WEBVTT 00:00:10.400 --> 00:00:14.033 JOSH: All right, Lamondo. Grab my hand. Okay, stay right there. 00:00:14.033 --> 00:00:18.600 When I count down from three, I want you to take your blindfold off, okay? 00:00:18.600 --> 00:00:24.800 Three, two, one. These are for you. 00:00:30.067 --> 00:00:34.200 JOSH: Thanks. I got one more thing. LAMONDO: Yeah. 00:00:34.200 --> 00:00:39.500 JOSH: It’s $10,000. LAMONDO: You’re joking. 00:00:39.500 --> 00:00:46.300 JOSH: You can stay wherever you want. LAMONDO: This is just—this is jokes. Thank you. Thank you. 00:00:58.600 --> 00:01:04.400 HOST 1: Wow. Gosh, if you’ve seen those videos on social media, they are just so inspiring. 00:01:04.400 --> 00:01:10.600 Josh Liljenquist is a Minnesota content creator. He’s behind Live to Love. He’s on a mission to spread joy, and he joins us now. 00:01:10.600 --> 00:01:20.500 Josh, welcome in. We have long been followers of your work and always seeing what you’re up to. Six million followers on Instagram. 00:01:20.500 --> 00:01:30.300 You’ve got to give us kind of the background on this story, because everybody who starts something starts with one follower. What happened? 00:01:30.300 --> 00:01:38.800 JOSH: If you’re passionate about something, it doesn’t matter if you have one person watching or a million people watching. 00:01:38.800 --> 00:01:49.700 If you’re doing something out of passion and doing it for the right reasons, you don’t need an audience. If I went broke by giving, it’s a win. 00:01:49.700 --> 00:02:03.033 HOST 2: But how did it all start? What was the moment you were like, not only am I going to do these acts of kindness, but show the whole world? 00:02:03.033 --> 00:02:11.300 JOSH: I got inspired by my family, first of all. My grandpa specifically. 00:02:11.300 --> 00:02:21.500 When he passed away, people were going through the line. He got back home from Vietnam, started a plumbing business, and would do plumbing for free sometimes. 00:02:21.500 --> 00:02:31.600 People were saying how much my grandpa meant to them and what he did for them. I felt so much pride. 00:02:31.600 --> 00:02:39.800 If I can make my kids or grandkids feel as much pride as I feel about my grandpa, then I feel like I made it in life. 00:02:39.800 --> 00:02:52.700 HOST 1: Did you start just finding people who are struggling and kind of building relationships? What happened? 00:02:52.700 --> 00:03:02.500 JOSH: I went into a grocery store. I went up to a stranger, started talking to them, and asked if they had an extra dollar to spare. 00:03:02.500 --> 00:03:13.000 The person I was talking to didn’t give me the money, but the person running the cash register an aisle over ended up buying the snack. 00:03:13.000 --> 00:03:21.500 She was saving up money for an apartment. I gave her money, and she broke down and started crying. 00:03:21.500 --> 00:03:30.800 HOST 1: You asked someone who was already struggling for help. She offered the help, and then you gave it back to her tenfold. 00:03:30.800 --> 00:03:43.133 JOSH: Yeah. She said this was the first time she’d felt seen in so long. People were saying, “Thanks for being a good person,” and that made her feel good. 00:03:43.133 --> 00:03:55.300 HOST 2: The coolest part is you’re getting a chance to see people’s genuine spirit. She’s being nice for the sake of being nice. 00:03:55.300 --> 00:04:07.467 That’s a good reinforcement that there are some really good people out there. How many lives have you touched? A thousand? 00:04:07.467 --> 00:04:13.300 JOSH: Over a thousand, for sure. 00:04:13.300 --> 00:04:27.100 HOST 2: Are you hearing from those people in terms of what they’ve turned their life’s purpose into? I imagine there is a pay-it-forward element. 00:04:27.100 --> 00:04:39.633 JOSH: The first one that comes to mind is my employee, James. When I met him, I got a random text message. For some reason, I called the number. 00:04:39.633 --> 00:04:54.700 I talked to him, and I’m like, this is a really good dude. He explained his story. He was an addict for 30-plus years and prayed for his cravings to be taken away. 00:04:54.700 --> 00:05:04.467 Fast-forward a few months: he came with me all the time. One day he called and said, “I’m in a tough spot right now.” 00:05:04.467 --> 00:05:14.400 I said, “What’s going on?” He said, “Can we meet up?” I said, “Meet me at Cub.” 00:05:14.400 --> 00:05:22.433 I talked to my videographer—his name is Ben Steine—and said, “Ben, please come with.” 00:05:22.433 --> 00:05:36.733 We put the camera in the back of my car. I said, “James, talk to me.” He said his old roommate told the landlord he wasn’t on the lease. 00:05:36.733 --> 00:05:46.300 He couldn’t be put on the lease because of his criminal history. He was scared for his wife and stepdaughter and didn’t know what to do. 00:05:46.300 --> 00:05:57.400 He couldn’t find a job because of the criminal history. HOST 1: And so you helped him overcome that. 00:05:57.400 --> 00:06:01.900 JOSH: We raised him $50,000, which he used for a down payment for a house. So now he’s a homeowner. 00:06:01.900 --> 00:06:10.367 He was worried about the mortgage payments. The same day he closed on the house, I offered him a job. 00:06:10.367 --> 00:06:18.133 HOST 1: Wow. HOST 2: Wow. Good for you. JOSH: And he’s actually right back here. 00:06:18.133 --> 00:06:27.433 HOST 2: I want to go full circle with the video we showed in the beginning. That was Lamondo. What was the story with Lamondo? 00:06:27.433 --> 00:06:35.500 JOSH: I sat on a couch and waited for somebody to help me out. Lamondo came over and said, “I’m in the same position you are.” 00:06:35.500 --> 00:06:44.000 HOST 2: And he’s thinking you’re struggling. JOSH: Yes. He has no idea. 00:06:44.000 --> 00:06:54.800 JOSH: He shared some necessities that he had. He said he could get me into the place he was sleeping and get me a bed. 00:06:54.800 --> 00:07:08.267 He shared half of what he had. He’d been applying for jobs. He had no criminal history. His home was taken in a natural disaster. 00:07:08.267 --> 00:07:17.100 Sometimes people just need to feel seen, and they need one person to believe in them. It’s amazing what can happen after that. 00:07:17.100 --> 00:07:27.000 HOST 1: Josh, you’re so inspiring. It’s really a treat to have you here. Thanks for all that you’re doing. You’ve got to follow him on social media. 00:07:27.000 --> 00:07:36.088 If you’re interested in learning more about Josh’s journey, or nominating someone who might need help, we posted a link at TwinCitiesLive.com.