The power of presence in overcoming life's biggest obstacles – with J.R. Martinez

Ever wondered what it takes to dance with the stars... while carrying the scars of a near-death combat incident? This question is not a hypothetical scenario, but the real-life journey of J.R. Martinez, a soldier-turned-star who has transformed tragedy into a platform of inspiration and resilience.

J.R.'s story is a masterclass in resilience, presence, and the power of being fully in the moment. At just 19, a life-altering accident changed everything for him—and it’s his ability to embrace each moment, no matter how difficult, that has led him to transform his life and inspire others.

J.R. takes us through his journey, sharing the raw truth of what it means to face hardship head-on, from surviving severe burns and smoke inhalation to battling the mental health struggles that followed. His story reminds us that no matter what we’re going through, our struggles are real, valid, and unique to us. We talk about the importance of confronting our past traumas, understanding our body’s memories, and finding the strength to heal and move forward.

One of the most powerful takeaways from J.R.'s experience? The practice of finding stillness amidst chaos. Whether it’s through the grounding techniques of yin yoga or simply learning how to sit with discomfort, J.R. highlights how slowing down can be the key to unlocking strength, clarity, and healing—especially in the darkest moments.

From his humble beginnings of dancing in bars to becoming a celebrated figure on a popular dance show, J.R. shows us how embracing new opportunities can open doors to a life far beyond what we ever imagined. His infectious energy and unwavering positivity remind us that even when life throws us curveballs, we can always find joy, growth, and purpose if we stay present and curious.

This episode is packed with inspiration, resilience, and the reminder that our struggles are not the end of the story—they’re just the beginning of something bigger. Tune in to hear J.R.'s powerful message and get ready to feel uplifted and empowered to face your own obstacles with the same grace, courage, and presence.

MEET J.R. MARTINEZ

J.R. is an Army veteran, motivational speaker, actor, Dancing with the Stars winner, and New York Times bestselling author of Full of Heart: My Story of Survival, Strength, and Spirit. His trajectory from a military hospital bed to the glitzy dancefloor of a hit TV show, and now to the forefront of thought leadership and motivational speaking, is a story that will inspire and challenge.

His unbending resolve and unbelievable life story make him one of the most compelling personalities out there. He has conquered the battlefield, the dance floor, the literary world, and now he is on a mission to captivate your audience.

CONNECT WITH J.R.
Book: Full of Heart: My Story of Survival, Strength and Spirit
Website: jrmartinez.com
Podcast: The Rebirth Podcast

Chapters

• 0:05 Power of Presence With JR Martinez
• 12:53 Surviving Mental Health Struggles
• 18:16 Overcoming Fear and Finding Stillness
• 24:12 Uncovering Growth Through Experience
• 29:17 Curious Life Navigation
• 37:47 The Power of Small Revelations
• 48:28 The Beauty of Dance and Presence

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:05

Hi and welcome to Untethered with Jen Liss, the podcast that's here to help you break free, be you and unleash your inner brilliance. I'm your host, jen, and in this episode we're going to talk about the power of presence and how it can support you in overcoming even life's biggest obstacles. Let's dive in. Hey there, unicorn, welcome back to the podcast. Today's episode. We have JR Martinez.

Speaker 1: 0:41

Now JR is an Army veteran, motivational speaker, actor and Dancing with the Stars winner. Also, you know, a New York Times bestselling author. He is, most of all, and as you're going to hear in this conversation, jr is an amazingly present, inspirational, motivational, all-around fantastic human being. He has been through things that most of us could not even fathom and he's going to walk us through his story of what happened to him at a mere 19 years of age and where that has led him to where he's at today. And this is one of those conversations that every single one of us, I mean. I feel so blessed that this conversation is available to us, that he is on this planet and available to share this conversation with us and to tell us, like, here is what truly matters and, at the same time, admitting I'm a human being. We're all human beings trying to be on this planet and we're all moving through things at any moment, and it doesn't matter the obstacles that you have. They are real, they are very real. Maybe they're not the same obstacles that he has faced, but your obstacles are freaking real, the things that we are dealing with. Every human has things, so I hope he helps you to see that, even though those are there, even though this might be your current experience, even though you might not be in this moment exactly where you want to be, maybe you feel so tethered right now, this can't just be it. There is something more. There is something different. There is that other door and you can just keep swimming Without further ado.

Speaker 1: 2:33

Welcoming to the podcast JR Martinez, hi JR.

Speaker 2: 2:39

Hi Jen, how are you doing?

Speaker 1: 2:40

It's so good, it's so freaking fun to have you on here. I'm thrilled to get to meet you and I know my listeners are going to be so jazzed to get to hear from you today.

Speaker 2: 2:49

Well, thank you so much for having me on. It's it's um. You know it's a blessing to be able to have connection with people and for people to feel like that. You know they want to share their platform, you know, with me and allow me to connect with them and to connect with the people that listen to you, and so I just appreciate every opportunity and I think that's one of the things that you know I take so seriously, in a sense of when I show up in spaces, I show up, um, I, I am here, I am present because I mean the odds of me connecting with one of your listeners, possibly ever again. I mean I mean, yeah, we could, but we also could not, and so for me, I just try to maximize and optimize every opportunity I get. So, thank you, I don't take it lightly and I just appreciate you having me on.

Speaker 1: 3:39

Yeah, it's honestly such a gift to be in presence with someone who is present and I feel that from you from the second that you hopped in here. Have you always been that way? Have you always been that person who you know when somebody is sitting down with you, you're just that way. I ask because my husband is, but some people to come into presence is such a struggle, yeah so I think I've always had that ability.

Speaker 2: 4:06

I think it's been pronounced since, obviously, what happened to me and I know we'll get into that but I was always a kid that was very aware, very observant, really paid attention to everything that was going on around me. I see it in my kids and I see my daughter and I'm like, hey, you're staring and I was like, but I get it though, you're observing, but it's a little weird the way you're doing it right now. So let me teach you how to do it so it doesn't seem awkward.

Speaker 2: 4:35

In the non-creepy way In the non-creepy way exactly. Trust me, if anybody knows anything about staring at somebody and doing double takes, I know how to work around it because I've dealt with this so much of my life. But yeah, I've always been this person, you know. It was interesting. I recently had a conversation with somebody and they talked about and I can't remember for the life of me what it was and I probably should go back and and and find out exactly what it was. So I'm giving this information out correctly. But they referenced there was this doctor or a book or maybe a doctor that wrote a book, but essentially something along the lines of like how your DNA is constantly changed by your environment.

Speaker 2: 5:09

And this person you know mentioned that about me and sort of the circumstances that I've been exposed to, and I said, you know, I believe that because here I was, that was, I was a kid that was very energetic, very bubbly, good energy, big smile on my face, loved interacting with people, and then circumstances and situations that I kept finding myself being president just kept taking, you know, a little bit of life out of me, and I think that's why, when I encounter people that might not be in the most welcoming, warm state. I'm always trying to like lend out some compassion because I'm like you know that's probably not who they really were at the beginning. That's just, unfortunately, just a just a statue of all this stuff that has been compounded and they haven't quite figured out how to sort of shed a lot of that stuff and not carry it with them. And so you know, I don't know, I just you know, obviously, since a life altering event, I mean that really kind of changes your perspective and the time that you have on this earth and understanding how life is so fragile. And I understand that, how blessed I am that I got a second chance at life, and so I try not to take it for granted.

Speaker 2: 6:22

And that also means that you know I try to show up. But on the flip side of that is I also have to be careful because me constantly showing up, the way that I like to show up, is draining. It could take a lot out of you that help replenish you things and that you know habits, traits, whatever you want to call them, that allow you to be refueled by other people or other things. And that's not being selfish, that's just understanding that, hey, there's a gas station, for a reason I got to stop and fuel up so I can get to where I want to go.

Speaker 1: 7:00

Yeah, that's such an important message and for all of us to remember even the high energy, super effervescent people on this planet have to refuel in their unique way and sometimes we ourselves forget that because the world doesn't recognize it. So then we're not recognizing that in ourselves. So let's go back to you mentioned. You had a life altering moment and many people who may or may not have met you on dancing with the stars, maybe have not heard the story. So and I know you've told the story a million times and at the same time I could hear it a thousand times so if you could share with us, you know, that moment that shifted for you and really changed the trajectory of your life and put you in the seat with us today, Well, surprise, this is actually going to be the millionth time that I've actually said it, so number one million.

Speaker 2: 7:49

Special episode right here. No, you know. No, but you know I don't mind revisiting it, I don't mind retelling it. I understand that that is the big moment that a lot of people you know want to hear about. Of course, that was the major moment in my life that trying to change the trajectory of my life and led me down this course of where I am today. And it doesn't affect me, it doesn't bother me emotionally. I think that's another question that people wonder. They start to ask that question with a little bit of timidness, of like are we asking something that's going to be triggering? And I'm going to tell you the details of that day and what happened, and I'm going to speak about it as if I'm telling you what I did with my family last weekend. It's just that nonchalant matter of fact. It's just another thing that happened in my life and it took me a long time to get to that point where I could take the power away from that incident, from that moment, and actually find ways to control it and change the tone and change the outcome and what comes from it. And so when I look at people and talk about that day, I talk about it as a blessing. I refer to it as that and what I'm referring to is after high school, I joined the army and I went to basic training for three months, was assigned to my unit.

Speaker 2: 9:07

Two months after getting to my unit, I was deployed to Iraq in 2003. And this was six months after I enlisted and everything happened so fast for me. And when you're right out of high school right out of high school I mean, I'm like two months out of high school when I decide that I'm going to go to the military. And the military was at that time for me was a one-stop shop right. It kind of checked all the boxes. It gave me an opportunity to leave these small towns that I was born and grew up in. It gave me an opportunity to see the world. It gave me an opportunity to get money for college. It gave me an opportunity to give back to a country that had given so much to me and my family my mother's from El Salvador, central America, my father's from Mexico. So my parents are immigrants and I was first born and first generation and I had a different perspective and appreciation for what I had in this country. Even though it wasn't a lot compared to my peers, it was incredible what I had here in comparison to my family in Central America for example.

Speaker 2: 10:06

And when 9-11 happened I was a senior in high school and of course, like a lot of people, I felt the need to do something and so the military just kind of presented an opportunity for me to do that and I joined. I joined as 11 Bravo infantry front lines combat. You're trained to fight. That was sort of my mindset at a young 19 years old, that I was just going to go out there and just kick some ass and make it happen. But I was only going to do three years, that was it, and I was going to get out at 22 years old and move on with my life. You had a plan and you know everybody has a plan. You know it's like there's two ways of looking at this. So some people say you know you plan, god laughs. Other, you know, mike Tyson says everybody has a game plan until they get punched in the mouth. They both say the same thing. They mean this exact same thing. It's just a different approach to it.

Speaker 2: 10:51

But you know, three weeks into my deployment I'm driving a Humvee through a city car called Bala when a front left tire runs over a landmine and I'm the driver. There's three other troops in a Humvee. It explodes, it detonates, I'm trapped inside. I'm completely conscious. Three other troops that were in the Humvee with me were thrown out of the vehicle and they all walk away with minor physical injuries.

Speaker 2: 11:14

But I'm trapped inside and completely conscious for five minutes just screaming and yelling at the top of my lungs for someone to come pull me out. And as I'm trapped inside of this Humvee and I can see parts of my body and the way that it's being changed due to what's happening, um, all I could think about is is my life is going to end, I'm going to die, it's going to end in this way. Um, I see all these people running around outside of the Humvee, but no one's coming to my aid. Of course, it feels like I'm not in here for five minutes, I'm in here for five hours, right, like it's just. Every time is just. It's odd because it's one of those beautiful things where it's like it feels like you're in there for an eternity but at the same time, time slows down.

Speaker 1: 11:55

It's wild to me that you remember so many little details of it, and it would have to have felt like time slowed down for you to see all of that and just sit in the chaos.

Speaker 2: 12:04

Yeah, like talk about being present. I mean, god Leah, I was incredibly present. I mean I can see, and not to get too graphic for the audience, but I mean my body is burned. I got third degree burns throughout my body and the way that I was trapped inside of this Humvee, I could see my hands and my hands have skin grafts on them. So I'll just leave it there and leave the imagination to sort of fill in the blanks. We can all watch a PBS special about that later, but you know, I can see my hands changing. I can see guys running in front of the Humvee on the outside and how chaotic things were. I can hear people like yelling, and then, of course, I can hear people like yelling, and and then, of course I could I could hear myself screaming and then I could actually hear myself gasping for air, like.

Speaker 2: 12:53

So the biggest thing that was threatening whether I was going to survive that incident or not was not the third degree burns that I sustained was actually which is kind of interesting that you know, now we're in 2024, we're having these conversations about, you know, mental health, or we're having these conversations about the inside wounds, the internal wounds, the invisible wounds. And the biggest thing that was starting, when I was going to survive or not, was the fact that I was inhaling all this smoke from the fire. So my organs, everything on the inside, were just sort of filled with smoke. I had a lacerated liver, had broken ribs, so I'm just gasping for air, trying to survive, not realizing I'm inhaling smoke which is also doing damage. You know, throughout the course of those five minutes I had many moments where my eyes got very heavy and I know a lot of people probably have never been in a car accident where they've had this similar experience. But you can relate to it Like if you've ever had a moment where you're super tired, so exhausted, you're sitting on the couch or wherever you may be, and your eyes are so heavy and you're fighting it and you're fighting it and you're fighting it, and then eventually the eyes win and you're you're asleep or your eyes are closed.

Speaker 2: 14:04

And I had several of those moments and every time that my eyes would close, it's just like there was no more noise. It was just me and my breath and my thoughts, and I would go down this thought process of thinking like how my mother's worst fear is going to become a reality, I would think about how I'm going to lose my life in this way at this age, and then I would just breathe, and I can. There was no yelling outside of the humvee, there was no seeing my hands or feeling the pain, it was just me, stillness. And then I would tell myself in those moments of pause you can't keep your eyes closed, man, because if you keep your eyes closed, that's it, you're giving up. And I would open my eyes and I would continue to scream. And so the whole thing was like I just had to fight and try to hang on, because I wasn't ready to let go.

Speaker 1: 15:01

How easy it would have been to stay there.

Speaker 2: 15:04

Oh, a hundred percent. It felt so good, it actually felt so good to be in that place, in that place, because it was just so calming and soothing and I wasn't resisting, I was just allowing myself to lean into it. And. But then I just said to myself, no, and when people ask me, how does one develop that ability to do that in that circumstance? And it took me a while to realize it, but when I really paused and reflect on my life, you know, years after the fact, I couldn't help but really identify that all the things that I've been exposed to for the first 19 years of my life as a child had prepared me for that moment, had been conditioning me for that moment, and even though the trauma or the experiences that I was exposed to nowhere near compared to what I experienced in Iraq but it wasn't about it needed to be on the same scale, it just needed to be these little incidents, these moments In the grand scheme of my life, there were little incidents that were just conditioning me, conditioning me, testing me and see how I would show up and building that resiliency.

Speaker 2: 16:11

Resiliency isn't something that's just all of a sudden you decide to be resilient. I mean, it's something that you've been working at. It's a condition that happens and it's been conditioned in your life for as long as you can remember. And even if you can't remember, the body remembers, and that's why there's that book that's called the Body Keeps the Score, exactly Because the body is always remembering everything and the body's always reminding us of those things that we forget, like you don't even know. Why do I feel this way when this happens and it's like you don't remember? But let me tell you something If you spend a little bit more time and pay attention to your body and where that feeling surfaces, it'd come to you quick and you'd realize ah, but the problem is a lot of us, in that moment of stillness, we're we're, we're fine with being still in some cases, but what we do with that stillness, what we do in that time, that's what we're not okay with. And so a lot of us will be still and we may ask ourselves why do I feel this way? Why does this keep happening?

Speaker 2: 17:07

Every time this person's name pops up or on my caller ID, or I know I have to have this kind of conversation with somebody, or I anticipate that it's going to be. It's going to be a confrontation. And the reality is it's just going to be a conversation, but your past trauma is triggering you and your body's, alarming you and now making you believe that it's going to be a confrontation. And then, when you spend the time asking the questions, you come to the conclusion of like, oh, maybe it's because X, y and Z, oh well, I don't know, I don't want to be honest about that. So, no, I'm just going to push it down and just kind of find different ways to be distracted, because that's the way we operate and that's what's easy for us right, at least in the moment. It's easy. Not long term, it's not sustainable.

Speaker 2: 17:51

And so for me, I, in the midst of being in that Humvee and having multiple moments of stillness and pause, and then just saying to myself, no, I'm not going to give up, five minutes later I was pulled out of the Humvee. I started the medevac process, ended up in San Antonio, Texas. I went through Germany, san Antonio, and then, three weeks later, came out of my medical induced coma and you know it was interesting. I like to tell this story because, um, a couple of stories actually.

Speaker 2: 18:20

So you know one of the things that you know, 19 years old, I didn't have the luxury of going through extensive training before I deployed. I didn't have the luxury of, you know, being in the military for long periods of time. I mean, I was six months out of high school and or you know, like from enlisting, so you know and literally not even a month into my deployment, when I, when I was injured and the one thing that terrified me of going to combat was not the fact that I would die by being shot, it was not the fact that I could die by someone and be in infantry. You still did hand-to-hand combat, you still carried a bayonet with you and I was like, well, that could be an option too, but I'm not worried about that.

Speaker 2: 19:03

The thing that really terrified me to my core was landmines. Like landmines scared me Every time we went through training. I never wanted to, you know, crawl up to a landmine and try to learn how to diffuse. It Didn't want to. Every time we did the exercise, I found a way to goof off and get to the back of the line. I was like, and even though I knew it was a dummy one like it wasn't real, it wasn't going to, it wasn't active, but I, in my mind, it just terrified me the idea that something could be camouflaged, hidden, and then all I have to do is just put pressure on it by stepping on it, driving over it, whatever, and then no control there.

Speaker 2: 19:39

There's no control and it it scared the daylights out of me. What is the thing, jen, that almost took my life? A landmine, of course, and so I say that because that's how fear works. Right, you spend so much time giving that thing that you're so worried about so much power, so much power you're almost, you're almost like fueling that thing to actually happen, versus the way I like to sort of approach things. That sort of give me a little bit uncomfortable. That easy feeling fear, if you will, is now I focus on one. Why do I feel fear? What is it about that situation? And, as you mentioned, like it's control, okay, cool, so control is something that I need to, I need to work through right, and I'm not a controlling personality, but there's obviously things that a lot of us like to have control over.

Speaker 1: 20:28

We don't like to have control the human condition to grapple for control 100%.

Speaker 2: 20:32

So I just sort of learned how to pivot. But also what came from that day and I've realized this as I started to get into practice. I went just practice a little bit of it. I'm not traveling around the world and studying under these incredible like teachers or anything but yoga and you know yoga I. I started doing this years ago. Uh, this yin yoga and if you're not familiar yin yoga is is mainly like a stretching class.

Speaker 1: 21:02

Um, but also simultaneously mentally miserable to me. Oh my God, so I love that you're bringing yin yoga up.

Speaker 2: 21:08

So I didn't know this. So somebody's like, yeah, your body's aching, you're traveling, you're doing this, you're doing that, yeah, you should try yin. And I was like, all right, there's a yin class at my gym, so I'll just go to it. And I went to it and literally it sounded like I was in a delivery room, like everybody was going into labor based on their breath work. It was like and it was so it was. It's one of those things like, yeah, exactly Like all the windows are fogged up and you're like oh and uh, but it was.

Speaker 2: 21:42

It was funny because when I went into the class and the instructor I love her, I love her spirit, I love her energy. She is such a gift to you know, the community and she she starts off very soft spoken and she starts off by saying you know, okay, we're gonna. You know, yin is designed to get into the myofascia. And she's going and giving into this little description and she says you know, it's not supposed to be painful, it's gonna be uncomfortable. And she's like and when it's uncomfortable, you just gotta connect to your breath and just breathe. And you find yourself in this like twisted lizard, you know lunge dump. Grabbing your back, you know ankle, and you're turning into a quad stretch at the same time.

Speaker 2: 22:27

Um grabbing a strap and you're I mean just all sorts of twisted and you're holding there, you know, for five minutes yelling for three to eight minutes and you're like and, and when it gets hard, I started like breathe, okay, like almost like that box, breathing but not holding it, because I'm just trying to breathe, and so it's not like this in for two, in for three, hold, no, I don't have time for that, I'm just. That's why I said like it's literally like a delivery room, and and so. But then I noticed that the more that I did that practice, that my body would just sort of settle, like I would find myself just sort of getting deeper into the stretch and and my body would just get more relaxed and deeper into the stretch. And then, okay, cool, that didn't. Okay, all right, it feels like I'm settling in now and I just kept breathing, kept breathing, kept breathing. And it's one of those beautiful things that, through that practice, it reminded me that's what I experienced when I was fighting for my life for those five minutes that I was able to close my eyes, connect with my breath, block out all the noise, all the chaos that was happening inside of the Humvee and outside of the Humvee and just connect with myself. And honestly, that's one of the things that I still do till this day.

Speaker 2: 23:41

I don't do a traditional meditation, like I'm I'm I'm a little too busy in the head to sit down and do that and I applaud the people that can. I'm more of like a, which is probably some people would probably be like yeah, but that's still not good, jr. Like I'm more of like a. Let me go for a walk. Meditation no, no podcast, no music, no calls, maybe not even the dog, just by myself. Let me just take a drive and let me, let me just, you know, let me, let me, just. Let me go sit in the park. Let me go sit. I love coffee. I'm going to sit in the coffee shop and I'm just going to sit there and I'm just going to watch and I'm just going to observe and I'm going to see how, what people are doing and I find myself You're being your creepy little, your daughter.

Speaker 2: 24:23

My creepy little self. Yeah, I'm being that, yeah, and so, yeah, and so I'm sure there's stories out there. Like you know, that guy that was on dancing God, he was like staring at me the other day and I'm like, listen, I mean I'm sure you were a fly as hell, but I was staring because there was something you were doing that was really inspiring to me. And that's literally what it is. And I think a big reason I do that is because in my most difficult stages of my recovery, when I couldn't figure out the answers in my own space, meaning in my own space of my head, in my own space, physically, where I was, in my, you know, in my I was going to say my house, where I lived while I recovered, but it really wasn't a house, it was like the barracks and, you know, a little room, like a dorm. In a sense, I was like, wherever space that I lived in, the answers weren't there, and so I needed to get out of that space and I would just put myself out into the world.

Speaker 2: 25:13

I would literally just like and there's a clip of me where I did an interview long time ago and I talked about how I just like I would be in my room crying and just mad and resentful and bitter about my reality because and I'm getting ahead of myself and forgive me, but you know, I had already kind of come to this conclusion that, hey, I think I want to do this speaking thing, I think I want to use my life and my story to help other people and this is about a year after I was injured. But even though I'd go out and put on a good front because I did feel that way in that moment, something would trigger me and I'd go back in that safe space by myself and I would cry and I would write, and I would just cry and I would write and I would angrily write and I would angry cry. And again, those answers aren't there in that space. That space is just where I feel safe to let those emotions out, and so what I would do is I would just literally just take a deep breath, wipe my tears, open the door and just walk outside.

Speaker 1: 26:10

It's like you were giving yourself the yin yoga. You were giving yourself that moment to release and to be with it a little bit. That was my question for you, jr, because that turnaround is pretty damn fast. You had this dramatic, life-changing experience and then it's like a year later you're moving outward and I'm curious about that. You were journaling, you were processing, you were in it, whereas you know, some people it might take them their entire lives to move past this. Do you have any insight for somebody? Because it's like the untethering that so many of us are experiencing. It can take. Some people never get there. Some people get to the end of their lives. Most people, most people get to the end of their life and say I didn't live it on my terms, I didn't become what I had hoped I could become or what I could have become or live that life, and you've done it and you're doing it and you've had that turn around so fast. I'm curious if you have any insight there.

Speaker 2: 27:10

So, growing up, being born and raised in small towns, small population, I remember feeling so isolated as a kid, not feeling like I had like a space where I felt like I could be accepted, Like I had my people, like I just felt so isolated and didn't have real connection outside of my home. And I remember I would say to myself like this can't be it, Like this can't be it, Like this, like you know, I would watch TV and movies like anybody else and you know, and you're like there's a whole world out there. This can't be it, this can't like listen, I love, I love a small town, Like I can appreciate it. Now, you know, at this stage of my life, but then I'm like no, this can't be it. Like there's a whole world out there, there's a whole world I want to be part of. Like no, this can't be it. And I would just constantly tell myself like this, this can't be it. There's, there's more out there, and that would be sort of the basis of how I would, what I operate from.

Speaker 2: 28:19

And so when I was injured, you know, I spent initially three months in ICU and then I was an outpatient and I had to come up to the hospital every single day and go through my recovery and I, during those three months, I remember saying to myself this can't be it, this can't be it. Like my, my life is not going to be subject to just these four walls and ICU room that's heated because they have to keep it hot because of you know my body temperature and how I can't regulate like snow. No, this can't be it. And so I've always sort of had the and maybe you call it like a little bit of like this naive, you know, sort of approach and look at life where I was like no, there has to be more out there. I just always believed that and I would just always tell myself if you just keep showing up, you don't have to have the answers and listen. Let me just quickly, just, hopefully kind of abstractly, just solidify this a little bit, hopefully kind of abstractly, just solidify this a little bit.

Speaker 2: 29:17

So six months after I was injured, I was asked to visit a patient who had just arrived and was struggling with his new reality, his new norm. I was encouraged by the staff to go visit him and I said no, and I insisted on no, and they insisted on yes. And I said why? And they said, because you have an experience and you can tell him how things have improved for you, so go. So finally, I was just like fine, pouting.

Speaker 2: 29:46

I went into that room and it turned into a 45 minute conversation. I remember when I was walking out, like I was like man, I was actually able to, like, do something for that person. What I had not identified in that moment was it actually did more for me. I hadn't identified that right, and so what I started doing is every day, going around and visiting patients. I would just knock on doors and I would walk, I would walk in. I was like hi, I'm JR, I was injured in April of 2003. I've been here since. This is what I've, procedure wise is what I've endured. Like, this is the, this is the extent of my injury, Tell me about yours, et cetera. We have this conversation and finally, after a couple months of doing this, one night I'm walking back to my room and I realize like, oh, that thing that I was introduced to in the military service and I was told that I was no longer going to be able to continue to serve. Oh, I found it again. I found service. I can serve in a completely different way and I was like, okay, that's the thing that's inspiring me, that's the thing that's keeping me going.

Speaker 2: 30:47

Then I started having local news in San Antonio reach out and wanted to interview me or me and other troops. But they were putting me up to the forefront a lot and you know, people were constantly like they would see the news and see the segment and people would write and people would call and people would say, hey, just like that kid and whatever. And I was 20. And then I remember doing like a 60 minutes interview eight months after I was injured and all the feedback that came from that. And then, a year later, I remember just getting frustrated because I thought to myself a lot of these families and these troops are, they're being assisted medically but not having to incur those costs. But a lot of them come from two home incomes, right, and now that person, that spouse or that mother or that father, has to quit their job to come and be a caregiver to be with them. Well, now, where's that income coming from? So people are falling behind and I would hear these conversations every time I'd visit patients. So I became infuriated, got involved with the nonprofit, started doing press to raise awareness and hopefully raise some money and kind of help a lot of these patients. I got interviewed by Oprah, you know, a year after I was injured and all that.

Speaker 2: 32:05

All that is what kept solidifying my whole approach to life was just keep showing up. This can't be it. Keep showing up. And if you just keep showing up, even if you don't have the answers, you just keep showing up, you will find the answer, and that has been the way that I've lived my life for 40 years on this earth. That's my approach.

Speaker 2: 32:29

I don't have to know the answer, I don't have to be in control, but I just have to keep showing up. Now I have to know what's important to me, what values I have to understand if something serves me. If it's not going to serve me, I have to have that. But at the end of the day, I don't have to have all the answers. I just got to be willing to put myself in a space, and if I'm willing to do that, everything else will take care of itself. And I think that's the thing is that we struggle with is that you know we're in a space, that we're in like a room and we see the door that we entered the room through. But we try to exit the room and that door is no longer available to open. It's locked. But there's a room, the door on the other side of the room that's completely wide open and you're like I can get out of this dark room if I just went through that door.

Speaker 1: 33:19

But you're like we just keep trying the handle on the other one.

Speaker 2: 33:22

That's not the way I came in this room. I don't know what's over there, but I know what's on the other side of this door. And so we're so damn stubborn that we're just still trying to open up this damn door. We're going to spend all our energy on trying to change this, trying to change this, not having realistic expectations. And that applies to relationships, that applies to employment, where you're working, what you're doing, I mean. That applies to. So I mean just and I say relationships not only with your partner and with your kids, with your friends, with your colleagues, where we're constantly trying to change other people. And what we have to realize is where we're constantly trying to change other people. And what we have to realize is like, what do I need to change? If I'm the one in the dark room right now and that door is wide open? No, but that's not what I want, maybe that's what you need.

Speaker 2: 34:07

And so what I did is, when I found myself in these dark rooms, these dark spaces, I would just see an opportunity, a door, a window, and I would just say to hell with it. I'm just going to go through it. And, and literally my life is like the Forrest Gump approach, like I'm just okay, fine. Oh, you're going to go do speaking? Okay, I'll do, I'll try that. Okay, you're going to go be an actor? Okay, I'll try that. Okay, you're going to go do dancing? Okay, cool, I'll try that. Why don't you write a book? Okay, I'll try that.

Speaker 2: 34:35

Like I mean, just like I remember doing an interview on a radio show when I was promoting my book and when I lived in LA, and uh, a couple of weeks after they called me and they're like hey, you know, would JR be open to doing like a special guest host or or normal host is going to be out? And and I was like, oh, that's fascinating. And I my publicist, was the one that approached me and I said, well, how long is the show? And she said three hours. I was like hell, no, I'm not doing a radio show for three hours. Like no, and I thought about it, thought about it and I was like just going to do it. And I showed up for three hours, had a great conversation.

Speaker 2: 35:12

What came what came of that? They offered me my own Sunday night slot for me to have a two-hour show, and I had a radio show in LA for two hours where it was just like I never would have found that ability or, honestly, that passion that I actually enjoyed it, had I not just showed up. And so I mean, listen, that's a 45-minute answer to your question. That probably should have been condensed down to seven minutes, but nonetheless, I think that's the key is that, you know, I just have been telling myself this can't be it, there has to be more. And I just keep showing up.

Speaker 1: 35:48

It feels. You said Forrest Gump, which feels so true. I was thinking, dory, because when you talk about that naive naivety, you know she's just.

Speaker 1: 35:56

You know I just keep swimming, just keep, swimming, just keep swimming, and she ends up finding her way and you know she's not bothered by all of the well, what ifs and not trying, frustrated, trying all the doors. She just keeps swimming and just keeps trying things. And there is something to being okay with being naive and being okay with letting yourself experience wonder. And you know, it's like sometimes I think people think they could even look at me and my approach to life and what I do. I do a lot of what you do.

Speaker 1: 36:30

I'm like what sounds fun right now? Okay, I'm emceeing an event for the very first time this week. So I was like you know what sounds kind of fun? And I put it out into the universe and a friend was like hey, jen, will you emcee my event? Of course it just drops in when you do, but it's like it requires us to let go of that sense of control and to just let ourselves be in that state of what might it be like if. But I used to think, I'll be honest, I used to think that that might have indicated that there was something wrong with me, because I wasn't being cynical, I was a real cynical kid.

Speaker 2: 37:11

Yeah, we're conditioned to think differently, right? I mean, think about it. When you approach a child, you know, and all of all adults are guilty of this you approach a child and you're like hi, what's your name? Oh, how old are you? Oh, what do you want to be? When you grow up? Like, it's, like there's so many other things we can ask that responsibility on your shoulder.

Speaker 2: 37:31

But immediately we're like what are you going to do with your life? You have to have it figured out. And that child's like throwing out the craziest thing. You know that they don't. You know at that stage of life they don't know, but you know. It's like that's just the way we're conditioned and wired, that we have to think that we have to have everything figured out.

Speaker 2: 37:47

And my approach and this is what I hope to instill in my kids is that, yeah, college is great. Getting the education is important Absolutely. I'm not knocking that.

Speaker 2: 37:57

I went and got my degree in my thirties and was an adult learner, not because I needed to have a degree for what I do, because I wanted to. I just wanted to continue to challenge myself and see what else there was out there for me to learn. And I learned a lot and I'm still learning. But also, let's not neglect how all these experiences just showing up and that's the, that's the best way to learn that's you discover so much about yourself and so much about your potential. And you know, and, and, and, and I just got to say this because you know again, the way we're conditioned is we're conditioned that we always are looking for signs or revelations or anything right and to remind us and let us know that we're on the right path, that we're doing the right thing, that you know.

Speaker 2: 38:46

Validation for my decision to end this relationship, validation of my decision to leave this job, validation of my decision to, you know, tell my kid no, I love you and you're crying, but you didn't do the things that you were supposed to do at home and so you can't go to that sleepover. Like validation and all these things. We're constantly seeking validation and but most of us are looking for these big revelations to actually be the validation. And what I've discovered, it's not these big as I like to say, big billboard signs as you drive down the highway. It's literally all the signs at eye level when you're driving on the road in your neighborhood the sign that says here's a speed limit, slow down, stop, pause for a second, yield right, like it's all those signs, but those are the signs that we tend to overlook when we're driving right, like we're not paying attention to them.

Speaker 1: 39:41

We're looking for the billboard.

Speaker 2: 39:42

We're looking for the billboard, we're looking for the big thing, we're looking for the. It says the lottery is at $500 million. Like that's what we're looking at and what I have learned is yet, yes, they're going to be those big splashes over the course of your life, but, man, I love to live in like these little revelations that happen. That's where, that's where I function, that's where I get all the fuel, all the, all the lessons, all the direction, all the validation. Everything that I need is right here at eye level. It's happening. And so early on and I'll just recap three months after I was injured, there was a conversation with my mom that actually allowed me to just sort of change a little bit of my trajectory. So that's a little. That's something that kind of carries you. You can kind of use that as momentum to carry you for a while until the next thing happens. Six months later, the next thing happened. Right, I started visiting that patient, and then I started visiting patients and now there was all these other incidents that were now giving me more momentum to just carry me through. So, even though I was having these relapse, if you will, where I would go to my room and be triggered, there were more good than bad and there were more things for me to focus on positively than that thing that in that moment, that negatively thought or emotion. Then I'm interviewed by all these people and people are reaching out to me and expressing all this positive feedback. Then I'm interviewed by Oprah and then I'm getting involved in this nonprofit and I'm raising awareness Like there was all these little things that would honestly, in the, in this, in the, if you read my bio, those things aren't really in my bio, right, those aren't the things that are going to make the press. Those aren't the things that people are going to pay attention to when people talk about. You know, if I passed away today, no one's going to be on the news talking about like well, these are these little moments that really allow jr to create the life that he created. No, they're going to be like this dude was. This dude was a veteran, he was an actor, he was on dancing, new York times bestseller. That they're going to focus on those points and so I'm here to just sort of break it down and allow people to understand that, even despite all those big splashes that I've experienced in my career, I still focus and pay attention to those little things, those little moments of validations, and I still experience it to this day, where I'll encounter. I mean, there was a guy the other day.

Speaker 2: 42:02

I spoke at an event. I live in Austin, texas, and I spoke at an event and I was at a restaurant and I'm leaving this restaurant at night and there's this couple that is sitting in this little courtyard right outside the door of the restaurant and as I'm walking out and I have to pass them to go to the parking garage the guy he starts walking towards me. Now, I don't know about you, jen, but me. I immediately my mind went to like what's this dude going to want? Like what's this dude going to ask me for? Like ah, like right, I just had a great speaking engagement, a great connection with people, and now I'm sitting here, the dude comes up to me and he's like he's, he's excuse me, would you mind taking a photo of me and my girlfriend? And I was like oh my God.

Speaker 1: 42:45

You're like look at my ego. I'll hop it up again.

Speaker 2: 42:47

So, man, I'm like, let me give you the best like photo shoot. I can give you Right. And so I'm taking all these photos and I thought I took some good photos and I was like showing them. And he's like, can you just do one more? And I was like, yeah, sure, and I wasn't irritated, I was like, yeah, no big deal. I said, well, let's just change the angle. Then let's get you over here and just mix it up, get you a little variety. So I take it and and I noticed he's the way he's standing in front of her and I'm like, wait a minute. And so I'm like sitting there taking photos and then I see him reach in his pocket and I was like, oh shit. So I I on his phone, I click it over to video, cause I'm like, is he? And sure enough?

Speaker 2: 43:28

he proposes to her and I catch this moment and I'm like yo, that is yo congrats. And so I give him the phone I, you know, best wishes for the both of you. And I start walking away and I'm like that's crazy. But then I was like I'm going to come back, so I come back and I'm like can I take a selfie with you guys? And they're like, yeah, cool. Then I was like actually I'm gonna do a video, and so I stopped recording and I said, hey, thank you guys again. Like you know, wish you the best. He looked at me and he said you know, man, I was walking around all day, he's like, with my now fiance, he's like, and I was just waiting for the right person to capture this moment.

Speaker 2: 44:13

And I walked away and I was like you know what? There's that little boom punch in the gut where I was like dude, dude, no, jr, that's not what we do, man. But you know what? We're human. I'm human, I'm going to make those errors, I'm going to make those mistakes. You would think that I would know by now, despite all the life that I've lived, you know what. But I'm a human being and I got to get checked and life checked me and I'm over, I'm all right with that and you know, and when you talked about, like you, getting ready to host this event and you've talked about wanting to do that, and you threw it out there. I mean there's power in that. I mean, listen, I was in the hospital the first three months and every evening when I was done with my daycare and and all this stuff, what I would do with my mother is we would watch novelas, which are Spanish soap operas, and one day I said to my mom, I'm going to be on a soap opera one day. I straight up said this to my mom and she was like, really? And I said, yeah, she's like, oh, what's the storyline going to be? And I was like I don't know, I'm just going to have a beautiful love interest. Like that was my JR joking around. Find out.

Speaker 2: 45:16

Five years later I get an email to audition to become an actor on All my Children and it was supposed to be three months. It turned into three years of me being on that show. Here's the art of paying attention to the signs. While I was on All my Children, we would do these fan events and it would be me with all these other big actors and daytime television, and I remember specifically being at one of these events and all the fans are there and they're asking everybody a question. And I'm not getting a lot of questions because I'm the new guy on the scene. And so finally, somebody said to me JR question. They're like we see your personality. This type of personality is cool, cool, cool.

Speaker 2: 45:55

Would you ever consider being on Dancing with the Stars? And that was the first time I never heard and I was like did you dance? I was like no, I mean, I goofed around but it wasn't anything like where. It was like oh, that dude could dance, like I. Just I had rhythm, and so I was kind of like. I was like oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, just kind of threw it out. They entertained it.

Speaker 2: 46:12

Fast forward 2011. All my children announced that they're going to cancel later that year. I'm getting a flood of emails and texts from friends and people and they're like what are you going to do next? And then one person's like hey, whatever happened with that dancing thing? And I was like why does this keep coming up? And so, sure enough, I went and asked somebody what they thought about that and they were like oh, my God, you would be perfect. We're going to make an introduction. So I went and had.

Speaker 2: 46:36

The meeting led to me going on dancing with the stars, and so the point is is like you talked about wanting to like what's next for me and, man, you know this would be fun to do and you can throw that stuff out into the world.

Speaker 2: 46:47

I mean, it works both ways. They're like you could throw bad shit out in the world and be prepared because those things can come to fruition as well If you're throwing enough of that out there. But if you throw the good stuff out there as well, Like the wildest thing, I was in a hospital fighting for my life, learning how to walk again, and I'm throwing out. I'm going to be on TV, a guy with this type of scarring on a show with all these beautiful people, and I'm going to be on that show. And it happened. I mean I'm going to be on that show and it happened. I'm just telling you you have to believe and you have to just say this can't be it. This moment can't be it. This is only part of the story. This isn't the entire story, and I still have an opportunity to write it, and I'm not the only example of that there are so many examples of people that have done such incredible things with their life, despite whatever adversity they've been faced with.

Speaker 1: 47:38

Yeah, it's so freaking powerful. Thank you for sharing all of the short stories that you have shared, and I was thinking it was right in the middle of this conversation, jared, that I had this thought. You are perhaps the most beautiful person who I have ever sat down and spoken with, because you're so freaking present. You're right here. You're right here with me, and that's where we started this conversation, and it's just like you are a beautiful human being who has made such an impact on so many people's lives, and not just these big, huge dancing with the stars ways, but on that young man who saw you and was like that's the person. That's the person. He didn't even know you and he's just like that's the person, and so that's what each of us can be doing is showing up at each of those street signs, each of those moments that is there for us. So thank you so freaking much.

Speaker 1: 48:28

I had to tell you I took my very first dance lesson just last week, which I thought was so funny that it ended up being timed. It was not intentionally timed with this interview, but I went to my friend's taking salsa and it was so fun. It was so fun. I don't know if the instructors were like they do this to everybody. I'm like do you say this to everybody? They kept saying how many lessons have you taken? And I'm like this is my first. They made me feel so capable.

Speaker 2: 48:52

As you're gliding across the dance floor.

Speaker 1: 48:54

I'm sure it just looked Flowing.

Speaker 2: 48:56

But you know the thing, you know, when I went on that show, listen, that show was a blast. I loved being on that show and that show it it won. I've always but see and talk about that DNA at the beginning. So one of the things there were my mom used to date this guy when I was like four or five. I mean, she dated him for a few years, but I remember being about four or five years old and he would sit in the living room and play the piano and he smoked and he would have a cigarette in his mouth and a couple of times I actually went over and I would sit next to him and I would take the cigarette out of his mouth and dump the ashes and put the cigarette back in his mouth. It was the closest thing to a father I ever experienced and so you know, to me it was just kind of a special bonding moment and so I'm why I would watch him and he would sing these Spanish love songs and I would sing them with them, because my first language was Spanish, and I'd sing them with them.

Speaker 2: 49:50

And then he'd go and play in like this hole in the wall bar down the street and he would take me every now and then. Wall bar down the street and he would take me every now and then. And here I am, five, six years old, dancing in front of all these drunk people and they're like loving me. I mean loving me. I'm sitting there singing in Spanish about heartache and breakups and she left me for somebody else, and you know all this stuff that I really have no idea what the hell I'm talking about. And I'm dancing and he's playing the piano and I would sing one or two songs and then that'd be it. I was always capable of being that person. I was always that. Right Now, life tried to sort of tame that and say you're not and you're never going to be, but no, I am.

Speaker 2: 50:35

And dancing gave me the opportunity to allow that to come out on an amazing stage and I was in my element 90 seconds of dancing. When I go back every now and then and I watch a couple of those routines, I'm like, oh yeah, right here I was feeling it, like I was fully present in it, in this moment, because this is a moment that I may never get to experience again and I'm going to be present with this moment and I loved it. But it was, I mean, god. It was so much fun and obviously it gave me an opportunity to show the world that I was so much more than what they thought I was. A lot of people just thought I was a veteran, I was just a burn victim, and well, they thought I was a disabled veteran, was just a burn victim, and well, they thought I was a disabled veteran. And then they realized at the end of the show no, no, that's Jr, that's the dude, that's a clown that has this personality, that can dance. He happens to be a veteran and he also happens to be a burn survivor. So see how I changed. Right, I changed the narrative around me, but it was dope man Like, and that's the thing I love about dancing is that everyone like I'm the guy that if you catch me at a bar, at a club and you're going to catch me in a lot of clubs these days but if you catch me at a bar and they start playing some jams, some throwbacks, I'm going to be the dude.

Speaker 2: 51:49

That's going to be like creating a circle and get everybody strangers pulling people into the middle. Let's go do it. And I'm the guy that loves pulling somebody into the circle. And this person dancing is doing the most craziest shit that you're like what are you doing? But if I try to do it, even Derek Hough, who's an incredible dancer, tried to do it he couldn't. And the reason why and that's why I love dancing because it's unique to you. It's unique to what you feel, what, how your body responds to music and the beat and the rhythm. It's unique to you and I love watching people get out there and do the craziest shit. That probably wouldn't be all dancing with the stars, but it's like that's the stuff that's funny. That's them.

Speaker 2: 52:36

When somebody is dancing, they are showing you who they are, right, like they are showing you this is who I am, and they're calm. And it's like someone said to me once, when the dogs like on their back and you're rubbing their belly, that's like when they're, when they feel safe and they trust you know the environment and the person safe and they trust you know the environment and the person and I'm like, yeah, that that's what dancing is to me. When someone's doing that shit, while and out, you are in your element, you feel safe, you feel seen, you feel validated and I just love that. Like that to me is what I love. So, listen, but it's funny because you know I went, I went on that show and everyone do you dance with your wife? Did you teach your wife how to dance? Do you do those moves? And I'm like, listen, I came home in the first two weeks of rehearsals and tried to teach my wife one routine that I was working on with Karina and she couldn't figure it out and we haven't danced since.

Speaker 1: 53:31

Maybe not the best dance instructor. Maybe it was me.

Speaker 2: 53:35

Maybe it wasn't her, maybe it was me, and that is fair, listen. After I was on dancing. So I started doing all these speaking engagements and people, would you know, would strategically be like hey, so, jr, you're going to come and speak at the event, but we have Jen who also takes, you know, dance classes, and so we're going to have her introduce you and maybe, when you walk on stage, maybe you guys could do a little something, something. So at first I was like, yeah, I'll, I'll entertain it, like it's, it's cute, like I'm the dancing champion, like this can't be bad, right, and I realized pretty quickly that you would do something that looked completely legit and I wouldn't. I didn't know what the hell I was doing on stage and it literally looked like a seventh grade dance, so awkward, so weird. And and I told my team, I was like, hey, cut that out, I'm not going to do that anymore. It's actually doesn't look that good on stage. And then people were like, well, can you dip me for a photo? And I was like, yeah, sure, I can do that, like I know how to dip. And so I remember one time dipping this lady and I dropped her and I was like, well, that's the end of that. No dipping anybody anymore.

Speaker 2: 54:45

But it's funny because, like, people have this misconception that when you go on that show that I could just show up anywhere with anybody and just start dancing, and that's not true. Like you're taught very specific steps, a choreographed routine, and unless you know Karina steps, it's not going to look the same way it did on the show. Trust me, I'm going to go back to doing the running man because I mean, we can all vibe with that. Like that's just the way I get down. So it's just. It's funny to me that, you know, people have this perception that I'm Derek Hough and I am nowhere near Derek Hough. Derek Hough is amazing. He truly is. He's talented.

Speaker 1: 55:26

Well, I think you're pretty darn amazing. There's also there's definitely some metaphor in there that if we had another hour to dissect it, we would about following the steps and then trying to take it somewhere else. But we'll save that for next time you come on the podcast JR, yeah let's do it. And one final question. I ask this of every single person who comes on the podcast JR, where do you see the magic in the world?

Speaker 2: 55:52

It's happened to me, it's been done for me and I've done it for others. I think the magic in the world is just showing up for one another and remembering that we're all human beings navigating something difficult, something confusing, something that you know doesn't quite make sense in the moment. We're all just navigating, We've all got our own maps on our own journeys, but at some point there's intersectionality between all of our lives, all of our worlds, and in that moment, when you find yourself at that intersection with another human being, and in that moment when you find yourself at that intersection with another human being, it's important to just show up for each other, Because you never know what you might give one another that's going to help you get to the next intersection. And there was plenty of points in my life when people never showed up for me. And then there were stages in my life where so many people showed up for me and I know what it did for me.

Speaker 2: 57:04

It allowed me to get to this point in my life where, three years after spending, after three years in a hospital listen, I was. I was for the next two years out of the military, I was drinking, I was angry, I was not happy and it took one person really showing up for me and he allowed the JR to come back. And I've just slowly had these other examples and other interactions with people that have just solidified that and I think I've been able to return that for other people as well. And so I think the magic is just showing up for one another from a place of just love, and if we could all just breathe with each other, you know, we might figure some things out, and we might figure some things out about ourselves and about how much more we have in common with that person that we normally would think we have nothing in common with.

Speaker 1: 57:49

That's beautiful. Thank you so much for showing up for us today and for being here. I'm a breath worker, by the way, so when you talk about breathing, I'm like today and for being here.

Speaker 2: 57:58

I'm a breath worker, by the way, so when you talk about breathing, I'm like, oh yeah.

Speaker 1: 58:03

I'm right up your alley there. Yeah, right on my alley. Yeah, okay, where can people see you showing up on social media? Where? Where can they best connect with you?

Speaker 2: 58:08

Yeah, so listen, I'm on all the platforms LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook. I don't really do the tick tock thing as much, but I am on social media. I am JRMartinez, or you can hit up my website, JRMartinezcom. I mean, listen, I always say, you know, once people, once your listeners, you know, see or listen to this episode if there's anything they feel inclined, they want to share, get some feedback. You know, you know how to find me and I encourage and I welcome all of it. So, thank you, Thank you so much for creating this platform, for creating this space and for sharing an hour of your audience. You know, with me. I really appreciate it. It was a great conversation. I enjoyed it.

Speaker 1: 58:50

Yeah, so glad to have you here. Thank you so much. Oh my freaking goodness, jr, thank you so much for coming on the podcast and sharing everything that you shared so good. I can't wait to dive in in this week's Thursday Thread. So stay tuned for that.

Speaker 1: 59:05

We're going to pull out a nugget of this conversation, go a little bit deeper and we will end that conversation, as we always do on Thursdays, with a moment of breathwork, which we also talked about. Thanks so much, jr, for calling out breathwork as something that is genuinely so important. When we talk about the idea of presence and being in the present moment, we could hear it in his story. That was really. What saved him was his ability to be present when his eyes were closing, his ability to be present even in the pain, his ability to be present with every conversation that he had, with every veteran who he was speaking with. Everything has led him those moments with his mom in his hospital room where they were watching the novellas. Everything has led to this point, and it's that ability to really be there Wherever you are, be there Wherever you are. There you are, oh, the more that we can be present, the more beautiful of an impact you can make on your life and others.

Speaker 1: 1:00:07

Thank you so much for listening to this episode. I hope you enjoyed it. If there was something that you threaded out for yourself that you really loved, that you think another friend, or maybe all of your friends, would enjoy. Share this episode, take a little screenshot of it. If you share it to social media and tag me, I will reshare you. Tag JR. He would absolutely love to see that this is making an impact. It makes such a difference. Sometimes I think we forget too. With somebody who has reached celebrity status, it means the freaking world to them. You listening and feeling inspired is the reason that he is doing what he does, and the same is true for everyone. So tag him. He would absolutely love to see, as with everybody who comes on this podcast, that you loved listening to it. So thank you so much for listening. You just keep shining your magical, radiant unicorn light out there for all to see. See you next time, bye.