Every Sunday I usually write about 3 random things on my mind.
But today, I’m gonna switch it up.
Why?
Well I’ve mentioned a few times that my good friend Rob has been battling cancer.
He unfortunately lost that battle yesterday, and passed away at his apartment surrounded by all his friends and family.
Rob was a pretty amazing dude…
And had a big impact on my life…
So I want a share a few life lessons I learned from him over the years…
1. No matter where you’re at in your life, you can make a change
A few years before Rob and I met he weighed 315 lbs and was drinking 7 liters of Mountain Dew every single day.
Which is insane…
But having grown up in rural Alabama, Rob didn’t think there was anything wrong with it.
This was “normal” for him.
But eventually he hit his breaking point.
He knew his weight was out of control…
And that he could do a lot better…
So over the following 18 months he committed to doing two things…
1. Walking 10 miles every single day
2. Weighing his food and watching what he ate
And guess what?
He did exactly that.
And he wound-up losing 130+ lbs because of it.
He went from a hefty 315 lbs to a lean 185 lbs, and looked great because of it. 
I never knew him as “fat Rob”, but when I saw the pics, I was shocked at just how much of a transformation he had.
The dude took responsibility for his life…
And put in the work to change things for the better.
And that’s something I’ve always admired about Rob.
If he didn’t like something about himself, he knew he had the power to change it.
Alright let’s hop to the second thing I learned from Rob…
2. Get the most out of what you got
When I met Rob in 2017, he was a fun, charismatic guy who was traveling the world and making a living as a dating instructor.
Which was interesting to me…
Cause Rob didn’t exactly scream “Casanova” when you met him.
He was a pretty average looking guy…
He was about 5’10…
He had grey hair…
And he always had a little bit of a lisp when he talked.
But this is what made him so great at his job.
He was just a normal dude…
He wasn’t blessed with model good looks…
And he wasn’t some 6’5 statuesque guy…
He was an “every man”.
The kind of guy that everyone could relate to.
And I always admired how much he got out of what he was given.
He didn’t just settle for what people thought he should get.
He squeezed more water out of that rag than anyone thought was possible.
And he did it with dating…
He did it with his fitness…
He even did it with traveling…
He knew he deserved more, so he didn’t settle for what a guy like him was “supposed” to get.
Most people don’t do that…
And that’s something I’ve always admired about Rob.
He always got as much as he could out of what he was given.
Alright I’m gonna do one more of these…
3. When you truly care about people, they feel it
About a week ago, Rob’s cancer took a turn for the worse, so I started alerting people he knew that this was probably the end.
And once word got out, the amount of love that poured in for him was incredible.
Everyday we were playing him multiple voice messages that people sent us saying how much he meant to them.
The messages came in from old friends…
Travel buddies…
And past students that he hadn’t talked to in years.
He laid in his bed and we played him one message after another and he just smiled the whole time.
Hearing those messages meant the world to him.
I don’t think he knew how much he was loved…
And how many lives he touched.
But it wasn’t surprsing to me…
Cause that’s the kind of guy Rob was.
He truly cared about people.
And he had a knack for being able to get along with everyone from a guy worth $100 million to a hilbilly drinking bourbon out of a paper cup.
He had that gift.
Everyone liked him.
And even if you only met him for 30 minutes, you felt like he truly cared about you…
I think that’s why so many people sent messages in his final days…
And why there were people flying in from all over the world to see him before he passed.
He was the epitome of a good friend…
And everyone knew it.
I have no idea if I’ll ever live up to Rob in terms of how much I care for others…
But it’s something I’m gonna try to do more of.
Just the simple act of caring about other people…
Being there for them…
And being non-judgemental about whatever it is they’re going through…
This was one of Rob’s gifts.
So I’m gonna try to do more of it myself.
Anyways…
I need to wrap this up.
Hopefully me sharing the lessons I learned from Rob gave you a nugget or two of insight you can use in your own life.
Also…
Thanks to everyone who sent an email or a word of encouragement to me this past week.
I haven’t had time to respond to my emails…
But I’ve been reading them, and I appreciate your kind words and thoughts.
Talk soon,
– Justin
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