AJ Adams / CEO. Founder. Speaker. Author. "Compassion Marketing"

AJ Adams’ story is one of alignment, resilience, and transformation.

From his early days in ministry to becoming a top marketing expert, AJ learned how to combine faith, storytelling, and strategic marketing to create impact-driven business ventures.

In this episode, AJ discusses the pivotal moments that shaped his career, including his now-famous “Taco Bell Moment”—a time of financial struggle that fueled his mission to help others.

AJ explains how he built a thriving business by serving people first and ensuring his work always connected to a deeper purpose. Learn how you can get rich and give generously while building an authentic brand.

5 Key Takeaways:

1. Align your personal story with your business mission.
2. Serve first, even without expecting an immediate return.
3. Build systems that sustain long-term customer relationships.
4. Anchor your identity in something greater for resilience.
5. Wealth is a tool—use it to create lasting impact.

LINK: GospelPatrons.io

Paul Povolni, the founder of Voppa Creative, has been a creative leader for over 30 years, with clients around the world. He’s led teams in creating award-winning branding and design as well as equipping his clients to lead with Clarity, Creativity and Culture.

Headsmack Website

Transcript

Paul Povolni (01:00.9)
Welcome to the Head Smacked podcast. My name is Paul Pavolny. I'm so excited to have AJ Adams with me today. Another misfit that I've gotten to know and so excited to look and look forward to talking to him. AJ Adams is a 20 year veteran marketing expert to eight and nine figure companies. And then through his companies, he is on a mission to help people get rich and give generously. Well, welcome AJ.

AJ Adams (01:28.395)
Hey, Paul, thanks for having me.

Paul Povolni (01:30.192)
Hey, no problem. I was looking forward to this. I'm excited about what you're doing and I want to hear all about it. And so 20 year veteran in the marketing space, that's, that's quite an achievement. So tell me a little bit about the origin story of AJ Adams.

AJ Adams (01:45.854)
Yeah, absolutely. So I didn't start in marketing. I was in ministry for a long time. You know, growing up on a tiny island as a kid, I always had the desire to either be in front of people or communicate in some way. And through ministry, I was doing a lot of promoting events, organizing, that's where I really got started in marketing, brand ambassador, different audit and jobs. But where I got into marketing, and really started with branding first,

I was working as a doing a telemarketing job, not an entrepreneur at all. This was late, early late 2011. My wife was working as a basketball coach part time. And the coach asked me if I'd ever done motivational speaking. And she knew that I had done. I was a youth pastor for a long time, a lot of speaking. Do you ever do motivational speaking? And I said, sure.

So I started researching motivational speakers and I stumbled upon Les Brown, Tony Robbins, all the great names, Zig Ziggler, and I was mind blown. I saw this and I thought, these people are getting paid to talk. I didn't know this was a thing. So I dove deep into that, ended up giving that motivational talk to the varsity basketball team that my wife was coaching. It was horrible. I haven't recorded. It's grainy footage.

Paul Povolni (02:52.933)
Yeah.

Paul Povolni (03:04.439)
Hahaha

AJ Adams (03:05.138)
It was not a good talk. I ripped off some Eric Thomas motivational speech, but I dove deep into the world of motivational speaking and I started studying because I'm all about pattern recognition. I didn't know how to get booked, get noticed, get on stage or get paid, but as I started to study, I started identifying all of these people have a brand and you're a brand guy, I'm a brand guy, that's where I started. I started cultivating brand, learning how to position myself, get a message.

Paul Povolni (03:18.098)
Yeah.

AJ Adams (03:33.466)
develop a brand story. Well, fast forward within a year, I was getting paid more on stage for 45 minutes of talking than I was in a month at my job. So fast forward.

Paul Povolni (03:43.676)
bomb. And this was as a youth pastor.

AJ Adams (03:47.57)
No, this was, I went into schools. So I realized I can go reach kids in schools who will never step foot into a church and I can get paid for it and bring a real positive message. So I started doing that. And I went through some brand iterations that would make you cringe as a brand guy. I was the, I first started like just a generic motivational speaker. Then I was the black belt leadership speaker because I have a martial arts background. I had break bricks on stage and talk about mindset. Kids loved it, but traveling and speaking and breaking bricks is not sustainable.

Paul Povolni (03:50.306)
Oh, okay.

Paul Povolni (04:01.448)
Ha ha ha.

Paul Povolni (04:11.76)
Yeah.

AJ Adams (04:16.842)
especially when you have to carry the bricks back across the college campus. So, yeah, I, exactly, yeah, wow. Taking it way back, the power team. I was, I remember that San Diego Horizon Church, the power team came through, breaking big blocks of ice. Wow, that's, that just gave me a flashback.

Paul Povolni (04:17.269)
Hahaha.

Oh man, the power team.

Paul Povolni (04:26.307)
Hahaha

Paul Povolni (04:30.309)
Yeah.

Paul Povolni (04:36.508)
So, yeah, not always a good one. So, so where did, you know, for most people, the idea of public speaking is terrifying. They say it's like the number one fear. I think Jerry Seinfeld like once made a joke about it. Like, you know, the number one fear people have is public speaking. The second fear is the fear of death. And so there is.

AJ Adams (04:41.486)
Thanks for watching!

AJ Adams (04:47.295)
Yeah.

Paul Povolni (04:58.392)
No, yeah. And so most people would rather be laying in the casket than given the eulogy. And so, so with you, where did that desire, that unnatural desire for being on stage and speaking in front of people come from?

AJ Adams (05:13.634)
You know, it really is a natural for most people. For me, I always liked the idea of entertaining. For a long time, I wanted to be either an actor or a comedian. I remember saying to my best friend, I was with him and his mom, and she was like, you're always funny, you're always acting stupid. And she said, you might as well get paid for it one day. And so I started exploring that idea and fantasizing about it. And I was a musician that taught myself to play the guitar at 12 and been playing since. So then it was only being a rock star. But there was always this desire to be in front of people.

and deliver some type of value, I just didn't know what it was. And one of my favorite verses in the Bible says that man makes his plans, but God directs his steps. I knew the destination, I just didn't know what it looked like. So eventually in discovering speaking and getting in front of people, I realized I'm kind of entertaining, but not enough to be a comedian. I can communicate well. So...

Paul Povolni (05:45.284)
Yeah. Right.

Paul Povolni (05:54.366)
Right.

Paul Povolni (06:01.639)
Yeah.

AJ Adams (06:04.878)
It's just the process of evolving and opportunities I had discovered that I was good at speaking to people and then dove into it and really meticulously studied the great speakers of history to the point where I would find their talks on YouTube. And as I watched them, I would break them down and I would outline where's the transition? How did they use humor? How did they pull people in and create a moment?

and I got really good at it to the point where other speakers started asking me to coach them and then that moved into the space of coaching and then an agency. So speaking was really the foundation that opened up the door for coaching business partnerships agency because when you can communicate well, you can really reach anybody and get yourself noticed.

Paul Povolni (06:49.188)
And so did, was this all happening while you're still in ministry or have you, how did you already stepped away from it? Or like, what was that, that process? Was this kind of your first, was ministry your first job out of school or how, how did the evolution of AJ Adams happen?

AJ Adams (07:02.798)
Mm.

AJ Adams (07:06.29)
Yeah, so out of school is a funny is funny. Does it really apply to me? I am a middle school dropout after fifth grade going to public school. My parents decided to homeschool. Sixth grade kind of did school and then through the rest of it through high school probably did the equivalent of one year of study eventually dropped out got a GED. So

Then I went into ministry. I actually went and did an internship in Australia for a big megachurch there. And that's actually where I discovered that I had a skill for speaking. We were in a college, or a school campus rather, for the college program that I was in. It was an internship. So we were doing a day of games and things like that for kids. Well, they were getting all unruly. These are middle schoolers. And I just got up on stage and started talking to them.

Paul Povolni (07:34.173)
Oh wow.

Paul Povolni (07:52.615)
Yeah.

AJ Adams (07:55.558)
And apparently it was really entertaining. I captivated their attention. Well, work got around to the youth pastor. And then I was asked to go into a couple schools and actually do more of that. That was the beginning of me then going into youth ministry, which will lead to the moment I talked about with the coaching and motivational speaking. So it all happened at the same time. It was really intertwined. And then eventually in maybe around 2014, I made the full transition.

Paul Povolni (08:16.677)
Yeah.

AJ Adams (08:24.706)
where I was working a job, but then came out of a tough season of ministry and just went full into the business world and working a side job, having a business on the side, and eventually went full time in 2016 with speaking. And now we're here.

Paul Povolni (08:41.584)
Yeah. And so, well, first of all, I'm glad that you didn't use your black belt skills on the unruly students and you use your speaking skills to get them in place. And so, you know, the speaking full time, um, after that point. So what was, were you a, a topical speaker? Like what was the, um, what did you lean into when it came to speaking? What was your thing that you brought to the audience?

AJ Adams (08:47.896)
Hahaha

AJ Adams (09:00.843)
Hmm.

AJ Adams (09:06.246)
Initially, I was, and I think this is true for a lot of speakers, I was the generic speaker. Just let's get you motivated. And then I realized I have to have something real to talk about. So I invested in a coach and he taught me the concept or just made me aware of the concept of brand. And that's where the Black Belt Leadership speaker came.

Paul Povolni (09:14.245)
Yeah.

AJ Adams (09:26.374)
What do I have? What's my story? So I started speaking on leadership and tying in martial arts principles with that. So it was a lot of bigger conferences for student leadership organizations. That evolved then into just more speaking into entrepreneurship and more business type conferences, which is still what I do today. So it's been an evolution of identifying what is my brand? And really, what is my brand? The underlying question there is, what's my story?

Paul Povolni (09:41.629)
Yeah.

Paul Povolni (09:50.119)
Yeah.

Paul Povolni (09:54.918)
right.

AJ Adams (09:55.006)
So when I really found my stride between Black Belt Leadership Speaker and speaking to business owners and entrepreneurs was a season where I was just telling my story. My story of overcoming growing up in poverty. And that's when it really started to connect because it wasn't abstract principles. I was telling my personal story and then teaching from that. And then from there, I could teach leadership. I could teach connecting with people, relationships, seeking mentors.

Paul Povolni (10:04.658)
Right.

AJ Adams (10:23.302)
And that just really opened up a lot more opportunity that was much more authentic.

Paul Povolni (10:27.14)
Yeah. And so, so with, you know, you, you mentioned you grew up in poverty. Where did the, the motivation for yourself come in? You know, you said you, you did motivation. You did public speaking and helping people be the best. Where did that come from for you?

AJ Adams (10:41.602)
That's a really good question. You know, when I really think about it, there was always something there. Because I grew up on a tiny island, the island of Guam. My mom is from there, so the indigenous people are called Chamorros. So I'm half Chamorro, I'm half black, so I like to say I'm Chamoca. That's how I brand it. But there was always something in me that just didn't fit with the small island mentality. It's the same as a small town.

Most people stay there, they never leave, they might go on vacation, but they pretty much stay there. I always dreamt bigger, like world impact. And then at 19, when I went to Australia, I saw the impact that you could make with a great message, a powerful message, and then started speaking. So there was always something in me that just saw there was something bigger. And I can only attribute that to what God created me for, what I'm called to do so that fire was always there. I just had to find what that looked like.

Paul Povolni (11:12.773)
Yeah.

Paul Povolni (11:29.23)
Yeah.

Paul Povolni (11:32.473)
Yeah.

AJ Adams (11:38.054)
And eventually I did.

Paul Povolni (11:38.348)
Right. Yeah. Well, and I think with, you know, coming from a place where, you know, the opportunities were a lot less and having that be a part of you, you know, there is, there is a, there is certain people that have this, this nomadic or this desire for more ingrained into them. For some people it's, you know, it's a moment, it's a, it's a teacher, it's a mentor, it's a parent, it's a grandparent. It's somebody that

puts that into them and shows them the possibilities of, you know, there can be more, there can be more to where you're at now. And so, you know, as you kind of moved into what you're doing now, you know, you found a way to blend a little bit of your story into your speaking that kind of gave you the, I don't want to use the word gimmick because it can almost have a negative connotation, but it gave you the differentiator with what you were doing with the speaking by adding the black belt part to it.

And I think a lot of people, you know, they try and find a gimmick, but it's not authentic, you know, it's not a part of who they are, you know, they're just jumping onto a trend or they're jumping onto something that doesn't feel real. And so, you know, I think that's a, that's a good, um, head smack, or that's a good thing for people to think about is, is what in your life can you merge with what you wanting to, what you're wanting to do, like what in your past, what in your story?

Can you merge into what you're wanting to do? And so, you know, so you were doing the black belt, motivational speaking. How long did that last? And then what was next?

AJ Adams (13:14.206)
That lasted maybe a year until I transitioned to really just telling my story. And I want to touch on something you said and add to it. I was just on a coaching call with a bunch of people. I have a community of people who are creating offers. And the whole foundation that I taught was you have to start with your story. Because in a world where, and marketing has evolved over the last 50 decades, you look at the 20s and 30s was radio. It was print and then it was radio.

and then television, then the 50s and 60s was the golden age of television, and then the 90s was the internet. So it just keeps evolving. And in a world where we keep having all of this technology that makes it easier to reach people, easier to advertise, the only differentiator you have is your story, AKA your brand. So I teach people to start with your story, and what's amazing is they'll come to me with no idea what they should offer. And then we dig into their story, and it's right there. So.

Paul Povolni (13:54.225)
Right.

Paul Povolni (13:58.269)
Right.

Paul Povolni (14:09.5)
Yeah.

AJ Adams (14:11.17)
Yeah, that was a couple years of that part of my story then I focused really on my personal story and that just kept evolving into more storytelling and You know eventually really honing in on the power of just telling a story and that led into marketing and how I you know I approach everything I do now

Paul Povolni (14:27.165)
Yeah.

Paul Povolni (14:30.718)
So talk to me about Taco Bell.

AJ Adams (14:34.135)
Ah, yeah, the Taco Bell. So that was a moment. And I think I wholeheartedly believe in everyone's story, there's always something in you that's always there. But then there are moments within your story that are a catalyst to the greater story. You know, you think of a story as really an epic. An epic is a collection of

Paul Povolni (14:34.993)
Ha ha ha.

Paul Povolni (14:46.268)
Yeah.

AJ Adams (14:59.086)
smaller stories within a greater pervading theme of the story and the Taco Bell moment for me was When I was in ministry and this was two years before I transitioned out of full-time ministry to really focus just on career and business I Moved my family. We were living in Phoenix, Arizona at the time. My wife had two daughters at the time and they were young this was Late or mid 2012 we moved to Riverside, California to be part of a church plant

and I had just started my speaking business a year before, was barely into it, I had just transitioned to the Black Belt Leadership Speaker brand, and we moved to launch this youth ministry in a very young church. We get there, day one, six hours of driving, everything's packed in the U-Haul, sold everything we had, except for the essentials. And my wife says, hey, we need to get some lunch. And the kids are hungry, it was a long drive. So I pull into a Taco Bell, and...

As I'm ordering, taco 12 pack, it's like 15, 17 bucks at the time, I get to the window and I hand the girl my card and she says to me the words you never want to hear anyone say, sir, I'm sorry, your card was declined. Which is, it's embarrassing, it's humiliating. If you have money and your card is declined, it's infuriating. Well, at that moment, I realized as I pulled out of the drive-through in shame, parked in a parking spot.

Paul Povolni (16:11.516)
Wow.

AJ Adams (16:25.046)
I pulled up my phone, looked at my bank account, and I had two bank accounts at the time. My Chase bank account was negative 250. My other bank account was negative maybe $100. I have nothing. I didn't account for the bills that were gonna go through, final payments on things. I had one more paycheck coming, but it was days away. So here I am sitting, I have no money. We look around the car, and my wife's concerned obviously, as she should be.

Paul Povolni (16:36.766)
Wow.

AJ Adams (16:50.958)
My daughter's in the backseat. Okay, what am I going to do? Look around the car. We have one Ziploc bag with random change that we collected as it fell out of the furniture when we were moving. I've got $5.38 to my name. That's it. To be honest, Paul, I don't remember what happened between that moment and the rest of the day is a blur. I can't remember, but I do remember that moment realizing I messed up.

Paul Povolni (17:03.357)
well.

AJ Adams (17:17.106)
I don't know how to make money. I don't know how to multiply money. I don't, I haven't mastered money. I am a slave to money, because I'm subject to it, how much I have. And that was the moment I decided never again, I will never put my family in this position again. And I love to say from there, everything changed. No, it was another several years of struggle and trial and learning and obsessively studying before anything really changed. But that moment was necessary for me to realize, I can change this and I have to.

Paul Povolni (17:21.65)
Yeah.

Paul Povolni (17:32.561)
Right.

Paul Povolni (17:45.996)
Right. And there was probably a lot of failing forward, right? Yeah.

AJ Adams (17:49.51)
a lot, a lot of failing forward because failure is the only way you really learn lessons and I had to make a lot of failures.

Paul Povolni (17:56.184)
Right. Well, and I think people fear failure. They fear that, um, it's the end. They fear that it's a, it's an identity. It's they, they fear that, you know, I can't take risk because of the possibility of failure. And so for you, you know, that, that Taco Bell moment, um, started a series of changes and failures, but they led ultimately to a change. So when, when did stuff start coming together for you?

AJ Adams (18:27.102)
So that's interesting things came together at different times So that was 2012 for the next two years. We did ministry and just struggled incredibly I took a second job. I was getting 1500 bucks a month from the church. I was working at Then another $1,500, you know 12 bucks an hour at a full-time job working as a janitor, you know I'm scrubbing toilets every day. I am writing the floor sweeper, you know, it was a bony looking thing but every day I've got my

Paul Povolni (18:54.226)
Yeah.

AJ Adams (18:56.734)
headphones in which I think this is before AirPods, I had my wires hanging out my phone in my pocket and I'm listening to Les Brown. Zig Ziglar, I'm studying finance and Robert Kiyosaki because I identified that in that talk about moment, I don't know about money. I don't know business. I don't know finance. I don't know how to sell. I don't know how to build. I've been just kind of living life from what I knew. So I obsessively studied everything I could. And at the same time I was writing my first book.

Paul Povolni (19:20.264)
Yeah.

AJ Adams (19:24.118)
because I was documenting what I was learning as I was learning and implementing it. So two years later, things reached their peak.

AJ Adams (19:37.15)
And the moment was when the lead pastor called me into his office.

AJ Adams (19:45.866)
He sat me down and he said, AJ, you look like crap. And he, those weren't the exact words, he was very straightforward with me, which I appreciate. But he essentially said, I see your family struggling. The church was helping me as much as they could. He personally helped me financially. But we were at a point where it just wasn't working. I had put ministry in a place where I was serving people.

Paul Povolni (19:52.2)
Wow.

AJ Adams (20:15.094)
to the detriment of my own family. And it was a lesson I learned since then, which has led to the business slash ministry I have now, helping people get rich and do generously. Because in ministry there was fulfillment, but there was no money. In business I've made money, but there was a fulfillment. So now I brought those two together, which we can talk about. But at the end of 2014, that moment.

Paul Povolni (20:17.532)
Wow.

AJ Adams (20:39.858)
He said, I care about you and your family more than I care about what you're doing in ministry. This is not good for you. So we can't continue like this. So he fired me, but he did it in grace and love. I had the full support of everyone. So we stayed another six months as we figured out what to do. And it was all love. No shame. And then we left there and I said, I've got to go in. I've got to learn how to apply everything I've been studying. So I got into sales.

Paul Povolni (20:47.515)
Oh wow.

AJ Adams (21:05.278)
I sold cars for a couple months. I got into a startup company. I did door to door sales for business to business. Then I got into telemarketing sales, insurance sales. I just kept learning everything I could to make money. And it was tough for a long time. But then in 2016, 2017, when I started to catch some stride in the speaking business is when I launched full time.

Paul Povolni (21:13.714)
Yeah.

Paul Povolni (21:20.019)
Yeah.

AJ Adams (21:31.826)
left my full-time job, went all in on speaking, still more struggle, and then in 27, 2018, through speaking at an event, I caught the attention of a investor who had a business partner. His business partner was a guy who was big in branding. Nobody knows his name.

Paul Povolni (21:47.549)
Yeah.

AJ Adams (21:49.666)
They wouldn't know who he is, but they know the brands that he's built. Jennifer Lopez, Clothingline, Nicki Minaj, he was the president of one of Tommy Hilfiger's companies. He took Damon John's company, Fubu, from $80 million to internationally $800 million. We became business partners. We wrote a book together, became a number one bestseller. It's still available on Amazon. The

Paul Povolni (22:06.234)
Wow.

AJ Adams (22:15.114)
billion dollar branding blueprint. I ghost wrote the book, so my names, they're in small letters, but essentially wrote the book using his content and IP and then my own. And then that opened the door to working with celebrity clients. And that's when things really started to turn around. But I'd be lying if I said it was just perfect from there. There were still more challenges, you know.

Paul Povolni (22:19.76)
Hahaha.

Paul Povolni (22:35.85)
Yeah, yeah.

AJ Adams (22:37.15)
that same year, the only employee we had, because we were operating pretty lean, we had a hundred million dollar brand that we were managing brand and social media for, we had other clients that we were doing websites and brand design for. Well one day, he just decides, I'm not making enough money, I'm going to resign via email while I'm in Las Vegas, we're based in Phoenix, I'm in Las Vegas, doing an interview on my podcast at the time with Brad Lee.

Paul Povolni (22:58.438)
Oh wow.

AJ Adams (23:04.222)
And I get this email on the way there that he resigns. I call him, I text him, he doesn't respond. He completely ghost me, steals a company laptop. He's holding our clients hostage because he's managing the projects. And it was a tough season. It was, we had to basically start over. And several more years of trial and error. And this is what most people, this may be a head smack for most people. You mentioned people look at failure as its final.

Paul Povolni (23:07.248)
Oh wow.

AJ Adams (23:32.77)
I have a relentless optimism and stubbornness. I just, I kept going. I kept trying and trying and trying. And you have to, you have to. If you give up when you fail. Yeah, yeah. I mean, I'd never, I knew what was, what I grew up with, but I was determined that I'm going to build what I envision, because I feel that's what I'm called to do. So.

Paul Povolni (23:35.556)
Yeah.

Paul Povolni (23:42.744)
Yeah. And that was Borning U from the island, right?

Paul Povolni (23:58.845)
Yeah.

AJ Adams (23:59.698)
It was still a lot of trial and error from there. A lot of great opportunities, hosting masterminds. And we had a suite with Grant Cardone's second 10X GrowthCon ever. And Ty Lopez's team was in there. A bunch of other people who have now grown up, grown in their bigger names. But it was a lot of just the journey of learning. And the more difficult your journey is, I wrote, I would write these phrases for myself.

And during that season, one I wrote is, if you're not yet where you wanna be, it's because you're not yet who you need to be. So all these failures and ups and downs and mistakes, that's because you have a lot to learn. Well, it was easier for someone else. They didn't have as much that they needed to be, that needed to be shaped or to be learned. So I had a lot to learn. I was starting from zero, so it's going to be much harder.

Paul Povolni (24:37.021)
Well.

Paul Povolni (24:52.156)
And what do you feel is the greatest thing that you learned in that? And before we, you know, talk about where you're at now, what, what's your biggest takeaway from some of those, um, journeys and finding out who you are.

AJ Adams (25:07.582)
Um, you know, it's what I realized when things started to change and what I hold on to now and what I put my business around now. Um, and I believe every person is created for a purpose. You have something you're called to do. And it's, it's a matter of aligning the doing with the being. As a man, as men, we tie so much of our value or self-worth to what we do. And in business, whether you're male or female, it's about what you do.

And you can do incredible things and still be depressed, still be suicidal. We see that with celebrities. Robin Williams, one of the most hilarious, did amazing things for comedy as a genre, but he was depressed and he was suicidal and eventually took his own life. So the big takeaway is you'll have success when you shift from focusing on what you're doing to growing and focusing on who you're being.

Paul Povolni (25:54.045)
Yeah.

AJ Adams (26:05.778)
and who I needed to be was faithful to what I believe God had created me to do, to help people, to get rich, and give generously. So where it's no longer about money, it's about transformation, and the focus is not on the money we make, but on the people we help. And if we focus on helping people by giving value, people will pay for that value, we will get rich, and then we can give generously back from that.

but the internal impact is there and it's no longer about just dollars. Cause I chase dollars, chase the money, but anytime things have come effortlessly is when I focused on how can I serve and help people and love people.

Paul Povolni (26:44.356)
So when it comes to finding out who you are, you know, that's a tough thing. You know, that's a challenging thing. What are some of the, some of the things that you help people with when it comes to finding out who they are, what, where do you start? Like somebody comes to you and it's like, okay, I'm ready to go. I'm ready to do this thing. Uh, where do you start with them?

AJ Adams (26:53.004)
Yeah.

AJ Adams (27:04.374)
Mm.

I start, you know, my business is built around, my business is my ministry. So I talked earlier about how in ministry I was fulfilled, in business I made money, but the two never came together. You know, if you're in ministry, you're broke because there's not money in it unless you have a mega church. And then if you're in business, it's great, there's results, but it's not as fulfilling. And I remember a campaign I ran for a client where they had never done paid marketing. We took them from zero to $3 million in less than four months. And...

The most powerful part from that I'm most proud of is from that. They're part of the campaign was that for every deal that was closed, they were going to give thousands of dollars away to charity. Cause that was something that was important to them. So from that campaign, yeah, we did 3 million, 3 million dollars at a 40 X ROI. But more importantly, we fed thousands of families through the charitable giving that was a part of that campaign. So when I talk to someone, I go to their story, like I mentioned earlier,

Paul Povolni (27:47.101)
Yeah.

AJ Adams (28:03.402)
And for some people that's enough. But I fully believe, and this is how I live my life, there's a deeper level beyond your story and who you are. And the key is, where do you find your identity? Most people are asking the question, who am I? Which is fine. You can establish an identity, but for me, what I teach my clients and the circle of influence I have is not so much who you are, but whose you are.

And I'm a big believer if you don't have something to anchor your identity to Then you'll never really find that and it'll change So my identity is anchored in who I am in Jesus Christ That is who I am and from that Everything else stems and not a lot of people not everyone's gonna agree with that and that's fine But what are you anchoring your identity to? Because if it's fluid and if you're anchoring your identity to a group of people whose identity can change then you don't really have an anchor

Paul Povolni (28:30.652)
Yeah.

Paul Povolni (28:42.291)
Yeah.

Paul Povolni (28:49.509)
Yeah.

AJ Adams (28:59.634)
So I've anchored my identity, I teach my clients anchor their identity to something and someone who has never and will never change. And from that, you you're rock solid.

Paul Povolni (29:10.052)
Yeah. And so, you know, there was a time. So, so, you know, you, you started working and talking about that, but there, there was a time where, you know, you spend time with Grant Cardone. Um, was that a detour, a distraction or learning experience for you?

AJ Adams (29:31.838)
I'm really glad you asked the question. It's a really insightful question. Unfortunately, there's only so much I can say there until my non-compete runs out. But it was definitely a learning experience. Phenomenal experience, so many phenomenal things about how he's built his companies. And here's the thing, when you're...

growing and evolving and that's a process. Brands evolve and people evolve and learn. And you'll go through seasons where, I was in a place where at the end of 2020, business was really struggling. We had been hit hard, my father was sick, there was a lot of family stuff going on. And so I realized, I need to make a shift. I have skills, I'm good at what I do, but in building this business and coming out of the.

the how our business was hit 2018 when employee stole for us 2019 business partners did us wrong. They changed contracts on us. And the 2020 COVID, it was like three, four years of just hit after hit after hit. I made the decision I need to get stability. So I'm going to take my skills and go put them somewhere that I know I can make a massive impact and learn at the same time. So that was going to work for one of grants companies and there I was a director of marketing. So I led a team of fractional CMOs. I actually built that team. I rebuilt the team.

Paul Povolni (30:35.397)
Yeah.

AJ Adams (30:52.51)
all the client facing marketing strategies and frameworks I developed from my experience and then hired more experienced people to really beef up that team. They recruited my wife, she became the controller. So during our time there, we were able to make a really great impact, really transform some things and add a lot of value. But it came to the point where just the way of doing business and the philosophy of doing business no longer aligned with who we were. As we learned more about

There's what you see on the surface, and then there's what is the underlying goals and mission of an organization or a person. And as we learned that, we saw this doesn't align with who we are. So.

Paul Povolni (31:35.58)
Yeah.

AJ Adams (31:36.726)
We made the decision, we took a five day retreat, and we did what's called a vision retreat, where we just planned and prayed and prepared and connected with each other, and got really clear on what are we building and why. And three months later, we left. And we launched our company now that we have Thousand Hills Consulting, and we're serving clients in a way that we feel is more beneficial for them and us.

Paul Povolni (32:01.324)
So, you know, so it sounded like it was a clarifying moment for you of maybe things that you realized, maybe I don't want to do this, maybe, or maybe, you know, maybe it was a, a revealed a part of you that you didn't see. What, what was the greatest lesson out of that for you?

AJ Adams (32:19.21)
The greatest lesson was I can make a lot of money. Collectively, my wife and I, we were making multiple six figures and taking home multiple six figures. And I was selling, I was top three salesperson outside of the actual sales team. And I outsold them sometimes. Made a lot of money for myself and my wife made a lot of money for clients. But like I was saying earlier, at the end of it, I asked the question, well, eternally, what is this for? What's the impact of this?

because there was still this client that stood in my mind. They had the same faith and beliefs and they gave so much money to charity. And I was able to feel great about what I did in their business.

but more importantly how their business then impacted people. And so at the end of this vision retreat, my wife and I praying through things. What are we going to do? Where are we going? We're sitting in church that Sunday. So we started on a Monday. On Sunday we're in church. And I just felt like it was downloaded into me. What am I, I'm sitting there during the service and I'm thinking, okay, what am I supposed to do? And immediately I get the thought of Psalm 50, which is.

where God says, I own the cattle on the thousand hills. And the context of that passage is he's talking to his people and he's actually rebuking them. He's scolding them and saying, you're giving all these offerings faithfully, but I don't need your offerings. Don't you know I own the cattle on the thousand hills? If I'm hungry, I won't ask you, I own it all. I want your heart behind it.

Paul Povolni (33:30.309)
Yeah.

AJ Adams (33:46.75)
and that clicked for me. It's not about money. Money's not good, money's not evil, money's a tool. Just like a hammer isn't good or evil. It's what you use it for. And what you use it for is predicated on what your heart is behind it and how you view your relationship with that thing. So I pulled out my phone, started jotting down notes. I wrote up the whole business plan, the whole brand, all the business tenants of Thousand Hills Consulting in about five minutes. Just wrote it all out and then started building.

Paul Povolni (33:46.803)
Yeah.

Paul Povolni (34:12.029)
Wow.

AJ Adams (34:15.266)
So our mission because of that is to help people get rich so they can give generously. But there's two sides to it. We help them learn how to help more people. When you help people by adding value, people pay you, you get rich. And then from those riches, you then give generously, which then helps more people. So

Our mission as a company, and as my wife and I as people, is to help people to get rich and give generously by showing them building systems and marketing campaigns, doing the execution so they can help people, they can get rich and they can give generously.

Paul Povolni (34:48.62)
So I want to talk a little bit about a little bit more about that, but do you feel it was that moment for you was a. Come back to Jesus moment. Do you, did it feel like a, a comeback or a, um, a augmentation of what was already there?

AJ Adams (35:04.862)
it absolutely felt like a comeback. Because I felt like I was kind of Moses in the desert for a while. Like, okay, I just gotta, I gotta just get some stability financially, make some money. And I've learned all this stuff. I'm great at what I do. I'm better than most, but I'm just not seeing it reflected in what I'm generating, what I'm producing. So I went there for that season, but it was, it was really, I always wanted, and always had the lingering nagging question.

Paul Povolni (35:07.004)
Yeah.

AJ Adams (35:31.71)
I love serving people, but in serving people, and admittedly there was some bitterness and resentment, I've served people since I was a kid in church, and I've always been broke. Then I'm here making all this money, but I'm not as fulfilled. God, how do I bring the two together so that my business is my ministry, and my ministry is my business? And that was the culmination of that. So it was a coming back to Jesus, it was a...

Paul Povolni (35:45.146)
Yeah.

Paul Povolni (35:50.522)
Yeah.

AJ Adams (35:57.694)
Finally aligning and almost as if he said I've taken into I've taken you through all this and now I'm gonna reveal to you what I've been preparing you for all this time. And so that's where we're at now and that's what we're building

Paul Povolni (36:08.944)
Yeah. Well, it sounds like it's another black belt situation, you know, where you've, you, you merged the black belt experience with speaking, you know, and you found a way to merge those two and become, you know, fulfilled in what you were doing because you, you merge these two parts of your life, you know, the black belt, the martial arts training with public speaking. And it sounds like this was another version of that where you took your, you know,

AJ Adams (36:19.617)
Yeah.

Paul Povolni (36:37.784)
relationship with Jesus and you found a way to merge that with your experience in marketing and now you're doing what you're doing. So tell me a little bit more about you know that experience that writing down everything within five minutes. Was that prompted by just the verse or was there something else that happened in your life that really kind of pushed you in that particular direction?

AJ Adams (37:05.926)
It was really, it was really prompted by the verse. I mean, obviously, it's a lot of things. There's, I talked about transformations, and there's macro transformation, which was that a complete shift in what I'm doing, how I'm thinking, but there's the micro transformations, which are the small moments of revelation of epiphany that ultimately culminate. Yeah, all the little head smacks, like head, head taps, and then the big head smack. So that was the head smack moment. And it's kind of

Paul Povolni (37:10.13)
Yeah.

Paul Povolni (37:25.16)
Head smack. Ha ha ha.

Paul Povolni (37:31.907)
You're right.

AJ Adams (37:35.078)
Similar to the black belt, you know, it time that in the differences, whereas the black belt time that it was speaking, that was about what I was doing, what I did as a black belt. And then what I did as a speaker, conversely with this shift, it was finally graduating to the level of not what I was doing, but who I was being, who I was being in business, who I was being in ministry. I had done business.

Paul Povolni (37:56.221)
Yeah.

AJ Adams (38:02.202)
at Dunn Ministry, but what was missing was I was not being who I was supposed to be. So everything was thrown out of alignment. This was finally a culmination of all of those years and the shaping and realizing who I'm called to be. And from what I'm called, who I'm called to be, now I can do what I've been called to do. So yeah, it was, it was, it was a lot of things and that verse just anchored it and was like the final piece to unlock.

what it looked like and shaped the direction of what we're going now.

Paul Povolni (38:35.196)
But I think that happens for a lot of us. I think, I think there's always, at least it happens for me, like, you know, in the naming of this podcast in coming up with the tagline, um, for me, when I work with stuff, because I'm, I'm visual in a lot of ways, um, and sometimes verbal as well, like if I have a new idea, I've got to create a logo for it first. Like that's the first thing that I've got. Like what does, what's the identity for this? What's, what's the look and feel for this?

And that's, that's the way I work. I've got to be able to visualize it. And if I can't solve that, I almost feel like I'm locked down. Like I can't move forward until I had that. And so even in the naming of the podcast and the tagline, um, you know, that was important for me to, to find that, that anchor, that trigger, that catalyst. That moved you forward. And it sounds like that verse, you know, there'd been some wrestling going on in your life, but that verse was that catalyst that just anchored everything together and said this.

this is the way, you know, this is follow this path. And so, you know, when it comes to, you know, others that might be wrestling with, um, you know, combining, you know, what they do with a mission, what, what are some of the first things that you try and deal with for somebody that might be feeling that same restlessness or anxiousness about their life? What, what are you with the people that you help now? What do you start working with first?

AJ Adams (40:02.81)
You know, I asked for their story. I asked what are you passionate about? Because in that I'm asking questions that hear how they speak, hear what they're saying, and is it focused on doing or is it focused on being? And 99% of the time

Paul Povolni (40:06.951)
Yeah.

AJ Adams (40:21.026)
there's a there's a misalignment between what they're wanting to do, and who they're striving to be. And until those two things are alignment, nothing else will come together, it'll be confusing and blurry. So that's the first thing, it's the person, like what's the transformation that the person needs, before they can create the transformation mechanism that they can then market and sell to help other people. You know, you think of it like the fitness

Think of it like the fitness expert, before they can help other people get fit and lose weight, well, they have to do that. So, this is where so many people get into business and they think, well, what can I sell? What will people buy? Well, people will buy a lot of things and you can sell a lot of things. But if you want to have longevity and have integrity in what you're doing, then you have to start with, well, who are you? What is your story and what are you passionate about? So I ask people three questions. What are you passionate about? From the things you're passionate about, which do you have the most knowledge of?

Paul Povolni (40:56.058)
Right.

Paul Povolni (41:10.341)
Yeah.

AJ Adams (41:19.934)
And from those, narrowing down further, where do you have real expertise in that you have taken your knowledge and applied it, and through experience of application, you've proven expertise. Go do that. Because now it's a part of your story and it adds value to someone else.

Paul Povolni (41:34.021)
Yeah.

AJ Adams (41:38.174)
So a lot of people will teach, find a market that has a need and then offer them a product or service based on that need. You can do that, but if you really wanna be transformational, start with your story and ask from my story, who can I best serve? And that's a pervading theme throughout the entire Bible. There's the scripture that says, we overcome by the blood of the lamb, the word of our testimony. Well, the blood of the lamb speaks to Jesus' life and sacrifice his story. And then our testimony is our story.

Paul Povolni (41:54.087)
Yeah.

Paul Povolni (41:59.357)
Right.

AJ Adams (42:05.566)
So his story, our story is how we conquer and overcome. Well, if you take that same principle, and I just, I wrote a book recently called the Bible Business Blueprint. And the whole premise of the book is, if we believe what the Bible says, why would we not apply it not only to our relationships and our daily living, but to everything we do, including how we operate our business. All the principles are there. Who were you? Who are you called to be?

Paul Povolni (42:29.509)
Yeah.

AJ Adams (42:33.162)
What is the story and what has been put in your hands, practical skills, knowledge, talents, that you can then leverage to turn into a product or service that helps and blesses and serves other people.

Paul Povolni (42:45.912)
And most people, when they talk about the Bible, they don't really talk about it in the context of business. Um, so what are some verses or what are some principles that you've discovered that would surprise people?

AJ Adams (42:59.626)
I think what was a surprise people and I've so I put out things intentionally on social media particularly Facebook and I will put out things that seem controversial. So one thing is people have a complete misunderstanding of what prosperity means. Whether it's in church circles or outside. Most people are slaves to money and there's a there's a scripture in Matthew six that says you can't serve two masters. You'll love one and hate the other.

you can't serve God and money. That's the context. But prior to that, what the passage says is God saying that everything you need will be provided for you. If I provide for the birds of the air, the grass of the field, clothes, food, shelter, you always have those. Those are promised. Anything above that is a blessing. So we see this dichotomy all throughout scripture of

don't chase money. It's hard for a rich man to get into heaven. Money isn't everything. And then we see God blessing people with money and using it for good. So what happens is people don't look at the whole they want to take certain verses that align with what they already think and confirm that. But it's like anything else, you have to take everything in context, what was being said, who was it being said to and why. And the concept of prosperity, if you look at the Bible as a whole, is

Paul Povolni (44:14.343)
Right.

AJ Adams (44:20.022)
you will have everything you need in abundance to whatever measure aligns with what you're called to do and who you're called to be. Money is not evil. Money is a tool. They're righteous rich, they're unrighteous rich. So that's one thing, but then looking just at Jesus' life, just his life alone, if we take nothing else in the Bible, just his life, there is a five-step method that I see, and I wrote my Bible Business Blueprint book on this, that I see.

Paul Povolni (44:38.546)
Yeah.

AJ Adams (44:49.534)
he used for the Great Commission, or what you could call a great campaign. And so I build every marketing campaign based on that five step framework. The first step is you serve people. He would go out before he ever preached, before he'd ever did anything, he would serve people. His first miracle at the start of his ministry was to go to a wedding, and when they ran out of wine, he turned water into wine.

Paul Povolni (44:58.516)
Okay.

AJ Adams (45:13.694)
And then the master of the house, they gave it to him first. He tasted it and he was blown away. And he said to the groom, most people serve the good wine first. And after everyone's drunk, they serve the garbage wine. It's like you saved the best for last. Because in that custom, it would have been incredibly embarrassing to run out of wine at a wedding. So Jesus' first miracle was to serve. And we see that with the feeding of the 5,000, all throughout his ministry. When he served people,

Paul Povolni (45:14.354)
Yeah.

Paul Povolni (45:34.408)
Right.

AJ Adams (45:42.582)
He would serve them by solving a problem. We're out of wine, we don't have anything to eat, I'm blind, I can't walk. So he would serve them by solving a problem. To solve the problem, he would supply a deep need. We need wine or we're gonna be embarrassed and humiliated and our family's gonna be put to shame. I need sight or else I can't see. I have the woman who had a hemorrhage, he healed that. So he supplied the deep need.

So you serve, you solve, you supply, and in doing that, you save people from their plight. If you help someone who's homeless, you save them from homelessness. You save them from blindness or shame. But that's where most businesses stop. That's the transaction. Okay, we've gotten the conversion, we got our money, and we're good. But anyone who's in business, who has a thriving business, whether it's Jeff Bezos or...

Paul Povolni (46:18.969)
Yeah.

Paul Povolni (46:28.263)
No.

AJ Adams (46:37.322)
Elon Musk will tell you, you need to create some longevity, recurring revenue and increase that customer lifetime value. Now we're putting in business context. That looks like sustaining people. And so Jesus, after the conversion, sustained. He left and said, I'm leaving you now the Holy Spirit, who will continue to teach you, continue to fellowship with one another. And that's.

Paul Povolni (46:45.69)
Yeah.

AJ Adams (47:00.926)
So the conversion is salvation. The sustaining is the continual process of growing and learning and becoming more like him. Sinctification is what the Bible calls it. So you serve, you solve, you supply, you save, and then you have to sustain. And if you just look at Jesus' life and take those principles and apply it to your business, it will transform the way you do everything in business.

Paul Povolni (47:08.997)
Ryan.

Paul Povolni (47:15.866)
Yeah.

Paul Povolni (47:23.024)
That's awesome. That's awesome. So which one of those do you think people struggle with the most?

AJ Adams (47:28.95)
I think they struggle with viewing the Bible as a book that applies to everything in their life. First of all, it's a good book, it's good principles, but when you really submit to Christ and what he teaches, it will transform everything you do. But the thing that people struggle with, I would say the serving part first, because the way I approach things, for example, I have a community that I'm growing, just recently launched and in that I've taken every course I've ever created, all my best courses that I've sold for.

as little as $100 to $10,000. They're free. It's all free. There's no fee for anything. The only thing I charge for is my direct help in the implementation. That's how I serve. I will give you something to help you and Zig Ziglar said this is not a new principle. But Zig Ziglar, who was also a Christian, he said, if you want the way to get everything you want in life is to help other people get what they want in life. Like he was using the same principle.

Paul Povolni (48:06.276)
Yeah. Wow.

Paul Povolni (48:12.113)
Yeah.

Paul Povolni (48:25.189)
Right.

AJ Adams (48:28.23)
and he got it from the same place. So people struggle with serving and adding value on the front end without it giving them anything immediately in return. Are you willing to just serve people? No, even if you get nothing from it, because it shifts the paradigm of how you approach business. Give value that actually helps people and ask nothing for it. And here's the amazing thing, if you give people value, and we saw this in Jesus' life, the feeding of the 5,000, he fed them.

asked nothing, left, and they chased him down. They were so excited, so blown away by the miracle he performed and how he served them, that it says he actually had to escape because the crowd would have taken him because they wanted to make him king. When you serve people at a high level and just give them freely and they feel that and they know that because you're truly doing it, it's not what you do, it's who you're being. You can give.

Paul Povolni (49:10.832)
Well, yeah.

AJ Adams (49:23.37)
freely and do that. But if you're not being a generous person, people will feel that it's very obvious. When you do that, they will want more. They will ask, well, what else do you have? I'll pay you. And now they're throwing their credit card at you for you to give them even more value. And you went from helping people for free to now getting rich and then you continue giving generously.

Paul Povolni (49:34.727)
Yeah.

Paul Povolni (49:44.804)
So when it comes to serving, what's the first mindset block that people need to get rid of to be able to step into that?

AJ Adams (49:56.402)
It's the, you know, the Bible talks about the lust of the flesh and the pride of life. It's the shift from thinking about what you want and need to focusing on what other people want and need. And I've done, I've done that my entire life, but there's, there has to be wisdom in it. You, if you're doing it to the point where you don't have wisdom, you don't have a plan for how to monetize that in business, you'll go broke.

and you'll give and you're actually giving foolishly. You have to give strategically and intentionally. Again, look at the Bible. There's a scripture that says, don't cast your pearls before swine. The concept is there. There is don't give your pearls, your value to a pig. A pig doesn't understand the concept of what you're offering. So don't just give it out to everybody. Think about who is this actually going to help the most and give it to that person. I don't teach 12 year olds.

how to create high-tech and offers and do marketing and build marketing systems. Because for them, it doesn't make sense. I teach that to business owners for whom it holds great value. So there's wisdom in doing that. So you can't just take one thing. So people struggle with understanding the difference between the knowledge of what to do and the wisdom of who to be in doing that thing.

Paul Povolni (51:13.316)
Well, that's, that's powerful. Well, yeah, when it comes to the whole casting your pearl before swine, you know, it's, it's the idea that, uh, you know, pigs will eat anything like, you know, then they're not going to value it. They're not, they're not going to see it as anything more than, you know, they'll, they'll eat a stone as quickly as they'll lead a pearl, you know, it doesn't matter to them that they'll eat whatever. And so finding the, the right audience, um, that'll actually not only appreciate it, but take action on it.

AJ Adams (51:24.16)
Exactly.

Paul Povolni (51:43.184)
you know, take action on the principles, take action on the wisdom, take action on those, um, head smacks and not ignore them and say, Hey, I can handle this. You know, as their face is swelling up, you know, they're, they're being hit with, with the wisdom and, and the head smacks and they're just like, not, not implementing and then not reacting to it in the right way. And so I think, you know, that mindset and having the right attitude, I think helps them get over that. Uh,

that serving aspect of the principles. Are there any others within the serving that you find that you've got to work with people in their mindset on that, you know, because there's so much teaching out there, you know, from all kinds of sources, whether they're religious, faith-based or not. What's out of the principles that you've, the five S's, what's another one that people have to re-calibrate on?

AJ Adams (52:28.715)
Hmm.

AJ Adams (52:39.87)
Is the sustaining part? This is I mean really all of them but to pick one would be the sustaining part because that's where again it you have to Have wisdom and how are you going to do that? They've paid you But now how do you sustain that? How do you continue helping them?

And for some people, it's the tension of, well, I don't really know what else I have a value to offer. And so there's a lack of confidence there. And again, that goes to what are you doing? And not focusing on who you're being and who you're being is tied to, not who you are, but who you are. So again, it goes back to your identity. What is your identity? Where is that founded and grounded? And if it's grounded in a place that's shallow, well, then you're gonna feel like you don't have much to give. I had a coaching session

with someone just this week. And I said, well, what's your fear around creating an offer and going into business? And he said, well, fear of failing, fear that I might let my family down or invest a bunch of money and it won't work. And I said, what I'm really hearing is that you're not certain of who you are. And your perception of yourself is flawed.

Paul Povolni (53:46.92)
Wow.

AJ Adams (53:51.398)
And it's really self-deprecating to the point that you don't actually believe in yourself. You have to fix that first. Because who you're being dictates what you do. And nothing you do will work if you continue to be this person that believes you have little value to offer. So it really starts, again, going back to who are you being? Nothing will work.

Paul Povolni (54:16.933)
Yeah.

AJ Adams (54:18.854)
That's why there's so much mindset coaching and training. But I'm a big believer that the greatest mindset training is really not a mindset shift, but a soul shift. And that's what even the most successful people in the world are missing. And why you can have all the money in the world, and like the Bible says, what good is it to gain the world that you let yet lose your soul? In other words, you can get all this stuff, but you'll still be empty because you've not changed and experienced transformation in the one area where

Paul Povolni (54:27.478)
Hmm.

AJ Adams (54:47.466)
it matters most and that's your identity and who you are.

Paul Povolni (54:50.968)
So soul shift, you use that phrase, what does that mean?

AJ Adams (54:55.606)
So a mindset shift is shift from thinking one way to thinking a different way. A soul shift is, you know, I'm gonna go straight to what the Bible says. We are separated from Christ. Sin can't be in his presence. Without him, we're lost. A lot of people aren't gonna agree with that, and that's fine because truth doesn't require your endorsement. It's true whether you believe it or not. But there needs to be a shift, and people who've experienced it like myself, like you, can attest.

My life is different and is not the same since I acknowledged Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior. There's a shift that happens that you can't see from the outside, but the person who's experienced it knows I see differently, I hear differently, I feel guided in what I do, and I feel like I'm doing 1% while 90% is just falling into my lap, while 99% is just happening and falling into place. Well, it's not that it's falling into place, it's that your being

who you were created to be, like Ephesians 2, 8 through 10 says, we're God's workmanship created in Christ Jesus for good works that are laid ahead of us, that we should walk into them. Well, if I'm created to be this person and I walk in alignment with that, it says that all the good things are laid ahead of me and I just have to walk into them. So if I'm not experiencing them.

Paul Povolni (56:13.074)
Yeah.

AJ Adams (56:14.474)
I'm not walking in that direction. And if I'm not walking in that direction, it's because I've not yet acknowledged and realized who I was created to be. Therefore, I'm not being that person.

Paul Povolni (56:25.244)
So is that your anchor verse or your catalytic verse for identity, similar to your Thousand Hills verse that kind of anchored a thought? Is that your anchor thought around identity or the anchor scripture?

AJ Adams (56:40.61)
I'd say it is. It's the one that I always go back to. Because it really, it really says it all there. I mean, workmanship implies intentional craftsmen, intentionally crafted. I mean, if a carpenter designs a tool or a chair or a table, it's intentional. There's a specific intention and design behind that for the functionality. And it also implies that there's great attention to it. And there's a love behind it.

and it wasn't just thrown together. That's why this idea of evolution makes no sense because there's too much complexity in the human being for it to not have been intentional in man's creation. It just doesn't make sense. So that verse I feel like encapsulates the whole experience of man. You're created with purpose by a creator who's already laid things ahead of you that you should walk into them. If you align with that, you'll walk into them and you'll be blessed.

Paul Povolni (57:24.612)
Yeah.

Paul Povolni (57:36.9)
So who would this not be for? Like who would struggle with this? Where do they need to be mentally or financially? Or like who would be the person that'd be like, oh, this is not the right fit for you.

AJ Adams (57:45.585)
Mm-mm.

AJ Adams (57:54.054)
I've seen a lot of those people, because as I put out content, I'm gauging my audience, and I'm removing people from my audience, and adding people, and what I've seen is, it's people who really at the core have a contention with God. I don't want to accept it. I don't believe it. I'm an atheist. Well, the idea of atheism is an oxymoron, because...

your whole religion or belief system is based off of the non-existence of someone. Well, if that person doesn't exist, why would you base a whole religion on their non-existence? It's because at the core you believe that they truly do exist. And God's put in the heart and soul of every man to know that he exists. So this is not for people who have submitted to just do things their way. Who just...

Paul Povolni (58:46.258)
Yeah.

AJ Adams (58:46.546)
If you just want to make money, this is not for you. If you don't actually care about people and love people, it's not for you. If you believe that you evolved from monkeys, it's not for you. Go do what monkeys do. You know, this is for people who believe that, who believe and desire to have, to do something and be something that has eternal consequence. And they believe that there's more to life than just the years we have on this planet. But what they do here echoes into eternity. And they want to experience that and see that. Whether or not you grow up in church,

or you believe in Jesus, if you're listening to this now and there's something that resonates with you, lean into that because there's a thread that if you start pulling at it, you're gonna discover a whole different, it's gonna shift the paradigm of who you believe you are.

Paul Povolni (59:31.704)
That's awesome. So for the person that this is really resonating with, they're like, man, you are speaking my language. This is something that I've been wrestling with. I've, you know, I like what you're saying. I need what you're saying. How do they get a hold of you?

AJ Adams (59:46.754)
Simplest way where I can give you the most value at completely free is gospelpatrons.io. And that's gonna take you to the gospelpatrons community that we've built for people like you who want to discover a greater purpose in business and make a greater impact.

there's $20,000 worth of free courses and training in there. I go live every single week and give more training and there's nothing to buy in the community. There's absolutely nothing. If you want to work with me, you'd have to ask directly. Yeah, it's just massive value.

Paul Povolni (01:00:23.036)
That's awesome, man. Well, AJ, it's been awesome having this conversation with you and, uh, congratulations on stepping into this and finding a way to, uh, merge all of that experience you've had in marketing and branding and the journey that you've been on and finally finding a place where you can bring all that together and make it something special. Uh, so I appreciate you being on today, man. Thank you so much.

AJ Adams (01:00:46.442)
Yeah, brother, I appreciate it. This was this was fun. And I'm looking forward to seeing how the show grows. And hopefully people got a lot of value from it.