I don’t even know where to start. Jullien was a true renaissance man. He was an incredible poet, musician, artist, community leader, businessman, counselor, mentor, father, husband, brother, and son. He was also prolific public speaker and so ahead of his time that he wrote this eulogy on my behalf!

In the book of Matthew, chapter 22, the Pharisees got together to question Jesus about the law. In verse 36, an expert in the law asked Jesus, "Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?" 37 Jesus replied: "'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' 40 All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments."

If there is anyone that I know in this world that has strived their hardest to fulfill these two simple commandments, it was brother Jullien.

He had a huge heart big enough to fit all of us in it. It was his loving spirit that got him everywhere he wanted to go. Goodness always seemed to follow him. Did you ever notice him glow? It was like he was immersed in a ball of light and like moths people just naturally gravitated toward him. He would attribute this energy and radiance to his spiritual connectedness. He was always seeking his highest most divine self. He knew that everything that came through him came from a higher source and was therefore able to remain humble in the midst of his many accomplishments. His spiritual beliefs rested on two words, “We’re Jah-men” (referencing Bob Marley and John 10:34). He believed that we were all divine expressions of the Creator and treated every living thing, people, plants, and animals as such.

Jullien was always very careful with his words, oftentimes speaking in parables and analogies to help himself and others understand the complexities of life. Everything he talked about had to do with love and life; I’m not sure that he saw a difference between the two. He was such an inspiration to me, even as his best friend, I felt like he was my older brother. He didn’t even know this, but I read every single thing he wrote. If I had to summarize everything, I would distill it down these three simple messages.

1. Pursue purpose: Jullien’s goal was to help as many people as possible reach their full potential and that he did. His Passions + Problems = Purpose equation has impacted the lives of millions. I remember his biggest fear being that the equation wasn’t right. The only way to test it was to be his own guinea pig and today, I think we can all agree that it works.

2. Connect communities: Jullien always thought of people as his brothers and sisters. He sought to break down all barriers that divided people. He was about unity. Whether it is the impact he has made on the business world by serving his business school classmates as the world’s most sought out executive leadership coach or the way he has established partnerships between diverse groups through spiritual practice or social enterprise, he has always strived to bring people together.

3. Empower entrepreneurs: He had a loose definition of entrepreneur; he thought of it more as a mindset than as an actual business owner and that education should be customized to students’ passions to teach this way of thinking. Jullien’s vision was to create a world where people could feed their families and at the same time do what they loved. He was able to build Mylinia into a multi-billion dollar company, yet what’s even more powerful than that is that the total value of his mentee’s companies triples his own. He would always tell us, “Challenge assumptions. Cherish mistakes. Create tomorrow.”

Jullien’s sunrise was on July 11th or 7-11 as he would say and his sunset was in 2082. He was 100 years old. He is survived by his lovely wife and a football team of biological and foster kids, but he never saw a difference. But as you all know, for Jullien, family was not just biological; it was spiritual, and therefore it includes you, me, and everyone else’s life that he touched. May the example of his life live with us forever. Ashe. Amen. And so it is.

Job searching is almost like shoe shopping. You walk into the shoe store and point out the type of shoe that you want, the color, and your size. The salesperson goes to the back of the store to check and see if they have a perfect match. They know their inventory better than you do, so no matter how much you want a particular shoe, if they don't have it, they have to tell you "Sorry, we don't have a match!" If that happens to be the case, all you can do is:

1. Try another store that may have a similar type of shoe or
2. Look for a different type of shoe in the same store

When a particular store doesn’t have the shoe that we want, we rarely look at it as a negative reflection of our physical self. We don’t say to ourselves, “My foot is too big” or “My foot is too average.” In the same way, when jobs don’t work out, we shouldn’t say to ourselves, “I’m not unqualified” or “I’m just too average.” Most people look at rejection from a job as a bad thing when in reality it is just a data point. Employers are looking for fit and as an outsider looking in, you can never possibly know as much about the company as an insider regardless of whether you read the websites, talk to employees, and even visit the office.

When a particular job (or shoe) is in high demand, oftentimes finding the perfect match is matter of persistence and luck. If you don’t land the job you’re looking for the first time:

1. Try another company (perhaps less brand name) that may have a similar type of job and better fit for you or
2. If you really like the company, look for a different type of opportunity within the same company

Have you ever bought a pair of shoes that didn't fit? Even if you have to walk barefoot for a while, know that there is a perfect match out there for you. There is nothing more painful than a pair of shoes that don't fit, so be patient and keep shopping.

Live purposefully!