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I was watching Will Smith's National Geographic series "Pole to Pole" recently, and he said something that stopped me cold:

"I've had plenty of sex, money, and fame. That's not what this is about."

Here's a guy who's achieved everything society tells us will make us happy—and he's STILL out there, pursuing something. Still searching.

And it hit me: Happiness isn't a destination. It's not something you GET. It's something you PURSUE. And the pursuit changes as you evolve.

In this episode, we're talking about what happiness actually means when you've lived long enough to know that the checklist we were sold—the career, the house, the car, the status—doesn't deliver what we thought it would.

My journey: We've been kids, young adults, career-driven professionals. We've purchased homes, cars, taken cruises, bought some BS we don't always need. Now? Let's consolidate all that stuff and drill down to the goodness. The real, authentic, wrinkled-linen-shirt, sweat-stained truth about what makes life worth living.

What we cover in this episode:

• What we thought would make us happy (and why the checklist failed)
• The hedonic treadmill: why achievement and accumulation don't create lasting fulfillment
• The cultural rat race we're all running—and why I'm done with it
• My Route 66 bike journey: biking across the US to Venice Beach as a personal pursuit of happiness
• Why sunsets make me smile and bring tears to my eyes at the same time (priceless beauty that most people miss)
• The shift from chasing MORE to appreciating WHAT IS
• Buddhist principles of non-attachment: allowing space for others without derailing your own path
• What actually brings happiness: presence over productivity, experience over accumulation, connection over status
• Subtraction over addition: what you need to LET GO OF to be happy
• Practical happiness practices you can implement this week

I'm not theorizing about happiness—I'm living it. From the Hollywood dream to working as a chemist for Neutrogena while getting my MBA, to building my fitness studio, surviving COVID nearly destroying it, and launching this podcast at 55.

At some point, you stop chasing what you're SUPPOSED to want and start pursuing what actually brings you joy.

Happiness isn't found in accumulation. It's found in experience. In presence. In doing things that make you FEEL alive.

I'm generally a happy person. Warm. Caring. But not because life is perfect. Because I've learned what actually matters.

At the end of the day, happiness isn't something you find. It's something you create, every single day, through the choices you make and the things you prioritize.

So what are you pursuing?

Not what you think you should pursue. Not what looks good on Instagram. But what actually makes YOUR heart feel full.

Figure that out. And chase it. Hard.

If it resonates, share it with someone chasing the wrong things. Leave a review on Apple Podcasts. And do one thing this week that brings you genuine joy—not because it's productive, but because it makes you feel alive.

The Jamey! 

MUSIC Credits: Vincent Franck  find him on YouTube @framax67

Man, Listen is written and recorded by host Jamey Mixson, Fitness Professional, entrepreneur, and your everyday awesome guy who is living as proof that 55 can be your strongest, clearest, most powerful decade yet.

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Contact: Instagram @theJamey, Facebook @Jameymixson, Email: [email protected]

****don't for get to leave that review