The Bonus Round Mindset: Austin Page on Mental Toughness, Identity & Rebuilding Your Life

In today's attention economy, clarity is currency. Today's Austin Page, Austin Page, Austin Page, modern brand strategist, performance-driven entrepreneur focused on helping individuals position themselves with clarity, clarity, clarity, and influence. Leverage personal authority, build it clear, build it strong. Leverage personal authority, build it clear, build it strong. In today's attention economy, today's— because attention without direction means nothing.

What's up, my good people? Welcome to the CJ Moneyway Show, in association with Believe Network, powered by CJ Moneyway Entertainment, home to the CJ Moneyway Johnson Show, Planting Seeds with CJ and GI, the state's capital, animated series coming soon. So you all know this is where we bring you the stories behind the success. Today's guest is Austin Page, founder of GemFlow Coaching and a man who went from nearly losing his life to creating what he calls his bonus round. He's a powerful voice in the mental toughness and self-mastery space, and his mission is to help others break through the self-limiting belief that's holding them back. From bodybuilding to cycling 100 miles— man, that's a lot of miles there, Austin, man, that's a lot of miles— building his mind through his body and transforming his setback into fuel, Austin is here to show us how to live with purpose, intent, and grit. Hey, what's up, Austin, man? Welcome to the show.

CJ, brother, I appreciate the awesome introduction, my man.

Hey man, hey, you put in the work, man. I'm just, I'm just putting it out there, man, for the people to know, man, who they're about to listen to. A powerful dude, man. Hey, if you watch it on screen, if you watch it on YouTube or Instagram or something, you can already tell, man, he cut to the point that he's not somebody that you really want to walk up on, man, and mess with like that, especially running 100 miles.

Something like that. All show, no go, man.

That's what it is. So, Austin, man, let me ask you, man, the wake-up call. Yeah, you mentioned your past nearly cost you your life. What was the turning point that made you realize that it was time for a complete shift?

So, uh, this flip of the switch, man, it took place in my early 20s on May 9th, 2010, actually, is the specific date And it was Mother's Day, 2010. And before this, let's take a few steps backwards before this event that happened that definitely started to turn the tides of my life is, man, I just graduated high school, was in college, going through a couple years of college, living for the weekends, man. I didn't have a purpose, didn't have really a goal or passions or like a North Star to aim towards, man. I'd go through days just aimless and more so thinking I was a rock star. Living for the weekends, living through Thursday through Sunday, man. That's all I look for. What's the plan Thursday night? Where are we going Friday? What's happening Saturday? And probably feeling like shit from those 3 days to where Sunday we're probably gonna go get after it again Sunday a little bit.

Mm-hmm.

Thought I was 10-foot tall, bulletproof, man. Thought I was Superman and nothing could ever touch me. I couldn't get in trouble. I couldn't hurt myself. And after months or years of that type of lifestyle, thinking that I was invincible, which most young guys do, I was tested. I was humbled real quick. I got in a car leaving a party one night, don't remember it fortunately, and ran off the road, wrecked my car. Nobody was with me. I didn't hit anybody. You know, it was super early in the morning, unfortunately, but flipped my car a couple of times and ruptured my intestines. So I was, I don't remember any of the wreck. The neighbors where I landed in their front yard after flipping my car a couple of times, per their story, because they showed up to the court case, for my DUI and said, "Hey, I was there pulling you out the car." I was like, "Oh shit, I don't even remember. Thank you for obviously saving my life." But blacked out, man, just totally gone, wasted. And woke up in the hospital. I had ruptured my intestines, I had broke both my legs from the knees down, broken my left ankle, like straight smashed, obliterated. Came to in the hospital, almost like a Twilight Zone, like so drugged up and so like out of it. Looking down, seeing a gaping hole in my stomach where they had cut me open and left me open to like help me heal a little bit. It was unreal. I was like, holy shit, this isn't real. This must be a nightmare. And they were like, hey Austin, you've been in a real bad wreck. We're going to be going through some tough times over the next couple weeks. You know, I was in and out of it over the next couple days after that, and the biggest fight of that was fighting off infection. You know, when you rupture your intestines, you get what's called peritonitis. And that's where your guts just spill out, like all the literal shit that's in your body just goes into your insides and causes massive infection. And that was what I was fighting the most part throughout that whole hospital stay. Obviously, my legs were broken, but bones heal. They put plenty of metal and rods and plates back in those to build those back. But the infection was what almost took me out and probably should have, man. The way I was living, I shouldn't have expected to end up anywhere differently. I was living a reckless, very wild lifestyle. And again, no purpose, just following the crowd, following the mob. But anyways, made it to the hospital for about a 6-week stay. And from there, they moved me to a rehabilitation center to where I lived. I lived there for 2 months afterwards. And this isn't like your AA or addiction clinic rehab. It's like a physical rehab type place. And there, I was bedridden. Get out of bed, could barely sit up, wasn't allowed to use my legs, wasn't weight-bearing per se. And so every day, all I could do is just sit there and watch TV until while my body healed. Lost a shit ton of weight, man. Looked like Skeletor, like just straight bones. Looked like I've been like a prisoner of war. It was pretty bad. But the seeds began to start getting planted into me on turning myself around and creating a new identity for myself. In that rehab center. And I was grateful for that 2 months that I stayed there because it taught me a lot about myself. It let me have a lot of reflection on the person I was, the person I was living like, where it got me. You know what, ultimately realizing that I'm the reason for my problems, but I'm also the solution to my problems, right? I could work my way out of that shit. You know, as long as you're willing and able and aware that, okay, I keep touching that hot stove, I think, you know, you're not invincible. You know, it's time to switch gears unless you just want to end up dead or locked up. I was arrested plenty of times too before this. But during that rehab stay, the physical therapist would come in and say, hey, we're going to get you to do some rubber band exercises in your bed to just build up some strength. And before this wreck, I wasn't working out at all. I wasn't into fitness. I wasn't into exercising. That was the last thing I was thinking about, man. I was thinking about where's the party, where's the chicks, the drugs, the alcohol. That's what I was worried about. And since I really couldn't get into any of that stuff, I was like, "All right. Well, let me at least try and work my way out of this spot so I can get back out, like get out of this rehab." So I'd do some exercises. And after a couple of days, I didn't really feel any better, but I just kept doing it anyways because I just knew it was something that I needed to do to get out of there. It was the next step. And day after day, week after week, I started to feel a little bit better about myself. Damn. Okay, Austin. You're actually doing something with yourself. You're actually building yourself up. Damn, this feels good. That little bit of workout, even though it's the last thing you felt like doing, you're actually feeling— I feel contentment with myself. I actually feel like I'm moving myself forward instead of that, like, false confidence, that false happiness that, you know, that a lot of people can chase in alcohol, the drugs, all those little vices, man. All that shit that kind of sabotages you, pulls you backwards, you know. A lot of people, including myself, you know, I just know it from experiences, I was 9 times out of 10 looking for happiness in the same place that I was losing it, right? And long story short, week after week, got a little stronger, got a little bit more able-bodied, I guess you could say, and to a point where I could get into a wheelchair. And then once the wheelchair became like an option for me, I would roll down to the gym that was in this rehab center. And down there, the PTs would say, "Hey, Austin, let's do a little workout while you're down here." So I locked my wheelchair in place. They'd give me some Gatorade bottles. I was curling Gatorade bottles. That's where I started, man, ground zero. Gatorade bottles, dude. And that was tough. But week after week again, things progressed. I began to feel better about myself. It's all about putting deposits into yourself and things that are actually positive deposits like that. I think a lot of people, you don't know what you don't know, and I didn't until I started to walk that path and be like, "Damn." Not that I'm trying to be some bodybuilder. Everybody might see me face value now and they're like, "Oh, Austin's just— he's always been jacked." No, my habits have created this. I mean, this wasn't my ultimate goal. Of course, everybody wants to look a little bit more jacked, to have some muscle on them, some tone, but the habits that I cultivated back then have developed the life that I live now and the person that I show up as. But anyways, when I wrap this thing up is that I was able to walk out of that rehab center on my own about 8 weeks later once I arrived on crutches. And my first job out of that spot was at a local gym, like a mom-and-pop gym. And it came with a free membership. It was a front desk job, just checking people in, free membership. And I was like, hell yeah. First off, it gave me a job and it gave me a job doing something that I kind of felt like I wanted to lean into because it gave me a good habit. Like, you know, instead of chasing those weekends and hanging out with a lot of people that weren't really serving me and not things need to be transactional like that, but None of it was helping me. I needed to switch. And I realized that in the gym, like I said, it gave me something to focus on because every job before that also, not only was I not working out before that, every job was a little side job thing, a little sheetrock work here, irrigation over there, you know, helping out landscaping over here. Nothing with like a goal or a purpose, you know, like a long-term, like, hey, I'm developing myself. Yeah, got that job at a gym. Fast forward, went a couple years meeting a lot of trainers, a lot of other people that were not— that knew what they were doing. Learned a lot of shit. Got a job as a coach at another local gym working under their business model. Did that for a few years, learned the back end of coaching, training, and realized I could do it on my own and do it better. And over the past 5 years, I've been coaching on my own at my own private gym and through my own private coaching app now.

Man, like the story that you telling, I can resonate with you 100%, 110% as far as living from Monday through Thursday. What a party at Thursday night, Friday night, Saturday night. What a women at, what a weed at. Just living a life with no purpose, man. And like you say, just thinking that, that everything is all good. I'm the coolest person walking around, you know what I'm saying?

Rockstar. I was a rockstar, dude. I know that's what I wanted to be. And there's nothing wrong with going out and having a good time. Yeah, it's just when you have nothing else outside of that that's building you up, those things typically are holding you back. They're anchors for the most part. You know, it's— you're typically spending money that you don't need to be spending most of the time, and typically you aren't getting any type of like, uh, long-term benefit or gain from it. You get short-term, you know, that short-term happy feeling, that short-term confidence, you know, through the drink, the drug, or chasing the chicks, which I mean, I'm married now, but like back then, you can— it's still cool doing that, you know, it's whatever. But, uh, none of that stuff at the end of the day is really propelling you forward. And you can get, like I did, very stuck in this cycle of living for the weekend. I simply broke it down earlier, and it's— once I heard the words and sort of spoke it out, it's like it clicks, man. You're looking for happiness typically in the same place that you're losing it. It's— you're losing your happiness there even though you think you're going to get it. Because it like feeds this negative feedback cycle. And again, there's nothing wrong with partaking in some things here or there, it's whatever. But it's, it's, do you have any self-control to know when to say no, not today?

I know, any self-discipline, which, yeah, as you allude to, as you said, I had none whatsoever. Not over with my big head or my small head. And you know, as you say, The slogan that you said, like what I tell people and, you know, things that I say is like, I gave the world everything that I had and it didn't give me nothing back in return. You know what I'm saying, man? Take everything from you, man. So I know, I know about the struggle, losing, and have to refine and rebuild yourself, man, to the person that you are. So let me ask you, Austin, man, Jim Flo coaching philosophy. Yeah, what's different about your approach at GymFlow, and what are you helping clients build beyond just muscles?

Well, the muscles is like the indirect— like I mentioned earlier, like the physique, the body is the indirect result of the person that you are trying to build, or like the identity you're trying to build. So when people ask me, okay, how do I become a better— let's say a better boss, a better leader, a better husband, a better partner, whatever. It's not how, it's who do you need to become. It's creating a new identity through daily actionable habits. And those habits that are different for each goal, you have to break them down and say, "All right, what does that daily habit require for me to start doing? And what does it need for me to remove in my life?" And I guess to help break this program down that I do within my group is creating a brand book for yourself. So let's say, all right CJ, like, what's that next level version of CJ look like? What does he live like? How does he conduct himself? How does he show up? How's he living? Where is he living? What's he driving? You know, you could ask all those questions. And it's not to say that you aren't happy with where you're at, but everybody has that like next level version that they want to become, right? It's like, oh man, I'm happy where I'm at, but I'm not satisfied. I could hit that level. And Creating that brand book, it helps you get aligned with those daily actions of what does that future version do? What does that person do every day?

All right.

Is that future person 20 pounds down? Like they lost the 20 pounds? All right. What does a person who loses 20 pounds do every day? They probably don't eat the bullshit. They probably don't skip the workout. They probably wake up a little early so they can get ahead of the day and not have some story on why they can't go to the gym or why they can't get that walk in. Or why they can't prepare foods ahead of time, whatever. It's simply just taking control of the controllables. And it depends on the goal, who joins, and where their direction they want to go. But breaking it down into what can I control within my life, which is typically your mind, your body, your choices. You can't control Tom, Dick, and Harry. You can't control your job. You can't control the stock market. You can't control the economy. But what you can do is what you can do today. Which is what you eat, what you drink, how you react to things, and probably who you hang out with.

That's definitely a big part of it right there, who you hanging out with. I was just talking to somebody and they just said a lot of times people that you hang out with, they said they could be an anchor, you know what I'm saying, to your growth, man, you know what I'm saying. And because a lot of times we love people so much or want to be, you know, our friends, been our friends for forever and this and that. We try to pull people through doors that's open for us, but we can't get through the door because we're trying to take people that's not meant to go through the door that you going through.

That's it. And not everybody's going to understand where you want to go, right? Like, not everybody has goals, and that's okay too. And you don't have to say, hey, screw you, like, fuck off to like those old people, your old buddies from high school or whatever. Maybe you just have to see them a little bit less or take them for what they are. Say what's up, but realize they're on a different path and you're on your own path, and that's okay. Sometimes you might be alone at first, but then as you create— and there's a thing a mentor of mine reminded me a while back, and he's like, once you create your own path and you start taking the steps on it, you begin to attract the right people within your life, whether it's the right chick or the right dude, you know, whoever's listening, the right job, you know, uh, people that might open doors for you, you know, opportunities. The moment you begin to level up yourself and you start to bring discipline, self-mastery, self-control, and like audit how you conduct yourself daily, the way you conduct yourself begins to attract next-level people because they're like, oh dude, that dude's on his shit, that dude's serious. When a guy shows up, he's jacked or he's fit and he's in shape and he has some discipline, you just know this guy shows up different, he lives different. Like, damn, he's serious, I want him on my team, you know, I want him around me. And typically that's how it works, man. And for the most part, the people that just aren't— they aren't either ready yet, you know, like you're saying, the old friends, the old buddies that are still stuck in their old ways, they just aren't either ready yet or they aren't meant to go along with you. That's okay. Sometimes you leveling up levels up others around you. And that's a big thing I've noticed with myself is obviously within my own group, my weakness is their way out. So like, as long as I hold a standard Everybody else holds the standard. But the moment I begin to slip, everybody else slips back. You know what I'm saying?

Mm-hmm.

So if you're able to hold a standard and start leveling up, people around you begin to see it. They're like, damn, CJ's over there leveling up, man. He's getting after it. Shit, I'm gonna start getting after it. Shit, like, this shit's contagious, you know? It rubs off. Not on everybody, but the right people it does. Yeah.

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So just like what you're saying too, even when like once you start leveling up and people start seeing it, some of them are the same naysayers that don't see where you going and ain't gonna believe it. And so what I would say to people is that's listening right now, to piggyback on what Austin just said, don't let nobody stop you from going where you're trying to go. Either they gonna come with you or they not, but don't let nobody stop you from going where you trying to go. You mentioned this, man. You said self-mastery. So let me ask you a question, Austin. Mental toughness mastery. You talk a lot about mental toughness.

Yeah.

What does it really take to develop that type of inner strength?

I love it. It's super simple, man. It's doing what you don't want to do when you don't want to do it. For those examples I mentioned earlier, it's like, oh shit, you set that alarm clock for 6 AM, but you keep hitting snooze. That's not developing self-mastery or discipline, mental toughness. The moment you can wake up when that alarm goes off or develop the skill to do it, and that's just one of the analogies, you know, or examples. It'd be like, all right, I say I'm going to drop, I'm going to drop this weight. All right, then we get back to planning. What is a person who drops weight? What does that person do? Okay, they go do that workout daily. They get those steps in and they eat the good food or whatever food that's aligned with their goal. And the more you do that and you lean into that and don't skip it, don't say it doesn't matter today, don't say, "Oh, I'll start back Monday." The more you follow through on your own, it's pretty much keeping your own word with yourself. That's mental health because that's the problem with everybody. I mean, think of it nowadays, especially for the example of fitness or the example of anything, making more money. It's not that we don't know what to do. It's not an education issue. It's an application issue. People don't hold their own word when they say they're going to start something or do something. I can be a victim of that too. Like, I can do that many times myself. And it takes a skill of awareness that you develop over time, like any other skill, like learning how to play the piano, learning how to shoot basketball better. It's all a skill. The more you focus on it, the more attention you give it, the better it gets. It's holding your own word with yourself for those little things, sweating the details. That's how you build self-mastery and mental toughness.

Mm, I like that, man. Gotta put in the work.

You can't just— It's not always physical. You know, that building mental toughness, it's not always physical. It could be, oh shit, like doing schoolwork. Like, people procrastinate on that shit. It's doing the things you don't want to do when you don't want to do it at that exact moment. The moment you take action on it, on that moment, it becomes easier each time you do it.

Just like my son, be procrastinating, don't want to do it. But yeah, actually, things that he don't want to do, he actually doing pretty good in school. But I just leave me. I say I work rotating shifts at my job, so each week I work a different shift. I don't like mornings because I like staying up at night, but to go to my job, I have to get up in the morning doing something that I don't want to do, but I have to do it because this is something that I need to do because it's fueling or it's feeding what I'm trying to do. So I can get out of that mentality and wake up when I want to wake up. So let me ask you, Austin, man, leading by example— we're only as good as the example we set, which you touched on earlier, saying that if you are weak, then it shows the flaws in them, and but if you stand tall, then they stand tall. How do you hold yourself accountable to that philosophy on a daily basis?

Well, just like you said, but there's, there's almost a manic side to it, but I remind myself that I am only as good as the example I set. It's not what I say I'm going to do. It's not what I talk about or think about doing. It's what I actually do. And to help people break that down, that you're only as good as the example you set, would you take advice from a broke person? Probably not. Would you take advice on your fitness, your health from a fat person? Probably not. You know, it's hypothetical is hypocritical. If they don't have the results, if you don't act it, you don't live it, you can't be talking about it. It's all hypothetical. But one thing that helps me personally stay in line with it is thinking of my future self. And I know it sounds a little weird, maybe a little manic, a little crazy, but I think of, "All right, what is that future version of Austin, that next year version of Austin that hopefully I follow through on?" Because the shit that I do today is going to be the results that I get 30, 60, 90 days from now. Most of the goals that I set are kind of long-term goals. Yeah, I do have day-to-day goals too, but if I want to get to that Next level Austin that I see a year from now, is he gonna be happy that I skipped on the shit today? Is he gonna be like, damn, Austin missed again. We're never gonna get there. We're never moving up. You know? And I think about that. I'm like, all right, well, if I wanna get to that future version of Austin, I can't skip on the work today because it's the seeds that we plant today cultivate and reap the crop of tomorrow, whatever that may be, you know?

Yeah, I'm totally with you on that. You gotta put in the work. And you gotta have the vision, you know what I'm saying? The vision. And once you see the vision, okay, it's one thing to see it. Now you gotta plan, plot, and strategize, you know what I'm saying? So when that door comes open, man, you'll be ready to go through that door when it open and not be standing stuck because you didn't prepare yourself before the door became open. Let me ask you, uh, Austin, I only got a couple more questions for you, man. And then I got a quick fire round, man. I'm gonna ask you 5 questions, you just say the first thing that come to your mind. Uh, I guess has been really enjoying this pretty much, man. Let me ask you one question. Well, one more question, man. Fitness as a gateway— how do physical goals like body, like bodybuilding or cycling, which you do 100 miles of, which is impressive, uh, unlock new doors in other areas of life, uh, relationship, business, and your mindset?

It creates confidence, man. Physical fitness, exercise, doing those hard goals. I was never a cyclist before I did that 100 miles. I trained for about a year to do it and then just went and did it. Bought a piece of shit bike, a 30-year-old road bike off Facebook Marketplace. Like very little, like just all grit and just trying to push myself and just saying, hey, Austin, can you do it? Are you unsure? Yeah, I was unsure the whole time, but just the goals and physical aspect of all those things that I've done or that anybody does with training, exercise, being disciplined with your fitness, your health, feeling better and looking better builds confidence in you, man. You feel better when you look better, 100 fucking percent. You can't deny it. If you like the way you look, if you start to respect what you see in the mirror, you're going to be more confident. It's no ifs, ands, or buts. So, that's number one. Every time that you complete a hard self-inflicted adversity type thing, whether it's a hard workout or that hard challenge or hike that you might have did or the riding 100 miles on a bicycle, when you complete it, it adds a point of confidence, grit, fortitude into your skill, into your tool belt, if you like, for an analogy. Think of it like a video game character. When you start off that video game, there's skill points for speed, agility, endurance, shit like that. Every time you, you make those deposits and you finish— not that the goals have to be these mountain-moving, 100-mile ride goals. It could be going for that 1-mile walk or that half-mile walk just today. That adds a deposit, a point, into that skill on that meter. And every time that you follow through and do it, adds another point. But the reverse can happen as well. Every time you skip Every time you avoid, every time you push it off or say, ah, it doesn't matter today, you dull that skill. You deduct the point straight up. It's like a point system. It's a sliding scale. So ultimately it helps build inner confidence and positive self-talk when you build yourself physically and mentally.

I like that, man. I like that. You got to build yourself up, man. You got to be yourself. So, uh, Austin, man, let me ask you, man, Your mission forward. What's next for you and Jim Flo Coaching? And what's the mission that drives you every day?

Realizing that for community, culture, society to get better, there has to be leaders, there has to be examples. People just don't know. Like I mentioned earlier, they don't know what they don't know. And a lot of people are just stuck in victim mentality. So I'm gonna lead the way and show that you can start literally from ground zero, near death,. And through time, because it's taken me 10 years to get to where I am today, 10 years plus to build the person I am today, but it's never too late to turn it around. The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The next best time is now. And the ultimate goal is to keep reaching people through my online presence with my coaching app, because obviously I coach in person at my gym, but there's only so much time in the day that I can scale myself hour to hour with in-person coaching. So I've been with my online app for about a year now, and, uh, it's steadily grown each month, adding more and more clients to it. And I really want to focus on that, being able to reach people that aren't locally here within my tight network. I'm able to build somebody up, they're able to start to impression other people around them. It's almost like a spiderweb effect, you know what I'm saying? Like I mentioned, it's contagious. If I can get Sally up in Pennsylvania, or for example, a guy Greg, he just He's on my group up in Pennsylvania. If I can get him rocking and rolling, building better habits, a better lifestyle, setting a better example for his wife and the people around him, it's only going to spiderweb out from him. And people will be like, damn, Greg leveled up. Greg's got his shit together. Damn, Greg's a boss. I want to be more like Greg. And they start leveling up because they see Greg taking the lead. That's the ultimate goal, man.

Yeah, I like that trickle-down effect, you know. Yeah. Sometimes we called to go out first, you know what I'm saying? A lot of times when you go out first, it's lonely out there, you know what I'm saying, being the first one. But it's necessary because he called you, gave you the strength and the fortitude to move forward, man, so that you can bring those behind you, man, with you, not to leave them behind, you know what I'm saying? A lot of times we want to leave people behind, but that's not why he brought you out, man. He brought you to lead those, you know what I'm saying? He brought you to lead them with you.

Think about this, you know, for anybody that's wondering, it's like, should I do it? Because I think even myself a long time ago, it's like, oh, somebody else is going to help, like, is going to come up and give me permission to start, you know, they're going to give me the permission to start being an example, being a leader, or trying to help others, right? The question you ask yourself if you're listening to this is, if not me, then who?

Who's going to do it?

Yeah, if not me, then who?

I know it's a biblical form to say, send me, I go, you know what I'm saying? And sometimes we just take that call, man, because and put it on our backs. And you and I, you know, especially you, what you— we've been through a lot, man. We've been through the mud. And you said something that made me think about it. I got a mantra on something else, on a project that I'm working on. The mantra is brick by brick. And sometimes when you start from the bottom, you got to go brick by brick, man. It may take a while, but hey, you know, the end results, like you say, planting that seed and then watering it, man, and then the harvest, man, is plentiful. So that's what you look— young people, man, check it out, man. Listen to my man Austin, man. Got a lot of wisdom, a lot of knowledge, man. You need to check him out and get into his workout program. So Austin, man, you ready for this quick fire round, man?

Fire them off, man. I'm nervous.

Uh, I like it, man. I like it. That's why I stopped telling people from the beginning. I told two people from the beginning, they kind of cheated on me. And so I like looking at the face when people say, oh man, that's good. So first one, morning ritual.

Must-have? Early wake-up.

Mm.

4 AM.

4 AM?

Every day.

Mm, mm, mm.

And it hasn't always been that way. I don't know if you want me to break it down, but it hasn't always been that way. I just realized, number one, leading by example, because a lot of my clients, they say, well, I don't have time. I don't have time to work out. I don't have time to read some personal development. I don't have time to do this, do that. All right, we're going to make time then. We're going to wake up early. So I don't even have to wake up. I have like I'm obviously not the middle of the day. It's 4:30 where I'm at. But like, I could work out or do things. I've built my life now to where I have a schedule where it's pretty open. I can do whatever, kind of whenever. But I still wake up at 4:00 just to show them and lead the way. It'd be dumb for me to not just say, hey, you got to wake up early, but I don't, you know?

Mm, yeah. But when I get to that point, like you, and make my own schedule, I don't know if I'll be getting up at 4:00 in the morning. So more power to you.

Hey, appreciate it. Some days, man, some days I question it. I'm like, what the hell am I doing?

So let me ask you, man, hardest thing you ever done physically?

Shit. I would have to say that off the top of my head, it's definitely that 100-mile ride, man. I was questioning life on the last, like, from 70, from mile 70 to mile 100. I called my wife at mile 70. I was like, hey, I don't know if I'm going to make it. Like, I almost got her to come pick me up. And she was like, nah, just take it. And literally, she almost like you said, brick by brick. She was like, just do it one mile at a time. Yeah, I can do that. You know, when you break it down like that, you can do one day at a time, one brick at a time, one mile at a time.

Come on. Yeah, brick by brick, man. Pedal by pedal. You can make it. And it's good to have it. It's good to have that support system, somebody that's gonna push you. Nothing like a good wife. Yeah, y'all heard what I said, a good wife. Hey, so favorite book? For mindset growth?

The Book on Mental Toughness. That's the title. The Book on Mental Toughness by Andy Frisella.

The Book on Mental Toughness. Quote you live by?

Quote I live by? Literally, we mentioned it earlier, only as good as the example I set. I forgot who quoted that, who I originally heard it from. I have it written on my gym wall. Only as good as the example we set. That's how I remind myself often when I'm trying to cut a corner Or skip out.

Well, it's yours now, man. I heard a wise man say before, he said, once I put it out there, give it to you, it's no longer mine, it's yours. So last question, man. If you could only give one piece of advice to your younger self, what would it be?

Damn, man. I mean, I guess for rephrasing, I don't mean to like re-say shit that I already said, but I would have said it differently or more simply. It's like, dude, you're not happy doing those things that you're doing, but you think you are. I would have steered him into realizing that you don't need to be trying to not suck up to these people, but, you know, to try and get acknowledgement from people to like, for going to these parties, being the rock star, doing all this crazy shit, and trying to lead my own path like I'm doing now, man. If I would have started that extra 10 years before, man, I'd be light years ahead where I'm at, straight up, straight up. I guess words of advice: stay away from the drink, the drugs, and limit the chicks. I mean, I can't say don't do the chicks, but calm it down a little bit. Yeah.

Hey man, think more with your big head than your little head. Don't be out here like your boy CJ Moneyway Johnson, man. Was in the hole for a long time, but God is good. So Austin, man, I thank you for coming on, man. Your energy and story, man, has been powerful. You've shown us that it's not all about the comeback. It's about becoming a person you admire. That's what the Moneyway is all about. Your bonus— to our listeners, your bonus round starts when you stop making excuses. Tap into your purpose, push your limits, and break through those who don't believe that you can do it. Be sure to check out Austin on Instagram and follow Gym Flow Coaching if you're ready to get your mind right. Your body right, and your life in order. This is the CJ Moneyway Show. Let's keep planting seeds and living by example. Hey, this your boy CJ Moneyway with my man Austin Page. We out of here. Peace.

Let me leave you with this. Every story shared here, it's a reminder that your story matters too. Keep your faith sharp, keep your focus steady, keep your vision clear. And if this episode gave you wisdom, hope, or a push forward, Share it with somebody you love.

Tap in with me on all platforms, @cmoneyway, and stay locked into the movement because God's not done writing your chapter. This is the CJ Moneyway Show. Brick by brick and always.

Corwin CJ Moneyway Johnson.