The School of Greatness - 383 Jen Bricker: Everything Is Possible (Even Without Legs)

Episode Date: September 21, 2016

"I was born to be myself." - Jen Bricker If you enjoyed this episode, check out show notes, video, and more at http://lewishowes.com/383

This is episode number 383 with the incredibly inspiring Jen Ricker. Welcome to the School of Greatness. My name is Lewis Howes, former pro athlete turned lifestyle entrepreneur. And each week we bring you an inspiring person or message to help you discover how to unlock your inner greatness. Thanks for spending some time with me today. Now let the class begin. It is another beautiful day here in Los Angeles, and I'm so glad that you showed up to listen

to me wherever you are in the world. The thing I love about this podcast is that it attracts so many inspiring people like yourself, people on a journey to really tap into what that is that they were born with, that they want to bring out to the world, that greatness inside of you. There's so many of you all over the world. And I just love getting the messages from you guys over on social media, the emails you send me, all the messages everywhere that you're listening to it when you post photos, listening to it all over the world. So thank you, thank you, thank you. And it's just an amazing, inspiring day.

So I am pumped because we have an incredible guest today. Her name is Jen Bricker. That's right, Jen Bricker. And she is, wow, what a gem. Had a lot of fun. Make sure you watch the full video interview back at the show notes of this one, lewishouse.com slash 383 to see some fun video footage of us doing some hand-to-hand handstands. She's doing a handstands on my hands in the air.

And for those who don't know, Jen is a aerialist, a gymnast, a speaker, and an author who was born without legs and given up for adoption at birth. There are small portions of her incredible story that have been featured on numerous shows like HBO Real Sports, ABC's 2020, Good Morning America, and in over 100 countries worldwide. She traveled with Britney Spears' world tour and appeared as the headliner at the prestigious Palazzo Hotel in Las Vegas, Lincoln Center in New York City, and Shangri-La Hotel in Dubai. And wow, we really got to dive in deeper about her entire story, about the struggles she went through, about how she actually became so positive and so confident early on, even though she was born without legs. And some of the things we talk about are what advice Jen would give to parents whose kids have insecurities, are going through any type of struggles.

She gives some incredible advice there. If she could go back and choose to have legs, she answers if she would. Jen's biggest insecurity growing up, and it's not what you think, the incredible story of Jen finding out about her biological sister and her parents, and the mindset that allows you to pursue your dreams no matter what the circumstance or what the obstacle ahead. If you feel like things are challenging for you right now, this is a great interview to listen to to give you that boost.

Also, a couple quick things to mention. The audio, unfortunately on this, for some reason, had a little glitch. So we had to retrieve the audio from the cameras itself so it doesn't sound as crisp as your normal School of Greatness quality, which is my fault

and I apologize, but it's still good quality. You're going to be able to hear everything, but just wanted to give you a heads up. So you don't need to let me know because I already am aware. And let me know how you guys think about this interview. If you're listening right now, share it with your friends. lewishouse.com slash 383. And without further ado, let me introduce to you the one, the only, Jen Bricker.

Welcome everyone back to the School of Greatness podcast. We've got a great guest in today, Jen Bricker. Thank you so much for coming on. I appreciate it. You've got a new book out called Everything is Possible. Find the faith and courage to follow your dreams. So make sure you guys go pick this up right now. Awesome book. A story about how you've overcome so much challenge and adversity in your life and created an incredible life for yourself. So congratulations on everything you've done. And it's very cool to see the success, to see that HBO Sports is talking about you,

ABC Magazine, ESPN, everyone's sharing your story now. You have a very unique story. So I want to dive into that and tell us a little bit about who you are, but kind of what happened early on to get you where you're at now. Yeah, I mean, it's been, my entire life has, I feel like, prepared me for all the things that I was meant to do and that I'm doing now and the things that I'm going to continue to do. So it started with me being put up for adoption. I mean, that's where I started.

How old were you? I was born and then left in the hospital the day I was born. Yes. It just blows my mind that someone would do that. Well, I mean, everyone has, I don't know, everyone has different, you know, things going on in their lives. My biological parents were from Romania. They grew up under communism.

It's just, you have to understand. Totally different mindset, right? It's just not how we see things or think. And so, very different. So I was left there, and then I was in foster care for three months in foster home. And why did they leave you?

I think there's a lot of different reasons. I was born without legs, so there's that reason. They thought there might be more medical bills. They already had a daughter. They were still, you know, they're so poor immigrants from Romania. This is in the United States? This is in the United States. What city?

I was born in Illinois, Salem, Illinois. Salem, Illinois. Salem, Illinois, yeah. And so there was a multitude of reasons. Yes, it was because I didn't have legs, but it was also many other reasons. And some of the things I think maybe I just will never know because I was there that day, but not that I remember. Right, exactly.

And really, you know, it's amazing because my parents adopted me when I was three months old. So you were in the hospital, too, for three years? No, three months. So I was in a foster home for three months. Wow. Then my parents adopted me. So someone's taking care of you as the first three months of your life.

Yes. A foster home. Yes. My first name was actually Holly Ann. That was my name. My first three months of my life. So, yeah, they were great people. Nana and Papa is what I called them.

We called them, who had me in a foster home. And they were just really, like, really good people. Really warm and beautiful. And they loved me. And they took pictures from, you know, every day so that my parents could see the first three months. And I had my... They adopted parents. Yes.

They didn't know they were adopted until... Well, it was amazing. My mom had three boys, my three brothers, and she couldn't have kids anymore. She had to have hysterectomy. So she always wanted to be a girl, though. And she prayed for 10 years. Just kept never giving up and wanting a girl. Like, I just feel like I'm supposed to have a girl.

I feel like I'm supposed to have four kids and I want a girl. And she heard about this girl that was born without legs who was put up for adoption, who needed a home, and that was it. She just was like, oh, yep, I think that's my daughter. And talked to my dad about it, talked to my brothers, and, you know, they were on board. And it was really cool because they sat my brothers down individually and asked them, you know, what would it mean to you to have a sister without legs? How would you feel?

All these questions. My older brother, you know, you're going to be dating in a couple years. What if you bring a date home and she has a problem with her or something like that? And the amazing thing is at 10, 12, and 14 years old, they all three answered the same. And they said, if anyone has a problem with her, then I don't want them in my life anyway. That's cool. And I thought, wow, that's so cool. You know, it's really special. And so they adopted me

and just raised me totally normal. You know, really just beyond that, you know, jumping on. Figure things out, just do, you know, get messy. Get messy, hang with the boys, do all the sports you want to do. Play softball, basketball, volleyball, power tumbling, all against able-bodied athletes. Amazing. There's photos of you in the book playing softball and all these other things. It was awesome. Thank you.

Yeah. Yeah, it's, you know, the first set of doctors told my parents I'd never be able to sit up on my own. Wow. Yeah. Yeah, an entire team of doctors said that I would be confined to this device that was going to, I'd basically sit down in and it would hold me upright. You know, stomach muscles or something? Right, right.

It was so weird. And my parents were just like, no way. Like, we don't, that's not what we want for her. And took me to the Shriners Hospital and the doctor there said, she's going to do things that are going to blow your mind. You know,

your wildest imagination. And that just set the tone for the way my parents raised me. And this is in Illinois too? Yep, southern Illinois, small town, middle of nowhere.

Where is it? Au Blanc. You've never heard of it? How far from St. Louis? Three hours. Illinois. Small town. Middle of nowhere. Where is it? Al Blanc. You've never heard of it. How far from St. Louis? Three hours. Okay. I went to school in a small town called Elsa, Illinois. Okay. Which is near Alton, Illinois. I've heard of Alton.

It's like on the Mississippi River. You're on the other side. Okay. I grew up on the Indiana border. Gotcha. So other side. About two hours from Indy. Sure. We're both from the Midwest. I'm from Ohio. Okay. Alright. other side. About two hours from Indy. Sure, sure. Yeah. We're both from the Midwest. I'm from Ohio. Okay. All right.

That's cool. Yeah. Good people from the Midwest. Good, solid, native people. That's it. Exactly. Seriously. But now we're in LA, so it's like juice and veggies all day, right? It's like vegan, cafe gratitude.

Oh, yeah. Veggies, everything. Oh, yeah. Which is probably a lot healthier for me. My brothers still call me Hollywood because they eat avocado. Right. Where does that come from? Exactly.

I love avocado. I know. Amazing. So, okay, you grew up in Illinois the whole time then, right, with your family. And we're doing all these sports, these activities. What was it like going into, I'm assuming you went to public school, right? What was that like for you? School, I mean, you know, middle of nowhere, very small town.

So, you know, past the first day of kindergarten when everyone finds out, oh, okay, well, she was just born without legs. It's not really, nobody cares. No one was like, that's nice. You know, because it's a small school and we all know each other. And I was always very outgoing and very fiery and just always been this person, which is really kind of interesting. Writing through my book and going through the process and talking to teachers from when I was younger, it really showed me that I've always been this person.

It's kind of really fascinating, actually. My teachers were like, no, literally on day one of kindergarten, you were doing your thing. Like it didn't matter what anyone else was doing. You've always been this person. And I was just like, man, that's so fascinating. Because sometimes you kind of think you come into who you are or maybe you've been shaped by different things. And of course, you know, we are on some level, but to really see how strongly I've always been this person, it was really kind of cool and interesting to figure that out. But no, in school, I mean, I was just always a social butterfly. I was always an athlete.

I was always strong. So thankfully, you know, bullying was not a part of my story. That's nice. So that, but, you know, it is part of my story that not being bullied is part of my story because being adopted, my parents were, like, the least likely people on the planet to adopt me. They never adopted, never fostered, you know, didn't know anything about, quote, disability. I mean, they were 40, 42. I mean, everything was against them.

But it just shows you, like, I ended up exactly where I was supposed to be because I had to be in that community, in that family, in that area, in order to grow and be allowed to become who I'm supposed to be, you know, be able to blossom fully so that I can do all this stuff now, so that I can do everything that I'm meant to do for the rest of my life. It needed to be that way. Right. Yeah.

I mean, so did you ever feel like you had limits then? Since you weren't bullied, you were accepted, you were, you know, had great friends, you were athletic, did you feel like limited or was it just because you always knew this is who you were? You know, it's not like you lost something. Right. At a certain age, you're like, oh, I can no longer walk or I can no longer do something. Exactly.

That's a very, those are two totally different stories. Yeah. And you're like, oh, I can no longer walk or I can no longer do something. Exactly. Those are two totally different stories. Yeah. And you're exactly right. So for me, I was just raised very empowered. And I was always hearing like, you're strong, you're beautiful, you're answered prayer, we wanted you. I mean, you know, so when you hear that, that's what you believe. So you didn't have these insecurities necessarily.

No, no. We have normal insecurities. We all have. Exactly. necessarily. No, no. We have normal insecurities. We all have. Exactly. Of course I had all the normal girl insecurities. Am I good enough?

Am I good enough? I was my hair, my eyebrows, my, you know. One of my biggest insecurities actually was the fact that I was always so muscular.

I had like all this, you know. So that, that actually was even into my adult life one of like these huge insecurities and then being on TV where they want to always shoot you from the side

angle which is the worst and my arms look huge and I'm like no just put me straight on angle please and that was and I talk a lot about body image and stuff in the book that I've never really talked about but body image from a standpoint of totally being a female

living in LA, in the entertainment industry. Yeah. You know, so it's interesting because I didn't have a hang-up about not having legs, but I had hang-ups about all these other things. And you say, how can you be okay without having legs, but then how do you be hung up on the fact that you have muscular arms? Yet, that was such a thing for me. And so it's just funny how we kind of, you know, have all these different things.

But growing up, it's just, I just didn't understand how different I was because I wasn't treated like that anywhere. That's great. At school and sports, at home, you know, it just wasn't like that. And I really think I was protected in a lot of ways. And, again, it was supposed to be that way And I, I really think I was protected in a lot of ways. And again, it was supposed to be that, like it had to be that way.

I couldn't grow up in LA or New York or things like that. It just, I would have had such people. That's a priority. Yeah. Amazing. Now, this is the crazy story is you're a big gymnastics fan and you,

you realize that you had a sister who is, you know, one of the best in the world, but how did this even come about? Like, how did you realize, like, oh, that's my sister on TV in the Olympics? Right. I watched her as a kid. Yes. We're talking about Dominique, right? Yes, Dominique Mochanu.

So, I watched her when I was about seven or eight years old, I think is when I first saw her, and I always loved gymnastics. I mean, we as a family love gymnastics. We love watching it on TV. Yes. And then I see her one day, and I just thought she was so cool. You know, I felt bad. I remember loving her, too.

I was like, I don't even like gymnastics, but I like her. You know what I mean? Yep, yep. It was really, really cool. And I knew she was Romanian, and I knew I was Romanian. And I was always so proud of that I was Romanian because I grew up, there was really no diversity and no culture, so I didn't have anyone that looked like me, number one.

I had, like, thick, tons of thick hair, big eyes. I was really tan growing up. I was always outside, so I just really didn't look like anyone where I grew up in the middle of nowhere. So the fact that someone looked like me and was Romanian, that was kind of everything for me as a kid. So I really drew me to her on those, on those levels as a kid. And then right before I turned 16, I was talking to my best friend at the time. She was also adopted. She found out what her biological last name would have been. And there was just this spark that went off in my brain.

And I said, I wonder if there's anything that my mom and dad know about my biological family that I don't know about. And the fact that I thought that is, that thought was placed in my brain. Because there is no reason I would have to... Why would I think my parents would know something? They were so open and so... They told you everything. Transparent.

Yeah, I knew I was adopted from day one. I knew I was Romanian. I knew probably I was put up for adoption because I didn't have legs. I mean... Did they tell you who the parents were? No. They didn't say that?

No, because they didn't... I mean, no. It was supposed to be a closed adoption. There's a lot of, like, miracle things that are, that happen in order for this to go down. Right.

So, my mom... So they didn't know, necessarily. Not, I mean, okay, so it was supposed to be a closed adoption, which means all of the legal information

is supposed to be blacked out, so you don't see anything or know anything. Well, when I was adopted, my, the social worker had all the adoption papers, and she's, like, literally, she was like, well, these are supposed to all be blacked out. That's weird. Oh, well, here you go. Oh.

And gives my parents all of the legal documents. All your original parents, your biological parents' information. Wow. Yeah, all my adoption information is my parents'. So, um, so, when I'm watching TV one day, they pan to the audience and they show Dimitri Camigliano.

And a light bulb goes off in my mom's head. And she's like, man, that sounds really familiar. She goes and gets all the adoption papers, and that's when she starts doing the math. And she's like, wait a minute, Dimitri Cam Camelia, Romanian, sibling six years older, and she just starts doing math, and that's how she discovered it. And so, but, you know, I was eight.

Dominique then went through this whole public emancipation publicly. You were eight when you found out? When my mom found out. When she found out. I didn't find out. No, no, no. I was too young. That's what I'm saying. So I was found out. I didn't find out. No, no, no. I was too young. That's what I'm saying.

So I was too young. She didn't tell you. Right. I was too young for them to tell me. Dominique had been going through this public emancipation with her parents, so that was like a lot of turmoil. She was 14 then? She was 17.

17. And so that, I mean, she was so young at that time. So my parents just didn't think it was the right time. Sure. And also, I wasn't technically supposed to know legally until I was 18 because it was supposed to be post-adoption. Yes. But then when I came and asked them specifically at 16, almost 16,

they weren't going to lie. Right, right. So that's how the whole thing. So when you were 16, almost 16, that's when you started thinking about it and being like, oh. I just asked if they knew anything. It just happened like that. It wasn't like I had been, that's the thing, I had never cared my whole life.

I was like, oh, I don't know. You were happy. I was happy. They were open about it all. So I was like, okay, I don't really need to know anything about it. Then one day that thought just comes in. I go home and ask my mom, anything you know about my biological family? She says yes to my surprise.

I find out Dominique's my sister. And I'm just like, what? Yeah. Yeah. It is crazy. So you're 16 almost. And she's nine years older? Is that right?

Six years older. Six years older. So she's 21, right? 22. And what was the next step? Did you say, I need to reach out to her? Yeah, of course. She was already, like,

not in touch with her parents anymore. They kind of, like, disowned her? Well, she emancipated, so basically she, I guess they technically call it divorced her parents, that's what they technically emancipation the term is, at 17.

So, but I mean, she did legally at that time, but it's not like she was completely disconnected from the rest of her life. It was just for a period of time, I think, and whatnot. Isn't it funny that they let you go and she let them go? Yeah. It's like car novels or something. It's amazing how I was spared.

I mean, I was really spared from being raised with that family. Not that I wouldn't have, you know. And once I found out Dominique was my sister, I also found out I had another sister. So I have a younger sister, Christina. They both were raised together. And, you know, Christina and I look like twins. We're a year and a half, a year and ten months apart. Wow.

I mean, it's just, it's bizarre. So I immediately wanted them to know that I existed. Okay. You know, I wanted to let them know they had another sister out there. And my uncle, my dad's brother, is a private investigator. So that was very helpful and convenient. And I told them, I said, hey, I really want you to go about this the right way, professionally, all of that.

So can you contact my biological parents? And so we were all pretty much expecting them to be like, I don't know what you're talking about. We didn't get up a child, whatever, you know. But they didn't. I mean, they didn't deny it. I think they were so in shock, just kind of like, how did you find us? It was supposed to be closed, that kind of thing. But after that initial phone conversation with my uncle,

there was no more interaction. Like, they were silent. So it was clear they didn't want to talk about it. They wanted to still keep it a secret. Your parents. My biological parents. So, yeah, I mean, and then I was like, okay, so that was my first date with Santa. And then I saw that Dominique was on this tour, and I was like, okay, so that was my first day at the center. And then I saw that Dominique was on this tour.

And I was like, oh, okay, she's going to stop in Indianapolis. I'm going to somehow get there and find her and let her know. And I was 17 at the time. She was on like a speaking tour or a gymnastics tour? No, a gymnastics tour. To perform at the tennis tour or something? Yeah, it was like a competition thing, yeah. And so I went and was going to go buy the tickets,

and right before I bought the tickets, I got an email from a website saying that she had a pullout, she had an injury. And so I'm like, oh, my gosh, so this is my second failed attempt. And then time fast forwards, I move to Orlando, I start working at Disney World, my whole life changes, I'm just inundated with new, new, new beach guys from all over the world. You know, just like new things in my life. And then towards the end of 2007, the thoughts of being in my biological family just started overwhelming. My thoughts, I was dreaming about it.

I just couldn't stop thinking about it. You just had to make it happen. So that was my, yeah, that was a sign. I was like, all right, this is my third and final shot. This is going to happen. So, yeah, I was like, all right, this is going to work. And so I put together a letter. I copied pictures from when I was a baby until I was 20, which that was the age I was at,

because we looked so much alike, especially my younger sister and I. And then I had my parents mail me the legal documents for my adoption, so she knew it wasn't crazy. Right. And then I packaged it up, my heart and soul in there, and sent it out. Sent it to the parent, your original parents or your younger sister? No, Dominique. Sent it to Dominique.

And your younger sister? Well, I sent it to Dominique because I didn't have, my uncle had found Dominique's information for me. Sure. And Dominique was older, so she was of age. So I wanted to make sure I went through who was older first. And I

knew obviously she would tell me I'm your sister. Right. So I did that, waited for two weeks, which was the longest two weeks of my life. Must have been so hard. It was. I mean, towards the end of the two weeks, I had to kind of prepare myself for... That made her stop responding. Exactly.... I mean, she's not going to respond. Exactly.

Yeah. What if they don't respond? What if they don't want you in your life? What if it's not going to be your happy ending? And that was tough. I mean, I started to get discouraged. And I mean, towards the end of the two weeks, I'm like, okay. Because if I would have gotten that, I would have responded like the next day.

I'm like, are you kidding me? I got a sister. I got a sister. What? And I'm like, two weeks? What is two weeks? She's not... Okay, she's probably just not going to respond at this point. Because, I mean, are you kidding me? I got a sister. I got a sister. What? And I'm like, two weeks? What is two weeks? She's not, okay, she's probably just not going to respond at this point because, I mean, geez, two weeks, you know?

But right before Christmas 2007, I got a letter in the mail, and it was from Dominique. And, you know, this is, mind you, this is not just two weeks. At this point, this is four years, okay? Four years since I found out. Oh, my gosh. And I wanted to make sure that it was done right. I wanted to make sure that it was handled right and with finesse. So four years, right? And it's a long time. And then I finally get the letter and then I'm like, well, what if it says, you know, what if it's not happy? What if they don't, what if they get it, you know, grab here? Exactly. So I said, open it up like a Band-Aid moment and just read it.

And then I got to the middle of the letter, and she said that I was about to be an auntie. Wow. And so I was like, okay, I guess I made it in the family then, you know. They've accepted me, and the letter was beautiful, you know. It was just a full acceptance. And I got flowers the next day from both my sisters. Oh my gosh. And a vase. I still have

the vase next to my bed. And then we all met in May of 2008. So about five months after that. Where? In Ohio. Cleveland. No way. See? I don't know. Good things happened there.

Amazing. What was the why Cleveland why Ohio why Dominique lives there so my younger sister and I she lives there now

awesome yep it's even better yep my younger sister and I flew there because you know she

we were living in apartments and she had a house so it just made sense to fly where there's the most love sure sure sure where was your younger sister living? My younger sister's in Texas, in Houston.

Okay, cool. So she lives, so we're all from different states, different time zones. And what about your biological parents? So I met my biological, well, my biological father passed before I could meet him. Oh. But, you know, before he died, he wanted to meet me, which I thought was really cool. And I don't know, there's something, like, really cool about that. That's nice.

It was me, and I thought was really cool. And I don't know, there's something, like, really cool about that. That was me, and I thought that was really awesome. So then I met Camelia, my biological mother, in January 2010. And I met her... A couple years later. Yes, later. So I established my sister's relationship first, and then met her. Because it's just...

It's just different. You know, it's just a totally different... No judgment from your sisters. There's no, like, weirdness or messiness. It's like, they you know. It's just a totally different. No judgment from your sisters. There's no, like, weirdness or messiness. It's like they didn't do anything. Right. They didn't. They didn't.

They didn't know. They don't feel like what she would feel like. They didn't know either, did they? No, they didn't know. No. That's insane. Yeah. So meeting her was, I mean, was slow motion and camellia.

Yeah. And, but it was, you know, it was good. I mean, the next, after I met her, the next day my parents drove in, and me, my parents, camellia, her new husband, and my sisters, and my brother-in-law, we all had dinner together. Wow. Which was really cool. You know, it was like my world's coming together.

Yeah. And that was really, really cool for me. And my parents made sure that they told Camelia, hey, you know, we don't hold anything against you. We never have. And they raised me to not hold any unforgiveness or bitterness. Resentfulness. Right. Because, you know, bottom line, they're like, listen, bottom line, it really doesn't matter why it came you up, because this is how it was supposed to work.

Yeah. And look what I dodged. Like, I dodged a life of abuse and turmoil. And happiness. Who knows what would have happened. I know. I mean, I wouldn't have been provided the life and the childhood that I was obvious. I mean, that's just, that's an obvious one.

And so even though my sisters and I would have liked to have been raised together, we all agree. I mean, it's, you know, it had to happen that way for me. I really need to be out of that so I can be who I am, you know, today. Do you have a good relationship with your sisters still? Yeah, you know, we work on it like anything. And they're both married. They both have kids.

My younger sister just had a kid. Wow. And so they do their own thing, and we each have busy lives, and we're each in different states, different time zones. So it's not easy. I mean, you have to really kind of really try to make it work, and I travel all the time. It's really hard for me, too. I'm emotionally

exhausted. I'm just tired. Or, you know, 15-hour time difference, or in a country that you can't use social media. So it's just, it's not exactly the easiest. But like family, occasionally, my sister had her baby shower, and when she had her baptism, we flew to Texas for that. So we kind of all meet up. So, you know, different things like that bring us together. That's cool. Yeah. Wow. What about Camelia?

Do you talk to her now and then or not? Yeah, I mean, I talk to her every now and then, and it's just a different relationship, obviously. And I think she has a lot of her own healing and things to go through that it's just going to take a bit longer for her. Yeah, of course. Amazing. I'm so impressed. healing and things to go through that it's just going to take a bit longer for her. Amazing. I'm so impressed. It just blows my mind, this story.

I kind of fathom myself, so it's amazing to see what you've created for your life, your dreams, and making it come true for yourself with this experience. It's really powerful. I'm just blown away. I don't know how I would react to any of these things, with this experience. So it's really powerful. I'm just like blown away. Thank you.

I don't know how I would react to any of these things if it were me. So it's blown me away how strong you are. Thank you. Thank you. It's, you know, been a whole bunch of people pouring into me my entire life. Yeah, yeah. And that's what I kind of made in the book was I highlighted all those people who, you know, the point is I didn't get where I'm at today because of myself. And, oh, aren't I so awesome? This was a solo venture.

It's because people since I was adopted have poured into me and encouraged me and strengthened me and loved on me, loved on me, loved on me from the beginning. And that's why I am where I am. loved on me, loved on me from the beginning. And that's why I am where I am. What would you say to parents who, what advice would you give parents with any kids who have any type of insecurity? Because although they may not have been born without legs, I think a lot of children go through insecurities,

go through uncertainties, beat ourselves up as kids, beat ourselves up as adults. But what advice would you give to parents in general on how to love their child, no matter what is going on with their child? Because it sounds like your parents just loved you no matter what. Well, one of the things I'm so impressed by is they allowed me to be who I already was, like who I was meant to be, which that might sound kind of easy, but think about, that's not easy because all my friends' parents that I knew, they always tried to make them some, like, you need to be in football, you need to be in gymnastics, you need to be in piano, you need, so it's pushing their own dreams on their kids, right?

And it's not, most of the time, I don't even think it's, they don't even mean anything by it. They're just wanting to, like, they think they're helping their kid, right? So they think that. And my parents, by doing that, they gave me my own mind. That is everything. That has translated 100% into me as an adult because it gave me

the confidence to make my own decisions. That, I mean, so many people to this day that I know can't be confident in making their own decisions. They have to ask 30 people and then they're spinning around. They don't know what to do because they gave this advice and that person gave that advice. I don't know. I mean, I'm insecure.

I can't be confident enough in my own decisions, so I don't know. And then you don't move forward. Then you move backwards. You stand still, which is the worst. That all starts as a kid because they let me make mistakes. That's huge because then when you make your own decisions, and even if you succeed or if you fail, you're confident in the fact that, hey, I made my own decision. Like, I can stand on my own two feet.

I can do this. Yeah. But that didn't start when I was 10 or 15. Right, right. That started from the beginning. Amazing. You know, my parents showed me in school, the school system wanted to assign this aide with me to go around everywhere with me, carry my bags, you know, lead from class to class

with me, go up and down the stairs. My parents were like, listen, this cannot happen. She's going to be independent. She's going to figure out how to carry her bags and go up and down all the stairs in the 3 to 5 minute window to every class, just like everyone else. There's no elevators, right? There's no elevators, no.

My school was built in 1912. So how are you getting up? Four floors. I was walking up and down the stairs. Just like everyone else. Amazing. I backpack or my messenger bag, and I'm like, what if you getting up? Four floors. I was walking up and down the stairs. Oh, man. Just like everyone else. Amazing. I backpack or my messenger bag. And they're like, well, what if she gets her finger stepped on? I was like, then she doesn't know how to get out of the way. Yeah.

Like, because this is life. You don't seclude somebody in a bubble. Wow. I mean, and they also didn't say, like, when I came to them and said, I want to do all the sports that I did, softball, basketball, volleyball, power tumbling, even roller skating, I said, I want you to do. They're like, well, what are you going to do? What are you going to do with the roller skates?

You don't have feet. Instead of telling me all the reasons why I couldn't do it, why it was too dangerous, why it was too fragile, why it was too hard, they're like, okay, well, then we'll put the skates on your hands. Figure it out. And that's what I did. That's cool. So it's, you know, don't make your kids afraid of trying new things.

Don't stop them from a love. I had an obsession with me. I wanted to be a mermaid. I wanted to be a fairy. I wanted the seashell bra. I wanted the pink hair. I loved all these fantasy and fairytale things. And my parents, they didn't just tolerate it.

They celebrated that. They loved that I had this imagination. And that might sound like, okay, well, what does that have to do with anything? Because I think so many people, we all know what our dreams and goals and our passions are. It's because we knew them as a kid. But that's when they get shut down. Oh, don't be silly. Those things aren't real.

And so, okay, of course mermaids and fairies aren't real, but it's not about that. It's about the fact that you're crushing the imagination from the beginning. Then that translates into adults who are settling for a mediocre life. I don't mean to be so like crass about it, but a lot of times I feel like that's what it is. And then they think, oh, my passion is stupid and childish, so it can't possibly be my job. I can't live a life like that. That's for those people. No, I think everyone can do that. I think I have seen the most creative people turn the most unbelievable things into full-time jobs, and they're so happy because they're doing what they love,

and they're bringing their gift to the world, and that's how they can touch someone. I mean, this is my soapbox. I have many, but still, it's like that's not just an easy answer. Sorry. No, it's great. I love it. I mean, this is my soapbox. I have many, but still, it's like, that's not just an easy answer. Sorry. No, it's great. I love it. I love it. Yeah. What do you feel like you were born to do? Wow. Well, I think I was born to do a lot of things. I think if there's like one kind

of statement, it's really, I was born to be who I am. I was born to be myself. And that is in performing as an aerialist and an acrobat. That is in being a speaker. That is in being an author. That is in being in fitness and health, nutrition, advocate for clean living, clean eating, adoption. You know, total advocate for adoption, obviously. And travel, you know, total advocate for adoption, obviously, and travel, you know, like, it's amazing to me what people will find as an inspiration. I've been to, like, 14 countries so far, which, that's awesome, but I want to go to, you know,

way more, but people just, they're like, oh my gosh, I can't believe, that's so inspiring, I'm so afraid to travel, blah, blah, blah. I'm like, wait a minute, that's inspiring? Yeah, right. You know, and then they'll say other things like, oh my gosh, it's so inspiring that you work out all the time and that you're in shape. And I'm like, why would I, why is that inspiring? Like, there are just things that I don't understand that are inspiring. So I just kind of came to that.

I'm like, wow, I'm really just meant to continually be who I am, like standing strong in who I am, being confident in who I am, and going into all these avenues, you know, in beauty avenues, with modeling stuff, doing all these things, where because I'm so used to me, I don't get it. I'm glad I don't get it either, by the way. I don't want to see myself like that. But it is inspiring people, and not only just in one field.

That's what's exciting. It's women. It's tweens. It's the adoption crowd. It's the athletes. It's the performers. It's, you know, it's all these, you know, male athletes, female athletes, younger, older, family stories, sisters, all of that stuff so that so many people, not only in our country but in other countries,

can be touched and everyone takes different things away from you. What would you say is missing from your life right now? Well, I want to get married and have kids at some point. I really think I'm going to be a great wife and be a great mom. Not like, oh, I'm boosting my ego. Just I think I'm at a place where I'm kind of like I can offer that now. You know, I can love on someone. I can put my time into that and put my heart into that.

And then, you know, I've been an aunt since I was 10 years old. I've been around kids my whole life. So I also think one day, you know, I would like to be a mom and like to have a couple, but I'd also love to adopt. I'd like to do both. Yeah, because, I mean, I feel like how could I not? I mean, it changed my life. How amazing to change someone else's life in that way where, you know, my life was going to go left, and then it took a hard right and for the better.

It's like I want to be able to do that for a couple kids. That's cool. Have you found the guy? No. I found many guys but not the one right yet. Not the right one. I've met so many beautiful people on my travels.

Isn't it amazing? I love human beings. I love to love people. I do too. Everyone. It's so much fun. That's in the West of me, first of all. But that's in me too. My lifestyle has made dating a bit challenging.

Not only my lifestyle, but also my life in general and what comes along with me. So I've met these amazing men and really have nothing bad to say about them, just I knew they weren't the right ones. The right ones or the right timing or whatever, yeah. Or the right geography. Halfway around the world time and time again.

Of course. But that's something that's definitely a desire that one day it'll happen. I'll keep an eye out for it. Thank you. A good Midwestern guy. You know, it helps. Exactly. If you could go back and choose to have legs, would you do it? People ask me that all the time as a kid.

And I love, I thought about it. I wanted to, as a kid, I'm like, no, I want to really give a good answer. Like, I want to give an authentic answer. And so I thought about it for a while, like for days. And I thought, and I always come to the conclusion, no. Because I knew that I was born like this

and if I hadn't been born like this, then my whole identity and purpose would not be, like, I wouldn't be doing what I was meant to do. Yeah. I wouldn't have the platform that I have today to reach millions of people. Right.

Yeah. Without being born without legs. Yeah. So, it would be, I could say yes, and it would be very selfish. I mean, I could be, I could say, oh, well, because it would make my life a little easier in certain areas. I want to have legs because I can wear shoes because I freaking love shoes. I would be broke if I could wear shoes. I just went that way.

Hey, it's good. You've got a lot of money now. You save a lot of money. Right? I save so much money. You know, I could say that, but at the end of the day, like, no way. I mean, because it would be rooted in total selfishness. And the, uh, what's

more important? Like, having those things that don't matter at the end of the day? No one's going to say anything about that in your funeral. Plus, you had great shoes, and you had great legs, and, uh, okay. Great. No. I, that's not what anyone, I hope that's not what people want when they die, you know? It's like, it's far

more important that I can reach and touch people and hopefully change lives just through sharing my story because that's the purpose. It's meant to be shared my whole life. My parents are totally the heroes in this book. My faith is the hero of this book. My community, my teachers, all the people that have poured in, that's the point. That's, you know, is to continue to be humbled by that and give light where all these people have given light and love to me.

I mean, it's just, it's made me who I am. And so, no, I can't say that I'd rather have legs because it would forfeit all the amazing goodness that I'm able to do for people. I asked Kyle Maynard, who's born without arms and legs, the same thing. He was like, dude, my life would be probably boring on average. He's like, I live such an incredible life because of the way I was born, and I get to see so many things and touch so many people in a powerful way. And I don't feel, you know, he's able to do everything he wants to do. And he says, like, I just

would have had such an amazing life with, you know, legs and arms. So just at a Nike commercial, you know, he's constantly doing cool stuff, things he wants to do. He's awesome. I love Kyle. He's a cool guy. That's cool. Final few questions

for you. I want to make sure people go get the book, Everything Is Possible. Finding the Faith and Courage to Follow Your Dreams. Make sure you guys pick this up. It's out right now. Get it. Share it with your friends. Be inspired. What are you grateful for in your life recently?

Oh, I have a lot to be grateful for. Seeing the support from this book, people just coming out of the woodwork, supporting it, posting left and right, reposting, reposting, reposting. It's just like, wow. And then hearing people's feedback

from how they're touched, I'm like, oh my gosh. And again, people are pulling in such different directions from how they were inspired. It was like, oh my gosh, that's what I wanted for this book. And then when you see it happening and you hear people pouring into you

and telling you, giving you these reviews and feedback and you're like, oh my gosh, my life was changed. It's just like, this is unbelievable. I'm not even 30. I mean, that just blows my mind. Thank you.

That's really cool. Thank you. You have really strong hands too. Hopefully after this we're going to do some hands together. I'm an aerialist. I hold my life in my hands. You're not the one who's so strong. It's so strong. It's amazing. Do you ever walk on your hands?

Yeah, all the time. I'm in the gym five days a week, like a conventional gym, not an aerial gym. Yeah. And so I don't use my chair. You know, I park it and then I go do my thing. You walk around on your hands. Yeah. I mean, that's how I grew up. My chair never was in my house. So it just, that was so normal for me. It's easier. It is. It's just so much easier. Like, this is kind of annoying sometimes. The chair is a bit annoying. But it's kind of like shoes.

Maybe, like, flip-flops is the best example. You just kind of kick them on and off when you need them. Sure. That's sort of how I use the chair. That's cool. Yeah. That's cool. And you live, where do you live?

You live, I mean, you live by yourself or you can do everything on your own? Oh, yeah, of course. Yeah. That's pretty easy. Yeah, for 10 years. Easy. Since I was 19, yeah. Live on your own. Oh, yeah, of course. It's pretty easy. Yeah, for 10 years. So I was 19, yeah. So not your own? Yeah.

Own apartment? Yeah, I mean, I've had roommates and stuff. Sure, sure, sure. But, yeah. That's cool. You were 19 when you left? I did. I moved to Orlando when I was 19.

Wow. Yeah. I've always been very independent. That's cool. I always knew a small town really wasn't where I wanted to be. Yeah. I'm very grateful I grew up there, but I just wasn't happy. I wanted more.

Where does that end up? I can't wait to be happy in a small town. I love going back home. I love going back and being there and just kind of chilling. I do too. People are so good. It is like the minute I land,

I'm like, oh. It's relaxing, right? It's so peaceful. It's calm. It's slow. It's calm. The chaos here is a little messed up sometimes with traffic, right? Oh, shit.

The reason why I started this podcast was because of traffic in L.A. I moved here, and I was driving around, I think on the 10 or something, one day to get to the gym or wherever. And I remember being like, man, I'm just frustrated with this traffic. I'm not used to this. And I saw everyone else around me frustrated. I was like, this is not the way we should be living. Like, what if I could create something for people who are in traffic all the time, all around the world who are frustrated and give them some inspiration or education on how to move through this frustration. That's how the first idea of school grants just started.

I like that. L.A. traffic. The adversity brings the positivity. There you go. This is one of the final few questions. This is called the three truths. Three truths. It's many years from now, your last day here on Earth,

and everything you've ever created is erased. Videos, books, it's all gone for whatever reason. And you've done everything you wanted to do. Your whole family, you've got your kids there, you've got your adopted kids, you've got your biological kids, you've got the man of your dreams. Everyone's there. And they say, but we don't have anything that you put out. All your books are gone for whatever reason.

But here's a piece of paper and a pen. You write down your three truths, the three things you know to be true about everything you've experienced in life that you want to pass on to us. What would you say are your three truths? I would say focus on today and not any further. Don't go any further on your day-to-day life. Love freely.

And there's way more than three. Yeah, love freely and always be humble. That's good. Yeah. There's seven years and many more, but those are the three that came up. That's good. Yeah. There's seven years and many more, but those are the three that came up.

Okay, cool. I want to acknowledge you for a moment, Jen, for your incredible courage and inspiration for being yourself because I think so many people in this world

aren't themselves. As simple as it may sound, there are so many people that don't show up as their true, authentic at this point in time and growing up the way you did with the challenges you had to know that you are strong

loving, joyful and fulfilling who you are is really inspiring to me and I know to so many people so I acknowledge you for that I acknowledge you for sharing your story I acknowledge you for your incredible heart your joy, your love, your laughter it's all incredible so I acknowledge you for that. I acknowledge you for sharing your story. I acknowledge you for your incredible heart, your joy, your love, your laughter. It's all incredible, so I appreciate you. Thank you.

Thank you so much. Of course. Where can we connect with you online? Where should we go to see you the most online? Okay, well, Snapchat, Instagram, Facebook, all Jen Bricker. And my website is JenBricker.com You can find the book on Amazon, Barnes & Noble everywhere, anywhere

my website, all of it. So you can keep up to date the best way on all my social media. Awesome. Is there anything you want to share before I ask the final question? No, I think I'm ready. Okay. Well, the final question is, what's your definition of greatness?

Ooh, my definition of greatness. Hmm. Greatness can be many things. I'm huge on authenticity. So, I think living a life of authenticity every day is very great.

I think there's a lot of greatness in that because that can be a lifetime battle for a lot of people, or an everyday battle. And so I think challenging yourself every day to be authentic and push yourself outside your comfort zone and be vulnerable. Those are some big definitions of greatness that I would say. Awesome. Jen, thank you so much for coming on.

Thank you so much. Appreciate it. That is right. Hope you guys enjoyed this episode. I loved connecting with Jen. And if you want to see us do some handstands together where Jen does handstand on my hands in the air and see what she does, it's super inspiring. We took a lot of photos, a lot of video. Go back to lewishouse.com slash 383 to watch the full video behind the scenes, and you're going to see how inspiring Jen actually is.

If you enjoyed this, let me know what you think. Again, we have incredible content over on youtube.com slash Lewis Howes. Become a subscriber there, guys. We are producing some amazing stuff there. All the people that find out about it are like, wow, I wish I was listening to this and watching this over a year ago when you started posting this content. So go check out the content there. We're almost at 100,000 subscribers. It's been growing like crazy. And also, leave a comment, either at the YouTube channel,

on the blog, over on Instagram, Twitter, wherever you find works best for you. Leave a comment. Connect with me at Lewis Howes. I'm at Lewis Howes everywhere online. And with that, guys, you know what time it is.

It's time to go out there and do something great. Outro Music