✨ What if the hardest seasons of life revealed your true calling? In this moving episode of The Generation Youth Podcast, host James McLamb 🎧 chats with Justin Pickens 🌱, who turned his story of adversity into a message of hope 💡. From battling the effects of a high ACE score 📊 to rediscovering his passion for education 📚, Justin shares powerful lessons on overcoming burnout 🔥, embracing purpose ✨, and creating lasting impact 🌍. Together, they share honest reflections and practical advice that will encourage teachers, parents, and anyone who feels stretched thin to find strength 💪 and meaning in their work.
Justin Pickens is a teacher 📚, coach 🏀, storyteller 🎤, and encourager ✨ with a gift for turning hardship into hope. Having grown through adversity 🌪️ and come back stronger 💪, he now pours into educators and leaders with wisdom born from experience. His mission: to help others rediscover the joy of teaching 🎓, the strength of calling, and the quiet power to change lives, one student at a time 🌍.

Connect with Justin Pickens:

🌐Website: https://justinpickens.com/

📧Email: [email protected]

💼LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/justin-pickens/

📞Call: 913-238-7668

Episode highlights:

(0:00) Intro

(1:55) Who is Justin Pickens?

(3:20) Overcoming adversity and ACE score

(5:48) Leaving teaching and lessons learned

(14:29) Teacher burnout Vs. Human burnout

(19:30) Permission to be “above average”

(28:54) Prayer, breathing, and perspective

(32:22) Ripple effects of teaching

(40:46) Outro