The Mic'd Up & Motivated Podcast
Tune into The Mic’d Up & Motivated Podcast each month with nationally recognized youth motivational speaker Jason A. Dixon.
Join Jason as he shines a spotlight on passionate professionals dedicated to empowering young people and driving positive change in families, schools, communities, and organizations.
Each episode features powerful conversations with educators, speakers, coaches, youth leaders, and changemakers—individuals making a real difference. You’ll uncover practical strategies, inspiring stories, and fresh insights to help you elevate your impact on both youth and the caring adults who support them.
The Mic'd Up & Motivated Podcast
Significance Over Status: Choosing Calling In A Noisy World
What if the title that means the most isn’t on your business card, but in a kid’s voice calling you “Coach”? That’s the heartbeat of our conversation with elementary PE teacher and motivational speaker Justin Pickens—a story that moves from childhood adversity to classroom joy, from chasing status to choosing significance.
Justin opens up about growing up around incarceration and mental illness, then maps the lifelines teachers and coaches threw him. He explains why PE, done right, is more than games: it’s science-backed health literacy, dopamine and serotonin through movement, and daily doses of motivation that turn skills into habits. We dig into his two-year detour out of education—financial advising and fast-food management—where he met every metric and still felt empty. The moment former students greeted him as “Coach” brought him home to a Title I gym, where he teaches mostly English learners and proves that structure, joy, and care can change trajectories.
We also explore how a speaker earns trust in minutes, the difference between extra-mile and extra-intentional teachers, and a practical career cadence: every three to five years, reconnect and repurpose or go and grow. Justin shares honest feelings about AI in education—useful for personalization, powerless at replacing human warmth—and names the quiet wealth of time affluence and mental affluence. For anyone running low on fuel, he offers simple resets: gratitude, healthier habits, less social media, and the reminder that kids still crave real connection more than curated feeds.
If you believe caring adults can break cycles and build futures, this one will refill your cup. Follow the show, share it with a colleague who needs encouragement, and leave a review telling us how you’re choosing significance this week.
You know, we're living in a society where I may have had a tough childhood, but I never had a childhood with a cell phone. And we're learning, like, it's our job as adults right now to protect these kids from depression and loneliness that is occurring and form community. That is where I really am glad there's a thing in Kansas City started called fight club. And it's where groups of teenagers, men at high schools are just getting together and just simply talking and airing out. Like this is what I'm going through. We're fighting suicide. So the need to help young people is always going to be there.
SPEAKER_04:Welcome to the Mic'ed Up and Motivated Podcast, where we interview passionate professionals who empower young people, impact lives, and create positive change in schools, organizations, and communities.
SPEAKER_01:Everybody in here has a talent and you have a gift, and you were given that gift so that you can go change the world.
SPEAKER_03:If you've ever thought that you need a pep talk from your PE teacher, I'm the guy for you. So my niche is caring adults, which means I love filling the cup of educators, those who pour into others. My job is through raw emotional storytelling to inspire, encourage, and motivate you to be the best for your students and for your family outside of the classroom. I'm happy to be here with Jason. We're gonna have a great time again. Justin Pickens, motivational speaker, elementary PE teacher by day, motivational speaker to adults by night.
SPEAKER_02:Mr. Justin Pickens, how you doing, sir? Happy to have you on the Mic'ed Up and Motivator podcast.
SPEAKER_03:Dude, I don't I don't want to steal uh Dave Ramsey's line, Jason, but truly I'm too blessed to be stressed better than I deserve.
SPEAKER_02:There you go, man. Well, it's been a long time coming, man. I've been able to see you on LinkedIn, which I love LinkedIn. You get a chance to see all the amazing work that people are doing from you know different parts of the of the world, really. And so you caught my eye, man. I saw the amazing things you were doing uh in your field. And I said, I have to have this this guy on my podcast and get to know him a little bit, find out a story and get some insight, man, some some fuel for myself. So I appreciate you you're coming on and blessing us with your presence. And I'm excited to hear your story, excited for our audience to hear your story. So tell me a little bit about yourself.
SPEAKER_03:Yeah, so I'll start off with right now where I'm at, and then we'll talk about my story uh leading up to where I am right now. So, as I said in my introduction, I'm Justin Pickens. I'm an elementary PE teacher by day, motivational speaker by night. I speak mainly to caring adults and educators within schools, but I'll also speak uh to youth groups uh once in a while as well, because everybody needs a pep talk from their PE teacher. But right now, uh elementary PE teacher at a Title I school, we're about 65 to 70 percent English language learners. We're a title school, which means we're low income, and I couldn't ask for a better job. I started off as a uh senior government history teacher 15 years ago, and God kept saying, you need more patience. So he just kept going from 12th grade to 11th to 10th uh to middle school, and then now I can uh say that I've taught all grades, K through 12, and then I lead a lot of professional developments uh with adult teachers. So my coolest things are when I do local professional developments for teachers, sometimes I only take a half day, and I'll go in a suit and a tie to go speak at a local school, and then I will run uh a drive back to my school because I'm only taking a half day, right? And during my lunch period, I will change out of my suit and tie uh that I just presented in, and I'll put on my shorts and then I'll go right into teaching a kindergarten class. And kindergartners don't care if I was on the stage in front of two people or 2,000. All they want to do is come in and have a blast. So truly, uh, it's amazing. I have a wife named Kendra, she's my rock. Uh, I met her uh my last year of college. It was a blessing in disguise. I was a super senior, and I met her uh when she was a freshman when I was a super senior. So if I would have graduated on time, wouldn't have uh crossed paths. So everything happens for a reason. And we have three wonderful kids. Uh, my son is five, uh, my daughter is two and a half, and we got a 14-day old baby uh who's just the best baby in the world.
SPEAKER_02:Oh, congratulations! Oh man, I love it, man. That that that is so awesome. So there's a lot that you told me, and I I just want to just first of all commend you on all that you have done and are doing. You're when I'm as you were telling me about all the things that you do, I was like, I was thinking to myself, like, okay, this is a real life superhero. Like you're changing your case, you're like, and then when you were talking about how how God said you need more patience, and you started to go down the list, I'm like, okay, is that patience like in terms of like being patient or patience in terms of like more people? And it seems like you were like you were like you had that opportunity to receive more patience in terms of students that you're able to work with. So that's pretty awesome, man. And and to hear the amazing stuff that you're doing with your family as well. Your son had a chance to come on. I had a chance to meet him before we started the podcast. You're just doing some amazing stuff. So I want to start. I like I like to you know start off with you know diving into the defense. So let's let's let's do this, man. Is it hard? Is it hard for you just being able to do all those things and be just this amazing person to so many people with the heart?
SPEAKER_03:Yes, absolutely. Anything, and that's how you know you're doing it right. Yeah, I was told by a mentor the other day that uh you should be going home exhausted, not only as a teacher, as a husband, as a man, but you should be hitting your pillow and have worked so hard that day that you just fall asleep immediately. So, yeah, if you're gonna do anything, it it should be hard. Now, with that being said, it doesn't mean that it doesn't fill my tank. Uh, I think I talked about how 15 years in education has given me patience, but it's my perspective that has changed. And a lot of it is my perspective on who's filling my cup. So you call me Superman, but holy cow, Jason, the elementary teachers I work with, they are the real superheroes. Yeah. Uh, the perspective of going from high school to middle school to elementary has given me a perspective on everybody from administrators to elementary teachers and just how hard they work to make it possible that I just get to have the most fun with my kids in my class. My vision for PE is to make future fit 50-year-olds uh that love health and wellness and understand that they have one body and it's their job and responsibility to take care of it. But no, you know, being superhero is a great compliment, but like I'm only as strong as the people who support me. So I just want to give a shout out to anybody listening, especially if you're at Rolling Ridge Elementary. Uh, those are the people who fill me up. And then as far as my speaking journey goes, whether I'm leading a breakout session or keynoting a back to school convocation, it's truly been other people who have encouraged and nudged me to tell me that I have a story worth sharing that continues to motivate me to do that.
SPEAKER_02:Oh, I love that. I'm so I'm so inspired. And this is the one of the reasons I love doing this podcast and interviewing people uh from different areas and walks of life. I get to hear their story and I get my cup filled up as well. So, as you were talking, one thing that really stood out, first of all, just giving a shout out to your colleagues and the students at your at your school, man. That's that's awesome. That's amazing. I bet you're like one of the favorite teachers at your school.
SPEAKER_03:Oh, I mean, PE is a hard subject for people to mess up, Jason. So uh my job is to serve others, and if I can be uh a great teacher while doing that, but my job is to truly serve the people that I meet. So I hope that they like me. Uh that's definitely one thing that you like, but uh more than anything, I just hope that they remember Coach Pickens' love and uh wanted to serve them as best as he could.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah. Yeah. So talk a little bit about the transition, like going from a PE teacher to a speaker. I know there's a lot of similarities there, but what would you say is the toughest transition between that?
SPEAKER_03:Yeah, so the biggest transition is when you're a PE teacher, you have content that you're trying to get across, you're trying to have fun. Again, my job is to make future fit 50-year-olds. We don't just play games, uh, although that's what we do a lot of. I mean, we're moving, we're learning about how to take care of our body for the future. We're learning about uh what to put in our body, what not to put in our body, and then how scientifically moving your body helps release chemicals, dopamine, uh working out with other people reduces releases serotonin. So that's all my day job. But to be honest, Jason, every class gets a motivational speech from me every single day.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah.
SPEAKER_03:Uh the speaking side is mainly to adults, but I speak to kids. The speaking side is a little bit different, and the biggest reason it's different is because they don't know me and they don't have a relationship with me. So a lot of times when I speak, I have to start off with a story where I get real vulnerable real fast because I don't have that time to build up that reputation of I'm a great guy, you should trust me. I have to usually do that within the first five minutes. So that's a little bit different whether you're talking to adults that don't know you. You just haven't had time to build that up. So uh, like you when you speak, I I bet you probably have five, six minutes to really uh gain credibility.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah.
SPEAKER_03:And and and that's the biggest difference. Uh I I was telling you before, you know, when I talk to teachers, sometimes I'm in a suit and tie. And I've had times where I've spoken to teachers in the morning in a suit and tie, and then I've driven back to my school in the afternoon and put on, you know, gym shorts.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah.
SPEAKER_03:But, you know, the story is so much bigger than that because, you know, what I speak on a lot is what teachers have done in my life. And growing up, you know, dysfunction was a word that kind of shaped my upbringing, my childhood. Uh, nobody uh listening, or if you're watching this, if you see me, I don't look like the kid who had a dysfunctional life. If anything, I look like the all-American kid, and that's the image I tried to portray. But truth be told, you know, both my parents dropped out in 10th grade, both my parents have been to prison, I've been to foster care, and for the most part, we lived in abject poverty. And it's poverty is one thing, but a lot of it is the dysfunction of growing up with two parents who struggled with mental illness. My mom, and and I always say I love my parents, and they did a lot of great things, but my mom struggled in her own right with manic depressive bipolar disorder, and then my dad struggled with a lot of anger issues, and then he couldn't control his substance uh addictions, which all ultimately led him to the Missouri State Penitentiary twice. So when people just hear my upbringing, they always ask, like, how did you do it? How did you overcome? And to be honest, my entire life I always beat my chest and I would say things like, Well, I'm just built different, uh, I'm more resilient. But the more research I've done and the more I look back at my past, at all the breadcrumbs, it's not about what I've done. It's about all the protective measures that the community, teachers, and coaches, along with my parents, put into me.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah.
SPEAKER_03:And that's what I try to highlight when I go to schools. Now, I went into schools and became a teacher for all the right reasons. But after 13 years, I also left teaching. And that is one of the biggest things that gives me credibility with teachers because I had a strong why. I was at the top of my game, I loved my job, and I still left the profession for two years to explore other careers. Uh, eventually I came back. So I have a little bit of credibility that I've had those thoughts, even with my big why, that I've I've left. Like I've had those days where I'm like, am I living up to my potential? Is this it? And the fact is, I came back because this is it. Education and pouring into young kids is what I was made to do. They say a career is what you get paid to do, a calling is what you were made to do. There's the day you were born, and then there's the day you find out why you were born. Yeah. And it took me two years, two years of having uh different careers. One where I cried every month for four, every day for four months, I cried in my office as a financial advisor. Oh, wow. Um, and it took that perspective to kind of reshape. So, my whole goal is when I talk to caring adults, is to say, your job matters, you matter. Here's some practical tips to how to thrive rather than just survive. But you don't have to go uh leave education like I did for two years to get a different perspective. You can shift your focus right now because let's be honest, a lot of people just need a different perspective shift. Some people they need to go and grow in different areas, but a lot of people just need to repurpose and reconnect right where they're at. That could be in their marriage, that could be uh with their children, that could be with their church, their community. Uh, because sometimes, you know, the grass isn't always greener uh on the other side. So I always tell people that every three to five years, you either need to reconnect or repurpose right where you're at, or it may be time to go and grow.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah. Oh, I I love that. I I love that. And we're gonna dive deeper into your your personal story, one. I'm I'm glad you had a chance to allude to some of the things that you you faced growing up. But when I hear you talk about that, I'm the image that came to my mind is that you know, uh, you're like a utility baseball player where you you can play every position, you can do everything on the field, man. And those people are indispensable. I I I think about like the work you do with teachers and educators, then going back to the the students and navigating those two worlds, I give you a lot of credit because that takes a lot of skill, a lot of grace, uh, and I'm not not a lot of people can do that. You know, so where do you think that comes from? Your ability to go from you know, navigating the crazy world of working with adolescents, fifth graders, kids, and then going to educators and being able to reach them on their level and inspire them. How are you able to do that?
SPEAKER_03:It's pretty simple. I just uh speak as if I were in the audience. Yeah. What would resonate with me? What would connect with me? What would keep my attention? Because if I if I if I speak to you, I want to make you laugh, cry, and give you hope. Because if you make me cry the whole time, oh, it might be a great movie, but I'm gonna leave a little dreary. If you make me laugh the whole time, it may not hit me in the heart like it's supposed to, uh, and give me the hope I need. So really, it's just to be honest, a God-given ability and a gift to pour into other people by putting myself in their shoes with what resonates with me as an audience member and what will resonate with them. Because Jason, I am the worst audience member. I was at church today, and I know I have a face that says I don't want to be here, but that couldn't be further from the truth. Like I may be sitting there, deadpan face, but I'm so excited, I'm leaning in, I'm listening, and as a speaker, you know, that whether somebody's nodding their head and smiling the whole time or looking at me like I they're mad, it just reminds me to keep going because no matter what somebody's outward expression looks like during my speech, uh, it resonates with everybody different. But that's the truth. What would I want to sit through that keeps my attention, that tugs on my heart strings and makes me laugh a little bit?
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, yeah. I love that. I love that. And and I have to admit, my I struggle with that at times because I'm I'm very uh passionate. Um I express myself, I'm in high energy. But when I don't see, you know, that same energy being re reciprocated, I kind of worry, like, okay, are they are they getting this? Is it resonating? Is it, you know, but like you said, some people process things differently. You know, you may have somebody who sits there and they're they're they're taking it in and they're processing, and you may have somebody who can you can openly see how they are are feeling about your message or what you're doing. So I definitely can relate to that as well. So tell me a little bit about how you you talked about uh when you the financial office, when either the the time when you were crying and tell me take me to that moment. Like when did you know, okay, it's time for me to do something else? I'm not fulfilled here. I gotta step out on faith, I gotta really pursue what it is in my heart.
SPEAKER_03:Yeah, so I'll I'll go back to you know why I left education. I will never forget it. I was at a high school football practice, living out my dream, uh, fulfilling, you know, my calling to breathe life into young men and help create men of substance and character. But I was on the field and there was a whirlwind of things going around. Number one, I had had my first child and life was just hitting me in the face. I mean, sleepless, uh, not enough time between me and my wife to go around. Now we have a kid that needs childcare, and we have to start communicating better because when you're just oh husband and wife, you could show up home whenever you want to show up. So I was getting used to that life. Financial strain was there, you know. I still think teachers can make a great living as long as they're good stewards with their money. But for the first time, we had a little bit of financial strain. And then um, I just remember being at football practice with all this stuff going around, and I was coaching JV, and I remember we had no linemen whatsoever, and we were getting sacked every play. And I just have this thought in my head, is this it? Like, is this it? Am I living up to my potential? And I think no matter what career you're in, you get to a point in a place where you're like, is this it? Is this what I'm supposed to be doing? Am I living up to my potential? Some people call that a midlife crisis. Uh, on the other side, my best friend knows this from high school, but my best friend on the other side, he was a driving motivator as well because he had gone into the business world and he had actually started his own company that was doing very well financially. And it's hard whenever you look around. And sometimes, I'll be honest, Jason, it really was an issue of pride. I had a personal issue with pride. I deserved more, I wasn't getting the recognition I deserved. Maybe my paycheck should have more zeros, so my value to the world goes up. Oh, yeah. And ultimately, I would say, you know, I might have left for money to go be a financial advisor, but the more I reflect on it, I really left education because I was prideful. And when I was told entering a new career, that you're gonna be great at this, you're smart, you're charismatic, you're funny, all those were things I wanted to hear, regardless of what profession I was in. I had just not heard them in such a long time that I leaned in and then I left. I traded my whistle and my gym for uh, you know, the seventh floor elevator, uh corporate office with a window, you know, your your typical what you think a financial advisor looks like. But it was the first time in my entire life, Jason, where I couldn't work with young people who could do nothing for me. So in financial advising, which people need financial advisors, financial advisors don't make money unless they're working with people who have money because you're getting a certain percentage of what money you're managing. Yeah. So I now had to go the exact opposite. Rather than working with young people who could do nothing for me, I could only work with older people typically who had built up a self-made career and had earned money, but I could only work with older people who had had money. Still, the job is there for a reason because those people earn that money and they deserve to be good stewards of it. But for me, I knew that every person I looked at, I was judging them. Can this person help my business move forward by what they have to offer me? So I did that for nine months. Uh, I always tell people numerically I was succeeding, I was hitting my targets, 150% above expectations. But spiritually, mentally, and emotionally, I was drained every day. I could teach for 12 hours, and as a financial advisor, I would only work for four and I would just be exhausted, like just the mental toll it takes. Uh, a lot of people don't consider that when they choose a profession. For me, since I know teaching is a calling, it fills me up. The mental drain on me as a teacher is not there like it is for a lot of people. Uh, so then I was getting ready to leave financial advising and go back to the classroom. And all of a sudden, somebody told me, like, hey, go have coffee with my brother. He has an avenue where you can go guide young men. And I was like, but stay in the business world. And I was like, all right, well, I'll go have coffee with anybody. So I go have coffee with this guy, and he's like, come lead young men with me. And I was like, All right, kind of like when I was a high school football coach. And he's like, Yep, except we're gonna do it in a business setting. And I'm like, all right, well, tell me more. How do I lead young men in a business setting? And the answer was fast food. Uh the answer was actually Chick-fil-A.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah.
SPEAKER_03:And to be honest, it was another pride issue where I heard Chick-fil-A. I uh was intrigued by it because it's a great company, great values, great vision. Who hasn't heard of Chick-fil-A? And then I heard the possibility of how much money you could make later on down the road if you ever were your own owner operator. So I said, all right, this must be my dream. Because side note, my dad actually shoveled chicken guts at Tyson's chicken for about 10 years up until his death. And I thought that this was some storybook ending where he was gonna go be the chicken gut shoveler and I was gonna go be the chicken king and kind of this full circle moment. Right. But when I got into the restaurant, I had never worked in the restaurant industry before. So if anybody's listening to this and has, they're like, ooh, he didn't know what he was expecting. It is one of the toughest industries, period. End of story. Wow, it never turns off. There's always green, yellow, red, depending on how fast you're getting the orders out. And I worked at Chick-fil-A, which is the best of the best fast food. There's always this steady hum of stress. But to be honest, I managed two restaurants and I would hire kids to work. And I actually hired former students of mine who I taught in health class about how to eat healthy, and then I would hire them and then convince them to try to upsize combo meals that were processed food and unhealthy. It was wild, right?
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_03:But I'll never forget when former students would come in, whether I had them, you know, 12 years ago or three months ago, they'd always come in and they would say the words, coach, how you doing? And that word just stuck out in my mind of like, I will never be held as high on a pedestal as when I was a teacher and a coach. And uh that's what I was truly after. I wasn't, you know, earning a lot of money might have given me status, but it didn't give me significance.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah.
SPEAKER_03:And when those former students would come in and say, We miss you, you were the best, that made me realize my job was full of significance, and that's what I was missing. So, you know, long story short, we ended that after about nine or ten months. And in the middle of the school year, I got a call uh that a PE teacher had uh left and resigned, and that there was an opening in January, the middle of the year, and it was an elementary school. I never taught elementary. I told my wife, I said, Hey, God, I want to go back to teaching, but you know, God, I don't know about elementary. And he's like, Well, you're gonna come follow my plan. And I will tell you, uh, I had never worked harder in my entire life in the first two months I was at that school. Yeah, uh, I didn't know how to work with elementary kids. I didn't understand how they need stickers and this and that. Uh, but I learned, I adapted because when you take extreme ownership of your classroom, it pays off. I studied what I should do to be a great elementary PE teacher. And ultimately, right now in front of you, I can say I genuinely love the age level uh and get a lot out of it.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah. Wow, that is so powerful. That is so powerful. And just to hear how at different points in your life you you know, in a lot of ways, you know, felt like you were, you know, contradicting yourself. It was like, I'm this is not really where my heart is. And and to to see that you had the the courage and the bravery to like step out and say, you know, I'm I'm not doing this, I'm I'm going down another path. Like that's so amazing. I know a lot of people who probably would not be able to do that. One of the things that really stood out about what you said, and you alluded to it before, you know, talking about your support system with your family, uh, when you transition from financial advisor and you wanted to go back into education, uh a lot of times when you're you're in a in a career field where you're making money and you're going you're transitioning to another career field where you you might not be making as much money as the previous position. You may have some people who will say no, you have to stay here because for financial reasons, right? Talk about if that was uh a thing for you and how did you overcome that, and how did your family, your wife specifically, and your support system uh give you that that encouragement, you know, that that sense of of belief that you can do and transition from that without worrying about the finances.
SPEAKER_03:Yeah, so you know, in the Bible it says do not worry about tomorrow for tomorrow has for today has enough worries of its own. And I will say that number one, my wife has been a rock. So to go from a couple professions where the promise of money is very high, uh, I I I honestly did feel like a loser and a quitter, and like I didn't I didn't do my wife justice, right? Uh, but the more I struggled with those career fields, the more I would come home, just not myself, not the same energy, not the same motivation. I was not the same person to my family. And I don't know if you've ever been kind of rock bottom identity crisis where you're just not, you're kind of lethargic. And instead of being present at home, I was just there. So honestly, whenever you know my wife saw me like this, she was the first one to say, Hey, we can stick this out, you can do hard things. But after a while, she was like, Justin, I want you back. And she fully supported me in every aspect uh of what this would look like. And you know, although money might be tighter and we might not have financial affluence, we've always been provided for, always, and we always will be provided for. Uh, but what teaching offers is time affluence. That's not something that's talked about enough, and I know that now. Yeah, the amount of time affluence. So, Jason, like the ability for me to when I leave my school, shut my brain off is huge. Now, don't get me wrong, as a first-year teacher, for the first five years, I was probably going early, staying late, working on lesson plans at night because I was a social studies teacher as well. I get that life, yeah. But I have time affluence, and more than anything, I have mental affluence where I don't have to worry about my business failing or succeeding based off this next client or prospect. Now, there's things out of my control in the government that could keep me up at night when it comes to funding, but I'm not gonna let that, you know. I can only control what I can control. So I don't stay awake at night with government funding. I I know enough that I'm gonna land on my feet. I'm a talented individual, as humbly as I can say that. I will be able to provide for my family, whether it's moving boxes at UPS, cutting down trees. Like I'll find a way to get it done. Yeah. So I would say the time affluence I get back as a PE teacher and the joy of fluence has compounded to where, although, yes, we'd love to be sitting pretty, but here's another thing I learned with financial affluence. I told God, I said, God, if I ever make over X amount of money, I'm going to give all of it away. And that was true. I was like, God, I've been a teacher for so long. I only want to make like double my salary. I'll give the rest away. But God wanted my heart. And my heart wasn't to give out of my abundance. My heart was to give a certain percentage of no matter what I made, to trust him. And that's where I had kind of gotten it wrong. And I heard this the other day that if you were to win the lottery, would you still work at your job? And I pondered that for a little bit. And it's like, where is your heart? Because if I knew I was taken care of financially, would I still be given, giving myself to my community, those who could do nothing for me? And a lot of us would say, nope, I'd retire and I'd go to a beach. And maybe that's why you're not having all this financial success, because the real reason you're here on earth is to pour into others and serve them. And you can't do that from a beach.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, I love that question. And like that, I really that that really hit me. That like that's the real litmus test. Like, and it goes back to what you were saying. Like it, your calling, like if you're if you're pursuing your calling, if you're aligned with where God wants you, you're not working, right? And so though those people are looking for that outlet, they're playing a lotto, hoping to win a lotto. And the moment they do, they quit. Well, the job. Well, are you really doing what you love? Are you really there? Are your feet really planted there? And so I love that that question that you pose. That's the real limits, Tessa. You know, I just love how you you talked a little bit about your journey, you're a lot about your journey and how you've overcome a lot. And I want to do this before we go on break. Uh, just kind of talk a little bit about your journey as a young person. You talked about your your your parents and and it just that how that helped shape who who you are today.
SPEAKER_03:Yeah, so as a as a young person, grew up with uh a lot of dysfunction. I had a younger brother and an older sister, but uh a lot of things that happened where every time my dad used methamphetamines, uh times would get really hard. There's a thing called meth rage that happens where we would be living in Missouri one day and then on the next day be going out to California to live with my aunt. Uh we spent time in women's battered shelters. But the one thing that I always say when I go speak to teachers is I talk briefly about what I went through because that matters, but I talk about the teachers who poured into me. My kindergarten teacher, Miss Birdsong, Miss Royce, my first grade teacher, my second grade teacher, Miss Smith, Miss Davidson, who you know got me to my 12s on my multiplication tables, Miss Hege in fifth grade, Miss Schaefer, Miss Buckingham, you know, and Miss Hutcheson. Like you just go down the list, Mr. Franken, Coach Franken, who is my PE teacher. And then I talk about here the the people in high school that they were either the extra intentional teacher, because there's a difference. There's the extra intentional teacher, and then there's the extra mile teacher. The extra mile teacher a lot of times needs more time, yeah, but the extra intentional teacher just goes the extra mile to learn your name, ask follow-up questions. And, you know, for the most part, even though I moved back and forth, I saw different places, I never thought of myself as an underdog. And statistically, it was only as an adult where I learned statistically some studies, say, not all, and you can go back and forth on trauma research. But the truth is, I had a harder childhood. So that would make growing up and becoming something out of myself that much harder. So, for example, I have a half brother, he went to prison. My younger brother struggled with alcoholism and almost didn't make it out of his situation. So I say this that statistics are don't share the entire picture because it's about what did go right. And Jason, I had Coach Wilkie. He was a guy who would drive three hours to come watch me play college football. I had Miss Stansel. Uh, she was my math teacher. And as soon as I turned 18, she bought me my first Bible. Uh, I can just go down the list of everybody who has poured into me. Uh, and I can tell other stories about like when I was 20 years old, my dad passed away, and I had to plan an entire funeral by myself as a 20-year-old, but all the community came around and uh, you know, kind of encompassed me. And really, it's about propping other people up, letting them know that I they're seen, heard, and valued. And I try to take less off of me and put more onto them. Uh, and now don't get me wrong, I'm a grinder. Uh, you know, if it doesn't challenge you, if it doesn't change you, I specifically take the direction of doing hard things, but it's only because I've known that because other people have poured into me as well.
SPEAKER_00:You are listening to the Miked Up and Motivated podcast with Jason A. Dixon and featured guest Justin Pickens.
SPEAKER_02:Welcome back to the Miked Up and Motivated Podcast. We're here with Mr. Justin Pickens, who has been amazing and just telling us his story, bringing us into his world. Coach, you have been so inspiring, man. And we're talking off-air just how amazing. Uh you're giving me my my flowers and my compliments, which I I truly appreciate. But man, I I look at you and I'm like, you are so amazing. You're doing so many amazing things, and uh, you've even inspired me. And so talk a little bit about where you see this journey taking you next. What's on the horizon for Coach Pickens?
SPEAKER_03:Yeah, great question, Jason. So, again, if you're just joining us, I'm Justin Pickens. I help break cycles and build futures. I do that uh by being an elementary PE teacher by day and a motivational speaker, specifically towards caring adults and educators by night. So, you know, what's what's on the horizon? That's always the big question. If you've been listening, you've heard how 13 years in education, two years left, and now I've kind of found my calling. Uh, my speaking business, you know, is growing. It's it's snowballing. I've done a lot of back to school convocations. Uh, I've spoken to future educators, so that's a big one too. Is there's a group called Educator Rising. And I just spoke at one of their events and I had people coming to me saying, like, you're not just another boring speaker, like you're storytelling. Like, I was on the fence about this. Is a high school girl said, I was on the fence about being an educator, and then you spoke, and now it's what I want to do. And I never want to convince somebody to do something or to enter a field or to stay in a career field where they're they're not gonna be happy. Yeah, but to be honest, like teaching is still a wonderful profession. I think a lot of people spend too much time on social media being bogged down. Uh, but yeah, speaking's uh taking off. I'm getting you know more well-known, more engagements are happening. Uh, I've even, you know, at this date in the recording, uh, I've had some speaker uh agents kind of just reach out and test the waters. But to be honest, like I I love where I'm at, and I'm just gonna take it one step at a time. I want to stay in the classroom as long as I can. Uh, one of the things is you get a lot of these motivational speakers, especially for teachers, they go around and uh they're not in the classroom anymore. And I understand why that happens. It's because it's hard to do two full-time jobs at once. I get it. And my family needs me to need me more than uh, you know, audiences or my classroom. But I'm gonna stay in the the classroom as long as I possibly can until uh it forces my hand to choose one or the other. But I will say the longevity of making connections with my elementary kids is going to leave ripple effects in their life forever. But it's really cool when you're a speaker, when even though you get like maybe 60 minutes, you can genuinely change a person's life in that moment. Now, the hardest thing with speaking is sometimes you don't get to come back and follow up.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah.
SPEAKER_03:But it's really cool of like, well, what if I fill up a room full of a thousand teachers at this convocation? If I fill them up and then they can go fill up the other kids, then I'm kind of just you know multiplying my effects. So great question. Who knows where we're at? But if you were to ask me, I'm gonna still be teaching and then inspiring uh and step on any stage that somebody asked me to uh step on. Uh, like, you know, it's been really cool this last couple weeks. I spoke at a future educator conference, I spoke at a PE conference, and then I'm speaking at a men's weekend church retreat. So that's like three different audiences, three different talks. It's hard to prepare for that many talks, but it fills me up knowing that that I can inspire.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, yeah. Well, I I would say the one of the reasons you're able to do that is because even just during this podcast, your humility and your authenticity, your heart, it's like you are genuinely, I can I can see like you like this is like you believe you you pour from your heart, right? And and I think that's why your message resonates with so many people from across different uh demographics, uh different audiences, man. I can I can truly see that. And I, you know, again, I believe this is just the beginning for you. More doors are gonna open. So you're listening, Justin Pickens. He's on he's on the up and up, so you better get them right now. Those bookies won't be over for very long, man. You're gonna read books. So I you know what? I I love to hear about that stuff. Yeah, talk a little bit about those people. And again, you you talked about it beforehand, but talk a little bit more about those people who really left an imprint on your life, who gave you the confidence, you know, gave you the the who empowered you to be in this position right now.
SPEAKER_03:No, great question. Uh, so you know, I I gotta give shout out and give credit where credit's due. Number one, as my best friend from high school, Chris Martin, it was the best of both of us being good human beings who are also very competitive. So I say every single teenage boy needs to have you, and you don't need a ton of best friends, you just need one. Uh, you just need one to kind of motivate, push, and inspire. So he pushed me, you know. We worked together, we worked on a farm together, we went to school together, played basketball together. And I tell you what, that farmer that hired us got the best money ever because he hired two boys for five dollars a piece to go work their butts off, who can constantly had a competition. Who could do more hay bales? Who could do more this? And it's just like I bet he was just sitting back being like, Oh, this is the best investment I've ever made in my life. Yeah. But having a best friend who believed in me filled me up. My my dad, even though he struggled, he loved watching me succeed in sports and he would play catch with me every chance he got, even if he was exhausted. He wasn't always there, but when he was there, he was so proud of me. Uh, my mom, even though she struggled quite a bit, she did her best to protect us when my dad was at his worst sometimes. Yeah. And although she struggled, she still did her best to always encourage us. My parents always told me four things. They always said, uh, when you go to college, they didn't use the word if, they said when you go to college. Don't know how we're gonna pay for it, but when. Uh, they always said, do as I say, not as I do. Uh they always said you don't have to stop what you don't start. And then they always said, listen to your teachers and coaches. And those four things stuck out with me huge. Uh, other people who fed into my life, uh elementary teachers, but specifically in high school, Miss Scoville, Coach Wilkie, Coach Smith, uh, the Bergen family, uh, all these people went the extra mile. And I'm probably leaving some names out. I'm so sorry if I am. And then as an educator, one of the biggest uh blessings of my entire life was to meet a man named Ron Peters. This was uh year eight of teaching. I was still a fiery coach. Uh, I was probably yelling a little too much at kids in middle school basketball, getting after kids. And Ron, you know, he was a 58-year-old para. Uh, sorry if I got your age wrong, Ron, but Ron was older. This was his, he was on the tail end of his career. He was getting ready to retire, and he was a paraprofessional. And he truly taught me that leadership knows no title, and your title may put you in a leadership position, but it doesn't give you influence.
SPEAKER_04:Yeah.
SPEAKER_03:Ron was quick to listen, slow to speak, slow to anger. I watched him coach four sports, uh, track, football, boys' basketball, girls' basketball, and he did it with composure and compassion. And he proved to me that you didn't have to yell. Now, I'm energetic, but I don't have to yell and demean people to be a good coach. Yeah. Ron Peters made me a better husband, a better father, a better um mentor to young people. And he did that all by just simply sharing a coaching office with me throughout my time. Now, I always say Ron Peters is battling the terrible disease known as Parkinson's, which has taken his ability to speak uh loudly. It's taken his ability to have control over his own body. But if anybody's ever watching this, I always just want to say be Ron a Ron Peters, be somebody who is always uh uplifting others and is isn't expecting anything in return. And that's what Ron did for me.
SPEAKER_02:Oh, I love that. I love that. And and what he poured into you, man, you you you're taking it and you're multiplying it. You're you're I'm I I love that. And I can relate because I have a coaching background as well. I was a yeller, I was fiery, you know. I thought I had to do this to get get the best out of them. And and like you, I learned, man, it's not about how how how much you yell. You know, I learned it's truly about building those relationships, gaining their trust. And so when you say that, that really hits home for me, that resonates. And again, shout out to Ron Peters, man, and all the people that you you talked about that are poured into you. I know they're proud of you, man. So let me ask you a few more questions before we we end the podcast. So when you look at the landscape of your profession, your industry where you um you do your work, what are things that that uh that excite you? And then what are some things that kind of kind of worry you a little bit?
SPEAKER_03:Yeah, some things that excite me are just the ability every day that there's kids out there that need to a mentor. They need to be coached, they need connection, and they need to be inspired. You know, we're living at a society where I may have had a tough childhood, but I never had a childhood with a cell phone. And we're learning, like it's our job as adults right now to protect these kids from depression and loneliness that is occurring and form community. That is where I really am glad. There's a a thing in Kansas City started called Fight Club. And it's where groups of teenagers, men at high schools are just getting together and just simply talking and airing out like this is what I'm going through. We're fighting suicide. So the need to help young people is always going to be there.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah.
SPEAKER_03:Uh something that excites me and also makes me nervous because I don't know about it is you know, AI is coming. Uh I don't think I you're ever going to be able to replace human connection, but I do think that AI is a powerful tool for learning. And if used right, we can, you know, we we don't have to teach the way we used to teach, which is one classroom, one teacher, you know, we all we all move at the same pace, even though we try our best to uh scaffold and strategically uh, you know, give kids what they need. But AI is gonna be there regardless, and it can help or it can hurt us. And, you know, I'm I'm excited about what that's gonna look like. Now, a lot of people might be worried about, man, what if AI takes my job? What if this? And I've just got this perspective of, so what? You know, if it does, I will land on my feet and somebody will need some encouragement. I know a lot of people are worried about that, Jason. A lot of educators, they're worried about tomorrow. And I don't know what that's gonna look like, but I just know that humans in general are still going to need connection outside of AI. So, so yeah, that if that answers your question, I'm excited that tomorrow, no matter what, I got kids coming to my classroom that need me, and I need them just as much. And I'm gonna ride that high as long as we can and I'll adapt and grow and learn uh just like anybody else is going to in this nation. And the cream will rise to the top. You'll you you either win or you'll learn, and that's what's gonna happen over the next, you know, two to I used to say like five to ten years, but as fast as technology moves, you know, two to two to five years, right? So yeah, that that's what I'm excited and nervous about as well.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, yeah. I I I love that you you said that. And when I hear you talk about that, you you epitomize my three S's. I talk about when it comes to students creating a culture or an environment or classroom where they feel safe, they feel seen, and they feel supported. And and when you made this statement about, you know, when when you go into that classroom, you're gonna have kids that need you, and and it it's it's not about all the outside influences that you're worried about. It's like you gotta be in the moment, you gotta do what you need, because these kids are gonna need all of you. And so I I I love that about you, and you and you epitomize that and you embody that. So let me let me ask you this question, uh, this final question. And because I know you you love speaking to educators and adults. So let's say um you we have people listening to the podcast, we're educator, a parent, a mentor, a youth pastor, anyone that works with uh uh a young person and they're kind of uh discouraged, they're kind of worried, they're not uh not really getting their message across, they're not reaching them. What would Justin Pickens say to that that person to keep them going, to keep the fuel in their fire?
SPEAKER_03:I'd say the pendulum is swinging back. It used to be where teachers and coaches and youth pastors were the primary source of an adult figure that people would look after and model after. And then it swung to social media. But I think this generation is finding out that social media uh influencers don't have it all figured out. They are understanding uh that you can be anybody you want to be on that, you know, Instagram or TikTok stage, but they're starting to wonder like, I actually want to feel connected to the people right in front of me. And you know who I'm gonna look up to? The people who are right in front of me who are joyful. Uh, I would also say practice an attitude of gratitude every single day because there are over 10,000 elementary PE teachers in America, and half of them might be miserable at their job. But every day I'm driving to school, I'm practicing my attitude, I'm staying in the word, I'm listening to some forest frank. Today's gonna be a good day. Nothing's gonna, and I just prepare myself mentally that, yeah, challenges will come, but I'm not an underdog, I'm an overcomer. And today's gonna be a good day, no matter what comes. So fill your cup with some attitude and some gratitude. Get off social media. We don't have just a teacher burnout problem, we have a human burnout problem. I guarantee if you started eating healthier and got off social media, you know you need to do that, nothing else. If you just ate healthier and started uh it got completely off social media, give that a try for three months and you will be a happier person and better at your job.
SPEAKER_04:Thank you for listening to this episode of the Mic'ed Up and Motivated Podcast.
SPEAKER_01:You have people waiting on you to cross over to the other side so you can reach back and grab them.