Discover Your Spark in Career and Life with Jay Menez

Life mastery begins with mind mastery, says multifaceted author, filmmaker, media personality and reinvention coach Jay Menez.

Continuously changing jobs and/or careers is the norm for most people these days. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average length of time men stayed at the same job was 4.3 years in 2018, and women stayed an average of 4 years. This trend has made it essential for working people to not only master certain skills -- but to also master the art of reinvention itself.

And if anyone knows about reinvention, it’s Jay Menez. Jay has worked successfully in several different industries over the years — law enforcement, Wall Street banking, real estate, filmmaking and broadcasting, to name a few —  and has always found the spark to break from what holds him back, get onto a new path and earn a living doing what he enjoys.

Based in West Hollywood, Jay is a media personality and award-winning producer/director who's been commissioned on dozens of film, television, and commercial projects. He is also the host of Hollywood Real, where he interviews celebrity guests who share life experiences and the mindsets that drive their success. In 2017, he was cast as a featured competitor in The Fireball Run, an Amazon reality TV series that has aided in the recovery of over 51 missing children during its 11 seasons. Jay stars as an expert in the documentary, Influencer, about advertising and the rise of social media influencers to be released in the summer of 2019. Most recently, he’s a host on This Is LA, the popular lifestyle TV show airing on CBS. His passion project is producing the upcoming feature film, Muggsy: The Untold Story of a 5’3” NBA Legend, about Muggsy Bogues, the shortest player ever in the NBA and Hall of Fame nominee.

But probably most notably, Jay is the author of Spark: The 8 Mental Habits of Highly Successful People, the #1 international bestselling book released in 2017 that presents his framework of high-performance mindsets for anyone in any profession — or professional change. Using this model and drawing from his vast experience, Jay has become a trusted advisor to individuals seeking personal and professional growth. He uses a three-part system in his coaching approach that helps clients redefine their limits, build satisfying careers, and attract higher earnings.  

Jay is so multifaceted, it’s difficult to summarize everything he does without writing a novel. But here’s how he succinctly describes himself:

“I tell stories of triumph and human potential that spark new conversations about what it means to be limitless,” he says. “As an author, I write about the ideas and people that inspire me and what we can learn from them. As a filmmaker, I craft narratives of remarkable people who redefine what’s possible and become role models for future generations. As a speaker and coach, I inspire others to take control of their lives, dream bigger, and serve with greater purpose. These ideas are essential to help you grow, reinvent, transform, and evolve into your best self.”

Spark: Happiness is internal, not external

The ideas outlined in Spark apply to anyone in life — no matter what their generation or career stage. Jay distills volumes of inspiring thoughts from leaders like Tony Robbins, Marie Forleo and Tom Bilyeu into a “head in the clouds to feet on the ground” approach to growth — not telling you what to think, but how to think via eight mental habits:

• Mission
• Action
• Creativity
• Connection
• Abundance
• Growth
• Generosity
• Gratitude

Once you’ve worked on healthier, more productive internal attitudes, beliefs and ways of thinking, you will find that life and achieving success becomes easier.

“Most people come out of school and chase external success — accolades, titles, status, money, cars, and houses,” Jay says. “Not that you shouldn’t chase that kind of stuff, but it’s more important to master your inner game and become a better person first.

“The most important idea I could teach someone is that we are in total control of our own lives. Once we learn to forget blaming others and our past circumstances for where we are today, we discover new opportunities to grow and can design our own futures.”

Success will come if you change the way you talk to yourself and relate to other people.

Let go of allowing other people to negatively affect your mood. When others, “make you feel bad,” in fact, it’s because you’ve chosen the negative emotion. We’re all in between positive and negative thoughts and impulses — we choose to think and respond certain ways to certain situations. It’s always a choice, and the process, best described by life coach Brooke Castillo, goes like this:

• Circumstance
• Thoughts
• Feeling
• Action
• Results

Jay illustrates this concept: “Let’s say a man you’ve just met says — ‘Nice to meet you, Madeline, that’s my mom’s name.’ You could choose a thought like this: ‘Oh wow, this person just complimented me because my name reminds him of his loving mother.’ Your positive interpretation would generate a good feeling and then you might respond by thanking him and start a friendly conversation. The result is pleasing and you have a new friend.

“The other choice is to think — ‘He must be comparing me to his mom because I look old or not young enough to be attractive to him.’ The negative thought may trigger feelings of insult or rejection and the need to defend yourself. So either you shut down or engage in unfriendly dialogue. The result is conflict — and a potentially new friendship is destroyed. So it’s the same situation, but the way you choose to think and respond to it created totally opposite results.”

And what if the other person really did have malintent towards you? “That’s easy,” says Jay. “Choose the interpretation that best serves you and won’t ruin your day.”

The way you think about a circumstance — not the other person — determines how you feel about it and whether or not the end result is productive.

Jay does everything (except play piano)

Jay was born in Vancouver to Filipino parents, and his family moved to Virginia when he was a 2-year-old. Jay’s father worked for the US government as a Ph.D. scientist, and his mother was a homemaker, bank executive, and Master’s-educated piano teacher (actually one activity he never pursued).

A volunteer firefighter in high school, Jay studied as a paramedic after graduation and then served as a police officer for about five years. He then left public service to finish a business finance degree at Virginia Tech.  After acquiring the popular sports bar he managed while in school, he took a brief shot at building a gym in Tampa. Then law school called, but he did not finish — “The idea of being an attorney was no longer appealing.” So he pivoted by combining the people skills developed in earlier careers with his finance and legal education to rise quickly in the world of Wall Street investment banking, where he got his first taste of financial wealth. He soon moved to California where he co-founded a Beverly Hills banking firm specializing in emerging-growth companies. Then as real estate values soared, he became a broker and turned his attention to mortgage banking and built a sizeable asset portfolio.

By the time the 2008 real estate market crash hit, which caused much of this outward success to come crashing down, Jay was making moves toward a career in film and television. And here he is.

“I figured it was time to move on anyway,” he says, “this was just a serendipitous push.”

But for a long time, Jay himself was chasing external success, especially during his days in banking and real estate before the bubble burst, along with his fortune.

“Having money is certainly a huge advantage, it can solve many problems — but it alone won’t keep you happy,” he says. “I’ve been there. Even though I was always able to reinvent myself and make a lot of money, I realized that there was something missing. I wanted to pursue a real passion that mattered. In banking, I dealt in the glamorous world of high finance with stock offerings, M&A, derivatives, trading, and private equity — but it wasn’t a passion.”

So how do you know what your passion really is? Jay defines passion as something you would love to do even if you weren’t getting paid. If all financial aspects of your life were taken care of, what would you be doing? For Jay, it’s helping people access their untapped potential and sharing stories that inspire personal growth.

“Making rich people richer wasn’t having any impact on my personal development,” he says. But when he began work on a talk show called Inside Quest, which later became Impact Theory, he realized how he could make a difference.  

“The show was all about mindset — how successful people think” he says. “I found the guests to be inspiring and insightful, and those are the people who most influenced my book.”

He also realized how much he learned during all those years reinventing himself in the pursuit of his calling — volunteering as a firefighter, becoming a paramedic, serving as a police officer, going to business and law school, investment banking, and having the careers that followed. “I can pivot easily,” he says. “I developed a limitless mindset about my career path.”

How to break out of the shoebox

In order to develop this sort of career flexibility, Jay had to shake off what he calls the “Leave It to Beaver culture” of his youth, where teachers would steer kids toward making a permanent career decision instead of encouraging more exploration.

“Pick something and just do that — specialize and don’t do anything else,” he says. “You went to school, then you got a job working for someone else. After accumulating a wife, a house, kids, and debt, you’d have to keep that job you might hate for the next 30 years or so until retirement, then die of boredom. It can’t be that way anymore — and we have to adapt.

He said that he never planned on staying in a job even as steady as a police department for very long, “I believe in following your curiosities — that’s how you find your passion in life.”

But what if we’re always exploring multiple curiosities and don’t want to settle on one thing? Then instead, define your purpose — a through line for all endeavors — and you’ll find a path that will make you happy. Jay finds purpose in empowering people with the ability and confidence to pursue their dreams. That path has taken shape as a filmmaker, an author, a talk show host, a speaker, and a coach.

Referring to his book, Jay explains how to think about this:

“The key is to take extreme ownership of your life — move intentionally, cast aside blame and excuses, and take deliberate action towards your goals,” he says.

“The creative mind allows you the confidence to forge ahead without knowing the entire route.” Jay calls this trait “figureoutableness,” a term borrowed from Marie Forleo.

And connecting honestly with people is how we generate trust and build communities that help each other achieve that which cannot be done alone.

“A growth mindset allows you to achieve anything that you want to in life. We are not limited by past circumstances — those are just stories we tell ourselves. Anyone from any background can make amazing things happen, if they are willing to work for it.”

This is why in his book, Jay tells the stories of Blake Leeper, who was born without legs yet became an Olympic medalist and one of the fastest runners in the world. And Muggsy Bogues, who at 5’3” was a first-round NBA draft pick and a formidable opponent to the giants of professional basketball. Physical limitations certainly did not stop these two.

A Lifetime of Learning

Jay has been where people want to go and has lost what most people want to have — making him an invaluable resource for those looking for that edge to enhance their lives.

“Sure, I’ve got a bunch of coaching certifications, a degree, and even a book, but it’s my perspective of having decades of wins and losses in diverse industries and the successful inner work I’ve done that makes me uniquely qualified to help others.

“I’m so very grateful for my life. There are millions of people in the world who wish they had my bad days,” he says. “It’s all perspective.”

Any regrets? “My life has been unpredictable and a rollercoaster of failure and fortune, but was the juice worth the squeeze? You bet — I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

Jay’s Amazing Timeline of Reinvention:

• Started volunteering as a firefighter in high school

• Certified as a paramedic and served on a mobile intensive care unit

• Earned an aircraft pilot’s license at age 22

• Served as a police officer, protected citizens and trained rookies

• Succeeded in public service and earned 6 City commendations

• Earned a Finance degree from Virginia Tech while bartending at night

• Built a sports bar and learned to handle drunks and outclass pool sharks

• Attended law school at the University of Richmond and was elected to SBA office

• Raised millions in Wall Street public offerings as the internet rocketed

• Co-founded a Beverly Hills investment banking firm and led 4 key departments

• Operated a luxury real estate brokerage and lost a fortune in the crash

• Toured with legendary rock bands as their photographer and documented the stories

• Traveled and lived around the world among different cultures

• Directed and produced award-winning films — Sanctuary (2016), The Head Thieves (2016)

• Wrote and published an international bestselling book — Spark (2017)

• Made an epic journey in a televised race to recover missing children — The Fireball Run (2017)

• Featured in film, tv and radio — Influencer (2019) and various media

• Launched a talk show and podcast — Hollywood Real (2019)

• Hosts a lifestyle TV show on CBS — This Is LA (2019)

• Speaking appearances to help others create meaningful transformation

• Still growing and adding novel experiences

Website & social media links:

Web | http://jaymenez.com

IMDb | http://www.imdb.me/jaymenez

Instagram | http://instagram.com/thejaymenez

LinkedIn | https://www.linkedin.com/in/jaymenez

Facebook | https://www.facebook.com/jaymenez

Amazon Author | http://amazon.com/author/jaymenez

Show | http://hollywoodreal.tv

For inquiries, email booking@jaymenez.com

An experienced journalist, Erin Schultz helps anyone on a mission with a message to get media exposure, boost business and make their dreams reality. Contact her at ees2139@gmail.com.