Apr 29
Apr 29
Raj Jana:

Coffee, Passion, Wisdom and Gratitude

Raj Jana: Coffee, Passion, Wisdom and Gratitude Dr. Seku Gathers

Good People,

This week, I have the pleasure of speaking Raj Jana. Raj is the CEO and Founder of JavaPresse, the host of the weekly podcast Stay Grounded and a business coach who specializes in branding, turning ordinary products into extraordinary commodities that people will love.

He talks to us about the truth about American Dream, the pivotal moment that changed the course of his life and how he uses gratitude to as, both, the framework for his business and the foundation of his leadership style.

What most resonated about Raj’s story is how much wisdom he’s garnered at such a young age. His message also ties into a common theme that we’ve heard since the first dose of the Truth Prescription: stay true to you. Anytime you try to follow, what I like to call, a pres-prescribed prescription for your life, it’s not going to work. We’re all unique and special individuals, with unique and special gifts to give in a unique and special way. Tune in to learn how Raj tapped in, took action and carved out his own unique and special path.

Host: Dr. Seku Gathers

Guest: Raj Jana

Resources:

Time Stamps:

7:17 Professional Truth:

In summary, Raj’s professional truth is when you follow the American Dream it can become the American Nightmare, if the dream you’re pursuing isn’t your own. Raj came out of school and started working as a petroleum engineer, making 6 figures. On paper, everything looked great – except that he wasn’t very fulfilled and wasn’t experiencing life in the way that he wanted. All throughout high school and college, he worked hard and always had something to show for his efforts. Things were a bit different now, he realized that he’d have to wait 40 years until he’d have something to show for his career. It was through the sudden loss of his mentor that he was inspired into action. He began his company, Java Presse, in 2015, as a side hustle and when his mentor passed away, that side hustle became a primary career focus. Raj says that entrepreneurship wasn’t something he wanted; it became something that he needed.

17:00 Personal Truth:

Raj’s personal truth is about the benefits of using our relationships to discover who we are, not validate who we think we are. He talks about how being in a long-distance relationship forced him and his girlfriend to have a relationship with themselves and how much they were able to discover and explore during that time. Raj says using our relationships with others as a vehicle to create a relationship with ourselves is powerful because the way we show up in our relationships is indicative of how we show up in the other areas of our lives.

20:45 Wisdom

I really admire Raj. A lot of the wisdom that he has is something that many don’t gain until later in life, I was curious to know where that stems from. He believes it’s the result of his investing so much in himself. He has a lot of mentors and has learned to develop a strong interest in whatever he’s learning; one of those areas of interest is exploring himself and becoming more self-aware. He has a lot of curiosity about Raj, who he is, how he operates and uses meditation, journaling and visualization to tune in.

32:55 Gratitude:

I ask Raj what values does he communicate as the leader of Java Presse and what type of environment do those values foster? He says it all comes down to gratitude. It’s something that permeates the culture, their interactions and, at one point, providing an answer to the grounding question “what are you grateful for?” was the internal password for accessing company information. Raj says:

“When you are grateful, you cannot be any other emotion. When you are grateful, you feel connected to people. Gratitude is almost like this amazing cheat code you can use to get yourself out of any funky state, at any given moment.”

43:28 Yes or BS

  1. Greatness is genetic?
  2. Wealth is a mindset?
  3. Coaching is more challenging than scaling a business?
  4. Google can literally read your mind?
  5. Amazon is bad for the small business economy?
  6. Raj Jana is currently working on his next brand?
  7. Raj Jana never drank a cup of coffee prior to starting JavaPresse?