EP #132: Strategies For Building Your Spiritual Fitness with Adam Jablin, Life Coach & Founder of The Hero Project

Welcome back to another episode of Every Day in Dorfens, a mental health podcast focused on the importance of finding joy and happiness in daily living. I'm your host Stella Stephanopoulos, and this week I am so thrilled to bring on motivational speaker, elite coach, trainer, multi-hyphenate, Adam Jaablin on the podcast. Adam's worked with celebrities, esteemed figures, he's been endorsed by people in the mindset coaching space like Tony Robbins for his work. And after speaking with him, I could definitely sense the passion that he has for leading people to their purpose in life and helping them to navigate recovery. He struggled with his own addiction and he really just wants to give back to others who are struggling or who are just looking to make more positive change in their life. So it was such a pleasure getting to sit down with him and speak with him during this interview and we covered a wide range of topics. We talked about Adam's backstory, his struggle with addiction, how he got into recovery, how he got into mindset coaching, into fitness coaching. And we really focused this interview on a very unique analogy that he has around spirituality, which I'll save for the actual interview. But what's interesting is that in this episode Adam really dives into how he came into spirituality in his life. And we talk about struggles we've had in our pasts, how we've overcome them, and how we've actually used spirituality as an anchor to get through really difficult times, how to reverse limiting beliefs in our mind, and how to create a sense of optimism and hope and faith in our lives. And I just found it really awakening and refreshing to talk with him and to hear his perspective on strengthening our own spiritual muscles and how he can do that. So I'll save the rest for later, we'll get into the good stuff in the actual episode. So without further ado, let's dive right into this interview. Hi Adam, thank you so much for coming on to the podcast. Hi Stella, thanks for having me. I'm excited to be here. Yeah, I feel like our interests are so aligned just on finding more purpose in life, sparking joy, you know, everything that you do and your field is a life coach. So I have a lot of questions that I want to dive into this afternoon, but first, have you share a bit more about your background? So can you tell my listeners a little bit about who you are your story, how you got into the fields of spirituality and wellness and mental health and sobriety. Yeah, so many names Adam Javent, and I am the founder and the creator of the hero project. And what I'd love to do is I ignite the hero within people to relieve them from alcoholism, addictions, unhealthy dependencies, take them through their hero's journey and where they can return home the best version of themselves, truly, truly a hero from within, from within in intrinsic, right? Because the inside job is what it's all about. It really, really is. What I would love to say is the real Adam was born July 14, 2006, because that was my sobriety day. And up to that point, I was going through my trials and tribulations. That I don't still have them, but growing up, I was the fat kid in New Jersey, I was the heavy kid. My dad called me El Chabo. There was a movie growing up called The Goonies when I grow up and there was this kid named Chunk and he would do the Chunk Shuffle. My friends would ask me to do the Chunk Shuffle. And nobody was picking on me. You know, it was the light teasing. It wasn't like bullying or anything like that. But it left a mark. It really, really left a mark. We moved down to Bookward Home floor. That one I was around 11 years old. You could have your shirt off every day. You could be in the pool and I would wear a shirt over my fat and we'd still suck to it. And I just hated the way I looked. I hated the way I looked. I remember at a young age, my dad showed me this movie Rocky III. Okay. And still on it was just like shredded. And my little mind, I couldn't stop watching. I just loved the movie. I loved him. I loved the character. And my little mind was saying, if I could look like that, all my problems would go away. And that little boy ran my life until I was 30 years old. That one decision. So moved down to Bookward Tone. And I hate the way I look. I want to be Rocky. And before I know it, my mom starts spying me a weight set and we stop going to McDonald's every day and I don't get my six piece chicken with nugget and my frion my soda but I'm getting grilled chicken in apple. It wasn't as sophisticated as it is today with apps and macros and microbes and vegan and paleo and keto. It wasn't like that back then. But for short years, I went from being the baddest kid in the class to the best bill kid in the class. I went from kids going, how many Oreos did you eat last night to? How much can you bench press? And the girls liked me. So everything changed on the outside. Everything changed, but me the inside. I was still that class clown, laugh with me. Don't laugh at me. Curismatic, extroverted guy. But with the muscles and the skills and the coordination that came with it, I was able to play with the older kids. And the older kids were experimenting and I just, you know, and there was something cooler back then about being with older kids. They had more freedom, they had more luxury. There was just cooler than cars. And all I remember is them passing the drink, me drinking it and it fixed something inside of me that I did not know was broken. And whatever it was, it fixed it. It absolutely fixed it. And I wasn't arrogant. I wasn't cocky. I wasn't a jerk, but I was confident. I mean, I remember looking down almost like there were two different people looking down at my body, being like, who is this? There was finally a connection. And what could be wrong with alcohol? You know, I felt like him. So inside again, I designated my life to that feeling. So I was the first kid in high school in the fake driver's license. It was from Iowa, it looked terrible, but they would stir me out, you know, the boonies and I would bring beer for everybody. I went to Arizona State University because there's the number one party school in the country in Playboy and Penthouse Magazine, which it was. And I dominated there. And it was sex drugs and rock and roll. And it was a ton of fun. And alcoholism is a weird thing. Alcoholism and addiction because it's a ton of fun. And then it's fun and consequences. And then it's nothing but consequences. And that's exactly the cycle of my drinking and drug and career. I was born and raised into a family business. I was third generation. It was not something that was like handed to me. I started as the janitor and I did the night shift that I had to do. We were lace manufacturing like women's and to be the peril, but perla, Victoria Secret, tanky, tanky. And we were number one in the world. So I had to start your janitor shipping quality control. I had to go to the secretary's job. I had to learn every part and I had to live up to these two shadows. My grandfather and my father. And that made me very insecure and made me very thirsty. So it was or card play hard. And I took that as far as I could. But finally at age of 30. So I took that for 10 years. I was in the interview because my drinking and drug problem became extremely noticeable. And I went to rehab. And that's when I told you I was really reborn. I started learning all these life skills. All these spiritual skills that I had never learned before. I learned that alcoholism and addiction was a disease. It wasn't a lack of willpower. It takes four qualifications to be a disease, by the way. And then the first one is the first one. And the fourth one, the fourth component becomes a disease is it's fatal. One of those qualifications away, you have a serious disorder. And that's bad enough. But if you have all four years. So I learned about that. I learned about spiritual. I learned at spiritual outies like muscles. We're going to get into all of that because something that I noticed on your profile is this idea of building your own spiritual fitness and like building those muscles, which I'm really fascinated by. But I want to go back to before you have this rebirth essentially in 2006. You mentioned how your body confidence was really low at a young age. And then even once you became more fit like in high school middle school high school. I want to say you didn't have that connection between like your fit self and actually like who you are. It wasn't until alcohol came into the picture that you recognized that person and you gained that sense of confidence. And I appreciate that you share that because I think so many people seek happiness from changing the way they look or changing external circumstances like changing things outside of themselves and they think, okay, well, once I have XYZ thing or once I look like that way or whatever. I'll be happy. But to your point to your lived experience and to I would argue most people's experiences in life. Even once they achieve that thing that's outside of them, it doesn't fix what's going on internally. And you mentioned earlier, like everything is within you. And what's sad is that you know alcohol maybe it was the agent that like tapped you allowed you to tap into your confidence, but it wasn't a healthy way to do so. And then I get back to that later because I have thoughts and questions about addiction and that cycle of it becoming more progressive over time with alcohol. all use and how we often kind of default to unhealthy habits when we're feeling deeply sad or like there's a void in ourselves. But I want to hear more, you know, your perspective on just identifying that there was a lack within. How did you notice that? Okay, I was becoming more fit. I was becoming more popular. I was hanging with the older crowd, but I was still deeply unhappy. How did you reconcile with that? Alcohol. I hope that answer is really fair. You know, I didn't reconcile. I didn't know how to reconcile. Alcohol was my baby. Alcohol was my best friend. The only way I really knew how to make that work was to drink and to use pills and drugs and then the connection would happen. And when you hang around people, not everybody I hung out with was an alcoholic and an addict, but they were part of yours. It seemed the same way for them a little bit. It seemed that way. What I didn't realize was there was an internal confidence within them that I mean out of had, but I couldn't tell because I was in my own world. When you had that intervention and you started to seek treatment and rehab and therapy, therapeutic options, what were you starting to realize around not relying on substances to gain that sense of inner confidence? Because that's much harder to do sober than to default to certain substances to fill that void. What were you learning during that pivotal time in your life when you made that shift? Yeah, so I think it's really important that in this part of the story, I don't use the word confidence because it was a rebirth. It's like a newborn baby doesn't come out confident. They come out new and they come out fresh. They come out clean, but not confident. They're not ready to run. They're not ready to sprint. They're not ready to ride a bicycle. They're not ready to use utensils. It was a lot like that. I was learning about spirituality and I was learning about God and a higher power. They had a poster on the wall. Get this. This one resonate with me. Make the appropriate face with the appropriate emotion. I was always smiling. That was my mask. My idea was look good, look cool. Be the guy and therefore you'll leave me the hell alone so I could do what I want to do. If I was sad, I was smiling. If I was pissed off at you, I was smiling. I was a phony. I was a phony. This goes back to this idea of spiritual muscles. I learned spirituality. I felt like they were talking directly to me. I really did. I was taught that spirituality or like muscles. You could have healthy spirituality and unhealthy spirituality. Just like you could have healthy muscles and you could have unhealthy muscles. But you can't get more of it. That woke me up. You can't get more spiritual. You cannot. You cannot get more muscles. I cannot get another deltoid, another bicep, another tricep, another quadricep, another hamstring, another pectoral. I can't get more of it. But God blessed me with everything that I have. What I can do with these muscles is make them bigger, healthier, faster, stronger, more durable, more flexible. It's the same thing with your spirituality. You can't get more of it. But you can make them, you can make your spiritual muscles. They're virtues within side of you. Bigger, faster, stronger, more powerful, more connected, healthier. Mason, you could see it. You could see healthy spirituality versus unhealthy spirituality. Healthy spirituality, there's a glow in the eyes. There's a feeling of celebration around them. A joy to be alive. They smile. They tend to find their words quick. They don't stutter. They can communicate well. You can feel healthy spirituality. You have healthy spirituality. We're having a wonderful conversation. On the flip side, you can also see unhealthy spirituality. There's a weird vibe around them. They tend to break eye contact a lot or look down at the floor. They can't find their words quickly. Well, cheese, you know, you know, you know, you know. And at that time, I identified a lot more with the unhealthy spirituality. So I dove in to get as healthy as I can as fast as possible. It's a really fascinating analogy that you use, that you can't get more spiritual. When you think about it as your muscle composition, you can't get another deltoid or bicep. You just have to find the ways to strengthen what you already have. I think that's a very empowering message because so many people think when we feel like we hit a sense of rock bottom for lack of a better phrase, it's so hard to even envision how do I see the light forward, right? Like thinking you need to get something outside of yourself. How do I harness the power within myself? How do I turn in words? And I think the act of doing so actually kind of breaks you down a little bit because in any, it makes you, it forces you to face certain things that you've kind of suppressed or ignored or not brought to your conscious attention. And I love how you mentioned that it wasn't like you reemerged feeling confident all of the sudden. It was really a rebirth. I had kind of a difficult few months in the past year. And I was really kind of going through a difficult time period in my life. And I remember thinking to myself a lot about this idea that you just mentioned. And I wasn't feeling very confident. I wasn't feeling very good in myself. And it was so foreign to what I had known to be true about myself my entire life, like effortlessly smiling and feeling happy and whatever, like my natural demeanor. And I realized myself like it felt as if I was kind of having a rebirth. I saw this might sound kind of crazy, but I feel like you would understand. I thought about like the motif of a phoenix. And when a phoenix dies, it like ashes, you know, the ashes burn and it falls. But then when the babies born, it like emerges from those ashes. And it's this like purity. It's nurturing. And so in a way, you need to have some sort of death in a sense to have that rebirth, to grow, to embody a new you know type of spirituality, to elevate your life in a different way. And so I think sometimes it's actually necessary to go through something really, really difficult because it wakes you up so that you can emerge stronger. So for me, the imagery that worked was this idea of like a phoenix falling and the ashes and everything. But I love how you tie in this concept of building your spiritual muscles and creating a stronger connection to something that's spiritual. So I'd love to hear some strategies that you've adopted over the years to strengthen those muscles. Like what does it look like to not become more spiritual, but to strengthen those skill sets? Let's use the first skill that was shown to me for somebody that is just a complete non-believer. Your audience, there may be some people that just have no faith or belief in this, right? So I was with a Catholic priest. I'm a Jew from Jersey, okay? I was with a Catholic priest and he asks me to stick my arm out. So I stick my arm out and he does this. He puts his finger prints on me like that. He goes, do you see what I did there? So I look at the priest and I look at my arm out, the priest, I'm like, "Father, you know, I'm sorry, I don't see anything and he does it again." He goes, "You see what I did that time? Now I'm using humor because I'm feeling really uncomfortable and my father, I'm Jewish, there may be a disconnect between us. He does it again." He goes, "You see what I did that time on your arm. Now I'm feeling really weird." So my father, you know what? I heard about you guys, the little boys. He starts laughing. He turns the lights off and he takes a UV light and he puts it on my arm and there are all of his finger prints glowing in the dark. And he goes, "Do you believe that there's a power all around you that you can't see, taste, touch, none of the five basic senses that's protecting you, guiding you and brought you here to me today now?" And I'm looking at these finger prints glowing. I'm like, "Father, I can believe. I can believe." Turns the lights back on, they all vanish. I'm like, "Do it again, do it again." I thought it was a magic trick. Do I mean? But he was opening my mind that there are things going on right now that I can't explain. I don't understand how we're on a Zoom, you know, on this call. This is like some Star Wars book Roger's stuff when I was a kid growing up. I mean, I understand people are on FaceTime right now. There are pilots flying planes that are not even looking where they're going. You're using nothing but solar equipment. There are whales speaking underneath the ocean. There are whistles right now that only dogs can hear. There is so much going on around us and we believe that we have all the answers. This opened me up to a whole new way of perceiving life. Then I had to tell my story for the first time. A lot of what I just told you. And when I said my first, I only liked the way that. I didn't like the way it sounded. I've told my story. Like I'm a kid from Jersey. You know, I'm like, "My story. What's your fucking story?" I didn't understand that I had a story. Maybe it sounded like offensive language, but when I shared my story, all these people were identifying with me. Oh my God, I'm the skinny kid. I went to Ohio State. I got a DUI. Well, and I'm like, "Oh my God, that's not good." Because what happened was it was crushing my ego. And rather than me being the me, I started becoming part of the we. Rather than being the me, I started becoming part of the we. And then I was laid out a program of recovery. And I attacked that program as if my life depended upon it because it did. And what happened was all of these gifts started coming out of me. I remember the first time I started smiling. And someone was like, "You're smiling." And that smile never went away. Because it was a real, it was a smile of joy. It wasn't a fake BS smile. I was taking everything so seriously in the beginning. I couldn't relax. And finally would happen with prayer, with meditation, with random acts of kindness, with helping another human being, with really connecting the heart, mind, and soul. I started becoming Adam Javling. I love that. What you just said reminded me of. reminded me of this concept that I read about in this book called How to Do the Work. And then also another book written by the same author called How to Be the Love You Seek, Dr. Nicole LaPera. She's fantastic. She's on Instagram the holistic psychologist, but she talks about this concept of heart coherence and the relationship between our heart and our brain. And it really dives into a lot of what you're speaking about now with this concept of spirituality and recognizing that there's a lot that's not really, that we can't explain and we just can't see. How would you respond to someone who says, well, I'm not religious. So I don't even know if I'm really not spiritual. Can you share your perspective on how you define spirituality, especially for those who maybe don't feel like they identify with a certain religion? Because I think what we're talking about is looking at mental health, well-being, holistic health at a larger scale, but from a very different perspective than what we typically think about when we think about taking care of ourselves with proper nutrition, exercise, sleep, etc. The spiritual side is the seeking. It's the seeking. Now what I have found is also seek where religious people are right. I'm not saying to come religious. I'm saying seek where they're right. And if you can find what they have found that you're not seeking anymore. So I will be up front with you and I do not think that this is arrogant and I don't think that this is cocky. I am not seeking anymore. I am not a seeker. I've found that connection that I was always looking for. Now, I still read, study, pray, meditate. I'm a big fan of her work as well. I still nurture and put in information to help me, but I'm not seeking the answer anymore. And that's a big difference. A lot of people out there are seeking, they're seeking. They'll try Buddhism, they'll try, shall I wear a Yamaka? I'll do this. I'll get back, they're seeking, they're seeking, they're seeking, they're seeking. Where is the treasure? And what happens is they start worshiping the treasure map. They find the book, the podcast, they find the treasure map, and they worship the treasure map and not the treasure. I like that analogy. It reminds me of this concept of when we think about wanting to be happy, we often overemphasize this idea of achieving some sort of desired end state. Once I do this, I'll be happy. But we lose sight of the process of doing those small things every day that guide us towards moments of joy, that accumulate into this sense of feeling joy and meaning and purpose in life. And you mentioned prior meditation, are there other strategies that you use that help you still, maybe not seek, because you mentioned you're not seeking currently, but keep you feeling that sense of spirituality, that guide you towards the right track that helps you to stay in your sobriety and spread your message. So I pray, I meditate, I do journal at the end of the day, not in the beginning of the day, right? I share with somebody that I trust. I have an outside counsel. So that's where a coach or a mentor will come in. Because when you share it with someone you trust, A, hopefully it's someone that's been through the work. So they know where to maneuver. They know where the trip wire is. They know where the landmines are. They know where to make a right. They know where to make a left. So I have a mentor in my life, even a book coming out, his name is Dion, he's a rock and roll, all the fame legend. And he guides me with his wisdom and with his love. So I share it with somebody. And I have a community around me that understands who I am, how I think, and holds me accountable. I also do things for myself. Like I do some sort of training for my body every day. I mean, because the body is the temple. The body is where the soul resides. The soul lives within the body. So I want my body to feel good so I can spiritually feel good. And when you put all these things together and they don't take long, they don't take long. I mean, some people now it's all about morning routines. And it's like honestly, but someone could be done with their morning routine. I've gotten like six hours of work done. Do you know what I mean? They meditate and then they do a cold plunge. And then they do this. And don't get me wrong. I've done all those things and it's great. But it's like, you know, we have lives. Yeah, I'm glad you mentioned that. Because it's not every day, can you do all those things either. And if you feel like you can't accomplish all those things in the morning, then it feels like you failed at being healthy. And I think that's a big roadblock. A lot of people face too. It's like thinking that they need to accomplish so many things to have a productive day or to feel healthy. And it's like, it's not about that, right? It's tools. They're tools. You know, and don't worry. Two years from now, if I'm back on your podcast, something new will come out. You know, they're tools. And tools are wonderful because tools help you build. But they help you build what you're looking for. They're not what you're looking for, right? Again, it's the treasure map and not the treasure. Such a great analogy. Tell me more about your decision to become a life coach. And what that looks like for you. I mean, a lot of what we're even talking about right now is very inspiring. And it's making me think a lot about my own perspective on spirituality and health and wellness and just finding joy in life. So I'd love to hear more about what sparked the desire to become a life coach. And some of the most common themes that you talk about with your clients are the most common struggles that people are facing. And something that actually, you know, I would maybe argue is what you even spoke about earlier is getting out of the ego. I think that's a big one. It's an interesting thing being a life coach, a recovery mentor in today's day and age, because it's like a phenomenon. And now everybody wants to do it or be it. And it puzzles me to me personally, because I'm wired for this and I didn't want to be this. I'll give you an example. I was the kid in football that if I could lay you out, I didn't. I tackled you the right way and I picked my opponent up. And my coaches would be screaming at me. "Jab, leave him on the ground." "Jab, you know what I mean?" And if I was boxing and I would win, I would still show you what I did. If we were training partners, I wanted to get the best out of you. I always wanted to get the best out of people. And that made me feel very feminine, to be honest with you. You know what I mean? Because I didn't feel like I had that killer instinct, like my idols, like Michael Jordan, my Kobe Bryant, like my father, just relentless. Like kill you at all costs, win at all costs. I didn't have that. I was a natural, inspire, a natural leader, a natural coach. So that people want to do this now, puzzles me, because inside my brain, I don't want to be the coach. I want to be Michael. I want to be the star. I want to have the sneakers. I want to have the fade away. I want you, but I'm the coach. It's how I'm actually wired to be. You know, so when it was time to do it, it was like the next natural progression for me. We sold the family business and it was time to finally be out of it. That time I already had 15 years cleaning sober. I had helped thousands and thousands of people. And it was like just the next logical step. Not knowing that it was like a very saturated market. But what I did get blessed with is people can tell the truth from the false after time. So eventually my career just hockey sticked because of the work that I was able to do. Yeah, I mean, and the help that I was able to provide. So it wasn't just an Instagram reel and it wasn't just a quick clickbait. And it was like, when you work with me, you get to do the work. You get to really do the work. Yeah, that's how that all that happened. My 15 years cleaning sober at the time, now I'm coming up on 18 or 14 at the time to be honest. The way I'm wired internally, always wanting the best for people, always wanting to bring the hero out in people. And what I'm working you saying, what I have found is everybody's addicted to something. Everybody's addicted to something. Even if that addiction is to an old story. Even if that addiction is to, well, this is just how my life is. You don't understand. I have a spouse. I have responsibilities. I have a career. Okay, you do have those things, but you're addicted to a story. So everybody's addicted to something. So I create a common language with my client, right? Right now I would use what's her name, the holistic healer with you. Right? I would know how you speak. I would know what turns you on. Right? I'm not going to use sports analogies with you because they're not turning you on. I would not use superheroes with you. They're not turning you on. But I would use her, maybe Eckhart totally. But I would use it. I would create the common language that you can really understand what I'm saying. And then I would start destroying the denial in your brain. Question by question, right? Really asking if things are true or they really true? What would it look like if the opposite were true? And I'd be holding your hand through the process. We'd develop a mission statement in a purpose for you. A true mission statement in a purpose for you and just for you. A creed that you could live by every day. We would find out many things about you. Like, what's your primary question? What do you keep asking yourself every day? What is that question? And how can we shift that question that it actually strengthens you? We would shift your energy and your focus, right? We'd find out what your core values are, what's helping you, but also what's hurting you. We would find out if you have more masculine energy and more feminine energy, we each have both. I thought when I was learning about this, that maybe my energy was feminine and I learned out, "I'm all masculine, I didn't know that." I was scared because of this thing of always wanting to help people. And there's a lot of different tools that we use. Even down to one of my clients about to return home. And not saying that they're with me, but like they're really far along on the process. We're gonna go deep into the love languages because I want them coming home and for them to understand that even though they've changed, now it's their job to truly be the hero within their life, which means you have to lead by example. So understanding how you receive love, not taking it personal, that if your wife or your husband, [BLANK_AUDIO] their love languages, acts of service, right? My former wife, you know, and I've gone through hell and back. So I've been there. My former wife, taking out the garbage to her or changing a light bulb, was showing her that I love her. I didn't know that back in the day. And those were not how I express love. I like to touch. I like to express myself. That wasn't on her radar, you know? So I'm up doing these exercises with my clients. And you're putting the whole thing together, because you don't want them great in one area of their life and not in the whole area of their lives. You want them to be able to practice these virtues and practice this holistic life and practice these principles in all of their affairs. Absolutely. Love language is interesting because a lot of the times the way people give and receive love maybe isn't, you know, in alignment. And I think that's when conflict arises when there's not clear sense of communication about how someone receives versus how someone gives. I think a lot of issues in life, whether it be with your romantic or platonic relationships, really everything, I think communication is like that common denominator, being able to clearly communicate. And I think that's one of the biggest skills we can actually learn how to strengthen. Because when you learn how to actively communicate your needs, your boundaries, that's an act of self-care. And that's a way of putting yourself first and kind of upholding those virtues like you spoke about, you know, making sure that you live your values too. And but you first, you have to get clear on what exactly those are. Selfish love is selfless love. It really is. Selfish gets a bad rap because you can't pour from an empty cup. So I want my clients and the people in the groups that I work with, the people that I work with to be able to pour into everybody. And we can't do that unless their cup is over followed. Absolutely. It's kind of like the idea that when you're on an airplane, you have to put the oxygen mask on yourself first before you can extend that to someone else. So I want to shift gears a little and talk about the hero project as well. Can you share more with my listeners about what inspired the hero project? And I think the name is pretty self-explanatory. And I love that because it's about harnessing that power within yourself. Would love to hear more about really the mission behind the hero project. As I say before, I believe there's a hero within all of us. And a hero is going to go through trials and tribulations. And a hero is going to go through that journey that we've always heard about. There's a separation from the old life, a separation from whatever's bothering them, a separate-- you can go through the movies as well. You'll see the hero's journey in every movie you can think of. Separation in Star Wars, from Pat Tween, and he finds out that his uncle and aunt is dead. And now you find the wise mentor. So it's Mr. Anderson finding Morpheus and going to the Matrix and turning into me. You'll see the cycle everywhere. But there's a separation part where you're separating from the old life. And then there's an initiation point. And as usually, after you find the old wise mentor in the movie or the story or the coach, right? And they're going to show you and prepare you for this journey. You're truly about to explore. And around this journey, it's going to be a lot of love, a lot of fun, but there's going to be some challenges. And eventually, you're going to have to slay the dragon. You're going to have to face the fear. And nine out of 10 times that dragon resides within. It's really an internal battle of what you think, what happens if I say this, what happens if I do this, what will this look like? But we have to finally slay the dragon and allow this person to really become who they are meant to be. But what I love about this is there's always a return home. Some programs and some people you get to become the best version of yourself. And it's like, and I'm out of here. It's not that. Now you return home and you leave. You keep the marriage. You keep the children. You keep the happiness. You enjoy even if that marriage looks different in the end. But you keep the sanctity. That's a good point. Even when you level up in your life and you're stepping into something new, you can say goodbye to some unhealthy patterns and thought patterns and behaviors. You have to still return home. I think it comes back to fostering a closer sense of connection to the self. Because what happens when you level up and then another roadblock happens in your life that typically tends to come out of the blue because we can't control so much of what's happening outside of us. And you've already felt like you've leveled up and you've made all these advancements in your life and you're in a much better place. But then something comes out of the blue and makes you question-- I don't know, your own growth. You have to still be able to return home, right? Because there's always going to be things that we're going to be faced with that we can't really predict or control for. So I really love that messaging. I want to shift gears a little bit and talk about your perspective on happiness. Everyday endorphins is all about finding things in life that bring us joy, that make us feel fulfilled, that make us feel grateful. And just given your experience in your life, in your story, I want to hear how you define happiness. I love that you say joy, fulfilled, and grateful. Joy fulfilled and grateful. That's where it's at because that's peace. That's finding inner peace, peace within the storm. Peace that no matter where it's thrown at you, whatever storm it is, if it's beautiful sunny weather, if it's hail and sleet, that you can feel at peace. Happiness is fleeting. Happiness is a new car. And then three weeks later, it's just your car. Happiness is a new baby. And then you realize the baby comes with night feedings and baby monitors and formula or breastfeeding or at new anxieties. Happiness is a drink. I drink to be happy, but it's fleeting. Happiness is sentenced, but peace, man. Peace is the sweet spot. Peace is where it's at. I am so glad that you said that because one of my intentions for 2024 was doing a whole journaling exercise, was really trying to be thoughtful about, what do I want to bring into this year? How do I want to change my life? And my mantra, what I've been trying to anchor on, is having more inner peace. No matter what's thrown at me, not allowing external circumstances, people's behaviors, whatever it is, mold me, shape me, provoke me, not allowing that to get a reaction out of me. Just allowing myself to still say calm and centered. I also teach yoga, and I have a yoga practice, but even fitting the archetype of someone who's really into wellness, it's a daily struggle, for sure. And I've noticed that it's something I'm really trying to work on is finding a greater sense of inner peace. I have yet to find the answer if I figure it out, which I likely won't back to what you said earlier, focusing on the treasure and treasure map analogy. There's no answer to this. There are just tools that you need to utilize and find things that resonate into your life. But it's something that I'm really trying to stay committed to. And I think it's so important that we make this distinction between happiness, beingsling that's fleeting, that's a feeling, versus joy and feeling content and feeling a sense of stability, no matter what's happening around you. I do believe that it's super important to redirect your attention and your focus to things in life that give you that sense of joy and happiness so that you can find a more inner peace. And like you mentioned earlier, yes, like having an alcoholic beverage can make you happy in the moment, but really thinking, OK, what's the intention behind that? Am I doing it to distract and self-medicating and not deal with emotions that I should be dealing with? Or am I engaging with this behavior because it actually makes me grateful and feel a sense of peace within myself? And so what I want to say here in the context of this conversation is that I think it's important to find those small endorphins in life that fill up your cup in a nourishing way that are actually good for you, not those like fleeting moments of joy. So the final question that I want to leave you with, Adam, is what is something that brings you a bit of endorphins? That fills up your cup every day. I love my mission. I love working with people. My children-- my children bring me joy, real joy and happiness, taking care of my body. It's all about my intention and my focus. It really is. It really is. And when I put three things together, let's say at the baseline to my physiology and taking care of the body and making my body feel good and giving it the energy. And then the third part of the triangle would be where my focus is. What am I focusing on? Am I focusing on the problem or am I focusing on the solution? And then the language that I use-- not externally. I'm a guy from Jersey. I speak the way I speak. Am I telling myself harmful thoughts, the debilitating thoughts, or am I telling myself positive thoughts? Am I rewiring the story in my head to make it turn out right? So when I could change my body and I could change my focus, I could change my language and meaning. I tend to have what you would call that holistic approach. And right in the center, you can be on the wheel all you want. But right in the center, for me, is my connection with God. And that's everything. That lets me get off the wheel. I mean, I can get off the wheel. That's a very deep answer. And it's very like in alignment with your entire mission and this concept of building more spiritual fitness into our lives. And I love that. And it's something that I definitely want to continue to promote on my show, too, is like that take-home message as well. and for who? listening right now, there's so much that Adam and I have been talking about and so many words of wisdom that you've shared Adam that I think will really benefit anyone. No matter what stage of life they're in or whatever challenges they're facing. And so I just want to thank you again for coming on to the podcast. Where can my listeners connect with you and follow along with the content that you share? Yeah, so it's Adam Jabblin everywhere. It's Adam Jabblin on Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, AdamJabblin.com. That's where you can find out about the hero project and all the different types of coaching that I offer. And then if you really want more one-on-one elite, really one-on-one full hero project, you can contact me and my assistant and we do a real deep dive into your life. But thank you for asking and thank you for having me. Thank you. This was wonderful. Amazing. Thanks for tuning into this episode of Everyday Endorphins. If you liked what you heard and you want to continue to follow along, make sure to like, rate, review and subscribe to this podcast on whichever listening platform you prefer. You can also stay connected with the Everyday Endorphins community on Instagram, TikTok, and drop your email in our newsletter. I have a sub-stack called Everyday Endorphins where every month I share episode recaps, any events that I've done in New York City and a stream of consciousness around a particular topic of happiness or health or well-being that is peaking my interest at that moment in time. So definitely follow along on sub-stack too for some more unfiltered thoughts. Thanks again for tuning in and reminder to keep spreading Endorphins and finding the things in life that bring you joy. Until next time.