WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:03.080 Welcome to Milestone Moments, the show where 00:00:03.080 --> 00:00:05.960 we explore the journeys that lead to success. 00:00:06.599 --> 00:00:10.199 I'm Sheila Slick, your host and founder of Five 00:00:10.199 --> 00:00:13.859 Milestones. In every episode, we will bring you 00:00:13.859 --> 00:00:17.100 insights from the minds of entrepreneurs, leaders 00:00:17.100 --> 00:00:20.800 and experts who will share not just their expertise, 00:00:20.879 --> 00:00:24.120 but the milestone moments that have reshaped 00:00:24.120 --> 00:00:27.059 their journeys and led to significant achievements. 00:00:27.960 --> 00:00:30.379 So if you're looking for motivation, you're in 00:00:30.379 --> 00:00:33.560 the right place. Subscribe now and discover the 00:00:33.560 --> 00:00:40.759 milestones that mark the path to success. Welcome 00:00:40.759 --> 00:00:44.259 to another episode of Milestone Moments in Business 00:00:44.259 --> 00:00:46.960 and Leadership. I'm Sheila Slick, your host, 00:00:47.140 --> 00:00:51.100 and today I have a very special guest, Brian 00:00:51.100 --> 00:00:55.950 Swift. He is known as the Quad Father. He is 00:00:55.950 --> 00:00:59.670 a testament to living his own life with no excuses. 00:01:00.049 --> 00:01:04.810 He was born walking on two feet, and at the age 00:01:04.810 --> 00:01:09.549 of 17, it was taken away due to a tragic accident. 00:01:09.930 --> 00:01:13.609 Through trial and error, pain and joy, he walks 00:01:13.609 --> 00:01:16.450 differently today. He walks with confidence, 00:01:16.750 --> 00:01:20.129 grit, compassion, and the understanding that 00:01:20.129 --> 00:01:25.500 life has a more powerful path. for him. He is 00:01:25.500 --> 00:01:29.859 also the author of eight books. He runs a 501c3 00:01:29.859 --> 00:01:33.819 nonprofit and he is host of a podcast and radio 00:01:33.819 --> 00:01:37.719 show. But most importantly, he is a coach and 00:01:37.719 --> 00:01:40.819 a facilitator of excellence, no matter what your 00:01:40.819 --> 00:01:44.700 situation or your circumstance is. Welcome to 00:01:44.700 --> 00:01:47.859 the show, Brian. Sheila, thank you for those 00:01:47.859 --> 00:01:50.680 kind words. I'm excited and honored to be on 00:01:50.680 --> 00:01:55.420 your podcast. Well, and I'm inspired. Like we 00:01:55.420 --> 00:01:58.040 mentioned before, we hopped on and started recording 00:01:58.040 --> 00:02:01.319 the podcast, just, you know, visiting your website, 00:02:01.420 --> 00:02:04.480 learning about your journey and seeing all of 00:02:04.480 --> 00:02:08.199 these books. You're quite inspirational. My hairs. 00:02:08.379 --> 00:02:13.159 Thank you. Thank you. So let's begin. I did read 00:02:13.159 --> 00:02:15.539 it was a football. Gosh, as a mom, this is so 00:02:15.539 --> 00:02:20.120 hard, right? At the age of 17, your life took 00:02:20.120 --> 00:02:24.719 a turn. A little bit. A little bit. So it was 00:02:24.719 --> 00:02:29.819 the day after Christmas in 1979. And I played 00:02:29.819 --> 00:02:32.039 everything. I played football and basketball 00:02:32.039 --> 00:02:35.800 and baseball. I was meeting about a dozen friends 00:02:35.800 --> 00:02:37.800 at the park to play, you know, like a Christmas 00:02:37.800 --> 00:02:40.280 football game. I happened to just be running 00:02:40.280 --> 00:02:43.139 with the football. Somebody tackled me from behind. 00:02:43.819 --> 00:02:45.740 Here's the weird thing. I didn't land on my head. 00:02:45.800 --> 00:02:48.340 I didn't get hit hard. A bunch, it was a group 00:02:48.340 --> 00:02:51.099 of people just falling to the ground. nobody 00:02:51.099 --> 00:02:54.860 landed on me. Nobody, it wasn't anything traumatic, 00:02:54.900 --> 00:02:57.979 but that would be the last time I got up. Even 00:02:57.979 --> 00:03:01.580 the doctors were like, man, you know, it's puzzling 00:03:01.580 --> 00:03:04.840 because usually some of this doesn't happen in 00:03:04.840 --> 00:03:07.300 those circumstances. Why it happened, I don't 00:03:07.300 --> 00:03:10.319 know. I never really thought, believe it or not, 00:03:10.340 --> 00:03:13.500 my, you know, I was so blessed and my mom was 00:03:13.500 --> 00:03:18.319 very faith and is faith driven with like, we 00:03:18.319 --> 00:03:21.090 don't know why things happen. You've just got 00:03:21.090 --> 00:03:24.270 to keep moving forward. And I never worried about 00:03:24.270 --> 00:03:26.349 the why, because that doesn't solve anything. 00:03:26.729 --> 00:03:29.669 Why will never take anything, make my life better 00:03:29.669 --> 00:03:32.449 if I find out the why, which most of us don't 00:03:32.449 --> 00:03:35.169 find out the why things happen. So I learned 00:03:35.169 --> 00:03:38.449 how to move on and just let it be. This is the 00:03:38.449 --> 00:03:40.830 way it was going to be. Now, how good could I 00:03:40.830 --> 00:03:49.030 make it? So that's how it all started. I'm just 00:03:49.030 --> 00:03:51.789 taking it in because, like I said, as a mom and 00:03:51.789 --> 00:03:53.990 my husband, you know, has been a football player. 00:03:54.090 --> 00:03:56.449 He was a football player his entire high school. 00:03:56.509 --> 00:04:00.669 My son was in the team. And, you know, with a 00:04:00.669 --> 00:04:03.569 sport like football, there's so much positive, 00:04:03.750 --> 00:04:09.330 right? You have the coach. It offers great life 00:04:09.330 --> 00:04:12.270 lessons. Life lessons you don't learn in a classroom. 00:04:12.490 --> 00:04:14.509 Life lessons you don't learn a lot of places. 00:04:14.810 --> 00:04:18.519 You learn so much. Whether it be, I don't care 00:04:18.519 --> 00:04:20.819 if it's on a basketball court, a baseball field, 00:04:20.959 --> 00:04:23.120 a football field, track and field, swimming. 00:04:23.339 --> 00:04:26.560 You learn things about yourself that you don't 00:04:26.560 --> 00:04:30.139 learn in school. And it's such, same thing. I'm 00:04:30.139 --> 00:04:33.459 a father and I have two boys and a girl. And 00:04:33.459 --> 00:04:36.120 it came that time they wanted to play football. 00:04:36.379 --> 00:04:39.420 That was a toughie. But you know what? I put 00:04:39.420 --> 00:04:41.899 my faith in the good Lord's hands and said, you 00:04:41.899 --> 00:04:45.160 know what? If somebody's going to get hurt, they're 00:04:45.160 --> 00:04:48.240 going to get hurt riding a bike. on a skateboard, 00:04:48.680 --> 00:04:52.459 doing something silly. It's kind of out of our 00:04:52.459 --> 00:04:54.579 control. I wasn't doing anything wrong, anything 00:04:54.579 --> 00:04:57.959 silly when it happened. I put my faith in the 00:04:57.959 --> 00:05:00.500 good Lord's hands and my sons all played through 00:05:00.500 --> 00:05:03.660 grammar school and high school and never had 00:05:03.660 --> 00:05:07.899 anything serious. Well, that's a very strong 00:05:07.899 --> 00:05:10.779 mindset, right? Because you're having to overcome 00:05:10.779 --> 00:05:14.740 that. Oh, yeah. You know, I don't know, maybe 00:05:14.740 --> 00:05:19.899 have that fear. Absolutely. So you're a very 00:05:19.899 --> 00:05:24.779 strong man. And at the age of 17, how do you 00:05:24.779 --> 00:05:29.620 cope with that? How do you move forward when 00:05:29.620 --> 00:05:31.980 something like that happens? And I haven't gotten 00:05:31.980 --> 00:05:34.319 into your present age, right? I'm still just 00:05:34.319 --> 00:05:40.360 thinking of a 17 -year -old. Yeah. I have great 00:05:40.360 --> 00:05:43.600 friends and family, and I have very old -school 00:05:43.600 --> 00:05:48.620 parents. And my dad was tough love. And it was 00:05:48.620 --> 00:05:50.680 like, you're not going to leave the, you know, 00:05:50.680 --> 00:05:54.079 so I, so I got my neck fused and spent a week 00:05:54.079 --> 00:05:55.980 in the hospital going through an operation and 00:05:55.980 --> 00:05:58.339 had the halo put on. And then I went to what 00:05:58.339 --> 00:06:00.980 is now the Shirley Ryan ability lab, which is 00:06:00.980 --> 00:06:04.220 back then was called RIC Rehabilitation Institute 00:06:04.220 --> 00:06:07.019 of Chicago, which is one of the top spinal cord 00:06:07.019 --> 00:06:10.399 injury rehabilitation facilities in the country, 00:06:10.480 --> 00:06:14.079 along with a handful of other ones. And in 1979, 00:06:14.680 --> 00:06:19.899 my life, based on their statistics, read like 00:06:19.899 --> 00:06:23.120 Stephen King novel. Like, oh, it's 1979, you're 00:06:23.120 --> 00:06:25.939 a quad. Don't forget, 79, we didn't have social 00:06:25.939 --> 00:06:28.579 media. We didn't have computers. We didn't have, 00:06:28.740 --> 00:06:31.819 it was like, this is, they, you know, they basically 00:06:31.819 --> 00:06:34.139 opened a book and said, yeah, okay, you're a 00:06:34.139 --> 00:06:36.439 C6. You, you know, you probably won't be able 00:06:36.439 --> 00:06:38.750 to drive. you know, going to school back then. 00:06:38.790 --> 00:06:41.290 There was no online. There was, I mean, my life 00:06:41.290 --> 00:06:43.029 was like, you're not, you know, this is what 00:06:43.029 --> 00:06:46.269 usually happens. You know, you try to get an 00:06:46.269 --> 00:06:48.670 education, but that, you know, try to do this, 00:06:48.689 --> 00:06:51.110 but this is the chance to try to. And I had this 00:06:51.110 --> 00:06:53.310 list of like the way my life was going to be. 00:06:53.389 --> 00:06:56.470 And internally, my dad said, no, it's not going 00:06:56.470 --> 00:06:59.769 to be that way. And he lived that with like, 00:06:59.870 --> 00:07:01.709 well, we got to get you measured for an electric 00:07:01.709 --> 00:07:04.290 wheelchair. No, he's not going in an electric 00:07:04.290 --> 00:07:06.600 wheelchair. He's going to push himself. You know, 00:07:06.639 --> 00:07:08.680 I mean, I think they were realistic with, you 00:07:08.680 --> 00:07:11.060 know, I'd love for my, I'm sure he'd love for 00:07:11.060 --> 00:07:14.079 me to walk out, but it's like, no, I'm not bringing 00:07:14.079 --> 00:07:15.980 an electric wheelchair home. So learn to push 00:07:15.980 --> 00:07:20.339 it. And, you know, my mom was 100 % like, just 00:07:20.339 --> 00:07:23.699 keep looking forward for, don't worry about the 00:07:23.699 --> 00:07:25.800 statistics. Don't worry about what people say. 00:07:25.980 --> 00:07:31.519 Your life will be as great as you could dream 00:07:31.519 --> 00:07:35.750 it to be even from a wheelchair. And I. followed 00:07:35.750 --> 00:07:40.930 that. And it has. If we move forward, right, 00:07:41.050 --> 00:07:43.529 look at everything you've accomplished. You're 00:07:43.529 --> 00:07:47.209 married. You've had children who are now adults. 00:07:47.550 --> 00:07:50.110 You are making a difference, which I want to 00:07:50.110 --> 00:07:53.829 learn more about your books. And then the pivotal 00:07:53.829 --> 00:07:57.930 moment that you chose to make a difference and 00:07:57.930 --> 00:08:00.629 to start this nonprofit. So tell us a little 00:08:00.629 --> 00:08:04.379 bit about both. Sure. You know what? There is 00:08:04.379 --> 00:08:08.540 no one moment. It is a lot of little decisions. 00:08:09.060 --> 00:08:12.019 We've all been granted the ability to make choices. 00:08:12.079 --> 00:08:14.120 And it's probably one of the biggest gifts we've 00:08:14.120 --> 00:08:19.720 been given is the ability to choose. And I was 00:08:19.720 --> 00:08:23.240 just blessed with the guidance of my parents 00:08:23.240 --> 00:08:26.899 and my friends to choose to not to be a victim, 00:08:27.000 --> 00:08:31.970 to choose not to worry about statistics. to choose 00:08:31.970 --> 00:08:35.529 not to be what my life said it was supposed to 00:08:35.529 --> 00:08:40.730 be in a historical statistical book. And I mean, 00:08:40.750 --> 00:08:44.649 just to give you an idea, after four months, 00:08:44.710 --> 00:08:47.610 I got out of the rehab on a Friday. I went back 00:08:47.610 --> 00:08:51.070 to school on Monday, being picked up by a bus 00:08:51.070 --> 00:08:54.370 back to high school so I could finish my high 00:08:54.370 --> 00:08:58.720 school year and graduate. There was no waiting 00:08:58.720 --> 00:09:01.120 around. There was no time to feel bad. There 00:09:01.120 --> 00:09:04.379 was no time for, you know, woe is me. My parents 00:09:04.379 --> 00:09:07.299 just wouldn't allow that. There was no sitting 00:09:07.299 --> 00:09:09.940 in my bedroom. You know, there was no sitting 00:09:09.940 --> 00:09:12.320 around. If you were sitting around as a kid, 00:09:12.360 --> 00:09:15.700 you were put to work. So you stayed busy. So 00:09:15.700 --> 00:09:18.340 even in the wheelchair, it was like, you know, 00:09:18.340 --> 00:09:20.840 I just didn't stay in my bedroom. I didn't pout. 00:09:21.019 --> 00:09:22.860 I didn't, my friends, you know, a lot of people 00:09:22.860 --> 00:09:27.250 lose their support because they don't. They become 00:09:27.250 --> 00:09:30.769 victims. And it is a horrible thing that happens. 00:09:31.570 --> 00:09:35.669 But I didn't drive people away. I brought people 00:09:35.669 --> 00:09:39.830 in. I shared my life. I shared the fact that 00:09:39.830 --> 00:09:44.909 I wore a leg bag, that there were things that, 00:09:44.929 --> 00:09:47.470 yes, I'm in a wheelchair. My friends folded it 00:09:47.470 --> 00:09:49.690 up, threw it in the trunk, picked me up, threw 00:09:49.690 --> 00:09:52.389 me in the car. We did things. So it was just 00:09:52.389 --> 00:09:54.750 allowing yourself to be vulnerable and realizing. 00:09:55.389 --> 00:10:00.049 There is no one moment that all the great and 00:10:00.049 --> 00:10:02.070 beautiful things that have happened to me is 00:10:02.070 --> 00:10:03.990 not based on one decision. It's a lot of little 00:10:03.990 --> 00:10:10.009 decisions. They stack up. So what about the first 00:10:10.009 --> 00:10:17.830 book? So, you know, I spent 20 plus years working 00:10:17.830 --> 00:10:21.450 in. So I went to junior college, graduated in 00:10:21.450 --> 00:10:24.049 two years, went up, went to St. Xavier University. 00:10:24.889 --> 00:10:27.909 while living at home, which I chose to do instead 00:10:27.909 --> 00:10:30.350 of going away because I could continue therapy, 00:10:30.429 --> 00:10:32.570 continue to do things that would make my life 00:10:32.570 --> 00:10:35.769 better, have the support at home. Maybe I was 00:10:35.769 --> 00:10:39.610 less independent, but I saw the picture down 00:10:39.610 --> 00:10:42.190 the line and I knew I could accomplish more by 00:10:42.190 --> 00:10:45.090 staying at home and not trying to run away from 00:10:45.090 --> 00:10:48.309 it and be all independent. So yes, I had some 00:10:48.309 --> 00:10:50.570 support at home, but then I graduated from St. 00:10:50.809 --> 00:10:53.889 Xavier's two years later. And I had this little 00:10:53.889 --> 00:10:57.110 old nun that was the head of the criminal justice 00:10:57.110 --> 00:10:58.389 department. It's like, what are you going to 00:10:58.389 --> 00:11:00.470 do when you graduate? And I was like, you know, 00:11:00.490 --> 00:11:02.570 Sister Dennis, that's a good question. She's 00:11:02.570 --> 00:11:04.070 like, you're going to law school. And I'm like, 00:11:04.110 --> 00:11:07.330 no, I'm like, I'm not that smart. I mean, I'm 00:11:07.330 --> 00:11:09.990 first generation college. I was probably going 00:11:09.990 --> 00:11:12.750 to go to the trades and make a great living in 00:11:12.750 --> 00:11:14.129 the trades. Well, that wasn't going to happen. 00:11:14.470 --> 00:11:16.149 She's like, no, you're going to law school. Well, 00:11:16.210 --> 00:11:18.870 you know, you don't tell a nun no. I went to 00:11:18.870 --> 00:11:22.059 parochial schools. There's no debating. or talking 00:11:22.059 --> 00:11:24.899 to nuns in high school, like Christian Brothers 00:11:24.899 --> 00:11:27.539 of Ireland, that ruled the high school I went 00:11:27.539 --> 00:11:30.039 to. So she's like, meet me after school. Yes, 00:11:30.080 --> 00:11:31.919 Sister Dennis, and we're going to talk. Well, 00:11:32.039 --> 00:11:34.539 the talk wasn't a talk. The talk was her telling 00:11:34.539 --> 00:11:37.279 me that, no, I'm going to sign you up for the 00:11:37.279 --> 00:11:40.139 LSAT. You'll get a study guide, and you're going 00:11:40.139 --> 00:11:42.159 to law school. You know, I come home, and I'm 00:11:42.159 --> 00:11:43.820 like, this nun thinks I'm going to go to law 00:11:43.820 --> 00:11:45.620 school. I mean, when I told my friends, they 00:11:45.620 --> 00:11:48.200 laughed. My parents were kind of like, you know, 00:11:48.200 --> 00:11:50.409 whatever. Well, you know what? I ended up in 00:11:50.409 --> 00:11:52.789 law school and three and a half years later, 00:11:52.830 --> 00:11:55.470 I graduated from law school. And I worked in 00:11:55.470 --> 00:11:57.649 the law field for a little bit, a year or so, 00:11:57.690 --> 00:12:02.570 and something drove, it just wasn't for me. So 00:12:02.570 --> 00:12:05.389 I went into corporate sales and training and 00:12:05.389 --> 00:12:08.590 I spent 20 plus years having an awesome career. 00:12:08.909 --> 00:12:11.809 Up at five, out of the house at six, to work 00:12:11.809 --> 00:12:15.850 by seven, worked till probably five, came home. 00:12:16.299 --> 00:12:18.980 and i started my life you know in between all 00:12:18.980 --> 00:12:20.940 that i was playing wheelchair sports because 00:12:20.940 --> 00:12:24.960 i missed that competing so i played quad rugby 00:12:24.960 --> 00:12:28.179 i swam i did track and field you know i just 00:12:28.179 --> 00:12:33.340 i moved forward with life i still dated um and 00:12:33.340 --> 00:12:39.960 after about 20 years i felt there was something 00:12:39.960 --> 00:12:43.220 more for me out there i had been very successful 00:12:43.220 --> 00:12:46.600 in corporate I worked on 210 North Michigan on 00:12:46.600 --> 00:12:51.700 the 27th floor. I had a corner office. But it 00:12:51.700 --> 00:12:54.720 just wasn't fulfilling. And I left corporate 00:12:54.720 --> 00:12:59.000 with five things I wanted to accomplish. First 00:12:59.000 --> 00:13:01.659 one was spend more time with my family. Second 00:13:01.659 --> 00:13:04.799 one was get more health. My health was diminishing, 00:13:04.799 --> 00:13:08.820 battling the long hours, the driving. So it was 00:13:08.820 --> 00:13:10.980 spend more time with my family, get my health 00:13:10.980 --> 00:13:15.200 back. I wanted to become a professional or more 00:13:15.200 --> 00:13:21.840 of a certified coach and speaker because I was 00:13:21.840 --> 00:13:24.740 always speaking in groups, speaking at conferences. 00:13:25.120 --> 00:13:29.440 So that was the third thing. I wanted to write 00:13:29.440 --> 00:13:32.220 a book, one book, and I wanted to start a nonprofit. 00:13:32.879 --> 00:13:39.179 And within two years, I had gotten my health 00:13:39.179 --> 00:13:42.509 back, spent tons of time. over the next 10 years 00:13:42.509 --> 00:13:48.490 with my parents and my family, became certified 00:13:48.490 --> 00:13:51.710 John Maxwell coach and speaker, wrote my first 00:13:51.710 --> 00:13:53.929 book called Up, Getting Up is the Key to Life. 00:13:54.029 --> 00:13:57.629 And we started a nonprofit, a 501c3 nonprofit 00:13:57.629 --> 00:14:01.470 called Swift Outdoor Accessible Recreation. So 00:14:01.470 --> 00:14:04.830 first book, it is a bit of an autobiography of 00:14:04.830 --> 00:14:07.929 my story. And there's a lot in there that would 00:14:07.929 --> 00:14:12.309 take us too long to go through. working with 00:14:12.309 --> 00:14:14.070 corporate and the way they viewed people with 00:14:14.070 --> 00:14:18.889 disabilities, going through infertility, a lot 00:14:18.889 --> 00:14:22.029 of trials and tribulations out there. You know, 00:14:22.029 --> 00:14:26.830 so my book was kind of a, I'm sharing this not 00:14:26.830 --> 00:14:29.509 to shine the light on me, but to open your eyes 00:14:29.509 --> 00:14:31.830 and shine light on you that my life was supposed 00:14:31.830 --> 00:14:36.730 to be this, but I chose for it to be something 00:14:36.730 --> 00:14:40.200 different. I got married. I mean, I've been married 00:14:40.200 --> 00:14:43.620 35 years. How many people are married 35 years 00:14:43.620 --> 00:14:47.620 without or with a disability? We've adopted three 00:14:47.620 --> 00:14:51.360 kids. And I don't say that because I don't say 00:14:51.360 --> 00:14:53.379 I've got three adopted kids. I've got three kids 00:14:53.379 --> 00:14:57.220 that we adopted as babies that I could not be 00:14:57.220 --> 00:15:00.320 any more proud of and blessed to have. And we've 00:15:00.320 --> 00:15:02.299 been through a lot of trials and tribulations. 00:15:02.980 --> 00:15:08.639 But through our faith and communication and understanding, 00:15:10.300 --> 00:15:13.840 We've made it work and I've been blessed to do 00:15:13.840 --> 00:15:19.139 the things I do. And inspiring many and helping 00:15:19.139 --> 00:15:23.659 many, including you do coaching and you do leadership 00:15:23.659 --> 00:15:27.139 coaching. Tell us a little bit about what the 00:15:27.139 --> 00:15:30.919 nonprofit does. So it's called SOAR. That's the 00:15:30.919 --> 00:15:32.919 acronym, Swift Outdoor Accessible Recreation. 00:15:33.460 --> 00:15:38.830 Part of what helped me deal with my injury. and 00:15:38.830 --> 00:15:41.009 life was getting back out doing the things I 00:15:41.009 --> 00:15:45.409 loved, which was fishing, hunting, going on long 00:15:45.409 --> 00:15:48.149 rides, which now I couldn't get on a bike. But 00:15:48.149 --> 00:15:50.649 I could push the wheelchair, and I got to a point 00:15:50.649 --> 00:15:54.190 where I could do 5K marathons. I could do 5K, 00:15:54.230 --> 00:15:58.649 10K marathons. Getting out with the kids, and 00:15:58.649 --> 00:16:01.250 I got into coaching then, coaching football, 00:16:01.529 --> 00:16:05.029 coaching basketball. I loved athletics still. 00:16:07.909 --> 00:16:14.350 That I so believe healing happens outside. You've 00:16:14.350 --> 00:16:16.990 got to get back out doing the things you love. 00:16:17.450 --> 00:16:20.490 Being near Mother Nature, you know, there's a 00:16:20.490 --> 00:16:23.289 process called grounding, or some people look 00:16:23.289 --> 00:16:28.009 at it as earthing. I swear by it. I am the happiest. 00:16:28.210 --> 00:16:32.029 Before I started this, I was outside. I was outside 00:16:32.029 --> 00:16:34.129 with a book, reading in the sun. It's only like 00:16:34.129 --> 00:16:38.379 55 degrees, but... For me, one sweatshirt, but 00:16:38.379 --> 00:16:41.559 the sun's out. And you know what? I come in charged 00:16:41.559 --> 00:16:47.419 up. And insurance doesn't pay for a lot of things 00:16:47.419 --> 00:16:49.480 that people need to go back and do the things 00:16:49.480 --> 00:16:52.379 they love. And that's where SOAR comes in. So 00:16:52.379 --> 00:16:55.159 we provide things like therapeutic trikes for 00:16:55.159 --> 00:16:58.379 people who might have MS or CP or some other 00:16:58.379 --> 00:17:04.039 type of illness. We provide accessible ways to 00:17:04.039 --> 00:17:06.859 fish. accessible ways to hunt with equipment. 00:17:07.079 --> 00:17:09.539 None of this equipment is paid for by insurance. 00:17:09.920 --> 00:17:12.259 We'll buy hand controls so somebody could drive 00:17:12.259 --> 00:17:16.039 a car or a van and help them get their car or 00:17:16.039 --> 00:17:19.920 van set up so they can get mobile again. It's 00:17:19.920 --> 00:17:23.880 not the equipment we provide. We provide hope. 00:17:24.119 --> 00:17:27.559 We provide freedom. We provide independence. 00:17:28.119 --> 00:17:32.160 We provide opportunity. That's what really matters. 00:17:34.859 --> 00:17:37.539 nine -year -old and we get them a therapeutic 00:17:37.539 --> 00:17:41.039 trike and they could go out riding for the first 00:17:41.039 --> 00:17:43.799 time with their two brothers and sisters. And 00:17:43.799 --> 00:17:45.759 you're sitting there and the parents have tears 00:17:45.759 --> 00:17:48.160 in their eyes knowing that this is the first 00:17:48.160 --> 00:17:50.900 time. I didn't affect that little girl. I affected 00:17:50.900 --> 00:17:53.980 a family. I affected the neighborhood, their 00:17:53.980 --> 00:17:56.700 friends. That's the difference. And you know 00:17:56.700 --> 00:18:00.359 what? I get that. That's selfish. I get that 00:18:00.359 --> 00:18:03.640 feel good. And that is like a shot of sunshine. 00:18:04.509 --> 00:18:09.329 And I'm blessed to be able to do that. So you 00:18:09.329 --> 00:18:12.690 provide that freedom. You provide movement, right? 00:18:12.849 --> 00:18:15.990 Because if someone is needing the equipment, 00:18:16.170 --> 00:18:19.269 you're giving them a lot more than the equipment. 00:18:19.390 --> 00:18:23.309 It's what comes with it. So, you know, when you're 00:18:23.309 --> 00:18:25.490 going to ride, you're going to take away the 00:18:25.490 --> 00:18:28.910 little wheels in your bicycle the first time. 00:18:29.150 --> 00:18:31.849 You're fearful. When you get behind the wheel 00:18:31.849 --> 00:18:36.180 of a car, you're fearful. How do you help people 00:18:36.180 --> 00:18:41.000 overcome fear or how do you overcome fear? First 00:18:41.000 --> 00:18:46.359 of all, I do a lot of mentoring with these people 00:18:46.359 --> 00:18:49.500 and not just the people who are disabled. I do 00:18:49.500 --> 00:18:53.359 a lot of mentoring with mom and dad or husband 00:18:53.359 --> 00:18:56.700 or wife, able -bodied people. I do as much mentoring 00:18:56.700 --> 00:19:00.500 for as disabled people. First of all, 93 % of 00:19:00.500 --> 00:19:04.089 what we fear never happens. Just think of that. 00:19:04.130 --> 00:19:10.009 93 % of what we fear never happens. And only 00:19:10.009 --> 00:19:15.190 3 % of what we fear is as bad as what we fear. 00:19:15.549 --> 00:19:19.170 And it turns out as bad as what we think. So 00:19:19.170 --> 00:19:22.650 the bottom line is 97 % of anything we worry 00:19:22.650 --> 00:19:26.789 about either doesn't happen or happens at such 00:19:26.789 --> 00:19:30.789 a minimal, it's so minimal, it's not what we 00:19:30.789 --> 00:19:35.529 feared. And I help people. start to create perspective 00:19:35.529 --> 00:19:39.210 on what they're fearing. So what's the worst 00:19:39.210 --> 00:19:42.789 thing that happens? You fall off the bike. I 00:19:42.789 --> 00:19:45.190 mean, you fall off. If you were able -bodied, 00:19:45.250 --> 00:19:47.470 you would be falling off your bike. I guarantee 00:19:47.470 --> 00:19:50.789 it. Anybody who's ridden a bike has fallen off 00:19:50.789 --> 00:19:53.890 a bike. And I try to help create perspective. 00:19:54.190 --> 00:19:57.490 And then I get them thinking about what's in 00:19:57.490 --> 00:20:00.490 front of you, not what's behind you. You know, 00:20:00.509 --> 00:20:04.839 not about you. You are. So part of getting over 00:20:04.839 --> 00:20:08.220 your disability is just letting it be and not 00:20:08.220 --> 00:20:11.740 perseverating on it and just letting it be so 00:20:11.740 --> 00:20:17.460 you can concentrate on moving forward. So understanding 00:20:17.460 --> 00:20:20.140 statistics of fear, it doesn't probably help 00:20:20.140 --> 00:20:22.619 people a lot. Some people maybe that are very 00:20:22.619 --> 00:20:25.619 analytical, it helps. But getting them to focus 00:20:25.619 --> 00:20:28.440 on what do you want to do next? What do you want 00:20:28.440 --> 00:20:30.130 to do? You want to be able to get in the hot 00:20:30.130 --> 00:20:31.849 tub? You want to be able to scuba dive? You want 00:20:31.849 --> 00:20:35.150 to go back to work? You want to take class? What 00:20:35.150 --> 00:20:37.130 do you want to do? Get them to think forward. 00:20:37.549 --> 00:20:40.170 That's why the windshield is gigantic and the 00:20:40.170 --> 00:20:42.529 car in the rearview mirror is this big. What's 00:20:42.529 --> 00:20:46.930 behind us is so minimally important. It's what's 00:20:46.930 --> 00:20:51.829 in front of us that's possible. And I believe 00:20:51.829 --> 00:20:54.759 COVID had an effect on this. COVID stopped people 00:20:54.759 --> 00:20:57.460 from dreaming and believing in themselves and 00:20:57.460 --> 00:21:01.200 took away a lot of people's confidence. And I 00:21:01.200 --> 00:21:05.200 try to get people to dream again and think about 00:21:05.200 --> 00:21:07.039 what's in front of them because there's nothing 00:21:07.039 --> 00:21:11.440 you can't achieve. I mean, I may never walk again. 00:21:11.500 --> 00:21:13.440 I don't know. Maybe one day I will. I don't worry 00:21:13.440 --> 00:21:15.640 about that because I got like 10 things I got 00:21:15.640 --> 00:21:18.680 to focus on. You know, my next book, something 00:21:18.680 --> 00:21:21.420 with the kids, you know, celebrating something 00:21:21.420 --> 00:21:24.900 with the family. My plan is, you know, what are 00:21:24.900 --> 00:21:27.000 your hobbies? What do you like to do? You know, 00:21:27.019 --> 00:21:29.920 I do a lot of woodworking. What's your hobbies? 00:21:30.000 --> 00:21:31.359 What did you do before? Let's figure out how 00:21:31.359 --> 00:21:35.460 to do it again. So my other question when we 00:21:35.460 --> 00:21:38.099 were talking about the fear, and I thought, oh, 00:21:38.099 --> 00:21:42.160 he may even answer that. We also use the words, 00:21:42.180 --> 00:21:45.539 I can't, or we don't believe that we are able 00:21:45.539 --> 00:21:48.859 to do that to move forward, right? Because one 00:21:48.859 --> 00:21:51.539 thing is to say, look forward or move forward. 00:21:52.059 --> 00:21:55.299 But then we've got those limiting beliefs sometimes. 00:21:55.460 --> 00:21:58.380 How would you help someone overcome that limiting 00:21:58.380 --> 00:22:04.480 belief? So I talk quite a bit when I'm speaking, 00:22:04.660 --> 00:22:07.339 whether that be a keynote speech or somebody's 00:22:07.339 --> 00:22:10.480 asked me to talk to their sales team about self 00:22:10.480 --> 00:22:15.160 -limiting beliefs. Do you realize how many people 00:22:15.160 --> 00:22:18.119 never get started living their life because of 00:22:18.119 --> 00:22:21.430 fear? And it's all because, and now you could 00:22:21.430 --> 00:22:23.609 be a victim and say, you know what, I had a horrible 00:22:23.609 --> 00:22:25.329 childhood. Yeah, maybe you did, but that was 00:22:25.329 --> 00:22:28.490 your childhood. And yes, you know, your parents, 00:22:28.589 --> 00:22:31.410 you know, weren't able to give you the car you 00:22:31.410 --> 00:22:34.410 wanted, the big computer, a nice phone, whatever 00:22:34.410 --> 00:22:39.549 it is. So I start to plant stories and explain 00:22:39.549 --> 00:22:45.529 this. First of all, why do people who have been 00:22:45.529 --> 00:22:49.349 given everything, love, support? independence, 00:22:49.349 --> 00:22:53.190 financial wealth. They've got technology. Why 00:22:53.190 --> 00:22:55.190 do so many people who've been given it all fail? 00:22:56.470 --> 00:22:58.849 They begin every resource. They've got it all. 00:22:59.029 --> 00:23:01.109 They've got all the resources to succeed. Why 00:23:01.109 --> 00:23:04.630 don't they? Why is it the guy who doesn't have 00:23:04.630 --> 00:23:06.890 the love, doesn't have the support, doesn't have 00:23:06.890 --> 00:23:09.789 the money, doesn't have the technology? Why do 00:23:09.789 --> 00:23:12.809 those, so many of those people succeed? They 00:23:12.809 --> 00:23:16.150 don't have the resources. And I'm going to tell 00:23:16.150 --> 00:23:18.779 you. The best resource you could teach somebody 00:23:18.779 --> 00:23:21.839 to have is not to worry about the resources, 00:23:22.019 --> 00:23:27.500 but focus on being resourceful. If you are resourceful, 00:23:27.519 --> 00:23:32.759 you will succeed despite all of that. Now back, 00:23:33.000 --> 00:23:37.779 how does that kind of fit in? So I'll tell you 00:23:37.779 --> 00:23:40.920 and try this. Every time you have a self -limiting, 00:23:40.920 --> 00:23:43.000 get out a pad of paper. And every time you have 00:23:43.000 --> 00:23:46.009 a self -limiting belief, write it down. Do that 00:23:46.009 --> 00:23:51.849 for a week and just look at the bombardment of 00:23:51.849 --> 00:23:56.990 negativity we have. So back to statistics. How 00:23:56.990 --> 00:23:58.829 many thoughts do you think an average person 00:23:58.829 --> 00:24:03.609 has a day? 5 ,000? I'm throwing a number out 00:24:03.609 --> 00:24:08.369 there. I think it's more around 60 ,000 thoughts, 00:24:08.490 --> 00:24:12.089 believe it or not. A lot subconscious, a lot 00:24:12.089 --> 00:24:17.940 conscious. 85 % of those to 90 % of those thoughts 00:24:17.940 --> 00:24:23.819 are negative. If we are telling ourselves 45 00:24:23.819 --> 00:24:27.519 ,000 times subconsciously or consciously negative 00:24:27.519 --> 00:24:29.960 thoughts, no wonder any of us have the ability 00:24:29.960 --> 00:24:38.180 to even smile. Out of that 60 ,000%, 85 % of 00:24:38.180 --> 00:24:42.700 the repetitive thoughts are negative. That's 00:24:42.700 --> 00:24:45.829 horrible. Here's the good news. Our minds are 00:24:45.829 --> 00:24:49.349 malleable. Our minds, so I've studied neurolinguistics 00:24:49.349 --> 00:24:52.470 programming. Our minds are malleable. We can 00:24:52.470 --> 00:24:56.849 reshape the way we think. We can reshape what 00:24:56.849 --> 00:25:00.589 our life's, what you want it to be. And it starts 00:25:00.589 --> 00:25:03.809 with identifying the negative thoughts and writing 00:25:03.809 --> 00:25:07.089 them down. Do it for a week. And then you have 00:25:07.089 --> 00:25:09.390 to go back and, and this is part of what I do 00:25:09.390 --> 00:25:11.309 with coaching, you have to go back and revisit 00:25:11.309 --> 00:25:15.200 them. And then start changing words you use. 00:25:15.960 --> 00:25:17.779 So I had one person that was like, everything 00:25:17.779 --> 00:25:21.359 sucks. You know, this sucks, that sucks, that's, 00:25:21.420 --> 00:25:24.279 this sucks, my life sucks, work sucks. You know, 00:25:24.279 --> 00:25:27.400 I mean, everything was, it sucks. I said, you 00:25:27.400 --> 00:25:30.640 know, that's such a negative thought. Well, no, 00:25:30.740 --> 00:25:32.400 it's really not. I'm just kind of explaining 00:25:32.400 --> 00:25:35.200 the way it is. No, it's a negative thought. Replace 00:25:35.200 --> 00:25:39.619 that sucks with that's interesting. Because when 00:25:39.619 --> 00:25:42.160 you say something sucks, you've put an exclamation 00:25:42.160 --> 00:25:45.579 point and totally decided that it sucks and it 00:25:45.579 --> 00:25:47.900 will always suck. And that means your life sucks. 00:25:48.059 --> 00:25:51.900 When you say that's interesting instead of that 00:25:51.900 --> 00:25:57.380 sucks, you leave some room for interpretation 00:25:57.380 --> 00:26:01.319 and possibilities that it doesn't suck. It's 00:26:01.319 --> 00:26:06.319 a moment in time and that maybe it's not as bad 00:26:06.319 --> 00:26:08.880 as saying that sucks. And you're not putting 00:26:08.880 --> 00:26:10.839 an exclamation. You're leaving more of a question 00:26:10.839 --> 00:26:15.460 mark on it, which is less negative than that 00:26:15.460 --> 00:26:17.940 sock. So I start to help people replace words. 00:26:18.779 --> 00:26:20.859 Instead of using this, start to say this. And 00:26:20.859 --> 00:26:23.779 it's just a process over time. I didn't get this 00:26:23.779 --> 00:26:27.000 way in two years, three years, seven years. I've 00:26:27.000 --> 00:26:31.920 worked at it hard, hard, hard. You know, so that's 00:26:31.920 --> 00:26:34.680 the path that I start with helping people get 00:26:34.680 --> 00:26:38.359 rid of that limiting beliefs. that self -doubt 00:26:38.359 --> 00:26:42.119 that lack of confidence and we just build it's 00:26:42.119 --> 00:26:45.539 one step at a time but i help them reprogram 00:26:45.539 --> 00:26:49.559 their mind and help them move forward in a way 00:26:49.559 --> 00:26:53.220 better life is too short to get up and think 00:26:53.220 --> 00:26:57.259 it sucks every day so so who do you serve are 00:26:57.259 --> 00:27:00.099 they children are they adults what does that 00:27:00.099 --> 00:27:04.829 look like so from the source standpoint we will 00:27:04.829 --> 00:27:08.509 help anybody who is disabled get equipment. Children, 00:27:09.490 --> 00:27:13.069 vets, moms, dads, any age, anywhere in the USA. 00:27:13.589 --> 00:27:16.450 We have helped people get equipment and whatnot. 00:27:16.710 --> 00:27:21.170 In terms of who I help from a coaching standpoint, 00:27:21.549 --> 00:27:25.069 it's usually not children because they don't 00:27:25.069 --> 00:27:28.190 understand the concepts. It's usually, it could 00:27:28.190 --> 00:27:33.160 be the parents or the kids. It could be... And 00:27:33.160 --> 00:27:35.740 a lot of times it is the parents of kids who 00:27:35.740 --> 00:27:38.059 are going through it to help them understand 00:27:38.059 --> 00:27:44.779 the mindset and what's possible because they 00:27:44.779 --> 00:27:49.859 don't see it either. And I probably spend 40 00:27:49.859 --> 00:27:51.819 % of my time coaching people with no disabilities 00:27:51.819 --> 00:27:58.339 because my opinion is it's worse to be mentally 00:27:58.339 --> 00:28:02.549 disabled, to be mentally paralyzed. and physically 00:28:02.549 --> 00:28:06.809 paralyzed. And I help people able -bodied. I 00:28:06.809 --> 00:28:09.630 don't care if you're a president, vice president, 00:28:09.650 --> 00:28:12.430 all the way down to, you know, the janitor. I 00:28:12.430 --> 00:28:16.670 help them become mentally unparalyzed. So it 00:28:16.670 --> 00:28:18.809 sounds like you serve individuals. You're not 00:28:18.809 --> 00:28:21.769 after teams and corporations. You're serving 00:28:21.769 --> 00:28:24.829 individuals in different stages of life. Yes, 00:28:24.829 --> 00:28:28.150 but I do get asked to speak to teams. You know, 00:28:28.190 --> 00:28:30.690 I do get asked. to provide different perspectives 00:28:30.690 --> 00:28:36.809 to sales teams or um one of them was a they they 00:28:36.809 --> 00:28:39.009 they were a nurse a company that does private 00:28:39.009 --> 00:28:41.910 nursing and home health and they had four offices 00:28:41.910 --> 00:28:45.130 one in illinois indiana tennessee and whatever 00:28:45.130 --> 00:28:47.569 and all the executives and leaders were getting 00:28:47.569 --> 00:28:49.430 together and they asked me to come in and talk 00:28:49.430 --> 00:28:51.950 to them because it was just going through changes 00:28:51.950 --> 00:28:55.230 and there was so much negativity and people weren't 00:28:55.230 --> 00:28:59.089 seeing the light So I do, you know, if any of 00:28:59.089 --> 00:29:02.509 them individually wanted to talk to me, I would 00:29:02.509 --> 00:29:05.650 gladly do that. So a lot of speak, I was, you 00:29:05.650 --> 00:29:09.150 know, there was a lumber company in North Dakota 00:29:09.150 --> 00:29:11.990 that, you know, their sales team was just, they 00:29:11.990 --> 00:29:15.789 weren't producing. They were struggling and they 00:29:15.789 --> 00:29:18.609 asked me to, and it was over Zoomed, you know, 00:29:18.609 --> 00:29:20.930 would you, you know, they said, I said, I come 00:29:20.930 --> 00:29:23.289 out there. I don't, you know, I'm not, I don't, 00:29:23.289 --> 00:29:27.190 I'd rather do it, you know. I can travel, but 00:29:27.190 --> 00:29:31.769 so we did it over Zoom and I spent, you know, 00:29:31.769 --> 00:29:35.490 three, I should say two half days kind of getting 00:29:35.490 --> 00:29:37.710 them to rethink about what they're doing and 00:29:37.710 --> 00:29:40.150 their possibilities and admit that maybe what 00:29:40.150 --> 00:29:41.950 they're doing isn't working and they're getting 00:29:41.950 --> 00:29:46.529 in their own way more than what they're feeling. 00:29:47.190 --> 00:29:50.309 Like the market sucks. People don't want to buy. 00:29:50.549 --> 00:29:53.769 There's too much competition. You know, those 00:29:53.769 --> 00:29:56.779 are all limiting beliefs. Then maybe the market 00:29:56.779 --> 00:29:58.339 sucks. But you know what? Somebody's going to 00:29:58.339 --> 00:29:59.220 go out there. They're going to make a million 00:29:59.220 --> 00:30:03.079 bucks. Why not you? Well, no, I asked because 00:30:03.079 --> 00:30:05.460 you're a lawyer. So you've got a lot of skill 00:30:05.460 --> 00:30:09.079 sets all going on. You have your sales training 00:30:09.079 --> 00:30:11.720 because you worked in corporate. And then you 00:30:11.720 --> 00:30:15.400 have the nonprofit. So I didn't know if it was 00:30:15.400 --> 00:30:20.039 geared towards a specific niche to help identify. 00:30:20.099 --> 00:30:24.019 And people, I mean, it is great to have a niche. 00:30:25.130 --> 00:30:28.710 But I'm so all over, it's hard to, I don't want 00:30:28.710 --> 00:30:30.890 to disqualify anybody. If you think, oh, you 00:30:30.890 --> 00:30:32.509 know, just help people with disabilities. No, 00:30:32.609 --> 00:30:34.490 I probably work with people without disabilities 00:30:34.490 --> 00:30:37.069 more or as much as people with disabilities. 00:30:38.089 --> 00:30:41.170 So, because you don't have to be in a wheelchair 00:30:41.170 --> 00:30:43.670 to be disabled. I know a lot of people walking 00:30:43.670 --> 00:30:46.230 around that are mentally paralyzed that I wouldn't 00:30:46.230 --> 00:30:50.799 trade seats with. And I think I don't know numbers 00:30:50.799 --> 00:30:53.339 and I don't know statistics, but I do know there 00:30:53.339 --> 00:30:57.599 is also, you know, a rise in that mental health. 00:30:57.759 --> 00:31:01.119 And I think, you know, technology, as much as 00:31:01.119 --> 00:31:03.619 I'm an advocate for it and I, you know, try and 00:31:03.619 --> 00:31:06.019 leverage it and teach people how to use it, I 00:31:06.019 --> 00:31:09.440 also see, you know, the negative side effects, 00:31:09.619 --> 00:31:12.730 right? And what it is doing to the... Younger 00:31:12.730 --> 00:31:15.650 generations and it's bringing isolation. It's 00:31:15.650 --> 00:31:19.190 bringing more insecurities. You're having to 00:31:19.190 --> 00:31:22.369 deal with all these filters and profiles that 00:31:22.369 --> 00:31:25.990 look perfect. And I don't know how much harder 00:31:25.990 --> 00:31:29.829 it is to grow up now than it was in those 70s 00:31:29.829 --> 00:31:32.470 that we spoke about earlier when we didn't have 00:31:32.470 --> 00:31:36.430 these things. So I think you'd be great in so 00:31:36.430 --> 00:31:41.329 many different aspects. Thank you. And I agree 00:31:41.329 --> 00:31:45.609 with you. Um, any technology we have is great, 00:31:45.690 --> 00:31:48.789 but once it goes unsupervised and, and I see 00:31:48.789 --> 00:31:51.289 it, I see, you know, coaching, I see parents 00:31:51.289 --> 00:31:53.809 hand their, their five -year -old a, you know, 00:31:53.849 --> 00:31:57.069 when they're being annoying, their, their, their 00:31:57.069 --> 00:31:59.990 thousand dollar telephone to behave. No, how 00:31:59.990 --> 00:32:01.710 about turning around and telling your child, 00:32:01.829 --> 00:32:05.410 don't interrupt mom, have a seat and wait till 00:32:05.410 --> 00:32:09.769 I'm done. Parenting is stopped. Here's a thousand 00:32:09.769 --> 00:32:13.160 dollar phone. Go play. Here's a $2 ,500 computer. 00:32:13.380 --> 00:32:16.019 Go play. Get out of my hair. I want to be your 00:32:16.019 --> 00:32:18.400 friend. I was, you know what? I didn't care about 00:32:18.400 --> 00:32:21.099 being my kid's friend. I was, I didn't, I didn't, 00:32:21.099 --> 00:32:24.000 my job as a father was not to be their friend. 00:32:24.140 --> 00:32:27.119 My job as a father was to raise them, provide 00:32:27.119 --> 00:32:30.640 them with wisdom and love and expose them and 00:32:30.640 --> 00:32:34.740 prepare them for a horribly tough world. I cannot 00:32:34.740 --> 00:32:37.839 be your friend and do that at the young age. 00:32:39.500 --> 00:32:43.500 We will be great friends as you get older, but 00:32:43.500 --> 00:32:46.960 I don't care if you like me or love me now. It'll 00:32:46.960 --> 00:32:48.819 all come together. And guess what? I got three 00:32:48.819 --> 00:32:52.279 kids that think I walk on water and I'm the tough 00:32:52.279 --> 00:32:56.019 dad and I'm the, yeah, but you know what? I got 00:32:56.019 --> 00:32:58.400 three kids that they think I walk on water and 00:32:58.400 --> 00:33:01.759 I'm so blessed and it's all, it's all come together 00:33:01.759 --> 00:33:06.779 for them. Oh, and I'll give you an example. When 00:33:06.779 --> 00:33:09.589 it came college time. My kids all wanted to go 00:33:09.589 --> 00:33:13.910 away to school. I have 99 % of the kids are going 00:33:13.910 --> 00:33:17.529 to school away. And I said, here, do you want 00:33:17.529 --> 00:33:21.150 to be in this much debt, this much debt or no 00:33:21.150 --> 00:33:24.190 debt when you're done? You want $100 ,000 worth 00:33:24.190 --> 00:33:27.109 of debt, 50 ,000 or no debt in four years, which 00:33:27.109 --> 00:33:29.509 would be the best scenario? Well, I don't want 00:33:29.509 --> 00:33:32.190 debt. Okay, well, you know, mom and I have saved 00:33:32.190 --> 00:33:34.750 this much amount of money for you, which nowadays 00:33:34.750 --> 00:33:37.960 didn't pay for as much as it did. is we're saving. 00:33:38.680 --> 00:33:41.759 So we're here. We're going to help you because 00:33:41.759 --> 00:33:43.920 you want to go to school. And we get that. But 00:33:43.920 --> 00:33:46.359 here's the stipulation. You're all going to junior 00:33:46.359 --> 00:33:51.039 college. Yeah, I'm the bad guy. Yes, I'm whatever. 00:33:51.099 --> 00:33:52.440 Call me whatever you want. I really don't care. 00:33:52.680 --> 00:33:54.079 You're going to go to junior college for two 00:33:54.079 --> 00:33:55.740 years and you're going to get out of junior college 00:33:55.740 --> 00:33:58.400 debt free. In two years, if you still want to 00:33:58.400 --> 00:34:01.599 pursue a college education, we will support wherever 00:34:01.599 --> 00:34:04.309 you want to go. If you want to go into the trades 00:34:04.309 --> 00:34:06.190 after that, go into the trades. If you want to 00:34:06.190 --> 00:34:09.329 join the army, join the army. If you want to 00:34:09.329 --> 00:34:11.369 start your own business, I will help you, guide 00:34:11.369 --> 00:34:13.789 you, support you. But two years of junior college, 00:34:13.969 --> 00:34:16.530 I had three kids that got out of four -year universities 00:34:16.530 --> 00:34:22.429 debt -free. They got out and started to listen 00:34:22.429 --> 00:34:24.389 to their friends complain about the debt they're 00:34:24.389 --> 00:34:29.070 in and the situations they're in. Oh, dad wasn't 00:34:29.070 --> 00:34:31.829 such a dummy. He didn't do this for himself. 00:34:32.549 --> 00:34:35.269 Oh, dad, you kind of forced us to make a pretty 00:34:35.269 --> 00:34:38.010 good move here. Let's see. I don't have a $500 00:34:38.010 --> 00:34:42.070 payment. I don't have a school payment. I don't 00:34:42.070 --> 00:34:45.369 have a $600 car payment because he wasn't going 00:34:45.369 --> 00:34:48.170 to let me buy the car I wanted. He let me get 00:34:48.170 --> 00:34:50.949 a car that worked. Yeah, I was the bad guy. I 00:34:50.949 --> 00:34:53.309 know your friends have been given and ride nice 00:34:53.309 --> 00:34:56.510 cars. You're driving a nice car. Why? Because 00:34:56.510 --> 00:34:58.809 it gets you from A to B. And when you can afford 00:34:58.809 --> 00:35:02.429 a nice car. giddy up you can go buy a nicer car 00:35:02.429 --> 00:35:04.909 but all of a sudden it all came together and 00:35:04.909 --> 00:35:10.690 all of a mom and dad became smart so love it 00:35:10.690 --> 00:35:14.789 now you also have a book about i think it has 00:35:14.789 --> 00:35:19.610 the word dad in the title it it does i did a 00:35:19.610 --> 00:35:26.869 i co -authored a book with um 20 gentlemen And 00:35:26.869 --> 00:35:29.030 if this is the one you're talking about, because 00:35:29.030 --> 00:35:34.170 I know it's not on my website, called Godly Fathers 00:35:34.170 --> 00:35:37.750 Make Godly Men. Oh, are you talking about The 00:35:37.750 --> 00:35:40.869 Quadfather? Yeah, you have a bunch of books. 00:35:40.889 --> 00:35:42.750 That's why I'm trying to remember the names, 00:35:42.809 --> 00:35:46.889 but you have Father or... Yes, so I wrote a book 00:35:46.889 --> 00:35:49.690 called The Quadfather. So after a bunch of years, 00:35:49.789 --> 00:35:51.989 and you get into this entrepreneurial world, 00:35:52.010 --> 00:35:53.610 and it's like, you got to brand yourself. What 00:35:53.610 --> 00:35:54.909 do you mean you got to brand yourself? Well, 00:35:54.929 --> 00:35:56.570 you got to be known for something. Well, OK, 00:35:56.750 --> 00:35:59.789 I had crossed spending 40 years pushing myself 00:35:59.789 --> 00:36:02.590 in a manual wheelchair, which is unheard of out 00:36:02.590 --> 00:36:07.250 there. And I was out on a ride and I don't know 00:36:07.250 --> 00:36:08.909 if I was having a conversation with somebody 00:36:08.909 --> 00:36:11.909 or somebody passed me and and it came to me. 00:36:12.329 --> 00:36:14.409 You got to brand yourself as the quad father. 00:36:15.389 --> 00:36:20.969 It's kind of catchy. It's different. And it really 00:36:20.969 --> 00:36:24.610 talks to. what you've done. So I wrote a book 00:36:24.610 --> 00:36:29.769 called The Quadfather because it is 100 % raw, 00:36:29.949 --> 00:36:37.650 honest, tough love book. And what I do is I address 00:36:37.650 --> 00:36:43.050 every excuse that I've heard from people with 00:36:43.050 --> 00:36:45.429 disabilities, people without disabilities, and 00:36:45.429 --> 00:36:49.869 basically called, you know, it's BS. You know, 00:36:49.909 --> 00:36:52.769 you can do this. This is not a reason to stop 00:36:52.769 --> 00:36:56.909 this. So I basically answer every negative excuse 00:36:56.909 --> 00:37:00.610 on why people cannot thrive and put it into a 00:37:00.610 --> 00:37:04.130 book called The Cloudfather. Love it. I thought 00:37:04.130 --> 00:37:07.369 maybe it was fatherhood. So we're going to skip 00:37:07.369 --> 00:37:10.409 and fast forward because you have many, many, 00:37:10.429 --> 00:37:13.409 many books. I mean, we could spend hours talking, 00:37:13.630 --> 00:37:16.610 but your latest book, what is that called and 00:37:16.610 --> 00:37:25.239 what is it about? So the one that my latest book, 00:37:25.500 --> 00:37:32.079 I started a trio called Swift Fixes. And they're 00:37:32.079 --> 00:37:35.139 more of a booklet, but they talk like one is 00:37:35.139 --> 00:37:38.900 about how to overcome pain. Because if you rely 00:37:38.900 --> 00:37:42.900 on the pharmacy world and pain medication, I've 00:37:42.900 --> 00:37:47.500 seen too many people zombied out with other major 00:37:47.500 --> 00:37:50.719 side effects. I believe there's holistic ways 00:37:50.719 --> 00:37:57.099 to deal with pain. The other one is about setting 00:37:57.099 --> 00:37:59.619 goals and moving forward in life. Like, how do 00:37:59.619 --> 00:38:03.659 you move forward? So I wrote three books in that 00:38:03.659 --> 00:38:09.760 kind of direction, or my last three. And then 00:38:09.760 --> 00:38:12.320 the one that came out that, and I don't talk 00:38:12.320 --> 00:38:14.880 about it, I should, is a compilation of about 00:38:14.880 --> 00:38:19.329 20 people. like their entrepreneurial journey 00:38:19.329 --> 00:38:22.650 and the lessons and wisdom. And that actually 00:38:22.650 --> 00:38:29.429 was an international bestseller that sold United 00:38:29.429 --> 00:38:33.489 States, Canada, and Mexico. So that's it. And 00:38:33.489 --> 00:38:38.929 yes, I am working on another book. And it's really 00:38:38.929 --> 00:38:41.690 probably going to address more that mental health 00:38:41.690 --> 00:38:44.670 and being mentally paralyzed. So is that your 00:38:44.670 --> 00:38:48.949 next milestone? Yes and no. So one would be the 00:38:48.949 --> 00:38:53.190 book. The next milestone would be to raise, I'd 00:38:53.190 --> 00:38:57.530 love to raise $500 ,000 for SOAR and be able 00:38:57.530 --> 00:39:01.050 to help more people. I want to impact a million 00:39:01.050 --> 00:39:07.250 people in 26, which is two months plus away. 00:39:07.590 --> 00:39:10.250 I want to impact more people in a bigger way. 00:39:10.389 --> 00:39:12.510 And the only way I can do that is with this help 00:39:12.510 --> 00:39:17.000 and support. of the public and uh companies corporations 00:39:17.000 --> 00:39:21.519 foundations to support soar so that we could 00:39:21.519 --> 00:39:25.320 support others and my goal is we've never made 00:39:25.320 --> 00:39:28.380 near that amount and you know some people think 00:39:28.380 --> 00:39:30.780 it's it's a big jump to try to make it one year 00:39:30.780 --> 00:39:34.719 like well you know you've if your goals do not 00:39:34.719 --> 00:39:37.980 scare you then they're not lofty enough your 00:39:37.980 --> 00:39:41.320 goals should be slightly frightening that would 00:39:41.320 --> 00:39:45.090 be That's frightening to think because I don't 00:39:45.090 --> 00:39:48.730 like failing, but I don't fail often because 00:39:48.730 --> 00:39:51.610 of a course I teach called sometimes you win, 00:39:51.670 --> 00:39:54.809 sometimes you learn. Because you don't fail if 00:39:54.809 --> 00:39:57.989 you learn. As long as you're learning, it's not 00:39:57.989 --> 00:40:01.690 a failure, it's a lesson. And some people look 00:40:01.690 --> 00:40:05.489 at failures and it so deprives them of that motivation 00:40:05.489 --> 00:40:08.489 and inspiration and confidence and self -belief. 00:40:09.500 --> 00:40:12.679 Sailing is just a stepping stone if you use it 00:40:12.679 --> 00:40:16.019 the right way. It's not a stumbling block. So 00:40:16.019 --> 00:40:19.099 many people have all these stumbling blocks in 00:40:19.099 --> 00:40:21.480 front of them. I take them away. It's not a stumbling 00:40:21.480 --> 00:40:24.340 block. It's a stepping stone. You're wiser now. 00:40:24.599 --> 00:40:27.320 You've learned lessons. It's not a failure. Sometimes 00:40:27.320 --> 00:40:30.340 you win, sometimes you learn. It's not sometimes 00:40:30.340 --> 00:40:32.800 you win, sometimes you lose. That's the saying 00:40:32.800 --> 00:40:34.119 that's been out there. I don't believe in that. 00:40:34.300 --> 00:40:36.219 I believe sometimes you win, sometimes you learn. 00:40:36.440 --> 00:40:39.719 If you're learning, you're not losing. Oh, love 00:40:39.719 --> 00:40:42.820 it. Mine is you can't fail if you don't try. 00:40:43.739 --> 00:40:47.460 Absolutely. It's true. My children have reminded 00:40:47.460 --> 00:40:50.659 me of that. And then it ended up leading to things 00:40:50.659 --> 00:40:53.460 I didn't imagine could happen in a good way. 00:40:53.579 --> 00:40:56.800 So I love your mindset. I love your positivity. 00:40:57.340 --> 00:41:00.820 How can we help you reach your goal for 2026? 00:41:02.340 --> 00:41:08.019 No. Not everybody could give financially. Trust 00:41:08.019 --> 00:41:10.179 me, I get that. Some of our biggest donations 00:41:10.179 --> 00:41:12.900 might have been 50 bucks from somebody who couldn't 00:41:12.900 --> 00:41:17.699 spare $50 and whatnot. But being able to share 00:41:17.699 --> 00:41:22.820 our information, share our links, not just on 00:41:22.820 --> 00:41:26.860 social media, but you sit back and think about 00:41:26.860 --> 00:41:29.980 all the people that you know that aren't on social 00:41:29.980 --> 00:41:33.250 media, send them an email. Give them a call and 00:41:33.250 --> 00:41:35.610 say, hey, you know what? I'm kind of collaborating 00:41:35.610 --> 00:41:40.050 with this organization. I've met this man that 00:41:40.050 --> 00:41:43.949 runs a 501c3. You as a company. And now is a 00:41:43.949 --> 00:41:46.269 perfect time because corporations, companies, 00:41:46.469 --> 00:41:49.449 foundations, most of the giving they do is in 00:41:49.449 --> 00:41:52.409 December. Because they forget that they have 00:41:52.409 --> 00:41:54.909 this money they need to spend for tax purposes. 00:41:56.110 --> 00:41:58.880 And all of a sudden it's like, oh. That's right. 00:41:58.940 --> 00:42:00.980 Or they had a way better year than they thought 00:42:00.980 --> 00:42:02.900 they were going to have. And it's like, well, 00:42:02.980 --> 00:42:06.099 let's, you know, a lot of businesses are very 00:42:06.099 --> 00:42:08.760 benevolent and they want to spread the love and 00:42:08.760 --> 00:42:14.059 the success. Those are people you probably won't 00:42:14.059 --> 00:42:17.280 find a ton on Facebook, but you'll find them 00:42:17.280 --> 00:42:19.280 on LinkedIn or you know them. You know somebody 00:42:19.280 --> 00:42:23.940 who's a VP, a president. Our biggest donor overheard 00:42:23.940 --> 00:42:27.860 a conversation of a friend of ours. at a thanksgiving 00:42:27.860 --> 00:42:31.360 party and our friend was at the thanksgiving 00:42:31.360 --> 00:42:34.619 party and two people two people were having a 00:42:34.619 --> 00:42:37.099 conversation and the guy brought up well you 00:42:37.099 --> 00:42:39.019 know we're looking for non -profits to give money 00:42:39.019 --> 00:42:43.500 to she went over and introduced herself told 00:42:43.500 --> 00:42:46.280 them about soar and they have been our one of 00:42:46.280 --> 00:42:48.340 our biggest donors it just came out of she heard 00:42:48.340 --> 00:42:52.199 a conversation so it's just amazing just being 00:42:52.199 --> 00:42:56.139 aware that we exist and then taken being Being 00:42:56.139 --> 00:42:58.679 present and being intentional about reaching 00:42:58.679 --> 00:43:02.139 out to people is what's going to do it. What's 00:43:02.139 --> 00:43:04.139 going to create this sustainability relationship 00:43:04.139 --> 00:43:07.019 because we could help companies. I mean, if a 00:43:07.019 --> 00:43:09.159 foundation or an organization wants to get involved 00:43:09.159 --> 00:43:11.980 and maybe they're struggling with sales, man, 00:43:12.059 --> 00:43:15.800 I'll come out or I'll do a Zoom sales training 00:43:15.800 --> 00:43:20.780 or help reset your salespeople's mindset. I mean, 00:43:20.800 --> 00:43:24.610 so I'm a believer everybody should win. We all 00:43:24.610 --> 00:43:26.389 could win. There's enough out there for us all 00:43:26.389 --> 00:43:29.550 to be successful. There is an abundance out there. 00:43:30.550 --> 00:43:34.389 You just have to look for it and understand what 00:43:34.389 --> 00:43:37.050 that's been. And that doesn't mean that we have 00:43:37.050 --> 00:43:41.389 setbacks. You know, sometimes we get driven in 00:43:41.389 --> 00:43:45.010 this, I call it a divine direction that might 00:43:45.010 --> 00:43:47.650 feel like a setback. Maybe it is, but there's 00:43:47.650 --> 00:43:49.670 a reason for it. And we don't always know that. 00:43:50.150 --> 00:43:52.909 But just keep believing and have faith that there's 00:43:52.909 --> 00:43:56.170 a reason. and that you still are driving towards 00:43:56.170 --> 00:43:59.050 this divine direction. So that's how you can 00:43:59.050 --> 00:44:02.349 help. And where do we find you? Is there a website? 00:44:02.530 --> 00:44:05.449 So what are your social media handles? Yeah, 00:44:05.469 --> 00:44:09.289 so you could go to Swift Outdoor Accessible Recreation, 00:44:09.289 --> 00:44:12.610 and you could find SOAR. If you're looking a 00:44:12.610 --> 00:44:15.590 little bit like coaching, just go to brianpswift 00:44:15.590 --> 00:44:20.480 .com, B -R -I -A -N -P as in Patrick. S -W -I 00:44:20.480 --> 00:44:24.639 -F -T dot com. And I will send you personally 00:44:24.639 --> 00:44:29.699 the information about the fundraiser we're having 00:44:29.699 --> 00:44:33.079 and just some stuff about SOAR and things of 00:44:33.079 --> 00:44:35.659 that nature. You can find me on LinkedIn. I'm 00:44:35.659 --> 00:44:38.559 out there under Brian P. Swift. You can find 00:44:38.559 --> 00:44:43.400 me on Facebook, both Brian Swift and SOAR. And 00:44:43.400 --> 00:44:51.440 then on... And SOAR is S -O -A -R. Just make 00:44:51.440 --> 00:44:53.739 sure that we spell it correctly, not SOAR like 00:44:53.739 --> 00:44:56.260 my muscles are eating SOAR. Because, yeah, it's 00:44:56.260 --> 00:45:00.000 an acronym for Outdoor Accessible Recreation. 00:45:00.000 --> 00:45:05.280 And then you could find me on Instagram under 00:45:05.280 --> 00:45:09.880 the underscore quadfather. And then I started 00:45:09.880 --> 00:45:16.179 my second podcast, which is SOAR. It's SOAR. 00:45:16.940 --> 00:45:20.940 driven by the quad father. Great conversations, 00:45:21.039 --> 00:45:24.219 just like we had now. A lot of inspiration, a 00:45:24.219 --> 00:45:26.500 lot of wisdom that I just like to share with 00:45:26.500 --> 00:45:30.679 people. Oh, well, thank you so much for joining 00:45:30.679 --> 00:45:33.659 me today. I will make sure to put all of those 00:45:33.659 --> 00:45:36.980 links in the description so that we can help 00:45:36.980 --> 00:45:39.659 you reach that goal. Thank you so much. I love 00:45:39.659 --> 00:45:41.659 what you do. I love the name of your podcast. 00:45:41.960 --> 00:45:44.599 Keep doing it. That is your divine direction. 00:45:45.199 --> 00:45:46.719 And it's going to bring you to great places. 00:45:47.059 --> 00:45:50.619 Well, thank you. And thank you all for tuning 00:45:50.619 --> 00:45:53.380 in to another episode of Milestone Moments in 00:45:53.380 --> 00:45:56.139 Business and Leadership. Until next time.