Justin Barnes

My story begins in Hattiesburg, Ms where I was born and raised, on the playground is where I spent most of my days. Chillin' out, maxin', relaxin all cool, and all shootin' some B-ball outside of the school... oh wait, wrong story...But seriously, I was born and raised in Hattiesburg, MS.  I'm an only child and I lost my father when I was 13. I was raised by my mom and she did the best she could with what she had.

I had a really tough time adjusting after losing my father. I turned to drugs and started hanging out with the wrong crowd as a way to adjust to what I lost because at that time I didn't think I was getting enough attention and love at home. After getting in trouble multiple times and going to the detention center and training school, I started to change my life around because I knew my dad would want more from me and I wanted more for myself. I never missed a grade in school and despite my troubles, I graduated from high school. I met the woman who is now my wife in high school. She has been such a positive influence and has assisted in helping me turn my life around.

I have tried multiple things including the military, graduating from college with a sports management degree, working at Wal-Mart, banking jobs, McDonald’s, Burger King, Washing tables, Pizza Hut, Gas station cashier, forklift driver, grocery store, sports, logistics, enterprise, and probably many more. Seriously, I have tried that many different jobs.  I didn't find joy or feel complete doing any of these things and at times felt like I was broken and would never find something I wanted to do. I was always good at giving people advice, making them laugh or smile, and going above and beyond to help them in life as much as I could. Doing that made me feel so ALIVE but I never knew I could turn that into a career even though multiple people told me I would make a great teacher, preacher, or coach. I was too broken and focused on my pain. I was basically locked in my own MIND PRISON up until the beginning of 2016 when it started to make sense.

I started to pursue my dream of becoming a full-time Life Coach/Motivational Speaker and it was one of the best decisions I've made in my life. I have achieved many things in my life and have felt a lot of pain along this journey and realized that my pain is my greatest STRENGTH, not my weakness. I want to continue to share my story with others and let them know that they are not broken and that they can use their past/pain/failures as fuel to become who they are truly meant to be. I will NEVER stop this journey because this something I feel I was born to do and I will help as many people as I possibly can BRANCH OUT and Discover Their Greatness.