August 28, 2024 • 27 mins
"Dying is like falling asleep. You don't realize it until you wake up." Jordon Schroeter
Speaker, Advocate, Comic, Pastor (with a Masters), and Award-Winning Film Maker Jordan Schroeter wasn't supposed to live past the age of 2 years old.
Here is in, in his third decade - from an electric wheelchair with all the spunk of anyone's new best pal. Schroeter has Spinal Muscular Atrophy, Type 1. He transparently shares what it means to continue to lose muscle mass and usage and the choice of finding moments to celebrate.
He says his severe disability is not the source of issues. Listen to our chat to learn what is the source, and maybe you'll resonate with much of what he has to say. I know I did.
You'll laugh as hard as I did when he answers my infamous question: Do you have a prank or dare story to share?
If you want a speaker who truly can inspire, motivate, affect the group, and evoke some laughter, seek Jordan Schroeter.
Jordan can be found on most social media, and at Jordan River of Life Coaching & Speaking.
Search for his TEDxOshKosh talk, it was quite incredible and he shares his favorite pick up line, too! (Of course it's also in this episode because it's a hoot).
Speaker, Advocate, Comic, Pastor (with a Masters), and Award-Winning Film Maker Jordan Schroeter wasn't supposed to live past the age of 2 years old.
Here is in, in his third decade - from an electric wheelchair with all the spunk of anyone's new best pal. Schroeter has Spinal Muscular Atrophy, Type 1. He transparently shares what it means to continue to lose muscle mass and usage and the choice of finding moments to celebrate.
He says his severe disability is not the source of issues. Listen to our chat to learn what is the source, and maybe you'll resonate with much of what he has to say. I know I did.
You'll laugh as hard as I did when he answers my infamous question: Do you have a prank or dare story to share?
If you want a speaker who truly can inspire, motivate, affect the group, and evoke some laughter, seek Jordan Schroeter.
Jordan can be found on most social media, and at Jordan River of Life Coaching & Speaking.
Search for his TEDxOshKosh talk, it was quite incredible and he shares his favorite pick up line, too! (Of course it's also in this episode because it's a hoot).
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Severe physical disability. While it is daunting and heavy, that
wasn't the source of whatever issues I may be happening.
Speaker 2 (00:12):
It was me.
Speaker 1 (00:13):
It was what I was choosing and how I was
choosing to respond.
Speaker 3 (00:17):
Stranger Connections is the embodiment of Lisa david Olson's perspective
of we're all just friends who just simply haven't met yet.
It's an exploration of the weirdly wonderful side of life
and a look at the single commonality we have with
each other, our differences. Slip off your shoes, pour a
cup of your favorite and let's meet this week's barrel
of quirks.
Speaker 4 (00:38):
Welcome to Stranger Connections, Right. I celebrate wonderfully weird people
and quirky stories. I'm your curious beast and host, Lisa
david Olson, the practically world famous business humorist, interactive speaker
and speaker mentor. So bring me to your event. If
you want to add more communication for your team, more human,
(01:00):
Let's do a workshop. What have you thinking? I'm up
for it. But today we're going to chitty chat with
Jordan Schrader. Am I saying Schrader?
Speaker 2 (01:09):
Right? Yes, sir, look at me.
Speaker 4 (01:12):
I'm everything all right? Jordan, I'm so thrilled to have
you here. What I've learned about you is that you
are a speaker, an advocate, a pastor with your masters,
a pastor with the Master, a coach, a comic, and
an award winning filmmaker. How did I do? I just
(01:37):
think that's pretty good. You got all this stuff going on,
and you also just did a ted X in Oshkosh, Wisconsin.
I did try out for Oshkosh I think three years ago,
did not get that one. I'm so glad you did.
Speaker 2 (01:54):
So.
Speaker 4 (01:54):
I want people to check out Jordan Schrader's and you're
gonna to check out the spelling of his name because
it's different. And his ted X in Ashcash was fantastic.
I love the bits of humor you have in there.
Thank you so your message, one of your messages, because
I know you're also a coach, and one of the
things you talk about is how to become a hero,
(02:17):
and that it's a choice to become a hero. Let's
let's just start there. Let's talk about your story and
why why we can all choose to be a hero.
Speaker 1 (02:26):
All right, Well, first of all, thank you for just
bringing me on. It's a real pleasure and I guess
just everything I've been through my LAP I was born
with a neuromuscular disease called spinal muscular aotrophy. I have
type one specifically, and a layman's terms, what this means
is that it's a progressive again neuromuscular disease, others genetic,
(02:54):
and that basically, as I get older, I'm just get
weaker because my body doesn't have the spinal motor neuron
gene that helps supplement everyone's strength in their body. That's
a very oversimplified way to put it right. The backup
(03:18):
gene SMM two, which is what exactly what it is,
does not supply enough as well. So because I don't
have that supplement, and I don't have that protein, the
natural protein to supply my muscle mass and strength and
(03:39):
everything like that, I just gradually gradually get weaker. And
so like I used to be able to swing a
baseball bat, I used to be able to hold a
game pad controller, or wiggle my arms.
Speaker 2 (03:56):
Around or roll around on the floor with my.
Speaker 1 (03:59):
Toy trot when I was younger, and all that stuff.
I can't do any of that anymore. Just gradually kind
of withered away. And but long story short, I just
learned through my faith to adapt to it. And I've
been very blessed with a wonderful family and amazing friends.
(04:23):
I've I've been given the gift of being able to
attract friends and be good at making friends, which is
a very rare gift, especially nowadays. And being the youngest
of three, with having two older beautiful sisters, I'm the
(04:46):
youngest naturally, so.
Speaker 2 (04:50):
I'm the baby.
Speaker 1 (04:51):
I'm the creative, fun one and the family, although my
sisters are very creative two, we all got the creative gene.
But we just learned through all of our trials and
tribulations that we go through. A lot of people say this,
but it really is how you respond to those trials
(05:13):
and tribulations. And the answer your question more directly, why
I choose to be a hero, because the way I
kind of let the play it for people to relate
with is everyone has an origin story and how we
respond to our shortcomings, or our tribulations, or even our
(05:43):
moments of celebration, everything between everything has a response, the
good and the bad, and how you respond to it
can determine, of course, who you are. It's our choices
and a lot of times what we do that defines us.
Speaker 2 (06:02):
How you do that.
Speaker 1 (06:03):
You can be the hero of your story or you
can be the villain. That's something I kind of struggled with,
and I made everyone else the villain in my story.
In my shortcomings, when I had failed relationships, or I
had struggles with my disability and all these different things
(06:26):
and other traumas in my life, I would often play
the victim card. Not glatantly, but I tell that I
was subtly doing so, and I was just blame my circumstances,
blame other people.
Speaker 4 (06:44):
Well, I could see that. And would you say a
villain is also the victim?
Speaker 1 (06:48):
Then yeah, you can make it out to be that.
Speaker 2 (06:52):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (06:54):
The whole thing with the story that I tell for
people from my motivational speaking is oftentimes we're looking for
what's who is oppressing me, what's making me feel oppressed,
and oftentimes it's ourselves. It's another way of saying that
(07:17):
you are your own biggest enemy.
Speaker 2 (07:22):
And so.
Speaker 1 (07:24):
It wasn't even my disability anymore. That was just part
of it. My severe physical disability. While it is uh
daunting and heavy and it's a heavy, heavy cross to bear,
that wasn't the source of whatever issues I may be happening.
Speaker 2 (07:49):
It was me.
Speaker 1 (07:50):
It was what I was choosing and how I was
choosing to respond to things. Because how we respond to
things dominoes into our real relationships, into our vocations, into
our hobbies, Evan, and into our interests. It takes your joy.
You are your own robber of your joy.
Speaker 4 (08:14):
Yeah, I'd like that you remind people that you're you're
steering the ship, you know, and here you are. And
for those that aren't watching on YouTube but rather listening
on audio, Jordan is wheelchair bound and gradually losing movement
and use of limbs, and so now you you can
(08:37):
steer your own speaking of steering ships, you you can
steer your wheelchair.
Speaker 1 (08:42):
True, right now, I'm still able to drive my power wheelchair.
Speaker 2 (08:46):
Right.
Speaker 4 (08:47):
And then if with your sm A is it do
you still have feeling even though you lose use.
Speaker 1 (08:56):
That's a very common question. Again, I'm glad you. Yes,
it's not similar down in a deeper level to paralysis.
I have full feeling sensation. It looks like paralysis, but
(09:17):
it doesn't feel like it, which is very interesting when
you think about it.
Speaker 4 (09:22):
And do you use this type of thing in your comedy.
I know you're doing some comedy, like what people ask you.
That's got to be I'm a comic. There's got to
be some doozies out there that you answer time and
time again, or you can almost predict. Oh my gosh,
here comes so and so they're going to ask me
(09:43):
this again.
Speaker 2 (09:44):
Oh yeah.
Speaker 1 (09:45):
I just kind of played off of it or I like, oh, like,
what happened to you? And I tell people, oh, I
got in trouble and I'm I'm at a time while,
like when I was substitute teaching, I would tell kids
that they're so curious. I get them mostly from kids,
oh yeah, like, oh my god, what happened to his leg?
(10:09):
And it's so cute, but like it's so funny too.
Speaker 2 (10:13):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (10:13):
I'll just kind of joke with them and say like, oh,
I'm in trouble or some bad happen in a funny way,
just like little like lighthearted stuff.
Speaker 4 (10:22):
And they're like, what, I don't know if it's lighthearted, Jordan,
I don't know this is gonna happen. No, yeah, I know.
Speaker 1 (10:31):
I just kind of mess with them, and no, after
I mess with them a little bad, I just tell
people that I was born this way, and I kind
of teach them while using humor to break the ice.
Speaker 2 (10:46):
Of course, it's just a natural icebreaker.
Speaker 1 (10:48):
Then I kind of teach people that, like, you know,
sometimes you were just born with things that.
Speaker 2 (10:56):
Make you.
Speaker 1 (10:58):
Look a little different, but you're still a person. And
that's my whole thing I try to teach people. And
that this was an emphasis in my tedux is that
just because I'm disabled and everything, and don't treat me
differently in society. I don't know it's on the American
(11:18):
society and culture, but we have a huge perception of
looking at disabled people as these angelic beings that are
innocent and that they don't know any better, and that
they're not aware of troubles around them, and that they're
(11:40):
just living happy, go lucky innocently because they don't have
some kind of like self consciousness or a lack of
or something like that. It's really strange and that they're
looked upon as children. And a lot of people now
that like maybe they help out with people that are
(12:01):
autistic or intellectually disabled, and with one person says to me, oh,
I love working with them. They're like little children, and
she's like, oh, I made them not like children, like
she's trying to back out of it. It's so funny,
But there's this misconception that disaled people lack understanding of
their environment, that they are children, that they are asexual
(12:26):
and they don't know anything about love and relationships and
anything like that. They're just big kids, and so they
all treat them with this understanding that, oh, let them be.
They just kids, they don't know any better, and they're
all good. And that's not true. A lot of disaaled
(12:47):
people can be really big jerks. They can be really
big pains in the butt, and they can be manipulative,
and they can be they can practice their disability and
to take advantage of a situation, and then they can
(13:09):
This is the big thing is that we have everyday
problems too, and so I can relate with everyone else's issues.
There's more than just the disability. Do you look at
someone that's a stable than you think all their biggest
problems are all medical.
Speaker 2 (13:27):
Far from it. That's just.
Speaker 1 (13:30):
An amendment in the story, that's just a footnote. We
still show every day with mental illness, depression, anxiety, heartbreak
hurting other people because we really can.
Speaker 2 (13:44):
We can hurt people.
Speaker 1 (13:45):
I have, and I brend a lot of bridges because
of my attitude and all that. And when I've been
hospitalized many times in my life and developed a lot
of PTSD from more than one, at least two or three,
two or three for sure near death experiences. Wow, and
(14:09):
I've developed a lot of like suppressed PTSD. I'm acknowledging
in therapy except but like people kind of forget that
in a way, I'm not trying to compare myself to
a soldier or anything. It's kind of like when a
soldier comes home from active duty and all the confusion
(14:35):
on existentialism and what am I living for? And just
like you go through these horrible near death experiences like
with mine. One in particular I talk about this and
my TEDx talk is that I suffocated to death that
have been more than once, but in different ways.
Speaker 2 (14:58):
Where I would slowly lose.
Speaker 1 (14:59):
My breathing ability in the course of five minutes. And
how much that terrorizes your brain because your your body
is suddenly in critical at all panic mode and you
just all of a sudden, you just kind of pass
(15:20):
out or blackout, however you want to define it. And then,
like I said in the talk, you don't. Dying is
like falling asleep. You don't realize it until you wake up,
until you're you're conscious again, realize what happened. People are
telling you, Oh, like, we found you with your eyes open,
but nothing was there. So and then you go home
(15:40):
and everything.
Speaker 2 (15:41):
That's fine. But now I'm okay. It's so strange because
just a Tuesday.
Speaker 1 (15:50):
Yeah, it's happening to me multiple times for different pulmonary reasons.
Speaker 4 (15:56):
And you talk about the therapist that walked in.
Speaker 1 (16:00):
Yeah, at one time, this is four years ago. All
of a sudden, something went wrong with by body. I
don't really know what it was. I have to go
back and look, but I was having some kind of
pulmonary and respiratory arrest episode or sorry, respiratory distress episode.
(16:23):
We're in Within five minutes, I was losing my ability
to breathe. I had no means of communication. This is
during COVID, so the door had to be shut for
all patients because I was a potential COVID patient on
top of the other problems I was having.
Speaker 2 (16:39):
Yet Yeah, so and I had.
Speaker 1 (16:43):
The iPad they were using to communicate with me. Died
and my whole life was out of reach. So I
was completely cut off and alone, and I was just
dying right there and I was gone. But suddenly I
didn't know this yet. I was unconscious. My respiratory therapist
(17:03):
walks in because she decided to skip her lunch for
that time. She's like, you know what, I'm going to
get Jordan's appointment over with for the day. And she
found me, and then I woke up and they told me.
I was like what, I wasn't even morning. I was
just like, are you freaking kidding me?
Speaker 2 (17:23):
Right?
Speaker 1 (17:23):
Yeah, I was so strange, Like I just got revived
and I just snapped back into it. It's like when
you recharge your vallery and just resettle. I got rebooted
in that instant. I even like had time to think
for the reason.
Speaker 4 (17:38):
Shut down and restart your system.
Speaker 1 (17:41):
Yeah, So it took me so long to actually have
a grieving process, and mentally that does invests me up
so much. In twenty it was only twenty fifteen, twenty twenty,
twenty twenty two, so at least three episodes where that
really ingrained into me, the severe PTSD that I just
(18:05):
never really had time to process when I was there,
because you just you just go home.
Speaker 2 (18:11):
When you're better. And then.
Speaker 1 (18:14):
I cannot even tell you the severe depression subconsciously that
was finally coming out where I just wanted to sleep
all day because that's what I was used to at
that point during the recovery process of being at home,
I just wanted to go to sleep and not wake up,
(18:35):
because again that's what I was kind of used to now,
And in a way I was thinking, like, you know,
dying is not that bad. I just to sleep, I'd
be fine.
Speaker 4 (18:47):
You're not done on this realm yet, Jordan.
Speaker 2 (18:49):
No, I'm not.
Speaker 1 (18:50):
And finally I just broke three of that after a
while recovering, and I'm better now. But the grace of God,
it really was a time of solitude, a time of healing,
and a time of not just grieving, but just my
whole body and mind just kind of reset. It took
(19:12):
a long time because I was like, for a year
or so, I was like lashing out with my friends.
I was having attitude. All of this thing. All these
things are coming from untreated PTSD. And in the medical sense,
because PTSD, we think it's strictly for the cognation is
(19:35):
that or the connotation is that, oh, it's strictly military soldiers, right, which.
Speaker 2 (19:41):
Is very true that it needs to be treated. That's
a whole other story.
Speaker 1 (19:47):
It can happen to anybody, that's yeah, any kind of
post trauma, and I've had it for other reasons too,
but I never really addressed all of my trauma, whether
it was my child could and or die or the
dying episodes, all of that just kind of messed together.
(20:08):
That's over twenty five years of untreated, a suppressed PTSD
that I never really thought about until well late into
my twenties. So it was like something that kind of
blew up all at once and finally got God, finally
(20:30):
got my attention. I thought I had it for throughout
my teams and twenties, but I had to be hit
a wall.
Speaker 2 (20:38):
Right, You're good.
Speaker 4 (20:39):
That's true for so many because the acceptance part and
how to go forward, and you know, dealing with hurting
friends or like you said in your TEDx, I'm no angel,
I'm you.
Speaker 2 (20:53):
That was so.
Speaker 4 (20:54):
Powerful, Jordan, super powerful. I love your ted X and
the bits of humor that you added in, and I
know that you do a lot more speaking. I want
people to know they can hire you to speak online
in person and help other people get to the point
where you're at. I do want you to share your
one pickup line that you shared in your talk if
(21:14):
you would.
Speaker 1 (21:16):
Yeah, going to the bar and asking young women if
they are wheelchair accessible.
Speaker 4 (21:25):
You even talk about it, and don't forget you get
to cut line with me.
Speaker 2 (21:30):
Ye.
Speaker 1 (21:31):
Come my sister years ago, I had this really gorgeous
bus friend. It was like a college bus friend. And
my sister said that I couldn't ask her out. She said, yeah,
I had to get in line and I told her
that wheal chair people can skip lines.
Speaker 2 (21:50):
There was really good. I thought that was clever.
Speaker 4 (21:53):
That's clever. You know you're clever.
Speaker 2 (21:56):
Nothing happen untunately.
Speaker 4 (21:58):
Make your merch skip line with me. You know that's great. Well,
tell people about where they can find your coaching services.
Jordan River coaching.
Speaker 1 (22:11):
Right, yeah, Jordan River of life coaching and speaking. Other
than that, you can look me up on all the
socials all right under Jordan Trader or Jordan River, it
doesn't matter. And whether it's Facebook X, Instagram. I do
a lot of tiktoking.
Speaker 2 (22:32):
On there.
Speaker 1 (22:32):
You can follow me on there with my short tiktoks
and my website is almost done. But that's gonna be
Jordan Trader dot com very nice. Other than just to
keep it simple, just look up Join Trader on all
the socials.
Speaker 4 (22:49):
Yes, different, yeah s C H R O E T
E R.
Speaker 2 (22:56):
Trader correct. Yep. I'm always available and.
Speaker 4 (23:01):
I think it's just really wonderful You've got these different
quotes I was looking at. I focus on what I
can and stop focusing on the cannot. So yes, if
you want somebody that can come and talk to your
group and let them know that how to go forward
(23:22):
and move forward and find the strength and affirmations and acceptance,
I think Jordan's the one for you. And especially because
you're always going to throw in some comedy in there
and you're open to questions. So you are unique and
I am so thrilled that you've been on my show.
Can't let you go until I ask you to share
(23:43):
a dare or a prank story one you've done or
had done to you.
Speaker 1 (23:48):
All right, sorry, this is kind of us me and
two other guys on to high school with this is
like maybe fourteen years ago. We were out and about
just bumming around town teenagers do that night in the summer,
and we decided to do something dang don ditching, which
(24:09):
doesn't make sense when you went a power wheelchair, but
I wanted to always try it. So my my hid
behind this car parked in front of this person's house.
I was still sticking out like an idiot. But when
of my buddies went up there, rang the doorbell and
we floored it as fast as we could, and I
(24:32):
tried to go fast. I was going maybe five and
a half miles an hour, which isn't much, but it's
like a little job. And I was like, again, this
makes sense. So we rang the doorbell. We're running or
go outside. We thought we made it by going to
the end of the street around the corner. Well we
were caught anyway, because all of a sudden, this dude pulls
up to us on this bicycle thing. I think that's funny. Huh,
(24:55):
you go think that's really funny. And it turned out
it was a cop. Oh yeah, reaccently dingd ditch the
cop and he was, okay, you let it go. He
was more more so upset because he just had the
little kids put down to bed, right, so he looked
(25:16):
at me and everything and he just let it go.
And it was so stupid it was fun.
Speaker 4 (25:23):
Yes, stupid can equal fun and no harm, you know,
but that is hilarious. Not only did you ding dong
ditch in a pow wheelchair, it was an officer's home.
Speaker 2 (25:34):
Yep, exactly, that's what I get. It's going to be
a level once in a while.
Speaker 4 (25:40):
Exactly. Oh my gosh.
Speaker 1 (25:44):
I had a real pleasure just showing my story. And
there's so much more to share. So anyone that wants
to book me for your next event or with for
your venue. It can be your employees, it can be
your students, which is a big one. I let to
do your school, you do, the university, whatever you need.
(26:07):
I like to motivate people just to get off their
butt and go to get off your butt.
Speaker 4 (26:16):
If you need to get off your butt, give Jordan
a call because he will help you do it.
Speaker 2 (26:21):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (26:22):
I motivate all kinds of curbs and I help with
weddings as well, in MC weddings. I do all kinds
of things, but yeah, mostly a motivational speaker, and I
go to churches as well, churches, schools, universities and corporations
and workplaces.
Speaker 4 (26:40):
Absolutely, you're a fit. You're a fit, all right. So
they will look you up on the socials. It has
been my honor to have you on the show, Jordan Schrader,
and remember we can only be strangers once, and I
invite you to stay weird.
Speaker 2 (26:55):
Absolutely. I love that. Thank you so much for having me.
Speaker 3 (26:59):
This is Stranger Connections with Lisa David Oleson
Severe physical disability. While it is daunting and heavy, that
wasn't the source of whatever issues I may be happening.
Speaker 2 (00:12):
It was me.
Speaker 1 (00:13):
It was what I was choosing and how I was
choosing to respond.
Speaker 3 (00:17):
Stranger Connections is the embodiment of Lisa david Olson's perspective
of we're all just friends who just simply haven't met yet.
It's an exploration of the weirdly wonderful side of life
and a look at the single commonality we have with
each other, our differences. Slip off your shoes, pour a
cup of your favorite and let's meet this week's barrel
of quirks.
Speaker 4 (00:38):
Welcome to Stranger Connections, Right. I celebrate wonderfully weird people
and quirky stories. I'm your curious beast and host, Lisa
david Olson, the practically world famous business humorist, interactive speaker
and speaker mentor. So bring me to your event. If
you want to add more communication for your team, more human,
(01:00):
Let's do a workshop. What have you thinking? I'm up
for it. But today we're going to chitty chat with
Jordan Schrader. Am I saying Schrader?
Speaker 2 (01:09):
Right? Yes, sir, look at me.
Speaker 4 (01:12):
I'm everything all right? Jordan, I'm so thrilled to have
you here. What I've learned about you is that you
are a speaker, an advocate, a pastor with your masters,
a pastor with the Master, a coach, a comic, and
an award winning filmmaker. How did I do? I just
(01:37):
think that's pretty good. You got all this stuff going on,
and you also just did a ted X in Oshkosh, Wisconsin.
I did try out for Oshkosh I think three years ago,
did not get that one. I'm so glad you did.
Speaker 2 (01:54):
So.
Speaker 4 (01:54):
I want people to check out Jordan Schrader's and you're
gonna to check out the spelling of his name because
it's different. And his ted X in Ashcash was fantastic.
I love the bits of humor you have in there.
Thank you so your message, one of your messages, because
I know you're also a coach, and one of the
things you talk about is how to become a hero,
(02:17):
and that it's a choice to become a hero. Let's
let's just start there. Let's talk about your story and
why why we can all choose to be a hero.
Speaker 1 (02:26):
All right, Well, first of all, thank you for just
bringing me on. It's a real pleasure and I guess
just everything I've been through my LAP I was born
with a neuromuscular disease called spinal muscular aotrophy. I have
type one specifically, and a layman's terms, what this means
is that it's a progressive again neuromuscular disease, others genetic,
(02:54):
and that basically, as I get older, I'm just get
weaker because my body doesn't have the spinal motor neuron
gene that helps supplement everyone's strength in their body. That's
a very oversimplified way to put it right. The backup
(03:18):
gene SMM two, which is what exactly what it is,
does not supply enough as well. So because I don't
have that supplement, and I don't have that protein, the
natural protein to supply my muscle mass and strength and
(03:39):
everything like that, I just gradually gradually get weaker. And
so like I used to be able to swing a
baseball bat, I used to be able to hold a
game pad controller, or wiggle my arms.
Speaker 2 (03:56):
Around or roll around on the floor with my.
Speaker 1 (03:59):
Toy trot when I was younger, and all that stuff.
I can't do any of that anymore. Just gradually kind
of withered away. And but long story short, I just
learned through my faith to adapt to it. And I've
been very blessed with a wonderful family and amazing friends.
(04:23):
I've I've been given the gift of being able to
attract friends and be good at making friends, which is
a very rare gift, especially nowadays. And being the youngest
of three, with having two older beautiful sisters, I'm the
(04:46):
youngest naturally, so.
Speaker 2 (04:50):
I'm the baby.
Speaker 1 (04:51):
I'm the creative, fun one and the family, although my
sisters are very creative two, we all got the creative gene.
But we just learned through all of our trials and
tribulations that we go through. A lot of people say this,
but it really is how you respond to those trials
(05:13):
and tribulations. And the answer your question more directly, why
I choose to be a hero, because the way I
kind of let the play it for people to relate
with is everyone has an origin story and how we
respond to our shortcomings, or our tribulations, or even our
(05:43):
moments of celebration, everything between everything has a response, the
good and the bad, and how you respond to it
can determine, of course, who you are. It's our choices
and a lot of times what we do that defines us.
Speaker 2 (06:02):
How you do that.
Speaker 1 (06:03):
You can be the hero of your story or you
can be the villain. That's something I kind of struggled with,
and I made everyone else the villain in my story.
In my shortcomings, when I had failed relationships, or I
had struggles with my disability and all these different things
(06:26):
and other traumas in my life, I would often play
the victim card. Not glatantly, but I tell that I
was subtly doing so, and I was just blame my circumstances,
blame other people.
Speaker 4 (06:44):
Well, I could see that. And would you say a
villain is also the victim?
Speaker 1 (06:48):
Then yeah, you can make it out to be that.
Speaker 2 (06:52):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (06:54):
The whole thing with the story that I tell for
people from my motivational speaking is oftentimes we're looking for
what's who is oppressing me, what's making me feel oppressed,
and oftentimes it's ourselves. It's another way of saying that
(07:17):
you are your own biggest enemy.
Speaker 2 (07:22):
And so.
Speaker 1 (07:24):
It wasn't even my disability anymore. That was just part
of it. My severe physical disability. While it is uh
daunting and heavy and it's a heavy, heavy cross to bear,
that wasn't the source of whatever issues I may be happening.
Speaker 2 (07:49):
It was me.
Speaker 1 (07:50):
It was what I was choosing and how I was
choosing to respond to things. Because how we respond to
things dominoes into our real relationships, into our vocations, into
our hobbies, Evan, and into our interests. It takes your joy.
You are your own robber of your joy.
Speaker 4 (08:14):
Yeah, I'd like that you remind people that you're you're
steering the ship, you know, and here you are. And
for those that aren't watching on YouTube but rather listening
on audio, Jordan is wheelchair bound and gradually losing movement
and use of limbs, and so now you you can
(08:37):
steer your own speaking of steering ships, you you can
steer your wheelchair.
Speaker 1 (08:42):
True, right now, I'm still able to drive my power wheelchair.
Speaker 2 (08:46):
Right.
Speaker 4 (08:47):
And then if with your sm A is it do
you still have feeling even though you lose use.
Speaker 1 (08:56):
That's a very common question. Again, I'm glad you. Yes,
it's not similar down in a deeper level to paralysis.
I have full feeling sensation. It looks like paralysis, but
(09:17):
it doesn't feel like it, which is very interesting when
you think about it.
Speaker 4 (09:22):
And do you use this type of thing in your comedy.
I know you're doing some comedy, like what people ask you.
That's got to be I'm a comic. There's got to
be some doozies out there that you answer time and
time again, or you can almost predict. Oh my gosh,
here comes so and so they're going to ask me
(09:43):
this again.
Speaker 2 (09:44):
Oh yeah.
Speaker 1 (09:45):
I just kind of played off of it or I like, oh, like,
what happened to you? And I tell people, oh, I
got in trouble and I'm I'm at a time while,
like when I was substitute teaching, I would tell kids
that they're so curious. I get them mostly from kids,
oh yeah, like, oh my god, what happened to his leg?
(10:09):
And it's so cute, but like it's so funny too.
Speaker 2 (10:13):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (10:13):
I'll just kind of joke with them and say like, oh,
I'm in trouble or some bad happen in a funny way,
just like little like lighthearted stuff.
Speaker 4 (10:22):
And they're like, what, I don't know if it's lighthearted, Jordan,
I don't know this is gonna happen. No, yeah, I know.
Speaker 1 (10:31):
I just kind of mess with them, and no, after
I mess with them a little bad, I just tell
people that I was born this way, and I kind
of teach them while using humor to break the ice.
Speaker 2 (10:46):
Of course, it's just a natural icebreaker.
Speaker 1 (10:48):
Then I kind of teach people that, like, you know,
sometimes you were just born with things that.
Speaker 2 (10:56):
Make you.
Speaker 1 (10:58):
Look a little different, but you're still a person. And
that's my whole thing I try to teach people. And
that this was an emphasis in my tedux is that
just because I'm disabled and everything, and don't treat me
differently in society. I don't know it's on the American
(11:18):
society and culture, but we have a huge perception of
looking at disabled people as these angelic beings that are
innocent and that they don't know any better, and that
they're not aware of troubles around them, and that they're
(11:40):
just living happy, go lucky innocently because they don't have
some kind of like self consciousness or a lack of
or something like that. It's really strange and that they're
looked upon as children. And a lot of people now
that like maybe they help out with people that are
(12:01):
autistic or intellectually disabled, and with one person says to me, oh,
I love working with them. They're like little children, and
she's like, oh, I made them not like children, like
she's trying to back out of it. It's so funny,
But there's this misconception that disaled people lack understanding of
their environment, that they are children, that they are asexual
(12:26):
and they don't know anything about love and relationships and
anything like that. They're just big kids, and so they
all treat them with this understanding that, oh, let them be.
They just kids, they don't know any better, and they're
all good. And that's not true. A lot of disaaled
(12:47):
people can be really big jerks. They can be really
big pains in the butt, and they can be manipulative,
and they can be they can practice their disability and
to take advantage of a situation, and then they can
(13:09):
This is the big thing is that we have everyday
problems too, and so I can relate with everyone else's issues.
There's more than just the disability. Do you look at
someone that's a stable than you think all their biggest
problems are all medical.
Speaker 2 (13:27):
Far from it. That's just.
Speaker 1 (13:30):
An amendment in the story, that's just a footnote. We
still show every day with mental illness, depression, anxiety, heartbreak
hurting other people because we really can.
Speaker 2 (13:44):
We can hurt people.
Speaker 1 (13:45):
I have, and I brend a lot of bridges because
of my attitude and all that. And when I've been
hospitalized many times in my life and developed a lot
of PTSD from more than one, at least two or three,
two or three for sure near death experiences. Wow, and
(14:09):
I've developed a lot of like suppressed PTSD. I'm acknowledging
in therapy except but like people kind of forget that
in a way, I'm not trying to compare myself to
a soldier or anything. It's kind of like when a
soldier comes home from active duty and all the confusion
(14:35):
on existentialism and what am I living for? And just
like you go through these horrible near death experiences like
with mine. One in particular I talk about this and
my TEDx talk is that I suffocated to death that
have been more than once, but in different ways.
Speaker 2 (14:58):
Where I would slowly lose.
Speaker 1 (14:59):
My breathing ability in the course of five minutes. And
how much that terrorizes your brain because your your body
is suddenly in critical at all panic mode and you
just all of a sudden, you just kind of pass
(15:20):
out or blackout, however you want to define it. And then,
like I said in the talk, you don't. Dying is
like falling asleep. You don't realize it until you wake up,
until you're you're conscious again, realize what happened. People are
telling you, Oh, like, we found you with your eyes open,
but nothing was there. So and then you go home
(15:40):
and everything.
Speaker 2 (15:41):
That's fine. But now I'm okay. It's so strange because
just a Tuesday.
Speaker 1 (15:50):
Yeah, it's happening to me multiple times for different pulmonary reasons.
Speaker 4 (15:56):
And you talk about the therapist that walked in.
Speaker 1 (16:00):
Yeah, at one time, this is four years ago. All
of a sudden, something went wrong with by body. I
don't really know what it was. I have to go
back and look, but I was having some kind of
pulmonary and respiratory arrest episode or sorry, respiratory distress episode.
(16:23):
We're in Within five minutes, I was losing my ability
to breathe. I had no means of communication. This is
during COVID, so the door had to be shut for
all patients because I was a potential COVID patient on
top of the other problems I was having.
Speaker 2 (16:39):
Yet Yeah, so and I had.
Speaker 1 (16:43):
The iPad they were using to communicate with me. Died
and my whole life was out of reach. So I
was completely cut off and alone, and I was just
dying right there and I was gone. But suddenly I
didn't know this yet. I was unconscious. My respiratory therapist
(17:03):
walks in because she decided to skip her lunch for
that time. She's like, you know what, I'm going to
get Jordan's appointment over with for the day. And she
found me, and then I woke up and they told me.
I was like what, I wasn't even morning. I was
just like, are you freaking kidding me?
Speaker 2 (17:23):
Right?
Speaker 1 (17:23):
Yeah, I was so strange, Like I just got revived
and I just snapped back into it. It's like when
you recharge your vallery and just resettle. I got rebooted
in that instant. I even like had time to think
for the reason.
Speaker 4 (17:38):
Shut down and restart your system.
Speaker 1 (17:41):
Yeah, So it took me so long to actually have
a grieving process, and mentally that does invests me up
so much. In twenty it was only twenty fifteen, twenty twenty,
twenty twenty two, so at least three episodes where that
really ingrained into me, the severe PTSD that I just
(18:05):
never really had time to process when I was there,
because you just you just go home.
Speaker 2 (18:11):
When you're better. And then.
Speaker 1 (18:14):
I cannot even tell you the severe depression subconsciously that
was finally coming out where I just wanted to sleep
all day because that's what I was used to at
that point during the recovery process of being at home,
I just wanted to go to sleep and not wake up,
(18:35):
because again that's what I was kind of used to now,
And in a way I was thinking, like, you know,
dying is not that bad. I just to sleep, I'd
be fine.
Speaker 4 (18:47):
You're not done on this realm yet, Jordan.
Speaker 2 (18:49):
No, I'm not.
Speaker 1 (18:50):
And finally I just broke three of that after a
while recovering, and I'm better now. But the grace of God,
it really was a time of solitude, a time of healing,
and a time of not just grieving, but just my
whole body and mind just kind of reset. It took
(19:12):
a long time because I was like, for a year
or so, I was like lashing out with my friends.
I was having attitude. All of this thing. All these
things are coming from untreated PTSD. And in the medical sense,
because PTSD, we think it's strictly for the cognation is
(19:35):
that or the connotation is that, oh, it's strictly military soldiers, right, which.
Speaker 2 (19:41):
Is very true that it needs to be treated. That's
a whole other story.
Speaker 1 (19:47):
It can happen to anybody, that's yeah, any kind of
post trauma, and I've had it for other reasons too,
but I never really addressed all of my trauma, whether
it was my child could and or die or the
dying episodes, all of that just kind of messed together.
(20:08):
That's over twenty five years of untreated, a suppressed PTSD
that I never really thought about until well late into
my twenties. So it was like something that kind of
blew up all at once and finally got God, finally
(20:30):
got my attention. I thought I had it for throughout
my teams and twenties, but I had to be hit
a wall.
Speaker 2 (20:38):
Right, You're good.
Speaker 4 (20:39):
That's true for so many because the acceptance part and
how to go forward, and you know, dealing with hurting
friends or like you said in your TEDx, I'm no angel,
I'm you.
Speaker 2 (20:53):
That was so.
Speaker 4 (20:54):
Powerful, Jordan, super powerful. I love your ted X and
the bits of humor that you added in, and I
know that you do a lot more speaking. I want
people to know they can hire you to speak online
in person and help other people get to the point
where you're at. I do want you to share your
one pickup line that you shared in your talk if
(21:14):
you would.
Speaker 1 (21:16):
Yeah, going to the bar and asking young women if
they are wheelchair accessible.
Speaker 4 (21:25):
You even talk about it, and don't forget you get
to cut line with me.
Speaker 2 (21:30):
Ye.
Speaker 1 (21:31):
Come my sister years ago, I had this really gorgeous
bus friend. It was like a college bus friend. And
my sister said that I couldn't ask her out. She said, yeah,
I had to get in line and I told her
that wheal chair people can skip lines.
Speaker 2 (21:50):
There was really good. I thought that was clever.
Speaker 4 (21:53):
That's clever. You know you're clever.
Speaker 2 (21:56):
Nothing happen untunately.
Speaker 4 (21:58):
Make your merch skip line with me. You know that's great. Well,
tell people about where they can find your coaching services.
Jordan River coaching.
Speaker 1 (22:11):
Right, yeah, Jordan River of life coaching and speaking. Other
than that, you can look me up on all the
socials all right under Jordan Trader or Jordan River, it
doesn't matter. And whether it's Facebook X, Instagram. I do
a lot of tiktoking.
Speaker 2 (22:32):
On there.
Speaker 1 (22:32):
You can follow me on there with my short tiktoks
and my website is almost done. But that's gonna be
Jordan Trader dot com very nice. Other than just to
keep it simple, just look up Join Trader on all
the socials.
Speaker 4 (22:49):
Yes, different, yeah s C H R O E T
E R.
Speaker 2 (22:56):
Trader correct. Yep. I'm always available and.
Speaker 4 (23:01):
I think it's just really wonderful You've got these different
quotes I was looking at. I focus on what I
can and stop focusing on the cannot. So yes, if
you want somebody that can come and talk to your
group and let them know that how to go forward
(23:22):
and move forward and find the strength and affirmations and acceptance,
I think Jordan's the one for you. And especially because
you're always going to throw in some comedy in there
and you're open to questions. So you are unique and
I am so thrilled that you've been on my show.
Can't let you go until I ask you to share
(23:43):
a dare or a prank story one you've done or
had done to you.
Speaker 1 (23:48):
All right, sorry, this is kind of us me and
two other guys on to high school with this is
like maybe fourteen years ago. We were out and about
just bumming around town teenagers do that night in the summer,
and we decided to do something dang don ditching, which
(24:09):
doesn't make sense when you went a power wheelchair, but
I wanted to always try it. So my my hid
behind this car parked in front of this person's house.
I was still sticking out like an idiot. But when
of my buddies went up there, rang the doorbell and
we floored it as fast as we could, and I
(24:32):
tried to go fast. I was going maybe five and
a half miles an hour, which isn't much, but it's
like a little job. And I was like, again, this
makes sense. So we rang the doorbell. We're running or
go outside. We thought we made it by going to
the end of the street around the corner. Well we
were caught anyway, because all of a sudden, this dude pulls
up to us on this bicycle thing. I think that's funny. Huh,
(24:55):
you go think that's really funny. And it turned out
it was a cop. Oh yeah, reaccently dingd ditch the
cop and he was, okay, you let it go. He
was more more so upset because he just had the
little kids put down to bed, right, so he looked
(25:16):
at me and everything and he just let it go.
And it was so stupid it was fun.
Speaker 4 (25:23):
Yes, stupid can equal fun and no harm, you know,
but that is hilarious. Not only did you ding dong
ditch in a pow wheelchair, it was an officer's home.
Speaker 2 (25:34):
Yep, exactly, that's what I get. It's going to be
a level once in a while.
Speaker 4 (25:40):
Exactly. Oh my gosh.
Speaker 1 (25:44):
I had a real pleasure just showing my story. And
there's so much more to share. So anyone that wants
to book me for your next event or with for
your venue. It can be your employees, it can be
your students, which is a big one. I let to
do your school, you do, the university, whatever you need.
(26:07):
I like to motivate people just to get off their
butt and go to get off your butt.
Speaker 4 (26:16):
If you need to get off your butt, give Jordan
a call because he will help you do it.
Speaker 2 (26:21):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (26:22):
I motivate all kinds of curbs and I help with
weddings as well, in MC weddings. I do all kinds
of things, but yeah, mostly a motivational speaker, and I
go to churches as well, churches, schools, universities and corporations
and workplaces.
Speaker 4 (26:40):
Absolutely, you're a fit. You're a fit, all right. So
they will look you up on the socials. It has
been my honor to have you on the show, Jordan Schrader,
and remember we can only be strangers once, and I
invite you to stay weird.
Speaker 2 (26:55):
Absolutely. I love that. Thank you so much for having me.
Speaker 3 (26:59):
This is Stranger Connections with Lisa David Oleson
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