My Story
I’m a 34 year old living in Minnesota who has always been drawn to sports, relationships, family and values. Family has always been an enormous part of my life. I’ve learned that a lot of my values, beliefs and mindsets are drawn from my family, and primarily from my parents. Anyone who has met my parents knows what I mean by that, they are the greatest parents a child could ask for. I’m a bit of a shoe fanatic, Nike Air Force 1’s being my favorite. I’ve been in sales and working the 9 to 5 for about 11 years now and love getting to communicate with people for a living. I have a deep love for music of all kinds. It started with a pump up tune before a game or working out, but over the years I’ve learned to really love all genres and styles. Depending on my mood or day I’ll listen to anything from 1940s all the way to modern hip-hop. If you knew me in my college days, you would have to fight me for the aux cord!
14 years ago I was injured in an accident paralyzed from the neck down. I went through and continue to navigate a life full of challenges. When I was first injured, for the first weeks I had to blink my eyes to communicate on a board with letters. During this difficult time, I vowed to myself that if I ever got my voice back, I would use it for something good and something meaningful. Throughout my 14 years of injury, surgeries, ongoing complications, I have kept the same mindset of perseverance, positivity and hope. I never wanted to utilize my injury to get me somewhere in life and so I’ve been grinding and pushing myself and proving to myself and everyone around me that I can be just as successful as an able-bodied person. During these 14 years, I’ve learned a lot about myself, the world around me and I think I’ve grown a very unique mindset on how to navigate through life.
14 years later, I’m finally ready to publicly talk about my injury and the mindset that I have developed over the years. I know that everyone faces challenges, and I’m not saying mine are any worse than yours. People face challenges of all kinds, physical, mental and so on, but what will get us through these tough times always starts with a strong mindset. I choose to look for joy and happiness every single day, therefore I find it. I’m launching this podcast to be able to share my life as a quadriplegic, talking about a strong mindset and having guests that have had an impact on my journey, people who have overcome something and learn how they were able to stay on top. The message will remain one of positivity, perseverance and hope. I can’t wait to share this journey with you!