I let the old me die. Because I knew the old me would kill me.

I never considered myself to have a drinking problem. And when looking back, I still don't believe that was the issue. I knew what I was doing.

The problem that I truly had, it was a pit in my soul that caused an insane amount of anxious energy.

Drinking and smoking weed numbed that.

By the time I turned 18 the only thing I could do to quiet that energy was to get hammered.

I hated school and sitting in the classroom all day.

I hated drama and low-vibe bullshit that east-coast people seem to love.

I hated the miserable gloomy weather half the year.

I hated myself for knowing I hated all of that and still going along with it for so long.

Only two places I could quiet the noise...

get swole in the gym, or get drunk.

Why am I talking about all of this today?

Because today is my 31st birthday.

And to be dead fucking serious, at one point in my life, I couldn't even picture myself in my 30's.

Not because I never wanted to make it there.

But because I was so upset with the options I thought were out there for people.

I didn't want my parents life, or the life of any of the adults around me as my future.

And I kept that thought to myself because I didn't want to hurt their feelings.

So instead, I hurt myself.

The light I had for life was dimming, and I didn't know how to reverse it.

Nothing changes if nothing changes though.

So I signed a contract for a job in Nashville at the age of 24 and left everything I ever knew.

And it was the best decision I have ever made.

While everyone thought it was for a job, I knew what it was really for, I was going to become a completely different person. The person I actually wanted to be all along.

Today, I consider my 25th birthday to have been my first birthday of becoming the REAL ME.

Ever since then, I have been on a journey to peel away all the masks that I put on myself over the years.

And I tell this story today, as I sit on my couch on my 31st birthday, because I have now made it to the peak of the Mountain I set out to climb at age 24.

Fully tatted, sober, reader/writer/podcaster/athlete/creator/entrepreneur/coach/mentor/biohacker... with friends/family/business partners around me that I couldn't be more grateful for, and a stunning wife I still question to this day what I did to deserve the story we have together.

Fuck the normal path.

Fuck the jobs I was supposed to have, or the person I was supposed to be.

Fuck keeping up with the joneses.

Fuck the time where I felt like I couldn't say fuck because it would hurt "someone's" feelings.

IT'S A FUCKING WORD. FUCK FUCK FUCK.

Actions > words.

I have reached the top of the mountain where I don't care about anything other than the actions of myself and those around me.

So here is the point of the story where you now become a part of it.

Aka the best part.

The new mountain for me...involves helping YOU climb to the peak of whatever you set out to pursue.

That is what my 30's is dedicated to.

That is the new peak for me.

The only way I get there, is if you decide to change and manifest a new peak for yourself, and allow someone like me to join in on the journey with you.

So where are we going?

What will we be seeing?

Who will we be meeting?

And why will we be doing any of it in the first place?

The choice to change is YOURS.

I challenge you right now to make that choice.

#thriveon

CJ

p.s. I am grateful to have seen another year on this earth.