Author of the memoir Bulletproof, Justin Peck, bravely shares with us the story of how he almost ended his life and the saving grace that woke him out of his depressive state. As someone who has gone through a lot battling with his inner demons, he embodies a person who has truly become bulletproof. Regarding his bipolar disorder as a blessing, it takes someone who has learned to appreciate his sense of being different to find his own voice, which he now uses to inspire many of those who are struggling with their inner selves. Justin opens up his story and breaks down the stigma around mental health for people to seek help and find their way out of their darkness.

Listen to the podcast here:

Justin Peck: The Inspiring Story Of Becoming Bulletproof

I have with me Justin Peck. He is an off-road driver for the Lucas Oil Racing Series. He has been living with bipolar disorder, battling addiction and now is the author of Bulletproof and its memoir. As a child, he knew he was different. He was extremely emotional, highly sensitive, overly thrill-seeking, and in many cases, death-defying. He tells the true story of a man who learned to rethink the life he wanted to end, master his inner dialogue, and create the mindset that has made him truly bulletproof.

Let me share why I've asked him to come. I've been a professional racecar driver racing Formula Dodge car, so I’m related to the racing. I also do relate to the bipolar disorder. I have a sister who has a bipolar disorder. I also know many friends and family members who have battled addiction for a long time. I also know with so many of my clients that one of the biggest difficulties they have in achieving what they want in their life is the difficulties they have with the exact words that I also use inner dialogues. I'm excited when I heard about him and I heard about his book. I said, "I got to have you in Heartrepreneur Radio." Welcome, Justin.

How are you?

I am awesome. I’m truly delighted to have you. Your story's intriguing and fascinating. I want to honor you for being so transparent and sharing your story because it's serving so many people.

Thank you so very much. That does mean a lot to me.

Give us some of the high points and the low points so that we can be on the journey with you.

The journey began years ago. It was a typical midweek morning. I was getting ready for work. I got dressed, went over and kissed my wife goodbye. I went upstairs and kissed the children goodbye. Then I went outside, threw the dog at the back of the truck and we went to work like I had done for so many years before that. On this particular day, I was feeling a little bit more down, a little bit more of the depressive state than normal. I found myself at the top of the canyon that I had been to quite a few times in the past. It was then I parked on top of the canyon and looking over at the valley below watching my dog running around. I remembered thinking, "Look at all these people down there, all these families, all these couples and all these different types of social aspect groups." I realized that I didn't fit in with any of them.

At one brief irrational thought moment, I reached over, grabbed the pistol that was sitting in my center console, loaded it, put it into my head and I pulled the trigger. That was an experience. I'm sitting here now, so the gun didn't go off by any means. The crazy thing about it is that I was upset with myself thinking, "How in the world could I screw this up?" I unchambered the bullet and the bullet flipped out of the gun. It landed on my lap, I picked it up and I could see where the firing pin had hit the bullet. Out of 10,000 or 20,