July 23, 2026 • 52 mins
He Lost Everything. Then He Beat Addiction, Stage 4 Cancer & Rebuilt His Life
Jack Skidmore had what many would consider a successful life—until a devastating accident changed everything.
What followed was a battle with chronic pain, prescription medication addiction, Stage 4 prostate cancer, the end of a 30-year relationship, and the difficult journey of rebuilding his identity.
Rather than allowing those setbacks to define him, Jack embraced a simple philosophy: "Good." That mindset became the foundation for an extraordinary transformation.
Today, he's healthier than ever, has lost 130 pounds, pursues acting and modeling, and travels the country in his camper, proving that it's never too late to reinvent your life.
In this inspiring conversation, Jack shares:
- How one accident changed the course of his life
- His recovery from prescription pain medication addiction
- Surviving Stage 4 prostate cancer
- The lifestyle changes that transformed his health
- Finding purpose after career success
- Why every setback became an opportunity for growth
- The power of choosing resilience every single day
This episode is a reminder that no matter what you've been through, your next chapter is still yours to write.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
SPEAKER_00 (00:01):
When you feel like life has dealt you a hand of
unfair cards.
Instead of voting, you doubledown, are you stuck in the game?
You face battles.
You felt broken.
But hey, do us a favor.
Put your hand on your heart.
You feel that?
You're still here.
Welcome to the Resilience FilesUnlock, where survival meets
(00:25):
transformation.
The Resilience Files Podcast.
I'm your host, Carrie Bernanz,and I am so excited about
today's guest.
What happens when the life youbuild for decades suddenly
disappears?
We're talking about your career,your health, your identity.
Most people spend their livestrying to avoid moments like
(00:45):
that.
But what if those moments arethe very things that force us to
rebuild stronger?
Well, today's story is aboutresilience, just like our
podcast, right?
Reinvention and the mindset thathelped one man turn devastating
challenges into a completely newlife.
Welcome back to the ResilienceStyles Podcast Unlocked.
I'm your host, Carrie Bernans.
This podcast is dedicated tosharing real stories of
(01:07):
adversity, courage, and thestrength people discover when
life doesn't always go asplanned.
Each episode reminds us thatresilience isn't about having a
perfect life, it's about whatyou do even when things change.
Trigger warning for today'sepisode.
Before we hop in, I want you toknow that there are discussions
on serious injury, addiction toprescription medication, cancer
(01:28):
diagnosis, major lifetransitions, and more.
And while our amazing guest willintroduce him shortly,
ultimately carries a powerfulmessage of hope and
transformation.
Some parts may be difficult forsome listeners.
So please take care of yourselfwhile listening.
Now, our guest today.
Our guest today is ShaqSkidmore.
And as we do here on theResilience Files, we like to hop
(01:49):
into our guest essay that theysubmit here on the show.
So without further ado, I'mgoing to be the lovely person
that reads the essay today.
And then we're gonna meet theman himself.
And his name is Jack Skidmore.
Six years ago, my lifecompletely changed.
I spent the 25 years beforefilling the roles of husband,
provider for my family, fatherof an autistic son, Boy Scout
(02:12):
leader, and world travelingcorporate executive.
I flew 150 round trip flights ayear for 20 plus of those years.
Home for the weekends,regrettably, I let myself go.
I spiraled into a 320-pounddiabetic mess of a human.
Everything hurt.
Activities were limited.
I was on all kinds ofprescription medicine.
(02:32):
I ate terribly, didn't take careof myself.
Was all I could do was sustainthe extreme travel that I loved.
Then the day came.
It was a tough week.
Four different cities in fivedays hotels, rental cars,
connecting flights, and endlessmeetings.
I landed in Orlando, an hourfrom home.
More tired and exhausted than Iknew or would admit, I boarded
(02:53):
the bus to the long-term parkinglot.
The bus pulled up to the stop.
I could see my car.
I picked up my bag and mybriefcase, was talking on the
phone.
At the same time as usual,exiting the bus, I missed the
top stair and fell face first tothe ground, bags in my hand, and
mid-sentence.
I couldn't stand.
After a ride in the ambulance, Iwas told I ripped my thigh
(03:15):
muscle in two.
A seven-hour surgery left me tosit in a chair for four months,
completely immobile, while Ihealed.
I was forced into disability bymy company.
Half pay and no commission orbonus.
The man who was in control ofeverything suddenly lost
everything.
Was not allowed to drive, and myinsurance company canceled me.
Can't work, can't drive, can'tprovide for my family.
(03:38):
No longer am I the man.
Therapy for my thigh tear wasthe hardest.
The pain was just getting my legto flex, was the worst I've ever
encountered.
Two oxycodons, four ibuprofen,and four acetometaphine just to
get through one therapy session.
Three times a week for sixmonths.
(03:58):
Had to be one of the worst timesof my life.
Of course, I became addicted tothe oxygen.
I had to learn how to walkagain.
First with my walker, then acane, then finally no cane.
Then to a chiropractor tocomplete the healing.
Three again.
Back to work.
Unsteady, unsure, butdetermined.
But something changed.
I wasn't the same person.
I upended my life.
I left my 30-year relationship,moved to South Carolina.
(04:21):
I gave away all my possessionsexcept my car.
I lived with a friend.
After less than a year, I wentback to Florida.
Then the next bomb goes off.
Cancer.
Stage four prostate cancer.
I opt for the most invasivesurgery with the best outcome.
Five incisions across myabdomen.
I walked at the hospital thesame day.
Sheer determination.
In the middle of all of this, Idecided to drastically change my
(04:44):
life.
The cancer scared the crap outof me.
Still does.
No more sugar.
No more processed food.
No more meat.
Ever.
I only eat fruit, vegetables,nuts, seeds, and berries.
Lost 130 pounds.
I started walking, then run,then walk, running.
Did a 5K, then a 10K, then ahalf marathon, then more 10Ks.
(05:05):
I started going to the gym fivetimes a week.
I now feel 15 years younger thanI am.
I'm now 66 years old.
After the cancer diagnosis, Iworked for a year, then retired.
I had no intention of retiring.
Just one day of a national cannational corporate video
meeting, I announced that I wasdone.
Retiring, my new job is nowworking on me.
I started my second career: acting, modeling, improv comedy. (05:24):
undefined
I did multiple stageperformances, been in a music
video, TV, commercial, andperformed with my improv troop.
I left my home and wife for thelast time.
Again, I left all my belongingsbehind except my car.
My girlfriend, the chiropractor,and I've been traveling to the
U.S.
in a camper we bought.
(05:45):
No schedule, no plan, just goingwhere the wind blows.
Living right now on the Mexicanborder in South Texas, eating
clean, hiking, walking andrunning.
After being diabetic with highblood pressure, my life changes
have cured me of all of myself-inflective diseases.
I have no need for anyprescription meds.
My advice to anyone facingextreme challenges in life is to
(06:08):
just say, good.
Tour my quad.
Good.
I now have the opportunity andtime to make myself stronger.
Stage four cancer, good.
I now have the opportunity torid my body of the beast and
change my habits to no longergive me, to no longer give it a
place to live.
Don't ever give up.
Don't ever sit down.
Keep moving mentally andphysically.
(06:29):
Drive fast.
Take chances.
Jack Skidmore.
Jack, wow.
Wow.
Wow.
Wow.
So much there.
Wow.
First off, how do you feel afterhearing your essay read aloud?
SPEAKER_01 (06:40):
It just reminds me of the details and it took me to
get to this day.
It took a it took a lot.
It was nothing I was preparedfor.
SPEAKER_00 (06:50):
Yeah.
That makes sense.
I can imagine that.
Well, I wanna kind of go back alittle bit.
So, Jack, before the injury,before the cancer diagnosis,
what did your life look likeduring those years when you were
working as a corporateexecutive?
You described traveling 150 plusround trips, flights a year,
balancing work with family andresponsibilities.
That kind of lifestyle can takea serious toll on anybody's
(07:12):
health.
And I think it can obviouslymake you feel like, you know,
you're kind of running this likeclock race, like you're
constantly just working toprovide, and then you are having
these weekends.
What did life look like for you?
SPEAKER_01 (07:26):
So uh, first the United States, the first 10
years driving and flying hereand there weekly.
And then the last 20 years of mycareer turned into I traveled
the world, uh, flying frombusiness meeting to business
meeting to business meeting.
My schedule was not dictated bymyself, it was dictated by uh
(07:47):
sales teams that I supported.
And while I was in sales, I wasa sales consultant for
businesses designing end-to-endbusiness fulfillment systems.
So think of if you ordersomething on your phone and two
days later what you orderedended up ends up on your front
porch, and you get a picture ofthe box in your email.
(08:07):
I I was the person that designedthat to make it happen.
I did that my whole career allover the world.
So I would get a call onThursday that Monday I had to be
3,000 miles away.
Or I get a call on Monday,Tuesday, I needed to be three
states away.
And I'd have to just get on aplane and go.
And my whole life was for 20years, the last 20 years of my
(08:30):
career, that's what it was everysingle day.
And it became such the norm thatit never bothered me.
I loved it.
And I'd watch people come in andout of the companies that I
worked for wanting a career likeI had, doing it for a couple
months, and then saying, My God,I can't do this anymore because
(08:51):
you're just never in control.
You're you're always being told,go somewhere, go be here, be
there, be here, do this, dothat, out it to define me.
And and that was a good thingvery well for it.
So, you know, that that helped,I suppose.
I'd get home on Friday afternoonand and then you know, I had to
(09:11):
be the father, right?
Raising two sons, a typical sonand an autistic son, and being a
scout leader and you know, andand trying to pursue a hobby
just to keep myself sane.
Um, I also race cars, which ismy hobby, and uh and and so I'd
have to squeeze that in where Icould.
And uh and then you know,maintaining a a relationship
(09:32):
with with you know with spouse,and you know, over two and a
half days a week, cram that allinto two and a half days a week
for for 20 plus years.
And it was interesting, and itmaybe get to the towards the
end, but all of the travel I didand all of the things, and what
kept my 30-year marriagetogether was the fact I wasn't
(09:53):
there.
When I retired, and and when Iwas recovering from and I was
home for a year, I I think weboth realized that we didn't
really like each other anymore.
So, so it was an it's aninteresting dynamic of things
that happened as a result ofthings that happened.
You know, I I would have neverhave guessed that what is the
problem with my relationship, orI even had a problem with it
(10:15):
until you go through lifechanges.
SPEAKER_00 (10:18):
Thank you for sharing that.
I think that there's gonna be alot of people that listen to
this and you know, some peoplethat definitely relate to you as
far as having to take a job thatrequires you to travel, and then
you're only home during theweekends.
I guess I have so much so manythoughts around that because I
know you say you have anautistic son during that time.
Was your son born, or was it,you know, part half of the way
(10:40):
through your career, or whatpart of life was that for you?
SPEAKER_01 (10:44):
Ten years.
I I was I didn't have my firstchild until I was 34.
So much later in life, andprobably 10 years into my
career, was my younger son, mymy older son very successful and
married and all of that.
My autistic son unfortunatelypassed away a number of years
ago.
SPEAKER_00 (11:02):
I'm sorry.
Okay.
SPEAKER_01 (11:03):
So that was that was not in uh a little more than 10
years ago.
SPEAKER_00 (11:10):
Okay, I'm sorry about your loss.
Yeah, I was wondering, like, soat the time, was she a
stay-at-a-home mom caring forthe children?
SPEAKER_01 (11:18):
I had to be a I had to be a stay-at-home mom.
And you know, it's funny, uh,you know, when you're in
relationships and and you know,the relationship is clear that I
was very career-driven, verycareer motivated, and that if I
was to get married and if I wasto have children, that whoever I
was married to would have to bea stay-at-home mom, would have
(11:38):
to end their career.
And you know, in this day andage, most women would just run
away from that pretty much andand and think all sorts of but
uh this lady looked me in theeye and said, literally, that's
all I've ever wanted to do mywhole life.
So it worked out.
It worked out.
Little did she know she'd be acaregiver to a severely autistic
(11:58):
son while I was off making aliving for the family, but she
was excellent at oh it workedout.
SPEAKER_00 (12:06):
That's a blessing.
I'm happy to hear that.
And yeah, I think there's somewomen that want to do that.
You know, there's some womenthat are more career-driven, but
that's the beautiful thing isthat there's so many different
types of women.
But I want to bow back into yourwake-up call with your health.
You mentioned reaching a pointwhere you were about 300 pounds
and you were dealing withdiabetes and chronic pain and a
whole lot of life changes.
(12:28):
At that time, were you awarethat your health was
deteriorating, or were you justlike feeling like some issues
and pains and just pushingthrough it and just said, like,
I have to work?
Because I think, you know, manypeople listening may recognize
this pattern in their own lives.
And what I'm trying to see sayis like, do what do you feel
like you were doing in thatmoment?
Were you just pushing throughit, or did you know that
(12:51):
something serious was happening?
SPEAKER_01 (12:52):
Well, the wor worst part the worst part of your
question is my answer is both.
When you travel as much uh as alot of people do, it's not, you
know, not just me, but when youtravel like that, you have a
choice.
You can live a healthylifestyle, and as I described in
my essay, you can, you know, eatcorrectly and exercise while
you're traveling, or you can useit as an excuse to eat poorly,
(13:16):
eat anything and everything youwant to eat, buy candy at the
airport, buy, you know, uh junkfood at the truck stop while
you're driving, cross state,whatever state it is, and get to
the hotel at night after a dayof meetings and go out, have a
very unhealthy meal, you know,with a couple drinks, and then
(13:36):
go back to your home hotel roomand and plop into the bed.
And you can convince yourselfthat that's okay.
And and maybe when you're inyour twenties, it is okay.
But when you get into your 50sand your 60s, you can't do that
anymore without suffering theconsequences of it.
So I watched myself go from a 34waist to a 50 waist size pants,
(14:00):
and you know, go from 190 poundsto 320 pounds.
And mine, you know, things startto hurt, but you take Advil,
right, for it.
And so I lived on Advil.
And then when I got into my 50s,I went to get a checkup, and the
doctor did all my blood work,and he says, you know, you're
pre-diabetic and your bloodpressure is high, and uh you
(14:23):
need to exercise.
The doctor will tell you exactlywhat you need to do, and most
people will categorically ignoreit.
And that's what I did until itgot to the point where on one
doctor visit, he said, you know,you're you're at a high risk for
a heart attack because of howyou are.
And, you know, I I looked at himand I said, Okay, and that was
it.
I didn't do anything about it.
(14:45):
It took people that ask me thatknow me, yeah, how did you lose
all that weight?
You know, they assume I had alap surgery, you know, or
whatever.
And and no, I did it the hardway by just doing the doctor's
feet correctly, and you'll befine.
Well, it took for me to lose allthat weight, I had to tear my
quad.
I had to rip my thigh muscle tolose that weight.
(15:08):
I couldn't myself out of my ownlifestyle.
I had to have it ripped awayfrom me.
SPEAKER_00 (15:12):
Let's talk about that, that accident.
You know, take us back to themoment at the airport where you
were getting off the bus, youmissed that step, you fell.
Do you remember that?
What do you remember about thatmoment?
SPEAKER_01 (15:22):
I remembered it like it happened five minutes ago.
I'll never forget it.
I'd flown to five differentcities in four days.
SPEAKER_00 (15:30):
Yeah, that's a lot of fun.
SPEAKER_01 (15:35):
At that time, I lived in uh central Florida, a
place called Lakeland, Florida,in between Tampa and Orlando,
and I was about an hour home.
And, you know, my usual walkthrough the airport.
I I know I knew my way aroundevery single airport in this
country.
So it was nothing to me.
Just I knew exactly where I wasgoing and got on the bus.
It was a brand new bus.
I was the only one on it.
I rode out to the car.
(15:56):
I could see the car.
The car was right, just rightthere.
And I was talking on the phone.
I picked up my brief, mysuitcase, and my briefcase.
I traveled very efficiently,obviously, for all of us I could
walk down the steps, missed thefront step, went from the top
stair all the way to the ground,face first onto the ground.
And I I laid, I laid there and Ilooked up, and there's a
(16:17):
Southwest Airlines pilotstanding right there.
Right there.
Wow.
He looks at me and says, Are youall right, sir?
And I said, Absolutely.
I can no problem.
I'll I'll I'll get right up.
And he goes, Well, I'll helpyou.
So he helped me up and I stoodup and I just fell right back on
the ground again.
And I said, Hmm, something'swrong.
I said, I can walk this off.
And I tried to get up, Icouldn't get up.
Apparently, you need that thighmuscle.
(16:39):
I've seen pictures after duringthe surgery and all that.
It literally was cut in two.
It was like nothing connected.
SPEAKER_02 (16:45):
Wow.
SPEAKER_01 (16:45):
So it was a really bad tear.
And and I really don't even knowhow I did it.
You know, you would have thoughtit would hit my head or broke my
arm, or I thought for sure Ibroke my leg or my knee.
That's what it felt like.
We better call an ambulance.
I'm like, yeah, you better.
And you know, and that was thebeginning.
I can remember that, like likethis, like it's just happened.
SPEAKER_00 (17:05):
Yeah, it sounds incredibly painful.
And such a such a shift thatthen led you to the moment where
you felt like you were losingyour identity in some piece.
You wrote something which I findvery powerful at the time.
And you said that you were theman who had always been in
control and suddenly you losteverything.
And kind of similar to what yousaid, you even when you chose
(17:28):
your, you know, ex-wife of 30years, you said, Hey, like, I'm
gonna be there.
I'm going out to work.
You're and I want you to behome.
And she was a-okay with that,but all of a sudden you were the
provider and you were at home.
What did that feel likeemotionally for you?
Because you weren't justrecovering physically.
Obviously, you lost your abilityto work, to drive, to provide
(17:49):
for your family.
And what were you feeling inthat moment?
SPEAKER_01 (17:51):
It it I I it was something I was never prepared
for.
You know, I've always beensuccessful, I've always been
driven and motivated and alwayshad everything that I wanted and
I and everything I needed, youknow, both.
And now, you know, I I wasdesperately clawing at hanging
on to that.
(18:12):
I I worked for a longcorporation.
I talked with management.
I said, you know, I can do myjob virtually.
We had just gotten through COVIDwhere I had been doing my job
virtually, but I was also flyingaround during COVID too.
Uh I was an essential employeedesigning systems for COVID
signage, which was interesting.
But but anyway, I never gotCOVID either.
(18:33):
So, you know, I said I could dothis remotely, and they took it
as an opportunity, it was a verylarge deuce their expo payroll
exposure, is the only way I candescribe it.
So they put me on disability,which you know is half of your
paycheck.
But I had negotiated with everycompany I've worked for for a
(18:54):
lower paycheck and a highercommission percentage.
Well, I'll take less of a salaryif you pay.
I've done that everywhere I'veever worked.
I've always been verysuccessful.
And that ended up workingagainst me because you know, I
the low salary I took was, youknow, obscenely low.
It couldn't pay my bills.
And, you know, it and thenhaving the autistic son, I spent
(19:14):
a lot of money on, I had a lotof money going out for therapies
and all the things associatedwith that.
So now all of a sudden, youknow, I have no control.
I and I just I felt emotionallyhopeless.
You know, I've never felt thatbefore.
I was in pain, constant pain.
And, you know, the the before Ihad my surgery, I couldn't even
get pain medication.
(19:35):
It's uh a pharmacist friend ofmine, you know, gave me my first
CBD oil, which was a lifesaverback then.
And you know, I I'm I am nowrelying on people to help me,
where I spent every one of mywaking hours helping people make
their businesses successfulsuccessful.
I I helped people, and now Ican't help anybody.
(19:58):
I can't even help myself.
And it was hopeless.
Hopeless is the word.
I've I've never really said thatout loud, but talking to you
here now, that's that's prettymuch all that's it.
It was hopeless.
SPEAKER_00 (20:07):
Absolutely, yeah.
The person that that has beenproviding becomes the person
that needs the care and youneeded a caregiver.
And uh I I can imagine how thatmust have felt and and
challenging and just all ofthat.
And I'm so sorry that you wentthrough that and I'm I'm happy
(20:28):
that you're through it for themost part.
But um and then you got into youhad to go through recovery and
you started, you know, a slightaddiction with your physical
therapy.
You were saying that it soundedit sounded incredibly painful
for you to go to physicaltherapy.
You mentioned that you had totake a lot of oxycodons as well
as I think.
(20:50):
Yeah, in order to get youthrough to even do the physical
therapy itself.
And then you said you even had amoment where you became addicted
to prescription medicationduring that time.
What was that period like foryou in your life?
Was it that you wanted to getback to your normal self as
quick as you possibly can?
Or was it literally like anymovement would hurt unless you
(21:11):
were on that medication?
SPEAKER_01 (21:13):
So, what ends up happening for the quad to heal,
for the muscle to reattachitself, I had to sit still for
all of those months.
And when you're 60 years old andyou don't move for that for six
months, well, when you go to tryand move it, your muscle is
atrophied, it won't move.
SPEAKER_02 (21:26):
Oh, for sure.
SPEAKER_01 (21:28):
So they had to wait for it to heal, then they had to
flex it to get it to move.
Well, that took almost a year,and it didn't really hurt
anymore on a day-to-day basis.
But to get into the therapy,what they were doing was taking
my leg, imagine you're standingup straight and you go to sit
down, but your leg will onlybend that far.
(21:49):
You can't sit down, your legwill only move that far.
Wow.
They had to force the muscle dayby day to get it to move.
And it was a lot of differenttherapies, and I won't go into
all of it, but basically.
Is flexing your leg.
And I've always been agoal-oriented person.
And my first day I walked in,and you know, they said, Here,
we just want you to lean againstthe wall and sort of squat down
(22:10):
a little bit, you know, like oneinch.
And I could barely do it.
And I'm, but I'm staring at thisbicycle over over there.
And I'm like, I want to ridethat bike.
And they're like, there's no wayyou can ride that bike.
And I'm like, I want to get on abike and try to ride it.
And they're like, all right,tough guy.
So I went over there and limpedover there, got on the bike.
Well, of course, you're you ifyou ride a bike, your knee has
to flex more than 90 degrees.
(22:32):
Well, I I couldn't move thepedal but an inch.
And I said to myself, I'm goingto ride that bike.
So I asked, How much therapy canI do in a week?
What's the maximum?
They told me three days a week.
I said, okay, that's what I'mgoing to do for an hour and a
half a session.
So I went to the first one, andas they tried to bend my leg, it
hurt so bad, it hurt worse thanany pain I've ever felt.
(22:53):
So they gave me a prescriptionto Oxycotin.
And then he said, Well, it wouldmake it better if you took a
couple Tylenols with it, too.
So I said, Well, if that makesit better, I'll take more than a
couple and I'll add in fouribuprofen too.
So I said, I really want to gofor it.
And they said, Well, we don'trecommend that.
And I said, Well, that's whatI'm doing.
So that's what I did.
I three times just to getthrough therapy, that's what it
(23:14):
took, every single time.
And, you know, eventually Icouldn't get oxy anymore because
they cut you off, right?
Trying to use my authority toget oxy, and I couldn't,
couldn't do it.
And so, so I got off of thatjust by, you know, not being
able to get it anywhere.
So, you know, that that thatjust defined my whole therapy
until I reached one day.
(23:35):
And the therapist said, Youknow, you're you've come along
really far.
And I said, But I can't stillride that bike.
I can't.
I try every now and then, Icouldn't do it.
And he said, Well, I talked toyour doctor and he said, I can
make it so you ride that biketoday.
I'm like, Well, okay, let's dothat.
And he goes, Well, let me tellyou what I'm gonna do.
And it involved me laying on mystomach, and he took my leg and
forced it as hard as he couldtowards my back while I was
(23:57):
laying on my stomach to finallybreak up the scar tissue.
He said, It's gonna hurt worsethan anything you've ever felt
in your whole life.
He goes, but only for onesecond.
And I'm like, All right, I cando that.
So that's what I did.
And he was right.
It felt like someone, like 10people hit me with a
sledgehammer all at once as hardas they could.
Shake walked over the bike andpedaled it shakily and videoed
(24:20):
myself doing it and cried.
And that was that was it.
And from there, that's when thetherapy got easier.
You know, I started walking up alot of stairs and and all of a
sudden everything got easy.
And then they're like, hey, nowyour therapy is just day-to-day
life.
You know, here's a cane, off yougo.
I had gone to my doctor at theum one of the last visits, and I
(24:40):
walked in on a cane and helooked at me and he said, Do you
want to use a cane the rest ofyour life?
And and I said, Absolutely not.
And he said, Well, hand it tome.
And I handed it to him.
He goes, All right, he goes,You're done.
Bye.
And I was so scared because I'vebeen relying on that cane.
It's amazing what you can thinklittle things you rely on.
Never, never in my life would Ithought I needed a cane.
(25:01):
And uh it was the best thingthat ever happened to me.
And I walked out that day, andthat's when I started getting my
life, I'll I'll say, back ontrack.
SPEAKER_00 (25:10):
Yeah.
Wow, thank you.
That's wow.
Wow.
I wanna just hang a momentbecause I know there's
somebody's probably listening tothis today, and they're
wondering, wait, he just stoppedOxy and just like said, okay, I
can't access it, tried to usepower and authority to get it.
It didn't work out.
And you just like, did you haveany withdrawals?
Did you have any outbursts?
(25:32):
Like, I feel like there's somuch around, like, we've had
other amazing guests that's beenon, and everyone's withdrawal
from some type of addiction,whether that may be, you know,
prescription drugs, drugs, etc.,it's usually not that easy.
Was it that easy for you?
SPEAKER_01 (25:49):
I don't want to say it was easy, but I I have this
sheer determination built intome.
I have come to find.
And I thought back to when I was26 years old, I quit smoking
cigarettes.
I smoked a pack a day for 10years straight.
And when I turned 26, I was in arelationship, and the only way
the relationship was gonna workis if I quit smoking.
(26:10):
So I said to myself, okay, we'regonna quit smoking.
And that day I threw away a packof cigarettes, and I've never
wanted another one my wholelife.
SPEAKER_02 (26:19):
Wow.
SPEAKER_01 (26:20):
I drew off of that, I thought back, you know, I'm
like, you know what?
You literally can do anythingyou put your mind to.
SPEAKER_02 (26:27):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (26:27):
Pretty much.
So, you know what?
If I can't get it, then I'm I'veI'm I'm just gonna go with it.
You know, in my essay I talkabout good.
I don't want to say I stolethat, but I learned that from uh
another podcast uh contributorthat um it was a navy seal.
And I've applied that ever sinceI about 10 or 12 years ago, I
have applied that to my life,you know, the good.
(26:49):
And you know, it was like, okay,don't I don't need oxy anymore.
I don't still need it.
Good.
Uh I'll I'm I'm just one lessthing I need to worry about.
It's mind over matter, you know.
It's it's the sheerdetermination.
You know, uh when I I appliedthe same thing after my cancer
diagnosis and I went through biglong surgery, you know, I put
(27:10):
this big five-ended machineinside of me and did everything
that they did.
It was about a four-houroperation.
I woke up in the recovery roomand I I looked up and I said,
I'm ready to go.
And they're like, No, sir, youyou can't go.
And I said, Well, yes, I can.
I can go.
And they're like, Okay, if youwant to go, you're gonna have to
first get up, sit in that chair,then you're gonna have to walk
(27:31):
one lap around the nurse'sstation, and then maybe we'll
let you go.
And I said, Well, let's shortcutthat.
How about I get up right now,five laps around the nurse's
station, and by third lap, youcall my ride.
That's what we're gonna do here.
And they're like, Okay.
And that's what I did.
And as I walked by the nursesstation, my surgeon was there,
(27:51):
and he said, he turned to thelid, and he goes, Now that's
sheer determination.
And even let him take me out ina wheelchair.
I walked out of the hospital.
SPEAKER_00 (27:57):
I really appreciate you talked about sheer
determination.
After recovery, you made somedrastic life changes, including
leaving your long-termrelationship of 30 years and
starting over.
And now you're on the road, andI think a lot of people are
gonna ask, like, what led you tomake those decisions?
And I know that later on camethe cancer diagnosis, and we'll
(28:18):
get into that too.
But for those decisions that youmade early on, and I say early
on, this is after you've had asuccessful career, and then you
went to unfortunately beingdisabled.
What made you or what led you tothose decisions of, you know, of
all of that?
SPEAKER_01 (28:34):
Well, what what I came to realize is after I
stopped working, I spent oneyear trying to maintain my
relationship with my ex-wife.
And we traveled, we went uh wewent on a two-month adventure
through Alaska and Canada.
It led me to realize that youknow we had become such
(28:55):
different people, or maybe wewere always such different
people that we didn't reallylike each other anymore.
And I made the decision becauseI I just I I couldn't be happy
anymore.
And everything that had happenedto me physically made me realize
that really the only importantthing in life is to be happy.
(29:15):
And I wasn't sure what was goingto make me happy, but I did know
what was not making me happy.
So I believe I went on a questto find out what was going to
make me happy.
I realized that my belongingsmeant nothing to me.
So I just left everything behindand moved to South Carolina from
Central Florida and lived therefor about a year with a friend
(29:36):
and figured decided that wasn'tmaking me happy.
So I went back to CentralFlorida and my wife had said,
you know, let's try it again.
Well, that lasted about sixweeks, and I just we we were two
completely different people.
I I'm, you know, I'm old, alittle older, but I am still
very adventurous.
You know, I like to ridemotorbikes in the desert, and I
(29:58):
like to race cars and ride boatbicycles and do extreme things,
and I always have, and it justwasn't part of her plan.
So we decided that it would bewe'd be better friends than
husband and wife.
So, you know, that uh from thereI had mentioned that part of my
healing process was going to achiropractor.
(30:20):
And then later in the my essay,I I had said, well, now the
chiropractor and I aretraveling.
Well, it's that chiropractor,Dr.
Julie.
And she and I had a veryprofessional relationship for
two years, and then I left andwent to South Carolina and all
of the things.
And then when I finally cameback, it was kind of undeniable
that we needed to be together.
(30:40):
So we ended up l uh livingtogether in Lakeland, Florida
for a year.
And she went through a baddivorce, and I went through a
very amical divorce divorce, andwe she just decided to end her
practice.
She owned her own chiropracticpractice and she retired.
And we decided that we weregoing to buy a motorhome, a
small motorhome, and we weregoing to take off for at least
(31:03):
two, probably three years, withvirtually no plan other than to
stay warm, so to stay along theMexican border and end up in
Joshua Tree in California, andthen either go to Mexico or
Canada.
We haven't decided yet.
Still on that, I'm in Tucson,Arizona today for a couple
weeks.
Looking out the window rightnow, nothing but cactuses in
open desert.
(31:23):
Yeah, yeah.
And, you know, it's a verylittle camper.
It's it's just a real smalllittle thing, and it's all we
need.
And so I'm finding that thetravel that I sustained for 30
years.
I one of the reasons I could doit was I I love to travel.
I love not knowing where I'mgoing to be next.
And this is just a continuationof that, basically, except I'm
(31:46):
not getting a phone call fromsomeone telling me where I need
to be in three days.
You know, I call myself up and Isay, Do I need to stay here or
do I want to go somewhere else?
I don't know.
We talk to Julie, we decidewhere we want to go.
We've met all kinds of peopleand done all kinds of things,
seen things that most people intheir lives will never get to
see.
Met people along the way, uh,made new friends.
(32:06):
So it's it's I highly recommendit.
If, you know, a lot a lot ofpeople need the feeling of home.
And I've never had that feelingof home.
I'm originally from the Districtof Columbia, is where I was
born.
I've lived in multiple cities upand down the east coast, and I
don't really call anywhere home.
SPEAKER_00 (32:22):
I love that home is where the heart is, right?
I think that for you, you'vebeen traveling your entire life,
like throughout your entirecareer.
So home has probably beenwherever you have been.
And um, I'm happy to know thatyou guys have a ammo had an
amicable divorce.
I think that was probably gonnabe some questions for some
person that's listening today,is saying like 30 years, like
(32:46):
it's kind of hard to imagine 30years to be gone away in just a
month.
But you know, at least you alldecided that you're better off
friends and that it was a mutualdecision.
I think it could be challengingfor people listening.
SPEAKER_01 (33:00):
I I know what you're going through.
I've been there, done that.
SPEAKER_00 (33:02):
Thank you.
Yeah, I used to.
But and then to the chiropractorgo from professional to love
life, you know?
Life has an interesting way ofturning things and happening in
different ways.
And for you all to both be ableto be on the road and to really
explore this life is is quitethe adventure and it's gonna
encourage someone to get out andsee life as well, instead of
(33:24):
just, you know, waiting for lifeto happen or afraid to take the
adventure.
But I want to move to somethingas we start to wrap out this
episode.
You had another major challengein the midst of, you know, your
journey of traveling, you know,the world and the US and staying
on the Mexican border and youknow, just enjoying your
(33:44):
adventure.
You had another major challengethat appeared, and that was
stage four prostate cancerdiagnosis.
That's, you know, quitealarming.
And I just want to know, I mean,of course, you mentioned before
that you had some scares withthe doctors and they gave you,
you know, kind of some warningsahead of time to get your health
on track, but you were kind oflike, whenever, like, I'm fine.
(34:07):
You kind of gave it the hand fora moment.
But what went through your mindin the moment that you heard
those words of stage fourprostate cancer diagnosis?
SPEAKER_01 (34:15):
Well, it was the first time that someone looked
me in the eye and said, youknow, you can die from this.
SPEAKER_00 (34:21):
Wow.
SPEAKER_01 (34:22):
And you know, I've never had that name.
And and it went from zero to ahundred was kind of what you
were talking about.
I you know, you get a testcalled a PSA test, a uh
prosthetic antigen, aprostate-specific antigen test,
PSA.
And I recommend every guy from45 or 50 years old on every six
(34:45):
months get it.
And there's no symptom, likenothing happens, nothing, you
know, pain.
No, well, if you let it go toolong, you'll feel pain, and then
it's a death sentence.
But basically, your prostate isright part of your urinary
tract, and the only symptomyou'll ever have, and if anyone
older who's watching this, yourdoctor's gonna ask you, do you
have any trouble urinating?
And and you'll look at him andsay, nah.
(35:06):
But you do.
You just don't know it.
It's sneaking up on you minuteby minute.
It takes a really long time.
And when they do this test, youget a number.
And my number was okay, it was alittle high, but nothing, you
know, out of the ordinary.
And you know, I I can always goon Dr.
Google and look things up,right?
Like everybody does now.
So I was like, All right, I'mgood.
Well, I went back for one of mytests and the number was spiked.
(35:28):
And he said, My doctor looked atme, he said, Yeah, we're gonna
need to get a biopsy today.
I'm like, today?
He's like, Yeah, right now.
So I had to go upstairs to theplace that I go.
And they had I went to aproctologist there and or
urinology, urologist, and theytook the sample, and he's like,
Yeah, we're gonna need tooperate.
And I'm like, okay, well, when?
(35:49):
He said, I have a spot in twohours.
And I'm like, two hours?
He goes, Yeah, it's stage four,and I could probably get it now,
and you'll be okay, maybe, but Idon't know.
We need to go, we need to dothis right now.
And I'm like, he's like, here'syour options.
You can do what some people doand choose to do nothing, and
you'll probably be gone in aboutthree months.
(36:11):
And then he gave me all theother all the other options, uh,
which I won't bore you with.
But the I took the most invasiveand the most radical, with
probably in some ways the bestoutcome.
The best outcome being that Iprobably won't die of of
prostate cancer.
But the lingers, uh, which Iwon't get into, as you could
probably imagine, you know, aresort of hard to uh swallow.
(36:34):
But I chose that path.
And, you know, uh, I thought tomyself, okay, you know, why
would I choose anything else butthe hardest bleed outcome?
Why, why, why wouldn't I choosethat?
And, you know, my philosophy ofgood, okay, because of my quad
tear, I had been losing weight,I had been eating correctly
mostly.
(36:54):
But then I said, now this isthis is a sign, this is telling
me now this is what you need todo.
If if I survive this, I promisedmyself that you know I would not
feed the cancer in me anymore.
And I've lived up to my ownpromise to myself.
And I've been cancer free.
I didn't have to do radiation orchemotherapy.
And now I've been cancer freefor a few years, and I'm
(37:16):
hopefully going to stay that wayand uh take some supplements.
And I I probably, you know,better than 95% of the people my
age in their 60s, and I can telljust by looking at people, their
health, when someone looks youin the eye, and and and what I
didn't put into my essay is I'vehad yet another health scare
that I've gotten through, wheresomeone looked me in the eye and
said, You could die right now,this second.
(37:39):
When I turned 65, they scannedmy heart and said that I had 90%
block blockage of my main valvecalled the widowmaker.
And that's and they said that Ihad that.
Well, a long story short, I Ithey they told me to just go
home and take medicine.
And I said, No, I'm not gonnatake your poison medicine one.
We're gonna do something aboutthis.
(37:59):
So I had to force the insurancecompany to put a camera in my
heart and come to find out thetest that they give every single
person who turns 65 and goes onMedicare is known to be 80%
inaccurate.
They do not tell you that.
I found all of that out.
I called out my insurancecompany on it, and within three
days they had a camera in myheart.
Well, I had 0% blockage in allfour bats.
(38:23):
But they looked me in the eyeand said, You could die right
now.
If not right now, right now.
We're in five minutes.
You need to go home and sitdown.
I said, I'm not gonna stop overrunning, I'm not gonna stop
walking, I'm not gonna stopriding my motorbike, I'm not
gonna stop racing.
No, no, no, shin.
I have a heart, 90% blockage inmy heart.
Good, prove it to me.
Prove it.
And they put me on a treadmill.
(38:44):
I ran three and a half miles anhour for 15 minutes.
SPEAKER_00 (38:48):
Wow.
SPEAKER_01 (38:48):
Most people, most people my age can't go one
minute.
SPEAKER_00 (38:50):
Right.
SPEAKER_01 (38:51):
Or that even that's and they they said, Well, hmm,
that's weird.
Like, yeah, isn't it?
Well, now I have a tattoo righthere of my actual sinus rhythm.
One sinus, one heartbeat righthere, right over my heart.
So every time the doctor whotold me I was gonna die looks at
me, I tell him to put yourstethoscope right over that
where you told me I was gonnadie.
And there so you know, it it'sinteresting.
(39:12):
My advice to anybody is whenpeople tell you, you know, you
have this bad illness or you,you know, you have a you're
gonna die, don't just sit down.
Don't don't believe it.
Do something about it, whateverit takes, unless you're ready to
die and you really want to gothrough that.
You know, most people aren't,but do not that's been my my my
my mantra.
(39:33):
Don't let your illnesses defineyou, which a lot of people do.
I'm 66 and I can probably outdopeople half my age.
SPEAKER_00 (39:41):
I love that.
Yeah, wow, phenomenal story.
We have a couple more questionsas we wrap up, and I really
appreciate you sharing that withus.
And don't let your diagnosis bethe final say-so, and to
challenge it and to make sure.
Let's talk about the turningpoint for you.
You also made some radicalchanges after that diagnosis,
including changing your entirediet.
(40:01):
You say you don't eat any meatanymore, no sugar anymore.
So many things like to up anduproot and change your diet like
that takes a lot of sheerdetermination, which you
mentioned before.
But what really motivated you totake that step?
SPEAKER_01 (40:16):
You know, it's really simple.
And it's funny, it's somethingthat I taught anyone who's ever
worked for me is that, you know,if you say, Wow, you know, just
what you said, you you don't eatmeat, you don't do, you know,
all the things I don't eat orand all the things I do eat, you
know, someone says, Wow, youknow, I I need that hamburger.
I could never do what you did.
Well, you know what?
You're right.
Say you can't go without thathamburger, you're a hundred
(40:38):
percent right.
But if you say, you know what, Idon't need that beef poison
anymore at all, you're alsoright.
Pick the one that you want andthat hard all at the same time.
And because what what you say isright.
So a lot of people say, Oh, Icould never do it.
Well then you're right.
But I could do that, you're alsoright.
(41:01):
And in business, I I taught alot of the guys who work for me
that.
You know, they'd say, Oh, this,you know, I I this I can't do
this, I can't do that.
I'm like, well then you'reright.
Yeah, you know, but if I but ifyou again look at me and said,
you know what, if I did this andthis, well then I could do that.
Well then you're also right.
Pick one.
SPEAKER_00 (41:18):
Right.
SPEAKER_01 (41:18):
There's only one way, that way, that way.
So I would just say to anyone,if you want to feel 15 years
younger, if you want all of youraches and pains to go away,
literally literally, uh at myage, I had zero aches and pains.
If you want that all to go away,your knees to stop hurting, your
ankles, all the swelling to goaway, you want it all to go
away, stop eating processedfoods, stop eating meat, stop
(41:40):
eating sugar.
Sugar is worse than heroin, itis the one poison that will kill
you.
And it's so simple.
You pick up whatever it isyou're you're you're gonna eat,
you turn it around, you look athow many grams of sugar in it.
Or if it's more than three, putit back and never eat it again.
Wow, you'll lose a hundredpounds just like that.
SPEAKER_00 (42:01):
Yeah, that's that's big.
And uh, you already talked abouthow you lost over 130 pounds.
So you guys listen to the personthat lost over 130 pounds is
trying to show you the way rightnow.
You can run races, exerciseregularly, and look up and see,
just stop eating so much sugar.
I think that's so much such astart walking.
SPEAKER_01 (42:24):
Yep.
Start walking and stop eatingsugar and you'll lose a hundred
pounds, just like and you'llfeel so much better.
And you know, some people willsay, Oh, well, you know, I've
gotta have one cookie.
Well, no, you don't.
And it's once you stop eatingsugar, once you stop eating
sugar for six months, it doesn'tfeel good anymore.
You taste sweetness in thingsyou never thought were sweet.
(42:46):
It's the weirdest thing.
But yeah, I mean, I can't eveneat anything with sugar in it,
it tastes terrible.
SPEAKER_00 (42:50):
No, I do like sugar, but I don't really like it that
much.
I like it just like once totwice a month.
But I I'm gonna be more mindfulnow that you told me that I
appreciate it.
But today your life lookscompletely different.
You mentioned that you obviouslyretired from corporate work and
you started acting and modeling,doing improv, comedy, you're
traveling the world with yourgirlfriend.
(43:12):
As we also wrap this up, I wouldlove for you to also let us know
how you feel about where you'reat in your life.
And then I want to go and endwith the follow the philosophy
of resilience for you.
And we're gonna go back and endit with that good metaphor that
you talked about of saying likeresponding to challenges, but
just good.
So how does retirement lookright now?
(43:34):
And you hopping into kind of awhole nother career, acting,
modeling, improv, and and beingon the road while doing it.
SPEAKER_01 (43:41):
Well, I had to do something, and you know, I I I
give my grandmother all thecredit for the acting part.
You know, I I've been in someplays, I was in a Hitchcock
production.
I got picked to be in a musicvideo.
I was very proud of that.
And I've been in a fewtelevision commercials, and
everything we just talked aboutenabled that because if I The
old Jack, if I was the fat Jack,none of this would have ever
(44:03):
happened.
I couldn't have done that.
No one would have picked me tobe in their music video or
their, you know, in their play.
I've been in a littleaward-winning movie, a little
short movie.
We won uh first place at the St.
Pete Film Festival with it.
And uh, you know, my I have togive my grandmother credit
because my grandma I was raisedby my grandmother in in DC.
And my grandmother would alwayslook at me and say, you know
(44:24):
what?
Act like you have some sense.
Would you?
You know, act like you aresomebody.
And you know, I started thinkingabout that.
And you know, I spent my wholelife in corporate sales and and
technical sales.
And basically, you know, I wasacting as that person.
And so I thought to myself,after I retired, it's no
different than what I've beendoing for 30 years.
You know, I'm just I'm justacting.
(44:44):
I don't have any problemstanding in front of a hundred
people on stage and you know,acting like a fool with my
improv troop.
So, you know, I'm sort of on alittle uh sabbatical from improv
because our team plays inLakeland, Florida.
So I'm I'm not going back therefor a while.
But, you know, uh doing podcastsand I've done a couple virtual
modeling events, and um, youknow, I never knew that the
(45:07):
modeling world needed olderpeople, right?
Every all the commercials yousee, and everything you see is
everyone's a model or an actoror both.
So I got a couple agents and offI went.
I'm exactly where I want to beright now.
Living day to day on the roadand negotiating, keeping a
household going, you know,groceries and packages and
(45:29):
Amazon and all that when youreally don't have an address is
a fun challenge, really.
Yeah.
But, you know, I I feel the bestI've ever felt physically and
mentally.
You know, I still in touch withmy my son and my friends and
meeting all kinds of new peoplealong the way and made all kinds
of new friends.
And um, I've come to learn thatum, you know, there's a lot to
(45:52):
be said for staying in one ofyour own little town and and and
and and just spending your lifethere and and and you know being
part of that.
But your mind will become somuch more expanded when you see
how other people live and whattheir reality is.
And what can you do to make adifference in their life?
(46:13):
I was in Boquis, Mexico.
I took a rowboat across the RioGrande River.
You did this with a dirt roadand one Mexican rest, one
restaurant.
And all the little kids alongthe way are trying to sell you
trinkets and things.
Their mothers are there.
I started thinking, you know,that the my life across the
river is nothing like this atall.
(46:34):
And, you know, but that doesn'tmake it bad or wrong, or it just
is.
And and seeing how the rest ofthe world is and how everybody
lives expands your mind and yourthoughts and your capabilities
beyond your wildest dreams.
And so that's where I am rightnow.
I'm out expanding my mind and myreach.
SPEAKER_00 (46:53):
That's amazing.
I love that.
Love that.
Yeah, you're gonna encouragesomebody to get on the road and
start backpacking or roadtripping or traveling or, you
know, choosing to do somethingafter retirement and not just be
in the house all day, you know.
As we wrap up, one of the mostpowerful parts of your story is
your mindset, I feel like.
And that's the mindset ofresponding to challenges with
(47:14):
the word good.
You said that, you know, you mayhave taken it a little bit from
another podcast, but you usethat philosophy in your life.
And you referred that youreframe setbacks as
opportunities for growth.
Can you explain what thisphilosophy means and any advice
that you would give to listenersas they go through challenges or
feel like life turned themupside down?
(47:35):
They went from being the headhouse, head of the house, the
provider, the one that supplied,you know, everything that their
family needed to being at thepoint where they were sitting
still and not exactly sure onwhere to go.
And they're scared and theydon't know how to say good,
because it doesn't feel good.
Sometimes it feels tough,sometimes it feels challenging,
sometimes you feel stuck.
(47:56):
So how how can you develop thatgood philosophy mindset in the
midst of pain?
SPEAKER_01 (48:02):
I'm not gonna say it's easy, because it's not, but
you know, a lot of people looklike you just said, something
bad happens in their life andyou're at a crossroads.
You can let it define you, youcan let it consume you, but that
puts you in a circle, a bigswirling circle that you can't
get out of because all you canthink about is this happened to
(48:24):
me, uh, woe is me.
What you know, I can't know thisis bad.
Oh no, this happened to me.
Then you just go around andaround.
But instead of getting worriedor freaked out or, you know, or
or nervous about any situation,because you're not the first
person to go through asituation, you know, you're
you're about the 10 millionthperson to go through whatever
(48:45):
your situation is, whether it'scancer or a heart scare,
whatever it is.
You know, you're you're not thefirst one to do that.
There's always an answer.
So it it's like I said before,it's it's simple and it's the
simplest thing and the hardestthing all at the same time, is
that when something bad happens,just say good.
Literally say it out loud.
Say good.
(49:05):
Now, instead of talking aboutwhat you don't have, talk about
what you do have.
Now I have an opportunity toovercome this.
I have the opportunity to makemy health better, to make my
life better.
I have an opportunity to changemy life and then start walking.
And I don't really mean thatmetaphorically, and I mean that
for real.
(49:26):
But if you can say the wordgood, then you're alive, you're
still here, nothing's changed.
You say the word good, look atthe opportunity that's
presented, and you move forward.
It's literally, but the hardestpart is getting out of the
swirling vortex and actuallysaying the word good and meaning
it.
And you know, you can't just sayit.
(49:47):
You have to remember if you cansay the word good, then you
still have some fight left inyou just by saying the word.
So, like the podcast, the otherpodcaster says, you know, stand
up, dust off, recalibrate, readand go out on the attack.
And that's it.
And I've taken that to heart inmany situations, and I'm 10
(50:08):
times better for it.
SPEAKER_00 (50:09):
Love that.
SPEAKER_01 (50:10):
And there it is.
SPEAKER_00 (50:11):
Stand up and say good.
Yeah, it reminds me of like itwas another podcast episode that
people hear too, is she says yesand like she used the improv
technique.
Now I know you do improv troop,and I've done a lot of improv
myself.
And it's kind of like good islike yes and like continuing on,
like it's gonna happen.
The reality is that if you livelong enough, you're going to
(50:33):
experience the highs and thelows.
But if you continue to go, evenwhen it's slow, you will
experience another high.
And you're right.
I think the biggest thing torealize is that you're not the
only one.
And it may feel like a veryalone process in that moment.
But the reality is that this toowill pass if you keep going and
(50:56):
you don't stay stuck there.
I want to say thank you so much,Shaq, for sharing your story
with us today.
Your journey is so powerful.
It's definitely a reminder, it'snever too late to reinvent
yourself, rebuild your health,reclaim your life, and also to
take diagnosis a little bit moreserious or even warnings that
the doctors may have.
And they don't just say it justto say it, but also in the same
(51:18):
respect to question sometimesthe diagnosis that you may
receive, because sometimessystems are outdated and you
know the results could beconved.
I really appreciate you sharingyour story with us.
For everyone listening today, Iwant to say thank you so much
for listening to the ResilienceHouse Podcast Unlocked.
If today's episode inspired you,please share it with someone who
(51:39):
you feel may need encouragementtoday.
Let them know that they're notalone.
Maybe they're they have a storysimilar to Jack's, or maybe a
part of Jack's story couldresonate with them.
Resilience isn't about avoidinghardship.
Resilience is about choosing todo it even when hardship exists.
And just like Jack shared, wecan say good, pick ourselves up
(52:00):
and keep going.
And know that where there was alow, a high is right around the
corner.
So don't give up, don't give in,and know that you are resilient.
I'm your host, Carrie Bernan.
Tune into the next episode andshare this with a friend.
When you feel like life has dealt you a hand of
unfair cards.
Instead of voting, you doubledown, are you stuck in the game?
You face battles.
You felt broken.
But hey, do us a favor.
Put your hand on your heart.
You feel that?
You're still here.
Welcome to the Resilience FilesUnlock, where survival meets
(00:25):
transformation.
The Resilience Files Podcast.
I'm your host, Carrie Bernanz,and I am so excited about
today's guest.
What happens when the life youbuild for decades suddenly
disappears?
We're talking about your career,your health, your identity.
Most people spend their livestrying to avoid moments like
(00:45):
that.
But what if those moments arethe very things that force us to
rebuild stronger?
Well, today's story is aboutresilience, just like our
podcast, right?
Reinvention and the mindset thathelped one man turn devastating
challenges into a completely newlife.
Welcome back to the ResilienceStyles Podcast Unlocked.
I'm your host, Carrie Bernans.
This podcast is dedicated tosharing real stories of
(01:07):
adversity, courage, and thestrength people discover when
life doesn't always go asplanned.
Each episode reminds us thatresilience isn't about having a
perfect life, it's about whatyou do even when things change.
Trigger warning for today'sepisode.
Before we hop in, I want you toknow that there are discussions
on serious injury, addiction toprescription medication, cancer
(01:28):
diagnosis, major lifetransitions, and more.
And while our amazing guest willintroduce him shortly,
ultimately carries a powerfulmessage of hope and
transformation.
Some parts may be difficult forsome listeners.
So please take care of yourselfwhile listening.
Now, our guest today.
Our guest today is ShaqSkidmore.
And as we do here on theResilience Files, we like to hop
(01:49):
into our guest essay that theysubmit here on the show.
So without further ado, I'mgoing to be the lovely person
that reads the essay today.
And then we're gonna meet theman himself.
And his name is Jack Skidmore.
Six years ago, my lifecompletely changed.
I spent the 25 years beforefilling the roles of husband,
provider for my family, fatherof an autistic son, Boy Scout
(02:12):
leader, and world travelingcorporate executive.
I flew 150 round trip flights ayear for 20 plus of those years.
Home for the weekends,regrettably, I let myself go.
I spiraled into a 320-pounddiabetic mess of a human.
Everything hurt.
Activities were limited.
I was on all kinds ofprescription medicine.
(02:32):
I ate terribly, didn't take careof myself.
Was all I could do was sustainthe extreme travel that I loved.
Then the day came.
It was a tough week.
Four different cities in fivedays hotels, rental cars,
connecting flights, and endlessmeetings.
I landed in Orlando, an hourfrom home.
More tired and exhausted than Iknew or would admit, I boarded
(02:53):
the bus to the long-term parkinglot.
The bus pulled up to the stop.
I could see my car.
I picked up my bag and mybriefcase, was talking on the
phone.
At the same time as usual,exiting the bus, I missed the
top stair and fell face first tothe ground, bags in my hand, and
mid-sentence.
I couldn't stand.
After a ride in the ambulance, Iwas told I ripped my thigh
(03:15):
muscle in two.
A seven-hour surgery left me tosit in a chair for four months,
completely immobile, while Ihealed.
I was forced into disability bymy company.
Half pay and no commission orbonus.
The man who was in control ofeverything suddenly lost
everything.
Was not allowed to drive, and myinsurance company canceled me.
Can't work, can't drive, can'tprovide for my family.
(03:38):
No longer am I the man.
Therapy for my thigh tear wasthe hardest.
The pain was just getting my legto flex, was the worst I've ever
encountered.
Two oxycodons, four ibuprofen,and four acetometaphine just to
get through one therapy session.
Three times a week for sixmonths.
(03:58):
Had to be one of the worst timesof my life.
Of course, I became addicted tothe oxygen.
I had to learn how to walkagain.
First with my walker, then acane, then finally no cane.
Then to a chiropractor tocomplete the healing.
Three again.
Back to work.
Unsteady, unsure, butdetermined.
But something changed.
I wasn't the same person.
I upended my life.
I left my 30-year relationship,moved to South Carolina.
(04:21):
I gave away all my possessionsexcept my car.
I lived with a friend.
After less than a year, I wentback to Florida.
Then the next bomb goes off.
Cancer.
Stage four prostate cancer.
I opt for the most invasivesurgery with the best outcome.
Five incisions across myabdomen.
I walked at the hospital thesame day.
Sheer determination.
In the middle of all of this, Idecided to drastically change my
(04:44):
life.
The cancer scared the crap outof me.
Still does.
No more sugar.
No more processed food.
No more meat.
Ever.
I only eat fruit, vegetables,nuts, seeds, and berries.
Lost 130 pounds.
I started walking, then run,then walk, running.
Did a 5K, then a 10K, then ahalf marathon, then more 10Ks.
(05:05):
I started going to the gym fivetimes a week.
I now feel 15 years younger thanI am.
I'm now 66 years old.
After the cancer diagnosis, Iworked for a year, then retired.
I had no intention of retiring.
Just one day of a national cannational corporate video
meeting, I announced that I wasdone.
Retiring, my new job is nowworking on me.
I started my second career: acting, modeling, improv comedy. (05:24):
undefined
I did multiple stageperformances, been in a music
video, TV, commercial, andperformed with my improv troop.
I left my home and wife for thelast time.
Again, I left all my belongingsbehind except my car.
My girlfriend, the chiropractor,and I've been traveling to the
U.S.
in a camper we bought.
(05:45):
No schedule, no plan, just goingwhere the wind blows.
Living right now on the Mexicanborder in South Texas, eating
clean, hiking, walking andrunning.
After being diabetic with highblood pressure, my life changes
have cured me of all of myself-inflective diseases.
I have no need for anyprescription meds.
My advice to anyone facingextreme challenges in life is to
(06:08):
just say, good.
Tour my quad.
Good.
I now have the opportunity andtime to make myself stronger.
Stage four cancer, good.
I now have the opportunity torid my body of the beast and
change my habits to no longergive me, to no longer give it a
place to live.
Don't ever give up.
Don't ever sit down.
Keep moving mentally andphysically.
(06:29):
Drive fast.
Take chances.
Jack Skidmore.
Jack, wow.
Wow.
Wow.
Wow.
So much there.
Wow.
First off, how do you feel afterhearing your essay read aloud?
SPEAKER_01 (06:40):
It just reminds me of the details and it took me to
get to this day.
It took a it took a lot.
It was nothing I was preparedfor.
SPEAKER_00 (06:50):
Yeah.
That makes sense.
I can imagine that.
Well, I wanna kind of go back alittle bit.
So, Jack, before the injury,before the cancer diagnosis,
what did your life look likeduring those years when you were
working as a corporateexecutive?
You described traveling 150 plusround trips, flights a year,
balancing work with family andresponsibilities.
That kind of lifestyle can takea serious toll on anybody's
(07:12):
health.
And I think it can obviouslymake you feel like, you know,
you're kind of running this likeclock race, like you're
constantly just working toprovide, and then you are having
these weekends.
What did life look like for you?
SPEAKER_01 (07:26):
So uh, first the United States, the first 10
years driving and flying hereand there weekly.
And then the last 20 years of mycareer turned into I traveled
the world, uh, flying frombusiness meeting to business
meeting to business meeting.
My schedule was not dictated bymyself, it was dictated by uh
(07:47):
sales teams that I supported.
And while I was in sales, I wasa sales consultant for
businesses designing end-to-endbusiness fulfillment systems.
So think of if you ordersomething on your phone and two
days later what you orderedended up ends up on your front
porch, and you get a picture ofthe box in your email.
(08:07):
I I was the person that designedthat to make it happen.
I did that my whole career allover the world.
So I would get a call onThursday that Monday I had to be
3,000 miles away.
Or I get a call on Monday,Tuesday, I needed to be three
states away.
And I'd have to just get on aplane and go.
And my whole life was for 20years, the last 20 years of my
(08:30):
career, that's what it was everysingle day.
And it became such the norm thatit never bothered me.
I loved it.
And I'd watch people come in andout of the companies that I
worked for wanting a career likeI had, doing it for a couple
months, and then saying, My God,I can't do this anymore because
(08:51):
you're just never in control.
You're you're always being told,go somewhere, go be here, be
there, be here, do this, dothat, out it to define me.
And and that was a good thingvery well for it.
So, you know, that that helped,I suppose.
I'd get home on Friday afternoonand and then you know, I had to
(09:11):
be the father, right?
Raising two sons, a typical sonand an autistic son, and being a
scout leader and you know, andand trying to pursue a hobby
just to keep myself sane.
Um, I also race cars, which ismy hobby, and uh and and so I'd
have to squeeze that in where Icould.
And uh and then you know,maintaining a a relationship
(09:32):
with with you know with spouse,and you know, over two and a
half days a week, cram that allinto two and a half days a week
for for 20 plus years.
And it was interesting, and itmaybe get to the towards the
end, but all of the travel I didand all of the things, and what
kept my 30-year marriagetogether was the fact I wasn't
(09:53):
there.
When I retired, and and when Iwas recovering from and I was
home for a year, I I think weboth realized that we didn't
really like each other anymore.
So, so it was an it's aninteresting dynamic of things
that happened as a result ofthings that happened.
You know, I I would have neverhave guessed that what is the
problem with my relationship, orI even had a problem with it
(10:15):
until you go through lifechanges.
SPEAKER_00 (10:18):
Thank you for sharing that.
I think that there's gonna be alot of people that listen to
this and you know, some peoplethat definitely relate to you as
far as having to take a job thatrequires you to travel, and then
you're only home during theweekends.
I guess I have so much so manythoughts around that because I
know you say you have anautistic son during that time.
Was your son born, or was it,you know, part half of the way
(10:40):
through your career, or whatpart of life was that for you?
SPEAKER_01 (10:44):
Ten years.
I I was I didn't have my firstchild until I was 34.
So much later in life, andprobably 10 years into my
career, was my younger son, mymy older son very successful and
married and all of that.
My autistic son unfortunatelypassed away a number of years
ago.
SPEAKER_00 (11:02):
I'm sorry.
Okay.
SPEAKER_01 (11:03):
So that was that was not in uh a little more than 10
years ago.
SPEAKER_00 (11:10):
Okay, I'm sorry about your loss.
Yeah, I was wondering, like, soat the time, was she a
stay-at-a-home mom caring forthe children?
SPEAKER_01 (11:18):
I had to be a I had to be a stay-at-home mom.
And you know, it's funny, uh,you know, when you're in
relationships and and you know,the relationship is clear that I
was very career-driven, verycareer motivated, and that if I
was to get married and if I wasto have children, that whoever I
was married to would have to bea stay-at-home mom, would have
(11:38):
to end their career.
And you know, in this day andage, most women would just run
away from that pretty much andand and think all sorts of but
uh this lady looked me in theeye and said, literally, that's
all I've ever wanted to do mywhole life.
So it worked out.
It worked out.
Little did she know she'd be acaregiver to a severely autistic
(11:58):
son while I was off making aliving for the family, but she
was excellent at oh it workedout.
SPEAKER_00 (12:06):
That's a blessing.
I'm happy to hear that.
And yeah, I think there's somewomen that want to do that.
You know, there's some womenthat are more career-driven, but
that's the beautiful thing isthat there's so many different
types of women.
But I want to bow back into yourwake-up call with your health.
You mentioned reaching a pointwhere you were about 300 pounds
and you were dealing withdiabetes and chronic pain and a
whole lot of life changes.
(12:28):
At that time, were you awarethat your health was
deteriorating, or were you justlike feeling like some issues
and pains and just pushingthrough it and just said, like,
I have to work?
Because I think, you know, manypeople listening may recognize
this pattern in their own lives.
And what I'm trying to see sayis like, do what do you feel
like you were doing in thatmoment?
Were you just pushing throughit, or did you know that
(12:51):
something serious was happening?
SPEAKER_01 (12:52):
Well, the wor worst part the worst part of your
question is my answer is both.
When you travel as much uh as alot of people do, it's not, you
know, not just me, but when youtravel like that, you have a
choice.
You can live a healthylifestyle, and as I described in
my essay, you can, you know, eatcorrectly and exercise while
you're traveling, or you can useit as an excuse to eat poorly,
(13:16):
eat anything and everything youwant to eat, buy candy at the
airport, buy, you know, uh junkfood at the truck stop while
you're driving, cross state,whatever state it is, and get to
the hotel at night after a dayof meetings and go out, have a
very unhealthy meal, you know,with a couple drinks, and then
(13:36):
go back to your home hotel roomand and plop into the bed.
And you can convince yourselfthat that's okay.
And and maybe when you're inyour twenties, it is okay.
But when you get into your 50sand your 60s, you can't do that
anymore without suffering theconsequences of it.
So I watched myself go from a 34waist to a 50 waist size pants,
(14:00):
and you know, go from 190 poundsto 320 pounds.
And mine, you know, things startto hurt, but you take Advil,
right, for it.
And so I lived on Advil.
And then when I got into my 50s,I went to get a checkup, and the
doctor did all my blood work,and he says, you know, you're
pre-diabetic and your bloodpressure is high, and uh you
(14:23):
need to exercise.
The doctor will tell you exactlywhat you need to do, and most
people will categorically ignoreit.
And that's what I did until itgot to the point where on one
doctor visit, he said, you know,you're you're at a high risk for
a heart attack because of howyou are.
And, you know, I I looked at himand I said, Okay, and that was
it.
I didn't do anything about it.
(14:45):
It took people that ask me thatknow me, yeah, how did you lose
all that weight?
You know, they assume I had alap surgery, you know, or
whatever.
And and no, I did it the hardway by just doing the doctor's
feet correctly, and you'll befine.
Well, it took for me to lose allthat weight, I had to tear my
quad.
I had to rip my thigh muscle tolose that weight.
(15:08):
I couldn't myself out of my ownlifestyle.
I had to have it ripped awayfrom me.
SPEAKER_00 (15:12):
Let's talk about that, that accident.
You know, take us back to themoment at the airport where you
were getting off the bus, youmissed that step, you fell.
Do you remember that?
What do you remember about thatmoment?
SPEAKER_01 (15:22):
I remembered it like it happened five minutes ago.
I'll never forget it.
I'd flown to five differentcities in four days.
SPEAKER_00 (15:30):
Yeah, that's a lot of fun.
SPEAKER_01 (15:35):
At that time, I lived in uh central Florida, a
place called Lakeland, Florida,in between Tampa and Orlando,
and I was about an hour home.
And, you know, my usual walkthrough the airport.
I I know I knew my way aroundevery single airport in this
country.
So it was nothing to me.
Just I knew exactly where I wasgoing and got on the bus.
It was a brand new bus.
I was the only one on it.
I rode out to the car.
(15:56):
I could see the car.
The car was right, just rightthere.
And I was talking on the phone.
I picked up my brief, mysuitcase, and my briefcase.
I traveled very efficiently,obviously, for all of us I could
walk down the steps, missed thefront step, went from the top
stair all the way to the ground,face first onto the ground.
And I I laid, I laid there and Ilooked up, and there's a
(16:17):
Southwest Airlines pilotstanding right there.
Right there.
Wow.
He looks at me and says, Are youall right, sir?
And I said, Absolutely.
I can no problem.
I'll I'll I'll get right up.
And he goes, Well, I'll helpyou.
So he helped me up and I stoodup and I just fell right back on
the ground again.
And I said, Hmm, something'swrong.
I said, I can walk this off.
And I tried to get up, Icouldn't get up.
Apparently, you need that thighmuscle.
(16:39):
I've seen pictures after duringthe surgery and all that.
It literally was cut in two.
It was like nothing connected.
SPEAKER_02 (16:45):
Wow.
SPEAKER_01 (16:45):
So it was a really bad tear.
And and I really don't even knowhow I did it.
You know, you would have thoughtit would hit my head or broke my
arm, or I thought for sure Ibroke my leg or my knee.
That's what it felt like.
We better call an ambulance.
I'm like, yeah, you better.
And you know, and that was thebeginning.
I can remember that, like likethis, like it's just happened.
SPEAKER_00 (17:05):
Yeah, it sounds incredibly painful.
And such a such a shift thatthen led you to the moment where
you felt like you were losingyour identity in some piece.
You wrote something which I findvery powerful at the time.
And you said that you were theman who had always been in
control and suddenly you losteverything.
And kind of similar to what yousaid, you even when you chose
(17:28):
your, you know, ex-wife of 30years, you said, Hey, like, I'm
gonna be there.
I'm going out to work.
You're and I want you to behome.
And she was a-okay with that,but all of a sudden you were the
provider and you were at home.
What did that feel likeemotionally for you?
Because you weren't justrecovering physically.
Obviously, you lost your abilityto work, to drive, to provide
(17:49):
for your family.
And what were you feeling inthat moment?
SPEAKER_01 (17:51):
It it I I it was something I was never prepared
for.
You know, I've always beensuccessful, I've always been
driven and motivated and alwayshad everything that I wanted and
I and everything I needed, youknow, both.
And now, you know, I I wasdesperately clawing at hanging
on to that.
(18:12):
I I worked for a longcorporation.
I talked with management.
I said, you know, I can do myjob virtually.
We had just gotten through COVIDwhere I had been doing my job
virtually, but I was also flyingaround during COVID too.
Uh I was an essential employeedesigning systems for COVID
signage, which was interesting.
But but anyway, I never gotCOVID either.
(18:33):
So, you know, I said I could dothis remotely, and they took it
as an opportunity, it was a verylarge deuce their expo payroll
exposure, is the only way I candescribe it.
So they put me on disability,which you know is half of your
paycheck.
But I had negotiated with everycompany I've worked for for a
(18:54):
lower paycheck and a highercommission percentage.
Well, I'll take less of a salaryif you pay.
I've done that everywhere I'veever worked.
I've always been verysuccessful.
And that ended up workingagainst me because you know, I
the low salary I took was, youknow, obscenely low.
It couldn't pay my bills.
And, you know, it and thenhaving the autistic son, I spent
(19:14):
a lot of money on, I had a lotof money going out for therapies
and all the things associatedwith that.
So now all of a sudden, youknow, I have no control.
I and I just I felt emotionallyhopeless.
You know, I've never felt thatbefore.
I was in pain, constant pain.
And, you know, the the before Ihad my surgery, I couldn't even
get pain medication.
(19:35):
It's uh a pharmacist friend ofmine, you know, gave me my first
CBD oil, which was a lifesaverback then.
And you know, I I'm I am nowrelying on people to help me,
where I spent every one of mywaking hours helping people make
their businesses successfulsuccessful.
I I helped people, and now Ican't help anybody.
(19:58):
I can't even help myself.
And it was hopeless.
Hopeless is the word.
I've I've never really said thatout loud, but talking to you
here now, that's that's prettymuch all that's it.
It was hopeless.
SPEAKER_00 (20:07):
Absolutely, yeah.
The person that that has beenproviding becomes the person
that needs the care and youneeded a caregiver.
And uh I I can imagine how thatmust have felt and and
challenging and just all ofthat.
And I'm so sorry that you wentthrough that and I'm I'm happy
(20:28):
that you're through it for themost part.
But um and then you got into youhad to go through recovery and
you started, you know, a slightaddiction with your physical
therapy.
You were saying that it soundedit sounded incredibly painful
for you to go to physicaltherapy.
You mentioned that you had totake a lot of oxycodons as well
as I think.
(20:50):
Yeah, in order to get youthrough to even do the physical
therapy itself.
And then you said you even had amoment where you became addicted
to prescription medicationduring that time.
What was that period like foryou in your life?
Was it that you wanted to getback to your normal self as
quick as you possibly can?
Or was it literally like anymovement would hurt unless you
(21:11):
were on that medication?
SPEAKER_01 (21:13):
So, what ends up happening for the quad to heal,
for the muscle to reattachitself, I had to sit still for
all of those months.
And when you're 60 years old andyou don't move for that for six
months, well, when you go to tryand move it, your muscle is
atrophied, it won't move.
SPEAKER_02 (21:26):
Oh, for sure.
SPEAKER_01 (21:28):
So they had to wait for it to heal, then they had to
flex it to get it to move.
Well, that took almost a year,and it didn't really hurt
anymore on a day-to-day basis.
But to get into the therapy,what they were doing was taking
my leg, imagine you're standingup straight and you go to sit
down, but your leg will onlybend that far.
(21:49):
You can't sit down, your legwill only move that far.
Wow.
They had to force the muscle dayby day to get it to move.
And it was a lot of differenttherapies, and I won't go into
all of it, but basically.
Is flexing your leg.
And I've always been agoal-oriented person.
And my first day I walked in,and you know, they said, Here,
we just want you to lean againstthe wall and sort of squat down
(22:10):
a little bit, you know, like oneinch.
And I could barely do it.
And I'm, but I'm staring at thisbicycle over over there.
And I'm like, I want to ridethat bike.
And they're like, there's no wayyou can ride that bike.
And I'm like, I want to get on abike and try to ride it.
And they're like, all right,tough guy.
So I went over there and limpedover there, got on the bike.
Well, of course, you're you ifyou ride a bike, your knee has
to flex more than 90 degrees.
(22:32):
Well, I I couldn't move thepedal but an inch.
And I said to myself, I'm goingto ride that bike.
So I asked, How much therapy canI do in a week?
What's the maximum?
They told me three days a week.
I said, okay, that's what I'mgoing to do for an hour and a
half a session.
So I went to the first one, andas they tried to bend my leg, it
hurt so bad, it hurt worse thanany pain I've ever felt.
(22:53):
So they gave me a prescriptionto Oxycotin.
And then he said, Well, it wouldmake it better if you took a
couple Tylenols with it, too.
So I said, Well, if that makesit better, I'll take more than a
couple and I'll add in fouribuprofen too.
So I said, I really want to gofor it.
And they said, Well, we don'trecommend that.
And I said, Well, that's whatI'm doing.
So that's what I did.
I three times just to getthrough therapy, that's what it
(23:14):
took, every single time.
And, you know, eventually Icouldn't get oxy anymore because
they cut you off, right?
Trying to use my authority toget oxy, and I couldn't,
couldn't do it.
And so, so I got off of thatjust by, you know, not being
able to get it anywhere.
So, you know, that that thatjust defined my whole therapy
until I reached one day.
(23:35):
And the therapist said, Youknow, you're you've come along
really far.
And I said, But I can't stillride that bike.
I can't.
I try every now and then, Icouldn't do it.
And he said, Well, I talked toyour doctor and he said, I can
make it so you ride that biketoday.
I'm like, Well, okay, let's dothat.
And he goes, Well, let me tellyou what I'm gonna do.
And it involved me laying on mystomach, and he took my leg and
forced it as hard as he couldtowards my back while I was
(23:57):
laying on my stomach to finallybreak up the scar tissue.
He said, It's gonna hurt worsethan anything you've ever felt
in your whole life.
He goes, but only for onesecond.
And I'm like, All right, I cando that.
So that's what I did.
And he was right.
It felt like someone, like 10people hit me with a
sledgehammer all at once as hardas they could.
Shake walked over the bike andpedaled it shakily and videoed
(24:20):
myself doing it and cried.
And that was that was it.
And from there, that's when thetherapy got easier.
You know, I started walking up alot of stairs and and all of a
sudden everything got easy.
And then they're like, hey, nowyour therapy is just day-to-day
life.
You know, here's a cane, off yougo.
I had gone to my doctor at theum one of the last visits, and I
(24:40):
walked in on a cane and helooked at me and he said, Do you
want to use a cane the rest ofyour life?
And and I said, Absolutely not.
And he said, Well, hand it tome.
And I handed it to him.
He goes, All right, he goes,You're done.
Bye.
And I was so scared because I'vebeen relying on that cane.
It's amazing what you can thinklittle things you rely on.
Never, never in my life would Ithought I needed a cane.
(25:01):
And uh it was the best thingthat ever happened to me.
And I walked out that day, andthat's when I started getting my
life, I'll I'll say, back ontrack.
SPEAKER_00 (25:10):
Yeah.
Wow, thank you.
That's wow.
Wow.
I wanna just hang a momentbecause I know there's
somebody's probably listening tothis today, and they're
wondering, wait, he just stoppedOxy and just like said, okay, I
can't access it, tried to usepower and authority to get it.
It didn't work out.
And you just like, did you haveany withdrawals?
Did you have any outbursts?
(25:32):
Like, I feel like there's somuch around, like, we've had
other amazing guests that's beenon, and everyone's withdrawal
from some type of addiction,whether that may be, you know,
prescription drugs, drugs, etc.,it's usually not that easy.
Was it that easy for you?
SPEAKER_01 (25:49):
I don't want to say it was easy, but I I have this
sheer determination built intome.
I have come to find.
And I thought back to when I was26 years old, I quit smoking
cigarettes.
I smoked a pack a day for 10years straight.
And when I turned 26, I was in arelationship, and the only way
the relationship was gonna workis if I quit smoking.
(26:10):
So I said to myself, okay, we'regonna quit smoking.
And that day I threw away a packof cigarettes, and I've never
wanted another one my wholelife.
SPEAKER_02 (26:19):
Wow.
SPEAKER_01 (26:20):
I drew off of that, I thought back, you know, I'm
like, you know what?
You literally can do anythingyou put your mind to.
SPEAKER_02 (26:27):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (26:27):
Pretty much.
So, you know what?
If I can't get it, then I'm I'veI'm I'm just gonna go with it.
You know, in my essay I talkabout good.
I don't want to say I stolethat, but I learned that from uh
another podcast uh contributorthat um it was a navy seal.
And I've applied that ever sinceI about 10 or 12 years ago, I
have applied that to my life,you know, the good.
(26:49):
And you know, it was like, okay,don't I don't need oxy anymore.
I don't still need it.
Good.
Uh I'll I'm I'm just one lessthing I need to worry about.
It's mind over matter, you know.
It's it's the sheerdetermination.
You know, uh when I I appliedthe same thing after my cancer
diagnosis and I went through biglong surgery, you know, I put
(27:10):
this big five-ended machineinside of me and did everything
that they did.
It was about a four-houroperation.
I woke up in the recovery roomand I I looked up and I said,
I'm ready to go.
And they're like, No, sir, youyou can't go.
And I said, Well, yes, I can.
I can go.
And they're like, Okay, if youwant to go, you're gonna have to
first get up, sit in that chair,then you're gonna have to walk
(27:31):
one lap around the nurse'sstation, and then maybe we'll
let you go.
And I said, Well, let's shortcutthat.
How about I get up right now,five laps around the nurse's
station, and by third lap, youcall my ride.
That's what we're gonna do here.
And they're like, Okay.
And that's what I did.
And as I walked by the nursesstation, my surgeon was there,
(27:51):
and he said, he turned to thelid, and he goes, Now that's
sheer determination.
And even let him take me out ina wheelchair.
I walked out of the hospital.
SPEAKER_00 (27:57):
I really appreciate you talked about sheer
determination.
After recovery, you made somedrastic life changes, including
leaving your long-termrelationship of 30 years and
starting over.
And now you're on the road, andI think a lot of people are
gonna ask, like, what led you tomake those decisions?
And I know that later on camethe cancer diagnosis, and we'll
(28:18):
get into that too.
But for those decisions that youmade early on, and I say early
on, this is after you've had asuccessful career, and then you
went to unfortunately beingdisabled.
What made you or what led you tothose decisions of, you know, of
all of that?
SPEAKER_01 (28:34):
Well, what what I came to realize is after I
stopped working, I spent oneyear trying to maintain my
relationship with my ex-wife.
And we traveled, we went uh wewent on a two-month adventure
through Alaska and Canada.
It led me to realize that youknow we had become such
(28:55):
different people, or maybe wewere always such different
people that we didn't reallylike each other anymore.
And I made the decision becauseI I just I I couldn't be happy
anymore.
And everything that had happenedto me physically made me realize
that really the only importantthing in life is to be happy.
(29:15):
And I wasn't sure what was goingto make me happy, but I did know
what was not making me happy.
So I believe I went on a questto find out what was going to
make me happy.
I realized that my belongingsmeant nothing to me.
So I just left everything behindand moved to South Carolina from
Central Florida and lived therefor about a year with a friend
(29:36):
and figured decided that wasn'tmaking me happy.
So I went back to CentralFlorida and my wife had said,
you know, let's try it again.
Well, that lasted about sixweeks, and I just we we were two
completely different people.
I I'm, you know, I'm old, alittle older, but I am still
very adventurous.
You know, I like to ridemotorbikes in the desert, and I
(29:58):
like to race cars and ride boatbicycles and do extreme things,
and I always have, and it justwasn't part of her plan.
So we decided that it would bewe'd be better friends than
husband and wife.
So, you know, that uh from thereI had mentioned that part of my
healing process was going to achiropractor.
(30:20):
And then later in the my essay,I I had said, well, now the
chiropractor and I aretraveling.
Well, it's that chiropractor,Dr.
Julie.
And she and I had a veryprofessional relationship for
two years, and then I left andwent to South Carolina and all
of the things.
And then when I finally cameback, it was kind of undeniable
that we needed to be together.
(30:40):
So we ended up l uh livingtogether in Lakeland, Florida
for a year.
And she went through a baddivorce, and I went through a
very amical divorce divorce, andwe she just decided to end her
practice.
She owned her own chiropracticpractice and she retired.
And we decided that we weregoing to buy a motorhome, a
small motorhome, and we weregoing to take off for at least
(31:03):
two, probably three years, withvirtually no plan other than to
stay warm, so to stay along theMexican border and end up in
Joshua Tree in California, andthen either go to Mexico or
Canada.
We haven't decided yet.
Still on that, I'm in Tucson,Arizona today for a couple
weeks.
Looking out the window rightnow, nothing but cactuses in
open desert.
(31:23):
Yeah, yeah.
And, you know, it's a verylittle camper.
It's it's just a real smalllittle thing, and it's all we
need.
And so I'm finding that thetravel that I sustained for 30
years.
I one of the reasons I could doit was I I love to travel.
I love not knowing where I'mgoing to be next.
And this is just a continuationof that, basically, except I'm
(31:46):
not getting a phone call fromsomeone telling me where I need
to be in three days.
You know, I call myself up and Isay, Do I need to stay here or
do I want to go somewhere else?
I don't know.
We talk to Julie, we decidewhere we want to go.
We've met all kinds of peopleand done all kinds of things,
seen things that most people intheir lives will never get to
see.
Met people along the way, uh,made new friends.
(32:06):
So it's it's I highly recommendit.
If, you know, a lot a lot ofpeople need the feeling of home.
And I've never had that feelingof home.
I'm originally from the Districtof Columbia, is where I was
born.
I've lived in multiple cities upand down the east coast, and I
don't really call anywhere home.
SPEAKER_00 (32:22):
I love that home is where the heart is, right?
I think that for you, you'vebeen traveling your entire life,
like throughout your entirecareer.
So home has probably beenwherever you have been.
And um, I'm happy to know thatyou guys have a ammo had an
amicable divorce.
I think that was probably gonnabe some questions for some
person that's listening today,is saying like 30 years, like
(32:46):
it's kind of hard to imagine 30years to be gone away in just a
month.
But you know, at least you alldecided that you're better off
friends and that it was a mutualdecision.
I think it could be challengingfor people listening.
SPEAKER_01 (33:00):
I I know what you're going through.
I've been there, done that.
SPEAKER_00 (33:02):
Thank you.
Yeah, I used to.
But and then to the chiropractorgo from professional to love
life, you know?
Life has an interesting way ofturning things and happening in
different ways.
And for you all to both be ableto be on the road and to really
explore this life is is quitethe adventure and it's gonna
encourage someone to get out andsee life as well, instead of
(33:24):
just, you know, waiting for lifeto happen or afraid to take the
adventure.
But I want to move to somethingas we start to wrap out this
episode.
You had another major challengein the midst of, you know, your
journey of traveling, you know,the world and the US and staying
on the Mexican border and youknow, just enjoying your
(33:44):
adventure.
You had another major challengethat appeared, and that was
stage four prostate cancerdiagnosis.
That's, you know, quitealarming.
And I just want to know, I mean,of course, you mentioned before
that you had some scares withthe doctors and they gave you,
you know, kind of some warningsahead of time to get your health
on track, but you were kind oflike, whenever, like, I'm fine.
(34:07):
You kind of gave it the hand fora moment.
But what went through your mindin the moment that you heard
those words of stage fourprostate cancer diagnosis?
SPEAKER_01 (34:15):
Well, it was the first time that someone looked
me in the eye and said, youknow, you can die from this.
SPEAKER_00 (34:21):
Wow.
SPEAKER_01 (34:22):
And you know, I've never had that name.
And and it went from zero to ahundred was kind of what you
were talking about.
I you know, you get a testcalled a PSA test, a uh
prosthetic antigen, aprostate-specific antigen test,
PSA.
And I recommend every guy from45 or 50 years old on every six
(34:45):
months get it.
And there's no symptom, likenothing happens, nothing, you
know, pain.
No, well, if you let it go toolong, you'll feel pain, and then
it's a death sentence.
But basically, your prostate isright part of your urinary
tract, and the only symptomyou'll ever have, and if anyone
older who's watching this, yourdoctor's gonna ask you, do you
have any trouble urinating?
And and you'll look at him andsay, nah.
(35:06):
But you do.
You just don't know it.
It's sneaking up on you minuteby minute.
It takes a really long time.
And when they do this test, youget a number.
And my number was okay, it was alittle high, but nothing, you
know, out of the ordinary.
And you know, I I can always goon Dr.
Google and look things up,right?
Like everybody does now.
So I was like, All right, I'mgood.
Well, I went back for one of mytests and the number was spiked.
(35:28):
And he said, My doctor looked atme, he said, Yeah, we're gonna
need to get a biopsy today.
I'm like, today?
He's like, Yeah, right now.
So I had to go upstairs to theplace that I go.
And they had I went to aproctologist there and or
urinology, urologist, and theytook the sample, and he's like,
Yeah, we're gonna need tooperate.
And I'm like, okay, well, when?
(35:49):
He said, I have a spot in twohours.
And I'm like, two hours?
He goes, Yeah, it's stage four,and I could probably get it now,
and you'll be okay, maybe, but Idon't know.
We need to go, we need to dothis right now.
And I'm like, he's like, here'syour options.
You can do what some people doand choose to do nothing, and
you'll probably be gone in aboutthree months.
(36:11):
And then he gave me all theother all the other options, uh,
which I won't bore you with.
But the I took the most invasiveand the most radical, with
probably in some ways the bestoutcome.
The best outcome being that Iprobably won't die of of
prostate cancer.
But the lingers, uh, which Iwon't get into, as you could
probably imagine, you know, aresort of hard to uh swallow.
(36:34):
But I chose that path.
And, you know, uh, I thought tomyself, okay, you know, why
would I choose anything else butthe hardest bleed outcome?
Why, why, why wouldn't I choosethat?
And, you know, my philosophy ofgood, okay, because of my quad
tear, I had been losing weight,I had been eating correctly
mostly.
(36:54):
But then I said, now this isthis is a sign, this is telling
me now this is what you need todo.
If if I survive this, I promisedmyself that you know I would not
feed the cancer in me anymore.
And I've lived up to my ownpromise to myself.
And I've been cancer free.
I didn't have to do radiation orchemotherapy.
And now I've been cancer freefor a few years, and I'm
(37:16):
hopefully going to stay that wayand uh take some supplements.
And I I probably, you know,better than 95% of the people my
age in their 60s, and I can telljust by looking at people, their
health, when someone looks youin the eye, and and and what I
didn't put into my essay is I'vehad yet another health scare
that I've gotten through, wheresomeone looked me in the eye and
said, You could die right now,this second.
(37:39):
When I turned 65, they scannedmy heart and said that I had 90%
block blockage of my main valvecalled the widowmaker.
And that's and they said that Ihad that.
Well, a long story short, I Ithey they told me to just go
home and take medicine.
And I said, No, I'm not gonnatake your poison medicine one.
We're gonna do something aboutthis.
(37:59):
So I had to force the insurancecompany to put a camera in my
heart and come to find out thetest that they give every single
person who turns 65 and goes onMedicare is known to be 80%
inaccurate.
They do not tell you that.
I found all of that out.
I called out my insurancecompany on it, and within three
days they had a camera in myheart.
Well, I had 0% blockage in allfour bats.
(38:23):
But they looked me in the eyeand said, You could die right
now.
If not right now, right now.
We're in five minutes.
You need to go home and sitdown.
I said, I'm not gonna stop overrunning, I'm not gonna stop
walking, I'm not gonna stopriding my motorbike, I'm not
gonna stop racing.
No, no, no, shin.
I have a heart, 90% blockage inmy heart.
Good, prove it to me.
Prove it.
And they put me on a treadmill.
(38:44):
I ran three and a half miles anhour for 15 minutes.
SPEAKER_00 (38:48):
Wow.
SPEAKER_01 (38:48):
Most people, most people my age can't go one
minute.
SPEAKER_00 (38:50):
Right.
SPEAKER_01 (38:51):
Or that even that's and they they said, Well, hmm,
that's weird.
Like, yeah, isn't it?
Well, now I have a tattoo righthere of my actual sinus rhythm.
One sinus, one heartbeat righthere, right over my heart.
So every time the doctor whotold me I was gonna die looks at
me, I tell him to put yourstethoscope right over that
where you told me I was gonnadie.
And there so you know, it it'sinteresting.
(39:12):
My advice to anybody is whenpeople tell you, you know, you
have this bad illness or you,you know, you have a you're
gonna die, don't just sit down.
Don't don't believe it.
Do something about it, whateverit takes, unless you're ready to
die and you really want to gothrough that.
You know, most people aren't,but do not that's been my my my
my mantra.
(39:33):
Don't let your illnesses defineyou, which a lot of people do.
I'm 66 and I can probably outdopeople half my age.
SPEAKER_00 (39:41):
I love that.
Yeah, wow, phenomenal story.
We have a couple more questionsas we wrap up, and I really
appreciate you sharing that withus.
And don't let your diagnosis bethe final say-so, and to
challenge it and to make sure.
Let's talk about the turningpoint for you.
You also made some radicalchanges after that diagnosis,
including changing your entirediet.
(40:01):
You say you don't eat any meatanymore, no sugar anymore.
So many things like to up anduproot and change your diet like
that takes a lot of sheerdetermination, which you
mentioned before.
But what really motivated you totake that step?
SPEAKER_01 (40:16):
You know, it's really simple.
And it's funny, it's somethingthat I taught anyone who's ever
worked for me is that, you know,if you say, Wow, you know, just
what you said, you you don't eatmeat, you don't do, you know,
all the things I don't eat orand all the things I do eat, you
know, someone says, Wow, youknow, I I need that hamburger.
I could never do what you did.
Well, you know what?
You're right.
Say you can't go without thathamburger, you're a hundred
(40:38):
percent right.
But if you say, you know what, Idon't need that beef poison
anymore at all, you're alsoright.
Pick the one that you want andthat hard all at the same time.
And because what what you say isright.
So a lot of people say, Oh, Icould never do it.
Well then you're right.
But I could do that, you're alsoright.
(41:01):
And in business, I I taught alot of the guys who work for me
that.
You know, they'd say, Oh, this,you know, I I this I can't do
this, I can't do that.
I'm like, well then you'reright.
Yeah, you know, but if I but ifyou again look at me and said,
you know what, if I did this andthis, well then I could do that.
Well then you're also right.
Pick one.
SPEAKER_00 (41:18):
Right.
SPEAKER_01 (41:18):
There's only one way, that way, that way.
So I would just say to anyone,if you want to feel 15 years
younger, if you want all of youraches and pains to go away,
literally literally, uh at myage, I had zero aches and pains.
If you want that all to go away,your knees to stop hurting, your
ankles, all the swelling to goaway, you want it all to go
away, stop eating processedfoods, stop eating meat, stop
(41:40):
eating sugar.
Sugar is worse than heroin, itis the one poison that will kill
you.
And it's so simple.
You pick up whatever it isyou're you're you're gonna eat,
you turn it around, you look athow many grams of sugar in it.
Or if it's more than three, putit back and never eat it again.
Wow, you'll lose a hundredpounds just like that.
SPEAKER_00 (42:01):
Yeah, that's that's big.
And uh, you already talked abouthow you lost over 130 pounds.
So you guys listen to the personthat lost over 130 pounds is
trying to show you the way rightnow.
You can run races, exerciseregularly, and look up and see,
just stop eating so much sugar.
I think that's so much such astart walking.
SPEAKER_01 (42:24):
Yep.
Start walking and stop eatingsugar and you'll lose a hundred
pounds, just like and you'llfeel so much better.
And you know, some people willsay, Oh, well, you know, I've
gotta have one cookie.
Well, no, you don't.
And it's once you stop eatingsugar, once you stop eating
sugar for six months, it doesn'tfeel good anymore.
You taste sweetness in thingsyou never thought were sweet.
(42:46):
It's the weirdest thing.
But yeah, I mean, I can't eveneat anything with sugar in it,
it tastes terrible.
SPEAKER_00 (42:50):
No, I do like sugar, but I don't really like it that
much.
I like it just like once totwice a month.
But I I'm gonna be more mindfulnow that you told me that I
appreciate it.
But today your life lookscompletely different.
You mentioned that you obviouslyretired from corporate work and
you started acting and modeling,doing improv, comedy, you're
traveling the world with yourgirlfriend.
(43:12):
As we also wrap this up, I wouldlove for you to also let us know
how you feel about where you'reat in your life.
And then I want to go and endwith the follow the philosophy
of resilience for you.
And we're gonna go back and endit with that good metaphor that
you talked about of saying likeresponding to challenges, but
just good.
So how does retirement lookright now?
(43:34):
And you hopping into kind of awhole nother career, acting,
modeling, improv, and and beingon the road while doing it.
SPEAKER_01 (43:41):
Well, I had to do something, and you know, I I I
give my grandmother all thecredit for the acting part.
You know, I I've been in someplays, I was in a Hitchcock
production.
I got picked to be in a musicvideo.
I was very proud of that.
And I've been in a fewtelevision commercials, and
everything we just talked aboutenabled that because if I The
old Jack, if I was the fat Jack,none of this would have ever
(44:03):
happened.
I couldn't have done that.
No one would have picked me tobe in their music video or
their, you know, in their play.
I've been in a littleaward-winning movie, a little
short movie.
We won uh first place at the St.
Pete Film Festival with it.
And uh, you know, my I have togive my grandmother credit
because my grandma I was raisedby my grandmother in in DC.
And my grandmother would alwayslook at me and say, you know
(44:24):
what?
Act like you have some sense.
Would you?
You know, act like you aresomebody.
And you know, I started thinkingabout that.
And you know, I spent my wholelife in corporate sales and and
technical sales.
And basically, you know, I wasacting as that person.
And so I thought to myself,after I retired, it's no
different than what I've beendoing for 30 years.
You know, I'm just I'm justacting.
(44:44):
I don't have any problemstanding in front of a hundred
people on stage and you know,acting like a fool with my
improv troop.
So, you know, I'm sort of on alittle uh sabbatical from improv
because our team plays inLakeland, Florida.
So I'm I'm not going back therefor a while.
But, you know, uh doing podcastsand I've done a couple virtual
modeling events, and um, youknow, I never knew that the
(45:07):
modeling world needed olderpeople, right?
Every all the commercials yousee, and everything you see is
everyone's a model or an actoror both.
So I got a couple agents and offI went.
I'm exactly where I want to beright now.
Living day to day on the roadand negotiating, keeping a
household going, you know,groceries and packages and
(45:29):
Amazon and all that when youreally don't have an address is
a fun challenge, really.
Yeah.
But, you know, I I feel the bestI've ever felt physically and
mentally.
You know, I still in touch withmy my son and my friends and
meeting all kinds of new peoplealong the way and made all kinds
of new friends.
And um, I've come to learn thatum, you know, there's a lot to
(45:52):
be said for staying in one ofyour own little town and and and
and and just spending your lifethere and and and you know being
part of that.
But your mind will become somuch more expanded when you see
how other people live and whattheir reality is.
And what can you do to make adifference in their life?
(46:13):
I was in Boquis, Mexico.
I took a rowboat across the RioGrande River.
You did this with a dirt roadand one Mexican rest, one
restaurant.
And all the little kids alongthe way are trying to sell you
trinkets and things.
Their mothers are there.
I started thinking, you know,that the my life across the
river is nothing like this atall.
(46:34):
And, you know, but that doesn'tmake it bad or wrong, or it just
is.
And and seeing how the rest ofthe world is and how everybody
lives expands your mind and yourthoughts and your capabilities
beyond your wildest dreams.
And so that's where I am rightnow.
I'm out expanding my mind and myreach.
SPEAKER_00 (46:53):
That's amazing.
I love that.
Love that.
Yeah, you're gonna encouragesomebody to get on the road and
start backpacking or roadtripping or traveling or, you
know, choosing to do somethingafter retirement and not just be
in the house all day, you know.
As we wrap up, one of the mostpowerful parts of your story is
your mindset, I feel like.
And that's the mindset ofresponding to challenges with
(47:14):
the word good.
You said that, you know, you mayhave taken it a little bit from
another podcast, but you usethat philosophy in your life.
And you referred that youreframe setbacks as
opportunities for growth.
Can you explain what thisphilosophy means and any advice
that you would give to listenersas they go through challenges or
feel like life turned themupside down?
(47:35):
They went from being the headhouse, head of the house, the
provider, the one that supplied,you know, everything that their
family needed to being at thepoint where they were sitting
still and not exactly sure onwhere to go.
And they're scared and theydon't know how to say good,
because it doesn't feel good.
Sometimes it feels tough,sometimes it feels challenging,
sometimes you feel stuck.
(47:56):
So how how can you develop thatgood philosophy mindset in the
midst of pain?
SPEAKER_01 (48:02):
I'm not gonna say it's easy, because it's not, but
you know, a lot of people looklike you just said, something
bad happens in their life andyou're at a crossroads.
You can let it define you, youcan let it consume you, but that
puts you in a circle, a bigswirling circle that you can't
get out of because all you canthink about is this happened to
(48:24):
me, uh, woe is me.
What you know, I can't know thisis bad.
Oh no, this happened to me.
Then you just go around andaround.
But instead of getting worriedor freaked out or, you know, or
or nervous about any situation,because you're not the first
person to go through asituation, you know, you're
you're about the 10 millionthperson to go through whatever
(48:45):
your situation is, whether it'scancer or a heart scare,
whatever it is.
You know, you're you're not thefirst one to do that.
There's always an answer.
So it it's like I said before,it's it's simple and it's the
simplest thing and the hardestthing all at the same time, is
that when something bad happens,just say good.
Literally say it out loud.
Say good.
(49:05):
Now, instead of talking aboutwhat you don't have, talk about
what you do have.
Now I have an opportunity toovercome this.
I have the opportunity to makemy health better, to make my
life better.
I have an opportunity to changemy life and then start walking.
And I don't really mean thatmetaphorically, and I mean that
for real.
(49:26):
But if you can say the wordgood, then you're alive, you're
still here, nothing's changed.
You say the word good, look atthe opportunity that's
presented, and you move forward.
It's literally, but the hardestpart is getting out of the
swirling vortex and actuallysaying the word good and meaning
it.
And you know, you can't just sayit.
(49:47):
You have to remember if you cansay the word good, then you
still have some fight left inyou just by saying the word.
So, like the podcast, the otherpodcaster says, you know, stand
up, dust off, recalibrate, readand go out on the attack.
And that's it.
And I've taken that to heart inmany situations, and I'm 10
(50:08):
times better for it.
SPEAKER_00 (50:09):
Love that.
SPEAKER_01 (50:10):
And there it is.
SPEAKER_00 (50:11):
Stand up and say good.
Yeah, it reminds me of like itwas another podcast episode that
people hear too, is she says yesand like she used the improv
technique.
Now I know you do improv troop,and I've done a lot of improv
myself.
And it's kind of like good islike yes and like continuing on,
like it's gonna happen.
The reality is that if you livelong enough, you're going to
(50:33):
experience the highs and thelows.
But if you continue to go, evenwhen it's slow, you will
experience another high.
And you're right.
I think the biggest thing torealize is that you're not the
only one.
And it may feel like a veryalone process in that moment.
But the reality is that this toowill pass if you keep going and
(50:56):
you don't stay stuck there.
I want to say thank you so much,Shaq, for sharing your story
with us today.
Your journey is so powerful.
It's definitely a reminder, it'snever too late to reinvent
yourself, rebuild your health,reclaim your life, and also to
take diagnosis a little bit moreserious or even warnings that
the doctors may have.
And they don't just say it justto say it, but also in the same
(51:18):
respect to question sometimesthe diagnosis that you may
receive, because sometimessystems are outdated and you
know the results could beconved.
I really appreciate you sharingyour story with us.
For everyone listening today, Iwant to say thank you so much
for listening to the ResilienceHouse Podcast Unlocked.
If today's episode inspired you,please share it with someone who
(51:39):
you feel may need encouragementtoday.
Let them know that they're notalone.
Maybe they're they have a storysimilar to Jack's, or maybe a
part of Jack's story couldresonate with them.
Resilience isn't about avoidinghardship.
Resilience is about choosing todo it even when hardship exists.
And just like Jack shared, wecan say good, pick ourselves up
(52:00):
and keep going.
And know that where there was alow, a high is right around the
corner.
So don't give up, don't give in,and know that you are resilient.
I'm your host, Carrie Bernan.
Tune into the next episode andshare this with a friend.
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