When I was in grade school, my dad and I were up in Detroit for a track meet. We thought it would be fun to cross over into Canada. Although technically, it was the first time I had left the United States, it wasn’t until a week after my college graduation that I took my first real international trip. I did a 4-city stop in Europe and I caught the travel bug. I’ve made a few more trips to Europe, traveled in South America, and expanded my adventures in the United States. Although I’m not going a...
Jun 05, 2023•48 min•Ep. 101
Thank you so much for joining us in this special episode. The Struggle is Real podcast hit a significant milestone. You are listening to episode 100. Kyle and I have been considering what we want to do to celebrate this milestone. We’re awarding superlatives to some of our favorite episodes. If you think back to high school these were the senior yearbook categories for things such as biggest flirt, class clown, most likely to succeed… We put our own spin on this and will be handing out superlati...
May 29, 2023•34 min•Ep. 100
Have you heard of the term situationship? I’ve been seeing the term across different media outlets but I hadn’t dug into it much until I found Myisha Battle, today’s guest, writing about how they might be the future of dating. At first, situationships seemed to be a terrible idea to me but Myisha has changed my opinion on them. Now I’m thinking, a situationship is exactly what many 20-somethings might need at this time in their dating life. If you haven’t heard of the term situationship before, ...
May 22, 2023•48 min•Ep. 99
In episode 96, we talked about the FIRE Movement, a group of people who are focused on early retirement, sometimes decades before the traditional retirement age of 65. They’re doing this by building their passive assets to a level where it provides enough money for their living expenses. I love the idea of no longer needing a paycheck to afford my lifestyle and maybe you do too. This is the 2nd episode in our FIRE series where you’ll learn 5 potential paths to FIRE so you can determine which pat...
May 15, 2023•11 min•Ep. 98
Over the last decade of my career, I've found there is a subset of skills that can be a multiplier for your career growth. One of those super skills is effective communication. I’ve seen those that possess this skill take off leading projects, presenting at important meetings, and getting promotions. Being an average communicator versus an effective communicator can be really subtle. Sometimes it's the word choice, the framing of the conversation, or the preparation done beforehand. If you work ...
May 08, 2023•1 hr 3 min•Ep. 97
Aside from corporate holidays and one-week vacations, we are going to have to wait until 65 for a total sense of freedom and choice. But do we? What if retirement was closer than that? Maybe in your 50s, your 40s, even your 30s. This might seem like a pipe dream but there is an entire movement all with this goal in mind. And it’s called FIRE: Financial Independence, Retire Early. In this episode, we are going to talk about the FIRE movement, how it’s redefining retirement, and how you can get on...
May 01, 2023•11 min•Ep. 96
It’s fun to talk about success especially when it comes to entrepreneurship. We are all hoping for this grand journey where we start from the bottom but quickly make it to the top. That happened to my good friend, Chuck Cooper. His first business was wildly successful, until it wasn’t. All of a sudden, he found himself in shame never thinking he would have failed. It all seemed too easy. Luckily, Chuck is resourceful and found support to build himself back up and to build a new business in the m...
Apr 24, 2023•55 min•Ep. 95
You’ve been doing a great job taking part of your paycheck and investing that money every month. You check your balance and you feel like “I’m not making as much progress as I thought I would.” Of course, the stock market performance plays a huge role in your return but that’s out of our control. If you’re properly diversifying, you’re doing what you can and the rest is fairly unpredictable. But you know what factor affects your portfolio’s performance that you can have a direct impact on? Fees....
Apr 17, 2023•14 min•Ep. 94
I’m turning 30 next month and I’ve been unsure how I’ve felt about that. I’ve had countless conversations with guests that shared with me how silly it was to think they needed to “make something of themselves” by 30. Yet here I am, wondering if I’ve done enough to really make my 20-year-old self proud how I’ve spent the last decade. That 20-year-old Justin had high expectations about where he was going to be at 30. I’ve learned over the last decade that you can set your sights on something but l...
Apr 10, 2023•51 min•Ep. 93
So you messed up and need to apologize to someone? It was an honest mistake, you feel terrible, and you want to say sorry. How do you do that in a heartfelt, genuine way? A proper apology can quickly repair a relationship and lift a weight off of the givers shoulders but a bad apology…that can be disastrous and lead to even more hurt. Between politicians, CEOs, and celebrities, we have seen our fair share of examples of those bad apologies where blame was shifted and responsibility wasn’t taken....
Apr 03, 2023•50 min•Ep. 92
In today's conversation, I went down this incredible, unplanned rabbit hole with my friend Megan Miller. We both have a mutual love for journaling and I spent the first half of this conversation asking a lot of questions around her specific practice. It really made me realize how much of an impact my simple journaling practice has left on me. I’m hoping this gives you some inspiration on how you could get started journaling and what benefits you can expect by doing so. Aside from being a journal...
Mar 27, 2023•57 min•Ep. 91
Have you felt like you’ve been burning the candle at both ends? Are you trying to do too many things and feeling burnout? Maybe you need a Selfish Sunday. Cara Hays initially introduced me to this concept of Selfish Sundays. It’s pretty simple - she spends Sunday doing things for herself and she doesn’t judge herself for it. She might meal prep, do laundry, or just binge watch a TV show. Whatever she needs from herself on Sundays is what she does. I loved the idea so much that I stole it for mys...
Mar 20, 2023•12 min•Ep. 90
We all dread it but that day eventually comes. It might be a cough that won’t go away, a potential sprained ankle, or you’re questioning a weird bump on your arm. We have no other option. We have to go see a doctor. How do I book an appointment again? Where’s my insurance card? How much is this going to cost me? Healthcare is confusing, frustrating, and overly complex. I do my best to avoid having to see a doctor but sometimes it is just unavoidable. I have to put on my big boy pants and figure ...
Mar 13, 2023•59 min•Ep. 89
LeBron James recently broke the NBA’s all-time scoring record. It was an amazing moment to watch and an impressive feat. But reading about this achievement, I uncovered an even more impressive LeBron record. What was the record and what did I learn from it? Tune in to find out. More of The Struggle is Real: Find show notes and more at https://www.tsirpodcast.com/ Follow us on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/tsirpod/...
Mar 06, 2023•7 min•Ep. 88
When I started my first “big boy” job, I signed up for our 401K program. HR handed me this packet of papers and essentially said good luck. I remember sitting at my kitchen table that night trying to make sense of fund names, historical yields, and asset allocation charts. Nothing will make you realize school did not prepare you for the real world like that kind of moment. I remember thinking, wow I’m never going to understand this. When I have money, I need to hire someone to make these decisio...
Feb 27, 2023•48 min•Ep. 87
You meet someone amazing and you have the best intention to stay in touch with them only to find years have gone by and you totally dropped the ball. You want to reach out now but it feels awkward and you overthink it. You never reach out and this potential friend, business partner, or employer just drifts out of your life. Staying connected with your network doesn’t need to be a challenge. In this episode, I want to share a tool I use to stay top of mind with my network and...
Feb 20, 2023•8 min•Ep. 86
Has the sexual chemistry in your relationship turned dull? Bedroom boredom is a really common issue in relationships so it is nothing to beat yourself up about. We get comfortable in our patterns. The same positions, techniques, and places although great at first, become predictable and eventually boring. I don’t need to ask a stupid rhetorical question here. I know you don’t want to have a boring sex life. Nobody wants that. So let’s reignite some excitement in the bedroom. But we know it’s not...
Feb 13, 2023•52 min•Ep. 85
It might just be my circle but so many of my friends are recently single and I’m hearing the war stories of 1st dates. From coordinating plans, getting catfished, talking to a brick wall, and awkward goodbyes, I gotta say, I’m not jealous. Being in a long-term monogamous relationship has its struggles, but taking Gaby out on a date is not (usually) an exasperating process. I think it is totally justifiable and I see why this stress would keep you wavering in and out of the dating s...
Feb 06, 2023•10 min•Ep. 84
I’m talking to my friend Jenny Foss who is a Job Search Strategist who has been in the game for quite a while helping people navigate job searches, advance their careers, and make career pivots. We start with how to bridge the gap between the job you have and the job you want. Jenny shares the secrets of what makes a great resume and I’ll give you a spoiler, it is not Times New Roman, on 1-inch margins, on one-page. She has way more useful advice than that. At the end of our conversation, Jenny ...
Jan 30, 2023•55 min•Ep. 83
Where are you at with your 2023 New Year’s resolutions? Are things going better than ever? Awesome! But if you’re like the majority of people, your goals might be wavering or even worse, you might have completely abandoned them. The good news is the year is still young. We have plenty of time to get back on track with our 2023 goals and in this episode, we’ll discuss 3 tips for doing just that. Key Takeaways: Making your goals sustainable Opt-out versus opt-in method ...
Jan 23, 2023•11 min•Ep. 82
19 cents. That’s how much in interest that my bank paid me in 2022. I’m not sure if that makes me want to cry, yell, or laugh but those are none of the feelings that I want to have when it comes to calculating my annual bank interest. The good news is, I don’t keep a ton of money in my savings account. Simply a couple thousand dollars that acts as an emergency fund. But that comical calculation would make me furious if I had tens of thousands of dollars in my savings account...
Jan 16, 2023•59 min•Ep. 81
I hope you’ve taken the New Year as an opportunity to set priorities and state your goals. In today’s episode, we will discuss how to create systems in order to accomplish those goals. My friend, David Ward from RunnersFI.com, is joining me in this conversation. From unhealthy and overweight to completing an ultra-marathon, David knows a thing or two about accomplishing the goals you set for yourself. We will also discuss how to get started on your goal, when to use internal and ex...
Jan 09, 2023•25 min•Ep. 80
I remember being so furious with my dad because I felt like I was the only 16-year-old in my friend group that paid for their own car insurance. Looking back now, I really appreciate him making me handle my financial responsibilities early on. Don’t get me wrong I still take advantage of my parents picking up the tab at dinner or paying for the hotel on a family vacation but I pay my own bills and it makes me feel so empowered being financially independent. This was the first step toward my pare...
Jan 02, 2023•1 hr 17 min•Ep. 79
It was fall of 2019 and I was absolutely lost with my career. 3 months prior, I had just left a longtime employer to try something else. Here I was in this new job with a fancy title and absolutely hating it. The problem was, I wasn’t sure what to do about it. Of course, I knew this role wasn’t a long term fit for me, but I wasn’t actually sure what was. I figured staying put was my best option until I figured things out but the unhappiness and anxiety around this role was clouding any sensible ...
Dec 19, 2022•58 min•Ep. 78
Hi, I'm Justin Peters. I'm the host of The Struggles Real, a podcast focused on adulting advice for young professionals. You know, those moments where you think, I wish I would've learned this in school. Those are the topics that we love to talk about. Join me each week as I interview experts sharing their strategies for solving problems that us young adults will face throughout our twenties and thirties. Some of the experts you'll hear from include a former top 20 poker player, a corporate exec...
Dec 06, 2022•1 min
Today’s episode is an exciting conversation with Chris Sparks, a retired professional poker player although I think he uses the term retired fairly loosely. I’ll settle somewhere in the middle and call him a well-paid hobbyist. Chris has played over 2 million hands of poker across thousands of tournaments including main events tournaments like World Series of Poker, World Poker Tour, and the European, Asian-Pacific, and Latin American Poker Tour. During his hay days, he had a fast and furious cl...
Dec 05, 2022•1 hr 3 min•Ep. 77
I did not know how beneficial fiber was prior to this conversation and I wouldn’t even have been able to tell you fiber was only found in plants. I’m excited about this episode though. I had a blast researching and preparing for this conversation. It has been a while since I’ve dug deep into a health-focused subject. Our last was with Dr. Jennifer Reid in August when we talked about sleep, and looking at the numbers, I know you are interested in health topics. Joining me today on the podcast tod...
Nov 21, 2022•1 hr•Ep. 76
If you’re paying attention to your portfolio right now, you know the stock market has been on a nosedive, and if you’re anything like me, this market drop has you feeling discouraged. I continue doing all the right things. I maxed out my IRA, I’m dollar cost averaging through my 401K, and even investing my net earnings in my brokerage account. All of this yet I’m still seeing my networth go backwards. I’m beginning to question if investing my money is still the right thing to do. Well luckily my...
Nov 07, 2022•58 min•Ep. 75
The amazing Brian Bogert is joining me on the podcast today. At 7 years old, his life transformed in a blink of an eye after he was in a vehicle accident that his left arm was detached. Instead of dwelling in the suffering, he fully recovered with a reattached arm thanks to his persistent and proactive focus. Today, Brian is a lot of things: entrepreneur, coach, speaker, business strategist, author, and philanthropist. But he would say his two most important titles are husband and father. It too...
Oct 24, 2022•53 min•Ep. 74
As much as I’d want to work on The Struggle is Real full-time, I do have a day job. I could gripe about my 9-5 but I actually really enjoy my job at MMA. I like who I work with, who I work for, and what I work on. It also creates really cool opportunities like the one you’re going to hear today. A colleague who leads an internal learning and development initiative called MMATalks asked if I wanted to present at their monthly webinar series. MMATalks sits at the crossroads of personal development...
Oct 10, 2022•52 min•Ep. 73
