October 8, 2024 • 36 mins
Kyle Goodknight introduces Nick Prefontaine, who shares his compelling story of overcoming a traumatic brain injury from a skiing accident. They discuss the crucial role of a paramedic and Nick's mother's actions in the ICU that contributed to his recovery. Nick introduces his STEP system, detailing his transition from a real estate career to investing and becoming a public speaker despite initial voice issues. They highlight the importance of coaching and mentorship, and Nick explains how to access his STEP system. The episode covers Nick's journey from realtor to financial advisor, his daily steps for success, and his evolution as a keynote speaker
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Episode Transcript
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(00:00):
Kyle, thank you for saying that because no oneno one gets that.
No one's at, like, the I'm, like, not at all.
When you're going through this, as soon asyou're younger, time is compressed.
And it's, like, a week feels like 7 years, not7 days.
Hello, and welcome back to the Ignition Pathpodcast.
(00:21):
I'm your host, Kyle Goodnight.
I'm so happy for you to join us today.
I'm here with Nick Prefontaine, who was anindividual I met on a pre call, of course,
because I'd make sure I have pre calls witheverybody that comes on my podcast.
So if you're out there in podcast world and youwanna come on podcast, you don't wanna call me
first and get to know me and me get to knowyou, then just, you know, maybe find some other
podcast.
But, Nick, how are you doing today?
(00:42):
Nice to see you again.
I'm outstanding, Kyle.
I'm so excited we were able to put this in.
Yeah.
Absolutely.
I appreciate the the flexibility that you'veyou've given me over the last couple of weeks
with all of this.
So I really appreciate that.
And I'm super happy to have you on.
You know, your story and your path, your yourentrepreneurial path, kind of kind of hit home
(01:03):
with me because everyone knows, and and Iusually mention this on my podcast, that I
there's some connections with who I have comeon and some of the background that I have in my
full time job, which is a as a paramedic.
So your path kinda comes along those lines thatyour your injury that you'll share with
everybody, you know, kind of started you on theentrepreneurial path from how I remember our
(01:24):
discussion.
So real quick, just tell everybody who you are,and just give us a short scenario of of what
brought you through your entrepreneurial pathand what you did beforehand, and then, of
course, your incident that that caused that,and and then we'll get further on into the the
show after that.
Yeah.
Sure.
So, very excited to share this because I don'tget the opportunity to go as in-depth as I
(01:47):
would like to and down down certain, certainpaths, if you will, of the story.
And with you being being a paramedic, it's it'ssuper applicable.
And to share how that all fits in myentrepreneurial path, I think your listeners
will will, will really relate to it.
(02:07):
We really like it.
So, my story my origin story, if you will, allstarts when I was at ski club with my friends
in 8th grade.
And my friends and I had all brought oursnowboard gear onto the bus to get ready so we
wouldn't miss a precious moment once we got tothe mountain.
So we got up to the mountain, and the rest ofthe class wasted time.
(02:28):
They headed inside and took their time and gotready, but not us.
My friends and I, we were we were ready to go.
So we hit the chairlift, and on the way up, thechairlift went right over the train park where
all of the jumps were.
I knew as soon as I saw it, Kyle, that I had togo off the biggest jump of the train park.
(02:49):
So I got to the top, buckled into my snowboard,and took a breath of that crisp winter air and
confidently charged towards that jump with allmy speed.
Going out to the jump, I caught the edge of mysnowboard, and that's the last thing that I
remember.
So I was told that I landed on my head.
(03:10):
I wasn't wearing a helmet.
There were three things that enabled me toreally be able to share this story and talk to
you today, which one of which is although Iwasn't wearing a helmet, I was wearing a pair
of goggles, and there were lot of padding onthe goggles.
They were, spies.
(03:31):
They were they were called spies if you'refamiliar with any of your listeners are.
So they had a lot of padding, and I learnedthat not only did they brace my initial impact,
as I continue to roll down the mountain and hitmy head because I didn't just hit once and then
it was done.
As I continue to roll down the mountain and hitmy head, the goggles mysteriously moved with an
(03:54):
I believe not so mysteriously because I believeeverything happens for a reason.
So they moved with each impact, embrace myfall.
That was the first thing.
The second thing, which I think is why I reallyrelate to you being a paramedic, and I'm sure
you'll appreciate this.
So they wanted to bring a helicopter to themountain to rush me to the hospital.
(04:18):
They couldn't because it was too windy, so theyhad to send in an ambulance.
Out of all the paramedics in the county, therewas only one who could intubate on the spot,
and I needed that to be able to breathe.
Mhmm.
He was one of the paramedics that showed up tothe mountain that day.
And there are still several things that I can'texplain because of my accident, and now I know
(04:45):
it's one of the reasons why I'm here tellingthis story today.
The third thing, once I got to the hospital, Iwas they the doctors communicated to my parents
that I've been in a snowboarding accident,suffered a traumatic brain injury.
Based on the impact alone, I would have beenout for 7 to 10 days.
(05:08):
They had to I already had swelling in my brain,and the doctors were worried that if I woke up
and panicked, it would increase and then itwould have died.
So because it was already so high, so they hadto induce me partially induce me into a home.
And when I was resting in the ICU, I was I wasout.
(05:32):
So I was resting in the ICU, and the doctors,through no fault of their own, came into my
room to share progress updates with my parentson how I was doing.
And the only people that were allowed in thereat the time were my parents because of the
severity of my injury.
So the doctors, no fault of their own, startedto tell them the news and the not so good news,
(05:55):
not so good news, not so good news.
And they went to share that right in front ofme because they figured out, he's what what's
he gonna care?
He's he's in a coma.
He's out.
So they started they started to share, and mymom stopped stopped them.
She said, no.
No.
Not in front of him because she understood thateven though I was in a coma, Kyle, I was still
(06:17):
taking in information.
So she made the doctor step outside my room,and once they're outside my room, that's where
the doctor shared that he's he's in a coma.
We don't know how long he's going to be in thecoma.
And even if he's going to come out, even if hedoes come out, however long it is, there's a
(06:40):
good chance that he's never going to be able towalk, talk, or eat on his own ever again.
K.
And because none of that got through to me,none of that influenced me, whether
subconsciously or unconsciously, where if thedoctor said that in the room, like, with me
(07:02):
right there, who knows if if the outcomewould've would've turned out differently?
So because I didn't know any of that, what itenabled me to do is I was in the coma for 3
weeks, and I really don't remember a monthbecause it was a partially induced coma.
They had to take slowly me off of the the,medication that helped save my life.
(07:26):
And after a month, I was transported to a rehabhospital in Boston, and that's where I started
my journey.
And it's been I've lay I've learned and andI've kinda done this work.
And with a mentor of mine, I've learned that Iunknowingly use a system to not only make a
full recovery, but run out of the hospital.
(07:50):
And that's the STEP system.
So STEP is an acronym.
It stands for support.
You gotta make sure you have the support ofyour family and friends.
This is going to have you falling back onrelationships that you built prior to your
setback.
T is trust.
Trust that once you take your first step, yournext step is always going to be available to
(08:12):
you.
This also starts with trusting that calling,that voice in the back of your head that you
have inside of you.
You have to follow that, and I'll get intothat, how that relates to my my entrepreneurial
journey a little bit a little bit later.
And then e is energy.
Energy, by maintaining your energy, you allowyour body's natural ability to be able to heal
(08:37):
itself.
And then p is persistence.
So once you take your first step, keep gettingup every day and taking your next step no
matter how small.
By continuing to move forward every day, youare building an unstoppable momentum.
So if you fast forward a little bit, less than60 days later, after being transported to the
(09:00):
rehab hospital of Boston, I realized my goal ofrunning out of the hospital.
And after running out of the hospital, itreally wasn't like my work was done.
I had to, like, continue to go to outpatienttherapy for another 6 months along with being
tutored all summer long, 5 days a week in orderto continue on to high school with the rest of
(09:24):
my classmates.
And, Kyle, looking back on it, it's a littlesurreal, but only 18 months after finishing
rehab from suffering a traumatic brain injury,I got my start in real estate.
It was door knocking free for closure doors.
So homeowners that had received a notice of thecall letter from the bank, and I would go and
(09:47):
get a list of these and knock on the door andtry to set up meetings with our investor to
meet with them about potentially helping themout of their unfortunate situation.
And looking back on this, I can see that it wasa part of my recovery, going door to door,
helping people out of their unfortunatesituation.
(10:09):
If you kinda move forward past there, Igraduated high school, got my real estate
license, started helping buyers and sellers fora real, as a realtor.
And then in 2014, my dad, Chris, started buyingproperties, not 2013 14.
(10:29):
Started buying properties nonconventionallywithout signing personally on bank loans or
using big down payments or investor downpayments.
And he asked me he came to me, hey.
Would you be able to help me market these and,get these on the market?
Because I'm getting all these properties, but Idon't know what to do with them.
And I, after wrestling it, figured out, oh, Ican do that right alongside being a realtor.
(10:55):
And over the course of 14 months, my incomeshifted where I was making the majority of my
income helping him as an investor, so it didn'tmake sense for me to keep my real estate
license.
And, really, in, 2012, I developed a voiceissue.
(11:15):
It it was almost like I I couldn't even speak.
It was like it was like hard to get the wordsout, if that makes sense.
So I started and I don't even think I told youabout that on our, my No.
I don't think so.
Because, yeah, my my my first initial being arespiratory therapist as well, my first initial
thought process is how many years after yourinjury was that was that downfall of your voice
(11:39):
because there's vocal cord dysfunction that canhappen with long term innovation.
So yeah.
Yeah.
It was it was, approximately 9 approximately 9years.
Yeah.
That's so it's sub something separate.
Yeah.
That's, alright.
So I had that happen to me, and then I finallywound up I developed that in 2012.
(11:59):
I wound up in a voice specialist office inBoston in 2013, August of 2013, and I started
receiving Botox injections into my vocal foldsalong with their higher level, speech
therapist.
And I had to get those several times a year andall the way to the point where my last
(12:22):
injection that I got was in February of 2020.
So, obviously, that has worked its way out ofmy system.
You would never know talking to me now.
Through our real estate, coaching andconsulting and training, company, I've also had
the opportunity to tell my story several times.
(12:45):
It's only been, Kyle, 15 or 20 or 25 minutesmax.
And someone saw me speak at one of our events,almost exactly 5 years ago in 2019, and she I
was still going through the final throes of myvoice issues.
So I was still having issues with my voice.
(13:07):
It was still kinda tight.
However, I spoke, she saw me speak andapproached me after and said, hey.
I love your story, gave me your card, and said,I'm not trying to steal you from your family
real estate business or anything.
However, if you're ever looking to fine tuneyour message and bring it to another level, so
(13:31):
a higher level so you're able to impact andaffect the most amount of people possible, I
can open some doors for you and introduce youto a few coaches and mentors of mine.
So like I said, I was going through the finalfinal, months of my voice issue, so I wasn't
ready yet.
However, I always hung on to her card, and alittle over a year and a half later, I finally
(13:55):
reached out to her.
And I said, okay.
I'm ready.
What should I do?
She and, back to the voice in in the back ofyour head.
Do you gotta listen to that?
So ever since I got out of school, I've alwayshad this voice no matter what I'm doing, which
is saying, like, whether it's door knocking orhelping buyers as a realtor, helping sellers as
(14:19):
a realtor.
Yeah.
Okay.
That's great.
You're making money and everything and beingsuccessful, but what you really need to be
doing is helping trauma survivors get throughtheir trauma and thrive with the rest of their
lives.
So no matter what I'm doing, that voice hasalways stuck with me, and it's always been in
the back of my head.
(14:40):
However, since I reached out to Sharon, the onewho gave me her card after hearing me speak in
2019, I reached out to her in May of 2021.
She put me in touch with her mentor, TriciaBrook, who's become my mentor.
Since I had that first phone call with her,there's been no voice in the back of my head.
(15:01):
What that's evidence to me of is that I'm I'mdoing exactly what I was put on the shirt to
do.
So that that really led me to and theentrepreneurial journey, this is what because
each each one of the each time I tell my story,each show is different, and I get to highlight
different aspects and different elements of mystory.
(15:23):
So here, when I had that call with her for thefirst time in May of 2021, I shared my goals
with her on what I was looking to do.
I said, do you do you think that's possible orsomething to that effect?
And she said absolutely.
And I said, alright.
What do you recommend?
She said the speaker salon, which is you get tocommute to New York City for 6 weeks in a row.
(15:49):
You get to be on stage with up to 10 or 12other speakers for 5 weeks.
And then on the 6th week is the showcase, andyou perform for influencers, TEDx organizers,
and people who can book you to speak.
So I I it was just a wholehearted yes, for me.
(16:09):
I I said yes, and she said, alright.
That's 25,000.
So this is where the entrepreneurial journeycomes in.
I I said yes.
Absolutely.
It was not even a doubt in my mind.
And then during the speaker salon halfwaythrough, she pitched me on what it would look
like to work with her 1 on 1, and she told methat she works 1 on 1 with speakers to help
(16:35):
them build out their speaker platform.
I Kyle, I didn't even know what a speakerplatform was.
However, I I said yes.
And I said, I, I don't know where I'm going toget the money, but give me a week because she
said that's 75,000.
(16:56):
So I I went and applied for financing, and Iwas approved.
And, I started working with her in the firsthalf in January to the end of July of 2022.
And she's the one that helped me launch mycompany and really do everything that I'm doing
(17:18):
today.
I have I have heard of she's helped me with it,in other words, and she's helped me establish
it.
The step system, what I unknowingly use to notonly make a full recovery but run out of the
hospital, she was the one that pulled all ofthat out of me.
And now I'm speaking and telling my story to,brain injury associations all across the
(17:42):
country for 45, 50, 60 minutes.
And before her, I would've I would've neverbeen able to even do 20 or 25 minutes.
That was the most I would do.
And now it it's it's kinda taken on a life ofits own, and and, we're able to be helping so
many people by sharing my message in the STEPsystem with the world.
(18:06):
So this STEP system you speak of, was thatsomething that was an acronym for something
that you dealt with inside the rehab hospital,or was it something that at through that
process, and then and then getting further onin your in your process of speaking, that you
remembered the time back in the hospital andthe steps you took to get better and then
(18:29):
created that yourself?
Or was that was that was that something thatyou created, or was that something that was
already in place that you kind of reallocatedtowards your message?
It's good question.
It's how I've it's how how I approach and,really tackle any kind of obstacle.
It's what I've always done, what my my familyhas done, and what what has been instilled with
(18:54):
me, since I was since I was a little kid.
Like, this is this is how you approachobstacles and get over things.
I've just she asked me when I first started towork with her, Kyle.
She said, alright.
So you got in your eye, say you were in a coma,and then you ran out of the hospital.
How'd you do it?
I said, well, I don't I don't know.
I
just steps.
(19:14):
Yeah.
Yeah.
I just got off every day and and did the best Icould and just kept doing something, kept
working and getting better, and I'm here.
And she goes, no.
That's not good enough.
And it's just
Isn't that funny how coaches, like, bring thebring bring the message out of you?
You know, I'm I'm a coach myself, and, I'veI've talked to several of my clients, and and
(19:37):
they just they're so blocked.
And you're just you you need that coach, andthat's, you know, that's another great thing
that that I believe that the Mission Pathpodcast shares with people in general,
especially when I have fellow coaches that comeon and talk about their path and talk about
what they do, and talk about having mentors andbeing coached well, you know, or educated well,
or, you know, coach meaning you're to be a goodcoach, you have to be coachable too.
(20:01):
Wouldn't you agree?
Yeah.
Absolutely.
So, like, you have to understand that you'vebeen coached by somebody good, but then when
you turn into a coach, you have to say, okay, Iam still coachable.
I'm never outside of the coachingpossibilities.
I'm never going to get to the point where Ican't be coached about something with in my
business, in my relationship, you know, in myin in anything in my life, I can be educated
(20:23):
slash coached for, and then I can take thatcontent and repurpose it with my message or
with my, you know, with my spin, if you will,for lack of better terms, to help my my client
or my friends or, you know, my, you know, myrelationships in general.
So, you know, that that is such a great that'sa great story.
I mean, the the hardships of the injury, youknow, you know, I've I've been injured many
(20:49):
times in my life, nothing of the the head andthe, brain injury.
But you so I understand setback when it comesto physical injuries, and I've had 3
reconstructive shoulder surgeries, 2reconstructive knee surgeries, an Achilles
tendon rupture.
I chopped off part of my finger on a on a tablesaw one one day and was out for 3 months.
And I understand that the path to get back issteps.
(21:11):
Like, you literally can't I can't raise my handuntil I until I have the, you know, the
physical therapist move my arm and get mymotion back.
You know?
So there are steps.
So your step system is so is so simple, andthat's why I like it.
It's so simple, but yet so profound.
And it's one of those things where, you know,working in the ICU as many years as I have, not
(21:32):
only am I a paramedic, but I'm also arespiratory therapist that dealt with, level 1
trauma center injuries.
So I would have seen Nick come in if he wouldhave came to my hospital.
I would have been there.
I would have been the one breathing into his ETtube that the paramedic intubated.
If I was on that run, I would have intubatedhim on that on that hill.
So I understand all the intricacies ofeverything he went through.
(21:52):
I have seen people come into the hospital withbrain injuries and and from falling out of a
tree stand.
I live in Ohio.
Lot of tree stand injuries in and around Ohioduring deer season.
It's inevitable.
Right?
And I had a just a quick story about if anybodyis ever feeling down on themselves about an
injury or about recovery or the steps you haveto go through something.
(22:14):
I had a friend of mine fall off a roof.
He went through the rungs of the ladder, and hebroke and had a compound fracture of his leg.
So I don't wanna make anybody sick, butcompound fracture is when the bone comes
through the skin.
So pretty pretty devastating leg injury.
And I'm talking to him one day.
He's in the ICU, and, and he's really down onhimself.
And he's just, you know, what am I gonna do?
(22:34):
What am I gonna do?
And I'm like, bro, listen to me.
I have got 6 patients that fell out of a treestand.
They hit their head, and they're done.
There's literally nothing we can do for them.
We're waiting to see if their brain is evergonna come back, and most likely it won't.
Okay?
It's because when you have a traumatic braininjury, everyone, it is the worst of worst
injuries.
(22:55):
Because not only does it affect your immediatestuff, but it can affect the rest of your life.
You know, I know Nick knows this, but he has alingering issue that he could have some other
malfunction he had one in his throat.
Our brain operates everything in our body.
Later on in life, something could happen withNick that was caused from his injury 20 years
earlier that is just now rare in its ugly head.
(23:18):
So, traumatic brain brain injury is a lifelongand a life of healing.
And, you know, so people that are out therefeeling sorry for themselves or feeling like
they can't do this or they can't put their stepforward and they can't take the next step or do
the next hard thing, trust me when I tell you,understand Nick's present the, concept of the
step and just take one step at a time and focuson what's in front of you.
(23:41):
And the next thing you know, you stack thoseand get going better.
So, Nick, anything else real quick about aboutthat in general?
I mean, I know like I said, like you said,you're gonna have a little bit different
conversation with me being in a medicalbackground and understanding how how
significant this man's life is right now andthat he turned it into helping others.
It it gets me.
It it gets me.
(24:01):
You know?
It it's emotional to me.
I'm proud of him.
I'm I'm supportive of him.
I I can't wait to get to know him better as theyears go by.
I I will never not be in touch with Nick, fromnow on because of the connection of not only
this podcast and what podcasts do to connectpeople, but because of both of our backgrounds
kinda having this overlap.
And I wanna become a a public speaker myself.
(24:24):
I'm already kind of a public speaker when itcomes to EMS, and I go out and train, and I go
out and do stuff, but I wanna be a full blownpublic speaker someday on the health on the
side of the mental health of the firstresponder.
So with that being said, knowing that I'm gonnaneed coaching, I'm gonna be tapping into him,
be like, hey, introduce me to that gal so shecan pull my step system out of me.
You know?
So
(24:45):
Oh, she's, yeah.
How about she's amazing, and I'd be I'd behappy to, make the introduction to our the
yeah.
Couple of closing thoughts.
So what I covered and what we cover, Kyle, isreally just a 10,000 foot view of the step
system.
However, to get the whole step system for free,any any of your listeners can go to
(25:13):
nickprefontaine.com forward slash step.
And,
it's done in post.
Yep.
Download the, the entire step system for free.
You're gonna learn all about support, trust,energy, and persistence.
Like I said, it's only a we only went over thehighlights.
(25:33):
Right.
Right.
Right.
Yeah.
We only gotta have the we're only dealing withthe half an hour here.
Yeah.
Each each one of those has bullet points andways that you can potentially apply it to your
life and your situation.
Right.
So real quick, just another question or 2.
When it comes to your entrepreneurial path, andit sounds like because this happened in high
school, you never really I mean, the closestthing you had to a job, a real job of working
(25:56):
for the man, if you will, you're working foryour father, and it was still the real estate
real estate is an entrepreneurial path because,yes, you may have, like, an agency over top of
you, but you're responsible and I was inmedical sales too for 9 years, and I was
responsible for my territory.
Yes.
I had a company that that oversaw me and who Isaid I represent this company, but I was
(26:17):
ultimately in charge of my territory.
And it's one of those things where, you know,when you're a realtor, you're already an
entrepreneur.
So you basically went from a high schoolstudent having the best time of your life on a
on a ski slope to not remembering a month and ahalf, 2 months of it.
And then and then recovery, which is a wholeanother probably everyday felt like 7 probably.
(26:38):
So, you know, it's one of those things when itwhen you
Kyle, thank you for saying that because no oneno one gets that.
No one's at, like I'm like, not all the time.
When you're going through this, you're younger.
Time is compressed, and it's like, oh, we feellike 7 years, not 7 days.
Yeah.
Because it's such a long it's such a longprocess.
You know?
And even, you know, if anybody has everrecovered from something major, you know, major
(27:02):
surgery or or major accident, you know, it itis.
It's it's unfortunate that it's that way.
It's like time flies and all around the world,time flies when we're doing fun stuff, but then
when it's when it's down to to the nitty grittyin business of healing or creating a business,
time seems to crawl.
And you're like, what is going on?
And then you look back, you're like, boy, thatwas just a blip of my life.
(27:23):
So it's this weird paradigm.
It's this weird paradigm.
So but you'd be yeah.
So when it comes to that, you know, it's it'sit's neat that you have you basically started
off as an entrepreneur.
You never really worked for the man, if youwill.
You know?
So so talk a little bit about, you know, justthe evolution of it.
I think you pretty much explained it, but whatwas one of the hardest parts of the evolution
(27:45):
going from realtor into the into the financialpart of it, then helping your dad, and then
transitioning?
I guess maybe my question is that transitionfrom what you were used to with your with your
with your family's company, and then takingthis on your own and feeling that you had a
purpose, you know?
What was that what was the hardest part aboutthat?
You you touched base on a little bit that youhad this itch inside of you, but what was the
(28:08):
hard part that day that you made that decision?
It's an ongoing it's an ongoing thing.
It's an it's an ongoing, decision and ongoing,like, evolution that I'm good that I'm still
going through
Okay.
Which is just continuing doing what I can'tcontrol and continuing to take my next step in
(28:34):
front of me.
That's all that's all I can do.
And when I was in the hospital, that's all Icould do.
Literally every day, whether it wasfiguratively or, mentally, was just taking my
next step.
At the beginning, Kyle, I I I would need 3nurses to help me sit up in bed for 8 minutes
(28:54):
at a time, and after that, I'll be sweatingprofusely like I just ran a marathon.
So it's just doing doing a little bit everyday.
Yeah.
And it's just it's the same thing with myspeaking right now because what I'm doing is I
really feel like I'm living my purpose.
So, last year, I I spoke in the first half oftwenty twenty three.
(29:19):
I spoke 7 times, both virtually and in personfor Brain Injury Associations.
And I just I just tell you a quick story if ifyou have time for
this.
Absolutely.
The, I actually applied to I started making anapplication to be a keynote speaker for Brain
Injury Associations at the end of, end ofsummer and into the fall of 2022 for their next
(29:47):
year's event.
One of the first ones that I applied to, theBrain Injury Association of Maryland, they they
they said, yes.
We we want you, we want you to speak for ouraudience.
So I had an additional call with them andeverything.
Then they sent me over the contract because Idid the first time I did my keynote was only 35
(30:10):
minutes long.
So I sent them the recording, and I thought,okay.
I'm all set.
I only have to do the 35 minute recording.
Then a couple months later, I get the contract,and I go to sign it, And it says, oh, you're
speaking for 75 minutes.
So I was like, hey.
You guys, you can sell that other extra time.
(30:32):
My presentation is only 35 minutes.
They're like, well, you signed the contract,and we're paying you.
So you're speaking for 75 minutes.
Is that going to be a problem?
And that was kinda one of those moments whereyou just take a deep breath and okay.
Okay.
Well Let's where where
can I where can I elaborate on the step system?
(30:54):
Yeah.
It was yeah.
It was all I did was, it was 60 minutesfollowed by 50 minutes of q and a.
All I did was just add in tons of stories,funny stories, from when I was in the hospital.
And once I did that, I got it to 60 minutes.
I remembered in March of 2023, after I did it,I I did 60 minutes, and then I got off to my
(31:21):
hotel room, and I just I almost just took adeep breath, and I was like, wow.
That was great.
Because the longest I had done before that was35 minutes.
Yeah.
So I was like I was like, okay.
I kinda felt like I could do anything at thatpoint.
So, sorry to go off on a tangent.
(31:41):
No.
That's that's a great story.
I love it.
That that's a that's a story of of anentrepreneur who was put up instantly what a
challenge was put in front of them afterthey've already, you know, already had
something set, and they rise to the occasion.
So you you probably just reflected back on yourstep system in general.
Like, okay, how do I tackle this?
You know, when you're in a hospital setting inthe recovery time that you have, I'm here to
(32:04):
tell you yes, when there are some funny momentsduring recovery.
You know?
There are some Yep.
Significant moments during recovery.
Some good, some bad, some moments.
I know one that sticks out in my mind when Iwas recovering from my my finger chop off is I
wasn't allowed to have, what they call lightduty work as a medic.
(32:25):
They didn't offer it back then.
And I didn't realize this, but I fell into adepression.
And the day that got me out of the depressionwas the time when I looked up and here's a
truck in front of me, and I'm slamming into thetruck.
And now nobody's injured.
Thank God when I swerved to the left to missthe truck, I caught my right side, but no one
(32:45):
was coming towards me.
Because it was just an instinct, move out ofthe way from taking the whole truck, and, you
know, it clipped my bumper, my front bumper,and now I'm in oncoming traffic, and, oh my
gosh, I'm gonna be headed I'm gonna have a headon collision.
And no one was there.
It's one of those divine moments where I was,like, oh my gosh.
So I remember waiting for the police officer tocome and make the report.
(33:05):
Police officer is somebody I knew from hockey,and and our kids played hockey together.
And I just sat back and I thought, okay.
I this this was that moment that I need to getmy head out of my ass and stop feeling sorry
for myself, and start and start realizing thatI am in a depression, I need to go get help,
and I need to get I need to figure out why I'mhere.
(33:26):
And then fast forward many years, I I blow outmy shoulders, and, in the back of a medic, I
fell in the back of the medic, and I wentthrough 4 months worth of of surgery and
recovery, and I had light duty work then.
My my my system in the 8 years since the firstinjury had built a light duty program.
(33:46):
Well, now I have purpose again.
I'm out.
Yes.
I've got my arm in a sling, but this stillworks.
You know, I can still this still works great.
So I went out and started educating, and Istarted getting in front of more educators and
started educating an entire county worth ofCPR, experts and and became kind of a go to
person to do more of our training in oursystem.
And I did that for 2 separate 4 months stints,and never once fell into depression.
(34:10):
So no no that was not even thought of backbefore that happened to me.
And then now you look back and the steps thatit took me to not be in depression during that
time of not being able to serve was being ableto serve in a different manner, and you're now
serving in a different manner than what youoriginally were put on this earth to do.
And I applaud you for it, and I thank you forwhat you do.
(34:32):
Other brain I've known many brain injurypatients in my in my career.
I know a few people in general that have dealtwith it.
I I know the hardships of recovery and longterm recovery for that, and I'm just I'm glad
that you're out there speaking your story,showing people that there is a chance, and, and
being and just being an inspiration.
So I'm I'm proud of you.
I'm proud of being able to have met you and andbring your message to the world.
(34:55):
Oh, thank you, Kyle.
Thank you for giving me the opportunity toshare my message with your audience.
And, I'm sure you and I could keep tradingstories and going off 20 to the next 3 hours,
but
I'm sure we can.
Yep.
We we have to live real life.
So Yeah.
Yeah.
Exactly.
Well, thank you, Nick, so much.
Nick did mention the way that to get a hold ofhim and get that free, step system.
(35:18):
It'll all be in the show notes, and it'll beunderneath the the video here, for you to just
click on so simply.
I'm a I'm a put stuff up on the screen as wellthat has all that stuff, and, reach out to
Nick.
I know I'll be reaching out to him for someother conversations as we go through this
process and, get to know him better and get toget to, you know, have some knowledge from him
(35:39):
and his path.
You know, share share that with me as on a on aprivate level.
So I can't wait to to connect you with you thatway.
And then once again, just remember everybodyfor the Ignition Path Podcast, share, like,
subscribe.
When I say share, if you heard this message andsomeone needs to hear this, go ahead and hit
that share button and get that message out tothem, to start spreading the word of the
Ignition Path Podcast.
(35:59):
If you're out there listening and you're anentrepreneur and you wanna come on to the
Ignition Path Podcast to talk about your yourpath, there will be a link in the description
below to set a meeting with me, and I'd love tohave you on and hear all about your story.
So once again, Nick, thanks so much for comingon the Ignition Path podcast.
I appreciate it, and we'll talk to you later.
Thank you for listening to Ignition Path,fueling the entrepreneurial fire.
Kyle, thank you for saying that because no oneno one gets that.
No one's at, like, the I'm, like, not at all.
When you're going through this, as soon asyou're younger, time is compressed.
And it's, like, a week feels like 7 years, not7 days.
Hello, and welcome back to the Ignition Pathpodcast.
(00:21):
I'm your host, Kyle Goodnight.
I'm so happy for you to join us today.
I'm here with Nick Prefontaine, who was anindividual I met on a pre call, of course,
because I'd make sure I have pre calls witheverybody that comes on my podcast.
So if you're out there in podcast world and youwanna come on podcast, you don't wanna call me
first and get to know me and me get to knowyou, then just, you know, maybe find some other
podcast.
But, Nick, how are you doing today?
(00:42):
Nice to see you again.
I'm outstanding, Kyle.
I'm so excited we were able to put this in.
Yeah.
Absolutely.
I appreciate the the flexibility that you'veyou've given me over the last couple of weeks
with all of this.
So I really appreciate that.
And I'm super happy to have you on.
You know, your story and your path, your yourentrepreneurial path, kind of kind of hit home
(01:03):
with me because everyone knows, and and Iusually mention this on my podcast, that I
there's some connections with who I have comeon and some of the background that I have in my
full time job, which is a as a paramedic.
So your path kinda comes along those lines thatyour your injury that you'll share with
everybody, you know, kind of started you on theentrepreneurial path from how I remember our
(01:24):
discussion.
So real quick, just tell everybody who you are,and just give us a short scenario of of what
brought you through your entrepreneurial pathand what you did beforehand, and then, of
course, your incident that that caused that,and and then we'll get further on into the the
show after that.
Yeah.
Sure.
So, very excited to share this because I don'tget the opportunity to go as in-depth as I
(01:47):
would like to and down down certain, certainpaths, if you will, of the story.
And with you being being a paramedic, it's it'ssuper applicable.
And to share how that all fits in myentrepreneurial path, I think your listeners
will will, will really relate to it.
(02:07):
We really like it.
So, my story my origin story, if you will, allstarts when I was at ski club with my friends
in 8th grade.
And my friends and I had all brought oursnowboard gear onto the bus to get ready so we
wouldn't miss a precious moment once we got tothe mountain.
So we got up to the mountain, and the rest ofthe class wasted time.
(02:28):
They headed inside and took their time and gotready, but not us.
My friends and I, we were we were ready to go.
So we hit the chairlift, and on the way up, thechairlift went right over the train park where
all of the jumps were.
I knew as soon as I saw it, Kyle, that I had togo off the biggest jump of the train park.
(02:49):
So I got to the top, buckled into my snowboard,and took a breath of that crisp winter air and
confidently charged towards that jump with allmy speed.
Going out to the jump, I caught the edge of mysnowboard, and that's the last thing that I
remember.
So I was told that I landed on my head.
(03:10):
I wasn't wearing a helmet.
There were three things that enabled me toreally be able to share this story and talk to
you today, which one of which is although Iwasn't wearing a helmet, I was wearing a pair
of goggles, and there were lot of padding onthe goggles.
They were, spies.
(03:31):
They were they were called spies if you'refamiliar with any of your listeners are.
So they had a lot of padding, and I learnedthat not only did they brace my initial impact,
as I continue to roll down the mountain and hitmy head because I didn't just hit once and then
it was done.
As I continue to roll down the mountain and hitmy head, the goggles mysteriously moved with an
(03:54):
I believe not so mysteriously because I believeeverything happens for a reason.
So they moved with each impact, embrace myfall.
That was the first thing.
The second thing, which I think is why I reallyrelate to you being a paramedic, and I'm sure
you'll appreciate this.
So they wanted to bring a helicopter to themountain to rush me to the hospital.
(04:18):
They couldn't because it was too windy, so theyhad to send in an ambulance.
Out of all the paramedics in the county, therewas only one who could intubate on the spot,
and I needed that to be able to breathe.
Mhmm.
He was one of the paramedics that showed up tothe mountain that day.
And there are still several things that I can'texplain because of my accident, and now I know
(04:45):
it's one of the reasons why I'm here tellingthis story today.
The third thing, once I got to the hospital, Iwas they the doctors communicated to my parents
that I've been in a snowboarding accident,suffered a traumatic brain injury.
Based on the impact alone, I would have beenout for 7 to 10 days.
(05:08):
They had to I already had swelling in my brain,and the doctors were worried that if I woke up
and panicked, it would increase and then itwould have died.
So because it was already so high, so they hadto induce me partially induce me into a home.
And when I was resting in the ICU, I was I wasout.
(05:32):
So I was resting in the ICU, and the doctors,through no fault of their own, came into my
room to share progress updates with my parentson how I was doing.
And the only people that were allowed in thereat the time were my parents because of the
severity of my injury.
So the doctors, no fault of their own, startedto tell them the news and the not so good news,
(05:55):
not so good news, not so good news.
And they went to share that right in front ofme because they figured out, he's what what's
he gonna care?
He's he's in a coma.
He's out.
So they started they started to share, and mymom stopped stopped them.
She said, no.
No.
Not in front of him because she understood thateven though I was in a coma, Kyle, I was still
(06:17):
taking in information.
So she made the doctor step outside my room,and once they're outside my room, that's where
the doctor shared that he's he's in a coma.
We don't know how long he's going to be in thecoma.
And even if he's going to come out, even if hedoes come out, however long it is, there's a
(06:40):
good chance that he's never going to be able towalk, talk, or eat on his own ever again.
K.
And because none of that got through to me,none of that influenced me, whether
subconsciously or unconsciously, where if thedoctor said that in the room, like, with me
(07:02):
right there, who knows if if the outcomewould've would've turned out differently?
So because I didn't know any of that, what itenabled me to do is I was in the coma for 3
weeks, and I really don't remember a monthbecause it was a partially induced coma.
They had to take slowly me off of the the,medication that helped save my life.
(07:26):
And after a month, I was transported to a rehabhospital in Boston, and that's where I started
my journey.
And it's been I've lay I've learned and andI've kinda done this work.
And with a mentor of mine, I've learned that Iunknowingly use a system to not only make a
full recovery, but run out of the hospital.
(07:50):
And that's the STEP system.
So STEP is an acronym.
It stands for support.
You gotta make sure you have the support ofyour family and friends.
This is going to have you falling back onrelationships that you built prior to your
setback.
T is trust.
Trust that once you take your first step, yournext step is always going to be available to
(08:12):
you.
This also starts with trusting that calling,that voice in the back of your head that you
have inside of you.
You have to follow that, and I'll get intothat, how that relates to my my entrepreneurial
journey a little bit a little bit later.
And then e is energy.
Energy, by maintaining your energy, you allowyour body's natural ability to be able to heal
(08:37):
itself.
And then p is persistence.
So once you take your first step, keep gettingup every day and taking your next step no
matter how small.
By continuing to move forward every day, youare building an unstoppable momentum.
So if you fast forward a little bit, less than60 days later, after being transported to the
(09:00):
rehab hospital of Boston, I realized my goal ofrunning out of the hospital.
And after running out of the hospital, itreally wasn't like my work was done.
I had to, like, continue to go to outpatienttherapy for another 6 months along with being
tutored all summer long, 5 days a week in orderto continue on to high school with the rest of
(09:24):
my classmates.
And, Kyle, looking back on it, it's a littlesurreal, but only 18 months after finishing
rehab from suffering a traumatic brain injury,I got my start in real estate.
It was door knocking free for closure doors.
So homeowners that had received a notice of thecall letter from the bank, and I would go and
(09:47):
get a list of these and knock on the door andtry to set up meetings with our investor to
meet with them about potentially helping themout of their unfortunate situation.
And looking back on this, I can see that it wasa part of my recovery, going door to door,
helping people out of their unfortunatesituation.
(10:09):
If you kinda move forward past there, Igraduated high school, got my real estate
license, started helping buyers and sellers fora real, as a realtor.
And then in 2014, my dad, Chris, started buyingproperties, not 2013 14.
(10:29):
Started buying properties nonconventionallywithout signing personally on bank loans or
using big down payments or investor downpayments.
And he asked me he came to me, hey.
Would you be able to help me market these and,get these on the market?
Because I'm getting all these properties, but Idon't know what to do with them.
And I, after wrestling it, figured out, oh, Ican do that right alongside being a realtor.
(10:55):
And over the course of 14 months, my incomeshifted where I was making the majority of my
income helping him as an investor, so it didn'tmake sense for me to keep my real estate
license.
And, really, in, 2012, I developed a voiceissue.
(11:15):
It it was almost like I I couldn't even speak.
It was like it was like hard to get the wordsout, if that makes sense.
So I started and I don't even think I told youabout that on our, my No.
I don't think so.
Because, yeah, my my my first initial being arespiratory therapist as well, my first initial
thought process is how many years after yourinjury was that was that downfall of your voice
(11:39):
because there's vocal cord dysfunction that canhappen with long term innovation.
So yeah.
Yeah.
It was it was, approximately 9 approximately 9years.
Yeah.
That's so it's sub something separate.
Yeah.
That's, alright.
So I had that happen to me, and then I finallywound up I developed that in 2012.
(11:59):
I wound up in a voice specialist office inBoston in 2013, August of 2013, and I started
receiving Botox injections into my vocal foldsalong with their higher level, speech
therapist.
And I had to get those several times a year andall the way to the point where my last
(12:22):
injection that I got was in February of 2020.
So, obviously, that has worked its way out ofmy system.
You would never know talking to me now.
Through our real estate, coaching andconsulting and training, company, I've also had
the opportunity to tell my story several times.
(12:45):
It's only been, Kyle, 15 or 20 or 25 minutesmax.
And someone saw me speak at one of our events,almost exactly 5 years ago in 2019, and she I
was still going through the final throes of myvoice issues.
So I was still having issues with my voice.
(13:07):
It was still kinda tight.
However, I spoke, she saw me speak andapproached me after and said, hey.
I love your story, gave me your card, and said,I'm not trying to steal you from your family
real estate business or anything.
However, if you're ever looking to fine tuneyour message and bring it to another level, so
(13:31):
a higher level so you're able to impact andaffect the most amount of people possible, I
can open some doors for you and introduce youto a few coaches and mentors of mine.
So like I said, I was going through the finalfinal, months of my voice issue, so I wasn't
ready yet.
However, I always hung on to her card, and alittle over a year and a half later, I finally
(13:55):
reached out to her.
And I said, okay.
I'm ready.
What should I do?
She and, back to the voice in in the back ofyour head.
Do you gotta listen to that?
So ever since I got out of school, I've alwayshad this voice no matter what I'm doing, which
is saying, like, whether it's door knocking orhelping buyers as a realtor, helping sellers as
(14:19):
a realtor.
Yeah.
Okay.
That's great.
You're making money and everything and beingsuccessful, but what you really need to be
doing is helping trauma survivors get throughtheir trauma and thrive with the rest of their
lives.
So no matter what I'm doing, that voice hasalways stuck with me, and it's always been in
the back of my head.
(14:40):
However, since I reached out to Sharon, the onewho gave me her card after hearing me speak in
2019, I reached out to her in May of 2021.
She put me in touch with her mentor, TriciaBrook, who's become my mentor.
Since I had that first phone call with her,there's been no voice in the back of my head.
(15:01):
What that's evidence to me of is that I'm I'mdoing exactly what I was put on the shirt to
do.
So that that really led me to and theentrepreneurial journey, this is what because
each each one of the each time I tell my story,each show is different, and I get to highlight
different aspects and different elements of mystory.
(15:23):
So here, when I had that call with her for thefirst time in May of 2021, I shared my goals
with her on what I was looking to do.
I said, do you do you think that's possible orsomething to that effect?
And she said absolutely.
And I said, alright.
What do you recommend?
She said the speaker salon, which is you get tocommute to New York City for 6 weeks in a row.
(15:49):
You get to be on stage with up to 10 or 12other speakers for 5 weeks.
And then on the 6th week is the showcase, andyou perform for influencers, TEDx organizers,
and people who can book you to speak.
So I I it was just a wholehearted yes, for me.
(16:09):
I I said yes, and she said, alright.
That's 25,000.
So this is where the entrepreneurial journeycomes in.
I I said yes.
Absolutely.
It was not even a doubt in my mind.
And then during the speaker salon halfwaythrough, she pitched me on what it would look
like to work with her 1 on 1, and she told methat she works 1 on 1 with speakers to help
(16:35):
them build out their speaker platform.
I Kyle, I didn't even know what a speakerplatform was.
However, I I said yes.
And I said, I, I don't know where I'm going toget the money, but give me a week because she
said that's 75,000.
(16:56):
So I I went and applied for financing, and Iwas approved.
And, I started working with her in the firsthalf in January to the end of July of 2022.
And she's the one that helped me launch mycompany and really do everything that I'm doing
(17:18):
today.
I have I have heard of she's helped me with it,in other words, and she's helped me establish
it.
The step system, what I unknowingly use to notonly make a full recovery but run out of the
hospital, she was the one that pulled all ofthat out of me.
And now I'm speaking and telling my story to,brain injury associations all across the
(17:42):
country for 45, 50, 60 minutes.
And before her, I would've I would've neverbeen able to even do 20 or 25 minutes.
That was the most I would do.
And now it it's it's kinda taken on a life ofits own, and and, we're able to be helping so
many people by sharing my message in the STEPsystem with the world.
(18:06):
So this STEP system you speak of, was thatsomething that was an acronym for something
that you dealt with inside the rehab hospital,or was it something that at through that
process, and then and then getting further onin your in your process of speaking, that you
remembered the time back in the hospital andthe steps you took to get better and then
(18:29):
created that yourself?
Or was that was that was that something thatyou created, or was that something that was
already in place that you kind of reallocatedtowards your message?
It's good question.
It's how I've it's how how I approach and,really tackle any kind of obstacle.
It's what I've always done, what my my familyhas done, and what what has been instilled with
(18:54):
me, since I was since I was a little kid.
Like, this is this is how you approachobstacles and get over things.
I've just she asked me when I first started towork with her, Kyle.
She said, alright.
So you got in your eye, say you were in a coma,and then you ran out of the hospital.
How'd you do it?
I said, well, I don't I don't know.
I
just steps.
(19:14):
Yeah.
Yeah.
I just got off every day and and did the best Icould and just kept doing something, kept
working and getting better, and I'm here.
And she goes, no.
That's not good enough.
And it's just
Isn't that funny how coaches, like, bring thebring bring the message out of you?
You know, I'm I'm a coach myself, and, I'veI've talked to several of my clients, and and
(19:37):
they just they're so blocked.
And you're just you you need that coach, andthat's, you know, that's another great thing
that that I believe that the Mission Pathpodcast shares with people in general,
especially when I have fellow coaches that comeon and talk about their path and talk about
what they do, and talk about having mentors andbeing coached well, you know, or educated well,
or, you know, coach meaning you're to be a goodcoach, you have to be coachable too.
(20:01):
Wouldn't you agree?
Yeah.
Absolutely.
So, like, you have to understand that you'vebeen coached by somebody good, but then when
you turn into a coach, you have to say, okay, Iam still coachable.
I'm never outside of the coachingpossibilities.
I'm never going to get to the point where Ican't be coached about something with in my
business, in my relationship, you know, in myin in anything in my life, I can be educated
(20:23):
slash coached for, and then I can take thatcontent and repurpose it with my message or
with my, you know, with my spin, if you will,for lack of better terms, to help my my client
or my friends or, you know, my, you know, myrelationships in general.
So, you know, that that is such a great that'sa great story.
I mean, the the hardships of the injury, youknow, you know, I've I've been injured many
(20:49):
times in my life, nothing of the the head andthe, brain injury.
But you so I understand setback when it comesto physical injuries, and I've had 3
reconstructive shoulder surgeries, 2reconstructive knee surgeries, an Achilles
tendon rupture.
I chopped off part of my finger on a on a tablesaw one one day and was out for 3 months.
And I understand that the path to get back issteps.
(21:11):
Like, you literally can't I can't raise my handuntil I until I have the, you know, the
physical therapist move my arm and get mymotion back.
You know?
So there are steps.
So your step system is so is so simple, andthat's why I like it.
It's so simple, but yet so profound.
And it's one of those things where, you know,working in the ICU as many years as I have, not
(21:32):
only am I a paramedic, but I'm also arespiratory therapist that dealt with, level 1
trauma center injuries.
So I would have seen Nick come in if he wouldhave came to my hospital.
I would have been there.
I would have been the one breathing into his ETtube that the paramedic intubated.
If I was on that run, I would have intubatedhim on that on that hill.
So I understand all the intricacies ofeverything he went through.
(21:52):
I have seen people come into the hospital withbrain injuries and and from falling out of a
tree stand.
I live in Ohio.
Lot of tree stand injuries in and around Ohioduring deer season.
It's inevitable.
Right?
And I had a just a quick story about if anybodyis ever feeling down on themselves about an
injury or about recovery or the steps you haveto go through something.
(22:14):
I had a friend of mine fall off a roof.
He went through the rungs of the ladder, and hebroke and had a compound fracture of his leg.
So I don't wanna make anybody sick, butcompound fracture is when the bone comes
through the skin.
So pretty pretty devastating leg injury.
And I'm talking to him one day.
He's in the ICU, and, and he's really down onhimself.
And he's just, you know, what am I gonna do?
(22:34):
What am I gonna do?
And I'm like, bro, listen to me.
I have got 6 patients that fell out of a treestand.
They hit their head, and they're done.
There's literally nothing we can do for them.
We're waiting to see if their brain is evergonna come back, and most likely it won't.
Okay?
It's because when you have a traumatic braininjury, everyone, it is the worst of worst
injuries.
(22:55):
Because not only does it affect your immediatestuff, but it can affect the rest of your life.
You know, I know Nick knows this, but he has alingering issue that he could have some other
malfunction he had one in his throat.
Our brain operates everything in our body.
Later on in life, something could happen withNick that was caused from his injury 20 years
earlier that is just now rare in its ugly head.
(23:18):
So, traumatic brain brain injury is a lifelongand a life of healing.
And, you know, so people that are out therefeeling sorry for themselves or feeling like
they can't do this or they can't put their stepforward and they can't take the next step or do
the next hard thing, trust me when I tell you,understand Nick's present the, concept of the
step and just take one step at a time and focuson what's in front of you.
(23:41):
And the next thing you know, you stack thoseand get going better.
So, Nick, anything else real quick about aboutthat in general?
I mean, I know like I said, like you said,you're gonna have a little bit different
conversation with me being in a medicalbackground and understanding how how
significant this man's life is right now andthat he turned it into helping others.
It it gets me.
It it gets me.
(24:01):
You know?
It it's emotional to me.
I'm proud of him.
I'm I'm supportive of him.
I I can't wait to get to know him better as theyears go by.
I I will never not be in touch with Nick, fromnow on because of the connection of not only
this podcast and what podcasts do to connectpeople, but because of both of our backgrounds
kinda having this overlap.
And I wanna become a a public speaker myself.
(24:24):
I'm already kind of a public speaker when itcomes to EMS, and I go out and train, and I go
out and do stuff, but I wanna be a full blownpublic speaker someday on the health on the
side of the mental health of the firstresponder.
So with that being said, knowing that I'm gonnaneed coaching, I'm gonna be tapping into him,
be like, hey, introduce me to that gal so shecan pull my step system out of me.
You know?
So
(24:45):
Oh, she's, yeah.
How about she's amazing, and I'd be I'd behappy to, make the introduction to our the
yeah.
Couple of closing thoughts.
So what I covered and what we cover, Kyle, isreally just a 10,000 foot view of the step
system.
However, to get the whole step system for free,any any of your listeners can go to
(25:13):
nickprefontaine.com forward slash step.
And,
it's done in post.
Yep.
Download the, the entire step system for free.
You're gonna learn all about support, trust,energy, and persistence.
Like I said, it's only a we only went over thehighlights.
(25:33):
Right.
Right.
Right.
Yeah.
We only gotta have the we're only dealing withthe half an hour here.
Yeah.
Each each one of those has bullet points andways that you can potentially apply it to your
life and your situation.
Right.
So real quick, just another question or 2.
When it comes to your entrepreneurial path, andit sounds like because this happened in high
school, you never really I mean, the closestthing you had to a job, a real job of working
(25:56):
for the man, if you will, you're working foryour father, and it was still the real estate
real estate is an entrepreneurial path because,yes, you may have, like, an agency over top of
you, but you're responsible and I was inmedical sales too for 9 years, and I was
responsible for my territory.
Yes.
I had a company that that oversaw me and who Isaid I represent this company, but I was
(26:17):
ultimately in charge of my territory.
And it's one of those things where, you know,when you're a realtor, you're already an
entrepreneur.
So you basically went from a high schoolstudent having the best time of your life on a
on a ski slope to not remembering a month and ahalf, 2 months of it.
And then and then recovery, which is a wholeanother probably everyday felt like 7 probably.
(26:38):
So, you know, it's one of those things when itwhen you
Kyle, thank you for saying that because no oneno one gets that.
No one's at, like I'm like, not all the time.
When you're going through this, you're younger.
Time is compressed, and it's like, oh, we feellike 7 years, not 7 days.
Yeah.
Because it's such a long it's such a longprocess.
You know?
And even, you know, if anybody has everrecovered from something major, you know, major
(27:02):
surgery or or major accident, you know, it itis.
It's it's unfortunate that it's that way.
It's like time flies and all around the world,time flies when we're doing fun stuff, but then
when it's when it's down to to the nitty grittyin business of healing or creating a business,
time seems to crawl.
And you're like, what is going on?
And then you look back, you're like, boy, thatwas just a blip of my life.
(27:23):
So it's this weird paradigm.
It's this weird paradigm.
So but you'd be yeah.
So when it comes to that, you know, it's it'sit's neat that you have you basically started
off as an entrepreneur.
You never really worked for the man, if youwill.
You know?
So so talk a little bit about, you know, justthe evolution of it.
I think you pretty much explained it, but whatwas one of the hardest parts of the evolution
(27:45):
going from realtor into the into the financialpart of it, then helping your dad, and then
transitioning?
I guess maybe my question is that transitionfrom what you were used to with your with your
with your family's company, and then takingthis on your own and feeling that you had a
purpose, you know?
What was that what was the hardest part aboutthat?
You you touched base on a little bit that youhad this itch inside of you, but what was the
(28:08):
hard part that day that you made that decision?
It's an ongoing it's an ongoing thing.
It's an it's an ongoing, decision and ongoing,like, evolution that I'm good that I'm still
going through
Okay.
Which is just continuing doing what I can'tcontrol and continuing to take my next step in
(28:34):
front of me.
That's all that's all I can do.
And when I was in the hospital, that's all Icould do.
Literally every day, whether it wasfiguratively or, mentally, was just taking my
next step.
At the beginning, Kyle, I I I would need 3nurses to help me sit up in bed for 8 minutes
(28:54):
at a time, and after that, I'll be sweatingprofusely like I just ran a marathon.
So it's just doing doing a little bit everyday.
Yeah.
And it's just it's the same thing with myspeaking right now because what I'm doing is I
really feel like I'm living my purpose.
So, last year, I I spoke in the first half oftwenty twenty three.
(29:19):
I spoke 7 times, both virtually and in personfor Brain Injury Associations.
And I just I just tell you a quick story if ifyou have time for
this.
Absolutely.
The, I actually applied to I started making anapplication to be a keynote speaker for Brain
Injury Associations at the end of, end ofsummer and into the fall of 2022 for their next
(29:47):
year's event.
One of the first ones that I applied to, theBrain Injury Association of Maryland, they they
they said, yes.
We we want you, we want you to speak for ouraudience.
So I had an additional call with them andeverything.
Then they sent me over the contract because Idid the first time I did my keynote was only 35
(30:10):
minutes long.
So I sent them the recording, and I thought,okay.
I'm all set.
I only have to do the 35 minute recording.
Then a couple months later, I get the contract,and I go to sign it, And it says, oh, you're
speaking for 75 minutes.
So I was like, hey.
You guys, you can sell that other extra time.
(30:32):
My presentation is only 35 minutes.
They're like, well, you signed the contract,and we're paying you.
So you're speaking for 75 minutes.
Is that going to be a problem?
And that was kinda one of those moments whereyou just take a deep breath and okay.
Okay.
Well Let's where where
can I where can I elaborate on the step system?
(30:54):
Yeah.
It was yeah.
It was all I did was, it was 60 minutesfollowed by 50 minutes of q and a.
All I did was just add in tons of stories,funny stories, from when I was in the hospital.
And once I did that, I got it to 60 minutes.
I remembered in March of 2023, after I did it,I I did 60 minutes, and then I got off to my
(31:21):
hotel room, and I just I almost just took adeep breath, and I was like, wow.
That was great.
Because the longest I had done before that was35 minutes.
Yeah.
So I was like I was like, okay.
I kinda felt like I could do anything at thatpoint.
So, sorry to go off on a tangent.
(31:41):
No.
That's that's a great story.
I love it.
That that's a that's a story of of anentrepreneur who was put up instantly what a
challenge was put in front of them afterthey've already, you know, already had
something set, and they rise to the occasion.
So you you probably just reflected back on yourstep system in general.
Like, okay, how do I tackle this?
You know, when you're in a hospital setting inthe recovery time that you have, I'm here to
(32:04):
tell you yes, when there are some funny momentsduring recovery.
You know?
There are some Yep.
Significant moments during recovery.
Some good, some bad, some moments.
I know one that sticks out in my mind when Iwas recovering from my my finger chop off is I
wasn't allowed to have, what they call lightduty work as a medic.
(32:25):
They didn't offer it back then.
And I didn't realize this, but I fell into adepression.
And the day that got me out of the depressionwas the time when I looked up and here's a
truck in front of me, and I'm slamming into thetruck.
And now nobody's injured.
Thank God when I swerved to the left to missthe truck, I caught my right side, but no one
(32:45):
was coming towards me.
Because it was just an instinct, move out ofthe way from taking the whole truck, and, you
know, it clipped my bumper, my front bumper,and now I'm in oncoming traffic, and, oh my
gosh, I'm gonna be headed I'm gonna have a headon collision.
And no one was there.
It's one of those divine moments where I was,like, oh my gosh.
So I remember waiting for the police officer tocome and make the report.
(33:05):
Police officer is somebody I knew from hockey,and and our kids played hockey together.
And I just sat back and I thought, okay.
I this this was that moment that I need to getmy head out of my ass and stop feeling sorry
for myself, and start and start realizing thatI am in a depression, I need to go get help,
and I need to get I need to figure out why I'mhere.
(33:26):
And then fast forward many years, I I blow outmy shoulders, and, in the back of a medic, I
fell in the back of the medic, and I wentthrough 4 months worth of of surgery and
recovery, and I had light duty work then.
My my my system in the 8 years since the firstinjury had built a light duty program.
(33:46):
Well, now I have purpose again.
I'm out.
Yes.
I've got my arm in a sling, but this stillworks.
You know, I can still this still works great.
So I went out and started educating, and Istarted getting in front of more educators and
started educating an entire county worth ofCPR, experts and and became kind of a go to
person to do more of our training in oursystem.
And I did that for 2 separate 4 months stints,and never once fell into depression.
(34:10):
So no no that was not even thought of backbefore that happened to me.
And then now you look back and the steps thatit took me to not be in depression during that
time of not being able to serve was being ableto serve in a different manner, and you're now
serving in a different manner than what youoriginally were put on this earth to do.
And I applaud you for it, and I thank you forwhat you do.
(34:32):
Other brain I've known many brain injurypatients in my in my career.
I know a few people in general that have dealtwith it.
I I know the hardships of recovery and longterm recovery for that, and I'm just I'm glad
that you're out there speaking your story,showing people that there is a chance, and, and
being and just being an inspiration.
So I'm I'm proud of you.
I'm proud of being able to have met you and andbring your message to the world.
(34:55):
Oh, thank you, Kyle.
Thank you for giving me the opportunity toshare my message with your audience.
And, I'm sure you and I could keep tradingstories and going off 20 to the next 3 hours,
but
I'm sure we can.
Yep.
We we have to live real life.
So Yeah.
Yeah.
Exactly.
Well, thank you, Nick, so much.
Nick did mention the way that to get a hold ofhim and get that free, step system.
(35:18):
It'll all be in the show notes, and it'll beunderneath the the video here, for you to just
click on so simply.
I'm a I'm a put stuff up on the screen as wellthat has all that stuff, and, reach out to
Nick.
I know I'll be reaching out to him for someother conversations as we go through this
process and, get to know him better and get toget to, you know, have some knowledge from him
(35:39):
and his path.
You know, share share that with me as on a on aprivate level.
So I can't wait to to connect you with you thatway.
And then once again, just remember everybodyfor the Ignition Path Podcast, share, like,
subscribe.
When I say share, if you heard this message andsomeone needs to hear this, go ahead and hit
that share button and get that message out tothem, to start spreading the word of the
Ignition Path Podcast.
(35:59):
If you're out there listening and you're anentrepreneur and you wanna come on to the
Ignition Path Podcast to talk about your yourpath, there will be a link in the description
below to set a meeting with me, and I'd love tohave you on and hear all about your story.
So once again, Nick, thanks so much for comingon the Ignition Path podcast.
I appreciate it, and we'll talk to you later.
Thank you for listening to Ignition Path,fueling the entrepreneurial fire.
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