How To Unleash The Story of Greatness That Lives Within YOU

In short

Podcast Summary: THE ED MYLETT SHOW - Episode: How To Unleash The Story of Greatness That Lives Within YOU

Podcast Overview Podcast Title: The Ed Mylett Show Host: Ed Mylett Description: Showcasing peak performers across various industries, sharing insights for motivation, inspiration, and personal growth.

Episode Description In this enlightening episode, Ed Mylett gathers voices of inspiration, including Les Brown, Jay "Jeezy" Jenkins, Dean Graziosi, Heidi and Chris Powell, Trent Shelton, and Damon West. The focus is on transforming personal narratives to unleash the greatness within every individual.

Key Themes

Redefining Your Narrative: The essence of the discussion revolves around how the story you tell yourself can either empower or hinder your path to greatness.

Facing Adversity: A common thread shared by guests is the importance of confronting life's challenges as a means to rise above circumstances.

Featured Insights from Guests

Les Brown:
Quote: “When you have a big dream, it will introduce you to a part of yourself that you don’t know yet.”
Emphasizes that big dreams reveal inner strengths and potential.

Dean Graziosi:
Discusses the necessity of facing storms in life (problems) to reach the next level of personal growth.

Heidi and Chris Powell:
Highlight the significance of keeping promises to oneself as a foundation for lasting transformation.
Introduce the concept of "integrity momentum," which emphasizes the importance of honoring one’s commitments.

Trent Shelton:
Shares his journey from NFL aspirations to discovering a greater purpose beyond sports.
Quote: "Something bigger than you will keep you from quitting."

Damon West:
From a life sentence in prison to being a motivational speaker, his journey underlines the power of redemption and transformation.
Discusses the importance of rewriting one's future, regardless of a troubled past.

Core Takeaways

Transforming Failures into Strengths: Embrace failures as stepping stones toward success.
The Role of Integrity: Keeping promises to oneself builds self-trust and confidence.
Using Adversity as Fuel: Rather than letting struggles break you, use them as motivation to propel forward.
Mindset Shift: Developing a mindset that prioritizes personal growth and resilience can set you apart from the crowd.

Conclusion The episode serves as a wake-up call, inspiring listeners to take charge of their stories and embrace the greatness that lies within. As Ed Mylett reminds us, "Your story isn’t over—it’s just getting started."

Call to Action Listeners are encouraged to reflect on what part of the episode resonated most with them and to actively engage by sharing their thoughts and subscribing for more insights.

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Transcript

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0:28So, hey, guys, listen, we're all trying to get more productive. $10 ,000 worth of courses that are in there that come with the app. Also, some of the top influencers in the world are all posting content in there on a regular basis, like having the Avengers of personal development and business in one app. And I'm honored that he asked me to be a part of it as well and contribute on a weekly basis, and I do. So go over there and get signed up. You're going to get a free tuition-free voucher to go to an event with Brendan and myself and a bunch of other influencers as well. So you get a free event out of it also.

0:53So go to growthday.com forward slash ed. That's growthday.com forward slash ed.

1:04This episode brought to you by Progressive Insurance. Do you ever find yourself playing the budgeting game? Shifting a little money here, a little there, and hoping it all works out? Well, with the Name Your Price tool from Progressive, you can get a better budgeter and potentially lower your insurance bill too. You tell Progressive what you want to pay for car insurance and they'll help find you options within your budget. Try it today at Progressive.com. Progressive Casualty Insurance Company and Affiliates. Price and coverage match limited by state law. Not available in all states.

1:45This is The Ed Myron Show. Hey, everyone. Welcome to my weekend special. I hope you enjoy the show. Be sure to follow the Ed Milet Show on Apple and Spotify. Links are in the show notes. You'll never miss an episode that way. It's like an honor for me, everybody, to introduce this man to you because today's going to be an absolute treasure with the great Les Brown. So, Les, thank you so much for being here. Well, thank you so much for having me, and you're very modest. I'm looking at the greatest speaker on the planet. God bless you. This teacher, speaking about that on voice, because the third thing was communication.

2:20I literally shared this with my son when he went away to college. This teacher stopped you when you're in that classroom, correct me if I'm wrong, and said, listen, there's three things you need to have if you're going to prevail in this life. Everybody, this is where you right now, if you've got children around you, you go grab them right now. Because I've shared this with both of my children. This is compelling stuff right here, because this was one of those moments where your life was not the same again after he delivers this message to you. Yes. Yeah. He said, you have to work on your mind.

2:50He was a person who believed in Earl Nightingale, who said, you don't get in life what you want, you get in life what you are. Dr. Carter G. Woodson, if you can determine what a man shall think, you never have to concern yourself for what he will do. If you can make a man feel inferior, you never have to compel him to seek an inferior status, for he will seek it himself. And if you can make a man feel justly an outcast. You never have to order him to go to the back door. He'll go without being told. And if there's no door, his very nature will demand one. He said, develop your mind. Next thing he said, practice the principle of OQP, only quality people.

3:28Today, today, in order for us to make it, even before the coronavirus, the suicide rate in America had increase by 32 percent. Today, in order for us to make it, we have to create what we're doing now, collaborative, achievement-driven, supportive relationships. One of the major issues we're facing right now is loneliness. And one of the major determinants of a long life, I thought it would be plant-based diet or becoming a vegetarian or a vegan or exercise. it's positive social relationships that's that's that's the main factor and the third thing that he said he said mr brown develop your communication skills young man because once you open your mouth you tell the world who you are your ability to communicate humanizes you and you explain it so well when you talk to people about the number one skill that they need if they're negotiating if they want to advance their careers if they want to create a movement they want to promote their business or promote themselves that skill had i not had that skill when i was fired from the working for the miami sanitation department if i didn't have the ability to communicate i would not have been able to be a salesman at Sears or do door-to-door sales.

4:58I would not have been able to become a disc jockey. I would not have been able to become a state legislator in Columbus, Ohio, and pass 14 bills my first term. And I was elected the third term, three terms. And then my sister called me and said, Leslie, are you sitting down? What's wrong with mama? Mama has breast cancer. I said, I'll be right there. She said, Leslie, you don't have to come. We found a good nursing home for her. I said, listen to me. No, she adopted seven. Seven will be there when she takes her last breath. And I left that day. And I'll never forget when I rung the doorbell, a friend of hers named Miss Mildred, she came to the door.

5:42She said, oh, my God, Mamie, Leslie's here and I heard my mother voice said I knew my boy would come I knew my boy would come and I came in and her things were packed I said unpack everything I said mom I'm here I'm here and so wow wow wow this this thing with your mom I was do you know who Art Williams is you remember Art Williams he used to be a speaker All you can do is all you can do, and all you can do is enough. There you go. But before you do, all you can do. I study everybody. I know you do. Listen to you. Zig Ziglar, if you give enough people what they want, they'll give you what you want.

6:28Jim Rohn, when the end comes to you, let it find you conquering a new mountain, not sliding down an old one. I study them all. the reason I ask you this is when I introduced you as the greatest speaker that I've ever seen and by the way I think that short changes I believe greatest teacher communicator that I've ever seen in my life and the other one that made the impact on me was Art Williams who I know you would both agree this is a there was an amazing communicator still is yeah and so I met him one time and he gave me a nice compliment about a talk I had given and so I said well there's only there's two I've ever seen in my life.

7:08And I said, it's you, Mr. Williams. And I said, and then Les Brown's in a class all his own. And I said, he's so talented and gifted. And he stopped me. And this leads to your mother. Again, a situation that I know about, I'd like you to share. And he goes, he's not that talented and gifted. He's a worker. He works. Les works at it. This is a skill he's developed. He wasn't born with this. He's worked at it. if you knew the people I know, this guy is on the road, he works. And then I was listening to you and this amazing, your mother's this theme in your life. But when you were a young boy, your mother lost the ability to work.

7:44And so I think the story is she starts sort of like making a little moonshine to sort of support the family. Right. And something happens. And I think you're like 10 years old, something like this. Right. And then you've got to take over. Would you just share this? Because I think everything happens for us, not to us. Our test will be our testimony. And the messes of our lives don't disqualify us. I think so many people think this mess I'm in, this divorce, this business failure, this choice I made, I'm not proud of that. I'm ashamed of it. It disqualifies me. My background, my upbringing, I'm disqualified.

8:17Turns out you can turn those things in to be your testimony. And this situation with your mom, I think, triggered this work ethic in you at a young age that Art told me about. Yes. Yes, mama, she started selling homebrew and moonshine. And it was difficult for us at that time, for her raising seven children. She was injured on a job. And so she promised our birth mother that these children will never go to bed hungry. We will always have a roof over our head and clothes on our back. And a man came. I'll never forget what you're talking about. So you've done your research. as much as I've been doing research on you, you and I are so much alike.

9:02And this guy, his name was Calhoun, and he knocked on the door. He said, Leslie, how are you doing? I said, fine. Mama always said, don't ever open the door without telling me. And I said, oh, hey, Mama. No, no, no, no, don't tell her. I've got two friends with me. We're going to surprise her. Open the door. And I opened the door and let them come in. And one of the guys grabbed me. I was 10 years old in the throat and hit me on the side of the head and threw me up against the wall. And he said, she's back there in the room. And they went back there and Mama was selling homebrew and moonshine.

9:40And he said, pull up the linoleon. And they pull up the linoleon and she kept it under the floor of the house that we were in. And they brought Mama out in handcuffs. that I said, Mama, I'm so sorry. And she said, it's okay, Leslie. It's okay. And she never, ever, ever mentioned it when she came back. And so we don't have any relatives. We adopted. So the neighbors, you know, they will come in and bring us food from time to time. And I would collect copper and aluminum and sometimes stand in the corner, hey, boy, come over and get on a truck with older men to move heavy equipment. But years later, fast forward, man, I had it in my heart.

10:41If I ever saw this guy again, I'll kill him. And boy, you know God, boy, he has a sense of humor. Here I am talking to my young son, John Wesley, who's a speaker and trainer. I said, John Wesley, anger is a wind that blows out the lamp of the mind. He said, what do you mean by that, Daddy? I said, don't allow anger to govern. You never make a decision why you are angry. It blows out the wind of the mind. You make decisions and do things that you will regret later. and this time a guy comes over and tapped my knee on the shoulder and he said hello sir i just want you to know we here in miami are so proud of you i had a talk show that king world had paid me five million dollars to do that less brown talk show now look i'll never forget his face i said to myself oh my god it's calhoun now here's my son here and I'm looking at this guy's face and put my mother in jail and man I start I was just shouting the breath and John Leslie said dad are you all right I said no and he and he this guy he just wanted to shake my man yes Leslie man you you you you're really making us all proud.

12:07And I said, excuse me, sir, excuse me. And I went outside, and my son said, what's going on? Is there something you ate? I said, no. No, John Listie. I got to go. I said, let's get in the car. I got to go. He said, what's happening, Dad? And I drove away for a little while, and I parked on the side to collect myself. I said, that man, he's the one that put your grandmother in jail. And I promised if I ever saw him again, I would kill him. He said, oh, God. I said, John Leslie, you know what? It's a God moment. He said, why? I said, I got that hatred out of my heart for him because you were here.

13:02I have to model what I'm teaching you people say practice what you preach but God put it in me I got to preach what I practice I got to forgive and forgiveness is not forgetting forgiveness is remembering without anger I forgive him but most of all I forgive myself please forgive me God for carrying this anger and hatred all these years

13:35I've never told this story before Oh my gosh Man, this thing You know, Forrest Gump had a point Life is like a box of chocolates You never know what you're going to get After all I got to say about that I can't believe you just shared that with us Oh my gosh Your life is one of the things about you, Les, is that your life is such an example of what's possible. I want you to just be picturing this about this beautiful man. He's born, his mother ends up giving him to adoption to Mamie, he and his brother. They live in these conditions. He's 10 years old. His mother has to go away for a while. He's got to support the family.

14:21He's had all these incidents he's had to observe up close. There are other ones with his mother when she's cleaning houses, and this woman claps her hands because she's got to know when her mother's in a room because she's going to steal something, which his mother would never do. This man goes on to influence millions, I mean, literally millions of people's lives. And then this is what's great about all of us making our dreams come true. When you make your dreams come true, the dreams of other people and dreams you can't picture also come true because then he influences this goofy dude, me, 20 something years old, working at an orphanage.

14:52And it inspires me to change my life. So it's just your life is such an example. And what's interesting to me, Les, is it was mainly tied to mom, meaning you wanted to do something great for your mother all your life. And that was bigger, I think, than any obstacle that got in your way. I'd like you to share this with people because I think most people don't understand the power of having something big you're going after that means more to you than the pain you're going to have to go through in order to get it. I don't think enough people set huge, big goals that are from the heart. Don't you agree?

15:24Yes, you said that. I was listening to you last night. You know, Dexter Yeager, as you know from Amway, he said, if the dream is big enough, the odds don't matter. And so when you say dream big, that's major. One, there's power in pursuit. Because as Jim Rowan said, it's not the accomplishment of the goal that matters. It's what you become in pursuit of the dream in the process. because when you have a big dream, it will introduce you to a part of yourself that you don't know right now, that you will never discover in your comfort zone because in order to achieve that dream, you've got to die to who you are now.

16:10I must die daily. You must die to who you are now to give birth to who you are to become. I believe that all of us have stories of greatness in us And follow me as I say this, as this download. We all have stories of greatness within us. In the beginning was the word. Thou shalt agree a thing and shall be established unto you. When shall the kingdom of God come? Seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added unto you. When shall it come? The kingdom of God cometh not by observation. They shall say, is neither lo there, lo here. Behold, the kingdom of God is within you.

16:51and that kingdom is voice activated. So when you speak, people who are in a dark place, you will bring them out into the light. When you speak, somebody's got a gun to their head. When you speak, they'll realize life is God's gift to me and how I live my life is my gift to God. When you speak, someone who's depressed and feeling anxious will remember, be anxious for nothing. I'll keep thee in perfect peace whose mind has stayed on thee. So that's the power that you bring. And all the products that you have on YouTube that I've, I mean, how ironic. They said, coincidence is God's way of staying anonymous.

17:37I've been so marinated listening to your stuff. And then you've been listening to me. Come on. Look at God. What a mighty God. I'm really, sir. Come on. You can't make this stuff up. That's like my honor to think that you're listening to my stuff. I got to tell you. You guys, you know, you just get what I started. I told you all, you just have this treasure. It's like you never want to stop hearing from Les. He's just remarkable. And the way you pull things and download them from all these places, it's just, it's mind-blowing. I wish I were that great. You are the messenger and you are the message.

18:20That's me. You got people who are speaking out here. It's been hijacked with speaking to sell. We sell people on their greatness. We sell people on the things that they need to do now, the methods, the techniques, the strategy to create the next greatest version of themselves. And when we do that, we know that when we make that kind of impact, we know that we're in the place of what Leo Toy Story, the Russian author, he said, what in the meaning and purpose of my life that will not be undone and destroyed when I'm gone? and the people that listen to your program and their mind and their vision has been expanded.

19:03You give them a vision of themselves beyond the adversities of what they're experiencing in this place where we are right now and help them to begin to live their life from a place of optimism that they're going to impact other people and those people are going to impact other people. And this work that you, as much as you have chosen this, you were chosen for this. And this work will not be undone. You're going to impact generations yet on board. Thank you. My gosh, I'm getting chills all over. One of the, I want to, I want, I'm always watching you, right? And so thank you for that. Like, sincerely, I, you, someone or something could not be more special to me than what you've just said.

19:49I want you to also watch something with less everybody. He speaks greatness into people. I really believe that that's a, it seems small, but he speaks greatness into people. He speaks to their better self. All of his messages always end with there's greatness in you. And I just think that all of us should just be conscious of this. I'd be making a huge mistake. I have the greatest speaker I've ever seen on my show. Is there anything you would impart onto somebody who's listening and says, I'd like to be a better communicator. Are there a couple keys that the best ever would share with me about how I could become a better communicator if I'm listening or watching the show right now?

20:29You know, Serena Williams is considered a dominant tennis player on the planet, but she has a coach. Muhammad Ali said, I'm the greatest, but he never won a championship without Angelo Dundee. Michael Jordan considered one of the great basketball players, but he never won a championship without Phil Jackson. I was with Maya Angelou. I had the honor of spending a day with her. And she said, it aggravates me when they say that I'm a gifted communicator. And I said, why? She said, show me a gifted heart surgeon. I work at this. She said, do you see these books around here? I said, yes, ma 'am. When I was raped and I went into a catatonic state and didn't speak, my grandmother brought a lady here to help me and to tutor me.

21:29And she said, I want you to start there and start reading these books and give me a report. And she said, one day she came to this lady and she had written something she was very proud of. And she went. And this lady said, you can talk. Read it to me.

21:58she said you can talk and her mother was standing there and didn't intervene and her mother always defended her and this woman who wrote i know why the caged bird sings she said you can talk talk now and the reason she stopped talking when she told on her uncle the man the neighbor who raped They beat him to death. And she felt personally responsible and went into a catatonic state. And on that day, she said, she said, speak, you can speak. And she started reading on that day. And that lady helped her to get her voice back. She had swallowed her voice because of the trauma of feeling as a young kid, I caused someone to be killed because he raped me.

22:59And that was heavy for her. And so all of us are born the same way, dumb, naked, and speechless. We can learn. I didn't do what I'm doing now for 14 years. I told Mike Williams, I said, Mike, I can't speak, man, like Zig Ziglar. He said, you can. I said, look, Tony Robbins and all those guys. He said, Browning, you go hear those guys because it's in you. That's in you. And sometimes I feel that you have to believe in somebody's belief in you until your belief kicks in. And I was at an event. I think it was a Bob Proctor event and a guy was speaking, man. And here I am there. And all of us had moments when we feel a speaker is just talking to us.

23:54You've had people who say, you, you, you, you, you were talking to me. And, and this was my day. And this guy was speaking. He stopped. He said, hmm, there's somebody here who should be up here holding this mic. I'm standing in your dream. And you've convinced yourself that you can't do it, that you don't have what it takes. And I'm here to say that it's not what you don't have, it's what you think you need in order to do this. Mind you, you know, I'm here thinking, I don't have a college education. And so then he went on speaking. He said, I'm going to say this, and I'm not going to say it anymore.

24:36You're out there squirming in your seat right now. He said, he was looking over the audience, and I'm saying to myself, is this guy looking for me? And then he said, the reason I'm standing up here and you are seated out there squirming in your seat, I represent the thoughts you have rejected for yourself. Man, that's like he punched me in the gut. I jumped up. I had a dime. I went to a pay phone. I called Mike Williams, my mentor. I said, Mike? He said, Brownie, what's wrong? I said, listen to me, Mike Brown. He calmed down. No, I'm not rejecting myself anymore. Do you hear me, Mike? I'm not rejecting myself anymore.

25:18My mother has breast cancer, and she needs me. And all I got is my boys, Mike. I can't get a job. I don't have a college education. All I got is the ability to talk to people. I got to use my voice. Stay up, Mama. No job is going to pay me enough money to get the help that she needs. Most people don't know. 95 % of people who filed bankruptcy do so because of medical expenses. And when he said that, I said, I got to speak. There's an African proverb that says, if there's no enemy within, the enemy outside can do us no harm. Shakespeare said, the Fort Debrutus is not in our stars, but in ourselves that we are underlings.

26:16I was living a small life, and you can't fit a big dream or a big voice in a small mind. Oh, my gosh. Come on. By the way, what's crazy is God's so good, I gave a talk this weekend. And I gave one quote, which was that African proverb you just quoted. But my gosh, that story. All right, everyone, I know you want Les here four hours. I do too. But we don't get him. So I have one more question for you that I think is the big, big, biggie. But before I do that, make sure you're following Mr. Brown on social media, on Instagram. Make sure you've got that book. We're putting the website up on the screen right now.

26:57If you're hungry or need to be hungry or you're listening to this, I know you are. Go get his new book. And then last thing is you talk about that big, huge dream. I've got millions of people right now that get access to this wisdom. And they're sitting there. They're listening to this show. They're saying, I have a dream too. I want to do something great with my life. And I'm you, Les. I'm sitting in the crowd of life, trembling, thinking I don't have what it takes. But there's a part of me that I want to be happier. I want to prosper. I want to make my family proud of me. I want to be proud of me.

27:29I want to serve God, and I just do not know where to begin. And so I'm listening to the Ed Milet show every week, picking up these pieces, but now I've got Les Brown. What would Les Brown say to me if we were one-on-one, and I said, Mr. Brown, I've got this dream, whatever it is. What would your guidance be to me if you were my mentor to begin with? Never say I don't know what it is that I got. What's most important, commit thy works until the Lord and thy thoughts shall be established. Commit yourself to do that which is in your heart. You were not born to work for a living, but to live your making.

28:10And living your making will make your living. We get paid to work on a job. That's what we get paid for. But your calling is something you're made for. What is it that you would do free? Something that you love it so much, you do it for free and you do it so well that people will pay you to do it. That's your dream. That's your superpower. And do that because if it's something that resonates with you, it's something that's in your heart where your heart is there, your treasure is also. There's a young man that he prepares vegetarian meals for me. man this guy's good and i can tell that the energy that he brings with this food he said man he said this the calling on my life it's a ministry to him it's a difference of of being in something and that something being in you remember a.l.m said all you can do is all you can do and All you can do is enough, but make sure you do all you can do.

29:20We always go all in on something that we love. What's in your heart? Because where your heart is, there your treasure is also. In my book, I say live a heart-centered life. My heart's filled with gratitude.

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29:41This episode brought to you by Progressive Insurance. Do you ever find yourself playing the budgeting game? Shifting a little money here, a little there, and hoping it all works out? Well, with the Name Your Price tool from Progressive, you can get a better budgeter and potentially lower your insurance bill too. You tell Progressive what you want to pay for car insurance, and they'll help find you options within your budget. Try it today at Progressive.com, Progressive Casualty Insurance Company and Affiliates. Price and coverage match limited by state law. Not available in all states.

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31:16That was a great conversation. And if you want to hear the full interview, be sure to follow the Ed Milet Show on Apple and Spotify. Links are in the show notes. You'll never miss an episode that way. Today's awesome. I just reached out to this man. I said, hey, brother, I think the world needs a little bit more of Dean and Ed. So Dean Graziosi, thank you for being here today, brother. One thing that's a lot of people are listening to this, and they know they've got that thing. They're not working out like they should. Maybe they are in that text thing. Maybe it's that they don't eat the way they should.

31:42They don't make the contacts they should. They're not up as early. They got a thing, but they're winning in spite of it. Right. In spite of it, they've got some winning going on, because in spite of the fact for many years, Dean, that you weren't as congruent as you wanted to be, you were still producing financial success. Massively. Massively. But what's happened the last four or five years is your life has become a freaking rocket ship in terms of influence. You guys, Dean's been famous a long time. You go back to all the infomercial days. If you've not seen Dean or you hear this voice, it's because Dean was all over television forever.

32:17Very successful in that space and the influence space, the real estate space, as he was not congruent in every area of his life. But, man, the last four or five years. So speak to that. If you can solve that thing you got, it's like a football team who's got no running game. Man, if they could just run the football, they've already got a good passing game. Their defense is good. They're a playoff team already. But if they could run the football, they're going to win the Super Bowl. There's always that thing, right? True or false? So, OK, I love this question. And I love hanging out with you, man.

32:46And thank you for everybody listening. I know you have lots of options. So thanks for hanging out with two friends talking about stuff where I had no idea what we were talking about. So this is really cool. um here's what i know what happens sometimes i'll tell you what i did for a decade if we're going to talk about relationships i'll be completely transparent i thought about leaving my relationship every day of my life for five years it was almost the first thing i thought about every day not because she's a bad human in any way there were just it just wasn't the right fit i'm not an advocate of divorce but it just didn't fit but here's what i did for years I was financially successful at the time I thought I was the best dad possible even though I wasn't showing them the best example but I thought I'm an engaged father I coach little league coach softball I'm there I bring them to school make them lunches love them to death I'm a great leader to my team I'm a good friend to people who need me so my relationship's off and I'm not congruent I should be freaking fortunate so who gets it all this is what I remember to who oh you want it all and a good dad and financially free.

33:52And I remember just thinking, stop being greedy. If your relationship doesn't work, but really what I was doing at is I wasn't facing something because it was scary to me. It was scary leaving my kids. I'm not thinking, thinking and not being with my kids every single day was like a shot in the gut. And I just ignored it and avoided it. And it grew, it grew to where I didn't become the man that I was supposed to be. Listen, and whatever you believe in God, the universe, I believe in God, and I believe God has created you to be bigger, better, and stronger than you currently are. No matter where you are in your life, God wants you to be the woman you were meant to be, the man you were meant to be.

34:30And if you believe in karma, whatever your beliefs are, you are meant to be more. And when you let one of those areas build, it doesn't go away. I don't care how much I try to push it down on the inside. It just kept growing. And you feel that you like, you're looking away from it, even though it's there and I want you to think about this when you have to some things are difficult you might have to face a change of a business a change of a business partner change of a job change in a relationship the thing that you've been avoiding is growing even though you think it's not and it's like got roots and the roots are creeping over into all areas of your life and you don't know and you're working harder stronger faster to overcome this and you think you're conquering it if you're in a relationship that's not good and maybe you go to the strip club or you text on your phone or you do something and you think you're fulfilling it you're not you're just letting the roots grow in deeper and stronger and you're working twice as hard to be successful and you don't even realize it and here's the way I looked at it when I decided or we decided to get a divorce and you can use this analogy you could tell I got some silly analogies you can use this in any area of your life picture your ship is in a in a bay it's calm the waters come there's other great ships in the bay the weather's kind of beautiful it's kind of nice but you know you're not meant to be in that bay but man it just has all the signs where you're supposed to be there but the only way out of that bay is you got to sail your ship through the storm that's out in the ocean and you're watching the storm and you're watching how turbulent it is you're in the bay and it's comfortable but the only way to your next level the only way to break through the only way to get rid of those roots to kind of crush that thing that you're avoiding or afraid of is you gotta sail your ship through the storm.

36:15You see the storm, it's turbulent, the waves are high, the sky is dark, and you're not even sure because you've never navigated that territory. You don't have a map because you've never been there. You've never experienced it. And the way I looked at it when I was going through a divorce is I was so scared for my kids, not me being alone, but scared on how that would work out with my kids, that a lot of times I put my ship in the storm, it got bumpy, and I went back to the bay. and I'll tell you when I finally said I can't be the man I'm supposed to be staying in this harbor even though it's pretty and there's great people around and it's going through that storm going through the the changes the the the navigating of new territory you're mapping out new territory on the fly and your ship's going down and you want to turn back a hundred times but there's this moment and it happened to me when I went through a divorce there was this moment where I didn't know if I could take it and I was scared for my kids and I was having anxiety attacks.

37:09But I want to share with you, there was this moment that my ship landed on the other side of the storm and it was over. And I was a different human. I was a different man. I looked through a different lens. I had a new map and I realized I wasn't meant for that other bay. Yes, it was safe. Yes, it was okay. But listen, at the end of our lives, do we want to be okay? Right? And when I got to the other side, it was this fresh start. I found a way to be friends with my ex. I found a way for my kids to be safe. I found a way to replace quantity with quality with my children. I found a way to be a better version of me and attract Lisa in my life.

37:47And when those roots were gone, this is what I want to share with all of you for that one area of your life that you know what I'm talking about. As you're hearing this, you're picturing it and you're going, wow, nobody really knows that I do that when no one's watching. Nobody knows that I'd like to fix that. No one knows that I kind of BS everybody else and say I'm working on it, but I'm not. I want to tell you when they go away, your, your sailboat turns into a ship with five engines on it. Like my life exponentially grew. I became a better dad, a better leader, a better friend. I had more compassion, had more empathy.

38:19I replaced anger with compassion and things just, I just became a different person. I mean, I think I was a good man 10 years ago, but I wouldn't recognize him. I'm not the same human today. And that allowed me to go faster. And I just encourage you. You've heard this before, but your next level lives on the thing, on the other side of the thing you're avoiding, the other thing you're afraid of. And Ed, I think I heard you say this, you know, all of us, we get to learn from each other and listen to each other. And I'll go listen to a podcast when I need a little, I'll listen to a little Ed Milet or watching.

38:52But I remember somebody saying, it might have been you, it may have been you, but what drives me to fix those pieces guys and I want you to hear this the business that you want to scale start the relationship you want to fix or end the parenting style that you've gone so long doing it one way you think it's too late and you got to fight for it it's worth the fight whatever it is the fight I just want to tell you I picture I've always pictured being at the end of my life and having a conversation with God and he said how did it go yeah right always picture that and I always have the fear of going well you know I was in a good relationship right or things were okay you know i was great at my business great at impacting lives and i did this i was a good dad what about your relationship it was okay like i picture saying that to someone where we have this creation given to us this opportunity and i feel like this inner disappointment where i'd want to scream and go you know what damn it can i do that over and you don't get that chance you don't get that chance like you don't get a do-over and you'd want to so i put those emotions of my future back on me.

39:53Things you've, again, already heard. And I think I heard this from you, Ed, or someone, but I heard someone put that on a whole nother level. Could you imagine if God pulled out his iPhone and said, Ed, I appreciate all you've done and you've served and you give, and that one area of your life. Can I play you a quick video of the man you could have been? That's my stuff, yeah. That is yours. I knew I heard that from you. When I heard that from you, Ed, it honestly took what I had been, I had been telling myself my last conversation with God and when I heard that from you, I've shared that and I feel that all the time and if I didn't, I wanna share this with you guys and I hope it's relating to where you are in your life right now.

40:31If you're looking for what's gonna drive you, what's gonna take you to the next level, how do you move your lighthouse out? How do you wake up compelled again, not just wanna chill and how do you find that thrive, that energy, that zest for life again? I just wanna share with you that if I didn't sail my ship out of that harbor, that safe harbor and go through, I'm not I'm I'm understating what I went through for I don't take aspirin when I was going through a divorce worrying about my kids I was popping Xanax three days a week because I couldn't control my anxiety I was drinking a glass of wine five nights a week because I couldn't put myself to sleep so I'm I'm understating how bad I was for a short period of time when I was in the middle of that storm I thought of turning back because I felt so crappy about myself and worried about my kids so much but I want to tell you on the other side I never would have experienced what real love could be like.

41:20I have love in a way that I wish it for every single one of you. There's nothing I can even share that compares to having a true soulmate that's got your back, that supports you and loves you. And you feel the same where you don't keep score and you got each other's back. I never would have experienced that if I didn't go through the storm and whatever that storm is for you, you have to have that compelling future and you have to stay steadfast and realize if you go back to where you were, you'll get more of what you used to have. Brother, that's just absolutely riveting. And that's why I knew we would do some magic stuff today or you would.

41:54I just didn't know to what extent. I didn't even know where it would go. But for a lot of you, that safe harbor is not your relationship. It's your job. It's where you're working right now. And you've got this dream. And by the way, that dream you keep trying to suppress, that's going to keep rising up as well. It doesn't go away. Never. And if you wait too long, you'll get to a point where it is too late. And you're going to be watching that video of your life. It's an interesting thing. two things occurred to me. One is that the people that I love the most, man, they have two things. I'm going to ask you a question about the second one.

42:19But one of them is oddly, we do contemplate death more than most people. I think the contemplation of the end of your life causes you to be so present now because you know that there's a finite amount of time. It's when you don't contemplate the end that you think you have forever. Most people think everyone else is going to die. They don't think they're going to die. Everyone else is going to die. You're going to die too. There's going to be an end to this. And by the time you're at the end of it, all the you worried about, the crap that you stressed over, the people you were concerned about what they thought, the risks you didn't take, the things you didn't pursue, the pain you weren't willing to go through.

42:53You will regret worrying about those things and not going through the pain. You will regret when you watch that video. And so contemplating that end is important. Trent Shelton's here. Hey man, thanks man. I appreciate that. Thank you. Glad we can connect, man. I've been waiting for this for a long time. Big, strong, unbelievable athlete. What's your vulnerability right it's your willingness to admit the things that have been your deficiencies and weaknesses in the past in fact I think you've built your whole following on the transformation you have made and are making in your own life and I think probably more than anything the people that watch my show are interested in transforming their life so I feel like I have the perfect person here today I appreciate it and it'll be one of the easiest interviews just because I know how much we enjoy each other's company too so I said professional football player there's so much to your story, but I want to sort of start in football because I think that's where some of the defining moments of your life started to happen.

43:45So take my audience through your football career a little bit and then what took place for you and what you were learning, who you were at that time, those kinds of things. So just like a lot of kids, that was my dream to be a professional athlete since I was a little kid. I had two older brothers, so I had really no choice. You know, they made me be that. And so blessed enough, high school, went to Baylor. Then I went to the NFL, But I was supposed to be drafted in the fourth round. I didn't get the call. So I think that was like my first shot at not feeling like I was enough. So you're sitting there on draft day with your family, second day probably, thinking I'm going to get a call and it never happens.

44:21Never happens. And, of course, my mom was like, you're okay. And I'm like, I'm okay when I'm not okay. You weren't okay. Yeah, exactly. So that's your first bout of I may not be enough. Yep. My first time of when I look back in my story, my journey, that's the first time I really felt like that. But I got a call from my uncle coaches for the Chargers now, but he was with the Vikings, and he kind of was my advisor to where to go as a free agent. So he told me to go with Coach Dungy because he's like, Coach Dungy, I know him as a man. He's going to give you a fair shake. So I went to the Indianapolis Colts.

44:49They had a pretty good quarterback. Yeah, it was Peyton Manning. Yeah, he's pretty good. He's pretty good. He's all right. Reggie Wayne, Marvin Harrison. And that's the year after they won the Super Bowl. Oh, wow. So it was great to be in that environment. So everybody needs to know, he's a wide receiver, and Reggie Wayne and Marvin Harrison, one's a Hall of Famer, one's going to be a Hall of Famer. So you're in pretty good company and with one of the greatest quarterbacks of all time. Exactly. I mean, it's a dream come true. I have to pitch myself and not freak out when I first seen these guys.

45:15I'm sure. So I had a great preseason, probably the best in the NFL that year. Definitely out of rookies, but even out of just all the players. I think maybe a top receiver in the NFL during the preseason. Of course, the main guys aren't playing all the games, so we're getting more snaps. And so I was for sure like I was going to make the team. You know, I'm doing good on special teams. I'm like, good, I'm going to make the team. Get a call in on, of course, the cut day. And I get cut. And so that's another shot at my confidence and feeling like I'm not enough, right? I'm like, man, I did the best I can do.

45:49I performed great. And Reggie told me something. I don't know if he remembers this, but he said, about this, you have to understand something. It's about timing. It's about opportunity. So you can play your best preseason and get cut. You can play an average season and make the team. And so I got cut, but I made the practice squad. So I was cool with that. I got an apartment. I bought myself a truck, which I shouldn't have did, but I did it. That was like my promise to myself, like I'm going to get the truck. Bought myself a truck, and within a week, I get a call from a 317 number, and that's Indianapolis.

46:18I'm at the bank actually, casting my first, like putting my first check in there. It's like, hey, Trent, where are you at? And I was like, you know, I'm at the bank, and it's like, well, come into the office and bring your stuff. So at that point, I didn't know what that meant. I was like, okay, you know, I don't know what that means. So I come in there, bring my stuff, and they say, we've got to release you. Oh, no. Oh, my gosh. After I got my apartment, I got my car. Oh, my gosh. So I have to drive from Indy to Texas, which is a long drive after you get fired. Home. Exactly. Right. Yeah. And I'm depressed, man.

46:45I'm there for two weeks. I get a call back from Indianapolis. They call and bring me back. They bring you back. And then three weeks later, I get cut. Emotional roller coaster. Roller coaster. And that was my whole career, just to be honest with you. With Seattle, it was the same thing. I mean, I tell this story a lot. I remember being in Dallas and I get a call from Seattle in my second year. I was with the Seahawks. And they say, Trent, we want to bring you back. And I was like, hey, well, can I come tomorrow? Because it was an off day. And they said, no, you need to come now because I dropped from Dallas to Fort Worth, packed my stuff.

47:10And it's like, just come now, bring it back, go to the airport. So I rush home. Of course, like what most people do, I call my parents. I get on Facebook and I'm like, hey, I'm going back to Seattle. You know, God is really working in my life. As soon as I get to the airport, the phone rings. Oh, my gosh. 206 number. Like, hello. He's like, have you left yet? And I was like, no, I haven't left good because we basically changed our mind. And at that point, that's when depression hit. That's when I felt I questioned God. I questioned my faith. Even me talking to God, why would you bring me this far just to fail me?

47:44And honestly, I didn't really care about living. Not saying that I want to actually grab a gun and shoot myself. But I didn't care about life anymore. There was only one reason that kept me living. And that was my son. It was your son. It was my son. He was born in 2008 in that process. And that whole process kept going. Was that Tristan? That was Tristan. That was Tristan, man. And it was hard, man. So obviously one of the lower points in your life, right? What did you, so you said you focused on Tristan a little bit. Is that what some of the recommendations you would give to other people that when they're down on something is to find something even outside of yourself?

48:18Something that's bigger than you. Something bigger than you. Something that's bigger than you because I just feel like you're living for yourself, right? And it's all about you. I tell people this all the time. It's all about you more than likely going to quit. But when you have something that's bigger than you, you know, a lot of people say your why, your reason, you know, what's the reason why you wake up every single day? Yes. You're not going to give up because you know you're giving up on them. Wow. You know, I believe that because your story, although it's sports related, I think people would be surprised that confidence is even fragile at the highest levels, right?

48:46I mean, that's – most people would look at you and go, okay, unbelievable call a football player, gets a chance to play professionally with some of the best players. One thing he doesn't lack is confidence. And that's one thing everybody should know. I lack confidence all the time. My confidence is fragile, man. Like you get a couple of rejections, couple of setbacks. I have to go through all those habits and rituals myself. But it's interesting to me because your story, even though it was football, isn't that dissimilar for most people listening to this? Most people have had their hopes up, whether it's a relationship or a business, it looks like it's going, then it's not.

49:14Then you get down, then you pick yourself back up. It looks like it's going and it's not. And I think some people think, man, I've picked myself up so many times. Do I have that in me again to pick myself up off the floor yet again? What would you say to them about that? You do have it. And there's always a greater purpose than your pain that you're going through. I think that we focus on the present moment and we kind of say my life is over because something is over just because that relationship is over just because that job is over. Doesn't mean your life is over. And I'm like a living test.

49:42I mean, so many your story, I'm sure it's a living testament to when you just can tell yourself, you know, I don't know, you know, what that something else is. Yes. But there's something more to my life. And that's what I held on to. And I didn't know it would be this. Sure. But I just knew I couldn't afford to keep my life in that place of pain. It's amazing because we and I were talking off camera. It's like oftentimes this is hokey. It's a meme. Your test can become your testimony. Everything's happening for me and not to me. But these are truths, right? It's always true in hindsight. Like the fact of the matter is maybe you'd have played three or four years in the NFL, had an okay halfway decent career, saved a couple hundred grand and went into selling, you know, mortgages somewhere or insurance somewhere you would have never reached the millions of people that you've reached you wouldn't be sitting here right now I can guarantee 100 % I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for my struggle if it wasn't for me losing my everything right I wouldn't be here it's amazing the other thing people can relate to too is like their first big dream didn't happen yeah I do too like I everyone in your family thought you're gonna be a football player everybody everybody had your back on that everyone and then so it's when you sometimes when our dream fails or a relationship fails we haven't just let ourselves down we've let down people all around us and that impacts people too right so you said you focused on tristan yeah what took place then so the career ends yeah you've got a son which we'll talk about in a minute a little bit about the family life because you all that follow if you don't follow trend stuff you're going to see this is one of the most vulnerable thoughtful positive people on all of social media that's why his following is so big and but he doesn't ever try to come across like he's got it all figured out all the time that's what i love about you because neither do i why people say man i'm You get so excited with your guests here.

51:17I'm like, these guests are here for me. I'm learning from them. I got something to bring to the table. I know I do, but I've learned so much from the people that are my guests, including you on and off camera. So you go through that time, and I know what it's like to have a career like that end as well. I wasn't as good as you were at my sport, but I understand that. So you're focused on your son. What then happened after your career? Right. So I remember being in my mom's room, and it wasn't a magical moment. Like, I wish I could paint this story to tell you that it was some magical moment that led me there.

51:44but I remember being in my mom's, in my room in my mom's house. And I remember just looking around my room and seeing like all my football accomplishments. I seen pictures of Tristan and I broke down and started crying. Like literally, like it wasn't some crazy thing that led me to that. Yeah. And at that moment, and I still live by this, these words, I said, it all starts with you. I said, you can either sink or you can swim. You can have this be the end of your life or the beginning to something better. Beautiful. And I came up with these words. I start saying, it's rehab time. I never want to be a speaker.

52:17This is my biggest fear. And we can get into that. This is my biggest fear. You ask my parents, they'll tell you I'm the most introverted kid that they have. I'm an introvert by nature. People, I don't know. Yeah, you know, I don't know how that works, but I'm an introvert. And I had no idea of social media following any of that. I literally just said it's rehab time. And rehab for me meant putting the strength back into a weakness. If we're all honest, we have something in our life that we can rehab. Yes. Something that we can get better. And so for me, it meant going to the gym at 12 o 'clock at night.

52:48And this was 2008. So I had one more trial with the Redskins. And it's funny how I feel like God can use something to get you out of your funk, even though that's not the it that he wants for your life. Yeah. And so I ran a 4-3. I got signed with the Redskins and I'm living this rehab time journey. I get cut, but I was good then. Yeah. You're OK this time. I was OK. It was different than like I just knew that there was something more. Wow. To my life. Wow. Second situation that really happened, that happened to me that really woke me up was my college roommate committing suicide. One of my best friends.

53:19And when that happened, I went to his service and I realized that life isn't promised. And I realized like this is my boy that was going through struggles, that silent battles that I didn't know about. I felt like I wasn't there for him, so much guilt. I promised him, I said, Ant, I'm going to make you more alive in my life than you've ever been. And that's why I do what I do today. So you called this gigantic purpose that was bigger than your fear of suicide. speaking or your introverted nature. Way bigger than that. Yeah. And he's more alive in my life than he's ever been. He's alive right now.

53:46Exactly. We're talking about him. Exactly. See, it's funny thing is that we've all lost people in our lives. And I always tell people, I said, you should honor them with who you become, right? And that's really what you've done for him. There's so many lessons. We've only like about 11 minutes into this or eight minutes into it. But I want to go back. I want everyone to understand this, that even at the top level in sports and business and entertainment, you're going to find that we all have a chance. We can all lose our confidence. We can all get down. We've all struggled with false start after false start, getting our hopes up in me and slammed back down.

54:14I love your point of finding a purpose bigger than you. I absolutely love that. And then also honoring the people in your life who maybe have transitioned out of it like he has.

54:28When did making plans get this complicated? It's time to streamline with WhatsApp, the secure messaging app that brings the whole group together. Use polls to settle dinner plans. Send event invites and pin messages so no one forgets mom's 60th. And never miss a meme or milestone. All protected with end-to-end encryption. It's time for WhatsApp. Message privately with everyone. Learn more at whatsapp.com. Next up is a little song from CarMax about selling a car your way. You want to sell those wheels. You want to get a CarMax instant offer. So fast. Want to take a sec to think about it. Or like a month.

55:07Wanna keep tabs on that instant offer? With OfferWatch. Wanna have CarMax pick it up from your driveway? You wanna get it, touch it. You wanna do it all. So, wanna drive? CarMax. Pickup not available everywhere. Restrictions and fee may apply. Very short intermission here folks. I'm glad you're enjoying the show so far. Don't forget to follow the show on Apple and Spotify. Links are in the show notes. Now on to our next guest. Today we're talking transformations, and I have been chasing these two for, I don't know, a couple months probably, right? They were on ABC hosting the show Extreme Weight Loss.

55:43I have Chris and Heidi Powell with me here today. Thanks for being here, guys. What is some of the steps that you guys have learned from doing the show during and post the show to transform yourself? Let's just use physically for now, but I think the same principles apply everywhere. What are some of the steps to change? How do you do it? I would love to take this one. We begin every transformation by laying out the, there's a true hidden path to transforming everybody's life. And it's been there. It's always been there. But it's just, it's so clouded by so much confusion. Everyone's looking for the right kind of diet, the right kind of exercise.

56:26the path is in integrity and we can't have a conversation about transformation without having a conversation about integrity first and this is what we cover this is the secret sauce that you don't see on the show but this is what's covered with everyone on day one no joke we talk about their diet and exercise we cover that in about 45 minutes for the year done then we say now that that's over with let's have a real conversation about transformation okay none of you and and now We upset a handful of people in this very first comment because we need to get their attention. We say, look, you're all here because you don't have integrity.

57:03And you could imagine that they just, they sit back, they're like, oh yeah? F you, dude. You know exactly what they're thinking. I said, hold on, hold on. Now let me, we need to explain this. First of all, let's talk about what integrity is. Integrity is doing what you say you're going to do when you say you're going to do it when no one else is watching. Now I guarantee you you all have amazing integrity with everybody else in the world If you tell your friend you're gonna show up tomorrow at noon Nancy when do you show up says 1155? Absolutely, you do if you tell them that you're gonna go ahead and pick up their kids you're gonna grab you know Some coffee for their you know book club meeting you're there on time you do what you say you're gonna do when you say you're gonna do it But I just want to see a show of hands and we'll have we'll have a group of 30 people before they begin their transformation Show of hands, how many people here said the diet starts Monday?

57:51And everyone goes, ahhhhh. And you see all the hands go up. How about 2015? It's going to happen this year. Every hand goes up again. How about 2016? Let's try this again. Every single hand. 2017. How about I'm going to wake up at 5 o 'clock tomorrow morning and do 30 minutes of cardio. Every hand goes up. So you guys are great at making commitments and keeping those commitments to other people. but you cannot, you can but you do not keep commitments to yourself and that's why you're all here and that's what we're gonna change. This is your year to take all back. This is your year to completely change your life but in order to do so you need to honor yourself.

58:29You have to make yourself a priority. We are gonna teach you how to love yourself enough so that when you do give your word, you will honor that word to yourself. We believe in you and you don't believe in yourself yet But there's a formula to believing in yourself and what we're gonna do it every single one of them They're in such a deep dark place because you know the folks that we're working with They're four or five six hundred pounds. They're trying to get out We explain in order for them to get there what it was and all we see when we're looking out at this group of 30 people It's not I don't see 200 extra pounds of body fat on them.

59:04It's 200 pounds of broken promises to themselves Oh my gosh. Oh my gosh you get it. It makes sense. And I know you get it because this is the life that you live because you, it's amazing. This house that you've got, all the homes that you've got, what you've been able to create, it's incredible. It's because you have integrity. You have personal integrity first and then that translates into your integrity with everybody else. You just taught me something, just so you know. A big, huge thing you just taught me. I want to tell you what it was and I want you to talk about it or you can talk about it, Heidi.

59:35So I actually, probably one of the roots of my content is how to build self-confidence. And I have consistently said for 25 years that self-confidence is the habit and process of keeping the promises that you make to yourself. Yes. Having said that though, so I'm glad that we stand there. You just said something that's a layer deeper than I've said it before. And you said it's got a connection to needing to love yourself in order to do it. So one of the things I've not backed that up with enough, man, I just want you to know, like I'm processing that right now. Sure. Is I've not backed up enough with teaching them the reasons why they haven't.

1:00:07And so is it your conclusion that some of that has to do with not loving themselves enough in order to keep the promise? Is that part of it? Yeah. Well, and it's that they don't believe in themselves enough. Like when you try and fail and try and fail and try and fail so many times, you don't believe you can do it. And it's all connected. The I don't believe I can do it and I don't love myself are directly connected. They're brother and sister. Yeah. So when one of them exists, you're going to not even try at some point. Or if you say something, you're like, hey, I'm going to do X, Y, Z. that you already know before you say it or as you're saying it that you're not going to actually do it.

1:00:41How do you establish, how do you break that pattern? Is it a social circle that they keep? Is it what do you do to get them to begin to do it? It's also exciting. There's a lot of things. Well first we establish why they are where they are. Because we'll ask all 30 of the individuals that are really struggling, they're in a deep dark place. How do you feel about yourself? I hate myself, I hate myself. Look at me, I'm a disappointment. You hear this common denominator among everything. So let's map how you got there. and literally remember they didn't start there they started with their esteem their confidence their you know their their self-love it was at a certain level and then they made a promise and they broke that promise and so their integrity and your dignity and dignity is that esteem it's that confidence and self-love they are intertwined when you break your integrity your dignity takes a hit and then they do it again and then they do it again and then what happens though that they after a while after so many so many failures that you start making silent promises here's the catch so it's like hey diet starts monday and everybody has been in that place where you you tell your family and your friends hey guys diet is it's going to start monday i'm doing it this time that's usually where most people start and after so many times that they that they fail you know wednesday all of a sudden you know you're in the break room and you're housing a pizza and your co-workers like dude i thought the diet started monday you're like okay i'm never going to tell them when the diet starts Monday again.

1:01:59But integrity, personal integrity doesn't know the difference. Whether you say it out loud or whether you say it to yourself. And so they start making silent promises. Okay, diet starts Monday. And they'll say it to themselves, and sure enough, they break it, and every single time they go lower and lower and lower, and their belief and their confidence and their self-love and their dignity, it just takes a hit till they find themselves at 400 pounds or 500 pounds. Or drinking, you start drinking at 10 a.m., you start taking your opiates, whatever it is, because the thing is you feel so low about yourself and you've lost your belief in yourself.

1:02:32Wow. So in order to get out, all we have to, it's so simple. We reverse that process. And we say, it is our job. Now that we, look, we covered diet and exercise in 45 minutes. Yeah. Now it's our job as your coaches. We're going to get you out of the hole the same way you got in. And we're going to teach you how to love yourself and how to believe in yourself and how to be absolutely unstoppable. And at the end of one year, 365 days, you're going to do something extraordinary that the world, their jaws are gonna drop when they see what you're able to do. And that's exactly what we do. We've done it 76 times.

1:03:02And as humans, it's the power of the human mind and the human heart. And we say, look, here's where you are. You're in the lowest of low. You make one simple promise for yourself. And we let everybody select what that promise is. It might be five minutes on a treadmill. Might be drinking extra quart of water. Might be eat breakfast. I don't care if it's pancakes or oatmeal. It doesn't matter. Make a promise for yourself and keep that promise. And that is what we call their power promise. Power promise. Power promise. It keeps them in the game of transformation. It keeps the transformation going.

1:03:30It's a power promise, but the idea behind it is to... Gosh, I'm loving this. You have to keep yourself winning. You have to keep people winning. Yeah. You just said the next thing. It's like once you know you can win at something, when you make one small commitment, and for some of our people, believe it or not, it's as simple as brushing your teeth every day. Like what is one thing you can do every single day that you know without a shadow of a doubt you can do forever and ever and ever? Do that. Gosh. You check it off the list and you win and you create something called integrity momentum. That's one of the phrases that we use quite often.

1:04:01And once you build that integrity momentum and you master your first power promise, again, say it's just brushing your teeth every day for two weeks. It seems so small. And it is so small. But when you know that's all you've committed to and you've successfully done it for two weeks, you feel like a champ. And you feel like, okay, if I can do that, what else can I do? So then it's like, all right, let's add one more thing. and you'll continue to build and build until you're, well, and the thing I love about, sorry, about this whole topic the most is you learn that the power of your word has value.

1:04:34Like, your word has value. And when you speak something, you start to believe that you can actually make that happen. In every area of your life, not just weight loss and transformation, it could be, hey, I want to, I want to build a multi-million dollar home on a cliff in Three Arch Bay. I'm going to do that. Your word is so powerful because you know everything you say comes to fruition and you can manifest it. I probably have not ever had something said, and I don't mean this disrespectful to any of the other unbelievable guests that I've had, but I don't think something's ever been said like the last seven minute segment here that I agree with more.

1:05:12Like, and everyone, I want to stay on this because it's so wonderful. Because you do it in the most dramatic evidentiary way, which is someone loses hundreds of pounds. If you were just listening to this and you kind of started to hear it because it was entertaining, but you went, that doesn't apply to me because I don't have 250 pounds of extra weight. You have your addiction. Your addiction could be hiding from your dream and watching television. So the condition you show up to the show in could be, you've had this big dream and maybe you've shoved it so far back in the back of your mind now because of these broken promises that it's not 200 pounds of weight, it's not alcohol or drugs, It's not even maybe a bad relationship.

1:05:49It could be all those things. It could be just you're not living your true purpose. You've moved all the way away from it, and you're lacking these promises. And if you started to make them, you're going to get life momentum again. And I so agree with it being something initially that seems so basic and that you get credit for. So keep, if you don't mind, where are you going to get some more, please? It is all about making, it's when you give your word to yourself, again, whether spoken or whether silent, following through that. Like, it could be, I want to start a podcast. Yes. Or I want to create a product.

1:06:23Stop talking about it. Because every time you say you're going to do it and you don't do it, you lose more belief in yourself. You're going to follow further and further into that rut and you won't be able to get out. But we have the saying, too. Your word has to be more powerful than your reasons or your excuses why you cannot. Your word has to have power over your excuses. What makes me think when you're doing it, like I watch you both talk with this energy. And it's like, and by the way, That is part of your giftedness too, is you're transferring energy to people. All you coaches out there, part of it is just transfer of energy to people.

1:06:54Energy can be belief, love, physical energy, like we're talking about here. But what happens, everybody, that they're giving you is, especially those of you that, if you, the body is the best place to me to transform your life. Because you can create evidence there. Even if it's that you're not 400 pounds or 200 pounds overweight, but you're like, I want to get more fit. The body's a great place to begin because what starts to happen, everyone, when you start transforming your body, this mind starts to be like, as Heidi just said, it's almost like a weapon. As they begin to grow, as they begin to, they say, okay, look, I make a commitment, and I'm keeping that commitment.

1:07:26And after they keep it for a while, it's like, oh, wait, what else can I do? Oh, I'll make another commitment, I'll keep that commitment. Wait, what else can I do? Now, the social group around, that's incredibly important, obviously, because it's your, you know, there is, I know a lot of people say, you know, you're the average of the five people that you spend the most time with. And there can be some truth to that, But at the same time, the reality of it also is that for a lot of the folks, you know, they seem to be a little bit. I wouldn't say stuck in the situation, but the thing is that their social system, whether it's their aunts or uncles, the people that they're immediately living with or their friends.

1:08:01So many of those people are not supportive of the transformation. And that is a very difficult place to be when one person has this deep longing desire for change. and they begin to take those steps they start to believe in their self and the other people around them start cutting them down yeah and so we always say instead of you don't necessarily cut off those people because the thing is they are you do have friends and family and there's there's some sometimes a need for that but it's important for you to expand your group and when you expand your group yeah and and you also have to understand coming from a place of compassion those people like your drinking buddies that want to go to buffalo wild wings on friday night and they're like oh can't invite Ed anymore because Ed's not drinking, you know, or Ed doesn't want to have the chicken wings because Ed's all healthy now.

1:08:47Our people get that all the time. So at the same time, why are they saying that? Where is it really coming from? It's coming from a place of fear. They don't want to lose Ed. They love you and you are comfortable for them and this is their family and you're their tribe. So a lot of times they might be sabotaging you, not because it's not out of malevolence or maliciousness. It's just because they're just terrified to lose you and they love you so much. And they're so scared because you're elevating your life. And so it's shining a huge spotlight on the areas of their life where they're too scared to change.

1:09:22This is the hard question. Someone loses 200 pounds. They're in your environment, I wanna call it. They're with you through a year. And it's two years from now. what has been the results post the structure around somebody? In other words, do you find a lot of people go backwards? And if they do go backwards, what do the ones who go backwards have in common? And the reason I ask you that is, I say to people often time in the business world, I have more friends who used to be rich than are currently rich. Yes. All right? It's really interesting. I have more friends who used to be successful at something than actually currently are.

1:10:02Yes. So there's something that happens where people stop pursuing their identity, stop the improvement process. I'm not sure what it is, but what is your experience with the two, three, four year type results and the ones who don't stay fit? Yes. What do they have in common? What's the things they do that shouldn't be done? We have an answer to this because that has been one of our greatest points of pain is solving that problem. I know. Me too. Because, you know, and let's, again, in all transparency, we were the hosts and trainers and coaches on a show that was on television. And television brings such a unique ingredient to transformation in that it actually plays off of the individuals, and not in a bad way at all, but ego.

1:10:51because what happens is that no matter what, when we would run for 365 days, and that individual knows that at the end of the 365 days, their story will be told, whatever that story is. And so they don't want to look bad in front of the world. And so there's this constant driving force behind it. And we can sit there and we can teach them integrity and we can take them through that process. And it is real and it's happening. And we actually get to experience the beauty of a human being believing in themselves and loving themselves over the course of a full year, that's real. That's genuinely real.

1:11:27And at the end, they've lost 200 pounds. They get up on stage, their chest is out, their chin's high. They don't care about the fact they lost 200 pounds. They're a promise keeper to themselves. They've got integrity and dignity. They're living. Then, but there's also that pressure, that constant pressure that was always there. That goes away. All the lessons were still there. the lessons were learned, but then they go back to Raleigh, North Carolina. They go back to Topeka, Kansas, and they go back to that social circle. They go back to their old daily grind and everything. And sure enough, all those old triggers start to fall back in.

1:12:03And we've had over 50 % of our people not gain all the weight back. We've only had a handful gain all the weight back. But I would say probably two thirds of our people have gained 40, 50, sometimes even 100 pounds back. Granted, we've helped them lose like 200. They're doing better than they were before, but they've still gained weight back. They've still, and here's the thing, and again, when it comes to, it could be weight loss, it could be business, it could be whatever it is that you're looking to do. We can trace every single one of those backslides, as they backslide and start gaining weight, down to one single broken promise.

1:12:43It all comes back to integrity. It does. And I implore everybody who's listening, even take some moments to think about your friends who've fallen and they've lost all their money and everything, it all can be traced back to a single broken promise. Because whether it was one day after the show, a week after the show, a month after the show, a lot of them, they maintained for a while, and then all of a sudden after a month, two months, three months, they started to gain weight, and they started to gain weight. And when we actually - They started to get comfortable. And then when we go back to them, we said, what was the moment?

1:13:14So we go back to them, what was your power promise? It all comes down to that foundation. What was that commitment that they made? Was it drinking an extra quart of water? Was it walking on the treadmill for five minutes? What was it? And what was your power promise? And they go, oh my gosh, I stopped keeping it. I remember there was one day that my husband needed me to pick up the kids from school, and then this happened and then that happened, and I didn't do it. And then the next day came along and I said, it was just a fluke, but you know what? I did it yesterday, I'm just gonna do it again today.

1:13:43and one day turned into two, two turned into three, three turned into four, and four turned into four years. And now here I am, and I'm 100 pounds heavier. You link it back to breaking the power promise. Every single one. Wow. Every single one across the board. I believe that's right. I want to add to that if I can. It's a slightly different tactical way of looking at it. Wow. But that is spot on when it comes to what actually happened. And every time, you can always find that one thing. But I think you could. I'm so sorry. That's the same reactions that they have when we all of a sudden trace it all the back all the way back The gentleman they helped lose 400 pounds.

1:14:20He ended up gaining almost all the back He got it to 600 pounds again He traced it back to one day when he walked into a gas station and he he was free of soda for five years straight He walked in there and he went to go put his cup under the diet coke and he saw regular coke He said and he thought to himself. I'm gonna regret this filled it up with coke went from 250 pounds to 600 pounds again. And he traced it all the way back. And when we finally identified that, he went, wow. That was it. Wow, man. Sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt. No, it's okay. Because that's a really important thing. And I think, like we said, everyone can trace it back to one thing.

1:14:55But if we look at it from a different perspective, the reality is that the ones that understood the difference between something we call the transformation game and something we call the weight loss game completely have had an easier time keeping the weight off. So weight loss game, you set a goal in the weight loss game and you do anything you can to reach the goal. The transformation game, there's actually a purpose behind the goal. And you won't necessarily always do everything to reach the goal. You'll do everything to fulfill your purpose and understand and know your why. It's like the weight loss game.

1:15:28We had people, like Chris said, for camera that would do anything they could to hit their way and so they could win the prize or not be looked at this way where they were forgetting all the foundational principles. They were forgetting. and we can preach it till we are blue in the face. It's not about losing weight. It's about your integrity at the end of the day. I've been talking to this man about having him on the show here for, I don't know, like six or eight months. And you would think, well, you want to have him on because he's this, you know, Grammy-nominated artist that everybody knows.

1:15:54And that's not really why I wanted him on. I wanted him on because this man has dimension and depth. So, GZJ Jenkins, welcome to the show. What's up? How you doing, my brother? You said GPS earlier. You got this thing that you write about about your something GPS. My mental GPS. This is so good. I know what it is, but I wanted you to be able to say it. Right, right. In my former job, I've been very successful. Yes. Right? And we call them plays. In one play, you could be almost, you could have millions of dollars and in one play, you send your money to the wrong place, you could be broke again.

1:16:25Yeah. Right? And I went through that so many times. Like having it, not having it. Did you? Yeah, having it, not having it. I never robbed or took anything from anybody. I always was priding myself on, like, getting out and figuring it out. And what I started to notice is, like, even when I lost things, I would get it back, like, tenfold, right? Because I always had integrity. My grandmother raised me. She's a Christian woman, very serious. Sunday school, the whole nine. You're such an interesting man. You're so interesting. Easter speeches, the whole nine. But, you know, I really had a good heart.

1:16:58I just got caught up in the streets, right? and one thing that I started to realize is if I just keep my integrity and I don't and my name is good and my reputation is good I can always figure out how to get it back around because one thing that I did learn about like in business if your reputation is good and you're a good person and you and you pour into people no matter what it may be even at your hardest time somebody might just point you at the right person or send you in the right direction because they know you're good and the reason why I call it mental GPS you know I feel like there there will never be a time in my life where if I lost it all tomorrow that I couldn't get it back.

1:17:32Right. Because I know I understand it and I know how to get back where I left. Right. And then to keep up on that, to keep on that path. And when you from where we from, when you lose it, you know, people go bad. You know what I'm saying? Not like Wall Street where they jump off buildings, but they'll rob their brother. Like they'll, they'll, they'll take from their, you know, they'll take from their best friend. You know what I'm saying? And they'll and not just take. I've seen, you know, situations where people murder their closest friends, you know, I'm saying or kidnap, you know, kids or whatever.

1:18:05And it's just like we in a life like that, you know, it's hard not to because the sad thing is like the culture respects violence, you know, more so than money, you know. And it's just like either you're going to be a leader that leads with evolution or you're going to be a leader that leads with violence. and that's how it works. You know what I'm saying? So there's not a lot of leaders that lead with evolution, right? Because those are the ones that, you know, something, you ever heard like when we talk, we say, wow, the good guys got to go. Those are the ones that get killed. It's interesting you say that.

1:18:38The ones that lead with evolution end up experiencing the violence. Right. Yeah. You know, we're both thinking. I was thinking of Dr. King, right? Yeah, same thing. When you said it. Yeah, same thing. And even some of these kids, you know, like Nipsey Hussle. Great example. He's one of my great, great, you know, Nipsey Hussle, we used to trade books. he had a harder goal and when you look at his situation you can't help but think how could this was somebody that was pouring back into the community but he was leading with evolution and the guys that lead with violence end up being in these situations where they live longer as a result of that I watched an interview you did and you said I really don't trust anybody and then Then the host pushed you a little bit and you're like, well, that was my former life.

1:19:23And I watched. I said, nope, he still doesn't really trust anybody. Like if we're being really, really honest, like let's just cut the. Right. I don't think you really completely trust anybody even right now. You're absolutely right. Okay. But I find myself opening up more and being transparent. But I still have to keep, you know, what kept me, even though it doesn't serve me that much in this life. I'm learning to trust and to understand and to get only quality people around because when you have only quality people around, it's easy for them to show you that they can be trusted to a certain extent.

1:20:01But I will tell you that 98 percent of people that I've ever led in my life have burnt me some type of way. You know what I'm saying? And to the point where I'm just like, I already knew that was going to happen. Why did I even go there? And my reason, I think, for not trusting is I've never, outside of my grandmother, I've never experienced someone who gave me unconditional love. And I never experienced someone that gave me full transparency. And I used to live out of survival and fear, you know what I'm saying? But I try now to live more out of love. but you know I still can't like Nipsey Hussle like I can't think that I'm exempt to what is going on because I'm still a part of that culture so I have to still it's almost like being a soldier you know if you go to you know uh you know Afghanistan or whatever and you come back you still have that mentality that I got to protect myself and my family if something happens because I know how to do that I knew today was going to be good but I didn't know it'd be this good.

1:21:08No, I mean it. And I'm going to tell you something like you pull, when you're this honest, you pull honesty out of me and other people. And here's the truth. So I'm not a part of that culture, but I'm a part of life. And I think that, again, I think that culture is a, like a microcosm, a compressed version of what the rest of life is. And if I'm being really honest, if I'm being really honest same with me I I think even saying 98 is a generous number right right it might be like 99.7324 right like and I think what I landed on was I'm going to be trustworthy but I'm pretty guarded with my trust right and and uh and life has proven to me right that and by the way what's cool about that conclusion is that it's caused me to try to search for where can I trust and for me that's God right right like I don't put my faith in a man I gotta tell you about that too please do because that's what I've reached you please go ahead what I mean I I you know I I must I must say like I don't know what's been going on with me lately you know I'm saying in like the last year but I I used to pray all the time because my grandmother taught me to pray but I never heard anything right I never but like lately like I might be like meditating and he talks to me constantly and i'm serious like to the point like it almost scares me sometimes right and you know i nobody's perfect right so as long as i walk with god i know i'll be good right but people and and the type of people that he's brought in my life like it's it's crazy like you wouldn't believe the type of people that you know call me check on me or whatever and a lot of them don't understand where i come from and what i've been through so you know they might not understand some of my mannerisms sometimes but i make sure when i'm with them i let them know that i i'm really there for them and and they're there for me but what i what i've noticed and you said about trust is like i trust that god is gonna make sure it's good but I still got to watch the front door for us.

1:23:21You know what I'm saying? I just can't let anybody in the front door. Yes. Because that's our sacred space. And, you know, it's so interesting because you look at any part of life, I'm quite sure anybody can say that they don't really have people that they can trust. And the thing about coming from, like, where we come from, especially where I come from, I can't even say that about some of my closest family. You know what I'm saying? And it's just like you would think you can trust your uncles. You would think that you could trust, you know what I'm saying? And all these different things. And my older brother died when we was younger.

1:23:55So I had to be the oldest, right? So I had to kind of jump out there here first. And my experience with it just put me in a place where I just put up all these boundaries, right? And what I'm starting to notice lately is that, you know, that wall that I put up, you know, it protected me. It kept everything out. I mean, it kept everything out. Well, it kept everything in, but it also kept a lot of stuff out. So a lot of my blessings that were supposed to come to me, they were out by the wall because I was blocking them, right? So I didn't take the wall down. I just took, like, the first three layers off so I could see over the wall.

1:24:34So I could see. Look at that. That's such a perfect description. Right, right, right. By the way, that is such a perfect description. Right. Because if you don't have let people in, you are keeping out so many blessings in your life. I think it's almost like for me, like, by the way, taking a few of those bricks, those levels off the wall is exactly what I've done. Like you're saying things that either I haven't had the confidence to say or the ability to say that I totally agree with. I love when I'm talking to somebody and I'm like, because it makes me, it hits my heart. Like that's truth. Right.

1:25:06Like, you know what I mean? Like that's truth. What he just said. That's what I've done too. and almost a little bit other than with God I trust but verify I don't have to verify with God that's already been verified for me right and I also trust God will bring people into my life that can get close to me but I also believe there's free will there's free choice right and he's going to teach us lessons in life there are Judas's in our lives right that's part of the the stories of the Bible or whatever your faith might be. My guest today, 13 years ago, today was sentenced to essentially life in prison 13 years ago today.

1:25:45And then he finds himself sitting across from me 13 years later, having completely transformed his life and has become one of the great speakers on planet earth. One of the great influencers on planet earth and has become dear friends with many of my best friends. And it's one of the most remarkable stories you are ever going to hear in your damn life. So get ready, strap in. And here is Damon West. Damon, welcome to the show, brother. Ed, man, thank you for having me. Let's go back first. And let's just go to 13 years ago today. First, we can go back from there, but let's just go to that. What, What does that feel like when you hear the words that you are guilty and going away?

1:26:27What is the emotional feeling that someone like you, only you can experience? What is that moment like in someone's? I've never been able to ask somebody that question before. Right. No, it's like looking down the barrel of a gun and someone pulled the trigger and that's it. I mean, I loaded on me. And what does it feel like? It feels like rock bottom. That was my rock bottom moment. And it feels like I felt like I got punched in the stomach really hard. When you know the wind is knocked out of you. Yeah. when the judge read the sentence out 65 years and it was like, man, they just hit me with life.

1:26:55And I knew it was going to be bad because I walked back in the courtroom. First of all, the trial lasted six days. Six days is a long criminal trial for crimes that were non-aggravated. No one was ever home during the burglars I committed. They're all meth related burglars, property crimes around meth. Now it doesn't mean I didn't do the crime. I did the crimes and I was a bad guy because when, when I broke into people's houses, my victims, I didn't just steal their property, man. I stole their sense of security. And so I deserve to go to prison. But the trial lasted six days. And over those six days, the jury heard the story of Damon West.

1:27:27And as they heard the story more and more, they began to resent and hate Damon West. And I could see it in their eyes. I could feel it coming out of them. And they had every right to, because here's a guy in front of them that had everything going to life, every advantage, every privilege, every opportunity. And Ed, at the end of that six day trial, they went to deliberate for 10 minutes. Oh, my gosh. Ten minutes, bro. Ten minutes on your life. Ten minutes on my life, man. And I came back in the courtroom. What? They give you a bologna sandwich whenever you're in the breaks back there. People don't see this, but in the back they have a holding cell and they bring you lunch because your lunch is a bologna sandwich when you're in jail.

1:27:59And I'm sitting there taking a couple bites of the bologna sandwich and the bailiff comes in and says, they're ready. And I'm like, I couldn't even chew the sandwich. My throat knotted up. I spit it out in the toilet. Are you freaking kidding me? Yeah, man. Because it's like, oh, dude, that's not good. So I walked back to the courtroom and I have two paid attorneys, Ed. I'm a white middle-class guy in America. I've got two paid attorneys. I've never had a felony conviction. I thought I was going to get probation that day. And I thought I'd be out getting high because I'm still an addict in my addiction, right?

1:28:26And so I come back into the courtroom and my second chair counsel, a woman named Karen Lambert, she said, brace yourself. It's going to be bad. And I'm like, how bad, Karen? She said, well, you were gone for that brief 10 minutes. The jury sent a note into the judge from the jury room. they wanted to know if they could give you life without parole. Ed, life without parole is a capital punishment. These aren't capital crimes. I'm like, Karen, that's crazy. She said, get ready. And the judge came back in. Damon Joseph West, you are hereby sentenced to 65 years in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice.

1:28:59The first thing I heard, yeah, the first thing I heard was my mother gasped out loud. She's behind me in the courtroom. You know, the sound only a mother can make when she hears her son get a life sentence in prison. And Ed, that day, there's so much going on. And after the moment's over, the sheriffs are on me, the bailiffs are on me, they're handcuffing me. They're dragging me out of the courtroom. And I lock eyes at my mom on the way out the door. And all I can think to say to my mom, Ed, is, I'm sorry, mom. And I don't even know that I fully understood that I meant it or anything like that.

1:29:27But it's the only thing I can think to say to my poor mother. My father's there, too. But Ed, right after that trial was over, my mother and my dad are brought into this. They put me in some little rooms, got a bulletproof glass, and they told me to wait on the other side of the glass. And my mom and my dad were escorted, and they feel sorry for my parents because I just got life. And so my mom has a conversation with me. It's a five-minute little one-off deal, and she's just on it, man. And she's telling me, she's like, you know, Damon, debts and life demand to be paid. You just got hit with one heck of a bill from the state of Texas.

1:29:57Because she said, you did the things they said you did. So you're going to have to go to prison. You're going to pay that debt. You owe Texas that debt. She said, but you owe your father and I debt, too. She said, we gave you all the opportunity, love and support to be anything you want to be in life. And she said, that's how you just repaid a statement. She said, that's not going to work. And she's reminding me. She said, we raised you in Port Arthur, Texas, a giant multi-part of a city. Gave you a great moral compass, which you chose to not use. She said, so here's the debt you're going to pay to us.

1:30:22Now, Ed, here it is, man. This is the direction of my life. This is those moments that you come to and you say, this is where it changed. She said, when you go to prison, you will not get to one of these white hate groups, one of these Aryan Brotherhood type of gangs, because you're scared because you're the minority in there. She said, that's not going to work. You were never raised to be a racist. You're not going to start now. She said, you will not get any tattoos while you're inside that prison. You don't have any. No, I don't have any tattoos, man. And I was in the joint for almost 10 years, man.

1:30:49These guys, they want to tattoo everything's your body in a joint. Man, every time these guys would come up to me in prison, Wes, let me put a tattoo on you, man. I'd be like, man, dude, I can't do it, man. My mom said no. because she did because listen to what she said next on may 18 2009 13 years ago today she says damon no gangs no tattoos she said you come back as the man we raised or don't come back at all oh my gosh brother i was floored ed yeah your mom rose to the occasion really right rose and she's a nurse man she's used to traumatic situations right she compartmentalized all the pain and got to work and i asked my mom since then i said mom what was it like for you because i'm i'm very like Like I said, I want to ask you questions.

1:31:28I want to ask questions. I want to understand people in the moment. She said, Damon, what I envisioned was my son is on a gurney dying and I'm doing triage to save my son's life. And I stepped up and that was what came to me from the Holy Spirit. She said, and my mom's a very devout Christian woman. So she said, that's what came to me. But it was like, you were on a gurney dying and I've got to stem the flow of blood or you're going to die. My gosh. So everyone, I want you to step back for a second. First thing is you're hearing this unbelievable story, right? And we're going to go deeper on it.

1:31:55But I want you to know as we go through this story, you're going to begin to hear some of the Turnarounds and the strategies and the tactics that have produced this guy sitting in front of me Because some of the people that I admire and respect most in the world have been recommending Damon to me for some time And god's just so amazing man We've been you know kind of trying to put something together for a while and I I send you a message on instagram I go. Hey, may 18th get there. Yeah, that's it, man You're like i'll come right and little do I know that that'd be the 13 year to the day anniversary of you getting life in prison.

1:32:23I had no idea what the date. I didn't even know what the significance meant at all. So God is just absolutely amazing that he sends you to me on that day. I call it God. Thanks, man. That's why I text you. Dude, you're never going to believe this. Not only is it the 13 year anniversary, it's my three year anniversary of being married. My wife and I, Kendall and I got married 10 years to the day that I got sentenced to life in prison. You came to see me on your anniversary. Now I really love you. Thank you. And your wife probably hates me. No, we were in Mexico a couple of years. I sent you that video.

1:32:50We were in Mexico. And so We went for our anniversary trip a week early, a couple of weeks early because I have so many speaking engagements going on. Isn't this good to hear, by the way, because now you guys know there's like a happily ever after at some point. But let's stay in this thing here. Let's go. So, OK, you get sentenced, but let's go back. They were meth. It sounds pretty severe from what I understand happened. You had nonviolent robberies basically in your history and you were a meth addict. Is that accurate? Absolutely. So that's the that's a long time. Life in prison with 65 years for nonviolent, you know, robberies.

1:33:21But let's just you did the crime and you did time for it just seems excessive to me. And I think it is excessive. But let's go back. You get raised by obviously these beautiful parents. You're an unbelievable athlete. Right. What was it? One decision that altered the direction of your life? Is it one time you just decided to use drugs once and you just bam, you were hooked or what took place? what took you down the road that led you 13 years ago to this day to sitting in that room yeah you know whenever i was younger i got into substance abuse at a young age if my gateway drug was alcohol it's the first thing i ever did i got into my dad's beer when i was 10 you know and after that i i smoked pot when i was 12 and i had a lot of character issues man and but i could throw a football and this is texas man texas high school football it's like a religion in my home city these people are very serious about their football and i was the man i was a three-year starting quarterback for a 5A school.

1:34:09So my behaviors never were, I never, I was never held accountable for my behaviors and I'm not blaming anybody else for that. It's just, I mean, but I, um, I didn't, I didn't get held accountable. I was a good student. I made grades, um, got a scholarship to play football at the university or Texas. But I think the one decision that I made is that I got into substance abuse at a young age. I had no idea that I was an addict. You know, you don't, there's not a genetic test for this yet. I mean, maybe there will be one day, but I was an addict. And once I put in those chemicals for the first time, I liked the way it felt.

1:34:37I liked the buzz I got from drinking. Then I wanted to try something different. And it wasn't until I got to college that I got into more hardcore drugs. I was playing football and I got injured. I had a career in an injury in 1996 against Texas A &M. I'm 20, man. I was a starting quarterback. You played sports, man. You know how big it is until when your career ends prematurely. You're not ready for this. It's your whole dream. It's your whole world. It was my identity. That's the problem. I wrap my identity up into something external. And I see people all the time in the world. We see people that wrap their identities up into something external, their money, their job, whatever.

1:35:06That's not you, man. What's you is inside you. I didn't get that back then, though, Ed. I didn't get the memo, right? So I got into hardcore drugs in 96, cocaine, ecstasy pills, graduated college, went off to work and worked in the United States Congress, worked for a guy running for president, worked on Wall Street. Ed, I was a Wall Street, I was training to be a stockbroker in Dallas when I was introduced to meth for the first time. But now we're back to the one decision of substance abuse, man. Once I put the chemicals in at a young age, I liked the way it felt and I chased that. You also, if you don't mind saying it, we're going to go a little bit more personal, but I don't know if it was at the time or later, you sort of uncovered that there's probably a not very fair incident that happened to you when you were a young man as well that you're maybe, maybe you're masking it a little.

1:35:48Oh yeah. No. When I was nine, I was, I was molested by a babysitter, female babysitter. And this is so, but I'm careful when I, when I talk about it, I'm careful not to say that, Hey, you know, this is what happened to me and this is the road I went down because of that because some people are really, some people have very traumatic experiences with that. This was a female babysitter that we were doing things. I was nine years old when this happened. No nine-year-old should be doing the stuff I was doing, but it didn't affect me in the sense that it's like, oh my God, my world was turned upside down.

1:36:17I can't believe this happened to me. What happened to me with that is I got introduced to adult behaviors at a very young age. It's like someone lets you inside that big door and once you got on the other side of that door at nine which you're not supposed to be on the side of that door at nine there's all these other doors but those doors aren't locked those doors are for adults you can just open doors to the doors because you make choices and but i got on the other side of that door at nine years old and now there's drinking they're smoking they're smoking dope there's you know skipping school cutting classes you know chasing girls all that stuff i got introduced to that at a very young age so So that said, I don't know how you just said that.

1:36:52I don't want to use it as a crutch because I know that some people are very traumatically affected by that. And I'm not trying to minimize the fact that it did affect me. But what it did to me is it introduced me to adult behaviors at a very young age. And when I touch that live wire of substances, I like it. This is the Ed Mylon Show.

From the publisher

What if the only thing standing between you and greatness was the story you’ve been telling yourself?

In this electrifying mashup, I’m bringing together some of the most inspiring voices on the planet to help you rewrite the narrative of your life and unlock the greatness that already exists within you. You’ll hear life-changing insights from Les Brown, Jay "Jeezy" Jenkins, Dean Graziosi, Heidi Powell, Trent Shelton, Chris Powell, and Damon West—each of them sharing hard-earned wisdom that can transform your mindset, your habits, and your future.

Les Brown reminds us that “when you have a big dream, it will introduce you to a part of yourself that you don’t know yet.” If you’ve ever doubted your ability to rise above your circumstances, his words will light a fire in you. Dean Graziosi pulls back the curtain on how facing the storm in your life—whether it's relationships, business, or self-doubt—is the only way to reach the next level. And Heidi and Chris Powell break down the power of keeping promises to yourself, because every transformation starts with the smallest commitments.

Trent Shelton takes us through the emotional rollercoaster of going from an NFL hopeful to finding a bigger purpose beyond the game. "Something bigger than you will keep you from quitting," he says. And Damon West, a man who went from a life sentence in prison to becoming one of the most impactful motivational speakers, proves that no matter how dark your past, you can rewrite your future. His story will shake you to your core.

This episode is a wake-up call. The only limits in your life are the ones you accept. You are not defined by your past. You are not disqualified by your failures. The pen is in your hands, and it’s time to start writing a new chapter.

Key Takeaways:
- How to turn your biggest failures into your greatest strengths

- Why facing the storm is the only way to reach the next level

- The secret to lasting transformation—integrity momentum

- Why your confidence isn’t lost, it’s just buried under broken promises

- How to use adversity as fuel instead of letting it break you

- The mindset shift that will separate you from the pack

Your story isn’t over—it’s just getting started. The question is, are you ready to own it?

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