The Last Hug
This is a unique one off episode. It is a conversation with 3 other dads and authors who wrote their story of grief in the book The Last Hug. You can purchase the book Here
Foster Care: An Unparalleled Journey
enOctober 24, 2023
Foster Care to the NFL and Beyond with Anthony Trucks
enSeptember 15, 2020
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Summarise the key points discussed in the episode?
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About this Episode
Anthony Trucks talks about his own Unparalleled Journey from foster care, through the NFL, and beyond. That journey allowed him to become the amazing and inspirational human that he is today! Along the road, he was met with struggles and learned to master the man he was in order to become the man he wanted to be!
This is from his website https://anthonytrucks.com/
Where Shift Started
At the age of three years old I was placed into the foster care system. It’s a well-known fact that up to 50 percent of kids placed in the system will end up homeless upon emancipation, and 75% of prison inmates in the U.S. are former foster kids so needless to say the odds were against me from the beginning. This looming reality was never lost on me and I spent a good bulk of my childhood feeling adrift, unworthy, and listless. For years, I spent every day in survival mode, just trying to make it to the next day, week, and year in one piece.
Somewhere between being placed in foster care and adopted by an all-white poor family at the age of 14, I overcame my challenges and began to apply myself. Being a self-aware kid allowed me to recognize my pattern, which always started with setting a goal, hitting a wall, overcoming that wall, and finally achieving said goal. The satisfaction I got from setting goals and grinding until I reached them against all odds was immense. So much so that in high school, I gave myself the most challenging and lofty goal yet … making the varsity football team.
While I had the build, I definitely didn’t have the skill which became evident during my first seasons. But I persevered. I worked hard, made the team and fast forward to my senior year, I was offered a full ride scholarship to the University of Oregon, and achieved the ultimate goal of going pro in the NFL. By the age of 25, I was on the Pittsburgh Steelers roster, had a beautiful wife, a son and an even brighter future ahead. Or so I thought.
Shift Got Real
If you do a quick Google search on my name along with the words “NFL player” you’ll see that I don’t have any gameplay stats. That’s due to a fluke shoulder injury that sent my NFL dreams crashing down just as quickly as they’d come. Within a two-month period I went from having it all in the NFL to being a personal trainer at my local gym to support my family. Despite my reality, I realized that I had been given another chance to change my life just like I had earlier in my childhood. I had to pivot and I had to pivot quickly. I’ve come to realize those pivots have always been shifts. I decided that with my football career over, the only way I could provide the kind of life I wanted for my family was to become my own boss.
With a degree in kinesiology, I decided to open my own gym. The business was okay, but not great. Entrepreneurship is a series of failures before you strike gold so I wasn’t deterred even though I encountered many ups and downs, but along my journey to provide for my family, I lost it all again. The gym ate up all of my time which meant I had nothing left to give my wife, my now three kids, or myself. My marriage fell apart, my children missed me constantly and I’d gotten out of shape all within the span of just two years. Eventually, my business tanked and I almost went bankrupt. So not only was I broke, I felt broken and alone, was losing my family, and becoming a total miserable failure. Every day alive was filled with the weight of my failures and hopelessness, so one evening I took a long drive with the intention of ending it all for good.
Fortunately, I didn’t find it within myself to take my own life that night. I am so glad that I didn’t because soon after I had a conversation with someone that changed my entire world. Little did I know that while I was flailing and struggling to be the man that I wanted to be, a close friend of mine viewed me as an inspiration and a hero because, despite the odds, I overcame. Prior to this conversation, my only focus was a financial success so that I could provide the lifestyle that I felt my family deserved, no matter what. But then I had a thought, “what if I could be an inspiration for others?”
My Purpose Shifted
“Remember that the happiest people are not those getting more, but those giving more.” ―H. Jackson Brown Jr.
From this conversation, I realized that I wanted to give back. So much of receiving positive energy and good karma is putting that which you seek out into the universe. I researched other life coaches and emulated myself and my approach to mimic theirs. I had the methods, the resources, and the business plan, but it still struggled to take off. I was battling the declining economy, a competitive industry, negative feedback from family and friends, as well as internal confusion and uncertainty. Other life coaches made it look easy and were wildly successful using the same tactics as I did. I found myself constantly asking, “Why not me?”
At that moment, I realized that I was thinking about it all wrong. The gap between my current situation and my desired outcome wasn’t a method, a secret marketing strategy, or anything like that. What was missing, was within ME. By studying my peers on a personal level, I came to the conclusion that they were just different and possessed the necessary character traits to achieve their goals. Their identity was in direct alignment with their success.
The Ultimate Upgrade
Success only happens when who you are to your core, your identity, aligns with your life’s vision. After I realized that I began taking the necessary steps to reprogram myself from the inside out. I spent years researching, practicing, and essentially rewiring my brain on a deep psychological level to achieve the necessary changes to become the person I wanted to be. People say change is hard, but the true and authentic transformation isn’t hard. It’s painful. Little by little I started to put in the work and after years of trial and error, I slowly became a well-oiled “shift making” machine.
Shifting into my ideal identity is the only way that I’ve been able to achieve success in my career. It is also the reason why I was able to bounce back in my personal life, repair my marriage and be the father that I always wanted to be for my children. I became a speaker and a best-selling author, to give back to those, successful or not, feeling stuck, uninspired and hopeless because while I’m beyond grateful for my journey, I wished I had someone to teach me all that I know now. Throughout my transformation and beyond, doors have opened to me that I never knew existed. I’ve been able to make rich and rewarding connections with people that will last a lifetime, grow and sustain my business, all the while bettering myself as an individual. I essentially achieved balance.
It is my passion and life’s mission to pass along the knowledge that took me 30+ years to learn on to those who are struggling just like I have. I know what it’s like and have been where you are right now. The only thing worse than unsolicited advice is advice from someone who’s never walked a mile in your shoes. I was put here, and put through my hardships in life, to coach you through the identity shift that you need to make in order to create the life that you deserve.
Anthony's Links
Anthony's Website
Anthony's Podcast
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/aww-shift/id1453722690
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Foster Care: An Unparalleled Journey
Find All Our Links Here
https://linktr.ee/fostercarenation
Merch!
http://tee.pub/lic/RwiARsuuDHs
Call the Voicemail Line
413-foster 3
(413) 367-8373
Foster Care 101
Free webinar with NO sales pitch!
Support Our Mission
https://www.buymeacoffee.com/fostercare
https://patreon.com/fostercarenation
Website
Connect with us on our Facebook Page
Connect on Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/fostercarenation/