Joey Justice Profile picture
Aug 18, 2020 18 tweets 5 min read Read on X
The untold story of Joey, the Improvement Geek

How I went from

- "unofficially" homeschooled
- 370lbs & prediabetic
- zero social skills

to

- becoming an engineer from @GeorgiaTech 🐝
- starting Improvement Geek
- losing 170lbs

A thread... ⏬ Image
In 1990, I was born in Kentucky

My mom was a nurse and my dad was a pro pool player

A year after my birth, my mom became a traveling nurse

Basically, she'd work at a hospital for 3-6 months

We moved from state to state across the Southeast U.S.

I couldn't go to public school because we weren't staying in one place for long

But my dad decided he didn't want me to be homeschooled either

So for years, all I did was sit at home, read, and listen to music

I had no friends and I barely learned anything at all

In 1996, my dad thought it'd be cool if

- my mom quit her job
- we bought a pickup and a camper
- drove around the Southeast U.S. because reasons

We slept at truck stops and Walmart parking lots

We didn't even have power most nights - all I had was books

In 2001, we went to a flea market in Florida

My dad struck a deal with the owner:

He'd be the groundskeeper and security

And we could live at the flea market in our camper

We lived at the flea market for 5 years

My dad was diagnosed with Stage 4 cancer in 2005

So, I took over his job for him

So at 15, I was

- taking out trash
- cutting the grass/weeds
- opening & closing the building

I made $5/hour - $200/week was all my family had to live on

I was the sole breadwinner at 15

In 2006, my dad died

My mom (my hero) immediately

- got her nursing license back
- got a job
- got us an apartment

Life was on track, right? Nah

Later that year, I got addicted to World of Warcraft

I started playing 12 to 16 hours a day

I had no friends, no education, no future

I just wanted to sit in my room and play WoW all day

Image
In 2010, I was up to 370lbs and was diagnosed as prediabetic

I knew I had to change my life, else I wouldn't have much life left

I started working construction and lost a bunch of weight

But my mom pushed me to make better of myself

When I was 18, I had gotten my GED (equivalent to a high school diploma)

When I was 22, I started at a community college

I didn't know any math, history, or much else

I almost cried during my very first math homework assignment

But I decided to become a computer engineer

In 2014, I graduated from community college with a perfect 4.0 GPA

I then decided I wanted to go to @GeorgiaTech

I toured the campus and fell in love with the city of Atlanta

I went to a local university for the 2015 year

In 2016, I started at @GeorgiaTech

That year I did research for @UNPeacekeeping representing Tech in Macau and Hong Kong

I also sang bass in the @GTglee club for 2 years

In late 2018, I graduated with honors as a Computer Engineer

I started my programming career last January

I got a good job, but I wanted something more

I realized I could help others improve themselves

And that's how Improvement Geek was born last May

Improvement Geek has become my life's passion

My mission

And it will be my legacy

You may think this world is a negative place

But I will leave it a more positive place than I found it

I always feel like I'm bragging when I tell this story

But I tell it to inspire people

No matter how bad of a situation you're in

You can overcome it and build a better life

I'm here to teach you how to do that

If you'd like me to help you

Or if you want to know more about me

Please DM me - they're always open

Also, sign up for my twice-weekly newsletter: bit.ly/goalsig

I write valuable emails to help you become your best self

Thank you for reading!
Well, I've probably blown up @GeorgiaTech's notifications at this point

Perhaps they'll give this alum a retweet! 💜🐝

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More from @heyjoeyjustice

Mar 17, 2023
I turned 33 today.

I weighed in at 337lbs this week.

I gained 147lbs over the past 4 years.

Here's what happened, how it's affecting me, and how I'll lose 140lbs in the next 18 months:
But first let's rewind to 2006.

I was 16.

I got addicted to World of Warcraft.

I played between 12 to 16 hours every day.

(I never got put in school before starting college at 22)

My weight went up to over 370lbs in 2-3 years.

I had low testosterone.

I was pre-diabetic.
I moved in 2010 and started a construction job working outside in the summer heat.

I lost 117lbs in 17 months.

But I started gaining it back after I started college in 2012.

I went back up to around 300lbs.

Over the next 6 years I slowly lost around 110lbs.
Read 28 tweets
Jan 27, 2023
9 practical tips to avoid waking up groggy, unmotivated, and lifeless:
Do you want to:

• Stop hitting snooze?
• Have energy all day?
• Become a morning person?
• Get work done while everyone else is asleep?

Waking up earlier doesn't have to suck.

It's a habit you can build.

Here are 9 ways to start waking up earlier:
1) Be deliberate

Waking up early is a mind game.

You can wake up, do nothing, and feel like trash.

Or be intentional, get quick wins, and feel great.

The first step is making it part of your new identity.

Be deliberate. Focus on small wins. Turn it into a habit.
Read 14 tweets
Jan 25, 2023
Most people are mentally exhausted and don't even know it.

You're probably one of them.

Here are 9 things destroying your energy (and how to fix them):
43% of people say they're too tired to function at work.

The average person feels tired at least 3 days a week.

65% say they rarely wake up feeling rested.

Chronic fatigue is often due to a combination of these 9 reasons:
You're burnt out.

Chronic (long-term) stress makes you chronically fatigued.

You're always tired.

You don't enjoy the things you used to.

You feel like you're caught in a downward spiral.

But... you're too tired to do anything about it.

What can you do?
Read 26 tweets
Jan 20, 2023
Why you can't focus (and how to fix it):
It's becoming harder to focus.

But focus is simultaneously becoming more rare AND more valuable.

I believe focus will soon become the #1 thing separating the 1% from the 99%.

But why is it so hard to focus?
We're surrounded by distractions.

News.

Food.

Games.

Phones.

Social media.

Purple things.

Even when we try to focus on one thing... something else comes along and interrupts us.

So what happens?
Read 17 tweets
Jan 18, 2023
Are you sleeping less than 6 hours a night?

You're destroying your body and your brain if so.

Do these 7 things to easily get 8 hours of sleep every night:
Not getting enough sleep cripples your brain.

It causes:

• Brain fog
• Mood swings
• Low motivation
• Poor judgment
• Difficulty learning
• Low impulse control
• Slower reaction time

Do these 7 things to get better sleep each night:
Don't eat/drink within 3 hours of bedtime.

Digestion hurts your sleep and keeps your heart rate up.

Alcohol may help you fall asleep, but it hurts the quality of your sleep.

Too much of any liquid causes bathroom trips in the middle of the night.
Read 17 tweets
Jan 11, 2023
Most people have a caffeine addiction.

I went cold turkey for the past 34 days.

If you haven’t taken a break, this is what happened (and why you should):
Caffeine is the world's most-used psychoactive drug.

Yes, it's a drug, one that most people are addicted to.

80-90% of adults worldwide use caffeine every day.

I was one of them... up until 34 days ago.

What happened?
I took a break to help my:

• Sleep
• Mental health
• Blood pressure

It wasn't entirely intentional.

I missed my morning coffee 2 days in a row...

So I decided to keep it going for the above benefits.
Read 22 tweets

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