From surviving to THRIVING
Practical steps to an optimal life
Justin's story started with his parent's moving to the suburbs of North Carolina at the age of three. Soon after his parents divorced he spent most of the weekends next door with his best friends who were a bit older.
The time was the mid 80's "Our parents were no helicopter parents. We spent our days in the woods with a lot of autonomy." He THRIVED in this enviroment!
Left to right, Chris, Justin, David
At his mother's it was a different story. He moved around a lot and it was hard for him to maintain friendships. So at thirteen, he moved in with his father. There he went to work. He walked the streets pushing a mower and earning spending money. Since his father was gone during the week as a truck driver he got himself up and to school on his own, further building more autonomy.
At the age of fifteen, his father was in a sudden and tragic work accident. He had grown estranged from his mother so he fought to live with his brother. This is known as kinship care in the foster care world. He went to a group home for a short while and after a few weeks, he went to live with his brother. His brother and wife had a new newborn and he instantly attached.
At age sixteen he felt it was time to tackle life on his own. Drawing from his mastery and autonomy living with his father, he found belonging as men and their families in the small town community helped guide him into adulthood.
As a young adult, he decided to go to college and it was there where he volunteered for the Army where he was soon deployed overseas.
In the Army, he found community and purpose. He started offering fitness advice to his fellow soldiers. It was his first coaching experience and he loved the feeling of helping others. "Seeing Iraq also really opened my mind. I remember looking at the citizens with sympathy" he said.
Upon his return the states, he bought two houses as a package deal. He lived in one and rented the other one out. He stated "Fixing up and maintaining the houses helped me build my handyman skills. But more importantly, he was still eager to help others and continue with self-improvement."
He became aware of what was threatening our food and environment. He learned how important soil was and bought his first indoor composting worm bin and started to garden at a community garden plot. He had tremendous luck by only adding compost from my worm bin. A handful with every planting and then topdressing as he harvested more.
He later donated that garden to someone who was in need. He reported, "This provided me with an example of how to make a sustainable change; teach someone in need, the skill of gardening."
He then focused on animal rescue. He started by rescuing on his own from the street and then became the president of the local humane society. He fostered, helped with grants, adoption events, and even reform animal abuse laws.
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While doing dog rescue he chose to mentor a young boy through a local school program. That really encouraged him to become a foster parent. "I was amazed at the change I saw not only in the boys in my care but also within myself. I found the more I was able to heal, find purpose, and find a group of people that wanted to help, the more healing could take place for all of us."
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Later he began urban homesteading and fostering at-risk youth. He and his kids loved raising fish and plants in the aquaponics system, chickens, beehives, worms, and roaches. The weirder the better. He felt flow as he was doing good work but it did not feel like he was working, it felt natural. He said, "I felt I was paying forward what I had received as a youth and being more responsible for the footprint." He went on a seven-day solo backpacking trip when he had a vision of an ecovillage for children. "Why keep them in four walls when nature is so healing. "As I build toward that goal, I will share what I have learned so that we can all THRIVE!"
