What is the story behind your why?
Well, so my story behind my why came out of nowhere.
That's not something I expected,
nor did I know much about homelessness.
So now I work on the foundation that mentors the homeless.
And when I first had a vision,
it was actually in a silent retreat.
And I specifically went on the silent retreat
to seek God's really guidance on what's my purpose.
And the vision that I had was really a business plan.
So it was a specific way to organize an organization
that's going to help people through faith and community.
And I was really overwhelmed by that vision at first,
because my background didn't match at all
with what I was about to do.
I was in corporate sales.
I was atheist most of my life,
didn't have a big Christian community around me.
And so when I started building this,
it was really just a big leap of faith.
And so now fast forwarding almost a year and a half later,
since I started, it's really when people ask me why,
like the short answer is because God asked me to.
But in reality, I found a lot of pleasure
in really building something that's bigger than myself
and being an advocate for those who don't have the voice.
And one of the things that I've done through this journey
is I've really committed everything in my life
to this mission.
So something that I have not shared before
in any other podcast that I want to share today
is that I am so passionate and committed
that I have actually went ahead
and in order to finance this startup,
I've sold my condo and I've sold my car.
And so for the last two years, since I started working,
I have been really putting all my finances into it, right?
To be able to continue to live off of the savings
and to invest into this mission.
And so I think a lot of people maybe find it surprising
because when they see me, they see a different kind of
very confident, well-dressed CEO of an organization.
But the reality of things is that my passion
has driven my decision to do this and really commit
and really give everything I own
into the mission and the purpose.
Thank you for sharing that.
There's one thing to listen to the Lord
and there's the other thing to actually do
what the Lord says.
So tell me about that when you got to know
that hey, this is your mission
and that step from taking that part
and then actually selling all those things
and just diving headfirst, how did that feel like
and how did that decision, how did you take that decision?
It's not an easy decision, first of all,
because that's basically radical obedience
to the Lord, right?
And we do have examples of that, obviously in the Bible
and we have examples of people in real life who's done it,
but we always think that it's kind of an exception
and it's never gonna happen to you until it does, right?
And I never expected that this would happen to me.
When it first happened, honestly, the visual I can give you
is jumping off the cliff, not knowing what's behind
and what's below and what's gonna happen.
It's really nerve wracking because after being somebody
who was really high earner, I was in sales
doing really well, going from earning so much money
and really defining your worth and your value
from how much money you earn to basically in God's kingdom,
the values are completely different.
So, I have not made nearly as much money, if not at all,
since I started this organization,
but the impact that I've created on people's lives
and transforming people has been just so significant
where in the past, I feel like I really have not generated
anything into this world that would make this world
a better place.
And so now I judge really my work a little bit differently,
which was quite an adjustment because again,
coming from over 10 years in sales
where your success is measured by money
to now going to mission driven work
where your success is really driven
by how many lights you transform
and how much impact you make on this world,
a positive impact.
So, I would say it's not the journey for the faint of heart,
it's very difficult.
There's times that I struggle, it's not an easy walk
where I say it's always rainbows and sunshine.
Sometimes I've had doubts, I've had thoughts of
why am I doing this?
Like I could be making so much more money
if I went to corporate and not worry about
how my bills are gonna get paid.
But then when I truly decide like,
am I ready to quit this and go back to corporate?
The answer is always no,
because I just don't think I could ever go back to work
where I'm not touching people's hearts and lives.
Wow, thank you for being that attentive
and sharing with us today.
Absolutely, it's my pleasure.
What would you say is success to you, Anna?
Well, that's kind of going back to what I just talked about.
Right?
And for the longest time, success was really for me
measured by material things, right?
The fact that for the longest time,
my biggest goal was to purchase this beautiful condo
in the middle of the city with high rises.
And that was like, wow, I've made it, right?
And then I remember I made the biggest purchase of my life.
And I renovated it exactly how I wanted
pouring thousands of dollars into it.
And I was sitting on my couch and a month goes by
and I'm sitting and I'm like, okay, well now what?
Because that happiness that was brought by that purchase
was very short-lived, a month, that's it.
And I was working for that goal for years.
And I think that was the defining moment
that opened up the doubt in my mind,
where it's like, there has to be more to life than this,
more than just being in this race of let me earn more
so I can purchase something bigger
only to be satisfied for a month.
And then going back to being dissatisfied,
working more until you die.
And I was like, there has to be more to life.
And so it has been really a 180 flip and shift in mindset,
because now for me, success is the last step
is the legacy that I leave
after I'm no longer on this earth.
I've never would have imagined
that I would have several books written.
I have podcasts that is only going to live forever
on the internet, that people are going to hear me speak
on stages and that I'm going to have this organization
that hopefully keep doing the work long after I'm gone.
So success to me now is how much impact I make on this world,
but it's a positive impact that creates lasting change
in people's lives.
That's awesome.
Is there a place that you want to see it in your lifetime
that you want to achieve when it comes to changing lives?
This is a really interesting question
because there's something I have to always think about.
We have this ambition and I have this ego
that sometimes I have to keep it in check.
This mission, I'm just the shepherd
and I'm just the fulfiller of God's purpose.
So sometimes my big vision was always like,
oh, I want to see it grow nationally.
I want this organization to solve homelessness
in this country.
And this is a very ambitious goal,
but then you kind of have to decide, okay,
but is this in God's plan?
Is this something that he wants to do?
So this is something that he showed me that will happen.
The vision was that this organization
is going to grow nationally.
But then I had a spiritual advisor
that asked me a very good question.
And that's why I think it's very important
for us to have mentors and advisors.
He said, well, how do you know that it's you
who is meant to do that?
And that gave me a pause.
I said, you're right.
I don't know if it's me.
I know that I was meant to start it,
but I don't know if I meant to work on this temporarily
to launch it and then somebody else is supposed to take it,
or is it actually going to be me
who's going to fulfill this, right?
And so that allows you to really hold everything
with open palms and say, Lord, let your will be done.
And if it's meant to be,
and if it's meant for me to take it,
yes, I would love nothing more.
I mean, what a legacy to say, right?
That I have grown something from just nothing
to national movement.
I mean, that's a dream come true, right?
That's something that I would be like, wow,
I have really made it.
This is the success for me.
But at the same time, if you allow your ego to drive it,
that's when you, a lot of the times make mistakes
and then you become not the kind of leader
that people want to follow.
And we hear a lot of examples of highly narcissistic,
egotistical CEOs that really start treating
their organizations like they're playbooks
and they just make a lot of bad decisions
and then that negatively affects their ministry, their work.
And so I always keep that in mind that I have to really,
in the beginning, make sure that I work on my character
and to be the kind of leader
that people actually want to follow if this organization
to be successful and to grow nationally.
You mentioned that and that goes directly
to my next question then.
And what is a great leader to you?
Yeah, so I think a great leader inspires people
to be better and to do good.
And so when I judge whether I'm a great leader,
I look at people around me.
And what I see is that when I speak,
they get motivated to change.
They want to come alongside of me and help and do good.
And it's amazing to see all these busy professionals
who decide to dedicate their time and mentor the homeless.
And that's a big 18 month commitment that they sign up for.
But also I think it's important again
to have checks and balances.
So a great leader also has a group of trusted advisors
who are there to tell them,
hey, you need to do this or do that.
But I think the biggest thing is your connection with God.
So I just recently, two weeks ago,
came back from my silent retreat.
I go every three months or so.
And this time my hope was to go to really focus
on strategy for next year.
So my questions really were about strategy
and like, oh, what am I supposed to do?
But it was interesting, God was really quiet
on all of those, but the areas where he was spoken
was all about my own character building.
So listen to what happened.
I quit my corporate job, right?
I had mentioned that about three years ago.
And God revealed to me that when I quit so abruptly,
that has caused a lot of just,
I guess unnecessary tension
on the operations of that business.
And I never apologized for it.
So imagine, I was like, oh no, like, yeah,
this is not good what I've done.
And so three years later,
I reached out to the owner of that organization and said,
this probably comes as a surprise after three years,
but I just realized how much unnecessary heartbreak
and just tension I have caused with my abrupt exit.
I wanted to apologize and wanted to say
that this was nothing personal
and I was going through a really difficult time.
But on top of that, I thanked them
because the savings that I was able to acquire
during my time of employment with them
is what allowed me to pursue my purpose and passion.
And so I really was grateful to them, but I never said it.
And so this was my opportunity.
And so I guess the message is,
it's never too late to say thank you.
It's never too late to apologize.
And it's always good to check in,
to see where you should really sharpen your character
to be a better leader, more humble,
and really seek that from the council and from that.
Thank you for sharing that, Anna.
Of course.
It might come as a shock to you,
but I wholeheartedly believe that every one of us
are put on this earth at this particular time
for a specific reason.
And it's, you should try to find that purpose
and reason that we are here for.
And I know that once you find that purpose,
the energy and effort and things you do
from the point onwards, it's a whole different,
it's a whole different level of things.
Like you use something you feel.
I can't express it.
Yeah.
But something you do and it's something you feel
and the lives you change
and your overall changes around you.
Yeah.
So thank you for sharing that.
I hope people find that today.
I hope they're able to look into within themselves
and communicate to whosoever they communicate.
They're able to find that for themselves
and feel what you and me feel.
I agree with you.
I think fear is what's causing hesitation
to really take that leap of faith
to pursue what you're passionate about.
And I agree with you wholeheartedly
that each of us has a specific purpose.
And sometimes the purpose is big and sometimes it's small,
but it's nevertheless is very important.
And when you fulfill it,
that's when you find that happiness and peace
that I would not rather do anything else.
And this doesn't necessarily only mean work, right?
It could be volunteering in a certain organization
or it could be being a parent.
So it's a variety of things,
but nevertheless the feeling that you get
and the satisfaction is that similar feeling you get,
whether it's work or vacation.
Thank you for being here today.
I'm really happy that you tuned in to Vision Pros Live.
I'm looking forward to seeing your reactions
as these episodes continue to move forward.
This is gonna get more and more fun.
We'll have more and more engagement as well.
We'll invite people to participate in the show
and thank you for giving us your time and attention.
Have an excellent time building out your vision
and becoming a Vision Pro yourself.