In 2017, Lee Asher made a decision that would transform not only his life but the lives of thousands of animals. Working as a corporate trainer for a finance company, he felt unfulfilled and separated from his true passion.

Instead, he found himself drawn to animal shelters—places that had been his sanctuary since childhood. “I’ve been going to animal shelters since I was around 11 years old,” Lee says. “It was my safe place.”

That November, Lee took a leap of faith. He left the mahogany desks behind, quit his job, sold everything he owned, and embarked on a mission to bring awareness to shelter animals waiting for adoption.

With an RV and six dogs, Lee’s initial goal was to travel across the United States to highlight dogs who had been waiting the longest for homes. “I went to 49 states and all of Canada,” he explains. “I would go to each shelter and show all of the dogs. We got over 500 dogs adopted.”

When the COVID-19 pandemic hit in 2020, Lee’s traveling mission was forced to pause. Rather than seeing this as a setback, he pivoted, establishing his first physical animal sanctuary on 20 acres with approximately 35 dogs. Five years later, the nonprofit organization The Asher House has expanded to a 240-acre sanctuary that houses between 150 and 220 dogs at any given time and has saved thousands of animals.

“Everything happens for you,” Lee says. “It doesn’t happen to you. Everything is a gift.”

A Mission Beyond Rescue

While animal rescue remains at the core of The Asher House, Lee’s mission has grown. “I have a personal mission and I have my animal mission,” he explains. “For the animal mission, I want to inspire as many people as possible not just to rescue, but to be that partner for your dog that your dog needs. Everyone says I need a dog, but a dog also needs you.”

Lee is passionate about shifting perspectives on shelter animals. “There’s this terrible crisis, and most of the shelters are full. And it’s not just full of the type of dogs that I think a lot of people assume are at a shelter, like the mean dogs or aggressive or sick. 99% of the dogs at shelters are so loving and affectionate and healthy.”

Beyond animal welfare, Lee hopes his story inspires others to pursue meaningful work. “As long as your intention, as long as your mission is to do something good for the world, everyone should have some sort of focus that is not just about them, but about making this world a better place.”

Content Approach

Unlike many content creators who meticulously plan their social media strategy, Lee’s approach is straightforward: be authentic, regardless of platform or metrics.

“I’m not a professional content creator. I’m a professional believer in my passion. I’m a professional animal lover and animal rescuer,” Lee asserts. “I don’t care what video I put where. The only time I do that is if I have a sponsored post.”

While The Asher House has amassed millions of followers across Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok, Lee emphasizes that follower count shouldn’t be anyone’s primary motivation. “If you’re on social media to have followers, you’re going to be so miserable,” he cautions. “People tell me, ‘Oh, you have 8 million followers. I would be so happy if I had a million followers.’ You are already creating a terrible reality for yourself.”

Despite personal insecurities, Lee has built his platform on vulnerability and transparency. “Be vulnerable. People say knowledge is power. Authenticity is power. Don’t be perfect because nobody is, and trying to be perfect creates distrust.”

For Lee, being real creates community. “Show your biggest insecurities because what’s beautiful about that is you find out you’re not the only one with those insecurities. That’s how you create your community. It’s not followers. I consider them a team of people that can help you accomplish anything beautiful that you’re trying to accomplish.”

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Beyond Viral Moments

When it comes to breakthrough moments in his social media development, Lee rejects the notion that creators should chase viral content.

“Don’t try to get that one video because everyone’s going to forget about it,” he advises. “I would rather have 20 videos and across the 20 videos have 20 million views than one video at 20 million views and everything else sucks.”

Instead, Lee emphasizes consistent content creation and a willingness to make mistakes publicly. “Keep producing content, make mistakes, say something stupid, go out there and be an idiot, and then fix that. Fix it publicly so that people can see that you’re human.”

For Lee, his social media success stems not from algorithmic strategy but from unwavering passion. “I knew I had something because I would wake up at 3 a.m. thinking about it. It consumes you. It wasn’t the video, it was the belief that I had in the mission.”

The Business of Compassion

The nonprofit Lee founded, The Asher House, has grown into a major operation with 75 employees. Separately, he also runs a for-profit company called Asher House Wellness, which sells CBD products and supplements for pets and people.

When it comes to brand partnerships, Lee’s strategy rests on the overall philosophy of being true to oneself. “The type of brands that I work with are the ones I would tell my friends about even if they didn’t pay me,” he states. “If you’re going to work with a brand, don’t work with a brand that your followers are immediately going to think they’re doing it for the money.”

His experience with Underdog energy drink illustrates his approach to business decisions. Despite initially agreeing to become a co-founder, Lee ultimately stepped back when he realized the venture would divert too much attention from his core mission. “I did decide to be a co-founder, but it ended up needing so much more of my time than I had to give. If I gave Underdog that type of attention, it would divert attention from the mission, which is my sole focus. Always.”

Lee acknowledges that monetization is necessary to sustain his mission. “If you’re adding value to the world, you should be able not to have to worry about how you’re going to pay rent and how you’re going to eat.”

Finding Balance Through Challenges

Building The Asher House hasn’t been without obstacles. “I get so sad, I get depressed, I get negative on myself. I think I’m so stupid,” Lee confesses. “But no matter what, I show up, I’m still going to open the door and I’m going to walk through it with my shoulders back and my head high, and I’m going to give everything I have to offer that day.”

Lee manages the demands of his busy life by staying fully present in each moment. “I don’t think about how to balance all this. Those things creep in now and then. But then I say, I don’t give a [expletive]. Because I’m showing up today.”

His philosophy centers on being fully present in each moment. “Wherever I’m at in that moment, that is what I’m focused on, and that’s getting 100% of me. What I have is this right here, and I’m going to give it 100% of me.”

Concerns About Platform Safety

Despite his success across social media platforms, Lee has important concerns about aspects of the creator economy, particularly regarding user safety.

“I would love for Facebook and TikTok to do a much better job in providing safety for its users,” he says, citing experiences with scam accounts impersonating Lee or The Asher House organization. “I can’t tell you how many times I have seen a fake Asher House account with thousands of followers. People have donated money to this terrible human being. We report the account, but it doesn’t get taken down.”

Lee expresses frustration at the platforms’ lack of response, particularly when vulnerable users are targeted. “It would be so nice for Facebook and TikTok to understand that there are a lot of users out there, like my mom in her 70s, who don’t realize that there are scammers on the Internet.”

The Purpose

As for the future, Lee remains committed to his core mission rather than chasing trends or metrics. “My future is always being true to my mission and myself. And I’m going to change and I’m going to grow for the better and the people that want to experience those changes with me will be along for the ride.”

He values consistency and authenticity in his content approach moving forward. “Consistency when it comes to social media is extremely important, and not trying, it makes me cringe when I see people get off their mission. I see people doing whatever it takes to get a like or a comment, and I said, ‘Oh, this isn’t true to you.'”

When reflecting on his journey since quitting his corporate job eight years ago, Lee finds it difficult to pinpoint a single most rewarding moment. “If five-year-old Lee were seeing what I’m doing now, there’s no way he would believe it,” the animal lover says. “I was afraid to raise my hand, you know.”

Instead, Lee values the cumulative impact of his work—the jobs created, the animals saved, and the human lives touched. “When I’m in public and I meet a person whose life has changed, who, part of her daily habit or part of his daily habit is to wake up and immediately watch one of my videos to put themselves in a good mental place, I feel so grateful.”

For Lee, the true reward isn’t measured in followers or views, but in the tangible difference his mission has made. “We have created something not just so massive, but it’s the amount of beauty that is ingrained in it, the love that’s in it, the positivity, and that’s what excites me the most.”

“Every day, I need to remind myself that I have made mistakes, but I have never given up. We created a beautiful life for others, all living things, for both people and animals.”

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