100 Atlanta Coffees, 003: Justin Miller
Exploring how our health and vitality is a gift from the Most High
Partner, Stewart Miller Simmons Trial Attorneys
Met at The Starling Hotel on 14th St (formerly the W)
As a refresher, I’m grabbing coffee with 100 good people in Atlanta and sharing inspiring takeaways. If you’re new, subscribe to follow along!
Keeping that Good Energy
Justin has an abundant vitality and an infectious spirit to him. He has two children, a 12-year-old son and a 10-year old daughter. He’s a trial attorney, and invests and consults for numerous businesses. He doesn’t appear to skip arm day.
I asked how he prioritizes the many competing interests for his time between work, family, health and wellness, and everything else he has going. Without missing a beat, he said that maintaining his health is priority number one. He thinks of it like the oxygen masks dropping on the airplane - you must secure your own well-being before helping others. How can he take care of anyone else if he’s not well-resourced himself?
“Energy” is Justin’s most-used word. He made the analogy of winning the game of life (something I wrote about last week) - victory to him is feeling your best, spending the most time around people you love in beautiful places, doing your best work, and making the most money. And the enablers of that life are taking good care of yourself and being surrounded by people who also give off good energy.
Recognizing the need for replenishment
Justin is an energetic, servant-leader type who tries to anticipate what people around him need and make sure he’s giving of himself in a way that fills their cups.
For the many of us who share this personality type, that can come with a cost, and the downside is becoming depleted ourselves. That puts more of an imperative on us to be well-resourced and to recharge our batteries. And it takes intention to prioritize this. For Justin, it’s a quick solo trip, usually to Miami, where he can simultaneously rest, knock out work, and enjoy the sunshine.
Wellness is stewarding our gifts from the Most High
Justin sees health as more than a practical tool for living well - it’s a way to honor the life we’ve been given by our creator. He grew up in the protestant Christian tradition, but his time living in New York broadened his spiritual horizons.
He regularly visited Jewish synagogues, a Muslim Mosque, and an Eastern Greek Orthodox Church. Through worshipping in different ways alongside diverse groups, Justin came to believe that our similarities run far deeper than our differences, and that we share the same yearning to live in a way that’s consistent with our divinity.
He shared a perspective that I’ve thought about at least 50 times since he said it:
“Every language across the world has a word for water, but at the end of the day, they mean the same thing - it’s water. We call it a lot of different things, but it’s all the same God.”
Ever since, he’s referred to God as the Most High, which to him encompasses the breadth of the divine miracle.
Not maintaining our well-being robs us of the gift of abundance
Most of you reading this are in the camps of career-oriented, high-achieving, hard workers. Compared to the many of goals we strive for, seeking well-being feels like one priority that should be reliably within our grasp, given that we have more control over critical health components like sleep, diet, and exercise than we do over many other variables in life.
If the benefits of nailing those three things were available in a pill, we’d prescribe it universally. Side effects include feeling our best, appearing more physically attractive, being sharper at work, having more emotional availability for our loved ones, resisting illness, and increasing our potential for a longer, better life.
And yet, health and energy maintenance is becoming increasingly difficult in the modern era with so much competing for our mindshare. Big food companies want to addict us to salty, sugary processed food. Netflix openly acknowledges they’re in direct competition with our sleep. You’re likely reading this on a device that has multiple apps with billions of dollars of funding vying for your attention. Knowing you should put your phone down to meditate is like bringing a knife to a gun fight.
I want to go on a journey of prioritizing well-being, despite it being somewhat counter-cultural, and reclaim one of life’s greatest gifts - abundant health and vitality. I agree with Justin we owe it to ourselves and to our families to pursue thriving, and it’s a way to live in gratitude to the Most High.
Questions for Reflection:
Well-being is a word that gets thrown around, but I wonder if we’ve adequately defined it. When you survey your life, what does it mean to you to be well?
With that concept of wellness in mind, what’s something you can do for yourself this week that you might not normally that you know would aid you in feeling well-resourced?
About the Starling
The Starling took over for the W and kept all of the upscale, vibrant vibes.
Lantana is the lobby lounge and restaurant, and it peaks on a nice day when you can flow in and out to the terrace.
Expect to see people who are way more stylish than I am.
About 100 Atlanta Coffees:
Through LEAD Atlanta, church, and business networking, I’ve gotten to meet some amazing folks who have sharpened my thinking, broadened my understanding, and inspired me.
I decided to publish 100 of these coffees and my reflections as a way to shine a light on some of the good souls, and local spots, in our city.
Justin is a kindred spirit, and I hope to meet many more like him across business, government, religion, the arts, and more.
