On the surface, it may seem like Jayson Waller is living a charmed life. And by most accounts, he is today. But it hasn’t always been that way for him.
His childhood was far from idyllic. He grew up in a trailer park, was thought of as less than by his peers, and never finished traditional high school. It was at this time that he faced yet another challenge — he was about to become a father in his teens.
Today, his life is dramatically different from the difficult and chaotic life he faced in his younger years.
He’s now the founder and CEO of POWERHOME SOLAR™, a business tracking toward becoming a billion-dollar enterprise, hosts a popular podcast called True Underdog, and has published Own Your Power. POWERHOME SOLAR now has over 2,200 employees and is approaching $600 million in annual revenue. Prior to that, he built three multimillion-dollar enterprises from nothing. And in 2019, he became one of the first people without an Ivy-League MBA to win the Ernst and Young Emerging Entrepreneur of the Year Award.
But he says he’s not driven by the money or accolades, although those are certainly nice perks.
Waller says, “I want to make a positive impact in people’s lives. I’ve found the more good you put out into the world, the more it comes back to you, like karma. It’s infectious and what you project to those closest to you will ultimately get reflected back to you. That’s had a lot to do with my success. If I can spread a positive message and motivate others, the more I’ll be surrounded by folks who motivate me.”
Both his journey and his eventual success led him to his current mission — to help inspire and equip others to transform their own lives in the same way he did.
He explains, “No climb to the top is ever easy, that’s why they call it a climb. But it’s attainable especially if you take the stairs, climbing step by step to reach your ultimate goal. If my story helps others reach for the top or get back on track after hitting a bump in the road because they saw me do it, then I’m making a difference.”
This is a worthwhile mission in general, but it’s especially important now that the world is facing economic uncertainty and a rapidly changing work environment.
Since the pandemic, people have realized that no job is truly secure. This has led to many starting side hustles, part-time side businesses, and even full-time businesses. But the learning curve is steep. It’s not just technical skills like performing a service or manufacturing a product that are essential to succeed. You also need to master yourself. Soft skills, like how to develop the right mindset, set and achieve goals, and recover from failure are all essential as well.
Waller says it’s important to have a process, not just for how you handle tasks in your business, but also for how you approach life in general. And that’s why he published his latest book, Own Your Power, as a process of sorts. It’s based on the eight principles he used to transform his own life. The same principles that took him from being a broke teenager with a baby on the way into being a successful and wealthy entrepreneur.
Waller explains, “There are plenty of lessons I’ve learned to get to this point. Hopefully, my book teaches readers some of these things without having to live through them. If not that, then at least ignite a spark of inspiration that begins their own climb to the top. Each chapter reflects a principle I’ve learned on my path to success. They can be helpful to anyone looking to improve their lot in life.”
As economic uncertainty grows, driven by rising inflation, supply chain issues, and consolidation, more people will want to take more control of their lives. Especially considering that many are starting to look at how they can pursue their passion rather than staying in a job or business they are no longer inspired by.
You can forge this path through trial and error. But having done that myself, I can attest it’s almost always better to avoid mistakes by following a proven formula. And the principles laid out in Waller’s book, Own Your Power, are a proven formula considering how far they’ve taken him.
