Heroes in Business - Alex Petrowski, 5EP Podcast Conversation with Jason Schechterle Air Force Veteran and Former Phoenix Police Officer

Episode Date: May 15, 2023

Alex Petrowski, 5EP Podcast Conversation with Jason Schechterle on living with purpose, being a light for others, and finding peace. Alex and Jason discuss the fateful day Jason endured a life changing accident while on the job with the Phoenix Police Department and the uncharted road to move forward in the aftermath. Jason is the subject of the book Burning Shield and CoHosts the Podcast Badge Boys along with doing speaking engagements. Be sure to follow and become part of the 5EP community by joining on Instagram or your favorite social media. www.BurningShield.com  

Hey Siri, what's on my calendar for today? Today, you have the 5EP podcast. Would you like to keep it on your calendar? 5EP? Yeah! Welcome to the 5EP podcast. Interview interviews and conversations to guide the genesis of personal development. Mental, physical, emotional, spiritual, and social. The five pillars of living a five exclamation point life. On now with your host, Alex Petrowski. Welcome to yet another episode of the 5EP podcast. Today,

I'm joined by Jason Schechterle, professional speaker, keynote presenter, co-host of the Badge Boys podcast, former Air Force veteran, former Phoenix PD officer, and the person behind the story of Burning Shield. So without further ado, Jason Shetterly. Thanks, Alex. How are you doing? I'm doing great, Jason. How are you doing? Doing great. It's good to see you again. Good to see you as well. Well, I want to get right into this thing, and I'm going to start off with, for those who don't know your story, please fill them in on what occurred on that fateful day on March 26, 2001. Yeah, I'd only been a Phoenix police officer for about a year and a half. And I was at work, downtown Phoenix, late at night, on my way to an emergency call. And at the intersection of 20th Street and thomas i had come to a free stop

for a red light my patrol car was struck from behind by a taxi cab the gentleman driving was having an epileptic seizure just completely out of control going unbelievable amount of speed he was doing 115 miles an hour when he ran into me, caused my car to burst into flames. Thankfully, I was knocked unconscious. I don't have any memories. You know, I wasn't in the midst of that chaos and fear and sucking in all that heat and things that surely would have taken my life very quickly. And as my car was propelled through the intersection, just so many miracles and twists of fate. There was a fire truck sitting in the intersection witnessing this. So they were able to go to work for me right away. Got me out in about 90 seconds off to the best furniture in the country, which is at a county hospital. It's now called Valleywise Health Foundation.

Spent two and a half months in a coma, spent five months in the hospital, years of therapy and surgery. And then 18 months later, I returned to work. I had another child, finally retired in 2006 on my own terms, and just began the uphill climb and the transition into the different life that I hadn't really planned for. One thing I want to key in on that is I remember you telling me how when your PD, when your police department vehicle was on fire, you didn't actually feel really what was occurring. You're in that unconscious yet subconscious was acting state. And from my firsthand accounts of a dog attack that occurred when I was 13, I had a very similar experience in that when the dog was clamping on my face, I don't remember feeling anything until they ripped it off and I got up and I had no idea what happened. And I put my hand on my face and there was blood everywhere. Part of my nose is on the ground. you would think extreme agony and just a horrific circumstance that you would feel this immense pain. But the fortunate happenings that occur on that day, they make you look back on it and think of it as something that's happened for a reason.

And that I am alive today because I have a duty to fulfill. And I believe you, with being a professional speaker and being a keynote presenter, helping out so many people that have gone through horrific experiences, that these people that go through those experiences are here for a reason and have survived for a reason. So I just wanted to key in on that one aspect that most people don't even realize that I've never went through that. Wow. Yeah, that's, uh, it just goes to show we all have a story, right? And we've all been through something. I mean, the vast majority of us will share some commonalities. You know, we are still working our way through coming out of

the COVID pandemic, how it affected us. We, all of us will have setbacks, whether it be financially or, you know, relationships not going good day in and day out. Maybe lose, if we're lucky, you know, and the circle of life goes away it's supposed to we're going to lose loved ones so we do share that but each one of us out there i'm convinced is going to have one thing that is just unique to them and it's how you overcome that and i want to be able to show people that it i was somebody who was so terrified of fire. So one thing that I prayed would not happen. I mean, I thought I could handle anything else, right? Not this.

And then here it happens. And to your point about no matter what you believe in with how we were created by God, or if you're somebody who just believes in science and evolution, it doesn't really matter. The fact is we're in this human body. And I think, you know, you stub your toe, you touch a accidentally touch the iron when you're ironing your shirt and you feel it right away, right? You're like, oh, that really hurt. But really major things I think are so surreal in the moment. And then thankfully we're designed with a way, just like you said, to not feel, you know, time kind of slows down. Things come into focus. You have this conscious subconscious level, but you're not in the pain and the fear that our

imagination would have us believe until those moments happen. And I'm very thankful that we are designed that way. How has your spirituality changed? If it's changed at all, pre-accident to post-accident? It actually hasn't changed at all. And I feel a lot of gratitude. You know me, I find gratitude in everything, but this is one of the stronger areas because I think a lot of people, they get wrapped up in, they're going to be angry at God or they're going to question why me, things like that. And my most beautiful blessing is I'm here on this earth and I get to live life of my own free will, my own free choices. And that free will, those choices that I made for so many years of my life, that's what actually led me into

that fire and into that hospital. It was not, I'm not going to blame it on some random tragic moment in time where a guy ran into me and I'm not going to choose to be a victim and blame him. So I always had a really strong foundation that this is my life to do with it. What I want. And then I was able to learn. Yeah, maybe I was chosen for a reason. And I don't, I'll be honest with you, Alex. I don't like to think that way simply because there's so many people who did not get a fire truck in the intersection.

There's so many people that I believe deserved to go home to their families just like I did. I can't explain why I was the lucky one. All I can do is try to live my life the best way I can. And in some ways, having a question that is too big to answer you know why am I here what what is my purpose on on that scale I think it's kind of beautiful when you're almost you're you're enveloped by it but it would be way too exhausting and I would probably get it wrong if I tried to answer it. So I just, I feel very secure with my spirituality because of those reasons. So based off that, when someone asks you, where do you find meaning in life? And what do you

believe is your purpose? What gets you going each day? What's quote unquote lights that fire inside of you each day to say, Hey, I'm going to get up and I'm going to help out whoever it is I'm speaking to today and whatever it is that is affecting them in their lives. I think for me, it's countless things. And I will lean on something different almost every day when I need to, just depending on how things are going. But when you think about what happened to me and when it happened, I was married and a father of two kids. Now, being a father is the most important thing in the world to me and my kids had nothing to do with this they had no responsibility in this no fault in this and I greatly changed their life but I'm still their dad I'm still here and I have a responsibility. I helped make these individuals and I'm going to do the best I can by

them. And that is a huge purpose. That's a lot of meaning. And then how much I valued being a police officer, how much I valued service when I served in the military and then serving as a police officer and just trying to let other people know that, you know, you really can get through anything you're going through. And the, the meaning of life is to go through hardships. It is to go through things that will build your resilience. You cannot be, you know, if you want to build your muscles, you go to the gym. And if you want to build your resilience, you got to embrace your adversities. And again, sometimes people use the words big or small and adversity is just adversity. It's whatever is happening to you today you could have a really bad cold you could get a flat tire or all the way up to you could catch on fire I mean it's just

adversity is adversity and it's coming so I find just so much meaning and purpose in doing that and the other thing I think it's important to, to share this with people. It's okay to be selfish. Also, I, my continued recovery, my continued therapy, the continuation of my inspiration and, and believing in my meaning and purpose in life comes from doing that for other people. Every time I walk off stage from doing a speech, I guarantee you I'm the one who feels the best of everybody. I'm inspired and I'm renewed and I can't wait to do it again. Or now it propels me to make this day even better. Who else can I touch?

Can I put a shopping cart away? Can I smile, invite the gas station? The little things just, that's where the inspiration comes from. And I don't want it to always seem like, you know, I'm just a, you know, a servant and, and don't do anything else. I get a lot out of what I do. And either I embrace that too. I loved how you use Jim when he talked about hardships because getting out of your comfort zone, anything you do, the best analogy that I can think of is when you go to the gym, you're creating micro tears and whatever muscle group that you're hitting.

And then you have to let yourself rest for those micro tears to repair and then grow and become bigger muscles. those micro tears to repair and then grow and become bigger muscles. And in a way, when you attack something new in life, you're going to go through some failures and some successes, and then you have to go to sleep and then self reflect on what occurred the previous day and then grow from it because you have that experience. So it's, it's very evident in so many areas of life. And then also your stance on being a servant leader. I'd love to know how you incorporate community service into your life. I was given. So a lot of people go through tremendous adversity and they don't get a platform like I have. You know, I was in the line of duty. My story was covered on the news.

Not only the really difficult parts, but then returning to work, having a third child, carrying the Olympic torch, meeting the president, doing just, I got to do all these things that a lot of people don't get to do. So it's very humbling. you even farther toward wanting to shine that light that was once given to you is to now pay it forward. And so my servant leadership comes from just remembering where I started and everything that I had, everybody who fought for me when I couldn't fight for myself. Everybody who believed in me and supported me. I'm going to take all that energy and I'm going to try and just pour it onto as many people as I can. Do you believe that your stance on community service from when you were in your 20s to where it is now has changed drastically? Well, it's definitely changed drastically in the sense that instead of putting on a uniform and going to work for 10 hours, I now feel like I wear my uniform

24 hours a day. And the path is very different. You know, I might not be, well, I could be saving a life. I guess once in a while, you never know who you're going to touch. But I'm not saving lives in the sense of the way a first responder does. I'm not taking people to jail, which I still believe at that time is what is best for them. It's what is needed. I loved my job as a law enforcement officer, but yeah, of course, with age comes definitely comes a little bit of wisdom. So my views are, I think just a little more clear, but more important than that, I value it a lot more

than I did in my twenties, just as much as I value the passage of time, or I value it a lot more than I did in my 20s, just as much as I value the passage of time or I value the love that I give and receive within my own family. It's one of the beautiful things about getting older is you just get a little bit more wiser and a little bit more settled in. I mean, I still have anxieties and I can get sad or depressed or angry, but there's a certain level of peace that just simply comes with being 50 years old versus, oh, when I was 25, I look back and I'm like, man, you didn't know anything.

Well, I'm glad that I'm in that stage of I don't know anything because that just means I'm curious all the time. And I have amazing guests like yourself on the podcast to pick their brains and and all that occurred, all that occurred right after your accidents, I know you have a great story of coming out of your shell and being more comfortable public speaking. I'd love for you to tell the audience all about that. Yeah, that was definitely a nice long process. You know, again, because of what I was doing and being featured on the news, you know, I would get asked to come to a church or come to a school and I knew nothing about public

speaking. I knew nothing about sharing my story. Hadn't really evolved at the time, but I wasn't a storyteller and I didn't really enjoy it. You know what I mean? I didn't really want to stand in front of a group of people and be the center of attention and talk, but I grew to love it. And then I had different people would come up and they would share something with me, but they would share with me the impact of what my story did for them. And all these years later, the greatest compliment, I was just in Columbus, Ohio the other day.

And I told, there was about a hundred people in the room. I was doing two speeches. And I said, there is my favorite sentence that I can ever hear when I get done having a speech. I promise you I'm going to hear it when this is over. And whichever one of you says it to me, I will tell you what it is. But I'm not going to give it away because then one of you will say it on purpose. And so I go through my talk.

And sure enough, this young man comes up to me and he was probably very early twenties. And, you know, I think we struggle, especially in our younger years with vulnerability. We struggle with trying to run away from our feelings versus meeting ourselves where we're at, being present and getting through the emotions. Embracing the emotions and understanding that everything's kind of fleeting. And this young man, he was, again, tears. And he simply said, Jason, I needed to hear this today. And I just smile. I said, that was it needed to hear this today. And I just smiled.

I said, that was it. That's the one, right? Word for word. That is what matters to me more than anything. I needed to hear this today. And he didn't tell me what he was going through. But his tears did. His emotions did.

The cracking in his voice did. And he got it. And if 99 other people in that room didn't get it, that's okay. If they just enjoyed, had a few laughs, maybe shed a few tears, that's great. I still did my job. But this one gentleman on that day in Columbus, I'll never forget him. And I look forward to the next time somebody says, I needed to hear this today. You know, people can get so wrapped up in how many views do I have? How many people are listening to this and that? But when one person writes you a letter, sends you a message, what have you, and shares how much of an impact you

made on their life, then you know what you're doing matters and what you're doing is purposeful and that you need to keep going because that's just one person that actually had the guts to share with you. You can only imagine how many people that you've impacted that just haven't shared with you for whatever reason and may share with you down the road. So whenever you're doing something and you're down on yourself, you haven't hit certain marks, just remember the people that you've impacted and think quality over quantity. And that, that should, that should get you past all the initial stages of, of, uh, not hitting the mark or having to divert and pivot in the

beginning. Cause we both know when you're starting something new, it's going to, it's going to take a while to, to work the kinks out and to get used to this new endeavor. And with that, I'd love to talk about how you've navigated talking to certain people in the audience that have gone through mental health struggles, and then how you've also navigated being a support system for those closest to you going through mental health struggles as well well i certainly want to echo something you just said i i always try to encourage people if you're willing to look around even on your worst days even when you're struggling

not feeling like the strong successful person you want to be you can always find somebody that you have touched somebody you have made better and you absolutely cannot be a failure if you leave somebody else better better than you found them or if you just leave the day overall better than you found it you try to be as productive as you can. You try to make your meaning and purpose have a little more value in the day. And again, you might not reach your marks, but that doesn't mean you're a failure. And I think for me, you know, I've been very lucky probably because of my support system. Having such a strong wife, being a father, having an incredible career that continued to support me.

And I went back to work, ended up being a homicide detective. Then to find this career that I just love so, so much. I wouldn't trade for anything in the world and traveling and meeting people. I feel like I've always had, it's like a permanent psychiatrist, a permanent prescription bottle sitting next to me of all these things. Like I, my mental health is going to stay strong, but I understand that, you know, I know a lot of people. I'm actually I'm related to people. I love people and I watch it.

You see right now, unfortunately, in college age students, in law enforcement, the suicide rate is just out of control. epidemic and it's I would never underestimate the whole that my me not existing would leave in other people and you know thankfully I've never been to the depths of wanting to take my own life so I can't pretend to relate to them. I just want to try to encourage people. There's a great meditation quote, and it says, you are the sky, everything else is just the weather. Meaning, if you understand that clouds are going to come and go, rain is going to come and go, sometimes the wind against you sometimes it's at your back but the the sunshine and the and the perfect 70 degree days those are also fleeting just as much as the storm

clouds but if you remain consistent and you know who you are, I am the sky. Everything else is just, it's going to come and go. It's the weather. I have to stay at a constant. And that, I think that that's helped me a lot in my, and I don't meditate in the old fashioned, I don't sit in the right yoga pose and I don't say the right things. Meditation can mean to you something different than it means to me, but it doesn't make it any more or less powerful. And I have, I have little ways of doing things. And I try, this is what I try to pass on

to people. Say, listen, if you've got, you're full of anxiety, got a busy day coming or something didn't start out right that morning and you just don't have time to fix it. You don't have time to eat the right breakfast and get that nourishment. Or you, you know, I wish I had 10 minutes to sit and meditate, but I don't. I, I'll do something as simple as like turning the shower handle

is like flipping a switch. And then right away, I know, all right, I have 60 seconds before this water warms up. That is 60 seconds that I can choose to meditate right here, right now. I'm going to check my breathing and I'm going to think about things that I am grateful for. I'm going to check my breathing and I'm going to think about things that I am grateful for. I'm going to think about how do I want this day to go? Because no matter what I feel about this day right now, it's up to me to at any given moment, I can change it. So I could have a minute. I could be told, all right, Jason, you're going on stage in five minutes. could be told, all right, Jason, you're going on stage in five minutes. I'll pull out my phone and I will listen to a song that I need to hear for the feeling that I'm going to have. When I was in Columbus, I was speaking to the Ohio Funeral Directors Association. These people deal with

death nonstop. That's a whole lot different than when I go and speak to a law enforcement group or when I come to your class. And so I'll listen to a different song that fits the emotion that I need, not want, but I need to feel. And all of a sudden the anxiety just, I could feel it. It just starts crumbling away and a sense of calm comes over you and everything just gets better. So when it comes to mental health, I think, you know, I'm all for people who see therapists. I'm all for, you know, I, if I get a headache, I take ibuprofen. So I have no problem if somebody needs to take some medication that a doctor has said, this is going to help your quality of life. But we also have the ability within us to take care of ourselves. But we have to be willing to do that. And the giving up,

that's too easy. Giving into this day, giving into an entire week, giving into, oh, this is a bad year. You know, that's just really heavy negative thoughts. And it takes a lot of energy to do that. It also takes a lot of your energy away versus if you just throw in a couple of positives, it really lightens your load mentally, emotionally. And the mental and emotional, you probably know this as well as anybody, those injuries and scars, so much worse than any physical. so much worse than any physical. I would 100% agree. And those injuries and scars mentally and emotionally,

they're usually bad from your childhood and they create these repetitive patterns and the patterns of behavior are what initiates your choices in life and your choices create your history. So in a way, the root cause of where you are today are those ingrained patterns that you have going on in your head because most of the day we're on autopilot and we're just making decisions based off what we are used to. So the fact that you're talking about emotional and mental scars being more significant. I completely align on that statement. You've been listening to the 5EP podcast with Alex Petrowski.

Interviews and conversations to guide the genesis of personal development. If you enjoyed the show, share it with friends and family and on your social media. And feel free to send us your feedback. Until next time, thank you for listening and live your five exclamation point life every day.