Episode 2: Joel Steele (Author) – The Best of New Jersey Podcast

Amanda Morrison: Welcome to the Best of New Jersey podcast. The podcast that celebrates New Jersey’s most influential figures and the communities that shaped them. Big names, real talk, real Jersey. Hi, I’m Amanda Morrison from Don’t Sit Home, and this is the Best of New Jersey podcast brought to you by BestofNJ.com. And today’s guest is author Joel Steele. Welcome to the podcast.
Joel Steele: Thanks for having me.
Amanda Morrison: So, you know what? I would love to just dive right into this because you have just launched a book called Life Switch. And please tell me a little bit about that. Let’s start with even just what inspired you to write a book in general, and then we can go into the different chapters.
Joel Steele: I tell people that I didn’t write the book. The book told me to write it. I was compelled one day to share everything that that I went through, the experiences, the highs, the lows, the good, the bad, and especially the ugly. And I actually wrote this book around this time 10 years ago. I typed it, I saved it, and I didn’t think about it for almost a decade. And then I was at a conference, and this thought just hit me like a ton of bricks. And I call it a life switch moment. And I just thought, I have to bring this book to everybody. The time is now. And it just shook me up and said, “You need to do this”. So, I opened up the document three laptops prior. I had to go find it, opened it up. I had no recollection of what I wrote, what I typed. And I thought, “This is pretty good. This might have some some traction here”. So, I started adding to it. And what was a 67-page Word document became a 310-page Word document that the publisher then said, “You’ve got to cut this back”. And I’m thinking, “How about you cut out 25% of your life?” You know, how do you do that? Writing the book was a wild adventure. But when I was done writing it, I just busted out in laughter and it was relief because it became what I wanted it to be. It was the vision that I set out for myself for how I can share this in a way that other people can be inspired. And that’s what’s so exciting to me, and that’s why I do what I do now. I’ve become an author and a speaker. I didn’t plan to become these things, but I feel most alive when I’m helping other people. I’ve helped people with fitness goals, financial goals, and now I’m helping people become the best version of themselves, and it is the ultimate high on life. It’s just a natural high, and the more I do it, the more I want to do it. So, I’m thrilled to be here with you today.
Amanda Morrison: How many lives do you think you’ve already lived so far?
Joel Steele: Yeah. Well, let me think. Okay. Well, so probably like seven lives so far, you know. And I’m not sure if we’re like cats where we get nine or or more. Certainly not unlimited, but no matter how long or short your life is or your lives are, you want to make the most of them, right? There are opportunities. Every day is an opportunity. So, you mentioned some of the things that I’ve done. Some have worked out well. Some have been a complete disaster. Some of the biggest failures I’ve had, like my restaurant being an epic blazing failure, turned out to be the best thing that could have happened for me. And you might think, how’s that possible? Because when one door slams in your face, there might be a window of opportunity that opens. And I’m just a firm believer that opportunity exists everywhere if you look for it. If you’re not looking for opportunity, you might go around thinking this world is not fair. You know, it’s it’s set up to get me. I’m never going to be successful. I’m a victim. But if you look for opportunities and you believe that they’re out there, I think you’re going to find them. And some of the other chapters or lives I’ve had even more recently is becoming a pro sports owner. I own part of two different sports teams. Unfortunately, none of of them are in New Jersey, but they’re not that hard to get to from New Jersey. But I’m just enjoying myself. I feel like in life there’s buttons you can press, levers you can pull, and you can make things happen. And that’s just what excites me. And again, trying to share this with readers and listeners of the book because when you realize how capable you are just waking up every day, you get excited about your life instead of being worried and wonder and fearful. You want to be excited to be you and see what can happen each day.
Amanda Morrison: So, let’s touch back even about you were saying your ownership with sports teams and they’re not New Jersey. You grew up in New Jersey. Where did you grow up?
Joel Steele: I grew up in Vorhees for most of my life. Vorhees, New Jersey, which is close to Cherry Hill and close to Philadelphia.
Amanda Morrison: Okay. And where do you live right now?
Joel Steele: I live in a town called Columbus, which almost no one’s heard of.
Amanda Morrison: The Columbus Flea Market?
Joel Steele: Yeah, unfortunately, that’s what we’re known for.
Amanda Morrison: I have been to Columbus Flea Market. I don’t know how much else I’ve been to in Columbus, but I’ve definitely been there. Even I know in the book part of I mean, you’ve talked a lot of different things and you talked about getting a ring. I’ll ask you specifically about that. But so growing up in New Jersey though, you mentioned the 76ers, you mentioned the Giants, but you’re also talking about kind of the challenges of Giants. I mean, the Giants are still going through some challenges with their season, but you talked about, you know, past teams, too. So, who are your sports teams as being a New Jersey resident grow when you were growing up?
Joel Steele: Well, so as a kid, I rooted for the Sixers, the Eagles, the Phillies. Okay. And those were the teams.
Amanda Morrison: And even now, so the Giants were just a mention, but you were not a Giants fan.
Joel Steele: So, you know, since no one’s listening here, so just me and you here, right?
Amanda Morrison: Oh, yeah. Absolutely.
Joel Steele: I can go either way. I can go Philly sports or New York sports. And that’s what’s cool about living in central Jersey or close to central Jersey. We can go either way. We can go north or south. And so when the Giants or the Jets, more so, the Giants are doing well, we root for the Giants, too. Because the reality is people are are more positive. They’re happy when their sports teams are doing well. And I like to be around positivity. So, one of the cool things we do sometimes is on a Sunday if it’s Eagles versus Giants, we go to a sports bar and it’s like no matter what happens, half the bar is screaming for their team and it’s fun. But sports are fun because it lets you escape out of your own world sometimes, have fun, have something to root for and get excited about. So, either which way, but mostly I’ve grown up being a Philly sports fan.
Amanda Morrison: So, you talk about owning two different teams. So, in part of your book, you’re talking about you were really you were excited about even just the knowledge before of being able to get a championship ring. So, let’s dive into what two teams do you own and also h how do you become a part owner of a sports team? Because, you know, we’re going to talk about, you know, the unfortunately the failure of your restaurant and the different path you took and then all of a sudden you have an NBA championship ring. I mean, those are it’s one extreme to the other.
Joel Steele: Yeah. It’s not something that I wrote down on my goal sheet to one day have a championship ring. I played sports, but never on a professional level, not even in college. And ultimately, I just had this vision of getting involved with sports. I know sports, you can only play for a certain period period of time. Even if you are the best or great at what you do, it’s maybe maybe a 10-year career. So, by the time you’re in your late 20s or early 30s, that career is over. So, by the time I was able to see a little clearer once my financial business got off the ground, I really missed sports. I missed that competitive nature and I knew I couldn’t really play it anymore, but I could still be around it and feel that and have that rub off on me. It’s an exciting feeling like we just talked about rooting for your sports team. You get this adrenaline rush even though you’re not on the field. So, I started to pursue how can I get involved with basketball. So, I started local. I started with the Sixers back in 2012 when they were absolutely terrible. They were they were tanking. They were trying to lose and they were really good at it and nobody was going to the games. They were giving away tickets and people didn’t even want to go. So, I approached the team through a business broker about owning part of the team. Ultimately talked to their G-League team, but it didn’t work out because they changed what they were doing. They just shut things down. They said we need to work on rebuilding our brand and our image. That didn’t work out. But I kept that vision alive and trying to find out where can I get involved. So, the two teams that I own part of are the Grand Rapids Gold. That’s the NBA G-League affiliate of the Denver Nuggets. And then I also own part of a soccer team called the RIFC, Rhode Island Football Club. They’re in the USL Championship League and they made the playoffs for the second year in a row, which is super cool. Right now they’re they’re not this minute, but right now they’re playing in the playoffs trying to win the championship and it’s just fun. You you’re behind them. You’re rooting for them. They’re rooting for you. It’s amazing the ownership groups. But I got the NBA championship ring because of the Nuggets relationship.
Amanda Morrison: You just didn’t wear it here.
Joel Steele: I didn’t bring it. I didn’t know if I should. It’s not a New Jersey, New York or or Philly ring, but it’s just really the coolest thing. And I use it now not to say, “Hey, look at me”. But I use the ring to tell people two things. And I mentioned it right in the prologue. I’ve come a long way from where I started. And anything is possible. And if there’s one thing you remember about me, it’s that last part. Anything is possible. I truly believe that. And the ring to me tangibly showcases that. This guy from New Jersey who never played pro sports has a championship ring. That tells you that anything is possible.
Amanda Morrison: What are some of the lessons? I mean, even what do you think were some of the lessons you learned even playing sports in high school that helped motivate you one to well even even life lessons in general, but two that you’re like, I still want to be part of this world other than just the excitement of being part of a championship team?
Joel Steele: Yeah. Well, our team was pretty good in high school and I didn’t play that much, but I stuck with it. And it was hard at times because I rode the bench a lot of times, but I love the experience. I love the bonding with teammates. We had the best times during practices and during games. We had this crew, the benchwarming crew, where most of the time we didn’t play, but we just laughed. We had fun. We joked around. We we had a good time on the bus rides. But we all stuck with it for four years. And all these years later, that still sticks with us that we did it. We persevered and we were rewarded for that with being part of a winning team with a winning organization. And even though we weren’t on the field a lot, it was just a really cool experience that never gets old. But I learned so many lessons playing four years of football that I actually put a bunch of them in the book. I think there’s four or five lessons that I talk about that I don’t forget to this day. And one of them is I I literally run when I’m going places. Like even when I’m dressed up in a suit, I can’t help it. If I’m trying to get somewhere, I want to get there ASAP. Also, I learned uh being a receiver and a tight end uh tuck and turn. My receiver coach would always yell tuck and turn. And I took that as secure what’s important to you before proceeding ahead. And a lot of people, they don’t do that. They don’t value things in their life. They just go forward. They want more. They’re thinking about the next thing. And sometimes they overlook the important things and people right there in front of them. So, you never want to fumble a good relationship or a good asset because you’re thinking about what’s next.
Amanda Morrison: Talk about why you chose that story to start your book out.
Joel Steele: Yeah, you know that the story that I opened the book with is a running scene essentially. And I saw this as if this was going to be a movie someday. And if I came up with an alternative title or had the name of a movie, it would be running from average. Because that’s what I felt like I was doing most of my life for the first couple of decades. I was running from something and that was being mediocre. Being average or below average in absolutely everything. And it drove me nuts. And this experience I had as a young kid was the first time in my life that I accomplished something really unthinkable. But I set this goal. I had a clear vision. And I didn’t think about if I was going to do it. It was a question of when I was going to do it. And I believe that I accomplished this goal really early on. And that ultimately became the thought that I hung my hat on to this day that that experience told me. It showed me physically that anything was possible. If I set out this goal, then I can do it. And that’s the message I’m trying to spread. But that’s that experience. Even though it was so long ago, it’s still super relevant. And so as I went through being a teenager and a young adult, I just clung to that vision and that experience and said, you know what, I did that. I accomplished something amazing. I can do it again. And ultimately, I built a streak of accomplishing amazing things. And when you get on a streak, like in sports, it builds momentum. And you don’t want to break that streak. And so the streak almost takes on a life of its own. And up through my restaurant, I built this amazing streak of doing all the things I said I was going to do. But when the restaurant failed, it broke that streak. And I started to question for the first time in years, is anything really possible? But I was able to rebuild, start a new streak of success. And to this day, I continue to try to build streaks in my life, whether it’s uh business streaks, uh it’s a physical streak like working out. I not that long ago I went on a streak trying to see if I can break my record of 38 straight days working out and I ended up doing a streak of 388 straight days of working out. And it showed me that again like wow I I didn’t know I can do that, but I just did it one day at a time. And these are not miraculous things like I wasn’t struck by lightning and I’m here to tell you what happened. I’m telling you that you or anyone out there you can go do something today and tomorrow you’re on a streak. Keep that streak going. See how far and how high it can go.
Amanda Morrison: But what started you from being like, you know what, I’m going to own a restaurant because did you have any restaurant experience?
Joel Steele: I had no restaurant experience. I was trying to get a job as a kid. I tried to work at Boston Market and other places and I couldn’t get these jobs. And there’s some stat I think 90 some percent of people have worked in a restaurant at some point. But that wasn’t me. I just couldn’t get a job in a restaurant. But I blended my passion of you know things I wanted to do and looking for things I was good at. And the reason I started the restaurant was a similar idea. A life switch moment happened where I thought I want to be an entrepreneur. I want to have my own business. What am I what am I knowledgeable about? What am I what am I good at? And I was really knowledgeable about healthy eating and physical fitness. And it just hit me one day again like a ton of bricks. You need to open up a healthy fast food restaurant chain. And I decided to do that. And when I decide to do something, I’m gonna do it. If I say it, I’m going to do it. That doesn’t matter. If I’m out at three in the morning hanging out and I say something, doesn’t matter. There’s nothing off limits. If something’s going to get done and I say it’s going to get done, I’m doing it. It’s almost as good as done. That’s just something about me personally. But I decided I was going to do that, but it took a lot of time. So, I talk all about the experience of concept or idea to reality to opening up a restaurant. Why did I choose it? Maybe because I was a little crazy. Maybe because I wasn’t familiar with how difficult the restaurant industry really was. I think it’s a 90% failure rate. And it is. I mean, I ultimately end up ended up being one of those statistics. But I was just so excited to bring healthier eating to people around the country. McDonald’s, Burger King, all these other enemies, if you will, were easy to get, super cheap. And I thought, this isn’t fair. This isn’t right. That people are getting this food because it’s cheap and it’s convenient and they’re sort of poisoning themselves. They’re they are doing things and putting things in their body that are going to ultimately hurt them. And so I tried to make a better option for that. So passion is what fueled that. And even though it didn’t work out, I’m still passionate about that. And I would love for somebody to create some kind of restaurant chain where they can start to eat healthier and better quality food because ultimately what you put in your body is the fuel that you run on.
Amanda Morrison: What do you think was your biggest lesson that you took away from that experience?
Joel Steele: I took away so many. I could write a book. Oh, I did.
Amanda Morrison: You did.
Joel Steele: Uh but so many. Uh, number one, I would say the number one lesson is when you feel like you failed and the game’s over and you lost, it’s only over if you don’t get back up. It’s only over if you quit. And when you think about sports, the best games are the ones with those comebacks late in the fourth quarter. Game-winning shot, game-winning touchdown pass, or field goal. And so, I felt that my life was over, but I realized I was only 24 years old. It can’t be over. It feels like it. The amount of crushing debt I had made me tell myself, hey, this is it. You tried. Then I thought, wait a second. I know my fire is out. This passionate fire I had, but I still have this pilot flame lit. And the more I focused on that and focused on the fact that I control how my life turns out, more than anything else, even though I was buried in debt and negativity, I just took one step one day at a time. And the more I did that, the more I built this positive streak of saying, “Hey, this this I think is this is possible. Hey, maybe I can do this. Oh, yeah, anything is possible. Let’s keep doing that. Let’s keep proving it. Let’s see what we can do”. And amazingly, in two years time, I was able to dig out of that debt in a totally new business. And the interesting thing is the financial service business has a similar failure rate to the restaurant business, 90% failure. But I didn’t look at it that way. I looked at it like I was drenched in failure already. And there was a 10% chance I could make this work. And if I would have stayed in the restaurant industry or tried to find another job, I had a 0% chance of success. So 10% sounded pretty good at the time.
Amanda Morrison: Okay. Was the restaurant in New Jersey as well?
Joel Steele: The restaurant was in Philadelphia.
Amanda Morrison: Okay.
Joel Steele: I wanted it to be in California. That’s another story, but I figured let me start there.
Amanda Morrison: You just wanted to own a sports team that was in a different state.
Joel Steele: Yeah, that would come later. But that was a very long detoured way to get to this. But again, it all worked out because I didn’t quit. And that’s the message is don’t quit. Your life can be hard. It will be hard. Like a movie. The best movies aren’t the ones where the the hero just constantly wins. You need to have adversity. You need to get knocked down. You need to become the underdog so you can then come back and win. And that’s what people want to see in movies, in sports teams, and in their own lives. So be the hero in your own story. And you have to realize that you’re writing that story every day. Whether you think so or not, you you are. You’re living a life. How do you want it to work out? You have to realize that you are writing the story and you’re the main actor or actress in that story.
Amanda Morrison: What was kind of a moment that with one of the mistakes that either were a life-changing event in your life or a mistake that you had made in your past that you really think helped kind of put you on the straight and narrow to being like I need to be grateful for what I have or the ability or just even being grateful for the ability to want to better yourself and be a you know you talk a lot about being not wanting to be average. What was that driving factor that you know was saying I don’t I shouldn’t screw up again because I won’t be able to be better than average if I keep doing stuff like this and what inspired you just to keep going forward?
Joel Steele: Yeah. Well, I went on a negative streak. I started to do some bad things, get into petty crimes with with petty people. And the more I did that, the more I felt like I fit in and belong with this group. And I was at the time still trying to learn who I was. I was pretty young. I was in my teens still, like you said. And I was torn between doing these extraordinary things that I believed I could do but by myself on isolation or hang out with people and have fun and feel like I’m part of the crew. And ultimately I learned that I don’t I don’t need to be part of a crew that’s bringing me down. Especially being part of a positive crew is fine, but a lot of things in the entrepreneur world you are on your own island. You are doing your own things. And even as an athlete, you are training like no one can train for you. You can train with other athletes, but you’ve got to put in the work on your own. And so, at that time, I didn’t really know which way I wanted to go. Did I want to excel by myself or did I want to just have fun? And at the time, I wanted to just have fun. But I didn’t realize it until it was a little too late that I had become a bad kid. You know, I thought, look at these bad people, what they’re doing. And then I looked in the mirror. I was like, “Oh my gosh”. Like, I thought I was a good person. And then I had this realization, this life switch moment that I’m not a good kid anymore. Why? Why am I a good kid? I think I am, but based on all the things that I’ve been doing lately, I’m not. And it was, oh my gosh, that this is not me. I’ve got to slam on the brakes, do a 180. And fortunately, I got scared straight before I was 18. I almost got put in jail. And in fact, I had I had a cop bring me into the police station in New Jersey. And he said to me, he said, “Which cell do you want?” He didn’t say, “Do you want to go to jail someday?” He said, “Which cell do you want to be in?” And that was the worst decision I I would ever have to make in my life. You know, jailblock A or jailblock B. Neither of which is a good option. But then he said, if you don’t change things, this is where you’re going to be. And that moment just scared me straight. And it also was a huge moment for me because I took something from that. And like I mentioned before with opportunities are everywhere, the opportunity was that I had hurt people from stealing things like radar detectors and radios and and things that apparently have no value anymore. Um, but I felt so terrible, so worthless after hurting people that I decided that I needed to help people and I needed to make up for a lost time. And to this day, I need to help people like I need to breathe. If I’m not doing something positive for other people besides myself, I feel guilty. I feel empty. And so that’s a big part of the book. That’s a big part of why I continue my financial practice and I try to put others out there and give them a chance to thrive and do the things that I’ve done in their own life. I’m not telling people go out and get a championship ring, go out and write a book or start a business. I’m just saying find out what makes you feel alive. Figure out what you’re good at, what you love doing, and try to find something you can do to spend the bulk of your time doing exactly that. And you’ll be living a thriving life. You’ll be happy. You’ll be excited to wake up and be yourself. So, these things wouldn’t have happened if I didn’t go through these downer moments of going through being unhappy, being down, feeling worthless. And that’s what I was saying before. You can take something from anything in your life, especially those negative experiences.
Amanda Morrison: Like part of that story, did your wife play a part in? I know I’m sure it wasn’t you didn’t just jump into having I mean actually you were I mean I guess you were still you were you were dating when the restaurant did not do well. So what part of that story did did she play a part in in supporting you? Because I know it’s very hard when you you know go through a failure and you are you know have someone relying on you and it doesn’t go very well.
Joel Steele: Yeah. Yeah.
Amanda Morrison: Oh, sorry. Go ahead.
Joel Steele: Well, she was there. We were dating. We met in college at Stockton College, uh, which is right outside of Atlantic City. And I was just full steam ahead. I had blinders on, but she was there the whole time. And ultimately, when the restaurant failed, she became the breadwinner. And she was working at a bank making $30,000 a year. But that was really helpful at the time. It helped put food on the table. It helped put a roof over our head. And she was there for support. And sometimes just listening, just knowing that she was there, that helped me out a lot because when everything fell apart, I needed to find a why. Why am I trying to dig out of this? You know, why why should I not just float to the bottom of the ocean and disappear? Who who cares? And she was somebody who cared. And just that presence of her being there, I didn’t want to let her down. I didn’t want to become a broken man. And so even though she didn’t work in the restaurant or help me with the restaurant, she was there personally to let me focus on her to say I, you know, you you are something and someone valuable in my life. I talked about earlier appreciating your assets that you have, holding on to the ball and not fumbling it. And even though my business had crumbled and I had less than no money, I did have her. And that was one of those lights that started to become brighter and brighter over time. And I said, “I do have something worth fighting for and living for”. And so, she was a huge support there in the background, even without saying or doing much of anything. And ultimately, that $30,000 a year salary, which wasn’t a lot and isn’t a lot, it was enough though to allow us to continue so she could uh work and I could work on rebuilding the life that I wanted to have for us.
Amanda Morrison: So, how long have you been married?
Joel Steele: 21 years now.
Amanda Morrison: And do you How many kids do you have?
Joel Steele: I have two.
Amanda Morrison: Okay. And you are still living in New Jersey, correct?
Joel Steele: Correct.
Amanda Morrison: So, what made you stay in New Jersey?
Joel Steele: New Jersey is incredibly convenient. You can get anywhere that you want to get to. We’ve got multiple airports. We’ve got the trains. You’ve got Philly right over here. You’ve got New York over there. You can get down to DC. Beach Mountains. You can go anywhere you want to go. So, it’s expensive to live here, but I can’t think of a place that’s more convenient to get to anywhere in the world you want to get to.
Amanda Morrison: Are there any memorable spots that you either whether it’s a restaurant or a park or any location growing up or places that you like to take your kids?
Joel Steele: Well, I love the beach. Okay. We go there quite a bit. We love LBI, but we’ve been to almost every beach town. I grew up going to Ocean City, New Jersey, and ultimately LBI was the perfect fit for us because there’s things you can do as a as a kid, as a teenager, as an adult. Good restaurants, good bars, good entertainment. It’s not that far away. Uh, you can go you can go to any of these towns and find different things. If you want to find that old world charm, you can go to Cape May. If you want to go to a party scene, you might want to go to Avalon depending on where you go. But you just have so many options. It doesn’t it doesn’t get old.
Amanda Morrison: There’s just I mean there’s so many wonderful beach towns in this area.
Joel Steele:I think I think I used to call it the shore and my wife got on my case because she’s from Forked River and she thought the shore was doesn’t make any sense. So I think I converted to beach. So, just to be official about it.
Amanda Morrison: Do you have any other New Jersey debates with her? Like Taylor Ham or pork roll or anything else that you guys have had to compromise and agreeing on?
Joel Steele: Nothing with the pork roll. And that that’s a bigger thing than I thought it was. I mean, that is that is how intros are made sometimes on emails and it just takes on a life of its own. Uh, but no, nothing else specific. We we’ve always loved the fact that we can be in the city, at the beach, in the mountains. And so we blend our trips, our family trips. We’ll hop in the car and do a road trip and then we’ll rotate that with hopping on a plane and going somewhere. So again, it’s just incredibly convenient to be here.
Amanda Morrison: If there was one lesson that you wanted to someone to take away from your book or one piece of inspiration, what do you think that would be?
Joel Steele: The key is that no matter where you are in your life now, you can get to where you want to be. Whether you’re in your 20s, 40s, or even 60s, it’s not over. It’s only over if you tell yourself it’s over. So every day we’re making choices. Choice A, which is usually the simple, comfortable choice, or choice B, maybe the harder climb, the difficult choice, but the one that has the huge payoff. So, I encourage people, keep choosing option B. And just because you’re here today doesn’t mean you need to stay here. If you want to get over there and up there, do it. It might take time, but it’s worth it. Your life isn’t over. No one knows how long they’re going to live for. So again, whatever your age is, if your life is not what you want it to be, if it’s not an extraordinary life or what you would consider an extraordinary life, you still have time to make it that and the choice is yours. It’s up to you.
Amanda Morrison: You talk about continuing to involve what’s next for you? So I, you know, the fact that you’re doing finance work now, you’re part owner of two different teams. Do you have you’re an author, uh, do you have anything else, you know, on the horizon or are you just open to anything that might inspire you?
Joel Steele: Anything that might inspire me. I’m always looking at other investments that includes sports teams, uh products, services that I believe in. I have a portfolio of things like that, not just investments, but things that I that I’m really behind. I mentioned I did the restaurant because I was passionate. I will not be starting another restaurant, but I might invest in one. And that’s the thing. I’m looking for other people that are doing things that they’re passionate about, that are bringing some good and positivity into the world, and I can write out a check and be part of that journey, and see what happens with that. I’m having a lot of fun doing that. That’s been one of the the benefits of being in the financial business for a while and having success. But for now, it’s focusing on the book, trying to get it out around the world, and going out speaking about it, speaking to athletes, former athletes, college campuses, businesses, financial organizations, just trying to spread positivity and inspiration. If people can understand the power that they have within themselves, I just think this world can be such a better, more positive place. And right now there’s a divide, there’s a lot of negativity, people are struggling a bit. I just think inspiration never gets old. And especially this time of year, you know, right around that Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year time. You give yourself the gift of of being inspired, whether that’s my book or another book or something you can do. But make sure there’s more passion and purpose in your life. And if there is, you’re going to live a a very great life worth living that you’ll look back and be happy about. You’ll be proud of yourself. And that’s the decision. Do you want to survive or do you want to thrive?
Amanda Morrison: Well, I felt very inspired reading it and I know other readers will as well. So, I want to thank you very much for coming here. Where can people find Life Switch?
Joel Steele: Life Switch is anywhere that books are sold. You can go to Barnes & Noble, Amazon, and you can go to my website and learn more about me and also the mission that we have that we didn’t talk about. And the mission, you can learn about this at bookjsteel.com. That’s Book Joel Steele.com. I’m giving away a million dollars. If Life Switch has 1 million readers, I’m going to personally donate $1 million to charities. Okay? And the readers are the ones that are going to pick the charities. So, the top 10 charities get $100,000 each. And it’s funny, I’m a financial adviser. I’m very careful with money. I’ve never been this excited to write out big checks in my life because I want to help people be inspired that they can make a difference. You buy the book, you are part of that $1 million donation. It’s that easy. So, I’m super excited about that. So, the book is everywhere. You can get it as an ebook, as a hardcover book, and as an audio book.
Amanda Morrison: Are you on social media as well, so people can follow you because I know you said that you’re doing different book signings and different talks. So, where can people follow for up-to-date informations about maybe certain locations or dates?
Joel Steele: Yeah, you can follow me. You can go to my LinkedIn page, my Instagram, and Facebook. The easiest thing to do is just maybe Google Joel Steel Life Switch or if you go to Instagram, Life Switch official is the handle there. But book Joel Steel has all that information. It’s probably the easiest way to find me.
Amanda Morrison: Thank you for tuning in to the Best of NJ podcast. You can hear us wherever you get your podcasts and you can follow me Amanda at don’t sit home on social media as well as at best of NJ.