Since last podcast about getting unexpectedly kicked out of my roommates house I have had a couple podcasts but then went silent for a little bit.
The truth is since leaving my old place I’ve doubled my business and don’t have to pay rent so I’ve made more while saving more. 3x the income all from a situation that at the time looked detrimental to my life and my business.
I wanted to make this podcast about moments in my life that looked like something terrible was going to come of it but ended up turning out to be some of the best things that could have happened to me looking back because they forced me to grow.
If you want an extraordinary life you have to realize that a life like this comes at a cost and the cost is usually a very painful and tough price to pay. Physically, mentally, financially and spiritually.
And if you’re not willing to pay these cost then you can’t expect to live an extraordinary life.
Sometimes the cost of that life means going through hardships that shape you into the person who’s made it through such hard times and as a result has come out stronger for it.
Maybe there are some stories in your life that you think are the worst thing that’s ever happened to you but in time they were pivotal points of growth. And that’s what these stories of mine are and how they’ve shaped me.
Story #1
Getting diagnosed with Adrenal Insufficiency at 9 years old
-At the time I didn’t know much about it, I’ve only learned more as I’ve gotten older but Imagine your son is completely healthy and then 7 years into his life he starts slowing down in sports, has no energy, secretly he can’t see when he gets up too fast and all the test you are doing are showing no answers to what’s going on for 2 years until you find out he’s got an auto immune disease that isn’t curable and it’ll effect the rest of his life…
(The story you tell yourself and how you respond to adversity is what truly matters. I remember as a kid just always saying “this isn’t going to make me any different than anyone else, if I have to work harder to get to the same level as another kid because my body isn’t at 100% so be it.”)
Looking back now, that drive to not want this to be a disadvantage for me has always driven me to want to work harder than others, one major issue was throwing up and needing a lot of meds to combat that stress on the body so having this disease actually prevented me from going out and drinking til I threw up and if I didn’t have that restriction I don’t know how my live would’ve turned out.
Story #2 - College Career not working out the way I thought it would
College did not go as planned. It took me 3 years to get some of my first consistent starts for my team. I almost left twice at that point. Almost gotten a DUI and went to hospital for over drinking in my first two years.
This was some of the hardest times of my life, alone at college and the one thing I could lean on being soccer was even gone so I struggled.
This ultimately led to me finding CrossFit and then ultimately my career though.
And throughout there were so many lessons learned with regards to confidence, mental toughness, self belief, and learning to not listen to criticism to name just a few. And these lessons wouldn’t have been learned if when I went to school I just started the entire 4 years I was there without having to fight for my spot.
It ended extremely well my last season with a scholarship increase and a great run of games during my last season. But the biggest thing I got out of it was pride for not quitting even though I fucking hated it for the majority of the time I was there. I didn’t quit when the going got tough.
Story #3 - Tearing my knee last year
Last year I wanted to challenge myself by making on a team as a field player to show people that with the proper training and nutrition you can be whoever you want to be and so at my first tryout after preparing for it I get into a tackle where me and this player collides…and this collision results in 4 tears in and around my knee; and I’m out for a year..
At the time this was very tough, I had hiking plans paid for and ready to go on a week after this tryout I had to cancel. As a personal trainer I use my body to move around the gym and help others but now I can barely walk, and moving my body is one of my loves and outlets for stress and now I’m going to be stuck on a couch a whole bunch resting as this knee heals for what I thought would be a year.
But this injury turned out to be one of the best things that could’ve happened to me. I got to use stem cells for my knee and to prove to my ortho that I could comeback from this injury without surgery. I was already learning kneesovertoes training and getting certified to help others heal their knee and I got to be patient 0 when it came to implementing these techniques and principles so I know they work and now because of my injury I can relate to my clients way more because I went through the same thing they did and they also gives them hope that they can comeback if they see me playing again.
So I turned an injury that people dub as a “career ender” into a business opportunity that is 70% of the work I do today and I wouldn’t have as much success as I do right now if it wasn’t for this injury.
I hope after hearing this podcast you can believe there is hope for you during your hard time that later on as you reflect you will see how this "terrible time" was a gift for you to grow and upgrade your life!
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Talk with you all next week!