Do what is hard, and your life will be easy. Do what is easy, and your life will be hard. It's a simple idea, but for Josh Mastel, it became the philosophy that transformed every part of his life.
In this episode of Sell by Being Human, host Alex Smith sits down with Josh Mastel, co-owner of Innovien Solutions, a tech solutions and staffing firm serving onshore and nearshore talent that's approaching $100 million in ARR and has landed on the Inc. 5000 list of fastest growing companies for six years running.
Josh's story starts a long way from that success. Raised on the South Side of Chicago, he moved out at 16 with his older brother, working and paying rent on his own before he had even finished high school. Two years later, his brother, the closest thing he had to a father figure, died in a car accident. Josh spent the next seven years masking the pain behind a charismatic, "everything's great" exterior, until a first sales manager named Kirby Style saw something in him worth investing in and taught him a principle that still runs his company today: do what is hard, and your life will be easy.
That lesson, paired with a hard won lesson in vulnerability, took Josh from a directionless 20 something to a record breaking sales career, and eventually to walking away from corporate to cash out his 401(k) and build Innovien Solutions with his wife. Along the way, he's learned that the best salespeople aren't the smoothest talkers in the room, they're the ones who actually care whether they can solve your problem, and are willing to say so when they can't.
This conversation covers grief, mentorship, radical honesty as a leadership tool, why AI perfect emails are killing response rates, and why "useful delusions" might be the most underrated growth strategy there is. Let’s dive in!
Key Takeaways
- Doing hard things consistently creates an easier and more rewarding life over time
- The best mentors help people become better outside of work, not just better employees
- Vulnerability builds stronger relationships than pretending to have everything figured out
- Great leaders admit mistakes and create environments where others feel safe to do the same
- Human connection creates more lasting success than persuasion alone
- The best salespeople focus on understanding problems before offering solutions
- Helping people often creates greater business results than chasing commissions
- Investing in people produces returns that can't be measured by revenue alone
- Asking for help is one of the fastest ways to accelerate personal and professional growth
- Knowing yourself is one of the most valuable skills any leader can develop
- Authenticity becomes even more valuable in an AI-driven world
- Success becomes possible when you believe bigger than your current circumstances
In This Episode:
[00:00] Introduction
[01:23] Meet Josh Mastel
[03:00] What "Sell by Being Human" means
[05:04] Leaving home at sixteen and finding a mentor
[06:00] The sales manager who changed Josh's life
[09:17] Why doing hard things makes life easier
[11:24] Building discipline through uncomfortable habits
[12:03] Losing his brother and learning vulnerability
[14:02] How opening up created deeper human connection
[16:30] Why great leaders admit when they're wrong
[20:08] Vulnerability as a leadership advantage
[21:12] Building a company by investing in people
[22:10] Helping an employee become one of the company's top leaders
[25:37] The biggest misconception about sales
[27:16] Why the best salespeople solve problems instead of pushing products
[28:58] Becoming the kind of salesperson people trust
[30:26] Lessons learned from building a business with his wife
[33:35] Leading yourself before leading others
[34:45] Why asking for help changes everything
[36:51] The power of using the word "help"
[39:28] Why authenticity matters more than AI
[40:58] Knowing yourself before chasing success
[41:50] Building relationships that hold you accountable
[42:42] Thinking bigger than your current reality
[47:43] Where to connect with Josh Mastel
[48:18] Closing
Our Guest
Josh Mastel is the co-owner of Innovien Solutions, a tech solutions firm specializing in project services and staffing for both onshore and nearshore talent. With his wife, he has built the company to scale close to $100 million in ARR and over a billion in transactions, earning a spot on the Inc. 5000 list for six consecutive years.
Josh's personal journey from Chicago's South Side, moving out at 16, losing his brother, and overcoming self doubt, gives him a unique perspective on human potential. He believes that with vulnerability, discipline, and the willingness to do what is hard, anyone can create meaningful change in their life and career.
Resources and Links
Sell by Being Human
Josh Mastel
Alex Smith
