The Pulse of a Life Well Lived - A Wellness Talk by Bryce Smith

What is fitness?

Most people think of it as how much you can lift… how fast you can run… how long you can last.

But I’ve come to realize fitness isn’t just how far you can push—it’s how well you can recover.

It’s not just the size of your engine—it’s the quality of your steering.

Fitness is the capacity to meet the moment—physically, mentally, emotionally… and spiritually.

It’s being prepared for life—not just a race. 

It’s what you want, when you want, and not having any limitations towards your peak expression. This doesn’t just exist. It’s earned: day in and day out. 

For most of my life, I was a pusher.

I grew up a competitive athlete—basketball, CrossFit, whatever lit the fire.

I played for top teams. I trained like a madman. I didn’t skip days—I stacked them.

Work ethic became my currency. Self-reliance was my religion.

And for a while… that served me.

Until it didn’t.

Because if you always push… eventually, something pushes back.

Injury. Burnout. Numbness.

You start wondering:

Is all this effort making me better… or just busier?

And that’s when I discovered the other side of the coin:

It’s not always about doing more.

It’s about becoming more.

What if success wasn’t just about hustle… but harmony?

I started slowing down—not to stop, but to speed up.

I started “working in”—breathwork, cold plunges, journaling, regulating my nervous system.

That shift from doing to being changed everything.

I stopped chasing outcomes.

I started attracting alignment.

It’s like the breath—inhale, exhale.

Like the seasons—summer burns, but winter restores.

Like the heart—it accelerates, but it also returns to stillness.

This is the dance of life:

Yin and yang.

Hot and cold.

Fight and surrender.

Chase and attract.

Wellness lives in the space between effort and ease.

So what is wellness?

To me, it’s the practice of remembering what you love—

And doing those things…

With people you love…

In places that make you feel alive.

It’s about living in rhythm with your truth,

And letting your heart—your actual heart—set the pace.

Did you know the average human heart beats about 75 times per minute?

Multiply that by 60 minutes, then by 24 hours, then by 365 days…

Do the math, and over 80 years, that’s over 3 billion heartbeats.

3 billion chances to feel something.

To love. To move. To express.

Now consider this:

A well-trained heart might beat just 55 times per minute at rest.

That’s 20 fewer beats every minute. Over decades…

That’s not just numbers—that’s time.

Time for more memories. More sunsets. More connection.

This is the power of wellness.

It doesn’t just make you live longer. It makes you live deeper.

And while your heart sets the pace, your environment sets the tone.

You’ve heard it before: you are the average of the 5 people you spend the most time with.

So ask yourself…

Are you sitting at tables filled with gossip and complaints?

Or are you sweating in saunas, breathing in ice baths, hiking mountains, sharing ideas that light you up?

You don’t just need community—you need aligned community.

My point today isn’t to sell you a protocol.

It’s to remind you that this is your life.

You don’t need to do more. You need to be more aware.

Of your breath. Of your circle. Of your choices.

Wellness isn’t about perfection.

It’s about connection.

With your body. With your people. With your purpose.

So the next time your heart beats—

Remember that it’s not just keeping you alive.

It’s keeping you present. It’s your rhythm. Your drum. Your inner metronome.

And every beat is a reminder:

You are here.

You are alive.

And you get to choose.

Choose well.

Choose connection.

Choose a life that isn’t just long—but fully lived. 

Stay on the hunt for who you’ve not yet become.