🌐 Justin's Blog

It was a long journey, but I finally hit my first milestone.

In April 2023, I enrolled in a Gracie Jiu-jitsu gym. Now, after almost two years, I finally took the test and passed their Gracie Combatives program! This means I'm eligible for the Master Cycle which includes a lot more rolling (sparring), and an infinite number of new techniques.

The journey to this point has been a long one, and it was my own fault. I got bored with the program after about six months or so, and I was still a long way off from being permitted to take the test (I needed four stripes, and at that point I only had two). So, I left the gym to try some others.

I liked the other gyms, but the first one was way too intense. So, I decided to switch to a Gracie Barra location and I really liked it. However, I injured my bicep tendon again and after two classes, I had to stop all training, of any kind.

Returning to GJJ

While I was injured, I exchanged emails with my instructor who was super cool in answering my questions and addressing my concern. The injury ended up bringing me back to GJJ as it was a place that I would experience the least number of injuries. This is especially important as I get older yet plan to continue doing this activity for years to come.

The way GJJ is structured meant I could continue to learn, even with my injury. I began to participate as some of the pain subsided, and then I slowly incorporate private training sessions with the instructor around the July or August timeframe. I was about to take my test, but we ended up moving.

Once I got settled in the new place, I found another GJJ gym, and jumped right into the classes. I was ready. I took two private sessions to sharpen up some areas, and then I scheduled my test, which I took last night.

The test is broken up into five sections (guard, mount, side mount, standing, and light sparring). The point is to demonstrate all the techniques as they are called out on a passive opponent, and it all has to be done within a 25min time period. I ended up getting a 94 out of 100 (you need to get a 90 to pass). I was hoping to do better, but I made some silly mistakes. I still have some things to clean up. Nonetheless, I still passed, and I move on!

Moving to Master Cycle

Now that I have passed, I no longer have to take the slow-moving technique classes. I probably will still take them from time to time, and if I ever have a flare-up of my injury, then they are always an option.

Now I move onto Master Cycle. This class is about 30 minutes of instruction and drills, then 30 minutes of live sparring. More pressure testing, and a lot more tapping out.

I'm excited for this next stage as I continue my march towards achieving my blue belt.

#personal

We do it every day. It's the slow, steady, reliable rhythm of our lives.

We do it all the time without thinking, but when our breathing is off, like when fighting a cold, we notice it. We try everything to get it back to normal. Back to the point where we don't notice it again.

Have you taken time recently to notice your breath? I mean, really notice it? The way your chest rises, or stomach fills up and the slow and steady exhale. The air, is it warm? Or is it cool? Do you fill up your entire lungs, or is your breathing shallow?

Your breath says a lot about you. It can also be used to ease your mind.

Use Breathing to Quiet Your Mind

Our days are full of events, reactions, thoughts, and feelings. These swirl in our heads every second of every minute. From the moment we wake up, to the moment we close our eyes to sleep, our minds never stop. Depending on the thoughts we have, this can become tiring. We get worn out.

Focusing on your breath can quiet your mind, and help to alleviate your stress. I promise you, after just 10 quiet minutes where you focus on your breathing, you'll feel a new sense of calm.

How To Do It

1. Find a quiet space.
2. Close your eyes, and take a deep breath through your nose.
3. Let it out through your mouth, slowly.
4. Repeat this process three or four times.
5. Return to normal breathing.

Don't try to change your breathing at this point. Just keep it steady, simple, and normal paced.

Stay Focused on Your Breath

Now, as you breathe normally, think about how the air fills your lungs. Take note of where you feel it in your body. Is it your chest rising? Or, do you feel it in the stomach? What is the temperature of the air on the way in, versus on the way out?

Just notice these things. Don't think about them, simply observe.

If you find that your mind is starting to wander, don't get upset. It happens to everyone. Just gently bring your attention back to your breathing.

You can also count the breaths. The inhale is one, then the exhale is two. Inhale again is three, then the exhale is four. Count to 10, and start again at one. This helps you to keep your focus on breathing.

Commit Daily

Just like you make a point to work out, set aside some time for your mental health each day.

I've been getting a lot of benefit doing this every day, for 10-15 minutes at a time. Every time I think it won't change much, but when I'm done, I feel more at ease.

#mindfulness

I had no choice.

During the post-inauguration rally for his boy toy Trump, Elon Musk threw up not one, but TWO, Nazi salutes. On MLK Jr. Day, no less.

That marked the end of Twitter in my life. I simply can't continue to use the platform in good conscience.

Going forward, you can find me on Bluesky and Mastodon.

#personal

Everything we know about time to be real... isn't.

I've been tripping a little bit lately thinking about the fourth dimension of time. I suspect it's because I'm quickly approaching my 40th birthday, and that in itself is messing with my head!

Time, as we know it, is a construct that we've created based on two primary factors: the earth's rotation on its axis, and its rotation around the sun.

The daily tracking of time makes sense to me, and has probably always existed to some extent in the evolution of humanity. But when I start to think deeper on the topic, I start to recognize the fabricated nature of time, and its relativity.

Our Perception of Time is Fake

The Gregorian seven-day week is an example of a construct that we've created at a certain point in time, and have just stuck with because... well, because we became used to it.

Over the course of our history, there have been several calendars with a different system for tracking our journey around the sun.

1. French Revolutionary Calendar: Divided the year into 10-day weeks (décades), with Décadi as a rest day.

2. Ancient Egyptian Calendar: Used 10-day weeks (decans), aligning with star phases and the Nile’s cycles.

3. Balinese Pawukon Calendar: A 210-day calendar with overlapping cycles of different week lengths (1 to 10 days).

What if one of these became more popular than the Gregorian calendar?

First, we'd all perceive time a little differently.

And, we'd all be different ages.

Think about that for a moment. Everything we know about time, human history, events that took place, and our own personal ages would be different from how we understand it now.

Space Time is Mind-Bending

If we had the ability to go into a spaceship and travel the speed of light, then the concept of time really starts to bend the mind.

We experience linear time based on our experience here on earth. One full rotation around the sun is “one year”, as we call it. If you got into a spaceship and traveled the speed of light, then returned after 10 earth years, then you wouldn't have aged, but all of us still on earth would look 10 years older.

Yeah. What?

I learned this years ago as a child, but it just didn't land. Being more aware of my time now (and how finite it is), has made me reflect on this fact differently.

“Fake” Time Matters

Look, time is important. It's valuable, and how we universally measure it matters, too. It may be “fake” in nature, but it's real to us and our social constructs. That is what makes (and keeps) it real for us.

Everyone should value their time more than anything else in this world. It helps you appreciate those in your life, and the experiences you live.

Live with intention, and appreciate your time. None of us know how much we have left.

#mindfulness

The new year is about setting daily intentions.

I regret to say that over the course of my life, I've lived many years without intention. I think this is to be expected in youth, and I'm not hard on myself for that time. But in my adult life, I've coasted at times, getting wrapped up in the day-to-day without a clear understanding of my bigger picture.

There isn't anything wrong with living in the present moment for a day. In fact, there is beauty in that. I am, however, becoming keenly aware that my future days aren't promised. Each day that I get to live is a gift that, quite frankly, I don't deserve.

This year, I'm not making New Year's resolutions, in the traditional sense. I'm setting intentions:

• Set a daily intention
• Make someone happy
• Assume the best
• Choose patience
• Laugh daily
• Give more, take less
• Let go of the uncontrollables
• Be mindful

I've been trying to do these things more for the last quarter of 2024. I've gained a little practice, and I'm ready to go into 2025 with these driving my daily actions.

#mindfulness

Another year in the books, marking the end of a long, long chapter.

It's the end of yet another year. Something I've started to become more grateful for is just the very gift of life. I was fortunate to live another year, and it was the most healthy during that time (barring a cold or two). For this, I feel very fortunate.

As I did in my recap post last year, I have categorized my recap from a professional and personal life...

Professional Life was Slow... for Once

I'll get to the reasons why in my personal life update, but I'll just say that for the first time in my entrepreneurial life, things were slow in 2024.

At times this was difficult for me, but there were more moments where I was grateful that I didn't have as much going on. This afforded me the mental space to disconnect and not worry about constantly trying to make a project or vision a reality. It also meant that when I was working with clients, I was more focused on helping them with their situations (and they benefited).

Very Little Outbound Sales

At the end of 2023, I was having free consultation calls with a lot of people for my coaching and mastermind group. This involved a lot of cold outreach on my part, which was fine, but time-consuming and not all the free calls turned into paying clients.

This year, I think I had maybe two free calls in the January timeframe, one in the summer, and that's it.

As you would expect, my pipeline began to dry up, and there was a moment where my mastermind group became lean and mean.

But you know what? I liked it.

First, these folks were the most committed entrepreneurs. It comes as no surprise that they were all seeing success and making more money.

But second, it freed up my personal schedule quite a bit. This was something I needed because of the life events I had going on. Truth be told, I had zero motivation to try to get more clients this year.

Still Landed More Clients

Despite the lack of outreach on my part, I was still able to get some more clients. Sure, the pipeline was dry for long periods of time, but occasionally someone would reach out to me unsolicited, and after a little back-and-forth via email, we'd end up working together.

Overall, I'd say that I have a core group of clients who really get a lot out of my coaching because they listen, brainstorm, and implement the ideas that we discuss. There are others who are less active, but still appreciate the perspective that I can offer regarding their situations.

Finished the BrightGrowth Playbook

It took me way longer than I anticipated, but I finally finished writing the BrightGrowth Playbook. I've given access to everyone that I am currently coaching, and I continue to add content to it as I remember strategies and tactics I've used over the years. I also add insights that I gain from my coaching calls.

I think that next year I'll try selling access, but I'm in no rush to figure that out right now. The content is great, but I find that coupling it with coaching is what really enhances its applicability. In any event, it's a nice mini-project for next year, should I indeed decide to sell it.

Product Only Clients in 2025

I've had the opportunity to coach people across a variety of industries, both in and out of WordPress. Something I learned this year: while I enjoy coaching anyone in the WordPress space, I much prefer coaching product-based companies.

That's not to say I won't coach individuals with service-based offerings, but I will be focusing my outreach next year on founders of WordPress products. It's more fun for me, and seeing as I do coaching for fun, that's of critical importance.

Higher Education

I really enjoy coaching, and I'll continue to do it as long as that is the case. I am, however, becoming curious about other ways to spend my time professionally.

I've always had an interest in academia, so I recently reached out to my undergraduate and graduate school to share my story and desire to be a guest lecturer. Both replied with interest, so I'll be having some conversations as to how that could look in the new year.

I hope something works out. It could be a good way to “dip my toe” into the industry. If I like it, then I may pursue it more formally.

An Eventful Personal Life

From a personal standpoint, this year was good, but wow, it has been a bit of a rollercoaster of expectations.

Before getting into all of it, I'll start off by saying that I feel incredibly fortunate to live the life that we do. Despite the challenges we've faced, Lorena and I are both healthy. That in itself is arguably the most important thing, and it can't be overstated.

Which is actually a good introduction to the first, and most important, win of this year from a personal standpoint...

Lorena's Graves' Disease is in Remission

This was the biggest win of 2024.

Lorena was diagnosed with Graves' disease in May 2023, and it was quite the mental and physical battle for her. One thing that she did not want to do was take medicine for the rest of her life, but this was what every single doctor told us was necessary.

To her credit, Lorena refused to accept this. She started researching more about how the food we eat can have a profound impact on our health. She talked to nutritionists, dieticians, homeopathic doctors, and more. She tried some things, and when they didn't work out, she kept searching.

I'll write about it in more detail in the new year, but she finally landed on a whole food protocol designed specifically for people with thyroid issues. Well, it worked! She's in remission, and taking zero medicine for it!

Lorena Now a U.S. Citizen

Lorena has held a U.S. Green Card since she was a child. When we got married, we talked about the possibility of her becoming a U.S. citizen. Even before we met, she had always felt very comfortable with her life in the United States, both personally and professionally.

Well, in December 2024, she took her oath and officially became a U.S. citizen! It was a really cool event with over 1,300 people in attendance. The top five countries represented, in order:

1. Mexico 🇲🇽
2. Vietnam 🇻🇳
3. South Korea 🇰🇷
4. China 🇨🇳
5. Philippines 🇵🇭

The event took about four hours total, with the actual ceremony lasting about 40 minutes. With over 1,300 new citizens, there was a lot of family in attendance!

We Finally Moved

We bought our new home in May 2024, but didn't move until this month (December). There were a variety of reasons for this — flooding and water damage in both homes, being unable to sell the existing home, and design work in the new home taking longer than expected.

We finally just set a date and went for it. We live in Culver City now, and we're loving the conveniences and lifestyle. We live on a peaceful, tree-lined street that is only a five-minute walk to downtown. This means we can walk to coffee shops, restaurants, various gyms, and activities (my daily walk to the cafe is becoming a favorite activity).

It's about 15 minutes away from the beach by car, which is a tad longer than my two minutes in San Clemente, but that's the only tradeoff I feel that I've had to make.

I can't wait to get involved in the LA area. I'm already enjoying same-day Amazon deliveries!

Fewer Trips than Normal

The beginning of the year was busier with trips due to two weddings, but then we had to cut back on the travel because of the house situation. That lasted about six months longer than we anticipated, and it really hindered our ability to go anywhere.

This year, we were fortunate to go to:

• Cuernavaca for a wedding
• Playa del Carmen for a wedding
• Connecticut for a quick trip
• Mexico City for a family visit
• Chicago to visit my brother
• Connecticut again and New York to visit Lorena's sisters
• Michigan to visit my parents and friends
• Culver City, many times to do house stuff 😅

Most of our travel was for family, which is definitely not a bad thing. We will try to go to more places in 2025, including more long weekends driving around California. There is so much to see here, and we've only scratched the surface.

Spanish on Point

I haven't written much about my journey in Spanish lately, but probably because since I've reached fluency, I feel like I've just been slowly getting more solid in my conversational comprehension.

If I'm honest, I'm not entirely sure if I have the drive to get to that “next” level. I can say pretty much everything now. Maybe not eloquently, but it works. I'm also able to follow most conversations.

Currently, I listen to a Spanish news podcast a few times a week, take one to two private lessons with a tutor, and speak to Lorena and her family in Spanish. And now that I'm in the LA area, I speak Spanish with anyone who is willing. The more I just strike up conversations, the more confidence I get, and I always find myself learning something new.

All that said, the best way for me to improve at this point would be to read more. I'm terrible at making time to read in English, let alone Spanish. But, according to my tutor, reading is where it's at for my level. I'll make this a goal for Q1 next year.

Started Regular Mindfulness

This year, I started to be more deliberate in taking time to quiet my mind with mindfulness techniques. I've taken time to reflect upon this here on my blog. I find that even 10 minutes can leave me feeling more calm and less controlled by emotions. It has helped me to better recognize and live in the moment. I highly recommend it if it's not something you've done in the past.

I'll absolutely continue this practice. I'm trying to gain more inner balance and peace. So far, this has worked well.

Feeling Good about 2025

Something I've learned in my life is that I need to stop trying to predict the future. So with that in mind, I'll just say that I am optimistic about 2025.

I'm most looking forward to creating a new life in Culver City — exploring the neighborhood, hopefully making some friends, getting involved in various activities, among other things. If we're lucky, we'll throw some trips in there as well, and our health will continue down the right path.

Here's to making the next year the most eventful one yet!

#personal

I wrote 36 blog posts this year - here are the most popular ones.

Writing has always been a form of therapy for me. I enjoy the reflection, the physical process, and just documenting my experiences for future reference. I write about topics ranging from personal events, entrepreneurship, WordPress, mindfulness, politics, health, and happiness.

As you would expect, some posts are more popular than others. Below are my five most popular posts in 2024 based on number of views:

1. Matt vs WP Engine: Too Far?
2. WP Business Mistakes
3. Blogging Alternative to WordPress
4. WordPress Pricing
5. Winning in WordPress

Occasionally I write on Medium. Here are my top three articles this year:

1. How to Grow from $1M to $2M ARR
2. 6 Profitable Lessons from My Startup to Exit Journey
3. Pricing Strategies That Work

Stay in The Know

While I often blog, I don't always email my list. I try to limit it to just one email a month, sometimes two. And these are typically my better posts, not my personal ones where I'm documenting my life.

If you're not already, then you can subscribe below. I don't spam my list, and I value your privacy (there is no email tracking).

Also, if you're up for it, let's connect on Bluesky!

Have a great holiday!

#WordPress #entrepreneurship

I've been trying to find peace of mind, and to me, that means silence.

I write this on a foggy morning in California. I can't see past the end of my backyard, the fog is so thick. There are no lights, just the soft glow of the sun slowly illuminating the day.

It's peaceful. It's quiet. And for the first time in a long time, my mind is at ease as well. At least at this moment.

For much of my life, I've been at the whim of my thoughts. Whether positive or negative, my thoughts were uncontrollable — especially as a younger man.

But as I progressed into my 30s, I began to work more on my cognitive fortitude. That is, thinking about the way I was thinking. Some major life events forced this upon me, and if I'm honest, I couldn't have done it alone. I spent hours speaking to therapists, journaling, and learning to be my own advocate. I cried, laughed, commiserated, and celebrated.

Control The Controllables

On the cusp of 40 now, I'm learning more about how I think, and more importantly, how to quiet my mind. Mindfulness exercises help, but it's not just during these specific times. I've been slowly learning to adjust my perspective.

Much of my stress and pain comes from thinking too much about the past or future. Two places that don't exist, but the pain is real. Like many people, I try to think through all possible scenarios of what might happen, and then my reaction to each of them.

This thought process takes its toll. Yes, it's good to be prepared, but this kind of thinking is subject to catastrophic thinking and continuous rumination.

So, I've made a shift. I think about what is controllable, and I focus on that. In most cases, this means focusing on my reaction and feelings at the moment. I have no control over what “might happen”, but all the control over my reaction right here, right now.

Forced to be Present

The byproduct of focusing on my reaction and living is the moment is that I am more mentally present. I don't ruminate on the past as much anymore, instead using it as a teacher for how to control my reactions in the day I am living.

Tomorrow is not promised. All that exists is the here and now. I am finding peace of mind by embracing that instead of thinking about a future that may never come to pass.

Rejecting Negativity

Our minds have a way of hyper-focusing on negativity. It's a survival instinct that must be overridden. When I find myself stressed, I become aware of negative thoughts cycling through my head. These then cause more stress, and more negative thoughts — an unfortunate snowball effect.

I'm learning to reject our inherently human negativity bias. It's not easy, and I'm not perfect, but I'm getting better at it. I accomplish this through logic and grounding.

Negative thoughts and feelings are emotion-based, and as such, logic has a calming effect. If I have swirling negative thoughts, I think about the advice that I would give to a friend if I were helping them through it. This separates me from the emotions. It allows space for logic to really “land”.

But the other part of this is to be in a place where the logic can stick, and I do that by grounding myself with mindfulness techniques. Simply closing my eyes and focusing on my breath forces me into the present moment and out of my emotions.

Evolution, Not a Destination

I'm evolving in my journey to achieve a silent mind and inner peace. There will never be a time when I feel that I've obtained it because evolution doesn't have an end, because that's not the goal of evolution.

Evolution is about adaptation to the environment. My environment will change over the years, and I'll continue to evolve to not only survive, but to ultimately thrive in the place where I exist, at that moment.

#mindfulness

It's November, so that means it's travel season.

Every November, Lorena and I begin our rounds visiting family. Typically, we make an annual trip at this time to Connecticut to either celebrate some birthdays or Thanksgiving. This year, we are going for some birthdays for a week.

There were a handful of visitors, so we stayed in a hotel in Norwalk, which was only 10 minutes or so from everyone. We celebrated our nephew's birthday, as well as the birthday of Lorena's youngest sister. As usual, we had some good laughs and made memories. There is comfort in tradition, and for about five years now, this has been a regular part of our lives.

After that visit, we flew directly to Michigan to stay with my parents and to see our other two nephews. My brother and his family drove in from Illinois, which gave us an opportunity to all be together (similar to when we visited them over the summer and my parents joined us).

Unfortunately, my brother could only stay for the weekend. Lorena and I spent more time with my parents (celebrating my dad's birthday), and then made a point to see some of my best friends, including one who just recently had a baby last month. That was really fun — we are very happy for them.

Thanksgiving this year will look different. Even though we're still trying to sell the house, we are moving to our new one in December. So, this year for Thanksgiving, we are going to be preparing for the big move. It'll be a lot of work, but it's exciting!

#personal

Large portions of the WordPress Twitter community are migrating over to Bluesky.

In the past week, the WordPress community has been joining the growing “X-Odus” of users leaving X/Twitter, finding a new digital home on the emerging social platform Bluesky.

As Bluesky's growth accelerates, WordPress professionals are leveraging community-curated “Starter Packs” – curated lists of WordPress developers, designers, and community leaders that users can follow with a single click. These packs are rapidly accelerating the rebuild of professional networks that took years to cultivate on X.

A Welcomed Change

The migration appears to be driven by more than just X fatigue. Bluesky's decentralized structure, customizable algorithms, and ad-free environment are resonating with the WordPress community's open-source values.

The platform also offers the ability to fine-tune feed content and moderation settings. This, combined with high follow-back rates among WordPress professionals, is fostering stronger engagement than they've seen in recent years on other platforms.

As more of the community makes the switch, these WordPress Starter Packs are becoming valuable resources for maintaining professional connections, and they are helpful for finding folks with similar interests.

One, or Both?

Does this mean X/Twitter is no longer relevant? No, of course not.

As of today, there is still a very strong WordPress community on Twitter, and that probably isn't going to change anytime soon. Many people, myself included, are posting on both platforms.

That said, I'm more active on Bluesky than Twitter now. I'll continue to maintain my Twitter account for the time being and will assess how things play out over time. I may shut down Twitter altogether.

If you're timid about getting started, don't be! It's easy to build up a network, and you can always follow me, and I’ll gladly follow you back! 🦋

#WordPress