I’m Joey, and I’m glad you’re here. 🙂
I don’t believe in coincidence, so I’m guessing you’re here today because we have some things in common. Perhaps…
You crave meaning, authenticity, and freedom.
You seek first to understand.
You believe that we are all perishable items, and you try to live accordingly.
You live life like a series of obsessions.
Those aren’t just quotes on my Pinterest board. I really believe that shit. That’s why in June of this year, I cracked open the pretty snow globe that was my life in Nashville and I sifted through all the innards. A few things I kept and packed into my car for the long drive to Miami where, in June, I started my do-over life with my dog Moses and not much else.
Everything else I gave away or sold. I rented out my house in Music City to help pad my budget since – oh yea – I said screw it and quit my corporate gig where’d I’d been doing some solid ladder climbing for over four years.
And now I’m here, in the sexiest city in America (some say) thanking myself every day for listening to my gut, and for taking the biggest risk in my life, and for betting on my ability to redesign a life I love.
What the hell was I thinking?
Well, after 10 years of trial and error, I’d figured out enough to know that what I was doing was not bringing me happiness. And this wasn’t a “bloom where your planted” situation. It was time for a full on crop rotation.
I had three main goals in mind:
- to live at the beach
- to find my tribe of meaning seekers and hustlers who live with intention, and
- to make cool shit
My gut said Miami. So I flew to Miami in March test the waters and I knew it was the right decision.
For the next few weeks, as I was quietly planning to uproot my perfectly fine life in pursuit of a wonderfully authentic one, I worried what people would say when they found out.
Would they try to stop me? Tell me I’m crazy. Or just have that look on their face that would make me want to pucker up and kill my plan?
But eventually the secret got out. And none of that happened. In fact, the opposite happened.
Daily, someone would find me at work or text me and tell me they’d hear the news and they were friggin’ stoked for me. Excited to see what would unfold in my journey. Ready to come visit as soon as I learned my way around the sexiest city in America.
And as they did, my confidence swelled. I was no longer doing this alone. I went from “make it work” to having a support network of people who were more than willing to help me make connections and send a care package – whatever might take a bit of the edge off.
Soon, I had a growing following of people who were inspired by my journey, my risk taking, my caution throwing, my balls.
So, rather than be all clandestine about it, I started openly sharing my journey through Instagram, Facebook, and Snapchat. I’ve let down my guard and unleashed my creativity in a way that I never expected to come of this big experiment.
So! I’m here now. I did it! I took a risk and I’m happier than ever. I redesigned my life into one that I love every day… multiple times a day. And I feel a sense of obligation to share my experience and let you know that you can do the same thing. (And maybe because I’m a millennial and/or a narcissist. Who’s to say, really?)
Be sure to sign up for my very occasional newsletter.
I share inspirations + shenanigans + tips for living deep.
This blog is one way I’m hoping to make connections and continue to build that family. I welcome new friends, collaborators, and even spectators – though I do hope you’ll comment sometime and make this a conversation.
If your gut is telling to you to run away, if your heart gets gigiddy when you think about your passion project on the side, or you feel a twinge of guilt when you think about that book you never wrote or that trip you never took or whatever thing it is you’ve been afraid to do – I want to share my story with you in hopes that it might help you get closer to living your dream. And I would LOVE for you to reach out to me and let me know your thoughts, your dreams, your fears, especially if something you read here resonates with you.
As Emerson said, “It’s not length of life, but depth of life.”
Here’s to being drenched in life.
Live deep.
Joey
JOEY GOES 