Ep. 188 - The Story Of Our Life | Justin Pickens and Bryan Ward

Those that meet Justin Pickens and hear his back story always respond with similar statements; “I can’t believe you turned out the way you have” or, “What an overcomer”. Born to two loving parents who dealt with their own demons of mental illness and addiction, Justin’s childhood was riddled with poverty, dysfunction, and domestic abuse.  Statistically speaking, Justin and his younger brother, Tommy, most likely should have followed in their parents' footsteps.  However, despite their own personal short falls, Justin’s parents instilled positive attributes through support and high expectations that led Justin to success.  Justin was the first member from his dad’s side of the family to graduate from college and has since earned two masters degrees.   For the past 13 years, Justin has served as a teacher and coach for multiple sports.  Currently, Justin has recently transitioned careers and works for Edward Jones as a financial advisor in training.   Over the past 6 months, Justin has been working part-time for Streamline Books, a hybrid publishing company that helps others tell their stories. Working for Streamline, Justin found his way on to LinkedIn and has enjoyed sharing his own stories by creating content and posting on LinkedIn.  Justin is married to his wife Kyndra and has a two year old son named Whit and a newborn girl named Gentry. They reside in Kansas City, Missouri.  To learn more about Justin and his many life lessons, please visit the links below! Dad Up! Dad Up YouTube: https://youtube.com/c/DadUpPodcast Dad Up Apple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/dad-up-podcast/id1486764562 Dad Up Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/daduppodcast/ Dad Up LinkTree: https://linktr.ee/Daduptribe Justin Picken’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/justin-pickens-a7a8831b2/ Justin Picken’s Instagram: https://instagram.com/jrpickens Justin Picken’s Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jrpickens