What Doesn't Kill You...Makes You A Prod...

stronger Hey Moguls, JP here…

I know what you’re thinking, this is kind of a weird title. After all, I am referring to the old saying by Friedrich Nieitzsche, “What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.”

Great quote, right? The thing is though, it’s only true if you choose to make it your reality.

Look, we all face hardships and challenges, which range from small to medium to ginormous, in the way of tragedy, great loss or perhaps something that seems to be of insurmountable odds…

What doesn’t kill you can make you bitter or better. The power is yours.

So instead of a saying just being a saying, you need to put the thought behind that saying into action – that’s what makes it so.

When we face these life challenges, the decision is ours to choose how we respond to that obstacle and whether we let it be something that damages or destroys us, or something that calls greatness out of us.

We have the power within us. With that in mind, I’d like to take that saying and shake it up a bit:

“What doesn’t kill you makes you a prodigy.”

So why do I say “prodigy” (a person with impressive or outstanding qualities or abilities that are out of the ordinary) instead of “stronger” (able to withstand great force or pressure)? Because when you are faced with life’s challenges you can not only come out stronger, you can come out a better… maybe even exceptional.

Have you ever heard the Rick Hoyt story? This is the perfect example of someone, two people actually, rising above a horrific situation to something amazing. If you’re like me, this story leaves you in awe and even a bit ashamed of yourself…

The Rick Hoyt Story: A Father’s Relentless Love for His Son

(Originally from TODAY News online written by Laura T. Coffey)

Rick Hoyt was born 51 years ago and sustained severe brain damage during birth. The doctors deemed he would never be able to participate in mainstream society and told his parents, “Forget Rick. Put him away in an institution. He’s going to be a vegetable for the rest of his life.’” Rick’s father Dick, now 72, says, “Today he’s 51 years old and we still haven’t figured out what kind of vegetable he is.”

Rick’s parents never listened to the advice about institutionalizing their son. Even though Rick couldn’t speak or use his arms or legs, his mom and dad decided to raise him just like any other child. They took him camping, cross-country skiing and swimming at the beach with his two younger brothers, and they also enrolled him in public school.

His career as a celebrated athlete began when he was in middle school. Rick attended a college basketball game and heard an announcement about a student who had been in an accident and was paralyzed from the waist down. A charity road race was in the works to help the student pay his medical bills.

“Rick came home from that basketball game and he said via a special computer, ‘Dad, I have to do something for him. I want to let him know that life goes on even though he’s paralyzed. I want to run in the race,’” Dick said. At the time, Dick was 40 years old and was not a runner. He saw how fueled up his son was, though, and he knew he had to do something. He decided to head out to the 5-mile race and try pushing Rick in a heavy, box-shaped chair with handles on top.

handicapped Rick went on to graduate not only from public high school but also from Boston University. Today, with the help of personal care attendants, he lives independently in his own apartment.

But what’s most amazing is that both Hoyts— father and son — have since had a life-sized bronze statue placed at the starting line of the Boston Marathon to honor them. The statue captures them doing what they’ve done together nearly 1,100 times since the early 1980s: run in marathons, 5Ks, Ironman events and other triathlons as “Team Hoyt.”

“We came in next to last, but not last,” said Dick, who lives in Holland, Massachusetts. “When we got home that night, Rick wrote on his computer, ‘Dad when I’m running, it feels like my disability disappears,’ which was a very powerful message to me. ...“But at the end of the race, I was disabled. I could hardly walk for two weeks after that. ... I knew we needed to have a chair built.”

The Hoyts did have a chair engineered for them, and they kept on running and training together. Before long, they also fashioned a special boat and bicycle so they could swim and ride together in triathlons. Dick tows Rick in the boat as he swims, then carries his son to the bike — which has a combined weight of 400 pounds when both Hoyts are locked and loaded. After they complete their bike ride, Dick carries Rick to the running chair and they tackle the run together.

To date, the Hoyts have finished 1,091 races, including 252 triathlons (six of which were Ironman-distance), 70 marathons, 94 half marathons and 155 5K races and 1 Boston Marathon.

Do You Sink or Swim?

Ask yourself some of these…

When life hands you challenges, do you tread hard enough to get through it or do you grow as a person?
Are you more patient?
Humble?
Closer to God?
Selfless?
Did you realize what you take for granted and what’s most important in your life?
Did you realize your true reason for living?
Do you realize what you really want to spend your life doing?
What specifics did you learn about yourself?

What I am saying is said really well in this quote by Peter Marshall:

“When we long for life without difficulties, remind us that oaks grow strong in contrary winds and diamonds are made under pressure.”

The Conners Story: Undying Passion for Life

So there is this kid, Lachlan Conners, who is a junior in high school. He’s loves sports and is really athletic, especially in Lacrosse. During lacrosse practice on day he takes a hard fall, leaving him with a head concussion. The junior then started to experience Epileptic seizures.

bears The doctors, of course, told him it would be dangerous to keep playing lacrosse. Although he was heartbroken that he couldn’t carry on with his love of sports, he soon learned that his horrible tragedy left him with a gift – a gift for music – which he had previously shown no interest or talent in.

Lachlan seemed to have the gift of playing music without having to read music. Lachlan claims it has to be the hit to the head that has made him such a different person by what he calls “rewiring his brain.” Now that Lachlan has discovered his amazing ability and passion for music, he professes it’s his real reason for living.

So if this guy can be knocked in the head and suffer a concussion that makes him give up his favorite thing in the world, only to find another skill – music – that he never knew existed and become his true reason for living, do you…

Sink, tread water or swim like hell?

What Can We Take Away?

Be aware – life is going to sucker punch you, it's not a matter of if, it's a matter of when. When it does happen, you can choose to live in the reality of what doesn't kill you makes you stronger because that's what you're determined to make happen. Or, you can fall back and let it maim and wound and destroy you. The choice is yours.

You get to decide how the events that you're facing shape you. That's powerful. But you have to own it. You may not be able to control the circumstances, but you can control how those circumstances affect your life.

It’s all about your mindset. You can dwell on your sorrows and loses, or you can decide to be better; be a prodigy by tapping into greatness you didn’t even know you had.