THE ED MYLETT SHOW - Resilience of a 3-Time Paralympic Medalist w/ Amy Purdy

Episode Date: March 23, 2021

Your story can change lives! Amy Purdy is by far, one of the most inspirational people on the planet. She’s a 3x Paralympic Medalist, currently the most Medaled Paralympic snowboarders in the US, author, model, actress, soul-inspiring global motivational speaker, entrepreneur, Dancing With The Stars runner-up and so much more. Not to mention she has accomplished these amazing feats after having both legs amputated below the knee and undergoing a kidney transplant. How does someone who’s endured so much go on to achieve greatness? In this interview, you’ll get an inside look at Amy’s enduring spirit and her incredible journey as she shares how she overcame her most difficult struggles of the past to move on to embrace her future possibilities. You’ll find the REAL WORLD solution to how to find fulfillment beyond all odds, and how to find the courage to let go of the past and step faithfully into the next best version of yourself. We share the secret behind turning your dreams into a reality and how to turn the things you really WANT into the things you actually HAVE! No matter what you’ve gone through, Amy is proof that your story CAN make an impact on the entire world. It’s time to own it!   👉 SUBSCRIBE TO ED'S YOUTUBE CHANNEL NOW 👈  → → → CONNECT WITH ED MYLETT ON SOCIAL MEDIA: ← ← ← ▶︎ INSTAGRAM ▶︎ FACEBOOK  ▶︎ LINKEDIN ▶︎ TWITTER ▶︎ WEBSITE

This is the Ed Milach show. All right, welcome back to the show, everybody. I have a remarkable soul to share with all of you today. And I've been following this woman's journey for a long time. We were just talking about so many mutual friends. And there's so many things you could say when you introduced her. I mean, she's really the all time,

I think most decorated, adaptive snowboarder of all time. She's an unbelievable speaker. Oprah Winfrey calls her basically the most inspirational person on the planet. She's toured with Oprah Winfrey. She's the best-selling book on my own two feet. She's got an unbelievable podcast. And oh, by the way, when she was 19 years old, she lost both of her legs from below her knees. And so there's a lot of the time. Oh, I'll shoot a one dancing with the stars with my boy, Derek Cuff. That was a robbery,

but she was runner up there. So Amy, pretty welcome to the show today. Thanks for being here. Thank you so much, Ed. You're fantastic. I'm so excited to be here. That just got me so excited. Just, you know, you having a personal, I don't know, connection to my story

and it means a lot to me, so. Well, how can someone not an unbelievable story? I interviewed a young man that actually, his wife, his young man's wife, his mother went to high school with me and he had lost his legs at about three years old, his name's Cody McCastlin. Okay. And do you know who Cody is by any chance? I know who Cody is.

I've never met him, but I know who he is. Okay. And I thought, what a difficult thing at that age, but 19. Yeah. I mean, that's a life change. So it's tell us the story a little bit because for my audience, they'll know, some of them will know, but a lot of them won't. It had some do with some form of meningitis at 19, correct?

So take us through that. Yeah. I mean, so first of all, I was very healthy. I grew up working out health and nutrition was always something that was just very important to me. And so when I got sick, it definitely blindsided me. And I was a massage therapist. My whole plan was to travel the world. I wanted a snowboard. I had this job that would travel with me. I went to massage school. I ended up going back to Vegas where I grew up to work. I was the youngest massage therapist at this huge world class spa. I just, I loved my life and I was just stepping into the world. And then suddenly it took a detour

when I felt sick one day. So I thought I just had the flu. And when I was at work, my neck was a little bit achy, my back was achy. I actually had just massaged this guy who I felt was just draining my energy because you know sometimes people can just suck the life out of you. So I really didn't think I was sick at first. I just thought, God, this guy's energy, this guy is just draining me. What is going on, but really over the next hour. So I realized that my back was aching, my neck was aching. I just wasn't feeling that great. And so that night I had a temperature of 101. That's typical flu-like symptoms. Next morning, my temperature broke. So seeing that I felt better, my family went out of town and I told them I'll just meet up with you guys a little bit later.

But that afternoon, instead of feeling better, I started to feel worse. And you know, at one point, my mom called me to see how I was doing. And I said, God, I feel like I'm dying. But I have to say that every time you know at one point my mom called me to see how I was doing and I said, God, I feel like I'm dying. But I have to say that every time you have the flu, don't you feel like you're dying? I mean, I know I do. So, you know, there's really nothing that's that's telling you, you are dying and tell all the sudden it hits. And so I was laying in bed and I fell asleep and I tried to wake myself up and I couldn't. And over and over I would force myself awake and then suddenly I fell into the deepest sleep I've ever felt.

And then I heard this voice say, Amy, get up and look in the mirror. And this voice was so startling that I opened my eyes. I looked around, I didn't see anybody there. And as I was sitting up, I realized something was really wrong. My heart was beating out of my chest. I was so shaky, I was so weak. It probably took a good five minutes to get into a seated position. And then I put my feet on the floor and I stood up and I realized that I couldn't feel my feet. And when I glanced at the floor, I saw that my feet were purple. When I glanced at my hands, I saw my hands

were purple. I looked at my reflection in the mirror. I saw my nose, my chin, and my cheeks were purple as well. And so that is when it hit me that I was dying. And I knew it. And so I got rushed to the hospital. I was given less than a 2% chance of living. I was immediately put on life support. They didn't know what I had at first. And it took about five days to find out that what I had was something called meningococcal meningitis, which is a bacteria that we had never heard of before. Right? Somebody could have sneezed on me in the elevator at work. And maybe that's how I got it. But due to this little microscopic bacteria

over the course of two and a half months, I ended up losing my spleen, I lost my kidney function, I lost the hearing in my left ear and due to the subject shock, my body went into, I lost both my legs below the knees. So, you know, my life changed forever, right? I mean, everything I thought I knew changed, went out the window, the rug got pulled out from under me,

everything I thought I was went out the window and I had to really reinvent myself. I had to reimagine the possibilities and reinvent who I was and what my life could look like. And that actually started the journey of a lifetime, really a journey that I'm incredibly proud of. So. Oh, wow. Okay. First thing is I'm listening to you and I've seen you speak, but it's clear that there's just everything does happen for us, not to us, but like obviously, whatever

you believe in, I believe in God, God selected you because you also knew you'd have this amazing ability to communicate the feelings and emotions and thoughts that you went through. He didn't choose somebody who couldn't transfer it. So obviously listening to you. If I got to go back, who and what do you think that voice was? Your opinion. You know, I think about it a lot. I definitely think it was God. I think, you know, when I heard it, it was a mixture of my own voice, but more a more powerful version of it. And I always say it was kind of a mixture of my voice and the divine. I mean, there was obviously somebody

helping me through that. I would have died if I did not hear that voice because even though my cousin came over, you know, she would have looked in the room and saw that I was sleeping. And if it wasn't for that voice that was powerful enough to open my eyes and actually stand up, you know, I would have known what I was facing. And I, you know, I've had a lot of kind of miraculous divine moments throughout everything that I've gone through. And it makes me know that there's something there right there's something there what it is a hundred percent I'm not sure but it's given me the faith it gave me the faith to go through some of my darkest days that's for sure so beautiful and that voice I love how you said it to because that is how I hear it when I hear it too it's a combination of sometimes you

think well maybe it's not God or the universe because it's in my own voice. It's actually a beautiful combination of both your own voice. I have this, I have this real sense that that voice was yelling at you and it's a moment of our life, it's yelling, our intuition is yelling at us. But I think if we can get quiet, that voice is almost in a constant whisper to us. And don't you believe that? That if we would all just get quiet and listen a little bit more to that voice or at least listen for it, it's it's prevalent in there more than we realize. I really believe that. Oh my gosh, Ed, I'm so happy you brought this up because I feel like that voice, I mean, it's been a powerful tool in my life when it comes to, you know, knowing if I'm on the right track or not, um, definitely those powerful moments of of get up, look in the mirror, you know, that saved my life.

But there was times that that voice absolutely has come in a whisper and thank goodness that I listened to it. I mean, there was one just pivotal moment in my life. I was a massage therapist before anything else that I did. I snowboarded for fun, passionate, passionate about snowboarding, but you know, I was a massage therapist and I loved my job and I thought I'm going to travel the world and do massage and work in these different spots. And when I was in the hospital, I almost lost my hands. My hands were actually as bad as my feet. And just going to, going into septic shock, it pulls blood from your extremities to save your organs. And so I lost circulation to my hands and my feet. We were actually more worried about my hands than my feet at

that time because I played the piano, I painted, and I was a massage therapist. And all I wanted was to get back to work. In fact, just sitting in the hospital, my hands would burn because they were just on fire. Like, I have to touch somebody. And so I couldn't wait to get back to work. And about a year later, so I got my prosthetic legs. I worked my ass off that year, physical therapy, gaining strength, being able to stand on my feet for eight hours a day again. I went back to work as a massage therapist.

And suddenly something in me shifted. And here, you know, I'm massaging somebody and I'm like, I love this job, but then I'm hearing this little whisper that's constantly saying, Amy, you did not survive to do this. You did not survive to massage somebody else. Like, this is there's more for you to do. And it was this constant nagging, feeling and voice that every time I went to work, I felt it. And I thought it because I loved my job. And I would fight back and say, no, I love what I'm doing. Like I'm actually back doing what I love. And I would hear this note, you're supposed to be doing something else. And I'm like, well, what is it? And it wasn't until

really, it wasn't until I started helping other people. I started a nonprofit organization with my husband to help other people who had disabilities and had prosthetic legs, snowboard and skateboard and, and then all of a sudden that that voice quieted down. And, and as I started speaking, you know, as I started to connect with more people, I, that voice went away. And it made me realize, ah, this is what I'm supposed to be doing. You know, there is more for me to do.

It's so obvious now. This might have been one of my all-time favorite moments in the show as this notion about our voice whispering. I'll see yelling sometimes because there's so many people right now to a lesser extent. But in their own world, the same extent, I've had this loss this last year of a career, of a relationship, of a dream of a career, of a relationship,

of a dream, of money, of a house, or whatever it might be. And this notion that where do I go? And I just really believe if you'll really rewind guys and go back, it's this idea of just getting still and listening. And then the other part of it, the other component is somehow, it's probably connected to the service of other people. You'll find this place that no longer will that voice be whispering to you that it's the wrong place. We whispering to you, guidance and direction for it. You did lose your kidney.

It's a little detail of it. I just want to understand. Was it your dad that gave you the kidney? It was. It was. And the best gift I could ever receive, honestly. I've been so blessed, just so blessed. So my dad, yeah, he gave me a kidney. He was almost a perfect match. They look at these antigens and I think we were 5 out of 6, which a twin is 6 out of 6. And normally what you get from a parent is 3 out of 6. So having 5 out of 6 match with my dad was incredible. And I had the transplant the week of my 21st birthday. And people are taking shots of taking a, I'm taking shots of immune suppressive medication.

But I was so grateful, I was so grateful to my dad. I mean, that's just another thing that you can look at as a major challenge or just a divine moment as well, because it brought me closer to myself and who I wanna be and my dad and what's important to me. And there's something about having a kidney transplant where it keeps you on your toes because you don't know if it's going to fail.

You know, at the time that I had my transplant, Kidney's lasted, um, maybe nine years. And my dad and I just celebrated our 20th year, just a few months ago. And so every single day, it makes me grateful. Every single day that I'm healthy, I'm capable, right? The possibilities are endless. And so I feel like that's been such a huge drive for me just to live my best life. You say 20 years?

20 years. Yeah, there's something in that kidney that literally Benjamin buttoned you then, because I didn't put you. I'm doing a little math right now. That doesn't add up visually to what I've seen right now. Maybe we all want a kidney like that. I don't know.

Right, it's like this big. My body says big, my kidney's that big. It's like ultra filtration. Now it now makes sense. So I'm curious what it this is just I like asking different stuff, right? So so when I get interviewed people ask me about us, you know, my previous life like what was it like

before your life is like now curious for those that are listening, they're in this transition period. They've woken up. Maybe they didn't lose their legs, which by the way, everybody hopefully gives you some perspective. You didn't lose your spleen kidney in the legs. You lost a job or a relationship and it's bad, but let's all have some perspective, right?

But for me, I'm curious because they want to come out of this. There's the Amy pretty story that was the one that she became a massage therapist. Then there's the story that you get asked like right now, which is take me back, you lost your legs. But then since then, you've had a 20 year life of contribution and books and athleticism and speaking and the difference you've made. When you're telling it, is it like,

is that an old story to you now? In other words, does it eventually fade? Like you have to recall when you build your new dream and story, or is it just as fresh to some extent as it was before? What's it feel like when you actually change your life and come back from adversity? Yeah, I mean, you know, of course, at the time that I went through everything at 19, that was the worst and hardest thing I'd ever gone through, right? But then I moved on and I moved forward and life continued on and I went through even other types of hard things, right? So where sometimes, you know, somebody like doing a podcast, somebody will ask me, tell me about the hardest thing you've ever been through.

And sometimes it surprises them that, you know, I might talk about my TED talk and how hard that was because that was hard in itself, right? Yeah, I've gone through losing my legs and have any kidney transplant. That's, you know, nothing can compare to that. But we continue to go through challenges and every time we have an opportunity and we're kind of being asked to step up,

oftentimes those are the biggest challenges we'll ever go through. So, you know, throughout my life of 20 years, I mean, becoming a professional athlete with two prosthetic legs, that in itself was this crazy journey. I had to make my own feet to snowboard in because nobody else was making them for me. So, like, just the effort, the effort, you know, that went into that and people just kind of see the accomplishment, right? They don't really see everything the years that goes on, you know, behind the scenes.

And then dancing with the stars, awesome, awesome experience. One of the hardest things I've ever put myself through. And then now, this past year, I've actually dealt with another major challenge, which to be honest, has been more challenging than when I lost my legs 20 years ago. And so I've been fighting through that. I've had nine surgeries this year, but at the same time, it continues to teach me things that I didn't learn 20 years ago, which is amazing. It's not like I can flash back on what I learned 20 years ago to help me get through some of the challenges that I'll face today. But I learn even more things with each challenge that comes my way. And so I think that's, you know, that's the beautiful thing about life.

It's like, the longer we live, the more stories we're going to have. And the more challenges we're going to have. So we need to be resilient, you know, if we want to keep going. To the extent that you're comfortable, can you share with us a little bit of what those challenges have been recently, just to the extent you're comfortable? Yeah. It's amazing. I'll say it's also made me question everything that I thought I knew previously actually.

So I was, let's say two years ago, living my best life. I was, you know, just one my second, my third Paralympic Medal, you know, to get to that peak of performance with two prosthetic legs, I'm in massive accomplishment for me because I felt it. I felt it inside.

I just had to figure it out and it took years to figure it out. And then I finally did. I was finally snowboarding at my absolute best. And I was strong and I was healthy. And my husband and I, we bought this beautiful house in the mountains, we're traveling the world. And it's just like, yes, you know, I've worked 20 years, we're so hard to get here. And then suddenly, my life flipped upside down. When I felt this cramp in my left calf, I was actually doing a speech in Las Vegas. And I

was standing on stage, felt this cramp, my left calf. I was actually doing a speech in Las Vegas and I was standing on stage, felt this cramp, didn't think anything of it. Flew to Nebraska to do another speech actually, the next day. And just thought, well, maybe my prosthetic legs not fitting that well. And the next morning, when I was supposed to fly home to Denver, I woke up at about 5 a.m.

in a screw shading pain, ripped the covers off, realized that my leg, my calf, was like as white as the sheets that I was laying in. And so I scooted to the edge of the bed and kind of hung my legs over the edge and rubbed them like crazy. My leg was ice cold. It hurt so bad. I instantly googled blood clot because I travel so much and it didn't look anything like it, you know, normally with a blood clot, it's like you're swollen and inflamed and red and I'm like, no, my legs actually white and cold and hurts. And so I got on the quickest flight I could, flew to Denver,

went into their emergency room and found out that I had a massive like lot in the artery of my left leg from my hip down every artery. So basically, oh my gosh, just a spider web of little blood vessels was keeping my entire leg alive. And I knew in that moment that this was major, this was major and And my leg was purple, having a prosthetic leg. I mean, first of all, having prosthetics, your legs need to be very, very healthy to walk in them, to snowboard and work out and do all these things.

Like that is one thing that I definitely, know that helped me get to where I'm at today, is I've always been healthy. Yes, I have prosthetic legs. Yes, I have a kidney transplant, but I've always been very, very healthy. All the sudden, you know, the health of my leg was compromised. And so I ended up having nine surgeries, including one about two weeks ago. Half of them have been vascular, which is basically once an artery gets injured, it wants to shut down. That's the way that it wants to heal itself. And it kind of goes against, it kind of goes

against what you want to believe because I want to sit here and think, you know, I need my body to heal itself. Well, it's trying and we're actually stopping it because what it's trying to do is close the artery that is injured and we're constantly going in there trying to open it up, right? And I will say some incredible things have come out of it. I mean, first of all, just the power of the human body is incredible. So my body has rerouted. So I've had these closures in my entire femoral artery and then popliteal artery and their arteries blow my knee as well. But every time a closure has happened, this amazing little detour pops up in the ultrasound. And you see these like branches of a tree, these new like little arteries, which don't always grow. It's it's it's not something that they can predict will happen. You just hope it does. And I've been

very lucky that, you know, I now have all these like little, little arteries taking over what the big arteries were doing. And so it's been, it's been fascinating to watch what my body's been able to do, but it's also been massively, massively challenging. I mean, I've, I've had major surgeries. massively challenging. I mean, I've, I've had major surgeries, some of the most painful things I could ever experience and haven't been able to walk for the last two years and, you know, it's challenged me in a because I'm like, haven't I already faced the challenge that was supposed to teach me what we can do in life and what we can do despite our circumstances? Like, haven't I done that? Why do I have to go through this now? And I will say, it's just taught me things

that I never learned 20 years ago. It's not until you get to like the depths of life and the depths of despair that you learn certain things that do help you, you know, not just survive, but thrive. And I feel like I'm able to help others even more so because it's not just, you know, 20 years ago it was like, yeah, I lost my legs, got my new legs went on to become a professional snowboarder, like, oh yeah, you just kind of put your legs on and go. Like, it felt almost

that easy to me. Whereas this time it's like, no, it's not that easy. This is, you know, this is hard stuff and people go through hard stuff. And we, this is when resilience is incredibly important and faith and whatever it may be. This is, this is when you need it the most. So I'm learning it. I'm learning it at a whole different level than I did before. Thank you for being willing to share that. One thing I will say to you is that your energy

is so magnificent even though you've been going through this. And the good news is, is that because you shared this, you've now got several million people going to be in prayer for you. Because I get the feeling maybe you're not completely past all of it the way that you're talking. And so we'll all be in prayer for you. Well, that's just a wow.

It's an interesting thing on much lower levels, much lower levels. I have to say to everybody that there's such a beautiful lesson you've taught there. And actually, I'm so grateful I asked that question because I just had this sense like, that's not the only story with you and It's not at any of my notes, but I

Ask it because when we have defining moment in our life like well I someone says I went through this divorce and now my life's blissful or I went bankrupt and now I'm rich I always thought I'd already had my challenging parts of my life and now and by the way my challenges are nowhere near what years are But it's such a beautiful life lesson because I remember thinking, well, once I get to this other place where like I know all this really important stuff, and I've been through the real challenge part, the rest of it is like many challenges, you know, and that's just not life in general. And unfortunately, or fortunately, at

least in my case, and much lower level, it's caused me to be a different version of me. And sometimes when I'm living a really easy life and relying on my old story that I've overcome, it's suppressed my growth as a being, as a spirit. Is that a crazy takeaway from this? Or do you kind of see that? That is a takeaway. That's my biggest takeaway, I think,

from what I'm dealing with right now. Absolutely. I mean, it's forced me to grow that much more. It's transformed me. And there's no way to go back, right? There's no way to go back to what things were and things were incredible. But this is how things are now.

And I'm learning so much. And I felt the same way. I went through this massive ordeal. And when I was 19, and it also, it's like I felt the same way I went through this massive ordeal and, you know, when I was 19 and it also, you know, it also, it's like I traveled the world and shared my story all across the world. It's like that was my challenge. And then I found out that yeah, the more the more you live, the more stories are going to live in the more versions of yourself, you're going to be. of yourself you're going to be. And so I feel like I've stepped into what I call version three of Amy because version one was like normal life, right? Live till I was 20 that's what I thought life was like had these dreams and goals lost my legs. Version two was figuring out what the possibilities are traveling the world, snowboarding, New York Times best seller, dance with the stars,

Oprah, like all these kind of bucket lists, like can I do it, can I do it, justboarding, New York Times best-seller, dance with the stars, Oprah, like all these kind of bucket lists, like, can I do it? Can I do it? Just pushing, pushing, pushing. And then all of a sudden, this hits, and I'm like, okay, well, no longer that, at least not for today, so who am I? And I realize I want to help other people live their possibilities, you know? If I'm not out there doing it, I've learned it, I've done it. Now I want to help others do the same, no matter what circumstances you're facing. I had no idea we were gonna do all this today and I'm thinking at this time with where humans are in their life, like what?

Because just so you all know, people have been trying to get me in this remarkable woman together for quite a while. And we were both talking before we went on, like maybe I said to you right before I said, maybe this is just like God's time, you know? and I really believe that. Like I get a little goose bumps on my little hairless shaved arms right now. So I got to tell you it's true. What are you going to say? I have to tell you, I do feel like it's divine as well because so when you reached out to me

to do this podcast with you, I was actually like maybe one day out of the hospital and I had this incredible experience in the hospital. So this is just what like two months ago. So I decided that I decided to amputate my leg a little bit shorter. I'm still below the knee. You know, once you go above the knee, that's a really big deal. But just with the fact that, You know, once you go above the knee, that's a really big deal.

But just with the fact that, you know, my vascular system's working really, really hard to get to the bottom of my leg, I decided to amputate my leg a little bit shorter. So I was in Boston and had the surgery and was in the hospital by myself for seven days, my grandfather passed away as I was being wheeled into the operation. And it was just the whole thing was very, very heavy. I'm losing more of my leg, which I didn't want to do. This is the last thing I wanted to do, but I knew it would help. And then having my grandpa pass

and not even be able to hug my family, then going into surgery, waking up in the hospital. And I was there for seven days with not one visitor, Boston's really cracked down on having anybody even visit. So not one visitor. So I just sat in the hospital by myself for seven days, staring out the window and thinking about my life. And it was fascinating because I never picked up my phone. I didn't turn on the TV. And so I thought, well, what am I doing all day while I'm in here besides, you know, nurses and doctors coming in. But I was just kind of looking out the window daydreaming, visualizing, like just thinking about who I am and who I was and what's important to me. And I got the most

and who I was and what's important to me. And I got the most divine download because I got so creative and so excited about life that I had my computer with me. And I was typing out. That's when I decided to launch my podcast, bouncing forward, actually launched the trailer while I was in the hospital. Wow.

Because I just got so excited, all the sudden, like, yes, like this is what, you know, I want to share. And it's been so long since I've felt so inspired, so deep inspired. And I left the hospital and all the set and I got a message from you to be on the podcast. And I really look up to you. And I really feel like that was, you know, it's when you manifest, right? When you're kind of in that space of like, I'm doing it, I'm putting the energy out there, I'm allowing, you know, the energy to flow through me,

and then you kind of connect with others who are doing the same. And so you were just kind of the perfect, like, I don't know, like stamp on like that was, I manifested this moment where I felt so inspired and creative and then I was just incredibly grateful to do this podcast with you as well. Oh my gosh, I feel so blessed and so grateful. Like I've never had this feeling in the middle of a show before.

I got to tell you it's a it's a it's a wow and thank you for building willing to share that. It's it's just amazing to me that this there's so much depth to things you say. It's like every it's and I'm seeing you growing right before my eyes. To be honest with you, like, when I tell you guys that I think Amy's a remarkable speaker, it's, yeah, she speaks well, meaning like the way she orates is beautiful. Her vocabulary, her voice, her cadence, that's not what I'm talking about. When certain people talk, I feel things, and I reflect deeply on things. And today's that like magnet five time,

like a thousand with you. And it's always happened when I've listened to you speak before, but this idea of just you're fording yourself the time to be receptive to the voice, to inspiration. I really believe there's so much noise and so much stress and so many things in our culture. The people are just sort of drifting through their life and never getting quiet and allowing themselves this

inspiration that we all can tap into. That's there for all of us in small ways and big ways. I talk all the time my dad passed away recently too, and my dad lived a much more extraordinary life than me, but all of the things he did were in private, quiet things, helping people get sobriety. But my dad got quiet often, everybody. My dad took time for meditation in prayer daily. I really believe that's what transformed him. In your case, you led right into what I wanted to ask you about, which because you're doing it again, which is this idea of visualization.

I'm a big believer in it. I also believe it's a very broad topic that can mean lots of things to lots of people. Like, I know people who visualize with their eyes closed with their eyes open. I know people whose visualizations are actually things they hear and not see, believe in or not. So I'm curious how you utilize visualization in your own case and what it means to you. Yeah, and I've used it in different ways as well. So first of all, I've always been

a daydreamer. And I think, you know, visualizations just another word for daydreaming, right? When I was little, I would daydream about my life, daydream about traveling. And when I lost my legs, I remember I was laying in the hospital bed. I had just lost both my legs, had no idea what to expect. Never met anybody who had prosthetic legs before. Didn't know if I'd snowboard again. I remember I was looking at my legs and like the TV, the light from the TV was flickering and I was looking at where my legs used to be really. I was looking at where my feet used to be and just thinking what is my life going to be like. And I fell into the most amazing vision. And I saw myself walking

gracefully, and I saw myself somehow helping people through this journey. And I saw myself snowboarding again. And I didn't just see myself carving down this mountain of powder. I visualized it so strongly that I could feel it. Like I could feel the wind against my face. I could feel my muscles twitching. I was just absolutely lost in the moment. And I could feel it in my heart. You know, I had no idea how I had no idea how I was going to do this. I just knew because I felt it so deeply that I would. And that fired me up. And that's really what led me to, okay, I got to make a pair of snowboard feet that I'm going to try to snowboard again. And you know, that led me down that path. And so there's moments when those visions, like when I was in the hospital two months ago,

it was just allowing myself that stillness, that quiet time, no distractions, to just think and feel and lean into what I was experiencing and let those, you know, let those feelings kind of flow through me. You know, that's when sometimes visions can be so strong as actually in your darkest days, right? But then I've had visualizing as well

where just as a snow quarter, I mean, that's what we do as athletes. You have to be able to mentally rehearse before you get out there and compete. And in fact, there's times when you don't even get a chance to practice on the course. So you're practicing in your mind. You're memorizing every turn and every jump

and everything that's happening. And then you have to go back and visualize every move you're going to make so that you can go out there and do it the next day. And it never fails. It never fails. My best races were always when I was able to visualize the most.

And so visualizing can be, you know, too many different things like you said, but, you know, too many different things, like you said, but, you know, you could either see yourself doing something like it's just one of those things being in the shower, right? When you're in the shower and you're just like lost and thought, that's when the most amazing thoughts come to you really. That's where, you know, you put a pencil on a paper next to the bathtub and write those thoughts down because those are the, that's your, I feel like that's your spirit, that's your soul speaking. You get these little quiet moments where you can hear that and you can see it, but when you can actually feel it, that's when it's

powerful, when you can feel it, when you, you're not just saying, I hope to someday snowboard again, that would be cool. But when you're actually like, I feel it so deeply that I can literally feel my heart racing, that's when you know it's possible. And so visualization, I mean, it's just been a huge, it's been the biggest tool of my life from daydreaming as a kid to, you know, letting myself have that quiet still time to download and reflect and figure out who I want to be and where I fit in the world. And sometimes you can see yourself walking and sometimes you're looking over yourself. There's a lot of different ways to do it, but it's something that we don't do enough of. And I realize we don't do enough of it

because even me, where it's been such a huge tool in my life, I haven't done enough of it. I realize we get busy, we pick up our phones, we get distracted, right? When we're bored, what do we do? We literally pick up our phones and scroll through Instagram or Clubhouse now, whatever it may be. And it's like those are actually,

those are moments where we used to get really creative, right? That's those are moments where we problem solved. Those are moments where we used to get really creative, right? That's those are moments where we problem-solved. Those are moments where we think about the challenges we're facing, or we see somebody walk by and it triggers a thought, those are the things that we're kind of missing these days because we instantly pick our phone up and distract ourselves. So it's a practice that I naturally do, but that I'm also practicing to do more because

of how powerful it is. I don't know if there's such things in the perfect interview, but we're bumping up on it right now. So I just want to unpack a couple of things there. I mean it too. Like I'm just sitting here for a while. Couple of things you said there, I just want to unpack that I just want to advocate for because you say it better than me or anybody I've heard say it, which is one that you just get lost in the visualization, lost in the dreaming,

also believe visualization is day dreaming. The other thing is the more senses you can give yourself the gift of, of not just seeing, but seeing, feeling, smelling, tasting, touching, the more you get those senses, the more deep it is. And the good news for everybody is that this is a muscle you can build. You can get better at it. And I was like you as a little boy, I was a big daydream. I think because the conditions of my life weren't so good where I was, I would just go away

and get lost in these visions. And before a baseball game, I would not only just see myself playing well, but I'd picture myself getting interviewed by a broadcaster who wasn't there afterwards. I hit the home run, you know, and get to that. Everybody give yourself the gift of getting lost in it and getting quiet. And don't beat yourself up if you know, I forget of that and everybody give yourself the gift of getting lost in it and getting quiet and don't beat yourself up if you're not great at

it. The other thing you said I just have to say that was brilliance is this idea that if you can become more aware of what you're visualizing. In other words, are you above you looking at it or you seeing it through your own eyes? And the more you dial that in, right? The more it can make an impact on you and you get even better and better at it. True. Absolutely. And like you said, the more details you can feel or see or smell, the more real it becomes. So yeah, I mean, when I'm, you know, in a snowboard course,

I'm thinking of every little bump in that course. I'm thinking of what my left arm's doing, what my right arm's doing, you know, how I'm breathing. It's all these little details. So that paints this full picture that you literally rehearse in your mind. Like you are rehearsing your life before it happens. You know, how you're going to step into the world, you know, what you're going to do. And so whether it's on a snowboard course or whether it's just

how you're going to, you know, live your life tomorrow to have that vision. I mean, you know, and even a good practice, I realize I do this that night too. You know, I visualize my next day. I visualize how I want it to go or how how I want to be, who I want to be, how I'm kind of starting the day, you know, have a vision of how the day is going to go. Does it always go that way? No, but that's how I kind of enter this space. And so, yeah, I mean, I love that. I love that you agree with that as well.

I totally agree with it. And I also think that, you know, people that listen to this, I think a lot of you go, well, I don't do very, I'm not very good at that yet. You may be better out of them, you think, except you're doing it with the things that you fear and worry about. And so you're feeding yourself, and by the way,

you're good at giving yourself multiple senses. You can only see this thing you're worried about. You can feel it in your nervous system, can't you? Yes. So a lot of people are doing this very well with the things they don't want in their life. Right. Exactly. We can do it so easily, right? Like we think about a fear or a worst case scenario, we can feel it like that. I mean, we are basically like manifesting it into reality by saying like, I can see this so powerfully, you know, that it's happening. And it's like, it hasn't even happened yet. So if you can do that, you know, we all experience that. So if you can do that, but with the things

you really want to happen, right? Like I see myself walking gracefully, I see, I feel this, I see, you know, that's that feeling is powerful. That is your spirit saying, you got this, you can do this. Yeah. This is, I love watching somebody who's just at is powerful. That is your spirit saying, you got this, you can do this. Yeah, this is, I love watching somebody who's just at their home, which is what you're doing right now. This is your home and you're amazing at it. I'm curious, I want to ask you a business question

just because we've been so, my emotion tank needs a little breather for a minute. This has been so really good. And I'm curious, you're so remarkable because you've built this really amazing entrepreneur side of your life also and you've built the brand. I feel like maybe one of the keys to your business, your authenticity and vulnerability, but is there anything you would give advice on to who maybe an aspiring entrepreneur or an entrepreneur who's like I want to be better at

building my brand, but I just feel like a lot of people just think I don't really have anything. I didn't lose my legs before, you know, below the knee. So who really wants to pay attention to me? Obviously, we want to pay attention to you because your story so compelling. My story is not that compelling and they discount themselves. What would you say about building brands as an entrepreneur? I mean, I think, you know, the more you know yourself, the more you'll be able to build your brand where other people believe in it, right? So you do have to know your story. And I believe we all have stories, you know, it doesn't have to be a story like mine. I mean, we all have things we've learned along the way.

Like, what is it that makes you you and what is it that makes you want to put this brand or this product into the world. So the more you know that story, I think for me, I connect with people who are authentic, authentically share their journey and their story and their passion. You know, it's very easy to share something outside of yourself. And I have to check myself at times too. You know, I can sell something outside of myself, but it doesn't always sell, right? But you're so much better at not selling, but at sharing your journey, bringing people into your life. And I think that that's when your product,

your brand shines, really. So I think storytelling is key. I mean, these days with social media, there's everybody selling something, right? But the ones who really sell you on it are the ones who can relate. You can say, this is why this is so helpful. And this is what it's done for my life.

And I can show you that, you know? And so I just think it's important to know the story, your story. You know, I believe that your story is valid. Believe me, I didn't even think mine was. I mean, everything I've gone through, I would think, why am I being asked to stand on stage and talk to, you know, Fortune 500 companies,

clearly they're successful, clearly they know what they're doing. Why are they asking me? I don't know anything more than they do. But what it comes down to is knowing my truth, right? Knowing what's helped me. And that's what's actually built my career is just knowing my, you know, my perspective matters and your perspective matters.

And so I think we have to kind of dig into ourselves a little bit and not try to sell something outside of ourselves but have it authentically come from our experiences. And that's what people relate to. Like people do relate to vulnerability. You know, we don't relate to success. Not everybody's going to stand on a podium and have medals around their neck

or be massively successful like you are at. So I feel like what we do relate to is, but how, like how do you get there, right? And that's what we all want to know. And so when it comes to your own brand and business, it has a story and you just have to figure out what that story is and be willing to actually go there, you know, to connect on that vulnerable level so that you can really help people. I mean, I'd imagine that's, that's what every entrepreneur wants is to make an impact.

And so it has to be authentic to you. Yeah, huge takeaway is storytelling. Like that guys, that's a gold nugget. That's just massive is that just beginning to at least be intentional telling a story, a story about your life, your product, the journey, the difference you could make. Maybe it's not even you. Maybe it's a story of what your product or service did for another person. But exactly. We're so right about that, that the best people that build brands. By the way, even my best friends, what many of them, you'll be with always today, will you?

Friends with all these comics and commies, they're just great storytellers. They are. I just love to be around people who can tell a story, right? And the more you're intentional about that all the time, that's the world we currently live in. That's why reality TV works so well right now. That's why social media works. Exactly. The best politicians are the best storytellers. It's just like,

you tell a story. Now, finishing question here, by the way, follow Amy on everything. Okay, so just you guys already get this. So and by the way, when we do this, it's Amy, pretty girl, but it's P-U-R-D-Y for those of you that might not know, and girl is also has the G in it, okay? So go everywhere and get her stuff. I don't fully endorse her, I'm telling you to go do this, okay? And we also have millions of people praying for you, but this idea of these stories is

the last thing I wanted to finish with, like this just flowed really well. But we tell ourselves stories about our past and sometimes we repeat these stories. And I think one of the most detrimental things you could do if you're trying to make a change in your life right now is in any way comparing where you currently are. There's comparisons terrible, comparing to other people. But one thing we do to really harm ourselves is we sometimes compare ourselves to what we used to have or we do. So even a relationship you're currently in, if it's in the 10th, you're comparing it to the 6th month isn't fair to the 10th year. It's not as new and as exciting and comparing it then isn't fair comparing yourself. And so I picture this beautiful soul that you are

and you said that both times with the new situation, the other one, but particularly the first time where you lost, you know, below the knee, you looking down and your feet are gone. And immediately, instead of looking at what was there before and comparing, you began to look at the next story and visualize the next story, that's so profound. What advice would you give or counsel to someone who's saying, all right, things were better before for me. In any way, shape or form, right?

I've been better before and I am. My let's write, Ed's write, I am sort of beating myself up and comparing to another place or time. What would you say, how do I get out of this? How do I create a change? Because I do keep looking at maybe it was a little bit better before. What would you say and conclude with those people? I mean, so first of all, be gentle on yourself because I think we all feel that way.

There's especially when something drastically happens. You're like, yesterday I was here and today I'm here. How did this happen? It was so much better yesterday. But I also think that we have to embrace the moment. That is the key to life, right? Be in the moment. What's happening right now?

Yesterday was like an era. What an amazing era that was, right? I did this and this and things were great. Now I'm in this era. And so you're not losing anything, you know? You lived it. I didn't lose, you know, yeah, maybe I lost my legs, but it's like, you know, I didn't lose who I was.

I lived a certain life and now I'm stepping into this new era, and we're going to have these new parts of ourselves and new stories and new complete realities as we move forward. So it is very important to be in the moment. And one thing that really helped me when I lost my legs, and when I was laying in that hospital bed and saw myself snowboarding, I had this feeling and I asked myself this question, if my life was a book and I was the author, how would I want my story to go? And the reason I asked that question is I thought, you know, I am not a victim to this. It's not like, okay, I lost my legs, lost my kidneys, my life is over. No, I refuse that. I refuse that. So if I had control over what my life would look like, what would that be?

And allow yourself to daydream. Literally allow yourself to go there. Don't shut it down. We shut ourselves down so quick before we even get started, right? We go, oh, I can't, this was myself doing great things because I don't even know how I'm going to get there forget the how right just allow yourself to ask that question like if you if your whole life was a book you were the author. How would you want the rest of the story to go. people. I saw myself snowboarding. I didn't know how I was going to do any of this. I even saw myself speaking before I knew there was even, you know, a speaking circuit, but I felt it. I thought I was like, I wanted to tell people, everything's going to be okay. Like, no matter what circumstances you're facing, it will all make sense in the end. So just go on the journey, but you also have, you know, your co-creator of it too, is so like, know that you can control to a degree where you go from here and allow yourself to visualize that and feel it and believe it and you'll be surprised where you go. I know I have been.

I don't even know what to say. Like, usually at the end I go, hey guys, make sure you share this interview with people. I don't have to ask anybody to do that. There are some possible. It's impossible. But you would listen to this today and just keep it to yourself. That would be a crime. You're amazing. And you're amazing. You know, you are amazing. I will tell you, I didn't know what to expect. You know, because we didn't like, I didn't go over any questions that we would talk about. And I'm like, what are we going to talk about? And I just love that you're so present, you know, that does, that it just creates an incredible environment. So I'm very, very grateful for you. I'm here for you as a new friend, by the way, and anything you're going through,

thoughts, prayers, resources, anything I'm here for you. I mean that too. And I just really want to thank you. You change lives. Like you change and impact lives. And you are right where you're supposed to be. And I have this feeling that you're going to take this time you're going through right now and do even bigger and better work for humanity with it. So thank you so much, Amy. Thank you so much, Ed. You're awesome. All right, everybody. I'll bless you. I have no words. Just I hope you enjoyed today. Max up.

This is the end my let's show. you