Daily Motivations - NEVER GIVE IN!

Episode Date: January 5, 2023

Speakers: Lisa Nichols Inky Johnson Dan Pink Chaunte Lowe Marcus Elevation Taylor Tyrese Gibson Eric Thomas Dwayne The Rock Johnson Coach Pain Dr. Jessica Houston Bobby Maximus Kindly follow us on Instagram - @daily_motivationsorg       Facebook- @daily_motivationsorg   Please Kindly support this show by clicking the link below Grab your Ultimate Female Body Fitness Guide Ebook  copy now at an exclusive 50% off discount  https://selar.co/42zb40?currency=USD Kindly Support Us Below to sustain future episodes. Support the Show.

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Bet on the sports you love with BetRivers Sportsbook. Take a chance. We'll be right back. ask yourself what's my dream what are you willing to do that you've never done before we live our lives and we feel as if we're promised something we really don't have any control hey man life don't owe you a thing what makes life worth living What do we want out of life? We want a chance to do something. We want a chance to learn and grow and lead a psychologically rich life. You want to go somewhere you've never gone? You got to do something you've never done. Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and over and over again and expecting a different result. Regret hurts.

Regret also instructs. And you can't have one without the other. I think the beautiful thing about adversity and opposition, when you live with it, it teaches you. So if you avoid the pain, you don't get any of the learning. Make fear your fuel. The things that seem to hurt you and make you feel like you can't put one step in front of the other, it's just something that's going to happen to make you stronger.

It might take time. Grasp onto that hope of everything that you have and know that this too shall pass. Easiest thing in the world to do is to be negative. Easiest thing in the world to do is complain. Easiest thing in the world to do is to quit. That's easy. It's always a lesson.

It's always a blessing. It's up to us to extract it. Attitude is a small thing that we often underestimate, but we really can control that. You are the author of your autobiography. You write the story of your life. No one can write your financial story. No one can write your spiritual story. No one can write your emotional story, but you, what are you willing to do that you've never done before? It's going to cost you more time than you thought you'd have. It's going to cost you some friends who couldn't make the entire journey with you.

It's going to cost you something because sometimes good people go through some crazy stuff. People are losing hope. And they feel like their runway is too short. But I realized that I had to put one step in front of the other. And I had to take it one day at a time. You will have to become someone you've never been before. You want to go somewhere you've never gone? You got to do something you've never done.

You got to say something you've never said. You got to go to a place in you that you've never even been. You get to redesign. You are your Michelangelo. You are your greatest sculpture and you get to recarve and you get to up-level as much as you need. You're not sentenced to this life this way. You chose it. You get to choose as much as you want want you get to design it any way you choose you're not sentenced to your future you have an opportunity to your future what do you want and how do you want it and if it doesn't make you a little afraid then you ain't playing big enough your knees are supposed to knock a little bit your teeth are supposed to chatter a little bit there's supposed to be at least two butterflies in your stomach at least because if not you're

playing inside your comfort zone and we mistake the fact that we're supposed to be comfortable 24 7 well let me tell you something comfortable is equivalent to complacent i'll choose inconvenience every day any, to make a difference on the planet. I don't mind being mildly to mildly to significantly inconvenient to leave my fingerprint on this planet. So I just came to talk to the game changers and to the change agents who are willing to confront any part of you that's not speaking to your madly, wildly amazing future. I stand here in my greatness. I own my light.

I own my brilliance. I am bold. I am courageous. I'm perfect. In my imperfection. This is my time. This is my time. I'm bright enough.

I'm old enough. I'm old enough. I'm young enough. I've experienced enough. I'm wise enough. I understand that I am enough. Welcome to Daily Motivation, where you get motivated and inspired. Breathe. Own it.

Own it. Ask yourself, what's my dream? What's my dream? I came to challenge you to play in the biggest field you've ever played in. I came for you to challenge the fear that might be inside of you and to redesign and reprogram it. You look at it long enough, you be with it intimately enough, and it has to dissipate. You are the designer of your destiny. You are the author of your autobiography. You write the story of your life. No one can write your financial

story. No one can write your spiritual story. No one can write your emotional story but you. The pen has always been in your hand. The pen has always been in your hand. I say write a story that's going to be damn good to read. And ask yourself, what's my dream? What are you willing to do that you've never done before? What are you willing to say that you've never said before? Are you willing? Are you willing to do that thing you've never done before? Are you willing to stand at the edge of your own greatness?

Are you willing to look at your fears? Are you willing to recognize that you can be afraid? Are you willing to look at the fact that there is always healing to come? There's always growth to come. There's no arrival. Are you willing? And then in the space of that, are you still willing to lean to the edge? Feel the breeze of possibility not knowing if you will fly or fall. Are you willing? Are you willing to not quite know

what's there but that something is there is greater than you? Are you willing to say my life has to make a huge difference? You've heard me say this before that there's a birthday and a transition day and in between that is all the opportunity in the world. That's that dash, that dash that says are you willing to disrupt my life? You're not here.

You're not put here to leave my life calm. You're here to be a disruption for my life. You're here to cause me to want to be someone I've never been. Do something I've never done because you've crossed my path. Are you willing to show me that way? I'll get to it tomorrow. I'm like, who promised you that? Because life changes so quick. We live our lives and we feel as if we're promised something.

We really don't have any control. We can control what we possess. Emotions, attitude, thought process, perspective how we speak, how we respond but just life in general we have no control of that but it's so many parts of the injury that shaped my perspective

it was almost surreal your career is probably over your arm and hand will probably never be the same again it was almost surreal. Your career's probably over. Your arm and hand will probably never be the same again. Hey, man, life don't owe you a thing. Everybody done been through something. Everybody's going to encounter something. I think the beautiful thing about adversity and opposition,

when you live with it, it teaches you. If you're open to it. Easiest thing in the world to do is to be negative. Easiest thing in the world to do is to blame. Easiest thing in the world to do is to quit. That's easy. It's moments like that that you remember that shape and mold you as a person as you go throughout life.

And I think we all have them, right? We all have these moments, right? Whether it be humility moments, whether it be, you know, moments that keep us grounded. It's just we choose sometimes to forget them. And for all of us, we're going to encounter those defining moments in our lives, right? To where it's going to hurt. It's always a lesson. it's always a blessing it's up to us to extract it attitude drives performance so that's the key to life i think sometimes when things don't go our way the quote says it you judge the true character and caliber of a person not by where they stand in times of comfort and convenience.

You judge the true character and caliber of a person by where they stand in times of challenge and controversy. But when things go wrong, things don't go the way you want them to. They don't unfold the way you want them to. Who are you? Because that's the true test of who you are as a person that's your true character everybody is going to smile when the sun's shining man but the song says it can you stand the rain baby attitude is a small thing that we often underestimate, but we really can control that. Any long-term plan immediately hits the ugly truth of reality and then becomes a joke.

I think very carefully about what's next. Any regrets you'd care to share? Anything that feels like, you know, that stands out? Yeah, all kinds of regrets. You know, I have regrets earlier in my life about not being a kind enough person, not bullying people, but actually being in situations where there was someone on the periphery or someone being left out and noticing that and not doing anything. That really bugs me. Like many people, there were a lot of people who talked about regrets about regretted not going to funerals. And there's one funeral that I'm thinking of, uh, a guy who I worked with. I wasn't very, I wasn't like a close friend, but I, I didn't go to his funeral because

I was like really busy that day. And I still regret that. Um, so that's a, that's a, that's a smaller one. Um, I'm a, you know, for the folks who are interested in careers, which is a lot of your audience, I know one of my favorite techniques is what Tina Selig at Stanford university calls a failure resume. Like I've made a failure resume, a list of all of my setbacks and mistakes and blunders, and you list all those. Yeah, you get it? Hell yeah. You list all those, and then you think about,

like, what did you learn from that? And then how can you apply it going forward? And so, again, you know, for me, you know, you can't spend a few years on a topic without it changing you, particularly a topic with such emotional freight as regret. But the idea that you should never look backward on your life and say, oh, I wish I had done things differently is actually a terrible blueprint for living. And I think one of the problems, you know, especially in North America, is that we're a little over-indexed on positivity. Positive emotions are incredibly important, and they should outnumber our negative emotions,

but we need some negative emotions because they instruct us. And our most prominent negative emotion is regret. And because regret teaches us, it instructs us, it clarifies us, it clarifies what we should be doing and how we should be doing it. And so we need to understand how to deal with our negative emotions. We can't ignore them like no regrets. We can't wallow in them like, oh my God, it's so terrible, I'm such an awful person. So among the misunderstandings are, we think that when we experience regret, it's somehow an aberration when in fact, everybody experiences regret. Regret makes us human. Regret is part of the human condition. What's more, we think that regret

makes us weaker when in fact, the research shows that done right, regret can make us stronger, that we can enlist our regrets as an engine for forward progress. Stay with us. We'll be right back. about fitness and wellness, then you're in for a treat with our latest ebook, The Ultimate Female Body Fitness Guide. Click the link in the episode description to grab your copy now at an exclusive 50% off discount. This comprehensive resource is designed specifically for women aiming to conquer their fitness goals. From strength training to cardio, flexibility, nutrition, and mindset, we've got you covered. Inside, you'll find expertly crafted workout routines, personalized meal plans, motivation tips, and strategies tailored to help you reach your fitness dreams. We also tackle common challenges

women encounter on their fitness journeys, offering advice on balancing exercise with life's demands and breaking free from societal norms. Don't miss out on this incredible deal of 50% off. Get your e-book now before it's too late. I come into my junior year and I'm about to get exactly what I want. About to get this thing called NFL. Ten games away from this dream. This thing that I've been working for my whole life.

My whole life is dedicated to this one game. I got the paperwork that states I'm about to be an NFL draft pick. NFL on top of the paper. Inky Johnson projected top 30 automatic multi-millionaire. Now all you have to do, the hard part's over. Just play the next 10 football games, Inc. You've made it. And I go out in a silly game against Air Force.

Two minutes left, and I go to make a tackle that I can make with my eyes closed. And when I hit him, every breath in my body left. My body goes completely limp. I fall to the ground. I blacked out. My eyes open. I'm still not, you know, too concerned because it's football. When my eyes open, guys run over. Let's rock, man. Let's go. Let's finish him off. And I'm like, I can't. I said, I can't move. Shock, neck to my toes. I can't feel anything. Shock leaves, it stays in my right arm and hand. I'm like, maybe I got a bad stinger.

They put me on the spine board, wheeling me off the field. Doctor says to me as he's walking beside me, I don't know how you're still alive, son. You don't have any pulse. We get to the ambulance. My father's standing there. I'm like, pops, I laid it on him, right?

I put it on him, right? My dad's like, yeah, but I think you got the worst part of this for me doctor say we're gonna take you over run a couple tests bring you back into the room everything will be cool they run the test they bring me back into the room mom comes in kisses praise son you'll be fine doctors rush in hand boy says, hey man, I've got to rush him back to surgery, he's about to die. If we don't perform this surgery tonight, I guarantee you, you won't be here no more. And now the thing I placed my identity in, now it's gone. That's why I laugh at people when they say, man, if I could just get this, I'll be...

Man, if I could just get this position, I'll be... Man, if I could just get this amount of money, I'll be... Man, if I could just get this position, I'll be... Whoo! Man, if I could just get this amount of money, I'll be... I'm like... Whoo! But what happens even if you get it or you don't get it? Like, do you have the ability to accept what you don't understand? Can you handle when things get off course? I'm sitting there and I'm thinking, like, man, I'm eight games away and god is redirecting me and i'm like god just let me get to the nfl didn't redirect like let me get the contract didn't redirect me so i can help my family and i thought it was over after football got redirected my life got redirected two three more times before i even fell into my purpose and my mission. And what I was supposed to be doing, I got redirected two, three more times.

I'm thinking I'm going to be a coach. Just like every guy when he finishes the game. And I'll just coach. But people keep coming to me telling me, speak, Inky, you need to speak. And I'm like, I'm not speaking. Everybody got a story. That's how I view life. Everybody done been through something, right?

Everybody's going I view life. Everybody done been through something, right? Everybody's gonna encounter something and so I never looked at speaking Sharing I never was the guy like oh man, it's happened to me. Let me go share with the world I was like nah, I ain't figure it out. I pick up the pieces move forward and figure it out And so when people would say this I'll be like nah, I not trying to speak like i don't want to speak the things we go through in life man they're not just for us right once we get to a place of peace and we figure out how to deal with it it's our responsibility to go out and share that right it's like not before the world all the time but just to share it because other people go through things right other people are fighting just go out and share it and that was the first time i had got hit with something to where i pondered it right to where i was like

make a knife you make a nice point and uh i was getting invitations to speak at the time school assembly i don't know i got the same feeling that i was getting in the tunnel, right? And I'll never forget when I got it, I felt it, and I captured it. I spoke, did well, got home, and I'll never forget thinking like, man, like, I might need to be more intentional about this. When we go through things in life, the first thing we try to do is understand it. I'm like, nah, man, some things you're going to go through, it's going to be so tough. You're not going to understand it right away. Just survive it.

And I always tell the story about when my faith was fortified and my life went to another level was the only thing I had at that moment was a prayer and a book. I got up and I looked at my wife. I said I'm gonna take this book to Ophir. So I got my book, I got my suit, it's hot. Every door that opened I ran in it. I'm hey man, Inky Johnson, drove from Atlanta. They're like get out of here. I'm like man, Ophir people are rude. Man, I thought you was nice, you give away cars, and you're rude so after getting kicked out like four doors i go to the back of the building i sit down i put my back on the building look up to the sky and i'm like god man i thought it was you like i'm like man my wife won't chew me out i get up i look down the side walking at this moment there was nobody but oprah and a security guard talking about nobody else she's walking toward me i'm walking toward her i get a couple of feet

away i stopped she grabbed my suit she said hey that's a nice suit i said thank you i said i drove from atlanta i wanted to get you my book i said oh cool great i said would you mind taking a picture we take a picture and i'm going to walk off she said I gotta get in do my show I said all right thank you and I'm going to walk off and her security says to me said uh hey young man come here stop I went back to him so I just want to tell you something he said what just happened never happens he said now I don't know what's going to come out of it I don't know book club show I don't know about any of that. He said, but I just want to make sure I tell you what just happened never happens.

Like God, are we really moving to the point where I can get up in Atlanta, Georgia, look at my wife, don't know nobody in Chicago, don't know nobody on Oprah's staff, and look at my wife and say, I'm going to meet Oprah. I got a certain level of faith that I'm going to meet Oprah. Like at a certain point, like what is it really about like and I know the initial reaction when we go through things is to say man why does this have to happen to me and this is an honest reaction because sometimes good people go through some crazy stuff at a certain point you're gonna hit something it's

gonna test that level of faith and my definition of commitment was always staying true to what i said i would do long after the mood that i've set it in has left like am i going to stay true to my belief and my core and my essence of who i am as an individual even if i get a paralyzed right arm and hand am i going to stay true to it even if my little career that i thought i was going to have disappears, am I going to stay true to it? Even if one day I'm in a football game, the thing I love to do, the thing I have been practicing my whole life, and in one moment it gets wiped out,

am I going to stay true to it? Somebody comes up to me almost every week and say, like, be honest, like, you said you wouldn't change what happened to you. Why? I got a paralyzed right arm in hand, but who I am as a man that never got paralyzed? Can I condition my mindset and my perspective that when uncertainty happens, opposition happens,

adversity happens, I can put my mind, my perspective and the space and place to extract some good? Stop trying to understand it and focus on surviving it this is important in some ways it's central regret hurts there's no question about that but here's the thing regret also instructs and you can't have one without the other. So if you avoid the pain, you don't get any of the learning. So what you have to do is be able to process that pain.

And I think there's a way for us to do that, to take our regrets, use them as signals. We haven't been taught to do that. That's the problem. We have this weird approach. We have this weird view of negative emotions. Like some of us think, positive all the time. That leads to delusion. Some of us get so absorbed in our negative emotions that they, in some ways, exonerate us from making progress. That's a bad idea too. What we need to do is we need to process our negative emotions in a systematic way. And I think there's a good way to do that.

What we need to do is we need to think about our regrets. And when we think about our regrets, the evidence is pretty clear that they can help us make better decisions, solve problems faster, be better strategists, find greater meaning in our life. What I had is I had this giant database of regrets, and I would look on my computer screen and see them listed there. And you know what? It wasn't that much of a downer because I felt like people were trying to make sense of it.

There's some interesting research on this. One of the things that we think about disclosure of our vulnerabilities and our setbacks and so forth is that people will like us less. And in fact, they actually like us more when we do that. And so I actually had a lot of respect for people willing to disclose and willing to explain. And I felt like I was actually helping them make sense of this regret. So it wasn't that much of a downer. Over and over and over again around the world, the same four regrets kept coming up. And I found that fascinating

because there wasn't much national difference. What's more, as I said earlier, these four regrets are revealing because by revealing our regrets, we are revealing what we value the most and so to me these four core regrets operate as a photographic negative of the good life that is if we understand what people regret the most we actually understand what they value the most so in a weird way these 16 000 regrets are not a downer as much as they are a pointer to what makes life worth living.

Many of these decisions are less monumental than that. It's kind of a focusing illusion that when we're making a decision, we think that that's the most important decision there is and so for me I think a tool is to make decisions for fundamental reasons rather than instrumental reason which goes to what you were talking about before about careers as a line that if we make decisions if I decide I'm going to major in this because it's going to lead to that which is going to lead to that which is going to lead to that I think that's a bad idea because it, I think it's a bad bet because you have no idea where it's going to lead. If you major in something because you like it, because it's interesting, because you find it

compelling, major in that because you're going to learn a lot, you're going to do really well, and you have no idea where it's going to lead. And so, you know, the reason that I like making decisions for fundamental reasons rather than instrumental reasons is not because I have this noble view of the world. It's that instrumental reasons don't work because the world is so complicated. So you're better off just making decisions for fundamental reasons, doing things you care about that are meaningful and that contribute and and being alert to opportunity along the way recognizing that as you said earlier that the path is not a path it's the opposite of a line it's a it's a messy three-dimensional squiggle

to you to the person who's feeling like there's no hope that you can't see a way out of your current situation or circumstance i want to say first that i'm sorry that you're going through whatever trial it is that you're going through right now it's not fair and you don't deserve it but there is hope on the other side of this trial. I want you to think about those feelings, those times where you felt happiness, where you felt joy, where you experienced love in a way

that you never thought you'd be able to experience. And I want you to hold on to those moments and think about your future and think about having those moments of love and joy and laughter and peace again. And I want you to know that right now, it's just a trial. It's just a test. The things that seem to hurt you and make you feel like you can't put one step in front of the other. It's just something that's going to happen to make you stronger. You don't have to get from how you're feeling right now to immediate joy and laughter.

It might take time. But all I'm asking you to do is put one foot in front of the other and grasp onto that hope with everything that you have and know that this too shall pass. I'm rooting for you. When you think about, you know, what you want out of life, where you want to make your mark, you have to start figuring out who you are. And so my first step is always to figure out who you are, where can you be great? And when you do that, you have to put the blinders on. Don't look

at anyone else because nobody else can tell you how to be you. And when you do that, you have to put the blinders on. Don't look at anyone else because nobody else can tell you how to be you. I dealt with homelessness and poverty growing up, domestic violence, growing up in a home with a lot of drug abuse and alcoholism. But I had that vision of going to the Olympics and I had that skill of jumping. I put those two things together and it was really the thing that pulled me through those difficult times. And I think that when people have those difficult times, you have to have something that brings hope and joy and has the power to propel you through difficult situations because each and every one of us has them. But we have to be able to see outside of it. And when we lose hope, that's when we feel like giving up.

People are losing hope, and they can't see beyond their current circumstances, and they feel like their runway is too short. But I want to bring the fact that there is hope. There was a time period in my life where I decided that I didn't want to live anymore. And just to see all the amazing and beautiful things that were waiting for me in life on the other side of that moment. I want people that are living in their 20-year-old devastation to know that there's life on the other side of it and to hold on to hope. The final three Olympics, every time you competed, you had just had a baby.

What was that like? I mean, it blows my mind to even think about it. I love what that journey in life looks like and what it takes, but I can only imagine what it takes as an athlete. Can you walk us into what it was like for your body preparing after just giving birth? So your body completely changes after you have kids. I remember after having my first child, my ankles were so weak and I needed to be able to put a tremendous amount of torque and force into the ground to be able to high jump and I remember having to take it one step at a time and I think that whenever we're at a certain level and for whatever reason we get knocked down we just want to get back to that level so quickly but we forget the process of being patient with ourselves and

being very meticulous and strategic towards getting back towards where we want to go, that we can injure ourselves or we put ourselves through a lot of mental anguish. And so for me, it was no different. I wanted to put myself through that mental anguish. And I had just jumped one of the best jumps in American history. And yet now I'm struggling to jump a height that I cleared my freshman year of high school. But I realized that I had to put one step in front of the other and I had to take it one day at a time. And by being consistent, I eventually was able to jump higher and get to the point where I qualified for the Olympic trials and then I qualified for the Olympic games. But I learned throughout that process. And a lot of people say hindsight is 20-20 vision. And they say it in a

negative way. Like, oh, hindsight is 20-20 vision. But it's the reality that you could take that 20-20 vision, apply it to the next time and do it again without falling into the bear traps. And that's what I did from one Olympics to the next. I figured out a process that worked. Another saying that I love is that insanity is doing the same thing over and over and over and over again and expecting a different result. But they also say that quote in a negative connotation. The reality is there's a positive aspect to it. If you're doing things right, you get amazing results.

You put in that recipe time and time again, it'd be insanity to expect to get anything less than success. And so once I figured out what works, I keep doing it. My weight sheet is exactly the same as it was when I was in college. My training, I kept everything the same because I know it works. That is cool. Flipping that insanity quote and using that, you know, as almost a formula to

success. That is cool. If I fast forward, so you've a devastating diagnosis and it changes your world. Can you let us know about what that diagnosis was? Yes, so in 2018 I found an itsy bitsy tiny rice sized lump from doing a self breast exam. And the reason why I even decided to do self breast exams, I was only 34, 34 at the time, was because another athlete shared her story and her journey with breast cancer. So I really wanted to be proactive. Unfortunately when I went to the doctor I was dismissed and I was told not to come back for six years and that what I was experiencing was a swollen lymph node.

Well the doctor was completely wrong. It turned out to be breast cancer, a very aggressive fast-growing form of breast cancer that predominantly impacts African-American women. And when I started learning the statistics about breast cancer and how impactful it is that it could be as much as one in eight here within the states that will be impacted with breast cancer in their lifetime. I was shocked and I was devastated. And, you know, being a mother that I thought that I had my whole life in front of me now facing a diagnosis where I could die soon, my heart broke. But I realized that that tenacity that was built over years of watching the Olympics, enduring poverty, enduring domestic violence, figuring out ways to come back from pregnancy,

to be at the top of the world, to break American records. I could take that same mindset and mental state and apply it to this breast cancer journey. And I started making a list of all of the things that I did to become successful as an athlete. But before that, I said, no, I decided that I was going to be defiant and that I wanted to live and that my life was worth fighting for. And so, you know, I did the same things. When you're an athlete, you look for a great coach, look for a great nutritional plan. You look for, you know, a great training program. I did the same thing. I looked for an amazing oncologist, amazing surgeon. I looked for an amazing medical team so that I could make sure that I could be here and watch my kids grow up.

Shante, my mom went through breast cancer and I remember the fear of that as a child. I remember the strength in her, the resilience, the tenacity. And I remember the family conversation because it does start to look at you, you zoom out and you recognize there's a lot of life ahead of us, and how do we rally as a family? At the same time you were having that family conversation, though, you were still training. You were training through chemo for an Olympics. You weren't just talking about, you know, how do we rally as a family?

You were still rallying as an athlete. How did you juggle both those pieces? And did it help work through it, or was it actually, you know, too much to take on? When I first was diagnosed, I didn't know if I was going to train for a fifth Olympic Games. It was something that, you know, I put myself in a great position just in case I wanted to, but it wasn't something that I had yet committed to. When I found out those statistics and how prevalent breast

cancer was in the lives of so many women and children and fathers, mothers, sisters all around the world, I felt like I had to do something. I didn't have a lot that I perceived as resources to be able to make it impactful change, but I did know I knew how to train, I knew how to compete, I knew how to train I knew how to compete I knew how to make Olympic Games and I figured if that's my lot if that's what I had in my hands to be able to contribute to the world I realized that the Olympic Games is a huge media conglomerate people are interested in the stories and the storylines and that I could take that story and raise

awareness about breast cancer and help change my platform into a platform that disseminates information, supports people and most importantly provides hope to the hopeless and I felt like it was my responsibility so training for my fifth Olympics was solidified by the fact that I was diagnosed with breast cancer and you know, once I found out that my treatment would be chemotherapy and it would be a double mastectomy, I didn't care. That wasn't going to stop me because I was fueled by love and compassion for other people in a world where we're told to take selfies and care so much about ourself.

I felt strength from taking on the burdens of other people and acting out of compassion and love for them. It felt like a labor of love and it was my honor to do it. And I will continue to do it. And I would do it a thousand times over if I could. What would you tell yourself as a 20-year-old? To not worry so much. I worried so much and paid so much attention to things that were not important. Family, love, friendships, experiences, and being able to be of service to one another.

I would continue to tell myself to have faith, never, never not for one second to give up faith because everything works out exactly the way that it's supposed to. I think that those are the bits of information that would have kept me from a lot of days of crying and fighting with myself and being upset because in the end it always worked out. You know it's funny, it was an older lady who told me not to make mountains out of molehills. And I think sometimes we have this situation right in front of us and it seems so big and we feel it's just a huge stumbling block of us being who we want to be or being a contributor to society as a whole. And I think that if we stop making small, minute issues into monumentous mountains in our life,

we will live a more fulfilled, more happy life. Excuses are the patches that we sew on the garment of failure. You talked a lot about kind of hidden strengths, things that people can't see, work ethic, discipline. Where do you think that switch went for you to say, I'm not going to perpetuate the cycle, I'm going to break the cycle? What was that skill within you to see that, recognize it, and actually be able to do it? It's funny, I think when I was young, I had a strong sense of mind, body, and spirit. And I realized that nobody could

influence my thoughts in my own mind. And I have this thing that says, you grow the seeds and kill the weeds. And so the things that brought me joy or brought me peace or brought me a sense of normalcy that sparked hope inside of me, I would feel those things with the things that I said, the books that I read, the movies that I watched. I would really find ways to feel those things with the things that I said the books that I read the movies that I watched I would really find ways to feel those but then when there was that negativity where people would say you know do you know the odds of making it to the olympics do you know the odds of this and the odds of that I would immediately take that information that I had and refute that in my own mind and you know faith was a huge part of my upbringing you know just being able to go to church with my grandmother and feel like there's something bigger than myself that that would help

lead and guide me out of some turbulent situations I realized that all three of those areas of my life had to be good in order for me to be good and I think that you know with everything that we've went through with the COVID-19 pandemic it, it's shined a huge light on the people that are living in households of domestic violence and abuse. It's made it inherently clear that there is a huge gap in the wealth distribution amongst people and that some people are falling behind and I think that it takes education and learning how to strengthen yourself, mind, body and spirit to be able to weather these turbulent times. And so I think that's why I feel like it's important for me to share my story, because some people don't automatically have that hope or have that know-how and being an athlete coming through my own turbulent situations I feel like I have like 20 30 years of experience in this realm that could really help people and I feel like it's my duty to do so it's time to stay focused.

Why are you so antisocial? Because I'm trying to get it. Why are you staying on the basketball court so much? Because I'm trying to get it. Why are you out there practicing in the hot sun when ain't nobody else out there? Because I'm trying to get it. Pain is temporary. I've been trying to get it. Pain is temporary. I've been trying to get that into your spirit.

I've been trying to get you to celebrate pain. That pain is your friend. That pain is going to take you to the next level. Remember just because something's never been done before, it doesn't mean it can't be done. It just means we haven't figured out a pathway on how to get it done. And we will get it done. This is it right here This is that moment that you got to work. This is that moment when you got to push

There is no weakness in the place of business Think about your end goal. Think about what it's going to look like picture it in your mind See yourself already there stop praying that the storm will pass over you and pray to grow through the storm what you go through you will grow through you simply have to give it everything you have to get it. You need to shut down all negativity and frankly not give a shit what others say and think. You're going to do what you've been called to do.

You're going to be what you're called to be. You're going to have and you're going to prove to everybody that tried to break you, you're going to prove them wrong. Everybody that tried to stop you, everybody that tried to kill your dream, you're going to prove all of them wrong. I don't care what the adversity has been. You have two choices.

You can be unforgiving, bitter, angry, upset, and be a carrier of grief. Or you can choose resilience. If you truly want to make change. If you truly want to make change If you truly want that greatness You got to work hard You got to dig a little bit deeper You got to find it You want to test my resolve

You want to test my ability to go to the limit You want to see where his world ends And mine begins This ain't no f***ing game This is my lifestyle, son. Shut up. You're talking entirely too much about your dream. You talk too much about your goal. Say it once, say it twice, no more than three times and get to work. You already know what it feels like to quit, to throw in the towel, to sit on the work. You already know what it feels like to quit,

to throw in the towel, to sit on the couch. Do you know what it's like to give everything that you have and push and persevere? You've got to make the opportunity happen. You've got to be fired up. You've got to be hungry for it. You've got to have the desire to push yourself. Are you hearing me? Work, work, work, work. Grind, grind, grind, grind. Thank you. Thanks for listening.

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