll share mine first, then. If you want.
RJ Monae
Okay.
Steve Prussack
Mine was- with the more recent one, it’s called ‘Rocket Fuel.’ And it’s about two minds being the driving force. So for me, it was to be the visionary at Juice Guru, and then having- so we have a visionary, which I think you’re a visionary. And then we’ve got the implementer, the people that come in and do or the person that’s in that role, too. And for me, it’s my wife, Julie. She’s the implementer, and she was well-suited for that role. Whether it be, I hired someone to do that or whatever. Because taking back your lesson, I did do it all for a long time, and I figured out everything, and I almost burned out.
Steve Prussack
So if you could find which role you are, I would read that book for those listening ‘Rocket Fuel.’ Find out whether you’re the visionary or an implementer type. And then in your business, either have a partner or someone that you hire for that role. And I don’t know for you, if you’ve read that book or if you thought about that for your own business.
RJ Monae
No, I wrote it down myself. I haven’t read that one. Look, I took a note myself.
Steve Prussack
Okay. You’ll see. That one helped me a lot. It’s all about evolution, though. That’s something that helped me to evolve as an entrepreneur. Was there one a book that comes to mind that you enjoyed or not?
RJ Monae
I cannot remember the exact name off top of my head. But it’s the Toyota story. I have a 2005 Toyota Corolla. I still have it. And I was so- the leadership of Toyota. Well, most people don’t- yes, yes.
Steve Prussack
Wasn’t it called, ‘Against All Odds: The Story of the Toyota’ or something like that?
RJ Monae
Yes. It’s something like that. I cannot remember the exact name. But the background of just how they brought about the car itself. Now you heard the saying, ‘Toyotas run forever’ okay? You heard of that.
Steve Prussack
Right.
RJ Monae
And they do, because mine’s an ’05. Mine is about to be almost 20 years old, okay? That story, the leadership, the guy- that’s where I learned you can’t do it alone. He talks about what a leader is and what a leader isn’t. And we focus on the isn’t. That’s telling about what to do. Do this, do that or you dictating and things like that.
RJ Monae
But he found that once he changed his leadership style, and how he led people, he began to see results. And he talks about the ups and the downs and what it took and the ride that he went on. And I read that book that’s probably been like five or six years ago, when I read that book. It’s a big book. Because I was trying to figure out, okay, what a leader does and who a leader is. And so that book really touched me. And I actually reread it a couple of months ago, I reread it. I went back to it.
Steve Prussack
When you get the name of it, let me know. I want to check it out. I’m in Mastermind. And that’s something my Mastermind group we talk about. About leadership as the entrepreneur. It’s a hat we don’t really even think about wearing. Or maybe at the beginning- I don’t think at the beginning I thought I’d be in that role. It wasn’t really the intention. And then, when we look to some of the other bigger companies, Amazon, like Bezos or Disney, Walt Disney, or some of these other- what’s his name from, the one from Tesla?
Steve Prussack
What was his name again the guy from Tesla? The one with the space station, kind of thing. Everyone’s listening like, you don’t know who that is?
RJ Monae
I know. Me either.
Steve Prussack
Elon Musk.
RJ Monae
Yes.
Steve Prussack
These entrepreneurs, these leaders have very- almost tyrant kind of quality. Steve Jobs from Apple was very harsh, very not likable. And that’s what they have in common. So, when we’re carving our path as a leader, we know we have to draw the line. But we’re not friends of our people. We’re in a different role. I’m not saying I want to come across like they are, but we do know we have to be firm and we have to manage with a strong will to really get people to respond to our direction.
Steve Prussack
Isn’t that an interesting part of leadership to you?
RJ Monae
Yes. And let me tell you something, Steve. What I’ve learned is to- that’s very important that I learned, it’s very important in my business is that- I have to as a leader, you have to know how that individual can bring you results. Because we want to lead all our employees the same way. We want to lead everybody, okay. No. Everybody has to be led differently. And what I mean by that is- so for me, you can send me a congratulations email and I’m happy. “Okay, Steve. Thank you.” I’m happy. But Jim may want you to come tell him, “Hey, Jim. Great job on that work you did.”
RJ Monae
Now you see what I’m saying? Now both is the same delivery, but guess what? They require different things. You may send Jim an email. He’s like, “Oh, well.” This way he may not feel it. He may want you to come and say, “Congratulations, Jim.” And send it as an email, and she happy. You see what I’m saying?
Steve Prussack
That’s right.
RJ Monae
So, it teaches you how to lead. Because a leader needs to drive results out of their people. And so, you have to find that connection with each individual. That’s one thing about leadership that- it’s called the ‘The Toyota Way,’ as a matter of fact.
Steve Prussack
Okay.
RJ Monae
It talks about those principles as a leader. Because you have to learn how to lead each individual person.
Steve Prussack
That’s a great one. And the thing to keep in mind too, is as leaders, we can get caught up in the idea that the people working for us are as passionate and are going to do their best. But really, it’s not true. How can we motivate them to do their best?
RJ Monae
Yes, that’s it. Motivation.
Steve Prussack
But anyway, this has been so much fun. And I can geek out on all that with you forever. She’s RJ Monae and she’s the CEO of Juiced Obsessions. And anything to say in closing, RJ that we haven’t touched on? We actually went overtime, but I’ve enjoyed it so much, so thank you for that. But anything we didn’t touch on that you wanted to share before we close out here?
RJ Monae
One of the things I definitely want to tell most people, any advice that I can give a person about how to get going or to start their journey, again there are three C’s, ‘Calls, Commit, and Community.’ Why? Calls is your why. Figure out the why, as to why you want to start this journey. It could be just something as simple as, ‘I just want to drink water.’ That’s how I started. I just want to drink water every day. The small steps will lead to bigger accomplishments. And once you do that, you make a commitment. Commit to the process, commit to the journey.
RJ Monae
And I always say, “You can’t walk alone.” Establish a community, whether it’s on Facebook, Instagram or people around you that is going to be there to motivate and encourage you on this journey. If I could tell anybody anything is that, “Any journey, whether it’s health, business, entrepreneurship is not easy. But it will be worth it, in the end.”
Steve Prussack
Very good. And I think you’ll have a future as an entrepreneurial-mentor, kind of thing. By the way, do you know we have a mentor program? I want to talk to you.
RJ Monae
Oh really?
Steve Prussack
You need to be a mentor for some of our students that come in.
RJ Monae
Well, you know that’s crazy, because I actually am a mentor. I do mentor. Yes, that’s right up my alley. I do it for a living.
Steve Prussack
We need to have you doing that with us. I think you’ll really like it, too. She’s RJ Monae and again, Juiced Obsessions. Thank you so much for being on the show and being a Certified Juice Therapist. And all the amazing work you’re doing as a Holistic Health Practitioner and owner of this amazing juice bar.
RJ Monae
Thank you, Steve. Thanks for having me.
Steve Prussack
Thank you, RJ. I’m Steve Prussack and we’ll see you next time.
