151. From Adversity to Achievement: Jordan Mendoza's Journey to LinkedIn Success and Personal Growth

Join us for a compelling episode featuring Jordan Mendoza, who shares his remarkable story of overcoming adversity, discovering purpose, and achieving success. 

From his family's struggles and resilience to his personal triumphs in the face of life-threatening challenges, Jordan's journey is a testament to the power of optimism, empathy, and determination. 

Learn how Jordan transitioned from landscaping to becoming a LinkedIn authority with over 66,000 followers and how he now helps others unlock their potential.

Episode Highlights:

1. A Legacy of Strength and Resilience
   - Jordan recounts his grandmother's tragic experience in 1957 and his mother's birth with one lung in 1958.
   - His mother's defiance of medical odds and her positive outlook on life despite health challenges.
   - Lessons of gratitude and empathy learned from his mother.

2. Overcoming Early Life Challenges
   - The financial and logistical struggles of Jordan's family, moving 14 times before age 14.
   - A traumatic encounter with the police at age 12 and the empathy he developed from the experience.
   - Personal anecdotes of resilience and maintaining connections with childhood friends despite challenges.

3. A Life-Changing Accident and Recovery
   - A severe car accident at age 19 and the miraculous recovery with the help of off-duty EMTs.
   - Reflections on the accident as a lesson in ego and the realization of a larger purpose.
   - The journey from property management to starting his own business, inspired by a prophetic word.

4. Professional Growth and Development
   - Rapid career advancement from landscaper to property manager and eventually to a training manager role.
   - The importance of professional development tools 
   - Building a personal brand on LinkedIn and overcoming the fear of video 

5. Building a Personal Brand and Business
   - Transitioning to LinkedIn in 2019 and growing a significant follower base through authentic content.
   - Developing a 12-week program and launching a successful consulting business by addressing problems in his corporate environment.
Follow along and Find out more:

Podcast: https://www.byotpod.com/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jordanjmendoza/
Website: https://www.blazeyourowntrailconsulting.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/therealjordanjmendoza/

______________________________________

Connect with Colette:

Instagram: @wellnessbycolette

Website: love-colette.com

Thank you for listening to the Limitless Healing podcast with Colette Brown! It would mean the world if you would take one minute to follow, leave a 5 star review and share with those you love!

In Health,
Colette

Transcript

[00:00:00] Welcome to the Limitless Healing Podcast, where everyone is welcome to take a front row seat and listen in on inspiring conversations, stories of healing and action steps to help you live your best life. My name is Colette Brown, and I am passionate about all things wellness, mind, body, soul. Inspired by my own personal transformation from unwell And not knowing where to turn to thriving and flourishing and motivated to help you do the same.

[00:00:34] I share this platform with medical doctors, wellness practitioners, chronic illness survivors, meditation and mindfulness gurus, innovators of products from food to technology and more. Think of it as a one stop shop for wellness resources where you can listen to professionals From around the world to help you thrive.

[00:00:57] Join me Mondays while sipping a cup of tea or making your favorite meal. As we explore the world of wellness together, this is the limitless healing podcast.

[00:01:13] My next guest has a story of resilience, tenacity, mindset, and beating the odds. From surviving an accident that could have taken his life to being raised by a single mother, today, happily married, father of five, author, founder and owner of Blaze Your Own Trails, helping owners grow their brands, Welcome Jordan Mendoza.

[00:01:38] Hey, how are you Colette? Well, you make me sound so much better than I am. So I appreciate the warm introduction Yeah, Jordan, um, it's such a pleasure to have you on and We spoke and you were telling me about your Your story, your life and, um, what happened. And I always know that when somebody is very ambitious and forward thinking, it doesn't come without kind of a great price behind it.

[00:02:10] And I would love it. If you would just kind of start at the beginning, take us back and, um, Um, leading up to your accident that I mentioned in the intro and, um, tell us what that looked like. Yeah. And I'd love to really give the audience some, some deep context because I think it'll help set the stage for me even coming to this world.

[00:02:33] If that's okay with you, I'd love to share. So a 1957, my grandmother, uh, lived in Los Angeles, California and she was unfortunately raped. And in, in, uh, 1958, in January, my mom was born with one lung. And, you know, back in the fifties when that happened, they were basically like, Hey, you know, you probably won't live to 18.

[00:02:57] Uh, you're definitely not gonna be able to have any kids. And that was kind of the cards that she was dealt. And, uh, my mom was a fighter and she, you know, she didn't really agree with that. So she. Kind of remain healthy enough to not use oxygen until, you know, her early twenties, uh, you know, finished high school, had my, uh, older brother, uh, in 1979.

[00:03:18] So she basically took, you know, that hand she was dealt and said, you know what, I'm going to have a child, had her first child. And. Ended up over the course of her life having, uh, four more. So she ended up having five boys and she lived to 54 years old. And you know, this is a woman that I looked up to a lot because she was so positive, uh, when she could easily have been negative.

[00:03:41] She was so, had such a great sense of humor when she could have just been down and depressed because of her circumstances. So she always taught me that no matter what, life throws at you, like it's okay, you can still get up the next day to be grateful, you know, and she taught me a lot about empathy, seeing her as a kid, getting sick, going to the hospital.

[00:04:01] I remember being, you know, about eight years old at the hospital and she had a tracheotomy in and so she couldn't communicate verbally and we would literally Our time together was a piece of paper and we were writing things back and forth to each other and when you're dealing and you're seeing the, you know, somebody you love that deeply, man, if you can't gain empathy, there might be, you know, there might be a situation going on with you.

[00:04:25] And so I learned a deep level of empathy and, you know, we talked a little bit offline call that and I'd love to it. Kind of transition into a story that happened when I was 12 That really really shifted my perspective on a lot of things here in a minute being in born and raised where we grew up It wasn't the greatest area.

[00:04:43] My mom didn't have a lot of money. She couldn't really work was on disability We had food stamps. It was you know, it was tough, but she didn't make it tough, you know in my head There were times when I'm like, you know what? This, this sucks that we have this, but she always had that positive spirit, right?

[00:05:00] And you see that in me today. I'm super optimistic. There's my wife always kind of makes fun of me. She's like You always say in the good news is it doesn't matter what's happening. Like chaos could be ensuing and I'm always like, well, but the good news is, you know, I'm always have that optimistic perspective because it was what I saw in her.

[00:05:18] I mean, we moved probably 14 times before I was 14 years old, you know, and that was, you know, being evicted or maybe. You know, we add another kid and we, we couldn't live in that space anymore. And so when I was in seventh grade, we actually had to move a few towns down. And so that actually meant I had to, at 12 years old, uh, figure out the transit system and take two public buses to go to my middle school.

[00:05:43] And this is on me. I begged mom. I was like, listen, these are kids I grew up with. Like we, at least in those moves, Didn't really have to move away. We, we moved around the same area so I could go to the same school. So I knew these kids from kindergarten to 12. So I begged her and she said, all right, well, we're going to have to go on the bus route.

[00:06:00] So we, you're on the bus route and we, uh, stop at a seven. 11 was my first stop. Uh, she got to know the lady that worked there. I would play mortal combat too. That was like my game and I would wait 30 minutes until the next bus. And so. One day, it was like clockwork, I had my 50 cents, I went in to play Mortal Kombat 2, wait for my next bus, and while I was there, playing the game, I heard the little, like, chime bell ring, uh, that rings when people walk in the convenience store, and a male voice yelled, Hey Daniel.

[00:06:31] And my name's Jordan, uh, so I knew I wasn't Daniel, so I just, I just kept playing my game, and within about a minute, Colette, I was literally lifted, I was thrown into the Terminator 2 pinball machine that had a gun as a trigger, and I was punched several times in my ribs and thrown on the ground. By this male officer and at this point the the the woman is frantic.

[00:06:53] You know, I remember her name is Rosa She knew my mom because my mom took me on this route and she was like his name's not Daniel I know his mom and they basically cussed at her They yelled her they told her to shut up or she would be arrested too Wow, and they handcuffed me. They threw me in the back of a cop car and And, uh, basically they thought I was a Hispanic runaway that just, uh, that just took off and I matched the description, okay?

[00:07:16] So I'm in the back of the cop car, I'm like, what is happening? Like I'm not who this person is. And I remember, Pleading with the officer. I said, listen, I don't do my homework often, but I remember I did it last night and I know my name is on this sheet of paper and I had, you know, this brown London fog jacket and he, you know, reaches in that pocket.

[00:07:36] He, you know, kind of unfolds this crumpled piece of paper and call it. I tell you, he looked like he saw a ghost because it said Jordan Mendoza and he just knew at that moment that he made a mistake. Okay. Wow. And, you know, because of the empathy I learned from seeing my mom, you know, this is one of those situations where we could have probably took this thing to court for years.

[00:07:59] And I remember going to a psychologist and them asking me all the questions like, Hey, do you hate police officers? What do you see in this picture? And And there was nothing that I saw. There was nothing I think off about me from a trauma perspective. And I knew that. So I just said, listen, these police officers shouldn't have their jobs.

[00:08:16] They, they, they took this, you know, way too far. And that's what happened. They lost their jobs. And, you know, at 12 though, I've had empathy for them. Like I knew that they made a mistake, but I knew that that mistake shouldn't cause them, you know, this lawn, like drawn out process. Wow. Wow. That's just so deep and insightful because I think that You probably could have pursued that and, um, you could have had resentment and you could have carried it forward and, um, had a chip on your shoulder towards officers, towards, um, your mom for moving and that, but, but your mindset is fascinating how you chose to extract out, see like the wisdom from within you and say, It was obviously wrong and a mistake, but let's move on.

[00:09:11] And, um, they lost their jobs as they should have because, um, that's horrible. Um, okay. So you survived that and then you, um, are still a teenager and, um, you were at an event and you're driving home. And so tell us what happened leading up to your accident. Yeah, so I'll kind of paint the picture for this story as well.

[00:09:36] So I was 19 years old. So finished high after high school, I'd gotten a couple of sales jobs and those jobs I was traveling in different parts of the country. And so we were actually part of a team that was going to go open an office. Uh, in New Jersey. And so we were in California at the time. We, we made this, you know, cross country drive.

[00:09:55] And like 21 year olds do, we stopped in [00:10:00] every major city we could find. You know, we went to Phoenix, and we went to Scottsdale, and to Vegas, and we went to Salt Lake City. And we made all these pit stops along the way. And, you know, we were actually in Utah, and I want to really set the stage for this because it's going to be important later when I explain what happened after this accident.

[00:10:19] Uh, there's, we were in this parking lot, I think it was a Walmart parking lot. One of my buddies, Brandaris, and I, we were actually arguing about who was going to ride in the, in the cool truck. And the cool truck was my buddy Jeremy. Uh, Kara and Freddy were in this truck and, and so, you know, first we're doing, you know, rock, paper, scissors, and then it turns into kind of arguing and shoving each other and I ended up winning.

[00:10:40] I ended up, you know, winning. The spot to go sit in this truck. And so we're on, we're on this caravan, you know, there's several vehicles. We're all driving. It's about 4am in Wyoming. Uh, for any of the listeners that are going to watch or listen, I'm not sure if you've been to Wyoming, but there is nothing to look at, at 4am.

[00:10:59] Several, several miles. Yes. And it's actually, I 80 is one of the deadliest stretches of highway in the country because of that. And so we are on literally the deadliest stretch of the highway. We didn't know that at the time. But, you know, I had fallen asleep. My buddy Jeremy was driving. He actually falls asleep at the wheel.

[00:11:18] Uh, when he wakes up, he hits the gas instead of the brake, which is never a good thing. The truck slides. North of 70 miles an hour, and then I actually wake up, I call that while we're sliding. So you can imagine, you wake up and I'm, and the truck is sliding and all of a sudden, flip, flip, flip, the truck lands.

[00:11:40] And I remember yelling, holy shit, three times, exactly. and that truck landed. And then when I, you know, I was kind of dazed, you know, there's smoke, there's everything, you're looking around. Uh, I could hear people talking. It was Freddie and Cara. They climbed out of the truck. They helped me out. Jeremy's not in the truck.

[00:11:58] We look where he's supposed to be. He had got ejected out of the windshield. He landed about 25 yards from where the truck landed. Wow. We're trying to find him. We, we were looking around, uh, we see him and we think he's dead. And at one point he actually. stood up, yelled something and then fell back down.

[00:12:15] And we are like, what is going on here? And then everyone's like, you know, smelling iron and I reached my right hand and my right leg and kids, you knotted, it goes in about a fist deep. There's a cut and I was bleeding at low, like I don't know how many pints of blood it was, but I was losing blood at a exponential rate and our saving grace, Colette, right?

[00:12:37] You know, people talk about guardian angels all the time. I mean, this, this was it for us. Like there were five off duty EMTs that just happened to catch the tail end of the accident. And you were able to call in paramedics. They were able to get me, you know, wait, I told him, I was like, you guys are driving way too fast.

[00:12:55] Like you're going to kill me on the way to the dang hospital. Cause they were flying trying to get me there. I had to go in for surgery, my buddy Jeremy, they actually life flighted to Casper in a helicopter, he had to have brain surgery, and, you know, what the craziest part of everything, you know, for one, is we both made a hundred percent, uh, you know, survival, like we both survived this, and came out with, you know, no really, uh, Extended anything out of it, you know scars and inexperience and things like that But my buddy Jeremy's got a wife and a couple beautiful kids and and I've got five kids with my wife And and so but what I wanted to really circle back was that that fight that happened So when I woke up in that hospital The first person I saw was my buddy Brandaris and I remember looking him in the eyes call that and I said, you know I'm glad it was me Because I was thinking about the fact that, you know, what if Brandaris was in this truck?

[00:13:51] Maybe he wasn't sitting in the way that I was sitting in that truck. Maybe he was in a different spot. Because Colette, when you looked at that truck, the area that I should have been sitting in, because I actually was sitting sideways, was completely crushed in. Wow. Like completely crushed in. Uh, but somebody actually brought something to my attention, a recent guest, and he said, you know, I think you said, you know, It should have been me, but maybe it was you because of the ego because of the argument.

[00:14:20] And then I was like, wow, that even shifted my perspective even more. You know, there's a lesson maybe that I needed to learn, uh, because of it. So there's a few different ways you can look at it. Uh, but the bottom line is I shouldn't be here on multiple fronts. You know, I had a mom shouldn't have kids and she ended up having five and I've had numerous encounters with, with death.

[00:14:41] And for some reason, I'm here on this podcast, still talking to you. So I know that my purpose is bigger. I really understood that at about 39 years old. And that's what inspired me to really start my business full time. I love that. And so you just said, I shouldn't be here because I know my purpose is bigger.

[00:15:00] Can you tell me a little bit more about your purpose and what you feel? Yeah, yeah. I really feel, you know, and it's interesting, I think we get, we get nuggets, you know, I'm, I'm a man of faith. So, you know, I, I believe in a higher power. And, you know, I remember actually a decade ago, and this is crazy how full circle this is.

[00:15:21] A decade ago, we had a pastor come to a meeting. We were part of this like, you know, church in the city. It was kind of like a startup, right? We're trying to launch this church. And a guy came and he gave me this prophetic word. And he said to me, and I had no clue what any of this meant, but it's all kind of really coming full circle today.

[00:15:39] He said, you are going to be a leader of people all around the globe. You're going to be teaching and coaching and training. You're going to have a house that's not old. You know, he started, you know, making these deposits in me and planting these seeds. And at this point I was a property manager. Um, you know, my mom was still around, you know, a year later she ends up, you know, getting sick and, and passing away.

[00:16:03] And I dealt with all this crazy, crazy stuff. Um, none of it leading to all this amazing stuff that this guy's saying, but. I went through kind of a dark time when, when my mom passed, it's like six month time. I was at a high level and then I got a demotion and that was probably the best thing that could have happened because it led me to an opportunity to become a training manager, which put me on an eight year professional development journey that led me to launching a podcast and a business, right?

[00:16:31] So it's interesting how, you know, we get these curve balls or these things that happen and in the moment right in the Valley, we're looking at it like. Really, like seriously, like this is all the greatness we're talking about because we can't see it when we're there. But as we start to climb out of that pit and we start to realize, you know, doing things like Myers Briggs, you know, understanding what my strengths were by taking a StrengthsFinder assessment, really diving into my EQ.

[00:17:00] Once I really understood how I was wired and what my strengths were, I started activating them more and now I get to help other people do that same thing. And I really feel like that's what I've been called to do is to help people see things in themselves that they may not and really help them understand how they can move forward.

[00:17:17] How can they blaze their own trail? You know, because a lot of people don't realize the potential they have, but I feel like I have this innate ability to see that in people. Uh, and that's really why I'm here. I love that. And you've proven that over and over in your life by taking real case examples and scenarios.

[00:17:38] And I think the beauty of, of growing older and aging is the wisdom of when you are in a valley. You know, that you can get out if you choose. And so I think that you've done that several times and your ability now to share that with others and give them hope that, that. They can get out to you and that it's not the end.

[00:18:05] Whatever situation that you're in. If you're sick, if you're in a financial crisis, if you're going through different things in life, life throws us curveballs. And how do you handle that? How do you navigate that? Um, I also want to touch on the, I think it was fascinating in your story of how you were, I think it was gardening.

[00:18:28] For landscaping. Yeah, landscaping for an apartment complex or no for my dad. Yeah, my dad's business. Yeah. So listen, folks, if you haven't been able to tell by now, I'm an extrovert. Like I get energy from humans from people from being around people. I get a lot of energy from that. And so just imagine taking an extrovert and making them a landscaper.

[00:18:52] You know how many people you talk to a day at landscaping? I'm going to tell you, not very many. You know why? Because if when you're run, and I ran a crew for my dad and these, and this crew, this is interesting. Most of them didn't speak English. So I had to, I had to actually learn Spanish like I did it in high school.

[00:19:09] But I had to actually, you know, learn it better so that I could communicate with these, this team that I was bringing out. And we're doing about 35 yards a day. So you want to talk about like being in the weeds. We were in the real weeds and the grass and mulching and weed eating and, and doing hard labor for 12 hours a day.

[00:19:27] So I, you know, that taught me a lot though, because it taught me that for one, I could do that level of physical activity and survive. You know, it's not easy in the DC area in the mid eighties in July to go do landscaping for 12 hours a day. I'll tell you that that is not, that is not easy. But I also had to be okay with not being around people.

[00:19:49] Well, how do you do that? Well, in my mind, you know, your mind can either be a positive person or a negative person for you, and the cool thing is, folks, the choice is yours. And so [00:20:00] I would literally, like, in my head, just, you know, Be thinking big, big visions, dreams, like things that I wanted to accomplish, having conversations about that stuff while I'm sitting here cutting people's grass.

[00:20:12] You know, like I could have easily been like, this sucks. My job sucks. I'm out here like getting dirty all day. People are speaking a language to me that I don't understand, you know, and because I'm really, really tan in the summer, they think that, that I'm, I'm, you know, a different from a different culture.

[00:20:28] Like it's, you know, I could be easily been dwelling on all that stuff. Right. But, but I chose not to because again, we, we all have a choice in, in our thoughts. And I, and once you can realize that you ultimately are the one that chooses your happiness or not, that's a major unlock. Yeah, it is. So you're working in your dad's company.

[00:20:51] And you're managing a crew, it's hard, and you, you were, um, you met some people that saw some potential in you. Yeah, yeah, this was the, uh, the team at the, uh, uh, apartments that we lived at. So yeah, so, so we actually, I, I moved up, um, when our son was born, who's about to be 17, our oldest, right? Crazy. We have five, five children, folks, so.

[00:21:16] He looks like he's, like, 25, so it's not possible. I will, I will take that. So our son, Jaden, was about 13. Three months old and we lived with my dad for about a month. He's like, you need to find your own place. And he's from the Philippines. He's like, you're not living with us. You just figure out your own place.

[00:21:32] And it's funny because the Philippines, everybody lives with each other. So I was like, wait a second. This is kind of counter cultural, but he's like, no, we're in America. He's like, yeah, we're in America. Get your own place. So, you know, we started apartment hunting and, you know, apartment hunting in DC. Not fun because it's really, really expensive.

[00:21:47] Even though this was like, you know, 2005, it was still expensive. And so we ended up getting this apartment and, uh, we, we liked the location. We liked the fact that there was a park nearby because our, you know, our son was going to, you know, we're going to grow and we could take him to the park. And so, um, we move into this apartment called Pooks Hill tower.

[00:22:06] And it's this really interesting place. It's built in 1942. It used to actually be a place where like Teddy Roosevelt stayed there back in the day because the road used to end there. So it has like all this historical, um, you know, value and really cool storytelling to it. And it was about 189 units. We lived, I think on the 12th floor of it and no air conditioner, no microwave, no dishwasher.

[00:22:31] Uh, we were those things. We did all that stuff. We had to go to the basement, do our laundry. Hydraulic elevator. So I think I just think about like right early times in our relationship and you know I went to the office one day and they're like, hey Jordan, we always see you You're we know you do landscaping you're out working all day But every time we see you you're positive you have a smile on your face Have you ever thought about doing leasing and I was like, I don't what is leasing and they said well It's the thing that we did to you when we showed you the apartment and then you decided to rent it And you would actually get paid a commission plus hourly.

[00:23:02] And so I had one question for them, Colette, and it was, do you have benefits? Because we didn't have that with my dad. He didn't offer me benefits as a small business owner. And so they said, yes. And I said, absolutely. I want to apply. And I remember being in this interview and I was a little cocky. I'll, I'll just admit.

[00:23:19] And I, and I don't know if I'd say cocky or maybe confident because I'm pretty confident, but I remember the regional manager interviewed me and he goes, Hey, You know, standard question. Where do you see yourself in five years, Jordan? And I was like, I want to have your job. And I remember he, he brought me down to earth really quickly, Colette, where, and he looked across at me and he said, you don't even have this job yet.

[00:23:40] You know, so I think he was kind of, you know, put his authority back on me. He did, he did hire me though. So he saw something in this, uh, you know, spunky 25 year old kid. And, uh, man, and that, and that journey really spanned over the next 15 years. So just imagine this, I went from landscaper to Being in the multifamily housing or property management industry with this much experience Like no experience about anything and within six months.

[00:24:08] This is crazy. They promoted me to an assistant property manager I was like, I don't know if this is the best decision you take the best sales guy and you make of a bookkeeper But hey, I will take the extra money and I hate this job. So i'm going to learn this And be the best proper assistant property manager I could be because I want to get to that next step of being a property manager.

[00:24:27] And so I worked my butt off. I hated every second of it, but I worked, I had to call people and ask them for their rent. Like who wants to do that? Who wants to be a collection agent? Nobody does. Right. If you're a collection agent, hey, I'm sure it's a great job, but like, I didn't enjoy that personally. I didn't enjoy calling people and having to listen to their thousand stories because they all had the same ones about how they didn't know their rent was due and it's like, it's in your lease agreement.

[00:24:50] And so I, I moved my butt quick for nine months. And I got promoted to property manager. So within 16 months, ready folks of starting out at zero, not knowing anything, I was now managing a multimillion dollar apartment community with not five years with a maintenance guy on my team under my belt. Right.

[00:25:10] And I was like, I don't know what the heck I'm doing. Like I got promoted. I didn't know what I was doing. Right. Because it happened so quickly, but man, that next five years of being a property manager. Managing multiple properties, managing teams of people of upwards of 24 people with different personalities, learning about budgets, learning about, uh, you know, the industry on its own, and then eventually getting that promotion that happened in 2012 to being a training manager and then diving into professional development, you know, that was, that was all part of the journey that I needed in order to get to where I am right now, even though I didn't know I needed that.

[00:25:47] You know, but I needed that level of experience and I needed to, uh, and also it just showed me that I could do it, you know, and, and that's how I really look at life. It's like, if I get a challenge, if someone says, Hey, I don't know if that can be done. I'm like, why not? Like, why not me? Why can't I do that?

[00:26:04] And so that's what I want to really empower people and encourage people is that, uh, even though someone may have said something, uh, because I remember very clearly the words of miss green, my freshman math teacher who found me and my buddy Tyler skipping class and getting gummy bears out of the vending machine.

[00:26:20] I remember this very clearly. If you couldn't tell, she came down there and she said, you are never going to amount to anything. just go home for the rest of the day. And that really stuck with me because she, uh, she didn't know me. I mean, it was a freshman in high school. She didn't know what my future held, but I can tell you that it's really, really motivated me over the years.

[00:26:40] When I think about whenever I've accomplished a goal, it's like, take that Ms. Green, you know, so I've used that as a motivator for me and I hope she's well. And I hope one day if I do see her, if she's still around that, that I can say, Hey. You remember me? You remember that kid that was skipping class?

[00:26:55] Well, I actually ended up amounting to a little more than, than, uh, than you thought, you know? So that reminds me of, uh, Jim Quick and the boy with the broken brain when someone told him that he was not smart and could not do it. And, um, it is mindset and, and it's sometimes those comments, whether the intention is good or bad, That do make us pause and, and think and question and challenge.

[00:27:25] And, um, so thank you, Ms. Green for making me think 100%. And I'm still terrible at math by the way. So I know I didn't learn anything in that area, but there's a lot of great software out there these days. Absolutely. Everyone has their own strengths. Um, so you, you rise up through that and eventually you get to the point where You're in COVID and you're starting to create and set up.

[00:27:55] Ways that people can communicate because all of a sudden our world shut down And I would love for you to share about um that part of your Professional experience. Yeah. Yeah, I'd love to and I would like to take it actually a year prior to that If you wouldn't mind call it because I think it'll kind of set the stage So 2019 was like I look at it a very pivotal year, you know I was I felt like I was thriving in my company.

[00:28:19] I had been there, you know by that point almost 12 or 13 years I had advanced I was, you know, looked at as a top guy, I was the trainer, I was building coaching programs, I was teaching people. And so I felt like I had this upward momentum. And then I got this goal in February of 19, and it was, hey, uh, why don't you try to find a social media channel that we can get on that might, you for our associates to engage with.

[00:28:44] And so I tried, you know, Facebook, I was on Twitter, Snapchat, I tried them all. And then I kind of stumbled on LinkedIn in April. And, um, when I got on LinkedIn, I was like, wow, LinkedIn is, is changed. Like there's people on video here. Like it's not just a job site anymore. I'd noticed it started to really shift and I put a video out and I remember like.

[00:29:03] I was recording it several times because I, I was like, who wants to watch me, like, what are, you know, no one's gonna watch this stuff, like, I had imposter syndrome big, like, I was afraid to be on camera, uh, people won't believe it today, but I literally was in fear of that, and I remember putting out my first video, and it had like five views, all of them were me, You know, because I kept rewatching it and then, uh, I end up coming across a guy who was positive.

[00:29:28] And as, as you can tell, I like positivity by the name of Brian Shulman. And this guy has been a mentor to me ever since, but I saw his content. I saw how positive it was. I saw he was putting out videos and he looked like he wasn't afraid to do it. So I literally reached out and folks, this might be you today.

[00:29:44] You need to reach out to somebody. You need to reach out and say, I don't understand this and ask for help. It's one of the most, uh, terrifying, but one of the most rewarding things that I did. And by asking him for help, he planted some seeds in me when I got on a FaceTime call with him. He said, [00:30:00] tell me a little bit about yourself and I told him some of the stories that I've told you and I kind of shared what my goals were.

[00:30:06] And he looked me dead in the eyes and he said, brother, you need to keep creating. You're going to have a bigger brand than me one day. And for some reason I believed him, you know, he'd made that deposit and I believed him and I kept creating. And I remember, uh, he, he texts me and he's like, Hey, you know, you just passed me and followers, you know, you know, you just passed me on LinkedIn.

[00:30:27] And, and he's like, I'm so proud of you, you know, but, but it's people like that, that plant those seeds and make those deposits and see something in us. And that one conversation, the most powerful thing he said to me, uh, that I will never forget and it's something I encourage every single person that would listen to this or watch this, grab a notepad, write this down.

[00:30:46] He said, your goal every day should just be to inspire. One person a day because if you can do that, Jordan, you'll inspire 365 people a year. And if you multiply that, even though I'm not great at math, I know that I can make a big positive impact. That's profound. I love that. If you break it down so simply and how easy is that to do?

[00:31:09] And I think one of the things too is, um, that I inspire is to leave somebody in a better spot than where I found them. And, um, it could just be a smile. It could be a word of encouragement. sharing something that might motivate somebody. You never know. It's, it's great. And I love that. I love that Jordan and you are the epitome of that.

[00:31:34] You are, um, so giving and sharing and, um, and in your work today, um, that you're doing, you've actually Taken some tools that you applied that they didn't want to use right in your last job So why don't you tell us a little bit? About how that brought you to where you actually are today. Yeah. Well something that um, And hopefully people will will resonate with this But if you are at if you work somewhere, right you work at a company Corporate place or a union place and you start noticing things like problems And, and you know how to actually fix those, then you probably have an entrepreneurial spirit, you know, there's probably, you know, there's probably something to you and you can probably use that knowledge to, to monetize something down the road.

[00:32:25] And so like, I always have been like this. I've always noticed things and I've always given my opinions and they haven't always been used, you know, and, and anyone that's worked in corporate America. You probably raise your hand and say, that is me. Like I remember, you know, given these things and they're like, Jordan, we'll put it on the list for next year.

[00:32:44] And so I, you know, instead of me dwelling on it and being like, you know what, my company's not doing it. I just started giving the same advice to people I was coaching, you know, because in 2019 as my network started to grow on LinkedIn, I started to actually, you know, take the info that I was applying and help people with it.

[00:33:03] And I was doing this for free. And I think I may have told you this offline or maybe I have, maybe I was talking to somebody else, but I remember my wife came to me one day and she's like, um, I noticed you're spending out doing a lot of these phone calls with people, Jordan, and are any of these people paying you?

[00:33:17] That was like. You know, they're not actually, you know, and I said, but don't worry, it's gonna come back around. Uh, and, and so I think at the end of 19, I did have a couple of paid clients, which is, which was great. Cause I was really doing it as case studies for me to see if what I was doing on the platform to grow would actually work for them.

[00:33:38] And what I didn't know at the time is I was building my 12 week program, which launched a year later. You know, so again, I look at 2019, I was planting a lot of seeds. Right. 2020, those seeds actually started to grow because I was cultivating those seeds. And then now 2021 happened. I left on my own and now those actual seedlings are starting to grow and the harvest is starting to come.

[00:34:05] Does that make sense? But you can't plant seeds today and see them tomorrow because there's a cultivation process that has to actually happen in order for the plant to grow. To grow. There's oxygen. There's water. There's photosynthesis. There's all these things that have to take place. And so I look at the years like that and when you can kind of get a relationship with time that isn't so based on like transactions and you're more concerned like my, uh, you know, uh, mentor, John Maxwell getting to hear him speak a couple of weeks ago, he said, I'm not about transactions.

[00:34:36] I'm about transformation. And when you can look at it through that lens, man, that, That, uh, it's a big unlock that shifts it for sure. And so you, you are very entrepreneurial and you're seeing ways to improve and you found a method to work on LinkedIn. That can massively impact so many of people, but by growing your base and you took it to over 20, 000, your LinkedIn accounts that are following.

[00:35:11] Um, so how does that work and how are you sharing with others about how to do that so that they can share their stories and be more effective? Yeah, and I'd love to share you just quickly just like the metrics of growth not to brag about it But just to show you what's possible and then I'm actually going to give your audience some practical tips of things They can do today to actually move the needle.

[00:35:35] Is that fair? I love it. That's all right. So let's so let's go back. So let's go back in time. Let's do april of 2019. I think I had 7 000 connections or followers by the time Uh, december of 19 rolled around I hit 20 000 followers. So let's think about that so And that's, you know, just showing up. No one knew who the heck I was.

[00:35:55] I just started putting out videos and they, a lot of them were terrible, but people for whatever reason were watching them. Right. And, and so, but you, you can't just put stuff out. You're like, there's a process. And so that's really what I got dialed in is the system and process because I hit 20, 000 by December.

[00:36:12] The next year I gained another, you know, 20 something thousand and now today I just crossed yesterday 66, 000 followers, you know, in the matter of two and a half years, which is, which is crazy. And it just keeps, it just keeps growing. But I just say, Hey, as long as I keep creating and my goal is to make an impact, the network will probably keep growing, right?

[00:36:32] Because, uh, positivity sparks positivity and so does negativity, right? So think about that. You know, who you're, who you're around, or is it, are they people that are. Feeding into you in a positive way or the people that may be bringing you down and you may want to rethink You know who you're around. So that's an that's another little tip for everybody.

[00:36:51] So let's get practical here on LinkedIn so If you don't have a notepad right now go grab it because I'm gonna tell you some things that if you actually apply them You will see some results. Is that fair Colette? Love it. I love it. Alright, so, alright, so let's get started. We're gonna start with your profile itself.

[00:37:07] So your profile, most people look at LinkedIn profiles as a resume. Okay, that's their first mistake. Uh, now, if this was 10, 12 years ago, wasn't a mistake because it was basically a resume because this was a, But this is 2022 folks. And LinkedIn today is a massive social media powerhouse with almost 820 million users.

[00:37:30] So think about the possible attention if you actually started showing up, right? Which most people don't show up. Yes. And I do have a question because, um, there might be people that think LinkedIn is not my audience. Yeah. And you just. Maybe shift our perspective because people were there five years ago and it's a resume And today it's something different.

[00:37:54] So please, um, sure Well, so let me ask you this is if your audience, uh, you know has if you have like an audience with a certain income range Just just Based on HubSpot stats, and this was last year, the average income of a LinkedIn user is over 75, 000 a year, you know, so if you, if you have a product or service, if your demographic has to make at least a certain amount of money, that's a good baseline to start with, and that's not to tell you how many multi, you know, hundred million dollar, uh, earners are on the platform.

[00:38:24] There, there's a ton of them. So I don't care what you are selling. You could be selling blankets, you could be selling a chickpeas, you could be selling computer supplies. You need to be on LinkedIn yesterday if you, if you're not on there today. And if you don't have a company, a page created outside of your personal brand, you need that done yesterday as well.

[00:38:43] So what I want to do is really, is really talk about the foundations because the foundation starts within your, Actual profile because what happens most of the time that about summary is a copy and paste of a resume So if you if yours looks like that, you need to fix that like today And I'm gonna give you some some ways to do it I'm gonna give you the first three things that everyone that listens to this if you want to grow on LinkedIn These are the first areas you need to tackle So every profile comes with a banner image that you can upload most people don't know Upload an image.

[00:39:14] It just is this blue or gray background image. And I wanna really, um, ask everyone a question here. This will be obviously a rhetorical question, but, um, do billboards, uh, cost a lot of money or a little bit of money? A lot. A lot, right? If you know anything about billboards, they're expensive. Well, LinkedIn giving you a free billboard, it's a free billboard.

[00:39:36] It's this massive space that you have an opportunity to talk about who you are, what you do, and maybe a call to action on what you want your audience. Transcripts provided by Transcription Outsourcing, LLC. Does that make sense? And so that's the, the, the first thing that I would [00:40:00] tell anyone to do if you don't have a good, you know, headline image on your background.

[00:40:05] Okay. The next thing is it's, it's your picture. You know, if, um, maybe 10 years ago or three, like, let's say in 2020 you used to wear a suit every day, but now you're like me and you're at home in a t shirt, like don't put yourself in a picture with a suit on. You know what I'm saying? Like, because that's not you today.

[00:40:22] That might've been you. Uh, like a year ago, like no one wants to see, people want to see you like the authentic person that you are. So you better believe I've got a V neck black shirt on in my LinkedIn picture because that's what I'm wearing 90 percent of the time if I'm not wearing a regular t shirt, you know, because you have to be authentic to your brand and to your style and into what you represent.

[00:40:42] Does that make sense? Yeah. So I would really take inventory and look at that picture and ask yourself, is this a reflection of me? Today, or is this me? Is this like corporate Jordan with the suit on and like, you know, because I had to wear it, like, you know what I'm saying? Cause I told myself once I left corporate, my suits are going away unless my wife wants me to take her out or I got a wedding or, you know, a funeral, like something like that, because I just, it just wasn't me, but I had to wear it because I was in that environment.

[00:41:10] Does that make sense? Yeah. So hopefully that's helpful. The next thing I would look at is your headline text. So this is the text that's under your name. And so what I'm always encouraging my clients to do is that first line, your first opening statement of that text should be a service statement. And so if you were to go look at mine, mine says, I teach, uh, I teach entrepreneurs, How to build their authority and monetize social media, or I teach service providers how to build authority and monetize social media.

[00:41:42] And the reason why I gave you two different ones is you want to test this folks like marketing is all about testing. You want to actually test different headlines. Maybe you've got your podcast launch coming up. You want to put that in your headline and say, Hey, podcast launching this date because guess what folks, your LinkedIn account is free.

[00:42:00] You're, they're not charging you to advertise you and your brand on the platform. Okay. Now, outside of the service statement, what I would encourage you to do is add some keywords that you want to be found for on the platform. So if you go to mine, you'll see things like podcast hosts, you'll see speaker, you'll see featured in Yahoo finance.

[00:42:19] You will see MBTI certified practitioner. And then I even put a call to action like, Hey, follow me for daily positive content. You know, because I want people to know, hey, follow me if you want positive content, because that's what you're going to get. So first things first, the banner image. If you don't have one, you need to get one.

[00:42:38] Next is your picture. Is it really you as who you are today? And then it's that headline text, really getting that optimized because every word you put on your profile in any area. It's all SEO ranked on the platform. And so the more keywords that you have that are actually relevant to your industry, to the audience that you want to serve, the better is and the more visibility that you're going to get on the platform.

[00:43:02] All right. And the last thing I'm going to give, and this will just be kind of a bonus, like a pro tip, look at your about summary, read it. If it's written in the third person, scrap it. Like today, because you're not talking to, you're not talking as someone is talking as you, you are you, the, the about summary literally says about, and is it your profile?

[00:43:25] I'm pretty sure it is. So this is about you and the human that you are. So if you go read mine, you can read the very first line. I can tell you exactly what it says. It says growing up with the mom that had one lung taught me a lot about what real adversity is. That's LinkedIn profile. And if you like in hearing that Colette, does that make you want to keep reading or keep absolutely right.

[00:43:50] And so think about what context can you give your audience that actually lets them into who you are now. I don't ever pressure anyone to overshare. So this is up to your comfort level, what you are comfortable sharing, but. You need to live in that truth because here's the thing, folks, when you're on LinkedIn, when you're on Facebook, Instagram ticked, I don't care what platform you're on.

[00:44:10] We are dealing with human beings. There's a human behind every profile and the more that you can show the human that you are, the easier businesses. I love that. I love that. Really the human connection and being authentic and real and sharing your voice. And not what you think somebody might want to hear, um, uh, is very, uh, profound and it resonates and it's necessary.

[00:44:38] And, um, and you've proven it and you've, you've implemented the strategy and. You are now able to help so many people and I am really excited for you. I'm really excited for the listeners to be inspired by your story, your journey, and to kind of go look inside and see what their story, what their journey is and how they have overcome adversity in their own lives.

[00:45:08] And sometimes having that story, um, helps to propel you when you can look backwards and say, Wow. I have overcome so many things. Look where I am. Gratitude practice, being mindful and really giving appreciation to not just the wins in life, but also the hard times and the failures because they've brought us to where we are today.

[00:45:34] And so how can people find you? And I'm going to put all of this in our show notes, but go ahead and let people know. Um, where the best way is, and obviously on LinkedIn, LinkedIn. Yeah, yeah, definitely connect with me on LinkedIn. Follow me over there. Um, I'll just make it real simple. Just the one place. If you go to Instagram and just go to my, you know, Jordan J Mendoza is my handle.

[00:45:56] Just DM me the word blaze. Okay. DM me the word Blaze and I'd love to connect with you. I'd love to learn more about you. If there's a way I can add value to you or service to you and your business, let me know. I'm happy to connect and um, I really appreciate you Colette giving me the opportunity to share anytime I can hopefully inspire at least one person.

[00:46:17] That's what I'm all about. So thank you so much. 365 a year. I love it. And beyond when your profile is so large and people are able to access the information that you've created. Um, it's far beyond that. So thank you, Jordan. Um, before we go, I would just like to ask you if there's anything that is coming up, like one last imparting word of wisdom that you would like to give the audience.

[00:46:44] Yeah, so I would love to, and I've been ending a lot of podcast interviews with this because it's people have told me it's added a lot of value. So I actually wrote a quote in 2019 that I didn't know I would need in 2020 and it really has added impact in 21 and even here starting 22 it still is holding true.

[00:47:04] And what that quote is, and feel free to write this down, is it's the struggle might be real, but the good news is that every struggle has a free gift called a lesson. Mmm. Mmm. That sums it up so beautifully. I love that. I have a page of notes. Uh, from our conversation. I'm going to go back and listen to it again.

[00:47:25] Uh, nuggets of wisdom and life experience that you've extracted the amazing skillset and ability to help others today. And so Jordan, um, it's been an absolute pleasure. Um, thank you for coming on and being with us and, um, until next time, everyone. Be well.

[00:47:53] You just finished another episode of Limitless Healing where we dive into all things wellness. If you enjoyed this episode, it would mean the world to me if you would share it with your friends and family. Together we can plant seeds of hope that leads to transformation in our lives and the lives of those we love.

[00:48:14] Let's get healthy together.