#4 : Justin Wren – Be Resilient, Never Quit and Overcome all Obstacles

The Black Belt Podcast

“Live to Love and Fight for People” – Justin Wren
My guest this episode is Justin “The Big Pygmy” Wren, a humanitarian, author, speaker, and a professional mixed martial arts fighter who has inspired millions. He is the founder of “Fight for the Forgotten” a non-profit organization dedicated to defending the weak, loving the unloved, and empowering the voiceless around the world and in our own neighborhoods and schools.
In this deep and highly personal episode Justin Wren shares how he used the martial arts to bravely overcome depression and addiction and how he has dedicated his life to fighting for other people. My key takeaway, to quote Justin is that we can “defeat hate with love”. We are all fighting a war within, and we need a support system and a higher purpose to overcome our obstacles and challenges. We can then use the lessons we learned to “live to love and fight for people”. I was honored to interview Justin a true example of the Martial Spirit.

Show Notes
#4 : Justin Wren – Be resilient, Never Quit and Overcome all Obstacles
00:00:27 – Justin Wren (@thebigpygmy) Introduction and Key Takeaway
00:02:52 – Where does “Live to Love and Fight for People Come From?”
00:05:11 – “I was a depressed drunk drug addict because I was only fighting for myself”. - Justin
00:06:27 – 2 Things that will awaken the Martial Spirit = A Battle to Fight + An Adventure to Live
00:08:35 – Rafael Lavato Jr(@lovatojrbjj) “You are a Martial Artist First and a Fighter Second.”
00:10:21 – The Path of the Martial Artist is Warrior, Healer, Scholar, and Mystic
00:12:00 – “Work on Yourself till you are of Service to the World” - @sifusingh
00:14:35 – “No act of kindness, no matter how small, ever gets wasted.”- Aesop
00:14:50 – “I was a missing person for 8 weeks during a relapse” – Justin Wren
00:18:10 – Asked the Divine what do you want me to do with my Life?
00:19:36 – Saw a Vision of a rainforest and a tribe in Africa, and came out with the word “Forgotten”
00:23:28 – My encounter with a Mystic named Caleb who pointed me to the Pygmy People in the Congo Basin from my Vision
00:29:50 – The traumatic path of depression and the way back out of it
00:30:50 – “We are programmed to succeed; we learn to fail.” – Sifu Singh
00:34:30 – “We get so comfortable being comfortable that we don’t want to trade our comfort for discomfort ever.” Jiu-Jitsu teaches us to be resilient.
00:37:48 – Chaos is Nature’s Way and Peace is a Choice inside of Chaos – Sifu Singh
00:41:31 – “Comparison is the thief of Joy” and that’s the society we live in today
00:44:28 – Getting the Name Efeosa = “The Man Who Loves Us”
00:46:18 – Witnessing firsthand death due to water born diseases, due to lack of clean drinking water and mobilizing a yearlong effort to provide clean drinking water in Africa.
00:47:00 – Malaria almost Killed Justin and he was almost in an irreversible coma.
00:48:30 – “I learned from martial arts to follow my instinct and intuition.” – Justin Wren
00:51:11 – The Warrior's Way is to dig deep and overcome on and off the mats.
00:53:55 – How do you teach Resilience and Self Respect to People?
00:55:20 – “A good leader knows the way, goes the way, and shows the way” – John Maxwell
00:55:38 – Rayden’s Story and Heroes in Waiting (Anti Bullying Program).
01:06:00 – You have to work on yourself first before you can create a healing space for others.
01:07:00 – This last year was the worst and best year of my life.
01:10:30 – Depression is a silent killer.
01:14:00 – “Rehab is not a punishment, it’s a gift.” – Justin Wren
01:15:15 – We need to be tough and vulnerable enough to allow people around us to help us.
01:18:30 – Mr. Miyagi says it’s not about winning the fight, it’s about how we fight.
01:19:11 – The Warriors Creed by Robert L. Humphrey