Cutting base course of chimney

Hello, Not sure how I missed the step which called for the cutting of the brick that go on the base coarse of the chimney but what I did was just used the mortar to level them up. Has anyone done that and is that detrimental to the chimney structure. Attached is a picture. Thanks!..

It won’t hurt anything. The reason for cutting the bricks is to give the chimney a more integrated appearance. But the mortar will support it and your build looks great!

Okay great, thanks so much!.. Seth