4 min read

Jeff Baietto, Co-founder/COO of InJoy Global

After losing a fortune in the 2008 global financial crisis, Jeff Baietto rediscovered what was truly important to him. Now, as the Co-Founder and COO of a Gamified Challenge Creator for coaches, Jeff talks to The Industry Leaders about his professional and personal journey.

How did you end up sitting where you are today?

I was a self-help kid. After being introduced to The Strangest Secret by Earl Nightingale, I got hooked. I read/listened to everything I could get my hands on in the self-help arena and always dreamed of someday being a part of that industry.

After a stint in the Video Game Industry and getting my Masters in Spiritual Psychology, I co-founded InJoy Global. Ten years later, we are working with hundreds of coaches, speakers and trainers in the personal development industry to turn their content into gamified challenges.

What kind of work does your role involve?

We've created a software platform that helps coaches, trainers, speakers, and authors turn their content into a gamified challenge. So my role has been steeped in making sure we were incorporating the latest in gamification and neuroscience into our platform so that it not only creates maximum impact but is also fun to use.

What gets you excited about your industry?

One of our core needs as humans is to continue growing. And the industry of coaching and training is 100% focused on helping people grow. We get to work with leaders in all aspects of thought leadership around human performance, entrepreneurship, life skills, emotional intelligence, goal setting and much more.

What's the best advice anyone ever gave you?

Years ago, one of my coaches had me do an exercise to define success for myself.

It was a simple exercise: start with the sentence, "I know I'm a success when... or "I know I'm successful if..." and then finish that sentence 3 times with three different ways that I would consider myself truly successful.

This single exercise helped me decouple my actual beliefs from the societal beliefs that I had bought into and got me in touch with my core values. The definitions I came up with have been my North Star ever since in all I do.

How do you support aspiring leaders in your field?

Supporting aspiring leaders is one of my and our company's core tenets. We internally coach the members of our company to support their growth and development. I also host the InJoy Success podcast that goes out to thousands of people every month. We interview the most holistically successful people on the planet to share their stories and the secrets of how they created a life that they truly love as inspiration and guidance for anyone looking to do the same.

How do you keep up to speed with what's happening in your industry?

I have several mentors who have a wealth of expertise and information on our industry's macro trends and opportunities. I am also fortunate to have calls every week with coaches, trainers, and speakers through our podcast and business activities. These inspirational people share their learnings and tell us what they are currently seeing in the industry.

What was the most challenging project or situation you've overcome?

I lost all of my money (millions in real estate) in the 2008-09 economic crash and had to basically start from zero. There were so many lessons in that experience - the biggest one was understanding how much of my identity was tied to financial success.

From there, I realized that money was not who I was, did not define my worth as a person, and that all the people who really mattered in my life didn't care if I had a lot of money or no money. That started me on a journey of creating a life I truly loved, not one I hoped would have me loved by others.

You finish work today and step outside the office to find a lottery ticket that ends up winning $10 million. What would you do?

I would immediately give half of it to my wife. She is the biggest advocate I know for those less fortunate and already dedicates so much of her time and legal expertise to these people. She is also one of the best organizers in the world and could maximize the positive impact with that money better than anyone I know.

The other half I would invest in furthering our mission at InJoy Global to accelerate the access of the best personal development tools to as many people as possible.

How do you switch off after a day at work?

I have a 6-year-old son named Bodhi. And he is my heart. No matter what kind of day I've had, no matter how busy or how tight deadlines are... when I see him, everything else fades away. Playing legos or going to the park with him are the most joyful and rejuvenating things in the world to me.

If you had one wish for the future of your industry, what would it be?

That everyone had easy and consistent access to how to create the life of your dreams AND a simple way to put that knowledge into practice.

Just imagine a world where everyone grew up knowing how powerful their thoughts, beliefs and actions were to creating the experience they wanted.

What book or podcast should everyone know about?

Obviously, I have a bias, but the InJoy Success Podcast is a no brainer for anyone who wants to create their life by design and actually enjoy all aspects of their life.

Outside of our podcast, though, Lex Friedman and Sam Harris' shows are must-listens, in my opinion.

How should people connect with you?