A question I ask myself fairly frequently is... "am I using the heartbeats I have to the best of my ability?"

The # I have, and the # you have, IS FINITE.

You may have heard me talk about this over and over and over again.

It is for good reason though.

Everywhere I turn, I see people wasting them.

Arguing with each other.

Sad, mad, anxious, depressed.

Refusing to look in the mirror and take complete ownership over their lives.

How do I know that look?

Because it was me.

And I too would drink alcohol to feel confident, smoke weed to numb out, and take pills to help me sleep.

The system sets us all up for this failure.

We are pressured to only use our BRAIN and forget about how our heart aches for other things.

Example:

In high school, if you asked me straight up "CJ do you picture yourself sitting at a desk for 8-10 hours a day.." I would have said FUCK NO. My heart knew then that I am not that type of person, nor did I want my life to be lived like that.

However, like everyone else, I got brainwashed to only use my brain, and forget my heart.

1. Get the grades.
2. Be a good little boy.
3. Get the high paying job/career
4. Live happily ever after...sike.

NO ONE WAS HAPPY.

At my first job, one that was for sure "prestigious," I swear not a single person was authentically happy.

It was fucking groundhogs day over and over again.

I thought I was the crazy one though, because at 23 I saw right through it, yet people twice my age acted like it was all peaches and cream.

I guarantee if you sat 9/10 of those people down, and asked them what vision they had for their lives prior to then, NONE OF THEM would have said they were at where they wanted to be.

But those weren't the questions we ever get asked.

Nobody asks you "what does your heart say?"

So here I am asking YOU this ^^^ question.

Below is an example of what my heart says...

In September I have been coaching fitness classes for the Athletic Brewing (non-alcoholic beer) pop-up in Downtown Austin.

Every chance I get to lead and coach an experience for other people, I ask them to make every heartbeat count. I tell them my story and ask them to make an impact beyond themselves when they finish the workout and walk through the doors back into their own world's.

Doing this is me following my heart.

Coaching fitness is against what my brain says I should be doing.

My brain chirps ... what will make you the most money CJ? What will grow your assets CJ? What will help your businesses CJ? All valid questions when I ask myself them during the appropriate time. These are the questions we have been conditioned to ask ourselves. But does that mean they are the right questions to be asking?

Today, I know how to override my chirping brain and follow my heart as well.

I know I need both to live the life I want to live.

Actually, it is a fact that when your brain and your heart operate in tandem, you can achieve miraculous things!!!

So don't get rid of that brain entirely. :)

All I am asking you to do is lead a little bit more with your heart.

What does that look like for you?

Where will it take you?

Who will it lead you to?

#thriveon

CJ

p.s. Following my heart led me to be able to write these. I never would have married the woman of my dreams. I never would have moved to Austin Texas (finally somewhere I feel at home/peace), and I never would have become an entrepreneur. Who would I have been if I never started to follow my heart? It pains me to see so many people not knowing who they could potentially become if they just listened to their heart a bit more.