Justin Wilson is an upbeat guy. You sense his energy from the moment you start a conversation with him. Or more likely, when he starts a conversation with you. When you learn about his life, it’s amazing to think how he can be so upbeat. But then you realize, it’s because he had no other choice.

Justin Wilson is Choctaw. He grew up in Southeast Oklahoma. His father died when he was three and his mom wasn’t around much. He was living on his own at age 14. He excelled at school. He realized it was his way out of the life he experienced as a kid. Having just listened to an amazing episode of Malcolm Gladwell’s podcast Revisionist History, I knew exactly what Just meant. The episode is titled “Carlos Doesn’t Remember” and I realized that Justin was very similar.

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Justin attended Oklahoma State University. It’s an understatement because he is a diehard alumnus. For a while, before he was the Advisor to the Special Trustee for Native Americans, Vince Logan, he was raising money for his alma mater. Before that, he was in medical school at the University of Oklahoma.

In this episode, Justin discusses all of these events. He even opens up to discuss how attending medical school was one of his biggest mistakes. Just told me he wanted to share that story so people know that you can make mistakes, even if they are “good” mistakes, but you can still learn from those mistakes. You can walk away from the sunk cost fallacy moments in your life. It’s a fascinating conversation, especially because much of the knowledge he shares is beyond his years. Probably so because of his experience as a child.

I am really impressed by Justin’s story and how he got to where he is today. There are tons of lessons to learn from his experience. Which one will you take for yourself?