We both wear masks. And then I ask—are you there? Not "are you awake." Not "you need to wake up." Just... are you there? It's a question. An honest one. Because the mask isn't something you put on intentionally. It's not like you woke up one day and decided to be someone you're not. The mask forms gradually. Through seasons. Through phases. Through the thousand small adjustments you make to fit in, to succeed, to be accepted. And before you know it, you're operating from this version of yourself that's been optimized for survival but has lost touch with what's actually real. The problem is—you can't question yourself if you don't even notice you're wearing a mask. That's why I ask. Are you there? Not as judgment. Not as some spiritual hierarchy where I'm awake and you're not. As a genuine question. Are you present with yourself? Or are you so identified with the role you're playing that you've forgotten there's someone underneath? And here's what I've noticed, both in my own life and working with people—there are three stages to this. First, you have to feel what the mask creates. The stress. The anxiety. The constant low-level tension of performing. The exhaustion that comes from maintaining a version of yourself that isn't fully authentic. You feel it in your body before you can name it. That tightness in your chest. That sense of being slightly off, even when everything looks good on paper. Second, you start noticing your reactions. The world is a mirror. Everything you encounter is showing you something about yourself. That person who triggers you? They're reflecting something you haven't integrated. That situation that makes you anxious? It's pointing to a pattern you haven't looked at yet. And when you stop running from those reflections—when you actually sit with them and ask "what is this showing me?"—that's when the mask starts to loosen. Third, you realize the mask isn't solid. It shifts. This is where it gets interesting. A lot of people make fitness their identity. They become "the gym guy" or "the athlete." Then maybe they move into psychology, personal development. They become "the coach" or "the helper." And each time, they're just trading one mask for another. I've watched this in myself. First it was football. Then jiujitsu. Then business. Then consciousness work. And at each stage, there's this temptation to make THAT the thing. To identify with it. To need it to feel secure about who you are. But here's what I'm learning—you don't need to be bound to any of these identities. The jiujitsu sweatshirt I'm wearing right now doesn't make me a jiujitsu person. The consciousness work I do doesn't make me a spiritual person. The business I run doesn't make me an entrepreneur. These are just expressions. Temporary forms. Ways of engaging with life for a season. The real question is—can you engage fully without attaching your sense of self to it? Can you train hard without needing to be "the athletic one?" Can you help people without needing to be "the one who has all the answers?" Can you build something without needing it to define you? That's the work. And it's not some abstract spiritual concept. It's practical. It's daily. It's in every single interaction and decision. It's noticing when you're performing versus when you're present. It's feeling when you're reacting from the mask versus responding from something deeper. It's catching yourself trying to be seen instead of just being. And here's what nobody tells you—the mask will keep changing. It'll get more sophisticated. More subtle. More spiritual, even. You'll think you've transcended the ego, and then you'll catch yourself attached to being "the transcended one." That's the game. And the only way through is awareness. Honest, unflinching awareness of how you're operating. Not so you can perfect yourself. But so you can stop fighting yourself. So you can stop exhausting yourself maintaining this version of you that was never real to begin with. I'm not saying become someone else. I'm saying come back to who you actually are underneath all the adjustments and optimizations and performance. That person? They've been there the whole time. Just waiting for you to stop, get quiet, and ask— Are you there? Let's go. Justin

P.S. This Blueprint WILL Change Your life