383 Jen Bricker: Everything Is Possible (Even Without Legs)

"I was born to be myself." - Jen Bricker If you enjoyed this episode, check out show notes, video, and more at http://lewishowes.com/383 Get more from Lewis! Get my New York Times Bestselling book, Make Money Easy! Get The Greatness Mindset audiobook on SpotifyText Lewis AIYouTubeInstagramWebsiteTiktokFacebookX

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

• 0:00Lewis Howes?

  This is episode number 383 with the incredibly inspiring Jen Bricker. Welcome to the School of Greatness. My name is Lewis Howes, a former pro athlete turned lifestyle entrepreneur. And each week we bring you an inspiring person or message to help you discover how to unlock your inner greatness. Thanks for spending some time with me today. Now let the class begin.

• 0:33Lewis Howes?

  It is another beautiful day here in Los Angeles and I'm so glad that you showed up to listen to me wherever you are in the world. The thing I love about this podcast is that it attracts so many inspiring people like yourself, people on a journey to really tap into what that is that they were born with, that they want to bring out to the world, that greatness inside of you. There's so many of you all over the world and I just love getting the messages from you guys over on social media, the emails you send me, all the messages everywhere that you're listening to it when you post photos, listening to it all over the world. So, thank you, thank you, thank you. And it's just an amazing, inspiring day. So, I am pumped because we have an incredible guest today.

• 1:17Lewis Howes?

  Her name is Jen Bricker. That's right, Jen Bricker. And she is, wow, what a gem. Had a lot of fun. Make sure you watch the full video interview back at the show notes of this one, lewishowes.com/383 to see some fun video footage of us doing some hand-to-hand handstands. She's doing a handstands on my hands in the air. And for those who don't know, Jen is an aerialist, a gymnast, a speaker, and an author who was born without legs and given up for adoption at birth. There are small portions of her incredible story that have been featured on numerous shows like HBO Real Sports, ABC's 2020, Good Morning America, and in over 100 countries worldwide.

• 2:02Lewis Howes?

  She traveled with Britney Spears' world tour and appeared as the headliner at the prestigious Palazzo Hotel in Las Vegas. Center in New York City and Shangri-La Hotel in Dubai and wow, we really got to dive in deeper about her entire story, about the struggles she went through, about how she actually became so positive and so confident early on, even though she was born without legs. And some of the things we talk about are what advice Jen would give to parents whose kids have insecurities, are going through any type of struggles. She gives some incredible advice there. If she could go back and choose to have legs, she answers if she would. Jen's biggest insecurity growing up, and it's not what you think. The incredible story of Jen

• 2:47Lewis Howes?

  finding out about her biological sister and her parents, and the mindset that allows you to pursue your dreams, no matter what the circumstance, or what the obstacle ahead. If you feel like things are challenging for you right now, this is a great interview to listen to, to give you that boost. Also, a couple of quick things to mention. The audio, unfortunately on this, for some reason, had a little glitch. So we had to retrieve the audio from the cameras itself. So it doesn't sound as crisp as your normal School of Greatness quality, which is my fault and I apologize. But it's still good quality. You're gonna be able to hear everything, but just wanted to give you a heads up. So you no need to let me know, because I already am aware. And let me know how you guys think

• 3:32Lewis Howes?

  about this interview. If you're listening right now, share it with your friends. LewisHowes.com/383. And without further ado, let me introduce to you the one, the only Jen Ricker.

• 3:48Speaker 01

  Welcome everyone back to the School of Greatness Podcast. We've got a great guest in today, Jen Ricker. Thank you so much for coming on. I appreciate it. You've got a new, yeah, you've got a new book out called Everything is Possible. Find the Faith and Courage to Follow Your Dreams. So make sure you guys go pick this up right now. Awesome book. A story about how you've overcome so much challenge and adversity in your life and created an incredible life for yourself. So congratulations on everything you've done. And it's very cool to see the success, see that HBO, Sports is talking about you, ABC, Magazine, ESPN, everyone's sharing your story now. You have a very unique story. So I want to dive into

• 4:28Speaker 01

  that and tell us a little bit about who you are, but kind of what happened early on to get you where you're at now?

• 4:35Speaker 02

  Yeah, I mean, it's, it's been my entire life has I feel like prepared me for all the things that I was meant to do and that I'm doing now. And the things that I'm gonna continue to do. So started with me being put up for adoption. I mean, that's that's where I was started. And so.

• 4:51Speaker 01

  How old were you?

• 4:52Speaker 02

  I was born and then left in the hospital the day I was born. Yes.

• 4:58Speaker 01

  It just blows my mind that someone would do that.

• 5:00Speaker 02

  Well, I mean, everyone has, I don't know, everyone has different.

• 5:03Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 5:04Speaker 02

  You know, things went on in their lives and my biological parents were from Romania. They could live under communism. It's you have just.

• 5:11Speaker 01

  They have different beliefs and different, yeah, yeah.

• 5:13Speaker 02

  Totally different mindset, right? It's it's just not how we see things or think. And so very different. And um. So I was left there and then I was in foster care for three months in foster home.

• 5:24Speaker 01

  And why did they leave you?

• 5:26Speaker 02

  I think there's a lot of different reasons. I was born without legs, so there's that reason. They thought there might be more medical bills. They already had a daughter. They were still, you know, they're still poor immigrants from Romania.

• 5:39Speaker 01

  This is in the United States?

• 5:40Speaker 02

  This is in the United States. And.

• 5:43Speaker 01

  What city or?

• 5:43Speaker 02

  I was born in Illinois, Salem, Illinois.

• 5:45Speaker 01

  Salem, Illinois?

• 5:46Speaker 02

  Salem, Illinois, yeah. And um, so there was a multitude of reasons. Yes, it was because I didn't have legs, but it was also. Many other reasons and some of some of the things I think maybe I was just will never know because I wasn't. I was there that day, but not that I remember, you know. Um, and. And really, you know, it's amazing because I um, my parents adopted me when I was three months old.

• 6:08Speaker 01

  So you were in the hospital two or three or?

• 6:10Speaker 02

  No, I three months. So I was in a foster, yeah, foster home for three months.

• 6:15Speaker 01

  Wow.

• 6:15Speaker 02

  Then my parents adopted me.

• 6:17Speaker 01

  So someone's taking care of you as the first three months of your life?

• 6:19Speaker 02

  Yes.

• 6:20Speaker 01

  Foster home?

• 6:20Speaker 02

  Yes. My first name was actually Holly Ann. That was my name, my first three months of my life. So. Yeah, they were great people. And then Papa was what I called them, we called them, who um, had me in a foster home. And they were just really, like, really good people, really warm and beautiful and um, they loved me and they took pictures from, you know, what, every day so that my parents could see the first three months and I had my

• 6:47Speaker 01

  Adopted parents?

• 6:48Speaker 02

  My, yes, mhm.

• 6:49Speaker 01

  They didn't know they were adopted until?

• 6:51Speaker 02

  Well, it was amazing. My mom had three boys, my three brothers, and she couldn't have kids anymore. She had to have hysterectomy. So she always wanted to be a girl though. And she prayed for ten years, just kept, never giving up and wanting a girl. Like, I just feel like I'm supposed to have a girl. I feel like I'm supposed to have four kids and I want a girl. And she heard about this girl that was born without legs who was put up for adoption, who needed a home. And that was it. She just was like, oh, yep, I think that's my daughter. And talked to my dad about it, talked to my brothers. And, you know, they were on board and it was really cool because they sat my brothers down individually and asked them, you know, what would it mean to you to have a, a sister without legs? Well, how would you feel?

• 7:37Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 7:37Speaker 02

  All these questions. My older brother, you know, you're gonna be dating in a couple of years. What if you bring a, a date home and she think she has a problem with her or something like that? And the amazing thing is, at ten, twelve, and fourteen years old, they all three answered the same and they said, if anyone has a problem with her, then I don't want them in my life anyway.

• 7:55Speaker 01

  Hmm, that's cool.

• 7:56Speaker 02

  And I thought, wow, that's so cool. You know, it's really special. And um, so they adopted me and just raised me totally normal.

• 8:04Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 8:04Speaker 02

  You know, really just beyond that, you know, jumping on

• 8:07Speaker 01

  Figure things out, just do, you know, get messy.

• 8:09Speaker 02

  Get messy, hang with the boys, do all the sports you wanna do. Play softball, basketball, volleyball, power tumbling, all against stable body athletes.

• 8:18Speaker 01

  Amazing. There's photos of you in the book playing softball and all these other things and it was awesome.

• 8:23Speaker 02

  Thank you, yeah. Yeah, it's, you know, the first set of doctors told my parents I'd never been able to sit up on my own. So, yeah. Yeah, an entire team of doctors. Said that I would be confined to this device that was gonna, I basically sit down in and it would hold me upright.

• 8:39Speaker 01

  We got stomach muscles or something?

• 8:40Speaker 02

  Right, right. It was so weird and my parents were just like, no way, like we don't, that's not what we want for her. And um, took me to the Shriners Hospital and the doctor there. Said she's gonna do things that are gonna blow your mind, beyond your wildest imagination. And that just set the tone for the way my parents raised me.

• 8:59Speaker 01

  And this is in Illinois too?

• 9:00Speaker 02

  Southern Illinois, small town, middle of nowhere.

• 9:02Speaker 01

  Where is it?

• 9:03Speaker 02

  Alblon, you'd never.

• 9:05Speaker 01

  Is it how far from St. Louis?

• 9:06Speaker 02

  Hmm, three hours.

• 9:07Speaker 01

  Okay, I, I went to a school in a, a small town called Elsa, Illinois.

• 9:11Speaker 02

  Okay.

• 9:12Speaker 01

  Which is near Alton, Illinois.

• 9:14Speaker 02

  I've heard of Alton.

• 9:15Speaker 01

  Yeah, it's kind, it's like on the Mississippi River.

• 9:18Speaker 02

  You're on the other side, okay. I grew up on the Indiana border, so other side, about two hours from Indy.

• 9:23Speaker 01

  Sure, sure. We're both from the Midwest, I'm from Ohio, so.

• 9:26Speaker 02

  Okay, alright, that's cool.

• 9:28Speaker 01

  Yeah, good people from the Midwest.

• 9:30Speaker 02

  Good, solid, mean, talented people.

• 9:32Speaker 01

  Exactly. But now we're in LA, so it's like juice and veggies all day, right? Chapin gratitude.

• 9:39Speaker 02

  Oh, yeah.

• 9:40Speaker 01

  Veggies, everything, which is probably a lot healthier for me.

• 9:43Speaker 02

  My brothers still call me Hollywood because I eat avocado.

• 9:45Speaker 01

  Right.

• 9:47Speaker 02

  Where does that come from?

• 9:47Speaker 01

  Exactly.

• 9:48Speaker 02

  I love avocado.

• 9:50Speaker 01

  Amazing, so, okay, you grew up uh, in Illinois the whole time then, right? With your family and. We're, we're doing all these sports, these activities. What was it like going into, obviously you went to public school, right? How, what was that like for you?

• 10:07Speaker 02

  School, I mean, you know, middle of nowhere, very small town, so. You know, I passed the first day of kindergarten when everyone finds out, okay, well she was just former that like. It's not really, nobody cares.

• 10:18Speaker 01

  No one was like, that's nice.

• 10:20Speaker 02

  You know, because it's, it's a small school and we all know each other and I was always very outgoing and very fiery and just. Always been this person, which is really kind of. Interesting, but writing through my book and going through the process and talking to. Teachers from when I was younger, it really showed me that I've always been this person. It's kind of really fascinating, actually. My teachers were like, no, literally on day one of kindergarten. You were doing your thing, like it didn't matter what anyone else was doing, you've always been this person. And I was just like, man, that's so fascinating. Because sometimes you kind of think you've come into who you are, or maybe you've been shaped by different things. And of course, you know, we are on some level.

• 11:01Speaker 02

  But to really see how strongly I've always been this person.

• 11:06Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 11:06Speaker 02

  It was really kind of cool and interesting to to figure it out. But um but now in school, I mean, I was just always a social butterfly. An athlete, I was very strong. And so thankfully, there, you know, bullying was not a part of my story.

• 11:19Speaker 01

  That's nice.

• 11:20Speaker 02

  So that, but you know, it's it's it is part of my story that not being bullied is part of my story. Because being adopted, my parents were like the least likely people on the planet to adopt me. They'd never adopted, never fostered. You know, didn't know anything about, quote, disability. I mean, they were forty, forty-two. I mean, everything was against them. But it just shows you, like, I ended up exactly where I was supposed to be. Because I had to be in that community, in that family, in in that area. In order to grow and be allowed to become who I'm supposed to be, you know, be able to blossom. Fully so that I can do all this stuff now, so that I can do everything that I'm meant to do for the rest of my life. It needed to be that way.

• 12:05Speaker 01

  Right. So did you ever feel like you had limits then? Since you weren't bullied, you were accepted, you were, you know, had great friends, you were athletic. So do you feel like limited, or is it just because you always knew this is who you were? You know, it's not like you lost something.

• 12:19Speaker 02

  Right.

• 12:19Speaker 01

  At a certain age, you're like, oh, I can no longer walk, or I can no longer do something.

• 12:23Speaker 02

  Exactly. That's a very, those are two totally different stories.

• 12:26Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 12:26Speaker 02

  And you're exactly right. So for me, I was just raised very empowered. And I was always hearing like, you're strong, you're beautiful. You're answered prayer, we wanted you. I mean, you know, so when you hear that, that's what you believe, right?

• 12:41Speaker 01

  So you don't have these insecurities necessarily.

• 12:43Speaker 02

  No, no.

• 12:44Speaker 01

  Normal insecurities we all have.

• 12:46Speaker 02

  Exactly. Of course, I had all the normal girl. One of my biggest insecurities actually was the fact that I was always so muscular. I had like all this, you know? So that um that actually was, even into my adult life, one of like these huge insecurities. And then being on TV where they want to always shoot you from the side angle, which is the worst, and my arms were huge. And I'm like, no, just put me straight on angle, please. And um, and that was, and I talk, you know, a lot about

• 13:17Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 13:18Speaker 02

  Body image and stuff in the book that I've never really talked about, but body image from a standpoint of totally being a female, living in L A in the entertainment.

• 13:26Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 13:27Speaker 02

  That, you know, so it's interesting because I didn't have a hang up about not having legs, but I had hangups about all these other things.

• 13:33Speaker 01

  Hmm.

• 13:34Speaker 02

  And you say, how can you, how can you be okay with not having legs, but then how do you be hung up on the fact that you have muscular arms? Yet that was such a thing for me.

• 13:42Speaker 01

  Hmm.

• 13:42Speaker 02

  And so it's just funny how we kind of, you know, have all these different things, but growing up, it's just, I just didn't understand how different I was.

• 13:52Speaker 01

  Hmm.

• 13:52Speaker 02

  Because I wasn't treated like that anywhere.

• 13:55Speaker 01

  That's great.

• 13:55Speaker 02

  At school and sports, at home, you know, it just wasn't like that. And I, I really think I was protected in a lot of ways. And again, it was supposed to be that, like, it had to be that way. I couldn't grow up in L A or New York or things like that. It just, I would have had such

• 14:12Speaker 01

  You're the best people.

• 14:13Speaker 02

  You're the best people, that's a priority, you know, yeah.

• 14:17Speaker 01

  Amazing. Now, this is the crazy story is you're a big gymnastics fan and you you realize that you have a sister who's, you know, one of the best in the world.

• 14:27Speaker 02

  Mm hmm.

• 14:28Speaker 01

  But how did this even come about? Like, how did you realize like, oh, that's my sister on TV in the Olympics?

• 14:33Speaker 02

  Right. I watched her as a kid and

• 14:36Speaker 01

  You're talking about Dominique, right?

• 14:37Speaker 02

  Yes, Dominique Woschanu. So I watched her when I was about seven or eight years old, I think is when I first saw her.

• 14:43Speaker 01

  Wow.

• 14:44Speaker 02

  And I always loved gymnastics. I think, I mean, we as a family loved gymnastics. We loved watching it on TV.

• 14:48Speaker 01

  Yes.

• 14:49Speaker 02

  And then I see her one day and I just thought she was so cool, you know, I thought, hey.

• 14:54Speaker 01

  I remember loving her too. I was like, I don't even like gymnastics, but I liked her.

• 14:58Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 14:58Speaker 01

  You know what I mean?

• 14:58Speaker 02

  Yep, yep. It was really, really cool. It was, well, and I knew she was Romanian and I knew I was Romanian. And I was always so proud of that I was Romanian.

• 15:06Speaker 01

  Right.

• 15:07Speaker 02

  Cause I grew up, there was really no diversity, no culture. So

• 15:11Speaker 01

  Hmm.

• 15:11Speaker 02

  I didn't have anyone that looked like me, number one. I had like thick, tons of thick hair, big eyes. I was really tanned growing up. I was always outside. So I just really didn't look like anyone where I grew up in the middle of nowhere. So the fact that someone looked like me and was Romanian was, that was kind of everything for me as a kid.

• 15:28Speaker 01

  Sure.

• 15:29Speaker 02

  So I really drew me to her on those, on those levels as a kid. And then right before I turned sixteen, I was talking to my best friend at the time, she was also adopted. She found out what her biological last name would have been. And there was just this this arc that went off in my brain. And I said, I wonder if there's anything that my mom and dad know about my biological family that I don't know about. And the fact that I thought that is ju- that that thought was placed in my brain. Because there is no reason I would have to, why would I think my parents would keep it like would know something? They were so open and so

• 16:11Speaker 01

  They told you everything.

• 16:12Speaker 02

  Transparent. Yeah, I knew I was adopted from day one. I knew I was Romanian. I knew probably I was put up for adoption because I didn't have legs. I mean.

• 16:19Speaker 01

  Did they tell you who the parents were or?

• 16:21Speaker 02

  No, no, because they didn't. I mean, no, it was supposed to be a closed adoption. There's a lot of like miracle things that are that happened in order for this to go down.

• 16:30Speaker 01

  Right.

• 16:30Speaker 02

  So my mom.

• 16:32Speaker 01

  So they didn't know necessarily.

• 16:33Speaker 02

  Not, I mean, okay, so it was supposed to be a closed adoption, which means all of the legal information uh is supposed to be blacked out. So you don't see anything or know anything. Well, when I was adopted, my the social worker had all the adoption papers. And she's like, literally, she was like, well, these are supposed to all be blacked out. That's weird. Oh, well, here you go.

• 16:55Speaker 01

  Oh.

• 16:56Speaker 02

  And gives my parents all of the legal documents.

• 16:59Speaker 01

  All your all your original parents, your biological parents information.

• 17:02Speaker 02

  Yes.

• 17:02Speaker 01

  Wow.

• 17:03Speaker 02

  Yeah, all my adoption information to my parents.

• 17:05Speaker 01

  Oh.

• 17:06Speaker 02

  So um so when I'm watching TV one day, they pan to the audience and they showed Dimitri Komolya Boziano. And a light bulb goes off in my mom's head and she's like, man, that sounds really familiar. She goes and gets all the adoption papers and that's when she starts doing the math. And she's like, wait a minute, Dimitri Komolya Romanian, sibling six years older. And she just starts doing math and that's how she discovered it. And so, but you know, I was eight. Dominique then went through this whole public emancipation publicly.

• 17:40Speaker 01

  You were eight when you found out?

• 17:41Speaker 02

  When my mom found out.

• 17:42Speaker 01

  When she found out.

• 17:42Speaker 02

  I didn't find out. No, no, I was too young, that's what I'm saying. So I was too young.

• 17:46Speaker 01

  Shouldn't tell you.

• 17:47Speaker 02

  Right. Was too young for them to tell me Dominique had been going through this public emancipation with her parents. So that was like a lot of turmoil and and.

• 17:56Speaker 01

  She was fourteen then or fifteen?

• 17:57Speaker 02

  She was seventeen.

• 17:57Speaker 01

  Seventeen.

• 17:58Speaker 02

  And so that, I mean, she was so young at that time. So my parents just didn't think it was the right time.

• 18:03Speaker 01

  Sure.

• 18:03Speaker 02

  And also, I wasn't technically supposed to know legally until I was eighteen because it was supposed to be post adoption.

• 18:09Speaker 01

  Yes.

• 18:10Speaker 02

  But then when I came and asked them specifically at sixteen.

• 18:13Speaker 01

  Okay.

• 18:14Speaker 02

  Almost sixteen, um, they weren't gonna lie.

• 18:17Speaker 01

  Right, right.

• 18:17Speaker 02

  So that's how the whole thing.

• 18:20Speaker 01

  So when you were sixteen, almost sixteen, that's when you started thinking about it and being like.

• 18:24Speaker 02

  I just asked if they knew anything. It was just happened like that. It wasn't like I had been, that's the thing, I had never cared my whole life.

• 18:30Speaker 01

  Mm hmm.

• 18:31Speaker 02

  It's like, oh, I mean, I don't really. I was happy. I, they were open about it all. So I was like, okay, I, I don't really need to know anything about it. Then one day, that thought just comes in. I go home, ask my mom, anything you know about my biological family? She says yes to my surprise. I find out Dominique's my sister and I'm just like.

• 18:49Speaker 01

  What?

• 18:50Speaker 02

  Yeah, yeah, it is crazy.

• 18:54Speaker 01

  So you're sixteen almost and she's nine years old, is that right or?

• 18:57Speaker 02

  Six years old.

• 18:58Speaker 01

  Six years old. So she's, uh, twenty one, right, twenty two? And what was the next step? Did you say I need to reach out to her or need to?

• 19:07Speaker 02

  Of course. I mean, I wanted, I.

• 19:09Speaker 01

  She was already like not in touch with her parents anymore. They're kind of like disowned her or what?

• 19:13Speaker 02

  Well, she, um, emancipated. So basically, she, I guess they technically call like divorced her parents is what they technically emancipation the term is. At seventeen. So, but I mean, she, she did legally at that time, but it's not like she, uh, was completely disconnected from her nurse or life. It was just for a period of time, I think, and, and whatnot. So, um.

• 19:34Speaker 01

  Isn't it funny that they let you go and she let them go?

• 19:39Speaker 02

  Yeah, there's.

• 19:41Speaker 01

  It's like karma almost, or something.

• 19:43Speaker 02

  It's, it's amazing how I was spared. I mean, I was really spared from being raised in that family. Not that I wouldn't have, you know. And, and once I found out Dominique was my sister, I also found out I had another sister. So I have a younger sister Christina. They both were raised together. And, you know, Christina and I look like twins. We're a year and a half, a year and ten months apart.

• 20:03Speaker 01

  Wow.

• 20:04Speaker 02

  I mean, it's just, it's bizarre. So I immediately wanted them to know that I existed.

• 20:08Speaker 01

  Okay.

• 20:08Speaker 02

  You know, I wanted to let them know they had another sister out there. And my uncle, my dad's brother, is a private investigator. So that was very helpful and convenient. And I told them, I said, hey, I really want you to go about this the right way, professionally, all of that. So can you contact my biological parents? And so we were all pretty much expecting them to be like, I don't know what you're talking about. We didn't get up a child, like, whatever, leave, you know?

• 20:34Speaker 01

  Good.

• 20:34Speaker 02

  But they didn't, I mean, they didn't deny it. I think they were so in shock, just kind of like, how did you find us? It was supposed to be closed, that kind of thing. And, but after that initial phone conversation with my uncle, there were no, there, there was no more, uh, interaction. Like, they were silent. So it was clear, they didn't want to talk about it. They, they wanted to still keep me a secret.

• 20:54Speaker 01

  Your parents.

• 20:55Speaker 02

  My biological parents. So, um, so, yeah, I mean, and then I was like, okay, so that was my first failed attempt. And then I, um, I saw that Dominique was on this tour. And I was like, oh, okay, she's gonna stop in Indianapolis. I'm gonna somehow get there and find her, let her know. And I was seventeen at the time.

• 21:16Speaker 01

  She was on like a, uh, a speaking tour?

• 21:18Speaker 02

  No, it was a massed tour. Yeah, with.

• 21:20Speaker 01

  Still performing, like, a talent show or something?

• 21:22Speaker 02

  Uh, yeah, it was like a competition thing, yeah. And so I went and was gonna go buy the tickets. And right before I bought the tickets, I got an email from the website saying that she had a blowout, she had an injury. And so I'm like, oh, my gosh, so this is my second failed attempt. And then I, you know, time passed forward. I moved to Orlando, I start working at Disney World. My whole life changes. I'm, you know, just inundated with new, new, new, beach guys from all over the world. You know, just like new things in my life. And, um, and then towards the end of two thousand and seven, the started, you know, the thoughts of being my biological family just started overwhelming my thoughts. I was dreaming about it, just couldn't stop thinking about it.

• 22:02Speaker 01

  You just had to make it happen.

• 22:03Speaker 02

  So that was my, yeah, that was a sign. I was like, all right, this is my third and final shot. This is gonna happen, so. Yeah, I was like, alright, this is gonna, this is gonna work. And uh, so, put together a letter. I copied pictures from when I was a baby until I was twenty, which that was the age of that. Cause we looked so much alike, especially my younger sister and I. And then I add my parents mailed me the legal documents from my adoption, so she knew it wasn't crazy.

• 22:28Speaker 01

  Right.

• 22:29Speaker 02

  And then I packaged it up, my heart and soul in there and sent it out.

• 22:33Speaker 01

  Sent it to the parent, your original parents or your?

• 22:35Speaker 02

  No, Dominique.

• 22:36Speaker 01

  And your, and your younger sister?

• 22:38Speaker 02

  Well, I, I sent it to Dominique, cause I didn't have, I, my uncle had found Dominique's information for me.

• 22:43Speaker 01

  Sure.

• 22:43Speaker 02

  And Dominique was older, so she was of age, so I wanted to make sure I went through the, who was older first. And um, I knew obviously she would tell me I'm your sister.

• 22:54Speaker 01

  Right.

• 22:54Speaker 02

  So um, so I did that, waited for two weeks, which was the longest two weeks in my life.

• 22:59Speaker 01

  Must've been so hard.

• 23:00Speaker 02

  It was, I mean, towards the end of the two weeks, I had to kind of prepare myself for.

• 23:04Speaker 01

  Oh, maybe she's not gonna respond.

• 23:05Speaker 02

  Exactly, yeah, what if she's not gonna, what if they don't respond, what if they don't want you in your life, what if it's not gonna be your happy ending?

• 23:11Speaker 01

  Cool.

• 23:11Speaker 02

  And that was tough, I mean, I started to get discouraged, and I mean, towards the end of the two weeks, I'm like, okay. Cause if, if I would've gotten that, I would've responded like the next day. I'm like, are you kidding me?

• 23:21Speaker 01

  I got a sister.

• 23:22Speaker 02

  I gotta respond, and I'm like, two weeks, what is, why, she's not, okay, she's probably not gonna respond at this point, cause I mean, geez, two weeks, you know? Uh, but, right before, right before Christmas two thousand seven, I got a letter in the mail, and it was from Dominique. And, you know, this is, mind you, this is not just two weeks, at this point, this is four years, okay? Four years since I found out.

• 23:45Speaker 01

  Oh my gosh.

• 23:46Speaker 02

  And I wanted to make sure that it was done right, I wanted to make sure that it was handled right, and with finesse.

• 23:51Speaker 01

  Years.

• 23:51Speaker 02

  So four years, right?

• 23:53Speaker 01

  That'd be tough.

• 23:53Speaker 02

  It's a long time, and then I finally get the letter, and then I'm like, well, what if it says, you know, what if it's not happy, what if they don't? What if they get, you know, get out of here, exactly. So, I decided to open it up like a Band-Aid moment and just read it, and then I got to the middle, to the middle of the letter, and she said that I was about to be an auntie. And so, I was like, okay, I guess I made it in the family then, you know? They've accepted me, and the letter was beautiful, you know, it was just a full acceptance. And I got flowers the next day from both my sisters.

• 24:25Speaker 01

  Oh my gosh.

• 24:26Speaker 02

  And her vase, I still have the vase, you know, next to my bed. And um, and then we all met in May of two thousand eight, so about five months after that.

• 24:36Speaker 01

  Where?

• 24:37Speaker 02

  In Ohio, Cleveland.

• 24:38Speaker 01

  No way. See?

• 24:41Speaker 02

  Midwest.

• 24:42Speaker 01

  Good things happen there. Amazing. What was the uh, why Cleveland, why Ohio, why?

• 24:47Speaker 02

  Uh, Dominique lives there, so my younger sister and I.

• 24:50Speaker 01

  She lives there now? Awesome.

• 24:52Speaker 02

  Yep.

• 24:52Speaker 01

  See, we've got her.

• 24:53Speaker 02

  Yep. My, my younger sister and I flew there, cause you know, she uh, we were living in apartments and she had a house, so it just made sense. Just why brothers are the most loved in the streets.

• 25:04Speaker 01

  Where's your, where was your younger sister?

• 25:05Speaker 02

  My younger sister's in Texas, in Houston.

• 25:07Speaker 01

  Okay, cool.

• 25:07Speaker 02

  Where she lives, so we're all three different states.

• 25:09Speaker 01

  And, and what about your fathers or parents?

• 25:12Speaker 02

  So I met my biological, well, my biological father passed before I could meet him.

• 25:16Speaker 01

  Oh.

• 25:16Speaker 02

  Um, but you know, before he died, he wanted to meet me, which I thought was really cool. And I don't know, there's something like really cool about that with me and thought that, that that was really awesome and um. So then I met Camellia, my biological mother, in January two thousand and ten.

• 25:32Speaker 01

  Mm-hmm.

• 25:32Speaker 02

  And I met her.

• 25:33Speaker 01

  Couple of years later.

• 25:34Speaker 02

  Yes, later. So I established my sisters for reasons at first. And then met her, because it's just, it's just different, you know, it's just a totally different.

• 25:44Speaker 01

  No judgment from your sisters, there's no like weirdness or messiness, it's like they didn't do anything?

• 25:49Speaker 02

  Right, they didn't, they didn't, they just, they don't feel like what she would feel like.

• 25:53Speaker 01

  They didn't know either, did they?

• 25:54Speaker 02

  No, they didn't know. No, um.

• 25:56Speaker 01

  That's insane.

• 25:58Speaker 02

  Yeah, so meeting her was, I mean, was slow motion and Camellia.

• 26:03Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 26:03Speaker 02

  And um, but it was, you know, it was, it was good, I mean. The next, after I met her, the next day my parents drove in and me, my parents, Camellia, her new husband and my sisters and my brother-in-law. We all had dinner together. Which was really cool, you know, it was like my world's coming together.

• 26:22Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 26:22Speaker 02

  And um, and that was really, really cool for me. And my parents made sure that they told Camellia, hey, you know, we don't hold anything against you, we never have. And they raised me to not hold. Any uh unforgiveness or bitterness.

• 26:38Speaker 01

  Respectfulness.

• 26:39Speaker 02

  Right, because you know, bottom line, they're like, listen, bottom line, it really doesn't matter why it came to you. Because this is how it was supposed to work.

• 26:47Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 26:47Speaker 02

  And look what, look what I dodged, like. I dodged the life of abuse and turmoil.

• 26:55Speaker 01

  Happiness, who knows what would have happened.

• 26:57Speaker 02

  I know, I mean, I I wouldn't have been provided the the life and the childhood that I was obviously, I mean, that's just. That's an obvious one, and and so even though my sisters and I would have liked to have been raised together, we all agree, I mean, it's, you know, it. It had to happen that way for me, I I really need to be out of that, so I can be who I am, you know, today.

• 27:19Speaker 01

  Do you have a good relationship with your sister still?

• 27:20Speaker 02

  Yep, you know, we we work on it like anything, and they're both married, they both have kids, my younger sister just had a kid.

• 27:27Speaker 01

  Wow.

• 27:27Speaker 02

  And so they do their own thing, and we each have busy lives, and we're each in different states, different time zones. So it's not easy, I mean, you have to really kind of really try to make it work, and I travel all the time. It's really hard for me too, I'm emotionally exhausted, I'm just tired, or, you know, fifteen hour time difference, or in a country that. You can't use social media, or, you know, so it's just, it's not exactly the easiest, but um. But like family occasionally, my sister had her baby shower, and when she had his baptism, we flew to Texas for that, so we kind of all meet up, and. So, you know, different things like that bring us together.

• 28:06Speaker 01

  That's cool.

• 28:07Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 28:08Speaker 01

  Wow, what about Camellia?

• 28:10Speaker 02

  And Camellia.

• 28:11Speaker 01

  Talked to her now and then or no?

• 28:12Speaker 02

  Um, yeah, I mean, I I talk to her every now and then, and it's just a different relationship, obviously. And I think she had a lot of her own healing and things to go through, that it's just gonna take a bit longer for her, yeah.

• 28:26Speaker 01

  Amazing, I'm so impressed, um.

• 28:30Speaker 01

  It just blows my mind, this story. I can't fathom myself, so it's amazing to see what you've created for your life, and your dreams, and making everything come true for yourself with this experience. So it's, it's really powerful. I'm just like pulling away.

• 28:44Speaker 02

  Thank you.

• 28:45Speaker 01

  Um, I don't know what I would, how I would, uh, react to any of these things, or me. So it's blowing away how strong you are.

• 28:52Speaker 02

  Um, thank you, thank you. It's, you know, been a whole bunch of people pouring into me my entire life.

• 28:59Speaker 01

  Yeah, yeah.

• 28:59Speaker 02

  Yeah, and that's, that's what I kind of made in the book, was I highlighted all those people who, you know, the point is, I didn't get where I'm at today because of myself, and all our nice, awesome, this was a solo venture. It's because people since I was adopted have poured into me, encouraged me, and strengthened me, and loved on me, loved on me, and loved on me from the beginning. And that's why I am where I am.

• 29:25Speaker 01

  What would you say to parents who, um,

• 29:30Speaker 01

  what advice would you give parents with any kids who have, you know, any type of insecurity? Because although they may not have been born without legs, I think a lot of children go through insecurities, go through uncertainties, beat ourselves up as kids, and we beat ourselves up as adults. But what advice would you give to parents in general on how to love their child, no matter what is going on with their child? Because it sounds like your parents just loved you no matter what.

• 29:57Speaker 02

  Hmm. Well, I, one of the things I'm so, I'm impressed by is they allowed me to be who I already was. Like, who I was meant to be, which, that might sound kind of easy, but think about, that's not easy, because all my friends' parents that I knew, they always tried to make them some, like, you need to be in football, you need to be in gymnastics, you need to be in piano. You need, so it's pushing their own dreams on their kids, right? And, and it, it's not, most of the time, I don't even think it's, they don't even need anything by it. They're just wanting to, like, they think they're helping their kid, right? So they think that, and... My parents, by doing that, they gave me my own mind.

• 30:41Speaker 02

  That is everything. That has translated one hundred percent into me as an adult because it gave me the confidence to make my own decisions. That, I mean, so many people to this day that I know can't be confident in making their own decisions. They have to ask thirty people, and then they're spinning around, they don't know what to do because they gave this advice and that person gave that advice. I don't know, I mean, I'm insecure, like, I can't, I can't be confident enough in my own decisions, so, I don't know. And then you don't move forward, then you move backwards, you stand still, which is the worst. That all starts as a kid. Because they let me, they let me make mistakes. That's huge. Because then when you make your own decisions, and even if you succeed or if you fail,

• 31:23Speaker 02

  you're confident in the fact that, hey, I made my own decision, like, I can stand on my own two feet, I can do this. But that didn't start when I was ten or fifteen. That started from the beginning.

• 31:34Speaker 01

  Amazing.

• 31:35Speaker 02

  You know, my parents showed me, in school, my, the school system wanted to assign this aide with me. She'd go around everywhere with me, carry my bags, you know, leave from class to class with me, go up and down the stairs. My parents were like, listen, this cannot happen. She's gonna be independent. She's gonna figure out how to carry her bags and go up and down all the stairs in the three to five minute window to every class, just like everyone else.

• 31:57Speaker 01

  There's no elevators, right?

• 31:58Speaker 02

  There's no elevators, no. My school was built in nineteen twelve.

• 32:01Speaker 01

  So how are you getting up?

• 32:02Speaker 02

  Four floors, I was walking up and down the stairs, just like everyone else.

• 32:05Speaker 01

  Amazing.

• 32:05Speaker 02

  My backpack or my messenger bag, and they're like, what if she gets her fingers stuck on? I'm like, then she's not allowed to get out of the way.

• 32:10Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 32:11Speaker 02

  Like, because this is life, you don't seclude somebody in a bubble.

• 32:14Speaker 01

  Wow.

• 32:14Speaker 02

  I mean, and they also didn't say, like, when I came to them and said, I wanna do all the sports that I did, softball, basketball, volleyball, power tumbling, even roller skating, I said I wanted to do. They're like, well, what you gonna do with, what, what are you gonna do with the roller skates? You don't have feet. Instead of telling me all the reasons why I couldn't do it, why it was too dangerous, why it was too fragile, why it was too hard, they're like, okay, well, then we'll put the skates on your hands, figure it out. And that's what I did.

• 32:40Speaker 01

  That's cool.

• 32:40Speaker 02

  So it's, you know, don't, don't make your kids afraid of trying these things. Don't stop them from a love or, like, I had an obsession with me, I wanna be a mermaid, I wanna be a fairy, I wanted the seashell bra, I wanted the pink hair, I loved all these fantasy and fairy tale things. And my parents, they didn't just tolerate it, they celebrated it, they loved that I had this imagination, and... That might sound like, okay, well, what does that do to me? Because I think so many people, we all know what our dreams and goals and our passions are. It's because we knew them as a kid, but that's when they get shut down. Oh, don't be silly, those things aren't real. So, and so, okay, of course, mermaids and fairies aren't real, but it's not about that.

• 33:25Speaker 02

  It's about the fact that you're crushing the imagination from the beginning. Then that translates into adults who're settling for a mediocre life. I don't mean to be so like crass about it, but a lot of times I feel like that's what it is. And then they think, oh, my passion is stupid and childish, so it can't possibly be my job. I can't live a life like that. That's for those people. No, I think everyone can do that. I think I've seen the most creative people turn the most unbelievable things into full-time jobs. And they're so happy because they're doing what they love. And they're bringing their gift to the world, and that's how they can touch someone. I mean, this is my soapbox, I have many, but still, it's like, that's not just an easy answer, sorry.

• 34:07Speaker 01

  Yeah, no, that's great, I love it, I love it.

• 34:09Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 34:09Speaker 01

  What do you feel like you were born to do?

• 34:13Speaker 02

  Wow, well, I think I was born to do a lot of things. I think if there's like one kind of statement, it's really, um, I was born to be who I am. I was born to be myself. And that is in performing as an aerialist and an acrobat. That is in being a speaker. That is in being an author. That is in being a fitness and health nutrition advocate for clean living, clean eating. Adoption, you know, total advocate for adoption, obviously. And travel, you know, like, it's amazing to me what people will find as an inspiration. I've been to like fourteen countries so far, which, that's awesome, but I want to go to, you know, way more. But people just, and they're like, oh my gosh.

• 34:59Speaker 02

  I can't believe that's so inspiring. I'm so afraid to travel, blah blah. I'm like, wait a minute, that's inspiring too?

• 35:05Speaker 01

  Yeah, right.

• 35:06Speaker 02

  You know, and then they'll say other things like, oh my gosh, it's so inspiring that you work out all the time and that you're in shape. And I'm like, why would I, why is that inspiring? Like, there are just things that I don't understand that are inspiring. So I just kinda came to that, like, wow, I'm really just meant to continually be who I am, like standing strong in who I am, being confident in who I am and going into all these avenues, you know, in beauty avenues, with modeling stuff, doing all these things. Where, because I'm so used to me, I don't get it. I'm glad I don't get it either, by the way. I don't wanna see myself like that. But it is inspiring people. And not only just in one field, that's what's exciting.

• 35:48Speaker 02

  It's women, it's tweens, it's the adoption crowd, it's the athletes, it's the performers, it's, you know, it's all these, you know, male athletes, female athletes, younger, older, family stories, sisters, all of that stuff, so that so many people, not only in our country, but in other countries, can be touched and everyone takes different things away from it.

• 36:11Speaker 01

  What would you say is missing from your life right now?

• 36:14Speaker 02

  Well, I wanna get married and have kids at some point. I really, I think I'm gonna be a great wife and be a great mom, not like all boosting my ego, just I think I'm at a place where I'm kind of like, I can offer that now. You know, I can love on someone, I can um, put my time into that and put my heart into that. And then, you know, I've been an aunt since I was ten years old, I've been around kids my whole life. So I also think, um, one day, you know, I would like to be a mom and like to have a couple, but I'd also love to adopt. I like to do both. Yeah, cuz I mean, I feel like, how could I not? I mean, it changed my life.

• 36:54Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 36:55Speaker 02

  How amazing to change someone else's life in that way where, you know, my life was gonna go left and then it took a hard right and for the better. It's like, I wanna be able to do that for, for a couple kids.

• 37:07Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 37:07Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 37:08Speaker 01

  That's cool. Have you found the guy?

• 37:11Speaker 02

  No, no, I've found many guys, but not.

• 37:15Speaker 01

  Not the ones right here.

• 37:16Speaker 02

  Not the right one. I've met so many beautiful people on my travels.

• 37:20Speaker 01

  This is amazing. I love human beings.

• 37:22Speaker 02

  Gosh dang it.

• 37:23Speaker 01

  I love peo- I love to love people.

• 37:25Speaker 02

  I do too.

• 37:26Speaker 01

  Everyone. It's so much fun.

• 37:28Speaker 02

  I, I really, that's a Midwest in me first of all. But that's in me too. But uh, no, I mean I've, you know, my lifestyle has made dating a bit challenging. I mean, not only my lifestyle, but also my life in general and kind of what comes along with me and. But um, so I've, you know, met these amazing men and, and really had nothing bad to say. About them, just I knew they weren't the right ones.

• 37:52Speaker 01

  Wrong or the right timing or whatever, yeah.

• 37:53Speaker 02

  Or the right geography. Halfway around the world, time and time again, so. But that's something that's definitely a desire that um, one day it'll happen, yeah.

• 38:03Speaker 01

  Well, keep an eye out for a good guy, a good mid- good Midwestern guy.

• 38:07Speaker 02

  You know, it helps.

• 38:11Speaker 01

  If you could go back and choose to have legs, would you do it?

• 38:15Speaker 02

  Um, people ask me that all the time as a kid. And I love, I, I thought about it. I wanted to, as a kid, I'm like, no, I wanna, I wanna really give a good answer. Like, I wanna give an authentic answer. And so I thought about it for a while, like for days, and I thought, and I always come to the conclusion, no. Like I, because I knew that I was born like this, and if I hadn't been born like this, then my whole identity and purpose would not be, like, I wouldn't be doing what I was meant to do. I wouldn't have the platform that I have today to reach millions of people.

• 38:51Speaker 01

  Right, yeah.

• 38:52Speaker 02

  Without being born without legs. So, it would be, I could say yes, and it would be very selfish. I mean, I could be, I could say, oh, well, because it would make my life a little easier in certain areas. I wanna have legs because I could wear shoes because I freaking love shoes. I would be broke if I could wear shoes. I didn't run that way.

• 39:13Speaker 01

  Hey, it's good. You've got a lot of money now. You save a lot of money.

• 39:16Speaker 02

  Right, save so much money. Um, you know, I could, I could say that, but at the end of the day, like, no way. I mean, because it would be rooted in total selfishness and. The uh what's more important like having those things that don't matter at the end of the day. No one, no one's gonna say anything about that at your funeral. Oh, you have great shoes and great legs and uh. Okay, great. No, I, that's not what anyone, I don't know, I hope that's not what people want when they die, you know, it's like. It's far more important that I can reach and touch people and hopefully change lives just through sharing. My story, cause that's the purpose, like it's meant to be shared my whole life. My parents are totally the heroes of this book, my faith is the hero of this book, my community, my teachers.

• 40:00Speaker 02

  All the people that pour in, you know, that's the point, that's, you know, is to continue to. To be humbled by that and give, give light where all these people have given light and love to me. And I mean, it's just, it's made me who I am. And so, no, I can't say that I'd rather have legs because it would forfeit all the amazing. Goodness that I'm able to do for people.

• 40:26Speaker 01

  This, I asked Kyle Maynard, who's born without arms and legs. The same thing, and he was like, dude, my life would be probably boring and average. He's like, I lived such an incredible life. Because of the way I was born and I get to see so many things and touch so many people in a powerful way. And uh, I don't feel, you know, he's able to do everything he wants to do. And he says like, I just would have, I would have had such an amazing life. With, you know, legs, arms, so. Just did a Nike commercial, you know, he's constantly doing cool stuff, things he wanna do.

• 40:57Speaker 02

  He's awesome. I love Kyle. He's a cool guy.

• 41:00Speaker 01

  That's, that's cool. Um, final few questions for you. And I wanna make sure people go get the book, Everything Is Possible. Finding the faith and courage to follow your dreams. Make sure you guys pick this up, it's out right now. Get it, share with your friends, be inspired. Um, what are you grateful for in your life recently?

• 41:21Speaker 02

  Oh, I have a lot to be grateful for. Seeing the support from this book, people just coming out of the woodwork, supporting it, posting left and right, reposting, reposting, reposting. It's just like, wow. And then hearing people's feedback from how they're touched. I'm like, oh my gosh. And again, people are pulling in such different directions from how they were inspired. It was like, oh my gosh, that's what I wanted from this book. And then when you see it happening and you hear people like pouring into you and telling you, getting you these, you know, reviews and the feedback and like, oh my gosh, like my life was changed. And it's just like, this is unbelievable.

• 41:59Speaker 01

  Sure.

• 41:59Speaker 02

  I'm not even thirty, you know? I mean, that just blows my mind.

• 42:03Speaker 01

  That's really cool.

• 42:05Speaker 02

  Thank you.

• 42:06Speaker 01

  You have really strong hands too, I think. Hopefully afterwards we're gonna do some hands dancing together, so.

• 42:11Speaker 02

  Well, I'm an aerialist, I hold my life in my hands.

• 42:13Speaker 01

  You have to have strong hands, right? Really feel, it's cool. So strong, yeah, yeah.

• 42:18Speaker 02

  It happens.

• 42:19Speaker 01

  You ever walk on your hands?

• 42:20Speaker 02

  Yeah, oh yeah, all the time.

• 42:23Speaker 01

  Really?

• 42:23Speaker 02

  Yep, when I'm in the gym five days a week, like a conventional gym, not an aerial gym.

• 42:28Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 42:29Speaker 02

  And so I don't use my chair. You know, I park it and then I go do my thing.

• 42:34Speaker 01

  You walk around on your hands.

• 42:35Speaker 02

  Yeah, I mean, that's, that's how I grew up. My chair never was in my house, so it just, that was so normal for me.

• 42:42Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 42:42Speaker 02

  This easier, my shoes are easier. Like, this is kind of annoying sometimes, the chair is annoying. But it's kind of like shoes, maybe like flip flops in the bus example. You just kind of kick them on and off when you need them. That's sort of how I use chair.

• 42:55Speaker 01

  That's cool, that's cool. And you live, where do you live? You live, I mean, you live by yourself or you can do everything on your own?

• 43:01Speaker 02

  Oh yeah, of course.

• 43:02Speaker 01

  It's pretty easy.

• 43:03Speaker 02

  Yeah, for ten years, when I was nineteen, yeah.

• 43:06Speaker 01

  Live by your own?

• 43:07Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 43:08Speaker 01

  Own apartment?

• 43:09Speaker 02

  Yeah, I mean, I had, I've had roommates and stuff.

• 43:11Speaker 01

  Sure, sure, sure.

• 43:11Speaker 02

  But yeah.

• 43:12Speaker 01

  That's cool. When you were nineteen, you lived?

• 43:13Speaker 02

  I did, I moved to Orlando when I was nineteen.

• 43:15Speaker 01

  Wow.

• 43:17Speaker 02

  Just, I've always been very independent and kind of always knew a small town really wasn't where I wanted to be.

• 43:22Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 43:22Speaker 02

  I'm very grateful I grew up there, but I just, I just wasn't happy. I wanted more.

• 43:27Speaker 01

  Yeah. God, where does that go?

• 43:29Speaker 02

  Alright.

• 43:31Speaker 01

  I can't just be happy, you know, in a small town.

• 43:33Speaker 02

  Small town.

• 43:34Speaker 01

  I love going back home, I love going back and like being there and just kind of like chilling.

• 43:38Speaker 02

  I do too.

• 43:38Speaker 01

  People are so good, you know?

• 43:40Speaker 02

  It's, it is like, the minute I land, I'm like.

• 43:45Speaker 01

  It's relaxing, right? So peaceful, it's calm.

• 43:48Speaker 02

  It's slow, it's calm.

• 43:50Speaker 01

  The chaos here is a little bit, sometimes with traffic, right?

• 43:55Speaker 01

  You know, the reason why I started this podcast was because of traffic in L.A. I was driving, I moved here. And I was driving around, I think on the ten or something, one day to get to the gym or wherever. And I remember being like, man, I'm just frustrated, this traffic, I'm not used to this. And I saw, it almost around me frustrated. I was like, this is not the way we should be living. Like, what if I could create something for people who are in traffic all the time, all around the world? Who are frustrated? And give them some inspiration? Or education, uh, on how to, you know, move through this frustration? So that's how the first idea of School of Grace just started, yeah.

• 44:29Speaker 02

  I like that.

• 44:29Speaker 01

  L.A. traffic.

• 44:30Speaker 02

  Okay, well, good, see, something's been out of it.

• 44:33Speaker 01

  The positivity brings the positivity, yes, exactly.

• 44:35Speaker 02

  There you go.

• 44:36Speaker 01

  Um, this is, uh, one of the final few questions, this is called the three truths.

• 44:41Speaker 02

  Okay.

• 44:41Speaker 01

  Three truths. Uh, it's many years from now, your last day here on earth. And everything you've ever created is erased, videos, books, it's all gone for whatever reason. And you've done everything you wanted to do. Your whole family, you got your kids there, you got your adopted kids, you got your, your biological kids, you got the man of your dreams, everyone's there. And they say, but we don't have anything that you put out, all your books are gone, for whatever reason. But here's a piece of paper and a pen, and you write down your three truths. Three things you know to be true about everything you've experienced in life that you would want to pass on to us. What would you say are your three truths?

• 45:20Speaker 02

  I would say, um, focus on today and not any further. Don't go any further on your everyday life. Um, love freely. And, oh, there's way more than three. Oh, yeah, love freely and always be humble.

• 45:43Speaker 02

  Yeah, there's many more, but those are the three that came up.

• 45:48Speaker 01

  Cool.

• 45:50Speaker 01

  I want to acknowledge you for a moment Jen, for your incredible courage and inspiration for being yourself, because I think so many people in this world aren't themselves. As simple as it may sound, there are so many people that don't show up as their true authentic selves every single day. And growing up the way you did, with the challenges you had, to know that you are strong, loving, joyful, and fulfilled in who you are is really inspiring to me and I know to so many people. So I acknowledge you for that. I acknowledge you for sharing your story. I acknowledge you for your incredible heart, your joy, your love, your laughter. It's all incredible. So I appreciate you.

• 46:29Speaker 02

  Thank you. Thank you so much.

• 46:30Speaker 01

  Of course. Where can we connect with you online? Where should we go to see you the most online?

• 46:37Speaker 02

  Okay, well Snapchat, Instagram, Facebook, all Jen Bricker. And my website is JenBricker.com.

• 46:47Speaker 01

  Okay.

• 46:48Speaker 02

  And you can find the book on Amazon, Barnes & Nobles, everywhere, anywhere, my website, all of it. So keep up to date the best way on all my social media.

• 46:57Speaker 01

  Awesome. And is there anything you want to share before I ask the final question?

• 47:05Speaker 01

  Okay, well the final question is what's your definition of greatness?

• 47:09Speaker 02

  Ooh, my definition of greatness.

• 47:15Speaker 02

  Greatness can be many things. I'm huge on authenticity. So I think living a life of authenticity every day is very great. I think there's a lot of greatness in that because that can be a lifetime battle for a lot of people, an everyday battle. And so I think challenging yourself every day to be authentic and push yourself outside your comfort zone and be vulnerable, those are some, some big definitions of greatness that I would say.

• 47:48Speaker 01

  Awesome. Jen, thank you so much for coming on.

• 47:51Speaker 02

  Thank you so much. Appreciate it.

• 47:56Lewis Howes?

  That is right. Hope you guys enjoyed this episode. I loved connecting with Jen. And if you want to see us do some handstands together where Jen does handstand on my hands in the air and see what she does, it's super inspiring. We took a lot of photos, a lot of video. Go back to LewisHowes.com/383 to watch the full video behind the scenes and you're gonna see how inspiring Jen actually is. If you enjoyed this, let me know what you think. Again, we have incredible content over on YouTube.com/LouisHowes. Become a subscriber there, guys. We are producing some amazing stuff there. All the people that find out about it are like, "Wow, I wish I was listening to this and watching this over a year ago when you started posting this content." So go check out the content

• 48:41Lewis Howes?

  there. We're almost at 100,000 subscribers. It's been growing like crazy. And also, leave a comment either at the YouTube channel, on the blog, over on Instagram, Twitter, wherever you find works best for you. Leave a comment. Connect with me @LewisHowes. I'm @LewisHowes everywhere online. And with that, guys, you know what time it is. It's time to go out there and do something great.