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What did you want to be when you grew up?

Not what your parents wanted. Not what made practical sense. What did YOU want — in the quiet of your own imagination, before the world had opinions about it, before the bills arrived, before life got real?

That question hits completely different at 50-plus. Because now you have the receipts. You can look back at that younger version of yourself and actually see what he was reaching for. And then look at where you are today and ask honestly — how close did I get?

In the Season 1 finale of Man, Listen, Jamey Mixson goes all the way back to the beginning. To the kid. To the dream. And what he finds there is equal parts funny, honest, and surprisingly powerful.

Those childhood dreams were not random. They were not naive. They were data — telling you the truth about yourself before the world started editing you. The kid who wanted to be a fireman wanted to run toward the fire when everyone else ran away. The kid who wanted to be an athlete wanted excellence and the clarity of competition. The kid who wanted to be on stage wanted to be seen, to move people, to exist loudly in a world that sometimes made him feel small.

Jamey wanted to be Gary Coleman. Yes, that Gary Coleman. The Hollywood dream was real — and it led to some genuinely remarkable places, including a role as a Klingon on Star Trek, supporting cast on the legendary ER, and pickup basketball games on the lot with George Clooney, Eric LaSalle, and Ice Cube. The funest times. To this day Jamey believes Idris Elba is living his life.

But there was another dream too. The one that makes parents proud. Jamey wanted to be a medical doctor — an obstetrician, because no easy routes. He got the Chemistry degree. He became an EMT. And then, with nobody pushing and nobody insisting, he didn't finish medical school. He names that honestly. A life regret held without bitterness is still wisdom.

This episode also gets real about the parent variable — the difference a navigator makes in a young person's life, and what it means to accept what your parents couldn't give you while making sure the people behind you don't face the same gap.

And then comes the turn that makes this episode a Season 1 finale worthy of the name. When Jamey stepped into fitness professionally, something clicked. And one day he looked back at that tall kid with the long legs and the really short shorts and realized — he was doing all of those things. The performance. The science. The stage. The healing. The dreams didn't die. They got a new address.

Whatever your childhood dream was — look underneath it. The current version of your life may already be living it in disguise. And for the things that are still unfinished? It is not too late.

Season 1 is done. Season 2 is coming. And the best chapter hasn't been written yet.

Man, Listen is a weekly solo podcast hosted by Jamey Mixson — entrepreneur, fitness studio owner, and Black man living boldly after 50. New episodes every week on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube, and wherever you listen.

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.

New Episodes Weekly. Subscribe on Apple Podcast, Spotify, and other podcast streaming services.

Contact: Instagram @theJamey, Facebook @Jameymixson, Email: mixsonfj@gmail.com

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