February 12, 2025 • 26 mins
What would you do if you found yourself trapped in a remote canyon with your survival hanging by a thread? Aron Ralston, whose incredible story of resilience was captured in both his book "127 Hours" and the film adaptation starring James Franco, joins us on The Poultry Leadership Podcast to share his remarkable journey. Facing a life-or-death decision after being pinned by a boulder, Aron reveals the mental strength and innovative thinking that saw him through 127 grueling hours to an astonishing rescue. His story is a testament to the power of human determination, transforming a harrowing ordeal into a transformative life lesson.
As Aron takes us through his post-rescue journey, we delve into the themes of overcoming adversity and choosing growth in the face of life’s toughest challenges. He discusses the trials and triumphs of adapting to life with a prosthetic arm and the importance of fostering relationships and love, even amidst heartbreak and loss. Aron’s perspective on viewing setbacks as opportunities resonates throughout, demonstrating how even the most traumatic experiences can be reframed into blessings that encourage personal growth and a renewed appreciation for life’s extraordinary moments.
But it’s not just Aron’s story on the table. We also celebrate the unsung heroes of our everyday sustenance: farmers. Drawing from personal experiences of farm life in Ohio, we express deep gratitude for the relentless hard work and sacrifices made by farmers to provide the nourishment we often take for granted. This heartfelt homage serves as a reminder of the resilience present not only in Aron’s survival story but in the labor of those who sustain us, capturing the essence of the human spirit and the preciousness of each moment and opportunity.
Pick yourself up a copy of Aron's Book - Between a Rock and a Hard Place - https://a.co/d/4OVssUe
Hosted by Brandon Mulnix - Director of Commercial Accounts - Prism Controls
The Poultry Leadership Podcast is only possible because of its sponsor, Prism Controls
Find out more about them at www.prismcontrols.com
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Brandon Mulnix (00:27):
Welcome to the Poultry Leadership Podcast.
I am your host, brandon Mullnix.
Join me on this episode as Iinterview Aron Ralston.
Aron was the keynote speaker atthis year's UEP AEB Executive
Conference.
His inspiring story is capturedin his New York Times
best-selling book, 127 Hours,and the 2009 movie of the same
(00:49):
name starring James Franco.
To give you a little backstory,Aron fell into a remote canyon
while hiking in Utah and his armbecame trapped between a rock
and the canyon wall.
In a feat of extraordinarysurvival, for 127 hours, aaron
braved very cold temperaturesand dehydration while he worked
to rescue himself from the rock,before cutting off his arm with
(01:12):
a multi-tool and hiking out ofthe canyon to rescue man.
What an incredible story.
Let's hear from the man himself.
So, aaron, this is amazing tohave you on the show.
Our guests have no idea who I'mtalking to today just because
you were not able to bepresented to the industry, but
(01:32):
except I did meet you at theUnited Egg Producers American
Egg Board event in Denver notthat long ago and you shared
your story.
It's an exciting story long agoand you shared your story.
It's an exciting story.
It's a story that, as Imentioned around the office who
I get to have on the show today.
They're like no way you getthat guy and it's like it's
(01:54):
people that I wouldn't have eventhought were hiking fans or
anything.
They know your story.
So, aaron, I'm going to giveyou an opportunity.
I want you to introduceyourself to the audience and
just share a little bit aboutwho you are, and then we'll get
kind of into the meat andpotatoes of this interview.
Aron Ralston (02:13):
Yeah, I appreciate that and it's an honor to get
to chat with you.
Brandon, I appreciate theinvitation to be here.
I think most people dorecognize at least the outline
of my story about being the guywho was trapped and had to cut
his arm off, going back to 2003,.
So it's been 21 and a halfyears since this went down, but
(02:35):
I was 27 at the time just turned49 a month ago or so here a
month ago or so that I was outon a vacation spring break kind
of time in the April 2003 thatyear, hiking through a lot of
different canyons, mountainbiking, and then on Saturday,
(02:57):
april 26th it was.
I was alone and descending downthrough Blue John Canyon, a
particular slot canyon complexon the west side of the Green
River, west of CanyonlandsNational Park in southern Utah,
and I got about halfway throughmy day where I was down climbing
(03:19):
off of a chalk stone that waswedged between the walls of the
canyon and I pulled it loose asI was underneath it.
It was falling from my head andI had to put my hands up to
protect my skull and, of course,that's how my right arm gets
trapped as the boulder becomeswedged between the walls about
(03:39):
seven feet lower than it hadbeen, right in in front of my
chest, and it's crushed my handsand my wrist on my right side,
down to the width of my pinkyfinger and between the boulder
itself and the wall of thecanyon there.
So I was trapped in immensepain, panicking, enraged with
(04:00):
adrenaline, trying to bruteforce my way through.
Ultimately I was able to calmdown and then start
brainstorming, come up with abunch of different options that
I went through in series tryingto carve through the boulder,
trying to lift the boulder withthe canyoneering gear that I had
with me, building anchors,sustaining myself by rationing
(04:21):
my food and water, hopefullythat maybe somebody might come
along or that a rescue mighthappen.
But ultimately, after two days,three days, four days, five days
of all of this understanding,I'm going to die here, not able
to even take the most extrememeasures.
I mean in the first hour Ithought, oh, I'm going to have
(04:42):
to cut my arm off.
But the attempts I made alongthe way were all futile.
A knife that I had was justcompletely pathetic.
It was not going to do the jobat all.
I'm trapped there almost asmuch by the blade as I am by the
boulder until the final morningthat I was still alive after
(05:02):
six days out there.
Morning that I was still aliveafter six days out there, I
realized how I could break thebones in my arm and then use the
pocket knife that I had to justcut through the soft tissues
that were remaining.
I accomplished this in about anhour hour and four minutes
actually, to be precise, andthat at that point I was
liberated and I escaped thecanyon to a miraculous rescue,
(05:23):
after hiking over six miles fromthe spot where I was trapped to
find a family on the way whohelped me the last half mile,
and then a helicopter, as partof a search and rescue operation
spearheaded by my mom, lifts meout of the bottom of the canyon
and gets me to a hospital justbefore I bleed to death.
So a miracle top to bottom inall of this, before I bleed to
(05:44):
death.
So a miracle top to bottom inall of this and, quite sincerely
, the most divine interactionthat I've ever had in my life,
feeling those much largerenergies than what we usually
tap into on a day-to-day basis,but, as it stands, a story that
gave me gifts, especially tounderstand what's important to
me, what's possible for me in mylife.
(06:05):
What's extraordinary about beingalive?
So often we kind of lose sightof that in our lives.
And then that it's also given methis gift of understanding how
I'm able to take almost anynegative experience in my life,
including this boulder, but tosee with fascination how it
brings gifts and blessings, asmuch as I've gone through any
(06:29):
number of other very difficulttimes and adversity in my life,
that I have also found strengthfrom this story of my amputation
to know that if I can make thatthe best thing that's ever
happened for me and I certainlysee it that way then that
possibility is there foreverything else in my life,
whether that adversity comes inyeah, encountering mental health
(06:51):
and wellness issues, myphysical health, relationships
and loss, and grieving the deathof my father.
It's been five and a half yearsago since he passed from
pancreatic cancer, but he wasthe one who taught me that life
is so much more than whathappens to us.
But it's about how we respond,what we choose to make,
(07:15):
especially of the adversity inour lives.
So that's where I've landedwith all of this.
I try to apply it as much asit's, sometimes with my kids,
with their moms, andco-parenting in relationships
today, when there's adversity inmy life, to see that there's
something there for me.
I'm going to grow and maturebecause of this the other side
(07:36):
of it I can look back and say,just as I see that boulder, it
was one of the greatestblessings of my entire life.
That's in a nutshell.
Maybe I don't know a sevenminute nutshell.
Brandon Mulnix (07:48):
Well, I mean, you're a New York bestselling
author with your book thatdetails the story in written
form, and you had a movie madeabout it.
A few years later, you hadsomeone James Franco that played
you.
Is that true?
Aron Ralston (08:06):
Yeah yeah, nominated for Best Actor for the
role and five other Oscarnominations for the film in
total.
So, yeah, it's definitely hadsome traction out there in the
world.
And still most people, though,they know they know about the
guy that cut his arm off.
But, again, my perspective onall of this is that I share the
story about the guy who wassmiling when he cut his arm off.
(08:28):
As you recall from seeing mypresentation and putting that
emphasis on it, it's about,whenever any of us are going to
encounter something that'sdemanding of our highest
potential, we get to choose howwe frame it, how we see it in
our lives, and even to findgratitude for it, which I
certainly have from thisexperience and from all of the
(08:48):
experiences, as hard as they'vebeen, going through financial
hardships, going throughdepression, going through again
like loss and grieving and theanxiety and worry and
uncertainty of life.
It just like on a daily basisfor so many of us and to be able
to find something, whether it'sto find a way to come back to
(09:09):
peace in our lives.
Maybe it's about innovating andchanging, creating a new
opportunity for ourselves.
Sometimes it's about maturingand understanding that we're not
so much again in control ofwhat's happening, but what we
are getting to control is aboutwhat's inside of us, in our mind
, and how we approach things.
(09:30):
All of that is there and it'spart of my story and what I hope
to be able to give to otherpeople through it.
Brandon Mulnix (09:37):
As you shared your story to a room of business
executives who, throughout thatevent, started talking about
the challenges of family farms,the challenges of generational
farming, the challenges of avianinfluenza, which, when you're
down once, then down twice, andnow some of these farms are hit
a third time it's like, how doyou get back up?
(09:59):
And when I heard your story andI could see the tears in these
eyes, I could see the fact thatyou got back up and I know from
what you've shared in some ofour other conversations is this
wasn't the only time that you'veyou.
You know you smiled, cuttingyour arm off, but you've had to
live 21 years after.
Can you?
Can you talk about thosemoments, about getting back up?
(10:20):
Getting back up, getting backup over and over and over again?
Yeah, I?
Aron Ralston (10:25):
I think I mean there's the physical aspects of
this, because I went into thehospital, I had five surgeries
and every time I would start onmy recovery and then have to
have another surgery.
It would set me back to a placewhere I was incapable of doing
anything for myself, I mean noteven able to get up out of a
hospital bed to go to thebathroom on my own.
(10:47):
That in time, of course, afterall, that was settled out, but
then I was fighting a boneinfection and that, even with
the best and strongestantibiotics out there, I only
had about a 50% chance ofsurviving, which I did,
obviously.
But talk about setbacks alongthe way, developing and
(11:07):
integrating prosthetics into mylife that enabled me to get back
to so many of my outdoorpassions and, at the same time,
the challenges and it's aniterative process that, okay,
we're going to create somethingand then there's some things
that don't work so well with it.
Perhaps, iteration afteriteration, before we get to a
place where, okay, this is nowreasonably functional, so that,
(11:29):
whether it's mountaineering orskiing or rock climbing or ice
climbing or any of these otherkinds of activities that I enjoy
, rafting, yeah, that I canovercome and adapt and refine
that.
All of these are strategies interms of how we encounter
(11:50):
adversity and what we do with it.
So, yeah, I mean, of course,getting into relationships.
I mean many ended relationships, some that caused tremendous
heartbreak.
I lost friends to suicide Again.
That grief and loss my dad Allof this, though, it reminds us
that, especially in love, whichis what life is all about.
(12:12):
That's what I primarily learnedin the canyon.
It's about relationships andlove.
That we get hurt or somethingends.
There's a lot of feelings thereand we do have to get back up.
It is the purpose in our livesand we do have to get back up.
It is the purpose in our lives.
I mean, once we close off fromlove.
That's where depression andeventually how my friends came
to those choices to end theirlives we're not living anymore.
(12:41):
When we cut ourselves off fromlove, it can be hurtful, it can
be scary, of course.
That's another one of thesetimes where it's again.
We get back up.
We have to keep working at whatour life's purpose is, and that
is to live with an open heart,I believe, an open mind in terms
of where there is setback.
There's also something that's agift that's going to help us
leap forward, and that's themindset I keep coming back to.
(13:01):
It's the choices that we get tomake when something terribly
difficult comes our way in life.
There is a trauma, but we getto make a decision there about
if that trauma is going tobecome a tragedy or if it's
going to become an opportunityfor transformation and maybe
even triumph.
Definitely understand theplight of the farmers, and
really I mean the plight of thecountry at this point in China,
(13:24):
the empty shelves of eggs wherethey should have been for most
of the month of November.
Even my daughter was like Dadhave you seen, there's no eggs
anywhere.
Yeah, it's a big deal.
Also, there is a future aheadtrying one more time, I believe,
finding a better way sometimesthat we adapt, that we grow
(13:47):
through that loss and that wegrow through perhaps even a new
opportunity that comes.
I don't know exactly all thespecifics of what that looks
like in any individual's case.
I just know that when I take onthat mindset that it leads to
better things in my life.
A great example I've beenthrough a better part with my
daughter, almost a decades longcustody battle that even at
(14:09):
times when it seemed like, oh,there was some resolution, it
was kind of that idea well, youcan win the war but lose the
peace.
And there was a lot of that overthe years too, until finally
and I mean this is just the mostrecent development, a week ago
to today as we're recording thisthat her mom and I signed a
global settlement to set all ofthis aside, because we want
(14:31):
peace in our relationship, ourco-parenting and for our
daughter, more than we want allthe rest of the fighting change,
which that takes a lot ofgrowth, even as kind of wish it
could have happened eight yearsago, nine years ago maybe, but
where we're at today, I'd liketo think that we've both grown
so much to know that this is nowwe're excited about and ready
(14:54):
to move forward, and it's abouthaving something that's more
sustainable and that's morebeneficial, especially for our
daughter.
Again, it's a lot of examples,but it keeps coming back to
making that choice to see thatit's not something that's
happening to you, but that it'shappening for you, and if you
have that kind of perspective, Ibelieve you can find
(15:14):
fascination with negativeexperience and turn it into
something positive.
Brandon Mulnix (15:19):
Aaron, your words are incredibly encouraging
.
You know, I've been at thatplace where I had a car accident
, broken face, just sitting inthat hospital and going how does
how?
Do I make this a blessing,because this could be the worst
day of my life.
I could whine, cry.
I literally have an excuse.
My face is broken, head injuryall that I could make an excuse,
and it's like you know what.
(15:39):
That doesn't bring anybodypeace and joy around me, making
it the best thing that everhappened to me just opened up an
entire perspective on it that Icouldn't have imagined.
As you go up and down, there'sother people going up and down
right now.
They have their mountains orvalleys.
If they're in that valley,that's dark.
What would you say to them?
What's something that somebodysaid to you that just helped
(16:00):
remind you that the mountaintopwas coming?
Aron Ralston (16:03):
Well, first I want to empathize and just
appreciate with gratitude whatyou just shared.
I'm so glad to hear that you'vehad an experience that
resonated with what I'm talkingabout too, and I think most of
us recognize this.
It's a truth in our lives.
It's not my concept or ideathat I'm proselytizing out in
the universe.
(16:24):
This is, I believe, how theuniverse operates.
I appreciate you reflectingthat and, yeah, knowing that
you've grown through thatadversity too.
And so, yeah, to get to thatidea, what do you say to someone
who's in the darkness at thebottom of the valley?
I think it's to remember thatdarkness only exists in the
context of light, and even whenthere's something that's right
(16:44):
in front of you that is blottingout the light, know that the
light has to exist for thedarkness to exist.
A boulder has a light side anda dark side.
In the metaphor that I talkabout, the light and the dark in
the universe has to balance.
In our individual lives in agiven moment, we can swing one
way or another, and there are alot of practices that you can
(17:06):
put to use in your life in orderto see some light when it might
not be obvious Part of it.
That is about putting intention, practicing gratitude, finding
three things that went well andto understand why those things
went well, to spend timecurating and even cultivating
(17:28):
some of that.
One of the things I learned inthe canyon was trapped, dying,
knowing this is the end.
And yet I would get out myvideo camera and hold it up in
front of me and talk into thatlens to my loved ones, and there
would be a smile on my face,because you cannot
simultaneously hold profoundgratitude and profound despair
in your heart at the same time.
One will displace the other,and that was something I came to
(17:52):
practice then.
It would be reflecting andsaying thank you and that I love
you.
It's what brought those smiles,even in the most desperate and
isolated experience of my life.
I think that there are alwaysways where you can find
something that is light and thatis beautiful in a moment, and
sometimes that means turning toa loved one, calling on them for
(18:13):
some help, support, for aconversation, to share the
adversity that you're goingthrough trauma, emotions because
we're not alone in that and themore that we connect in those
times of even the darkness,that's how we find the light
again.
Someone else who has been therecan empathize and says it will
(18:34):
get better, maybe finding outthat, okay, you're through the
worst of it and now you'retaking steps to improve.
I know a lot of darkness in mylife and some of it goes back
even to my adolescence beingbullied and ostracized and made
to feel less than, and how Iresponded by then building
myself up and trying to makemyself even more than, and some
(18:56):
of that competitive ego kind ofstuff lingered well past its
utility.
Then there's the, the processof trying to shed that and come
back to some equilibrium.
You're not such a jerk to bearound because you're always
trying to boost your ego,because you're too afraid that
you're inadequate.
That that's that's.
That's part of the arc.
That's there too.
But to that person who's in thedarkness to know that, yeah,
(19:18):
you've been through life enoughto know that there are going to
be waves where there's peaks andthere's troughs, and there's
another peak and another trough.
And when you find yourself inthe trough, to know that there
will be another wave at somepoint you'll be up on top of it
again, and to know that, evenwhen you're at the top of an
experience, that it can behelpful to remember that, yeah,
there's going to be another trapcoming, and so to appreciate it
(19:40):
, to revel in that Of course, weall know that in being alive,
we will someday be dead.
That has to exist and toremember, then, the preciousness
of what maybe a moment is, arelationship, an opportunity.
I think there's a lot of thesekinds of strategies to pull from
and for most folks they know,you know what works for you, and
sometimes it's like oh, I'mfeeling stuck and stagnant and
(20:03):
that kind of a darkness.
So like, get up and move yourbody and that helps loosen up
some of the feeling of stucknessand it's what can open up your
mind more.
Yeah, maybe it's listening to afavorite song, doing something
that actively like takes you toyour happy place, doing a dance,
whatever.
That is like just go run asfast as you can for 30 seconds
(20:27):
in place, get your heart rate,feel your aliveness.
That's there.
There's any number ofmechanisms that can take you,
but it's to keep seeing the bothand in life that, yes, you can
be feeling down in a heavy andtense way and also be in touch
with something that's light andthat brings you joy, and that
(20:48):
happiness is also possible.
Really, I come to see my storyas about being this practice of
happiness.
If you can be happy even in atime where you're dealing with
the most intense experience ofyour life, then what's stopping
you in anything?
If you have that kind of apractice, I think you will
always be able to find and comeback to your happiness, because
(21:10):
you know that even the biggestadversities in life are there to
help you grow.
And that's like okay, I'mgrateful, I welcome it.
You know, the last thing I didwhen I walked away from that
boulder is I took a photo of itand said thank you out loud to
it.
I mean, you know, amputated arm, probably going to die on my
way out of here, certainly it'sa massive risk to be taking, but
(21:32):
at least I wasn't going to diein that place.
And I left that spot withgratitude Every time I've been
back over these 21 years tostand there, most recently with
my two kids on the 20thanniversary of my entrapment,
and it was to say thank youagain and again and again to
that rock for all the gifts thatit's given me in my life.
Brandon Mulnix (21:50):
You talk about your past.
You talk about how it'sprogrammed.
You, I mean your positiveenergy, even in the negative.
How have you recently grown?
Aron Ralston (21:59):
I think it was recognizing, and I appreciate
that because I mean I do, I try,I strive to continue to grow,
discover like, where, where isthere some kind of belief or
limitation that I have in mylife?
It takes a little extra courageor maybe it takes some
perseverance, some extra effort,but the big one that I'm
(22:20):
reflecting on is recognizingfrom that experience of being
bullied when I was an adolescent, then, coming to this value I
held for the last I mean morethan 35 years was to say that,
oh, I'm going to stand up tobullies, I'm going to seek
justice, I will gain advantageover them by winning, by being
righteous, by holding them toaccount.
(22:40):
So maybe that's a good strategyfor a while in life.
And then you start to see, likehow wait I'm over applying that
to situations that are not that.
And that's really what I'vebeen doing for the last decade
with my daughter's mother.
You know I kind of painted herin a particular perspective and
(23:00):
was applying these values andthese strategies.
And well, what I wasn'tunderstanding was the cost that
it was having for me and for mydaughter and for her mom too,
and to find a different set ofvalues around that, which is
that well, what's more important, again, to express love and
forgiveness and to have peace,especially for her daughter.
(23:24):
And that's been the big growth,which has not at all been easy,
and again it's come at greatcost.
But I do think the things thatcost us the most are the things
we value the most.
So, going through a process tosee that has to change, look
where that strategy is going totake you in another 10 years,
another 20 years maybe, and tosee the costs and emotionally,
(23:46):
physically, financially, likeall of it, like, yeah, that is
not my highest path in life.
That's been a major point ofgrowth to replace like a core
value because, after havingfound that it's not serving me
anymore.
Brandon Mulnix (24:00):
Would you say that's probably your most recent
amputation.
Aron Ralston (24:06):
In a way I mean an evolution, at the very least an
adaptation, replacing somethingthat's not serving me, cutting
something out but then alsogaining from it.
I see very much, yeah, I likethat.
It is the process to let go ofsomething my hand.
It was dead, it was decaying,it was decomposing, it was going
(24:28):
to kill me.
So to say goodbye to that wasalso saying hello and thank you
to a whole host of other giftsand growth that were yet to come
in my life.
None of it easy, and a littlebit worth it.
Brandon Mulnix (24:44):
I really appreciate your vulnerability
here and talking about yoursituation with your kids, and
that you were willing toamputate that idea, that
attitude, out of your life.
And now it's time to turnaround and take that picture and
see what that moment's going tolook like and how you're going
to grow from it.
Aaron, I want to respect youand your willingness to serve.
(25:04):
Is there anything else you wantto share for the farmers of the
US, the farmers of the world?
Aron Ralston (25:10):
Yeah, well, I mean , I want to come from gratitude
and I grew up especially onsummers going over to my
relatives in Ohio and ride onthe tractors and bale the hay
and take care of the animals,and so I just have a lot of
respect and gratitude,especially for the hard work,
the early mornings, the longnights and everything in between
(25:31):
, the sacrifices and the tollthat all of that takes,
especially in these times, withlosing a flock after flock after
flock, that experience I atleast see and appreciate the
costs and the toll that it takesand also know the value and the
growth that's there and to sayit's worth it.
(25:53):
So keep going and thank youbecause, yeah, I got lots more
omelets and pancakes and cakesto make, and so keep going
please.
My kids and I, we appreciateyou.
Brandon Mulnix (26:09):
Thank you, Aaron .
I really appreciate your story.
I know the listeners are goingto really really appreciate your
story.
Excellent.
Well, have a great evening.
Bye, Brandon, it was a pleasure.
Welcome to the Poultry Leadership Podcast.
I am your host, brandon Mullnix.
Join me on this episode as Iinterview Aron Ralston.
Aron was the keynote speaker atthis year's UEP AEB Executive
Conference.
His inspiring story is capturedin his New York Times
best-selling book, 127 Hours,and the 2009 movie of the same
(00:49):
name starring James Franco.
To give you a little backstory,Aron fell into a remote canyon
while hiking in Utah and his armbecame trapped between a rock
and the canyon wall.
In a feat of extraordinarysurvival, for 127 hours, aaron
braved very cold temperaturesand dehydration while he worked
to rescue himself from the rock,before cutting off his arm with
(01:12):
a multi-tool and hiking out ofthe canyon to rescue man.
What an incredible story.
Let's hear from the man himself.
So, aaron, this is amazing tohave you on the show.
Our guests have no idea who I'mtalking to today just because
you were not able to bepresented to the industry, but
(01:32):
except I did meet you at theUnited Egg Producers American
Egg Board event in Denver notthat long ago and you shared
your story.
It's an exciting story long agoand you shared your story.
It's an exciting story.
It's a story that, as Imentioned around the office who
I get to have on the show today.
They're like no way you getthat guy and it's like it's
(01:54):
people that I wouldn't have eventhought were hiking fans or
anything.
They know your story.
So, aaron, I'm going to giveyou an opportunity.
I want you to introduceyourself to the audience and
just share a little bit aboutwho you are, and then we'll get
kind of into the meat andpotatoes of this interview.
Aron Ralston (02:13):
Yeah, I appreciate that and it's an honor to get
to chat with you.
Brandon, I appreciate theinvitation to be here.
I think most people dorecognize at least the outline
of my story about being the guywho was trapped and had to cut
his arm off, going back to 2003,.
So it's been 21 and a halfyears since this went down, but
(02:35):
I was 27 at the time just turned49 a month ago or so here a
month ago or so that I was outon a vacation spring break kind
of time in the April 2003 thatyear, hiking through a lot of
different canyons, mountainbiking, and then on Saturday,
(02:57):
april 26th it was.
I was alone and descending downthrough Blue John Canyon, a
particular slot canyon complexon the west side of the Green
River, west of CanyonlandsNational Park in southern Utah,
and I got about halfway throughmy day where I was down climbing
(03:19):
off of a chalk stone that waswedged between the walls of the
canyon and I pulled it loose asI was underneath it.
It was falling from my head andI had to put my hands up to
protect my skull and, of course,that's how my right arm gets
trapped as the boulder becomeswedged between the walls about
(03:39):
seven feet lower than it hadbeen, right in in front of my
chest, and it's crushed my handsand my wrist on my right side,
down to the width of my pinkyfinger and between the boulder
itself and the wall of thecanyon there.
So I was trapped in immensepain, panicking, enraged with
(04:00):
adrenaline, trying to bruteforce my way through.
Ultimately I was able to calmdown and then start
brainstorming, come up with abunch of different options that
I went through in series tryingto carve through the boulder,
trying to lift the boulder withthe canyoneering gear that I had
with me, building anchors,sustaining myself by rationing
(04:21):
my food and water, hopefullythat maybe somebody might come
along or that a rescue mighthappen.
But ultimately, after two days,three days, four days, five days
of all of this understanding,I'm going to die here, not able
to even take the most extrememeasures.
I mean in the first hour Ithought, oh, I'm going to have
(04:42):
to cut my arm off.
But the attempts I made alongthe way were all futile.
A knife that I had was justcompletely pathetic.
It was not going to do the jobat all.
I'm trapped there almost asmuch by the blade as I am by the
boulder until the final morningthat I was still alive after
(05:02):
six days out there.
Morning that I was still aliveafter six days out there, I
realized how I could break thebones in my arm and then use the
pocket knife that I had to justcut through the soft tissues
that were remaining.
I accomplished this in about anhour hour and four minutes
actually, to be precise, andthat at that point I was
liberated and I escaped thecanyon to a miraculous rescue,
(05:23):
after hiking over six miles fromthe spot where I was trapped to
find a family on the way whohelped me the last half mile,
and then a helicopter, as partof a search and rescue operation
spearheaded by my mom, lifts meout of the bottom of the canyon
and gets me to a hospital justbefore I bleed to death.
So a miracle top to bottom inall of this, before I bleed to
(05:44):
death.
So a miracle top to bottom inall of this and, quite sincerely
, the most divine interactionthat I've ever had in my life,
feeling those much largerenergies than what we usually
tap into on a day-to-day basis,but, as it stands, a story that
gave me gifts, especially tounderstand what's important to
me, what's possible for me in mylife.
(06:05):
What's extraordinary about beingalive?
So often we kind of lose sightof that in our lives.
And then that it's also given methis gift of understanding how
I'm able to take almost anynegative experience in my life,
including this boulder, but tosee with fascination how it
brings gifts and blessings, asmuch as I've gone through any
(06:29):
number of other very difficulttimes and adversity in my life,
that I have also found strengthfrom this story of my amputation
to know that if I can make thatthe best thing that's ever
happened for me and I certainlysee it that way then that
possibility is there foreverything else in my life,
whether that adversity comes inyeah, encountering mental health
(06:51):
and wellness issues, myphysical health, relationships
and loss, and grieving the deathof my father.
It's been five and a half yearsago since he passed from
pancreatic cancer, but he wasthe one who taught me that life
is so much more than whathappens to us.
But it's about how we respond,what we choose to make,
(07:15):
especially of the adversity inour lives.
So that's where I've landedwith all of this.
I try to apply it as much asit's, sometimes with my kids,
with their moms, andco-parenting in relationships
today, when there's adversity inmy life, to see that there's
something there for me.
I'm going to grow and maturebecause of this the other side
(07:36):
of it I can look back and say,just as I see that boulder, it
was one of the greatestblessings of my entire life.
That's in a nutshell.
Maybe I don't know a sevenminute nutshell.
Brandon Mulnix (07:48):
Well, I mean, you're a New York bestselling
author with your book thatdetails the story in written
form, and you had a movie madeabout it.
A few years later, you hadsomeone James Franco that played
you.
Is that true?
Aron Ralston (08:06):
Yeah yeah, nominated for Best Actor for the
role and five other Oscarnominations for the film in
total.
So, yeah, it's definitely hadsome traction out there in the
world.
And still most people, though,they know they know about the
guy that cut his arm off.
But, again, my perspective onall of this is that I share the
story about the guy who wassmiling when he cut his arm off.
(08:28):
As you recall from seeing mypresentation and putting that
emphasis on it, it's about,whenever any of us are going to
encounter something that'sdemanding of our highest
potential, we get to choose howwe frame it, how we see it in
our lives, and even to findgratitude for it, which I
certainly have from thisexperience and from all of the
(08:48):
experiences, as hard as they'vebeen, going through financial
hardships, going throughdepression, going through again
like loss and grieving and theanxiety and worry and
uncertainty of life.
It just like on a daily basisfor so many of us and to be able
to find something, whether it'sto find a way to come back to
(09:09):
peace in our lives.
Maybe it's about innovating andchanging, creating a new
opportunity for ourselves.
Sometimes it's about maturingand understanding that we're not
so much again in control ofwhat's happening, but what we
are getting to control is aboutwhat's inside of us, in our mind
, and how we approach things.
(09:30):
All of that is there and it'spart of my story and what I hope
to be able to give to otherpeople through it.
Brandon Mulnix (09:37):
As you shared your story to a room of business
executives who, throughout thatevent, started talking about
the challenges of family farms,the challenges of generational
farming, the challenges of avianinfluenza, which, when you're
down once, then down twice, andnow some of these farms are hit
a third time it's like, how doyou get back up?
(09:59):
And when I heard your story andI could see the tears in these
eyes, I could see the fact thatyou got back up and I know from
what you've shared in some ofour other conversations is this
wasn't the only time that you'veyou.
You know you smiled, cuttingyour arm off, but you've had to
live 21 years after.
Can you?
Can you talk about thosemoments, about getting back up?
(10:20):
Getting back up, getting backup over and over and over again?
Yeah, I?
Aron Ralston (10:25):
I think I mean there's the physical aspects of
this, because I went into thehospital, I had five surgeries
and every time I would start onmy recovery and then have to
have another surgery.
It would set me back to a placewhere I was incapable of doing
anything for myself, I mean noteven able to get up out of a
hospital bed to go to thebathroom on my own.
(10:47):
That in time, of course, afterall, that was settled out, but
then I was fighting a boneinfection and that, even with
the best and strongestantibiotics out there, I only
had about a 50% chance ofsurviving, which I did,
obviously.
But talk about setbacks alongthe way, developing and
(11:07):
integrating prosthetics into mylife that enabled me to get back
to so many of my outdoorpassions and, at the same time,
the challenges and it's aniterative process that, okay,
we're going to create somethingand then there's some things
that don't work so well with it.
Perhaps, iteration afteriteration, before we get to a
place where, okay, this is nowreasonably functional, so that,
(11:29):
whether it's mountaineering orskiing or rock climbing or ice
climbing or any of these otherkinds of activities that I enjoy
, rafting, yeah, that I canovercome and adapt and refine
that.
All of these are strategies interms of how we encounter
(11:50):
adversity and what we do with it.
So, yeah, I mean, of course,getting into relationships.
I mean many ended relationships, some that caused tremendous
heartbreak.
I lost friends to suicide Again.
That grief and loss my dad Allof this, though, it reminds us
that, especially in love, whichis what life is all about.
(12:12):
That's what I primarily learnedin the canyon.
It's about relationships andlove.
That we get hurt or somethingends.
There's a lot of feelings thereand we do have to get back up.
It is the purpose in our livesand we do have to get back up.
It is the purpose in our lives.
I mean, once we close off fromlove.
That's where depression andeventually how my friends came
to those choices to end theirlives we're not living anymore.
(12:41):
When we cut ourselves off fromlove, it can be hurtful, it can
be scary, of course.
That's another one of thesetimes where it's again.
We get back up.
We have to keep working at whatour life's purpose is, and that
is to live with an open heart,I believe, an open mind in terms
of where there is setback.
There's also something that's agift that's going to help us
leap forward, and that's themindset I keep coming back to.
(13:01):
It's the choices that we get tomake when something terribly
difficult comes our way in life.
There is a trauma, but we getto make a decision there about
if that trauma is going tobecome a tragedy or if it's
going to become an opportunityfor transformation and maybe
even triumph.
Definitely understand theplight of the farmers, and
really I mean the plight of thecountry at this point in China,
(13:24):
the empty shelves of eggs wherethey should have been for most
of the month of November.
Even my daughter was like Dadhave you seen, there's no eggs
anywhere.
Yeah, it's a big deal.
Also, there is a future aheadtrying one more time, I believe,
finding a better way sometimesthat we adapt, that we grow
(13:47):
through that loss and that wegrow through perhaps even a new
opportunity that comes.
I don't know exactly all thespecifics of what that looks
like in any individual's case.
I just know that when I take onthat mindset that it leads to
better things in my life.
A great example I've beenthrough a better part with my
daughter, almost a decades longcustody battle that even at
(14:09):
times when it seemed like, oh,there was some resolution, it
was kind of that idea well, youcan win the war but lose the
peace.
And there was a lot of that overthe years too, until finally
and I mean this is just the mostrecent development, a week ago
to today as we're recording thisthat her mom and I signed a
global settlement to set all ofthis aside, because we want
(14:31):
peace in our relationship, ourco-parenting and for our
daughter, more than we want allthe rest of the fighting change,
which that takes a lot ofgrowth, even as kind of wish it
could have happened eight yearsago, nine years ago maybe, but
where we're at today, I'd liketo think that we've both grown
so much to know that this is nowwe're excited about and ready
(14:54):
to move forward, and it's abouthaving something that's more
sustainable and that's morebeneficial, especially for our
daughter.
Again, it's a lot of examples,but it keeps coming back to
making that choice to see thatit's not something that's
happening to you, but that it'shappening for you, and if you
have that kind of perspective, Ibelieve you can find
(15:14):
fascination with negativeexperience and turn it into
something positive.
Brandon Mulnix (15:19):
Aaron, your words are incredibly encouraging
.
You know, I've been at thatplace where I had a car accident
, broken face, just sitting inthat hospital and going how does
how?
Do I make this a blessing,because this could be the worst
day of my life.
I could whine, cry.
I literally have an excuse.
My face is broken, head injuryall that I could make an excuse,
and it's like you know what.
(15:39):
That doesn't bring anybodypeace and joy around me, making
it the best thing that everhappened to me just opened up an
entire perspective on it that Icouldn't have imagined.
As you go up and down, there'sother people going up and down
right now.
They have their mountains orvalleys.
If they're in that valley,that's dark.
What would you say to them?
What's something that somebodysaid to you that just helped
(16:00):
remind you that the mountaintopwas coming?
Aron Ralston (16:03):
Well, first I want to empathize and just
appreciate with gratitude whatyou just shared.
I'm so glad to hear that you'vehad an experience that
resonated with what I'm talkingabout too, and I think most of
us recognize this.
It's a truth in our lives.
It's not my concept or ideathat I'm proselytizing out in
the universe.
(16:24):
This is, I believe, how theuniverse operates.
I appreciate you reflectingthat and, yeah, knowing that
you've grown through thatadversity too.
And so, yeah, to get to thatidea, what do you say to someone
who's in the darkness at thebottom of the valley?
I think it's to remember thatdarkness only exists in the
context of light, and even whenthere's something that's right
(16:44):
in front of you that is blottingout the light, know that the
light has to exist for thedarkness to exist.
A boulder has a light side anda dark side.
In the metaphor that I talkabout, the light and the dark in
the universe has to balance.
In our individual lives in agiven moment, we can swing one
way or another, and there are alot of practices that you can
(17:06):
put to use in your life in orderto see some light when it might
not be obvious Part of it.
That is about putting intention, practicing gratitude, finding
three things that went well andto understand why those things
went well, to spend timecurating and even cultivating
(17:28):
some of that.
One of the things I learned inthe canyon was trapped, dying,
knowing this is the end.
And yet I would get out myvideo camera and hold it up in
front of me and talk into thatlens to my loved ones, and there
would be a smile on my face,because you cannot
simultaneously hold profoundgratitude and profound despair
in your heart at the same time.
One will displace the other,and that was something I came to
(17:52):
practice then.
It would be reflecting andsaying thank you and that I love
you.
It's what brought those smiles,even in the most desperate and
isolated experience of my life.
I think that there are alwaysways where you can find
something that is light and thatis beautiful in a moment, and
sometimes that means turning toa loved one, calling on them for
(18:13):
some help, support, for aconversation, to share the
adversity that you're goingthrough trauma, emotions because
we're not alone in that and themore that we connect in those
times of even the darkness,that's how we find the light
again.
Someone else who has been therecan empathize and says it will
(18:34):
get better, maybe finding outthat, okay, you're through the
worst of it and now you'retaking steps to improve.
I know a lot of darkness in mylife and some of it goes back
even to my adolescence beingbullied and ostracized and made
to feel less than, and how Iresponded by then building
myself up and trying to makemyself even more than, and some
(18:56):
of that competitive ego kind ofstuff lingered well past its
utility.
Then there's the, the processof trying to shed that and come
back to some equilibrium.
You're not such a jerk to bearound because you're always
trying to boost your ego,because you're too afraid that
you're inadequate.
That that's that's.
That's part of the arc.
That's there too.
But to that person who's in thedarkness to know that, yeah,
(19:18):
you've been through life enoughto know that there are going to
be waves where there's peaks andthere's troughs, and there's
another peak and another trough.
And when you find yourself inthe trough, to know that there
will be another wave at somepoint you'll be up on top of it
again, and to know that, evenwhen you're at the top of an
experience, that it can behelpful to remember that, yeah,
there's going to be another trapcoming, and so to appreciate it
(19:40):
, to revel in that Of course, weall know that in being alive,
we will someday be dead.
That has to exist and toremember, then, the preciousness
of what maybe a moment is, arelationship, an opportunity.
I think there's a lot of thesekinds of strategies to pull from
and for most folks they know,you know what works for you, and
sometimes it's like oh, I'mfeeling stuck and stagnant and
(20:03):
that kind of a darkness.
So like, get up and move yourbody and that helps loosen up
some of the feeling of stucknessand it's what can open up your
mind more.
Yeah, maybe it's listening to afavorite song, doing something
that actively like takes you toyour happy place, doing a dance,
whatever.
That is like just go run asfast as you can for 30 seconds
(20:27):
in place, get your heart rate,feel your aliveness.
That's there.
There's any number ofmechanisms that can take you,
but it's to keep seeing the bothand in life that, yes, you can
be feeling down in a heavy andtense way and also be in touch
with something that's light andthat brings you joy, and that
(20:48):
happiness is also possible.
Really, I come to see my storyas about being this practice of
happiness.
If you can be happy even in atime where you're dealing with
the most intense experience ofyour life, then what's stopping
you in anything?
If you have that kind of apractice, I think you will
always be able to find and comeback to your happiness, because
(21:10):
you know that even the biggestadversities in life are there to
help you grow.
And that's like okay, I'mgrateful, I welcome it.
You know, the last thing I didwhen I walked away from that
boulder is I took a photo of itand said thank you out loud to
it.
I mean, you know, amputated arm, probably going to die on my
way out of here, certainly it'sa massive risk to be taking, but
(21:32):
at least I wasn't going to diein that place.
And I left that spot withgratitude Every time I've been
back over these 21 years tostand there, most recently with
my two kids on the 20thanniversary of my entrapment,
and it was to say thank youagain and again and again to
that rock for all the gifts thatit's given me in my life.
Brandon Mulnix (21:50):
You talk about your past.
You talk about how it'sprogrammed.
You, I mean your positiveenergy, even in the negative.
How have you recently grown?
Aron Ralston (21:59):
I think it was recognizing, and I appreciate
that because I mean I do, I try,I strive to continue to grow,
discover like, where, where isthere some kind of belief or
limitation that I have in mylife?
It takes a little extra courageor maybe it takes some
perseverance, some extra effort,but the big one that I'm
(22:20):
reflecting on is recognizingfrom that experience of being
bullied when I was an adolescent, then, coming to this value I
held for the last I mean morethan 35 years was to say that,
oh, I'm going to stand up tobullies, I'm going to seek
justice, I will gain advantageover them by winning, by being
righteous, by holding them toaccount.
(22:40):
So maybe that's a good strategyfor a while in life.
And then you start to see, likehow wait I'm over applying that
to situations that are not that.
And that's really what I'vebeen doing for the last decade
with my daughter's mother.
You know I kind of painted herin a particular perspective and
(23:00):
was applying these values andthese strategies.
And well, what I wasn'tunderstanding was the cost that
it was having for me and for mydaughter and for her mom too,
and to find a different set ofvalues around that, which is
that well, what's more important, again, to express love and
forgiveness and to have peace,especially for her daughter.
(23:24):
And that's been the big growth,which has not at all been easy,
and again it's come at greatcost.
But I do think the things thatcost us the most are the things
we value the most.
So, going through a process tosee that has to change, look
where that strategy is going totake you in another 10 years,
another 20 years maybe, and tosee the costs and emotionally,
(23:46):
physically, financially, likeall of it, like, yeah, that is
not my highest path in life.
That's been a major point ofgrowth to replace like a core
value because, after havingfound that it's not serving me
anymore.
Brandon Mulnix (24:00):
Would you say that's probably your most recent
amputation.
Aron Ralston (24:06):
In a way I mean an evolution, at the very least an
adaptation, replacing somethingthat's not serving me, cutting
something out but then alsogaining from it.
I see very much, yeah, I likethat.
It is the process to let go ofsomething my hand.
It was dead, it was decaying,it was decomposing, it was going
(24:28):
to kill me.
So to say goodbye to that wasalso saying hello and thank you
to a whole host of other giftsand growth that were yet to come
in my life.
None of it easy, and a littlebit worth it.
Brandon Mulnix (24:44):
I really appreciate your vulnerability
here and talking about yoursituation with your kids, and
that you were willing toamputate that idea, that
attitude, out of your life.
And now it's time to turnaround and take that picture and
see what that moment's going tolook like and how you're going
to grow from it.
Aaron, I want to respect youand your willingness to serve.
(25:04):
Is there anything else you wantto share for the farmers of the
US, the farmers of the world?
Aron Ralston (25:10):
Yeah, well, I mean , I want to come from gratitude
and I grew up especially onsummers going over to my
relatives in Ohio and ride onthe tractors and bale the hay
and take care of the animals,and so I just have a lot of
respect and gratitude,especially for the hard work,
the early mornings, the longnights and everything in between
(25:31):
, the sacrifices and the tollthat all of that takes,
especially in these times, withlosing a flock after flock after
flock, that experience I atleast see and appreciate the
costs and the toll that it takesand also know the value and the
growth that's there and to sayit's worth it.
(25:53):
So keep going and thank youbecause, yeah, I got lots more
omelets and pancakes and cakesto make, and so keep going
please.
My kids and I, we appreciateyou.
Brandon Mulnix (26:09):
Thank you, Aaron .
I really appreciate your story.
I know the listeners are goingto really really appreciate your
story.
Excellent.
Well, have a great evening.
Bye, Brandon, it was a pleasure.
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
24/7 News: The Latest
The latest news in 4 minutes updated every hour, every day.
The Joe Rogan Experience
The official podcast of comedian Joe Rogan.