Here is a core principle that I live by...

Don't listen to the opinions of other people who don't live the life I want, are the type of person I want to be, or haven't done something I am trying to do.

Why is this one of my core principles?

Because for a long period of my life I did not follow it.

I went down a path of following other people and their opinions of what I should do with my life, where I should go, how I should be, and WHY I should be doing it all in the first place.

Worst of it all, when I would be at a party or get together, I would word vomit stories of justifying the path I was going down to sound good to everyone else.

What brings up these thoughts and ^^^ this topic for me today?

Having just spent 3 weeks back "home" in New Jersey, a place where I spent 20+ years, I noticed people having conversations that used to bait me into the type of responses I wrote above.

And I couldn't help but to giggle when hearing them because i thought of my old self and how I would have responded.

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I am not kidding when I say this, I just spent 3 weeks away seeing people I either haven't seen in a while or just met for the first time, and I had ZERO conversations around "what" I do.

Sounds almost impossible right?

Well not if you live by the core principle I mentioned above.

Nobody I interacted with is someone that is going down a path of the one I envision for myself.

This is neither a knock on them, nor a reason that I couldn't learn from them.

In fact, I deflected and steered any type of conversation away from what I do, and instead asked other people about their own lives.

BE INTERESTED > interesting

I felt no need to justify my own path by telling it to other people.

And you shouldn't have to justify your path to anyone either!

Yet, if you have clarity on your path, and you know other people who have gone down a similar one, BEFRIEND THEM.

Because you can go so much further together with other people!!!

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My path for next couple years...

These #'s are not ranked by importance, they are all important.

1. Invest in becoming a better husband and father
2. Continue to rebuild my health and keep my autoimmune disease in remission
3. Get faster, stronger, and run longer distances
4. Continue building my podcast, YouTube, and THRIVEONLIFE Brand
5. Help my business partners, partnerships, coaching clients grow
6. Consistently serve my community in the ATX and digitally across the 🌎
7. Start new hobbies and learn new skills (bow and arrow, wake surfing, hip hop dance, etc)
8. Travel and adventure

There are more but you get gist.

If any of the above matches your path, and you'd like some help or clarity on how to navigate it, PLEASE LET ME KNOW. I'd love to help!

Let's get after it!

#thriveon

CJ

p.s. today I am grateful for the time away I had with Erin and Aiden. It was so nice to see family and friends.