NEVER GIVE UP! - with Eric Legrand

From laying PARALYZED on a football field to becoming an inspiration to millions all over the world … This is possibly one of the MOST INSPIRATIONAL episodes of all time! When life has seemingly destroyed you, it is YOUR CHOICE to STAY RESILIENT and TURN THINGS AROUND! It is such a blessing and I am HONORED to bring you this breathtaking interview with the one and only, Eric LeGrand! On the football field playing for Rutgers University, LeGrand suffered a career-ending injury leaving him paralyzed from the neck down. Eric’s story is one of PERSISTENCE and INSPIRATION. He thought his life was over as he lay unable to breathe on the green turf, but HE DIDN’T GIVE UP. In this episode, Eric takes us on the emotional journey of the terrifying experience of his injury. He reveals how he found RESILIENCE, PATIENCE, FOCUS and the FAITH to persevere even with everything stacked against him to become one of the most inspirational motivational speakers in the world. Learn the skills Eric LeGrand used to start pouring FOCUS and ENERGY into SOLUTIONS instead of your PROBLEMS. This man has inspired me, along with millions of other people, and has taught us that it is not the events in our lives that happen to us, but what we do in response to those events that define who we are. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Speaker names marked ? are inferred from speaking time and the show’s known hosts — they are not voice-verified.

• 0:00Ed Mylett?

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• 0:45Ed Mylett?

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• 1:07Speaker 01

  Welcome to the Ed Mylett Show. This podcast is for those who want to do more, see more, and be more.

• 1:19Ed Mylett?

  Welcome back to Max Out, everybody. I'm Ed Mylett, and today's a very special program and one that I've worked very hard to put together for you because I wanted to introduce you to this incredibly inspirational person to my right. You know, I've often had people on the program, as you know, that have incredibly inspiring words. But every so often, I introduce you to somebody who's just an inspiring being, an inspiring person. And the man to my right absolutely fits that description. And so with no further ado, let me introduce my good friend, Eric Legrand. Eric, thank you for being here.

• 1:49Speaker 02

  Hey, thank you for having me on, Ed. It's truly, truly a blessing.

• 1:53Ed Mylett?

  Welcome to California.

• 1:54Speaker 02

  Yeah, California, I hate that. I like it, man, I like it.

• 1:58Ed Mylett?

  Welcome to the beach. So, so everybody that's watching on YouTube. You immediately can see that Eric is in a wheelchair. If you're listening to this on audio, we're going to describe this incredible story to you. But it's one of the most remarkable stories that I've been following for the better part of, you know, going on, going on nine years. From the minute that your injury took place to today, I've tracked your progress. And I think you, by the way, one of the greatest speakers in the world too, which people are going to hear about soon. But why don't we get right into it? Because I think most people may have seen you before, but may not know the story. So take us back to where your life changed, which was October 16th, 2010. Your life was altered forever on that day, correct? So tell everybody what happened that day.

• 2:39Speaker 02

  Well, we were in the fourth quarter at MetLife Stadium, playing the Army Black Knights. And I remember we had just tied the game up 17-17. So I was on the kickoff team in my head. I'm like, let me run down the field, make a big play, get our defense out of here, get a quick three and out, and get the ball back to our offense, so they can have a two-minute goal to score. That's my mode going down on the field. And that game, I was facing a double team. So as soon as the ball's kicked off, two guys came to block me. But on that particular kickoff, I was able to split right through there, man. I had a good 30, 40 yard head start in this guy. Now, I knew I was going to make a tackle on. And as I'm running down the field, I'm saying, do I want to use my head? Or do I want to use my shoulder? And everybody knows when you play football, if you're going to use your head, you got to see what you hit. I said, this is going to be a big collision.

• 3:22Speaker 02

  Let me use my shoulder, keep my head out to play. In the video, you'll see my teammate actually got there about a half a second before I did, and he tripped a guy up. When a guy got tripped up, his body twirled in the air. And as I put my head down, thinking it wasn't going to be a tackle at all, it would be just my shoulder. The angle changed, and the crown of my head went right into the back of his shoulder blade. And next thing you know, I was laying on the ground paralyzed, and my life changed right there. No idea what happened to me.

• 3:50Ed Mylett?

  So picture this, everybody. You're playing for Rutgers, one of the top football programs in the country at the time. And you're a big man. So you're talking about a collision at high speed. Everyone picture this. What were you, about 6'2", 270 at the time?

• 4:02Speaker 02

  Yeah, about 270, 275, running down. Yep. It sounds like Usain Bolt. There's people, there's some, the scientific on it. Usain Bolt running full speed into a brick wall. That was a collision.

• 4:12Ed Mylett?

  My goodness. So you're hurt, you're on the ground. Do you know immediately something's wrong?

• 4:16Speaker 02

  I knew right away that something went wrong because I couldn't move. But then I was the most, I guess frightening part about it was I couldn't breathe. So immediately I paralyzed my diaphragm, but I thought I had knocked the wind out of myself maybe. And I thought I had a full body stinger because I had a stinger on my shoulder before, where I went completely numb and I wasn't able to move it. I said, I just did that to my body. But I remember the trainers come running out, they're like, is it your hat? Or is it your neck? And I was just like, I can't breathe. And then Coach Shiano comes out and he looks down at me and goes, E, you have to pray right now. And when he says that to me, I'm thinking this is it. My life is over because I can't move, I can't breathe. And now my coach is telling me I have to pray.

• 4:56Ed Mylett?

  Oh my gosh.

• 4:57Speaker 02

  I'm saying, of course, I'm praying for gas to air or anything, but in my back of my head, I'm like, my life is over. I'm not gonna lie to you, Ed. At one point, I did close my eyes and I said, God, take me at ease.

• 5:07Ed Mylett?

  Did you really?

• 5:08Speaker 02

  I did. I closed my eyes and I cried. I said, God, take me. And nothing happened. So I instantly opened my eyes back up and started panting again and because I was nervous. But at this time, they're putting a board on me now to get me onto the cart. And when they lifted me up, somehow I caught a gas of air for a second. So then I said to myself, okay, I did knock the wind out of myself. Everything will be okay.

• 5:31Ed Mylett?

  So while you're laying there in front of thousands and thousands of people, you literally closed your eyes and said, Lord, take me.

• 5:36Speaker 02

  I did. I remember I said, this is it. I can't move, I can't breathe. This is gonna be the end of my journey.

• 5:42Ed Mylett?

  Were you in, so you couldn't breathe. And by the way, when this happened, this was national news everywhere, right? At the time. But if we could go back just for a second, because I think one of the things you do, Eric, is so magnificent, because you have such an infectious spirit. So does your mom, by the way, who we'll talk about later. Mom does too. But you, you. You have this thing about you that's so calm. And so I want to know, were you this way before this injury? Were you always sort of predisposed to be this sort of, I don't know if I'd call you serene or chill, but is that true of you?

• 6:18Speaker 02

  I always loved to be a people person. Loved to make people smile, loved to make them laugh. Didn't matter who you are. I was always that guy where, you know, you see him, he's gonna put a smile on your face. It didn't matter. Were raised, boy, girl, it didn't matter. I was always that guy that wanted to make you smile. People loved to be around me, I'm not gonna lie. I had to up to that because I liked to be around people. Class clown at times.

• 6:40Ed Mylett?

  Yeah.

• 6:40Speaker 02

  The jokes, but when it was time to, you know, click it on and be a serious guy, I knew. When it was time to work, it was time to work. And when it was time to play, you had fun.

• 6:47Ed Mylett?

  And you knew in that moment, laying there, this is not a normal time. Were you in physical pain other than the not breathing?

• 6:54Speaker 02

  I get that question, like, did I feel anything at the time? I didn't feel anything at all. I had fractured my neck so much, you know, that I went right into my spinal cord and it did the damage and I couldn't feel a thing.

• 7:05Ed Mylett?

  So going through your mind, first is, Lord, take me, then it's like, well, I'm here, I can breathe, I might as well stay, right? Coach tells you to pray. How long between when the injury took place, do you know, until you were off the football field?

• 7:16Speaker 02

  Seven minutes.

• 7:18Ed Mylett?

  Seven minutes?

• 7:18Speaker 02

  Seven minutes. I give so much credit to my trainers and to the whole staff. I think that's why I'm doing so well now. They got me on and off the field, into the ambulance and out of that stadium in seven minutes. And I think if I would have been out there longer and stuff, there'd have been so many more internal, you know, just damage done.

• 7:35Ed Mylett?

  So what happens then? You go off the field, you get into an ambulance, what takes place now?

• 7:39Speaker 02

  I remember I tried to give the thumbs up first. And then it just felt like there was a thousand bouncing in the block laying on my hand. Couldn't move it.

• 7:46Ed Mylett?

  So you're trying to come off and just let everyone know you're okay?

• 7:48Speaker 02

  Couldn't do it. Getting to the back of the ambulance and they put an oxygen mask on me and I'm not gonna lie, I was ignorant to the fact of how oxygen masks work, so I'm thinking, they put this on, I'm gonna be able to go. I took that deep breath in and I was not able to go.

• 8:04Ed Mylett?

  Really?

• 8:04Speaker 02

  And I'm not gonna lie, I freaked myself out so much that I passed out.

• 8:08Ed Mylett?

  You did?

• 8:09Speaker 02

  I passed out the whole ride to the ambulance. I only remember waking up when I got there. I opened my eyes and I see a bunch of lights in the hallway as I'm getting carried down the hallway. I blacked out. I woke up again and now I'm in a room filled with a bunch of doctors and nurses. It sounded like they're speaking a different language to me. You know what was going on. I blacked out. I woke up one more time and I was in the room by myself with all the monitors and sounds going beep, beep, beep. And that's all I remember until Wednesday. This injury happened on Saturday. That's all I remember.

• 8:40Ed Mylett?

  You, uh, were you a praying person then? Just curious.

• 8:44Speaker 02

  Yeah, I always had good faith. I always believed in God and definitely, I'm a lot closer now.

• 8:50Ed Mylett?

  Are you?

• 8:50Speaker 02

  Yeah, absolutely. But I always believed and I always prayed and, you know, and that just was going along my journey as a regular 20-year-old, you know, Division One athlete and...

• 8:59Ed Mylett?

  I must tell you, as you're telling me this story, my heart's racing. Like, it's scary for me to hear. And I wasn't there. I appreciate you being so honest about that because I think, you know, there's a fascination. People think, what happens in these moments in someone's life where they know life is never gonna be the same again? And I appreciate you, you know, being willing to share that so much.

• 9:20Ed Mylett?

  You end up waking up then, on that Wednesday.

• 9:23Speaker 02

  Yes.

• 9:24Ed Mylett?

  And someone has to probably, at that point, I assume, deliver news to you? Or what takes place then?

• 9:28Speaker 02

  I kinda know. I knew that I was injured. I didn't know the extent of my injury. And I remember my mom coming up to me and saying, Eric, let me know when you wanna talk. But at the time, I was, I'm not gonna lie, I was getting just bombarded with posters and postcards and people visiting me that, I kinda wasn't focusing on injury. I was focusing on talking to people and, yeah, I haven't seen, like, people I haven't seen since the middle school and high school were coming up to visit me. And the guy, it was national news, so you know. The Giants came, Tom Coughlin came over to see me. Sent over all the rookies that year, Jason Pierre-Paul and those guys.

• 9:59Ed Mylett?

  Wow.

• 9:59Speaker 02

  Came and visited me and then Andy Reid was with the Eagles.

• 10:02Ed Mylett?

  Yeah.

• 10:02Speaker 02

  He came over, so on the back of my head, I'm like, this is perfect. They're gonna know who I am when I get back on that field. About to be a first round pick and everything. Before I knew, of course, what was going on, I was amped. And I was fired up to see a bunch of people that had took my mind away from everything that was going on.

• 10:18Ed Mylett?

  Interesting. That is interesting. So when do you talk, is it mom who tells you this is the situation or was it a doctor?

• 10:25Speaker 02

  I would say, no, it was my mom. It was about a week into it and.

• 10:27Ed Mylett?

  A week into it?

• 10:29Speaker 02

  A week into it and, like I said, this was, it was non-stop every day.

• 10:32Ed Mylett?

  It was the biggest story in the country at the time. I mean, not just sports news, but national news at the time. It was the dominant story on all media, all networks.

• 10:40Speaker 02

  I was getting, most people from China, Australia were sending me postcards and stuff. So every day we were just going through that and I was, I was sleeping a lot during the day because I wasn't sleeping at night. I was very terrified at night, just the, terror of the night and not being able to, you know, control what was going on and having to trust other people. But, um, when I finally realized what had happened to me, and I said, you know what? Can't focus on football right now. I want to focus on getting my life now. Like, I definitely have to graduate. Uh, cause I'm not gonna be playing football anymore. I started thinking about my life. What am I going to do? Cause my whole life has been football. And I just, I'm like, I want to be back on my feet. What do I gotta do in rehab? And what am I gonna do afterwards so I can support myself?

• 11:21Ed Mylett?

  Well, you're already processing that information.

• 11:23Speaker 02

  Right away. When I, when I realized I wasn't gonna be able to play football right now, I'm like, well, what's next? Like, this is all I know. So it just came to my head, like, of course, immediately it was rehab, getting back, you know, on my feet. And I was like, that's gonna come. Like, I've been grinding my whole life. I know what the weight room's like. I'm thinking, you know, you just go in there and you work and you'll be back on your feet. You know, I didn't know the extent of, you know, all the nerve stuff, like I know now. Like, I'm a scientist now, but, I was just thinking, all right, I'm going to gym and I'm grinding for whatever amount of time I'll be up on my feet.

• 11:52Ed Mylett?

  See, this is interesting to me. This speaks a lot to you, cause I've known you from a distance, but now I'm knowing you. Everyone should just hear this. First off, just give you some perspective on whatever you think you had a bad day. I just had, we were just talking about off camera about Israel Del Toro, who's been on my show and, who was burned eighty percent of his body. And on that show, I said, so you think you've had a bad day? Really? Compared to what? You think you're having a bad time right now? Really? Compared to what? But what's so impressive to me, cause I know you, you're super humble. There's no false front here. The fact that you went into, I'm scared. But you immediately went into solution. You immediately went into the grind. And that's a lesson for everybody. Like when you're going through some of the worst things in the world, what people have a tendency to do is focus on the problem and not the solution. And there's so much power.

• 12:34Ed Mylett?

  I've said this in some of my videos about it's easy for me to say you did it. But to start pouring your focus and energy into the solution, not the problem itself. The other thing I want to say to you, just back at you, that I didn't think of until you just said it was that not only was this a catastrophic life change, but your whole plan was now gone. You're not going to play in the NFL. I'd not really processed that a dream went away that day. And a lot of people can relate to that. Their first dream's gone away. First dream relationship, dream business, dream career. It's gone. You immediately moved into the transition phase of that.

• 13:06Speaker 02

  I give that a lot of credit to Coach Shiano and our staff at Rutgers, because we were, I was telling you off camera, I felt like we were going through the military, but it was always about the solution. The problem, here's the problem. How do you handle it? And what are you going to do forward afterwards? And we had a lot of life lessons. Coach Shiano used to tell us, what if you get fired from your job? You gotta move on, you gotta support your family. You don't sit there and focus on the problem. You look toward the solution. So my head, my mental was trained.

• 13:34Ed Mylett?

  Yeah.

• 13:35Speaker 02

  I was trained right away. Like I said, alright, I'm not playing football no more. What's next? How do I have to handle this? How do I get it done? I've been trained to think that.

• 13:44Ed Mylett?

  That's incredible. Could you tell them a little bit, Coach Shiano? Those of you that may not know, it's Greg Shiano, right? Coach has been at Rutgers, he's been in the NFL. And he's sort of, I think, probably known as sort of a pretty serious and tense dude. But you and your mom were both sharing that. Not only did he help sort of groom you almost to be prepared for something like this, although you can never be completely prepared, as you've just said. But he was really, he was there for you in ways most people wouldn't know post the injury. Would you be willing just to share with people a little bit about that?

• 14:14Speaker 02

  I would love to, because Coach Shiano, he's not for everybody. He's not going, he's gonna rub a lot of people the wrong way. But the people that he can work with, that can get in his head, he turns into monsters. Like, I'm talking about good monsters mentally, physically, and whatever you need to handle, you're gonna go do it at 100%. You're gonna crush it. And that's why, like I said, not everyone's built for that. Not everyone in this world. And that's why if he gets a bad rap, oh, he's too hard here, or he pushed me this way. He said this to me. Me, I was his, I was his perfect type of student. I can handle it. When you tell me I'm doing something wrong, I take the responsibility that I'm letting somebody down. I can't do that. I gotta, I gotta, you know, go forward. I gotta handle my business.

• 14:58Speaker 02

  So I'm not letting, you know, other people down. And that's what he did with his antics, just, you know, training us in the, it's a hundred and twenty degrees on the turf. Just had a two and a half hour practice, run twenty-two gases afterwards. Now he's got us put our face in the turf and breathing in all of that, like, stuff like that. Like, what are you, like, what am I doing right now? What am I doing with my life? It's all fundamental, just preparing you for life. And when tough situations happen, what are you going to do? Do you fold? Or do you look to the solution and handle it?

• 15:25Ed Mylett?

  Great.

• 15:25Speaker 02

  That's what he did. And when he recruited me, he said that he treats all his kids like his sons. And there was nothing more than that didn't show, that didn't show that as when I got hurt.

• 15:36Ed Mylett?

  How so?

• 15:37Speaker 02

  Oh, man, he was, he was on the phone hours right after the game, making sure I was in the best hospital. Making sure I was taking care of the best way. I come up to the hospital at night, eleven o'clock at night to let my mom go to the hotel, sleep. Stay with me for till two, three in the morning. And then be back at the Hale Center where was the practice center, you know, for us at seven AM, things of that nature. And then, when I got transferred to Kessler, he made sure I had everything. He had the satellite dish installed on top of my room. A flat screen TV in there. They even built me a fat ass. Whatever I needed, I had. And it was because of Coach Gianno, Tim Brennety, who was the athletic director. And everybody at Rutgers, it was incredible.

• 16:14Ed Mylett?

  What a great lesson on leaders, man. You're like this treasure chest of info. Like both you and the people you've observed, but like, I love what you said, like, great leaders aren't concerned about being for everybody. And when you're trying to please everybody, you end up leading nobody. And then he was there for you when it mattered, though. Like, to me, the picture of the coach, you know, still running that program, coming and relieving your mom at eleven o'clock at night and staying there with you, you know, there weren't cameras there. Nobody knew that was taking place. And so what an incredible lesson from him. I want to ask you first, and then we're going to go backwards, because you've told me your life before this prepared you. But if there was one thing during that time that you learned or that you took a lesson away from, either about yourself or life, what would you say that it was?

• 16:54Speaker 02

  Actually, it was patience. Everyone's still instant gratification me. I always want everything now. I want to, you know, if I want to find something, I can always work for a goal. But I want to start it now. Want to do it now. Want to do this, want to do that now. I've learned with this injury, you have to have patience. Sometimes, everything's not going to go the way that you want it. And sometimes, there are things that you keep that are out of your control. And when sometimes when it's out of your control, it can build you up and frustrate you. So much because I told you the way I was was if something was put in front of me, I handled it. You go in the weight room, you handle it. You go on the practice field, you do the little things to get better. With this injury, sometimes it's just not like that. You can't just go to ride a bike and you know, start getting better. You can't walk on the treadmill all the time and just get better.

• 17:36Speaker 02

  So I've learned to be able to be patient when things don't go your way. And I get so frustrated, be able to be in that moment about, okay, it's not going to work today. But don't get, you know, don't get this, you know, this disturbed from the goal in hand. You gotta stay focused on that task at hand and still handle it, come back the next day.

• 17:53Ed Mylett?

  What a great lesson. I want to ask you something about that though. Because I think sometimes when people hear patience, because they, the right people know that means stay in the grind until you win. The wrong people think, oh, I'm being patient. I don't have to be after it right now. Right? Do you know what I'm saying? Like, it's almost an excuse not to grind. So you were simultaneously patient, but you went right after your PT, right? Right after therapy to get better. And tell them a little bit, because I, one of the things I comment on to you was, you're mobile. You know, for, you broke C3 and 4, correct? So very severe injury. But you've got a lot of mobility now in your shoulders and in your neck, and you move very well. Better than I even assumed.

• 18:37Ed Mylett?

  You attributed that to the immediate grind you went into on rehab, correct?

• 18:42Speaker 02

  Yes, I do.

• 18:42Ed Mylett?

  And they had you up moving. Talk about that a little bit.

• 18:44Speaker 02

  Yeah, when I first got hurt, I was pretty much stiff to a board. The doctor pretty much said I was almost going to be a vegetable, you know? Since I had to say it in that terms, but that's what they pretty much said. And I was really able to turn my head to the left and to the right. I was on a ventilator, couldn't breathe on my own. I had a feeding tube in my stomach, couldn't eat solid foods. And you know, told me I never walk again, like I was flipping, turned upside down. But immediately, I went to, how do I, all right, this is going on now. How do I get this feeding tube out of me? How do I breathe on my own? How do I, you know, just start doing the other things that I needed to do? How do I walk again? And when they're like, all right, we're going to go do this, this and that. I'm like, all right, let's get started with it and. That's what it's just, it was just that grind that I've learned, like I said, being

• 19:27Speaker 02

  pitching, because not everything's gonna happen, you know, right away.

• 19:30Ed Mylett?

  Did you want to quit?

• 19:31Speaker 02

  I, I guess, I never wanted to quit. It's been all that, that work, and I've had little victories, as I've been able to come off the ventilator, five weeks after my injury.

• 19:39Ed Mylett?

  Five weeks after, wow.

• 19:41Speaker 02

  I was able to eat a full Thanksgiving meal with my family that, that Thanksgiving after a month and a half of being injured, and told me I would be on a feeding tube for the rest of my life.

• 19:48Ed Mylett?

  Wow.

• 19:49Speaker 02

  And then I remember it was Super Bowl party of 2011, I was had it up at Kessler, and we had a bunch of family and friends over, and at that time, I wasn't able to move my shoulders yet, but at that party, I went like, a little bit like that, and they were like, Eric, did you just move your shoulder? I'm like, I think so, now you see, I'm moving around, and that's all just from going to physical therapy, controlling what I can control, and, and I always say, because I always had that athlete mindset, so I go in there, it's like attacking a workout, and sometimes I do feel bad for the 55-year-old woman who never worked out in her life, who has a spinal cord injury, and now has to go to the gym five days a week, and she's never experienced that. I said, I had that advantage, I've been doing this my whole life. I've been grinding my whole life, I know those dog days, what it's like, and days that

• 20:32Speaker 02

  you don't want to get up and do it, but you gotta push yourself to do it, so I kinda went into that mindset of, alright, now it's not working to get on the field, and get to the NFL, to now, working to get back on my feet and get my life back.

• 20:43Ed Mylett?

  This is unreal, like, you're so mentally tough, but the way you-

• 20:46Speaker 02

  I, I, that's why I said, my mental toughness, honestly, I feel like I can handle anything, and it's weird to say that, and it's like an humble brag, but-

• 20:53Ed Mylett?

  Yeah.

• 20:54Speaker 02

  Mentally, I feel like, you know, whatever life throws at me, I'm ready to handle.

• 20:59Ed Mylett?

  Yeah, you've kind of proven that, brother, so like, where's that come from? Is there some stuff early in your life that prepped you for something like this, do you think?

• 21:05Speaker 02

  I would say, as a young kid, I always tell my, a story, I, how I've learned from different core values. Commitment was the first one, I remember being 10 years old, playing in the park with my friends, and I remember I was, I was the best one on the football team, we had practice. One day, my mom comes from work, comes to the park, Eric, come on, we gotta go, we gotta go to practice, blah, blah, blah. I remember yelling to her, ma, I ain't going to practice today, staying here with my friends at the park. You met my mom.

• 21:31Ed Mylett?

  Yes.

• 21:32Speaker 02

  Comes in the park, grabs me by my arm, drags me out, throws me in the backseat on the way home. The whole time, "Are you kidding me? Who do you think you are? You commit to something and you see it out? I don't care how good you are, blah, blah, blah." And from 10 years old, now I'm 28, I still remember that. So now, when I got to high school, I got offered a scholarship as a freshman for Rutgers to play.

• 21:53Speaker 01

  What?

• 21:54Speaker 02

  Yeah, I got offered, after playing three games as a freshman, they were looking at somebody else's film in my town and they saw me, they're like, "Who's that?" And I'm like, "Yeah, he's a freshman." And they came right over and they wrote it on this paper to my coach. That this day on, as a, when I was a junior, he, we offered a scholarship.

• 22:09Ed Mylett?

  That's amazing.

• 22:10Speaker 02

  So, I remember that sophomore year, the seniors always have to pick someone to go turn on the water before and after practice. Have to climb down into a sewer. I'll tell you, this sewer was disgusting. Guess who they picked? You know, maybe the best one on the team. Who's in the sewer, turning on the water before practice? And after practice is over, dead tired, I'm climbing in that sewer. Turn, and turn, waiting for everyone to get their drink, and so I learned humility at a very early age. And then, once I got to Rutgers, one of the biggest things was I got my position changed so much my freshman year. I came in, was recruited as a linebacker. First day of training camp, I get moved to nose guard. Two weeks into the season, our second string defensive end goes down. I get moved to defensive end.

• 22:52Speaker 02

  Our fullbacks weren't performing the way they wanted to midway through the season, I got moved to fullback.

• 22:56Ed Mylett?

  Whoa.

• 22:56Speaker 02

  From there, I played two weeks at fullback. Moved back to defensive end, and then at the end, I finished the year out there and then back to nose guard. It was just a whirlwind. I questioned, do I love the game of football? What am I doing with my life? And is this what's, what my journey is supposed to be about? And, once I've kind of figured that out, like, you know, everything is going to fall into the right place. These are the things in my life that I learned before my injury that kind of set me up to when I was going through this. And what I learned when I was playing there at Rutgers. I can handle it.

• 23:25Ed Mylett?

  Yeah.

• 23:25Speaker 02

  Mentally, I can handle it.

• 23:26Ed Mylett?

  Yeah, you, uh, you personify commitment and humility, both. Cause you're confident, but you're, you have a humble way about you. Speaking of mom, because I don't think people achieve what you've achieved without having... People help them in life, right? And obviously Coach Shiana was there, but your mother's a remarkable woman. Both personally, when you meet her, she's got this infectious spirit. I've told her, you're a great motivational speaker. I'm pretty sure your mom is better than both you and I. But her dedication to you, right, has been, it's actually a beautiful story. And we would make a mistake in this interview if we didn't point out to everybody who's trying to make their dream happen, or come back from the setback, that it's okay to get help. It's okay to have people around you.

• 24:09Ed Mylett?

  I'm sure, you know, you talked about the great people at Rutgers and Coach, but what about mom? How important has mom been for you?

• 24:14Speaker 02

  From the beginning, raising my sister and I, who was 11 and a half years older than me, as a single parent. You know, my dad was around, my dad lived in town next to me. Gave me all my games, things that brought me lunch, you know? I never needed anything. But my mom raised me. My mom turned me into who I am and just taught me respect all people. Just, like I said, commitment, being humble, like if you're good, okay, let them talk about you. You don't talk about yourself. And I truly believe that if you're that good, you don't gotta brag about yourself. Other people will do that for you. And just always on top of me, making sure I'm not in trouble, making sure I'm doing my homework, just going through the guys' accounts, making sure I'm doing this to get

• 24:59Speaker 02

  in the Rutgers, my SATs, getting a tutor when she didn't have the money to get us a tutor. Wanted me and my sister to experience a vacation, so she would skip paying bills so my sister and I can experience a vacation. When I was younger, stuff like that makes you realize, like I remember coming home when I was eight, seven, eight years old and the lights being off, but not realizing why they're off until I got older. I remember when that hot water wasn't working and taking showers, when you had to boil the water and stuff like that. I remember those days now, as I get older, her sacrificing what she could, me getting every new system there was, Xbox, Dreamcast, Playstation, her not paying some bills so I can have a Christmas. You know, as a kid, you don't realize it because you just see it there.

• 25:43Speaker 02

  But as you get older, you realize that commitment, that's just the commitment that she has to me now to making sure I have the best care, I'm doing well. And I'm trying to support us and my goal in life is to get better and bring it back on my feet. So she can live a life that she wants to and not have to support her son all the time.

• 26:01Ed Mylett?

  I love that.

• 26:01Speaker 02

  Let me support her.

• 26:03Ed Mylett?

  Yeah, one of the ways that you're doing that is through your speaking. And I gotta tell you, there's.

• 26:09Ed Mylett?

  I'm a speaker. It's one of the things I do and I feel like the most effective people, it's their being that moves you. Not just their words. And if you have a company or you have an organization and you want people's perspective to instantly change. And you want to see someone who's come back from really difficult times. I picture this man. This huge man, full speed running down the field. When that ball was kicked, little did you think several seconds from now. Your life was about to change. And I picture this man laying there. And coach saying, you better pray and you actually then praying to actually be taken. And then to be sitting with you now this many years later. Speaks to your strength.

• 26:55Ed Mylett?

  And obviously your commitment and your humility as well, but your incredible work ethic, your incredible patience, this whole story of you. All of it fits other areas and having strong people, your mother is a strong woman, but she has this huge spirit too about her. That's cool. So if you want someone to speak, by the way, before we move off of this. You can go to Eric's on let's engage.com. We'll put that on the screen right now. And also to your Instagram, right? Is that where you'd want them to go?

• 27:19Speaker 02

  You go to my Instagram, ericlogram52. I also have my own website. Ericlogram52.com and I feel like I was put here to do bigger things than a game of football and well, that's through speaking. Showing them my stories and sharing my stories with people to help them overcome adversity and they see me. I was, I'm just a regular kid from the suburbs, small town, Avenue, New Jersey. But was guided in the right direction to help other people. And like if I could show them that. Through my speaking and my stories, this is what I'm here for. It's just. If I would have been in NFL, if you followed NFL, you probably would have known me. But now I feel like I have a bigger cause. I could be internationally known just to help people get through their lives in adversity. And like I said, look at what he's been through and look what he's doing. Why can't I do that?

• 28:02Ed Mylett?

  Yeah.

• 28:03Speaker 02

  Why can't I do what I want to do if all odds are against this guy? Finds a way to do it, as you know, as I travel with my friends. I go out in Miami, I go out in Vegas, I do everything, you know, somebody from the age of 20 to 30 would do. You know.

• 28:17Ed Mylett?

  Oh, yeah, you do. Yeah, your mom's telling me that, so.

• 28:20Speaker 02

  So people like, wow, he's living his life, he's still doing that in the circumstances that he's in. Wow, why can't I get a, why can't I start that business? Why can't I leave that nine to five job and try to do something that I wanna do? Why can't I get my family life back together? You know, why this, look at what I'm going through and handle it each and every day and you realize, I think that bad. I've met some people now along the way that have inspired me because they didn't have that same support system that I have. They don't have the opportunities to come here with you and share their story. And I don't ever take any of this for granted because I know that. I have a friend Ingrid who broke her neck in a car accident. Who's unfortunately, she has a, she, I don't know if she has a daughter, but unfortunately, she's still living in the projects of Jersey City. And with seven people in a one-bedroom house.

• 29:06Speaker 02

  The elevator breaks for three months of the year, she says all the time. Can't even get out of the house. Meanwhile, I'm at home, I got a brand new house that was built for me. I got a pimped-out black minivan, like. How bad do I really have? I got a great mom, a great family that brings me here, does this with me. Meanwhile, she can't even get out of her own house for some fresh air. I have a friend Jermaine, who um died from cancer. He has a cancerous tumor in his lower spinal cord and it spreads to his brain and unfortunately, he passed away, but he didn't have the support that I, was wearing the same clothes four days in a row. My grandma was cooking home-cooked meals and stuff. I met his mom once and his dad twice, maybe during his stay. At Kessler, we were there for five months together. And like I said, he passed away two weeks right after I got out of Kessler.

• 29:50Speaker 02

  And it made me realize like, wow, you know, this is, this life, we gotta be appreciative for what we do have and don't focus on the things that we don't have. And if it's something that you really want, you gotta work your butt off to get it. There ain't no other ways around it. And it led me to wanting to help other people because so many people always reach out to me to like, Eric, how can we help you? And that's what led me to starting a foundation.

• 30:11Ed Mylett?

  Oh, okay. You blew my mind right now. So what you just did was, because everybody should be hearing this. This man has turned his life around from a very difficult time. But the fact that you still feel so blessed and that you load yourself up with gratitude. It's all perspective in life. It's not the events of our life. It's the meaning we take away from them. And it's not, it's easy for me to say, but you're doing it. You did it, right? And so before we move off of that, like, I just want to acknowledge the power of what you just said. Because it's very easy to say when you read it in a book and all this is, hey, load yourself with gratitude. Feel blessed. It's completely different that when you're heading to the NFL, you end up with the spinal cord injury. There's some things in your life that will never be the same again.

• 30:54Ed Mylett?

  And yet you're able to find more than people who are, who can walk around every single day, things to be grateful for, things to be blessed for. And I just think you're remarkable for doing it. But I actually, I believe you're right about it too. Like, I agree with you. Talk about the foundation real quick because you've got some events coming up too and stuff. And, you know, if you want, I feel like, before I ask you that, let me ask you a question. It just occurred to me. In some way, this difference you're making in the world for the people like you've just described, but also for the people listening to this that are able-bodied and they're just going through a rut or can't turn things around or feel like there's too much adversity or they're stuck, in some way, do you think that's why this happened?

• 31:35Speaker 02

  Yeah. I truly believe in life revolves off that everything does happen for a reason. And like I said, I was put here to do other things than playing a game of football. Like I said, be that, that mentor, that coach, that inspiration, whatever it is. That in a way that somebody wants to put on whatever title they want to put on it for other, for another person to see. Okay, he's in. And I feel like if in life, if I can get out there and be out there and touch other people and see that if people start looking at things that way with a sense of being grateful, being, have that gratitude for the moments in their life, it's just a lot better place. Instead of just, you know, looking at the things that we complain about. It's like natural for us humans to look at the bad and start complaining, oh, I gotta do this. I gotta go to here. This happened to me here. What am I gonna do?

• 32:17Speaker 02

  Blah, blah, blah. If we could look at it and realize actually fortunate we are to have these things or being able to meet this person or go here, be a lot better place. And that's how I kind of just look at life and I smile at this because when people are like, that didn't get you mad? That person said that or you did that? That didn't get you mad? Like, that's what frustrates you, I'm sorry? Whatever, if he going through that, or said this or that, and she said that. They're a lot worse off than I am, so. That's kind of how I look at it, and if I can help somebody that believes in me and like what I'm saying. I think that's what it's about, and I think it'll put us in a better place.

• 32:50Ed Mylett?

  Yeah, you're doing it right now, you're helping millions of people. Change the way they think, give them a different perspective, the lessons of turning things around. The lessons of overcoming adversity, the lessons of mental toughness, the lessons of gratitude. Millions of people right now are hearing this, and I'm grateful. It's like, like you've inspired me, like when, so everybody knows, he had emailed me because he had, we had known each other. And I immediately, when I got it, I called you, said, I know who you are, you've inspired me, you're coming to do my show. End of story, we don't even need to talk, we talked for like a minute, I'm like, it's done, you're coming, we're gonna do this. Like, I, I knew immediately because you've inspired me, and I'm talking about all the way back to when the injury happened. And, but what happens is, usually these things are news, and then the world sort of moves on. Exactly.

• 33:32Ed Mylett?

  And so, I haven't moved on from you, I don't move on from inspiring people. There's power that when you first have, but I think there's even more power nearly a decade later to see the things that you're doing. Just talk really quickly so they know about the foundation, how do they get, how do they find out about your foundation?

• 33:46Speaker 02

  So, I partnered up with the Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation, and it's about today's cure, tomorrow's cure, and we're gonna find a cure for paralysis. One day, we're raising funds for that, and I was able to form Team Legrand, and we've been able to raise over a million dollars. We started, started in the fall of 2013, and that was when we birthed it, and now, here we are, and we crossed over that mark in 2017, going into 2018, a million dollars. Now, we gotta get to two million dollars, because I feel like, when Christopher Reeve passed away from the infection, the thing, the kind of spinal cord injuries went in the shadow. When I got hurt, I feel like I was past that torch. At your time, his goal was to have a world with empty wheelchairs. I'm trying to use my platform as much as possible to raise that awareness, help people in front of that.

• 34:28Speaker 02

  And, we're doing a great job, but then with technology now, 2019, I truly believe in my lifetime, you know, if I'm blessed to live many years, we will find a cure for the paralysis and. And it's also about raising money and that's why I have my five, well this year will be our ninth year of doing my 5K walk and run and that we each year we raise over a hundred thousand dollars for an event, yeah. It's amazing, it's a, it's a big party at Rutgers football stadium, we come out, everyone, have a barbecue, a DJ, some of the sponsors are amazing for that, but just over a thousand people come out and they walk, they run and they bring their friends, they bring their family, bring their dogs, everybody's welcome and it's just a 5K walk or run and after we have a big barbecue party afterwards and we raise over a thousand dollars.

• 35:10Ed Mylett?

  And you've raised totally over a million dollars. You know, everybody too, the reason it's so important to raise money is there's this revolution happening in stem cells and the more and more you read and understand what the future can be in stem cells, you do know, like this isn't just something people are saying that there could be a cure for paralysis, there really can be and we're getting closer and closer, but there needs to be more money. Probably the pathway to that is the stem cell path, at least some people believe that. Do you believe that too?

• 35:33Speaker 02

  Stem cell, epidermal stimulation with the refundations working on, whatever, I mean honestly, whatever it is.

• 35:39Ed Mylett?

  Right.

• 35:39Speaker 02

  I'm, whatever, I'm trying to, trying to support that and it's because, you know, you, you see these stories and you see these situations, but if we can look at this one day, like a common cold and you get, or a torn ACL and rehab, you get people back to living their life, that's what it's about. I think about that and I envision that, like one day, boom, you go in there and the doctor doesn't have to come in and tell the family, your son is paralyzed, I'll never walk again, never do this, alright, your son got paralyzed, but hey, we can do this treatment and do, you know, heavy, heavy rehab and this, that, so you get back to the life that he wants to live in. That's how I envision it and that's how I want other people to envision, you just kind of raise awareness and unfortunately this happens, but it takes the funds to have those clinical trials and things and it's just the way it is.

• 36:21Ed Mylett?

  Yeah.

• 36:22Speaker 02

  So that's why I'm, I'm trying to do my part and then, and raise that money to help other people.

• 36:27Ed Mylett?

  I love you and I love that you're doing that and I love your vision. Now that conversation you just mentioned where the doctor comes in and says, hey, your son's not going to walk again. I'm curious, I want to ask you, because I know you're real about this stuff, over the last eight, nine years, it's been, we're in the ninth year now, post your injury.

• 36:44Ed Mylett?

  There's been dark times for real too, right? What are some of those times? What are the difficult times like for you now? If you're being transparent, you know, what does that look like for you now? Because everybody has down days, down moments. What's that look like for you?

• 36:58Speaker 02

  Well, I sometimes sit up in my room and say, I want to go out to lunch. I gotta call, hey, can you bring me here? And go there. Say I want to go out on a date with a girl. Got to call, say, hey, you think you can get off so we can? You bring your girlfriend, we can meet up with this one. I want to talk to her. Those are hard times because I can't just get in my car and go and do for myself. Having to rely on people all the time is, it's very, believe me, I'm very blessed. I'm very fortunate, I do have those people. But it's rough because sometimes you just want to do what you want to do, when you want to do it. And I just can't do that. It gets frustrating at times and you sit there and you're like, wow, why can't I do this? Or why can't I do that? But I try not to stay in those moments.

• 37:37Ed Mylett?

  How do you get out of them?

• 37:38Speaker 02

  I think honestly, I think of the people that don't have them. I think about the people I've met along the way that I know that go to rehab and then just go home and they sit in their room and that's it.

• 37:50Ed Mylett?

  So you feed yourself gratitude?

• 37:51Speaker 02

  Yeah, absolutely. Feed it all the time, all the time. Sitting there like, wow, eat, don't get down with this, focus on something else. Start doing this, start betting yourself here, start looking at this. Or even if you want to watch something on TV, take your mind away from those moments, you know? Read a book, you know, stuff like that. You just take your mind away from it and realize how actually fortunate you are. Yeah, those, you got that funk actually pretty fast.

• 38:15Ed Mylett?

  That's huge because what happens is when we get these moments, we just start repeating the thought over and over and over again. So anything you can do to remove the thought. If it is a book, if it's, you know, get outside somehow. If it's, even if it is diversion of music or TV, something to get you out of that repetitive thought. And you're all listeners, you do it. You get a worry, you get a problem, you just repeat it over and over and over and over again.

• 38:36Speaker 02

  Human, that's what happens.

• 38:37Ed Mylett?

  That's what humans do.

• 38:38Speaker 02

  It repeats that bothers you, it hurts you enough. If something bothers you that much, then you try to take the effort to change it. You know, you can't live and know you got to change it. And then another thing that actually got me this past year, I haven't told many people about it, but I wasn't healthy not knowing. I was coughing a lot. Now I realize the why, what's causing this cough. I'm thinking, is it my heater I'm sitting by? Is it the water I'm drinking? Is it, is it the, I didn't know what it was, but I was coughing, coughing and coughing. Come to find out, just last week, I went to the hospital finally to get some tests. Kind of find I have severe sleep apnea. And I wasn't, this is what was causing it, I was not getting enough oxygen to my lungs at night.

• 39:19Speaker 02

  Which was, my oxygen, my lungs are already impaired from the injury, so they're not fully expanded. So they were getting even smaller and smaller. And it was trapping the fluid that you get, and you know, when you cough. It was getting stuck in there and causing pneumonia. I had pneumonia twice last year. Coming to find out, it was just all because of sleep apnea. I didn't know what was causing this, but I finally did a sleep test. And the doctor's like, you stopped breathing for a half hour total last night, and you only slept for four hours. And I was like, what?

• 39:49Ed Mylett?

  Wow.

• 39:50Speaker 02

  So now I got this mask and I'm a new man.

• 39:53Ed Mylett?

  Are you really?

• 39:53Speaker 02

  I'm getting this oxygen down to my lungs. I'm waking, I was falling asleep during the day, three fourths of the day. Not, not, not realizing, because I was waking up so many times at night.

• 40:02Ed Mylett?

  Wow.

• 40:02Speaker 02

  I was tired the next day. Now, I feel like I go all day. I feel like a new man with this.

• 40:06Ed Mylett?

  Yeah.

• 40:07Speaker 02

  Kind of mask, kind of sucks at first, but wearing it.

• 40:09Ed Mylett?

  Right.

• 40:09Speaker 02

  It's trying to get used to it for a week, and I've ever had it in.

• 40:12Ed Mylett?

  You spoke earlier about technology, so these masks have helped you. Also, these students at Rutgers, which we're gonna show some of this B-roll too, but, see, everybody needs to get this. Like, the reason that there's collaboration in the world, I don't care what you're doing, is when you get people who want to support each other, that love each other in the world, miraculous things happen when humans come together. That's what I want people to understand. Listen to this again. Miraculous things happen when human beings come together to do good for each other. Isn't it true?

• 40:40Speaker 02

  That is so true, man.

• 40:41Ed Mylett?

  And so tell them a little bit about what these Rutgers students did with you. This is awesome.

• 40:46Speaker 02

  The way I use my phone, I have a bracket that hooks to the arm of my chair. And I Velcro my phone to it, and I put a stylus pen in my mouth. And I can do everything. That's how I text, that's how I go on my email, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram. I Snapchat, whatever, I do it all with it by my face. But I used to always have to hold the stylus pen in my mouth. Just sit there when I'm out, use it, watch the TV, hold it, hold it. After a while, I get annoyed, I just drop it, and I want to use it again, I gotta call somebody to get it. These Rutgers students came up with this little 3D model where I can connect it to my bracket. And I put a little, there was a little hole in it. And now I just drop my little stylus pen in there. I can keep my mouth from getting dry all the time and being thirsty. Isn't that, life's little things, life changer.

• 41:27Ed Mylett?

  Yes, life changer. They also did a drone too. By the way, we're feeding this in. If you're watching YouTube, you're seeing this right now. But also, didn't they build a drone that you use as well?

• 41:34Speaker 02

  There's a drone and you can usually go on your phone and use it as an app and you can fly your own drone. And I actually just started my own YouTube channel, so I can't wait to start doing videos, flying my own drone around in a neighborhood. Doing some cool stuff with that, using it for my events, like my walk, I have a flag football tournament. Using it for that, getting some great shots from there, so. Incredible things, like you said, when people come together to do good.

• 41:55Ed Mylett?

  And that's eventually gonna lead to a cure. The same principles, when brilliant people get together, good people in a good cause, you can't believe the things. So just so you know, like, I just found this out today. He and I text often, and I'd never thought about how quickly you're getting back to me. But now I know these people have created this device where you're doing this with your mouth. I'm like, I would, like, it's another thing in life that just removed this burden from you and other people. And I want everyone to understand this, like, if people can get together and do this for him, what could you be doing collaborating where you live? Ask for help, get together with people, common cause, common good. You'll be amazed at the power of, we call them masterminds for a reason. When you get more than one mind together, working towards something, it becomes a mastermind. It becomes a third mind. And you're, you're a testimony to that.

• 42:40Ed Mylett?

  So, there's so many things I want to cover with you. And everyone's, you know, obviously been taking notes and they're inspired right now, but.

• 42:46Speaker 02

  Kind of want to tell a funny story too.

• 42:48Ed Mylett?

  Yeah.

• 42:49Speaker 02

  It just made me think about it, you know, when people come together, so. When people first come up to me, even I already got a mic.

• 42:56Ed Mylett?

  Yeah.

• 42:56Speaker 02

  Comes up to me, you go to shake somebody's hand.

• 42:58Ed Mylett?

  Yes.

• 42:59Speaker 02

  So, it happens to me all the time. Of course, I cannot move my hand right down to shake it. People come and they put their hand out. And they leave it there. I'm like, no, go ahead and shake it. And sometimes they don't understand what I mean. Like huh? I'm like, go ahead and shake it. You can grab, go ahead and you can shake my hand and they're like, what? No. I'm like, I can't shake your hand. Oh, I'm so sorry. But I'm like, no, it's fine. Then you get people. After I had a few, they'll just come up to you and they'll be like, shake your hand. I'm like, go ahead and shake it, blah, blah, blah. And I'm like, I can't shake it. Like, why won't you shake my hand, bro? Blah, blah, blah. I literally can't shake your hand. Nah, nah, you won't shake my hand.

• 43:34Ed Mylett?

  Hello.

• 43:35Speaker 02

  Stuff like that. It's so funny. So I love, I love that those moments. My friends live for it, cause then at the end of the day, they just grab their hand off. And they put on their hand and then they understand, oh my God. I'm like, don't feel bad. It's all good.

• 43:47Ed Mylett?

  This is another key with you though, and your mom. Humor's helped you through all this too.

• 43:51Speaker 02

  You gotta, you gotta laugh at this stuff, but you know, that, that happens to you, around you. It gets you through life and just, laughing is good. Laughing, and I laugh. A ton of it. I scare my nurses all the time. I jump out. Make noises and it cracks me up, you know, so.

• 44:05Ed Mylett?

  You just have this spirit. Everyone's watching this. They can see it on your face. Like, the Lord doesn't give us things in our life that he doesn't think we're capable of handling. And it's the people that I've met that have had, you know, difficult issues, whether that be Israel or Nick, who's been on my show. Um, or Cody, who had his legs amputated when he was a young man. Um, in your situation here with the paralysis, it's, it's amazing to me when I've met these people. It's almost obvious when you meet them that they were already capable of handling this. They just didn't know it. And that's another lesson for people listening to this. You're capable of handling things. You're so much more resilient and tough and strong and determined and resourceful than you think you are. And when adversity strikes, trust me, you're stronger than you think. And, uh, people like Eric prove that every single day.

• 44:49Ed Mylett?

  Let me ask you a couple of things as we finish. Um, because I'd, I'd, I'd make a huge mistake if I didn't give people the gift of this. And I ask a guest this often, but you're special in this regard. Someone's watching this, they're going through a really difficult time. They're going through the worst time of their life. At any given time, if there's, you know, 10 million people listen to this, there's a million people listen to this right now, like, "Look, I'm going through a real bad one." Right? Really bad one. What would you say to them? What would your advice be to them?

• 45:15Speaker 02

  My biggest thing I always try to tell people, I'm going through a rough time, or dealing with some adversity. First off, don't run away from adversity. Handle it face on. You run away from it, it's gonna haunt you, and you're gonna deal with it a lot longer. Look for the solution. Handle that adversity, whether if it's, you're diagnosed with cancer. Do the treatments that you need to do. Get on aggressively. Do your research. You're gonna have that soak a moment, okay, you can soak for a little bit. But Jay, you gotta handle those moments. And I try to tell people, "I know you may have it bad right now, you may be going through this, but there's always somebody out there that has it worse than you." And if you can remember that, you really gonna, "All right, I gotta pick my, I gotta pick it up. I gotta pick, I may have it this bad, I maybe just lost my job, I may just lost my family, I may just got paralyzed, I may got this."

• 46:00Speaker 02

  Somebody always gotta worse than you. Somebody's homeless. Someone's bedridden. Someone can't do that. And if you start looking at life like that, then you start doing the things that you can do, and you become a lot more appreciative of what you do have. And you don't focus on what you don't have.

• 46:15Ed Mylett?

  Boy. I'm not adding anything to that, it's too good. I'm really grateful for you. I really am. Like, you know you inspire me. And this is the beginning of something bigger between you and I. I'm also, by the way, I scratched that, this is something bigger, I'm not gonna go where I was. This is gonna be the beginning of something big between you and I. Let me ask you last. You know, when you're going through a difficult time like this, and you were laying there on the field that day, asking to be taken, at what point and how important has been a vision of your future been for you? In other words, like, right now, this vision you've got, have you always, through this,

• 46:57Ed Mylett?

  you know, the darkness and the difficulty and the problems, it's always in our faces, right? How important has, like, a vision of a better future for you been for you?

• 47:06Speaker 02

  As you go through those dark times, you sit there and you close your eyes, and you vision of walking again. You vision of going here and sharing your story. You vision of helping this person or another person. Then, once you start visioning it, you try to live it. You do the things that you need to do to live it. I was able to start a foundation. I was able to start a motivational speaking career. I was able to do sports broadcasting. And the last thing I was really, you know, happy about, I started a show with Fox Sports. It's a digital platform called Mission Possible. Where I was approached by a group where they said that they want to have me as the host of a show. Where I go into people's lives that are dealing with some type of adversity. And we bring them around, people that give them a cool moment, but also shed light on their story. And Fox Sports gave us an opportunity to do six shows.

• 47:51Speaker 02

  And we were able to go into other people's lives and you always see somebody, you know, like on ESPN or something, sharing their stories, the host. You'll never see somebody actually going through it. And when we were, I was learning so much from those six people that I was able to do. Working with, we did a Boston Marathon, Survivor and WMPT where she finished first. WMPT finished the Boston Marathon. We brought them around the New England Patriots and, you know, they started a jamming practice. They got to meet Tom Brady, Bill Belichick, everybody.

• 48:21Speaker 02

  And this guy Jeremy Thomas, who was born in Spina Bivida. He was a rapper and a Miami Heat wheelchair basketball player. We go down to Miami, take him out on the boat around Miami. Then we went on to the Ballers premiere. He met The Rock and everybody, Ace Hood, it was really cool, stuff like that. Using my connections, my platform, I was able to do an eye. What about season two? And I'm not gonna lie to you, right now we're just looking for a sponsor. Get that sponsor to do season two, gonna change a lot of people's lives.

• 48:51Ed Mylett?

  There needs to be a sponsor for season two.

• 48:53Speaker 02

  I can't wait to show you that.

• 48:54Ed Mylett?

  Yeah, I can't wait, I wanna see that, please show me that.

• 48:57Speaker 02

  Yeah, it's actually on foxsports.com/missionpossible.

• 48:59Ed Mylett?

  You're gonna show me one on one.

• 49:00Speaker 02

  I'm gonna show you.

• 49:02Ed Mylett?

  I wanna tell you something about you, and by the way, first, thank you. There's millions of people that are grateful for you today. But I wanna tell you something about you, you inspire me. Legitimately, you inspire me, like, I'm so grateful we did this. And the man you are, I wanna be more like. And you're making a huge difference in the world. And from laying there on that field that day to today, in that nine-year window, the difference you've made in the world, the millions of people you've inspired is impressive. But I'm telling you, the next 10 years is going to be a completely different level for you. And I really feel like all these visions you have are going to become a reality. And I want to be here to help you with them. And I know the max out universe is behind you too. They're going to be following you on Instagram. They're going to be subscribing to your website. Hopefully, many of you, if you can, will get involved with this foundation and just follow his progress.

• 49:47Ed Mylett?

  Because I have a feeling someday, you're going to hear and see all of the things he's talking about during his lifetime come to fruition.

• 49:54Speaker 02

  I truly do appreciate that because that's what it's about. I follow when you say max out. It's all about maxing out, reaching your full potential, going beyond that somewhere that you couldn't think that you could got. But just having the confidence to do it, that's where it all starts. You get the confidence to do it, what can hold you back from what's possible? Just a simple message you have, I was sitting there that night and I'm going through my car. How do I want to reach out to you? And I say, you know what, I'll just DM him and see if he answers. Now look.

• 50:23Ed Mylett?

  Boom, here we are.

• 50:24Speaker 02

  Later, we're here doing this.

• 50:27Ed Mylett?

  I'm so glad you did. I'm so glad you did.

• 50:29Speaker 02

  Just take that step. I truly believe there's some amazing stuff going.

• 50:33Ed Mylett?

  I think it's interesting that you use the analogy of take that step. Because you literally have done that. And it's, people would think that you don't anymore. But the fact of the matter is, you've taken huge steps in your life since that moment. And so, this is a man who, in his life right now, can't yet walk again. Yet he takes these huge steps towards these massive goals and dreams. And I'm so proud of you. And I'm grateful that everybody's been introduced to you today. So, thank you so much for today. I feel like it flew by, but I'm grateful for it. Thank you, Eric.

• 51:01Speaker 02

  Thank you so much. And look out, I'm trying to work, I'm working on my second book right now. Because I want to talk about the mental toughness of life. And I think if people could really get that mental toughness. It's gonna be, it's gonna be a great, great life for themselves.

• 51:14Ed Mylett?

  Well, they're gonna get it from you. And so, please follow Eric on Instagram, everybody. And lastly, I know you're following me. If you watch this, if you're not, follow me on Instagram. Turn your notifications on. Just remember this every day. I bring you the most inspiring people in the world who are maxing out. This man right here has maxed out that moment of October 16th, 2010 to this moment. You've heard how he's maxed out his life. And I know that you're so, you know, engaged in the program and you enjoy it. Please make sure if you're listening to the YouTube, that you go on the audio platforms like iTunes and subscribe. If you're listening to this on audio, go to the YouTube channel and subscribe as well. And every day on Instagram, I run the Max Out Two Minute Drill, which basically means this. It's really simple. I want to engage with you further. I want to introduce you to people. Would you do a coaching call with one of my guests?

• 51:52Speaker 02

  Oh, man, that'd be awesome.

• 51:53Ed Mylett?

  Okay, awesome. So you get a chance to get coached by Eric, my other guests, myself. Here's how it works. Every day on Instagram, Max Out Two Minute Drill. When I make a post in my main feed, and I post between 7:30 Pacific Time, AM, and 8:00 AM, which is also 10:30 to 11:00 Eastern Time, right in that window, I post the same time every day. When I make a post, within the first two minutes, we'll give you leeway up to five minutes, make a comment. We pick a winner every single day. If you miss the first two minutes, just make a comment on every post, because I also pick winners who comment anytime, on any post, any day, as long as it's every day. And lastly, I'm picking winners who comment on people's comments. And you can win Max Out gear, coaching calls with guests, coaching calls with me, my book, tickets to see me speak, all kinds of cool stuff. So engage with me. Turn your notifications on on Instagram.

• 52:34Ed Mylett?

  And again, share today's program. I know you know people who need to hear this man's story. He's gonna inspire the world, and you can help us do that. So please share the program. God bless you, and Max out.