We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Jarís Dean a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Jarís, thanks for joining us today. So let’s jump to your mission – what’s the backstory behind how you developed the mission that drives your brand?

At around six years old, our microwave blew up. My parents told me to stay out of the kitchen that day but I was so curious about the mechanics —  that I went head first into the danger zone. I waited for them to walk out and grabbed a chair to check things out. Even though I had no awareness of the functions of said microwave, I knew that a part of me was being fulfilled through sheer observation. My mom caught me in the act and even though she was a little frightened at the sight of me having my head in the microwave,  she told me that I have an engineers mind… Who knew that this event would be the prelude to my life story.

All throughout my childhood I was in high achievement classes. I was a very hands-on learner and I grasped the structure of traditional education at a very young age; this led to me not having to open a textbook and study until 11th grade. Shortly thereafter, that gift began to feel like an impediment. My time in post secondary education took place at Delaware State University and Montgomery County Community College from 2007-2009. Although short lived, the experience taught me that the traditional education structure was not for me in that season of my life. That realization came with a lot of confusion, anger and lostness. I knew I was the furthest from dumb, but I felt incompetent because I didn’t know who I was, nor did I know what my place was in this world.

For the next five years, I was trying to figure life out. While working a desk job and exploring multi-level marketing, I began to exercise my gifts and passions for videography and executive producing. My videography came from my company called Let’s Create Change Productions, and my executive producing came by way of a show I created called “Can We Talk”. Those were such pivotal years because two things were affirmed for me – I wanted to stick with videography, and through my experiences in multi-level marketing, I knew that entrepreneurship was for me.

In October of 2014, I was in the shower talking to God. Through my time with him, I discovered that the sense of confusion, anger and lostness that I felt in 2009, was growing deeper within me. So I asked Him one question. A question that at that time I didn’t know would change my life. I said, “What is life?”, and I almost immediately began to get revelation. I started realizing that life is my (our) biggest classroom. We’re all teachers and students at the same time. Despite age, gender, background, ethnicity; we can all learn from each other in one way or another; as long as the mindset is fixed to view it as such. It was in the midst of me feeling lost that God gave me vision. It was in that moment, the Lord gave me the responsibility and privilege of branding Life University.

All I had was a logo and some merch. I began pushing the message by asking people a two-part question for about a year straight. That question was, “Would you say that you really know yourself?” and “Are you truly happy?” Throughout the diverse group of people I spoke to, I received virtually the same overwhelming answer from over 90% of them. Which was “I would honestly say that I don’t REALLY know who I am” and “I would say that I’m content.” By November 2015 I knew I had something, but I didn’t know exactly what that “something” was.

I knew that God gave me Life University to change my life, my family tree, and the world; but I felt stuck. I needed to know how to materialize this vision. So I was talking to Him in the shower, again, and asked Him another pivotal, life-changing question – “What’s the equation to life?” Once again, in quick fashion, He let me know that the equation is having balance in Mind, Body, Spirit, Gifts (talents & passions) and Giving (your heart/servanthood). So I immediately went to the drawing board and accepted the 5-year challenge of creating LifeYou Company.

LifeYou Company is a branded lifestyle production company that is comprised of five pillars – LifeYou Thinks (Mind) / LifeYou Fit (Body) / LifeYou Says (Spirit) / LifeYou Films (Gifts) / LifeYou Gives (Giving). Our mission is to bridge the gap for everyone searching for their identity, purpose and path. This layered business model has an immediate goal of establishing one pillar at a time, with an end goal of LifeYou being a subscription based company that connects the individual, with the entity. In that connection there is then the aim to benefit the individual in their search of self-discovery, and the entity will benefit from data, network and marketing services.

We are currently building our Giving pillar, LifeYou Gives, which is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization as well as our Gifts pillar, LifeYou Films. LifeYou Gives gained its 501(c)3 status in 2022 and we’re doing great things such as partnering with Amazon to supply underprivileged communities with footwear, as well as building our youth through our LifeYou Scholars Program. You can check out our website for more details at www.lifeyougives.org

With the foundation being laid for LifeYou Gives, God gave me the thumbs-up to focus on the next pillar which is LifeYou Films. I started taking clients at the top of 2024 and that’s been going great so far. Due to the complexities of LifeYou, the website is being worked on and will be live soon. I’m very excited to continue to unveil LifeYou to the world. We were all created for a positive eternal impact. There are millions of paths leading to the same purpose. We were wired with such a variety of learning styles and gifts, but no one is better or more valued than the next.

LifeYou isn’t meant to replace the traditional education structure. It’s just here for those that didn’t or maybe don’t fit the traditional way. As well as for those whose learning style fits the traditional structure, but need clarity in other aspects of self. Seeing people truly free sets my heart on fire, and I know LifeYou is going to help people do just that — find out who they are, why they are here, and how they need to navigate this thing called life in true and complete freedom.

Jarís, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I was born and raised in Norristown, Pennsylvania. I’ve always been a thinker, and was always told that I move to beat of my drum. I developed a love for cameras in the 10th grade due to a teacher that I love named John Doyle. He opened my eyes to how creative I could be through shooting and editing. The opportunities he gave me in High School to exercise that passion of mine has stuck with me, and has lended itself to being one of the pillars of my company today. Through my Gifts pillar of LifeYou (LifeYou Films) I provide videography, photography, video treatment and equipment rental services.

LifeYou Films is here to provide a solution for any person needing to creating media memories and/or any entity looking to expand their social influence through video or photo. LifeYou Company aims to provide the solution to the biggest problem known to mankind, which is the deprivation of identity, purpose, and clarity of path.

What I believe sets me apart from others are a few things: This vision that God has given in the form of LifeYou is a very unique one that is very personal to me. The reason I have the drive to see this vision become successful is because I was living it before I created it. I am confident, yet humble enough to say with conviction that I am a visionary. My desire to see people become who they were created to be is a feeling that I can’t fully articulate through words. So what separates me from others is my work ethic, humility, morals, foresight, passion, and understanding that this is a privilege as well as a responsibility.

I’m honestly most proud of the man that I am continuously growing into. God is using me to be a vital instrument is so many peoples lives, in many different ways, and I’m honored to have a front row seat in the life of people who are finding out who they really are and why they’re here. I want potential supporters to know that when they support me or any part of LifeYou, they are supporting something and someone who is making a conscious eternal impact on this world.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

This journey has called for numerous pivots, but one that stands out is a pivot that was made 2021. When I first created LifeYou I was so on fire that I tried to put all of my energy into building all of its pillars at the same time. I was shooting content, meeting with numerous ambassadors and making immediate plans for all five pillars, and by the way, working a full-time overnight job. Within a year of that type of work ethic, I found myself passed out in a Red Robbins on a Friday night. That experience was a real eye-opener for me. I knew that I had to take better care of myself, and I also felt God letting me know that I need to restructure the plan. I didn’t want to burn out again, and I also didn’t want to be the “jack of all trades and master of none”. So I focused on my physical and spiritual health, and asked God on direction in the order of priority the pillars should go in. With discernment and patience, I realized that LifeYou Gives began gaining steam, so I put all of my focus and energy into that. I’m now in full-time entrepreneurship with a solid foundation being laid for LifeYou Gives, and also focusing on building LifeYou Films.

Do you have any insights you can share related to maintaining high team morale?

(1) As the head goes, the body will follow. So always pour into yourself just as much if not more than pouring into your team.

(2) Know your limits as a leader. It’s ok to be transparent about not have all of the, in real time.

(3) Relying on transparency and vulnerability will always go further than relying on status and power.

(4) Value your EQ just as much as your IQ.

(5) Value and pour into your teams EQ.

(6) Never stop growing; mentally, emotionally, spiritually, physically, etc…

Contact Info:

• Website: www.lifeyougives.org
• Instagram: @lifeyou.gives / @lifeyoucompany
• Facebook: LifeYou Company LLC / LifeYou Gives

Image Credits
Christian Cook