THE ED MYLETT SHOW - NEVER GIVE UP! - with Eric Legrand

Episode Date: May 28, 2019

From laying PARALYZED on a football field to becoming an inspiration to millions all over the world … This is possibly one of the MOST INSPIRATIONAL episodes of all time! When life has seemingly destroyed you, it is YOUR CHOICE to STAY RESILIENT and TURN THINGS AROUND! It is such a blessing and I am HONORED to bring you this breathtaking interview with the one and only, Eric LeGrand! On the football field playing for Rutgers University, LeGrand suffered a career-ending injury leaving him paralyzed from the neck down. Eric’s story is one of PERSISTENCE and INSPIRATION. He thought his life was over as he lay unable to breathe on the green turf, but HE DIDN’T GIVE UP. In this episode, Eric takes us on the emotional journey of the terrifying experience of his injury. He reveals how he found RESILIENCE, PATIENCE, FOCUS and the FAITH to persevere even with everything stacked against him to become one of the most inspirational motivational speakers in the world. Learn the skills Eric LeGrand used to start pouring FOCUS and ENERGY into SOLUTIONS instead of your PROBLEMS. This man has inspired me, along with millions of other people, and has taught us that it is not the events in our lives that happen to us, but what we do in response to those events that define who we are.  

Welcome to the Edd and Mylons. This podcast is for those who want to do more. See more and be more. Welcome back to Max Out everybody. I'm Ed Mylons and today's a very special program and one that I've worked very hard to put together for you because I wanted to introduce you to this incredibly inspirational person to my right. You know, I've often had people on the program as you know that have incredibly inspiring words, but every so often I introduce you to somebody who's just an inspiring being, an inspiring person. And the man to my right absolutely fits that description. And so with no further ado, let me introduce my good friend, Eric LeGrand. Eric, thank you for being here.

Hey, thank you for having me on. And it's truly a blessing. Welcome to California. Hey, California, I hate bads. What do I like, man? I like it. Welcome to the beach. So everybody that's watching on YouTube,

you immediately can see that Eric is in a wheelchair. If you're listening to this on audio, we're going to describe this incredible story to you, but it's one of the most remarkable stories that I've been following for the better part of, you know, going on nine years, from the minute your injury took place to today. I've tracked your progress,

and I think you, by the way, one of the greatest speakers in the world too, which people are gonna hear about soon. But why don't we get right into it? Because I think most people may have seen you before, but may not know the story. So take us back to where your life changed, which was October 16, 2010. Your life was altered forever on that day, correct? So tell everybody what happened that day.

Well, we were in the fourth quarter at Mad Life Stadium playing the Army Black Knights. And I remember we had just had the game up 17, 17, so I was on the kickoff team in my head. I'm like, let me run down the field, make a big play. Get our defense out of here, get a quick three and out, and get the ball back to our offense so they can have a two-minute-jowl score. That's my moral going down on the field. That game I was facing in double team so soon, the balls kicked off. Two guys came to block me. But on that particular kickoff, I was able to split right through them, and out of the 30-40 yard head start in this kind of, I knew I was going to make a tackle on it.

And as I'm running down the field, I was able to split right through them and out of the 30, 40 yard head start and this guy now I knew I was going to make a tackle on. And as I'm running down the field I'm saying do I want to use my head or do I want to use my shoulder. And everybody knows when you play football if you're going to use your head you got to see what you hit. I said this is going to be a big collision. Let me use my shoulder to keep my head out the play. In the video, you'll see my teammate actually got there about a half a second before I did. And he tripped a guy up. When a guy got tripped up, his body twirled in the air.

As I put my head down thinking it wasn't going to be in the tackle at all, it would be just my shoulder. The angle changed and the crown of my head went right into the back of his shoulder blade. And next to you know, I was laying on the ground paralyzed and my life changed right there. You know what I do and what happens to me. So a picture of this everybody,

you're playing for Rutgers, one of the top football programs in the country at the time. And you're a big man. So you're talking about a collision at high speed. Everyone picture this. What were you about 6'2, 2'70 at the time? You have 2'7, 2'75 running down the Eppin'. It sounds like you're saying both. There's some people's people doing some of the scientifics on it. You saying

both running full speed into a brick wall. That was a collision. My goodness. So you're hurt. You're on the ground. Do you know immediately something's wrong? I do right away that something went wrong because I couldn't move but then I was the most I guess frightening part about it was I couldn't breathe. So it means I paralyzed my diaphragm but I thought I had not done down on myself maybe and I thought I had a full body stinger because I had this thing on my shoulder before where I went completely numb and I wasn't able to move it. I said I just did that to my body, but I remember the trainers come running out to like is it your head or is it your neck

and I was just like I can't breathe. And then Koshiano comes out and he looks down at me and goes, E, you have to pray right now. And when he says that to me, I'm thinking this is it. My life is over because I can't move, I can't breathe. And now my coach is telling me I have to pray. Oh my gosh. I'm saying, I pour some praying for a gasvary or anything,

but in my back of my head, I'm like, my life is over. I'm not going to lie to you at one point. I did close my eyes and I said, God, take me at ease. Did you? I point. I did close my eyes and I said God take me at ease Did you I didn't I close my eyes on that car and I said God take me in Nothing happens so I It's leave open my eyes back up and started pancing again and because I was nervous But at this time they're putting a board on them. We know to get me on to the cart And when they lifted me up somehow I caught a gas there for a second

So then I said to myself, okay, I did not go in out of myself. Everything will be okay. So while you're laying there in front of thousands and thousands of people, you literally closed your eyes and said, Lord, take me. I did. No, I remember I said, this is it. I can't move my can't breathe. This is going to be the end of my journey.

Were you in, you see, couldn't breathe. And by the way, when this happened, this was national news everywhere, right, at the time. But if we could go back just for a second because I want, I think one of the things you do Eric, it's so magnificent, because you have such an infectious spirit. So does your mom, by the way, we'll talk about later. Mom does too. Mom does too, but you, you, you have this thing about you that's so calm. And so I want to know were you this way before this injury? Were you always sort of predisposed to be

the sort of I don't know if I call you serene or chill but is that true of you? I always loved to be a people person. Love to make people smile, love to make them laugh. It didn't matter who you are. I was always that guy where you see him, he's going to put a smile on your face, it didn't matter. Well, a raised boy, girl, if you didn't, that matter, I was always that guy that wanted to make you smile.

And people loved to be around me, I'm not gonna lie, nice. And I took to that because I liked it to be around people's class clown at times. Yeah. The jokes, but when it was time to, you know, click it on and be a serious guy, knew when it was time to work,

it was time to work and when it was time to play, it was time to work, it was time to play. Yeah, fun. And you knew in that moment laying there, this is not a normal time. Were you in physical pain other than the not breathing? I did that question like, did I feel anything and at the time, I didn't feel anything at all. I had fraction of my neck so much that I went right into my spinal cord and did the damage and I couldn't feel a thing. So going through your mind first, as Lord take then it's like well I'm here I can breathe

I might as well stay right. Coach tells you to pray how long between when the injury took place do you know until you were off the football field. Seven minutes. Seven minutes. Seven minutes. I give so much credit to my trainers and to that whole staff I think that's why I'm doing so well now.

They got me on and off the field into the ambulance and I had a stadium in seven minutes. And I think if I would have been out there longer and stuff, there'd have been so many more internally, you know, and just damage done. So what happens then? You go off the field, you get into an ambulance, what takes place now?

I remember I tried to give the thumbs up first and just felt like there's a thousand bouncing of black laying on my hand, could have moved it. So you're trying to come off and just let everyone know you're okay couldn't do it Mm-hmm. Get into the back of the ambulance and they put an oxygen mask on me And I'm gonna allow a unit to the fact of how oxygen masks work something and they put this on them being able to go I took that deep breath in and I was not able to go Really and am I gonna lie? I freaked myself out so much and I passed out you 10

I passed out the whole ride to the aim as I only remember waking up when I got there Mm-hmm I open my eyes and I see a bunch of lights in the hallways. I'm getting carried down the hallway. I blacked out Mm-hmm. I woke up again, and now I'm in the room for a bunch of doctors and nurses It's not like they're speaking a different language to me. You know, what was going on. I blacked out. I woke up one more time and I was in the room by myself with all the monitors and sounds going, be, be, be, and that's all I remember until Wednesday, this injury happened on Saturday. That's all I remember. Okay. Were you a praying person then? Just curious. Yeah, I was at, but faith I was believing God in Him.

Definitely. I'm a lot closer now. Oh yeah. Yeah. Absolutely, but I always believed and I always prayed. And, you know, and that just was going along my journey as a regular 20-year-old, you know, division one athlete. I must tell you as you're telling me this story, my heart's racing.

Like, it's scary for me to hear. Yeah. And I wasn't there. I appreciate you being so honest about that because I think, you know, there's a fascination. People think what happens in these moments in someone's life where they know life is never going to be the same again. And I appreciate you, you know, being willing to share that so much. You end up waking up then on that Wednesday. Yes. And someone has to probably at that point, I assume deliver news to you or what takes place there.

Well, I kind of knew that I was injured. I didn't know the extent of my injury. And I remember my mom coming up to me and saying, Eric, let me know when you want to talk. But at the time, I was not going to allow. I was just bombarded with posters and postcards and people visiting me that I kind of wasn't focusing on.

I was focusing on talking to people Yeah, I'm gonna see like people I haven't seen since a middle school in high school or coming up to visit me And then guy owns national news so you know Like that giant skimo top-cloth one came over this in me Send over all the rookies that year Jason Pierre Paul and those guys well came and visiting me and then Andy Reed was with the Eagles He came over so the back of my head. I'm, this is perfect. I don't know who I am. I get back on that field. I'll be a first round pick tonight.

Before I knew, of course, what was going on. I was amped. And I was fired up to see a bunch of people that had took my mind away from everything that was going on. Interesting. That is interesting. So when do you talk to, is it mom who tells you

this is the situation or was it a doctor? I would say, no, it was my mom. It was about a week into it and a week into it and because I said it was not stopped every day. It was the biggest story in the country at the time. I mean, not just sports news, but national news at the time. It was the dominant story on all media, all network. I was getting most people from China, Australia were sending me postcards and stuff. So every day we were just going through that and I And I was sleeping a lot during the day

because I wasn't sleeping at night. I was very terrified at night just the tires out at night and not being able to control the moves on on and having the trust other people. But when I finally realized what had happened to me and I said, you know what, can't focus on football right now. I wanna focus on getting my life now.

I definitely have to graduate because I'm not gonna be playing football anymore. And I started thinking about my life. What am I going to do? Because my whole life has been football. And I just, I'm like, I want to be back on my feet. What am I doing rehab? And what am I gonna do afterwards

so I can support myself? Well, you're already processing that information to your area. I know what, when I realized I wasn't gonna be able to play football right now, I'm like, what's next? Like, this is all I know. So it just came to my head like, of course,

and me, Lee was rehab getting back, you know, on my feet and I was like, that's gonna come. Like, I've been grinding my whole life. I know what the way I'm like, I'm thinking, you know, you just going there and you work and you'll be back on your feet. You know, I didn't know they'd extend up, you know, all the nerve stuff, like I know now,

like I'm a scientist now, but I was just thinking, all right, I'm going to gym, I'm going for whatever amount of time I'll be able to feed. See, this is interesting to me. This speaks a lot to you because I've known you from a distance, but now I'm knowing you. Everyone should just hear this. First off, just give you some perspective on whatever you think you had a bad day. I just said, we're just talking about off-care about Israel Del Toro, who's been on my show and who was burned 80% of his body and on that show I said, so you think you've had a bad day,

really compared to what? You think you're having a bad time right now, really compared to what? But what's so impressive to me, because I know you're super humble. There's no false front here. The fact that you went into, I'm scared, but you immediately went into solution. You immediately went into the grind and that's a lesson for everybody. Like when you're going through some of the worst things in the world, what people have to use focus on the problem and not the solution. And there's so much power. I've said this in some

of my might videos about, it's easy for me to say, you did it, but to start pouring your focus and energy into the solution, not the problem itself. The other thing I want to say to you just back at you that I didn't think of until you just said it was that, not only was this a catastrophic life change, but your whole plan was now gone. You're not going to play in the NFL. I'd not really processed that a dream went away that day. And a lot of people can relate to that.

Their first dream's gone away, first dream relationship, dream business, dream careers, it's gone. You immediately moved into the transition phase of that. Now I give that a lot of credit to Coach Yano and our staff at Rutgers because we were trying, I was telling you off camera, we were going through the military but it was always about the solution. Prayer is the problem.

What do we have to handle it? What are you going to do forward afterwards? And we had a lot of life lessons that Coach Yano used to tell us, what if you get fired from your job, you got to move on, you got to support your family. You don't sit there and focus on the problem. You look toward a solution. So my head, my mental was trained. I was trained right away.

Like I said, all right, I'm going to play football anymore. What's next? How do I have to head this? How do I get it done? I've been trained to think that. That's incredible. Could you tell them a little bit, Coach Siano, those of you that may not know, it's Greg Siano, right?

Coach has been at Rutgers, he's been at the NFL, and he's sort of, I think, probably known as sort of a pretty serious intense dude, but you and your mom were both sharing there. Not only did he help sort of groom you almost to be prepared for something like this, although you can never be completely prepared, as you've just said, but he was really, he was there for you in ways,

most people would know, post the injury. Would you be willing just to share with people a little bit about that? I was not allowed to, because, Coachiano, he's not for everybody. He's not going, he's gonna rub a lot of people the wrong way. But the people that he can work with, that can't get in his head,

he turns into monsters like, I thought I'm good monsters, mentally, physically and whatever you need to handle, you're gonna go do it at 100%, you're gonna crush it. And that's why like I said, not everyone's built for that. Not everyone in this world, and that's why he gets a better, all he's too hard here, he pushed me this way. He said this to me. Me, I was his perfect type of student. I can handle it.

When you tell me I'm doing something wrong, I take the responsibility that I'm letting somebody down. I can't do that. I gotta go for it. I gotta handle my business. So I'm letting other people down. And that's what he did with his aunt is just training us. And it's 120 degrees on the turf.

Just had a two-and-a-half-hour practice run, 22 gases afterwards. Now he's got us put our face in the turf and breathing in all of that. Like, stuff like that. Like, what do you, like, what am I doing right now? What am I doing with my life? It's all fundamental, just preparing you for life.

When tough situations happen, what are you going to do, fold, what do you look to the solution and handle in? Great, great. That's what you did. And when he recruited me, he said that he treats all his kids like his sons. What are you going to do, fold? What do you look to the solution and handle in? Great, look. That's what he did. And when he recruited me, he said that he treats all his kids like his sons. And there was nothing more than that than show that as when I got hurt. How so?

Oh man, he was on the phone. I was right after the game making sure I was in the best hospital. Making sure I was in the taking care of the best way. I come up to the hospital at night, 11 o'clock at night to let my mom go to the hotel sleep. Stay with me until 2, 3 in the morning. Wow. And then be back at the Hail Center,

where it was a practice center for us at 7 a.m. Things of that nature. And then when I got transferred to Kessler, even if he's sure I had everything, he's had the satellite dish installed on top of my room. My flat screen TV and that even built me a fat ass. Whatever I needed, I had. And it was because of Coach Yan,

Tim Brennan, he was an athlete, the right there, and everybody I've rocked because it was incredible. What a great lesson on leaders, man. You're like this treasure chest of info. Like both you and the people you've observed, but like I love what you said, like great leaders aren't concerned about being

for everybody. And when you're trying to please everybody, you end up leading nobody. And then he was there for you when it mattered though. Like to me, the picture of the coach, still running that program, coming and relieving your mom at 11 o'clock at night and staying there with you, the work cameras there, and nobody knew

that was taking place. And so what an incredible lesson from him. I wanna ask you first, and then we're gonna go backwards because you've told me your life before this prepared you. But if there was one thing during that time that you learned or that you took a lesson away from, either about yourself or life, what would you say that it was? Actually, it was patience. Everyone still didn't think gratification would be.

I always want everything now. I want to, you know, find something. I can always work for a goal. I want to start it now. What I do now, I want to do this, what I do that now. I've learned with this injury, you have to have patience. Sometimes, everything's not going to go the way that you wanted. And sometimes there are things that you can,

that are out of your control. And when it's sometimes, when it's out of your control, it can build you up and frustrate you so much because I told you the way I was was. If something was putting in front of me, I handled it. You're going to wait for your handle, you're going to practice field, you do the little things to get better. With this injury sometimes it's just not like that, you can't just go to ride a bike, you know, it's like, you can't walk on a truck all the time and just get better. So I've learned to be able to be patient when things don't go your way.

And I can so frustrated be able to be in that moment, but okay, it's not going to work today. But don't get, you know, don't get this, you know, just, just start from the goal and hand. You gotta stay focused on that task and hand. And I'll handle it. Come back the next day. What a great lesson. I want to ask you something about that though, because I think sometimes when people hear

patients, because they, the right people know that means staying the grind until you win. The wrong people think, oh, I'm being patient. I don't have to be after it, right? Right? You know what I'm saying? Like, it's almost an excuse not to grind. So you were simultaneously patient, but you went right after your PT, right? Right after therapy to get better.

And tell them a little bit, because one of the things I comment on to you was, you're mobile. You know, for, you broke C, three and four, correct? So very severe injury, but you've got a lot of mobility now in your shoulders and in your neck, and you move very well, better than I even assumed. You attributed that to the immediate grind you went into on rehab, correct? And they had you up move and talk about that a little bit.

Yeah, and when I first got hurt, I was pretty much stiff to a boarded doctor pretty much that I was almost going to be a vegetable you know. So it's that to say in that terms but that's what they're pretty much saying. I was really able to turn my head to the left and to the right and I was on a ventilator couldn't breathe on my own. I had a feeding tube in my stomach but then you saw the foods and you know my tummy never walked again Like I was flipping and turned upside down, but really I went to, how do I, all right. This is going on now.

How do I get this feeling to about me? How do I breathe on my own? How do I, you know, just start doing the other things that I need to do? How do I walk again? And when they're like, all right, we're gonna go do this, this and now am I all right? Let's get started with it and that's what,

it's just that grind that I've learned I guess I've been pitching because that everything's gonna happen, you know right away. Did you want to quit? I never wanted to quit It's been a lot of that work and I've had little victories as I've been able to come off to ventilator five weeks after my injury Five weeks after wow. I was able to eat a full Thanksgiving meal with my family that that thing is given after a month and a half of being injured and telling me I'll be on a feeding team for the rest of my life. And I remember it was a super bowl party of 2011. I had it up at Kessland and we had a bunch of family friends over at that time. I wasn't able to move my shoulders yet but at that part

I went like a little bit like that and they were like, Eric, did you just move your shoulder? I think so. Now you see I'm them over and that's all just from going to physical therapy controlling what I can't control and I always say because I always had to athlete my sits so I go in there it's like a tackle in a workout and sometimes I do feel bad for the 55 year old woman who never worked out in her life who has a spinal cord injury and now has to go to gym five days a weekend she's never experienced that. I said, I had an advantage. I'm a doughnut in my whole life. I've been grinding my whole life.

I know those dog days, what it's like, and days that you don't want to get up and do it. But you've got to push yourself to do it. So I kind of went into that mindset of, all right, now it's not working to get on a field and get to that and fell to now. We're going to get back on my feet and get my life. But this is unreal.

Like, you're so mentally tough, but the way you... I mentioned that so I said, my mental toughness. Honestly, I feel like I can handle anything. We were just like a humble brag, but mentally, I feel like whatever life throws at me, I'm ready to handle. You've kind of proven that, brother. So where's that come from? Is there some stuff early in your life that prepped you

for something like this, do you think? I would say, yeah, as a kid, I always tell my story, how I've learned from different core values. Commitment was the first one I remember being 10 years old, playing in a park with my friends. And I remember I was the best one on a football team. We had practice. One day my mom comes from work, comes to the park. Come on, we gotta go to practice, mom, mom. I remember yelling to, mom, I ain't gonna practice today.

Staying here with my friends at the park. You got my mom? Yes. Come to the park, grab me, blah, blah. Drag me out, throw me in the back seat, and I'm the way home a whole time. blah, blah, you can't even, who do you think you are?

Commit to something, then you see it, I don't care. How good you are, blah, blah, blah. And from 10 years old, now I'm 28. I still remember that. So now when I got to high school, I got offered this costabuse of freshmen from Rutgers to play. And what? Yeah, I got offered after playing three games

as a freshman, they were looking at somebody else's film in my town. And hey, saw me, they were like, who's that? I know, yeah, he's a freshman. And he came right over and they wrote on this paper to my coach that this date on, when is the junior year we offered this scholarship. It's amazing. So I remember that it's all for a year.

The seniors always have to pick someone to go turn on the water before and after practice have to climb down into a sewer. I'll say this sewer was dust. Yes, they picked. You know, I made me the best one on the team. Who's in the sewer, turning on the water before practice? And after practice is over dead tide, I'm climbing that sewer, and turning,

and turning away for everyone to get their drink and turn on some of their ability. And I'm very early age. And then once I got to Rutgers, one of the biggest things was I got my position to change so much my freshman year. I came in and there was a crew that has a linebacker. First day, turning the cab camp I get moved to nose guard

Two weeks into the season our second string defensive van goes down. I got moved to defensive van Our fullbacks weren't performing away. They wanted to midway to the season I got moved to fullback. Whoa from there and I played two weeks after fullback Move back to defensive and then at the end of the year out there and then back to nose guard It was just a world one. I questioned do I love the game of football? What am I doing with my life and this puts with my journey is supposed to be about it. Once I've kind of figured that out, like you know, everything is going to fall into the right place. These are the things I learned from my injury that kind of set me up to when I was going to this and when I learned when I was playing there at Rutgers, I can handle it. Yeah. Mentally, I can handle it.

Yeah, you personify commitment and humility both because you're confident, but you have a humble way about you. Speaking of mom, because I don't think people achieve what you've achieved without having people helped them in life, right? And obviously Coach Shiana was there, but your mother's a remarkable woman. Both personally, when you meet her, she's got this infectious spirit. I've told her, you're a great motivational speaker.

I'm pretty sure your mom is better than both you and I, but her dedication to you has been, it's actually a beautiful story. And we would make a mistake in this interview if we didn't point out to everybody is trying to make their dream happen or come back from the setback that it's okay to get help. It's okay to have people around you I'm sure you know you talked about the great people at Rutgers and coach, but what about mom?

How important is mom been for you from the beginning raising my sister and I was 11.5 years older than me as a single parent You know my dad was around my dad didn't tell next to me Even all my games things that brought me lunch, you know, I never need anything, but my mom raised me. My mom turned me into who I am and just taught me respect to all people, just like I said, commitment, being humble, like, if you're good, okay, let them talk about you.

You don't talk about yourself. And I truly believe that. If you're that good, you don't got to brag about yourself. I truly believe that few of that good son. You don't got to brag about yourself Other people do that for you And just always on top of me making sure I'm out of trouble Make sure I'm doing my homework just going through the guys constant make sure I'm doing this again The Rock is my SATs getting the tutor when she didn't have the money to get us a tutor Wanted to be my assistant experience vacation? So she was skip paying bills

so my assistant I can experience a vacation. When I was younger, stuff like that makes me realize, like I remember coming home when I was eight, seven, eight years old and a light spin off, but not realizing why they were off until I got older. I remember when that hot water wasn't working and taking showers with the, when you had the boiler water and stuff like that

I remember those days down as I get older her sacrifice Which you could me getting every new system there was Xbox dreamcast PlayStation her non-pain some of those so she I can have a Christmas You know as a kid you don't realize it because you just see it there as you get older you realize that commitment then just The commitment that she has to me now to make sure I have the best care I'm doing well. And I'm trying to support us and my goal in life is to get better and bring it back on my feet. So she can live a life that she that she wants to and not have to support her son all the time.

I love that. That means support her. Yeah, one of the ways that you're doing that is through your speaking. And I got I got gotta tell you, there's, I'm a speaker, it's one of the things I do. And I feel like the most effective people, it's their being that moves you, not just their words. And if you have a company or you have an organization

and you want people's perspective to instantly change and you want to see someone who's come back from really difficult times. I picture this man huge man full speed running down the field when that ball was kicked little did you think several seconds from now? Your life was about to change and I picture this man laying there and Coach saying you better pray and you actually then praying to actually be taken and then to be sitting with you now this many years later speaks to your strength and obviously your commitment and your humility as

well but your incredible work ethic, your incredible patience, this whole story of you all of it fits other areas and having strong people, your mother is a strong woman but she has this huge spirit to about her. So if you want someone to speak by the way, before we move off of this, you can go to ericsonletsengage.com. We'll put that on the screen right now and also to your Instagram, right?

Is that where you'd want them to go? You're going to my Instagram, Ericklegram52, I also have my own website, Ericklegram52.com, man. I feel like I was put here to do bigger things than I gave my football in. Well, that's through speaking, showing them my stories and sharing my stories with people to help them overcome adversity.

And they see me. I was, I'm just looking, really careful in the suburbs, small town, I have an own new Jersey, but was guided in the right direction to help other people. And I can, if I could show them that through my speaking and my stories this is what I'm here for just if I have to be in NFL if you fall down the field you probably wouldn't know me but now I feel like I have a bigger cause I could be intellectually known just to help people get through their lives and adversity and things like I say look at what he's been through and look what he's what he's doing why can I do that yeah why can I do it I want to

do it if all odds are against this guy. He finds a way to do it. As you know, as I travel with my friends, I go out in Miami. I go out in Vegas. I do everything. You know, somebody from the age of 20 to 30 would do. You know?

Oh, yeah, you do. Yeah. Your mom's telling me that. So people are like, wow, he's living his life. Yeah. He's not doing that. In the circumstances that he's in. Wow.

Why can't I get in? Why can't I start that business? Why can't I leave that nine to five job and try to do something that I wanted to? Why can't I get my family life back together? You know, look at what I'm going through and handle it. He's in every day and you realize, I think that bad.

I've met some people now along the way that I have inspired me because they didn't have that sense of importance when I have. They don't have the opportunity to come here with you and share that story. And I don't ever take any of this for granted because I know that. I have a friend Ingrid who broke her neck in the car accident who's unfortunately she has a daughter. I don't know if she has a daughter, but unfortunately she's still living in the projects of Jersey City.

And with seven people in one bedroom house, the elevator breaks for three months of the year. She says all the time. Can't even get out of the City. It was seven people in one bedroom house. The elevator breaks for three months of the year, she says all the time. Can't even get out of the house. Meanwhile, I'm at home. I got a brand new house that was built for me. I got a pent out black mini van. How bad do I really have? I got a great mom, a great family that brings me here, does this with me. Meanwhile, she can't even get out of her own house for some fresh air. I had a friend, Jameen, who died from cancer, his other cancer was two minutes lower spinal cord, and if the spread to his brain unfortunately,

he passed away, but he didn't have the support to have, was going to sing closed four days in a row. My grandma was cooking her home cooked meals and stuff. I met his mom once in his dad twice, maybe, during his stay. I had Kessel, we were there for five months together. And like, as he passed away two weeks right after I got out of Kessel,

and it made me realize, like, wow, you know, this is, this life, we gotta be appreciative for what we do have and don't focus on the things that we don't have and if there's something that you really want, you know, work your butt off together. I mean, the other way is around it.

And it led me to wanting to help other people because so many people always reach out to me to like, Eric, how can we help you? And that's what led me to starting a foundation. Oh, okay. You're blowing my mind right now. So what you just did was, because everybody should be hearing this, this man has turned his life around from a very difficult time. But the fact that you still feel so blessed and that you load yourself up with gratitude. It's all perspective in life. It's not the events of our life. It's the meaning we take away from them.

And it's not, it's easy for me to say, but you're doing it. You did it, right? And so before we move off of that, like I just want to acknowledge the power of what you just said because it's very easy to say when you read it in a book and all this is, hey, load yourself with gratitude. Feel blessed. It's completely different that when you're heading

to the NFL, you end up with the spinal cord injury. There's some things in your life that will never be the same again. And yet, you're able to find more than people who can walk around every single day, things to be grateful for, things to be blessed for. And I just think you're remarkable for doing it, but I actually, I believe you're right about it too. Like I agree with you. Talk about the foundation real quick

because you've got some events coming up too and stuff. And you know, if you want, I feel like, before I ask you that, let me ask you a question. Just occurred to me. In some way, this different sure making in the world for the people like you've just described, but also for the people listening this that are able-bodied and they're just going through a rut or can't turn things around or feel like there's too much adversity or they're stuck. In some way do you think that's why this happened? Yeah, I truly believe in life for myself that everything does happen for a reason. And I was put here to do other things in the

play-in-game, football, like I said, be that that meant or that coach that. That's for reason. Whatever it is, I have the way that someone wants to put it on whatever title they want to put on it for other for another person to see okay he's in and I feel like if in life if I can get out there and be out there and touch other people and see that if people started looking at things that way with a sense of being grateful being and have that gratitude for the moments in their life it's just a lot better place. And it's just, you know, looking on the things

that we complain about. It's like natural for us humans to look at the bad and start complaining, oh, I gotta do this. I gotta go to here. This happened to me here. What am I gonna do? But oh, oh, oh. If we could look at it and realize,

actually, fortunately, we are to have these things or being able to meet this person, or go here, be a lot better place. And that's not kind of just, look at life and I smile at these people. or being able to meet this person or go here. We had a lot better place. And that's not kind of just, like a life when I smile at these people, like, if I didn't get you mad, that person said that, or you did that and that.

That didn't get you mad, like that's how you frustrated, you know what I'm saying? Whatever, if he's going through that, and said this or that, and she said that, and they're a lot worse off than I am. So, that's the kind of how I look at it. And if I can help somebody or pleasing me

and what I'm saying, I think that's what it's about. I think I'll put this in a better place. Yeah, you're doing it right now. You're helping millions of people change the way they think given a different perspective, the lessons of turning things around, the lessons of overcoming adversity, the lessons of mental toughness, the lessons of gratitude, millions of people right now

are hearing this. And I'm grateful. You've inspired me. Like when, so everybody knows, he had emailed me because we had known each other. And I immediately, when I got it, I called you, said, I know who you are. You've inspired me.

You're coming to do my show end of story. We don't even need to talk. We talk for like a minute, I'm like, it's done. You're coming, we're gonna do this. Like, I knew of me because you've inspired me. And I'm talking all the way back to when the injury injury happened. And but what happens is usually these things are news and then the world sort of moves on. And so I haven't moved on from you. I don't move on from inspiring people. There's power that when you first have, but I think there's

even more power nearly a decade later to see the things that you're doing. Just talk really quickly so they know about the foundation. How do they get? How do they find out about your foundation? So I partnered up with the Chris Friend and a Rio Foundation then. Yeah. It's all about today's care tomorrow's care. We're going to find a cure for paralysis. One day we're raising funds for that. And I was able to form Team Lagran then. We've been able to raise over a million dollars. We started in the fall of 2013. Now when we birthed it and now when we're here we are and we crossed over that market in 2017 only in 2018 and a million dollars.

Now we got to get to 2 million dollars because I feel like when Christopher re-fast away from the infection, the thing is, the spinal cord injuries went in the shadow. When I got hurt I felt like I was past that torch. It's your time now and he's cold as I have a world of empty wheelchairs. I'm trying to use my platform as much as possible to raise that awareness for people for that. And we're doing a great job within, with technology now, 2019, I truly believe in my lifetime, you know, if I'm blessed to live many years, we will find a cure for the paralysis and,

and it's so so about raising money. And that's why I have, my, this year will be our ninth year of doing my 5K walk and run, and that we each year we raise over a hundred thousand dollars for an event. Yeah. It's amazing. It's a big party.

I reckon it's for both Stady and we had come out everyone. I have a bar with you, a DJ. Some of the injured sponsors are amazing for that, but just over a thousand people come out and they walk, they run it. They bring their friends, they bring their family, bring their dogs, everybody is welcome. And it's just a 5K walker running. After we have a big barbecue party afterwards, we raise over $1,000. And you raise totally over a million dollars.

You know, everybody too, the reason it's so important to raise money is there's this revolution happening in stem cells. And the more and more you read and understand what the future can be in stem cells, you do know. Like this isn't just something people are saying that there could be a cure for paralysis. There really can be, and we're getting closer and closer, but there needs to be more

monies. Probably the pathway to that is the stem cell path. At least some people believe that. Do you believe that too? I'm cell epitomellation with the re-foundation of the work and what ever, the message whenever it is. I'm trying to support that. And it's because you see these stories and you see these situations. But if we can look at this one day like a common cold and get or a tornadoes yell and every time you get people back to living their life that's what it's about. I think about that I envision that. I go into Elfung you go in there and the doctor doesn't have to come in and tell the family your son is paralyzed I'll never walk in, never do it. All right your son got paralyzed but hey we can do this treatment

and do you know a heavy heavy rehab and it's sensitive. He get back to the life that he wants was living. That's how I envision it and that's how I want other people to envision. You just kind of raise the winners and unfortunately this happens but it takes the funds to have those clinical trials and things and it's just the way it is. So that's why I'm trying to do my part. I'm in and we're in raise that money to help other people. I love you, and I love that you're doing that, and I love your vision.

Now, that conversation you just mentioned where the doctor comes in and says, Hey, your son's not going to walk again. I'm curious. I want to ask you, because I know you're real about this stuff. Over the last eight, nine years, it's been, we're in the ninth year now, post your injury. There's been dark times for real too, right? But what are some of those times? What are the difficult times like for you now? If you're being transparent,

you know, what does that look like for you now? Because everybody has down days, down moments. What's it look like for you? Well, sometimes I send up in my room and say, I want to go out to lunch. I got a call. Hey, can you bring me here? I'm going to. So I wouldn't go out and date with a girl. Got a call. Say, can you bring me here? You're gonna say, I wouldn't go out and date with a girl, got a call, say, you think you can get off, so we can, you bring your girlfriend, we can meet up with this one, I wanna talk to her.

Also hard times, because I can't just get in my car and go and do for myself. Having to rely on people all the time, it's, it's for believing, I'm very blessed, I'm very fortunate to have those people. But it's rough because sometimes you just wanna do what you wanna do, what you want to do it. And I just can't do that.

It gets frustrating at times and you sit down and you're like, wow, why can't I do this? Or why can't I do that? But I try not to stay in those moments. How do you get out of them? I think I understand, I think of the people that don't have them. I think about the people I've been along the way that,

I know that go to rehab and then just go home and they sit in their room and that's it. So you feed yourself gratitude. Yeah, absolutely. All the time. All the time. I'm sitting there like, wow, eat or get down with this focus on something else. It's not doing this. Start betting on something or starting looking at this. Or even if you want to watch something on TV, take your mind away from those moments, you know, read a book. You know, stuff like that, you just take your mind away from it, and realize how much you're fortune you are. That was a lot of fun, actually, pretty fast. That's huge, because what happens is when we get these moments, we just start repeating the thought over and over and over again. So anything you can do to remove the thought.

If it is a book, if it's, you know, get outside somehow, if it's, even if it is diversion of music or TV, something to get you out of that repetitive thought, you, and you're all the sense you do it, you get a worry, you get a problem, you just repeat it over and over and over and over again. That's what happens. That's what humans do. It repeats the abolish, you know, it's something that abolish you that wasn't, you try to take that first to change it, you know, you can't live until you got to change it.

And then another thing I actually got me just past year, hadn't told many people about it, but I wasn't healthy not knowing. I was coughing a lot. Now I realize why I'm almost causing this cough, I'm thinking, is it my heater, I'm saying, by the way, the water I'm drinking is it. There was it, the style is fine.

I didn't know what it was, but I was coughing, coughing and coughing. I'm going to find out just last year, I went to the hospital finally to get some tests. I couldn't find out if I was severe sleep at Nia. And I wasn't, this was because I was not getting enough oxygen to my lungs at night, which was all my lungs are already impaired from the injury, so they're not fully insmanentas so they were getting even smaller and smaller and it was trapping the fluid that you get

and you know when you cough. It was getting stuck in there and causing pneumonia I had pneumonia twice last year. Coming to find out it was just all because of sleep atnya. I didn't know what was causing this but I finally did a sleep test and it doubted it was like you stopped breathing for a half hour total last night and you only slept for four hours. I was like what? Well, so now I got this mask and

I'm a new man. Are you really? I'll get this oxygen down to my lungs. I'm waking up. I was falling asleep on a day three, four times a day. Not in on that. I'm not realizing because I was waking up so many times that night. Wow. That was time to next day. Now I felt like I go all that. I feel like a new man with this, I had a mask kind of sucks up first, but wearing it, I was trying to get used to it for a week and I've had it in. You spoke early about technology,

so these massive help, you also, these students at Rutgers, which we're gonna show some of this B-roll too, but see, everybody needs to get this, like the reason that there's collaboration in the world, I don't care what you're doing is, when you get people who want to support each other, that love each other in the world, miraculous don't care what you're doing is when you get people who want to support each other that love each other in the world.

Miraculous things happen when humans come together. That's what I want people to understand. Listen to this again. Miraculous things happen when human beings come together to do good for each other. Isn't it true? And so tell them a little bit about what these these rucker students did with you. This is awesome. Right? The way I use my phone, I have a bracket that hooks to the arm of my chair and I have got a curl of my phone too and I put a stylus pen in my mouth and I can do everything that's all I text, that's how I call my email, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, I snap to whatever I do at all with it by my face but I use the hose after a hole to stylus pen in my mouth.

Just sit there when I might use a watch or TV holding it all the time. After a while getting, you know, and I just drop it and I want to use it again. I got to cause somebody to get it. These Rutgers students came up with this little 3D model where I can connect it to my bracket and I put a little, there was a little hole in it. And now I just drop my little stylus pen in there. I can keep my mouth from getting dry all the time and being thirsty. Isn't that?

Life is little things life changer. Yes, life changer. They also did a drone too. By the way, we're feeding this in. If you're watching YouTube, you're seeing this right now. But also, they build a drone that you use as well. As a drone, you can use your phone to use it. As it happens, you can fly your own drone.

And I actually just started my own YouTube channel. So I can't wait to start doing videos flying. I own drone around and they were hitting. Tell us some cool stuff about that. Using it for my events like my walk, I have a flat. Well, tell me. Using it for that gets some great shots from that. So incredible things like you say, when people come together to do good.

And that's eventually going to lead to a cure. The same principles when brilliant people get together, good people and a good cause. You can't believe these things. So just so you know, like I just found this out today, he and I text often. And I never thought about how quickly you're getting back to me. But now I know these people have created this device where you're doing this with your mouth.

I'm like, I'm like, I would, like it's another thing in life that just removed this burden from you and other people. And I wanted everyone to understand, like if people can get together and do this for him, what could you be doing collaborating where you live? Ask for help, get together with people, well, get common cause, common good, you'll be amazed at the power of,

we call them master minds for a reason. When you get more than one mind together working towards something becomes a master mind, it becomes a third mind, and you're a testimony of that. So there's so many things I wanna cover with you, and everyone's obviously been taking notes and they're inspired right now.

But kind of wanna tell a funny story you. And everyone's obviously been taking notes and they're inspired right now. But kind of when I tell a funny story too, I've been just maybe thinking about it when people come together. So when people first come up to me, even I've been out of my mic. Yeah. Because up to me you go to shake somebody's hand. Yes.

Yes. So I'm out there having this, it'll be all the time. Of course I cannot move my hand right down. Right. People come and they put their hand out and they leave it down. I'm like, no, I'm going to go ahead and shake it. And sometimes they don't understand what I mean. I'm like, huh?

I'm like, God, I haven't shaken. You can grab guys, you can shake my hand. And I'm like, what? I'm like, I can't shake your hand right. Oh, I'm so sorry, but I might know. It's fine. Then you get people. I have to have had a few.

There's come up to you, they're like, shake your hand. I'm like, God, shake it, blah, blah, your hand, I'm like, I had to shake it, I'm like, I can't shake it, why won't you shake my hand bro, why am I? I literally can't shake it. No, I know you will shake my hand. Hello, right. It's so funny, it's a lot, I love that those moments.

My friends lived for it, because then I tend to then they just grabbed their hand out, and they put on their hand, and then they understand, oh my god, I'm like, don't feel bad, it's all good. This is another key with you though, and your mom, humor's helped you through all this too. You gotta laugh at this stuff, but you know that happens,

they put to you, they're around you. It gets you to life and just laughing is good, laughing is good, laughing is good. And I laugh until I ask camera nurses all the time, I jump out and take noises and then cracks me up, you know. So. You just have this spirit. Everyone's watching this egg you see it on your face. Like the Lord doesn't give us things in our life that it doesn't think

we're capable of handling. And it's the people that I've met that have had, you know, difficult issues, whether that be Israel or Nick who's been on my show or Cody who had his legs amputated and was a young man in your situation here with the paralysis. It's amazing to me when I've met these people. It's almost obvious when you meet them that they were already capable of handling this. They just didn't know it. And that's another lesson for people listening to this. You're capable of handling things.

You're so much more resilient and tough and strong and determined and resourceful than you think you are. When adversity strikes, trust me. You're stronger than you think. And people like Eric prove that every single day. Let me ask you a couple things as we finish, because I'd make a huge mistake about giving people the gift of this.

And I guess this often, but you're special on this regard. Someone's watching this, they're going through a really difficult time. They're going through the worst time in their life. At any given time, if there's 10 million people listening to this, there's a million people listening to this right now, like, look, I'm going through a real bad one, right? Really bad one. What would you say to them? What would your advice be to them? My biggest thing, I always started something that I'm going through a rough time. I'm dealing with some adversity.

First off, don't run away from adversity. Paying the life based on, you run away from it, it's going to haunt you, and you you're gonna deal with it a lot longer. Look for the solution, handle that adversity, whether it's your diagnosed with cancer, do the treatments that you need to get on and aggressively, do your research, don't. You're gonna have to have that silky moment, okay, you can soak for a little bit,

but Jane got ahead of those moments, and I try to tell people, I know you may have it bad right now, you may be going through this, but there's always somebody out there that has it worse than you. And if you could remember that you really gotta all right I gotta pick my I gotta pick it up I gotta pick up I may have it this bad I may be just lost my job I might just lost my family I may just got paralyzed I may got this somebody always gotta worsen somebody's homeless

someone's bedvredgin someone can't do And if you start looking at life like that, then you start doing the things that you can do, and you become a lot more appreciative of what you do have. And you don't focus on what you don't have. Oh boy, I'm not adding anything to that. It's too good. I'm really grateful for you. I really am.

Like, you know you inspire me. And this is the beginning of something bigger between you and I. I'm also, you know you inspire me. And this is the beginning of something bigger between you and I. I'm also, by the way, let's scratch that. This is something bigger. I'm not going to go where I was. This is going to be the beginning of something big between you and I. Let me ask you last, you know, when you're going through a difficult time like this and you are laying there on the field that day asking to be taken. At what point and how important has been a vision of your future been for you? In other words, like right now this vision you've got, have you always through this, you know, the darkness and the difficulty and

the problems that's always in our faces, right? How important has, like, a vision of a better future for you, been for you? As you go through those dark times, you sit there and you close your eyes and you vision of walking again, you vision of going here and sharing your story, you vision of helping this person, one other person then, won't you start visioning it? You try to live it. You do the things that you need to do to live it. I was able to start a foundation. I was able to start a motivation speaking career. I was able to do sports broadcasting. And the last thing I was able to start a foundation. I was able to start a motivation speaking career. I was able to do sports broadcasting.

And the last thing I was really happy about I started being at a show with Fox Sports to digital platform commission possible. Well, I was approached by a group where they said that they weren't having me as host of a show where I go to people's lives that are doing with some type of adversity. And we bring them around people that give them

a cool moment, but also shed light on their story. And the Fox Sports gave us the opportunity to do six shows. And we were able to go on the other people's lives. And you always see somebody, you know, like on ESPN, it's up to sharing stories to the host. You'll never see somebody actually going to do it. And when we were able, I was learning so much from those six people I was able to do.

Working with the We Did The Boston Maritime Survivor and WNPT, where she finished her first WMPT to a Boston Maritime. We busted around the New England Patriots and they saw the Joey practice. They got the meantime Brady. They're melting everybody. Good disguise every Thomas.

It was Boris Spina Bifida. Yeah, he's a rapper and Miami Heat Wilted basketball player. We were going down to Miami, taking my honor boat around Miami. Then everybody went on to the ballers premiere. He met the rock. And everybody, he's hood, it was really cool.

Stuff like that. He was in my connections, my platform. I was able to do it now. What if it was season two? I was gonna lie down here right now, we're just looking for a sponsor. Get that sponsor to do season two. I'm not gonna lie to you right now, we're just looking for a sponsor. Get that sponsor to do season two. I changed a lot of people's lives.

There needs to be a sponsor for season two. I can't wait to show you that. Yeah, I can't wait. I wanna see that. Please show me that. Yeah, it's actually on FoxPort's.com slash Mission Poster. You're gonna show me what I'm gonna show you. I wanna show you.

I wanna tell you something about you. And by the way, first thank you. There's millions of people that are grateful for you today. But I wanna tell you something about you. And by the way, first, thank you. There's millions of people that are grateful for you today. But I want to tell you something about you. You inspire me, legitimately you inspire me. Like, I'm so grateful we did this. And the man you are, I want to be more like. And you're making a huge difference in the world.

And from laying there on that field that day to today, in that nine-year window, the difference you've made in the world, the millions of people you've inspired is impressive, but I'm telling you, the next 10 years is gonna be a completely different level for you. And I really feel like all these visions you have are gonna become a reality.

And I wanna be here to help you with them. I know the max out universe is behind you too. They're gonna be following you on Instagram, they're gonna be subscribing to your website. Hopefully many of you, if you can, will get involved with this foundation and just follow his progress because I have a feeling someday you're gonna hear

and see all of the things he's talking about during his lifetime come to fruition. I actually do appreciate that because that's what's about and I follow when you say max out. It's all about max and I'm reaching your full potential. Going beyond that somewhere that you couldn't think that you've got, but just having that confidence in doing.. That's what all starts you get the confidence and do it. Who can hold you back from working? That's possible. This is a simple message to you. I

have our own center that night and I'm going to my car. How do I want to reach out to that? You know what? I just DM on my side. You can't just now look. Boom. Here we are. Later. We're here doing this. I'm so glad you did. I'm so glad you did. You can take that step. I don't believe it's some amazing stuff going on. I think it's interesting that you use the analogy

of take that step because you literally have done that. And it's people would think that you don't anymore. But the fact of the matter is you've taken huge steps in your life since that moment. And so this is a man who in his life right now can't yet walk again, yet he takes these huge steps towards these massive goals and dreams. And I'm so proud of you.

And I'm grateful that everybody's been introduced to you today. So thank you so much for today. Feel like it flew by, but I'm grateful for it. Thank you Eric. Thank you so much. And look out for I'm trying to work on my second book right now because I want to talk about the mental toughness of life. And I think if people could really get that mental toughness,

it's gonna be a great life for themselves. Well, they're gonna get it from you. And so please follow Eric on Instagram everybody. And lastly, I know you're following me. If you watch this, if you're not, follow me on Instagram, turn your notifications on. Just remember this every day. I bring you the most inspiring people in the world

who are maxing out. This man right here has maxed out that moment of October 16th, 2010 to this moment. You've heard how he's maxed out his life. And I know that you're so engaged in the program and you enjoy it. Please make sure if you're listening to the YouTube that you go onto the audio platforms

like iTunes and subscribe. If you're listening to this on audio, go to the YouTube channel and subscribe as well. And every day on Instagram, I run the max out two minute drill, which basically means this is really simple. I want to engage with you further. I want to introduce you to people. Would you do a coaching call with one of my guests?

Oh, man, that'll be awesome. Okay, awesome. So you get a chance to get coached by Eric, my other guest, myself. Here's how it works every day on Instagram. Max out two minute drill. When I make a post to my main feed, and I post between 730 Pacific time,

AM and 8 AM, which is also 1030 to 11 Eastern time. Right? And that window, I post the same time every day. When I make a post within the first two minutes, we'll give you leeway up to five minutes. Make a comment. We pick a winner every single day. If you miss the first two minutes, just make a comment on every post because I also pick winners who comment any time on any post any day as long as it's every day. And lastly, I'm picking winners who comment on people's comments. And you can max out gear, coaching calls with guests, coaching calls with me, my book, tickets to see me speak, all kinds of cool stuff. So engage with me, turn your notifications

on on Instagram. And again, share today's program. I know you know people who need to hear this man's story. He's going to inspire the world and you can help us do that. So please share the program. God bless you and max out. you