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Sometimes, in life, we might find ourselves stuck in destructive situations or behaviors, and the only way out is to realize that our habits and practices work against ourselves and take radical actions to turn our lives around. My guest today is someone who has survived through the trauma of losing loved ones to cancer, toxic relationships, unhealthy habits, and later transformed his life to achieve goals that seem impossible to many of us. David Richman, entrepreneur, author, speaker, athlete, and philanthropist, joins us today to share his wisdom.
Show Notes
David’s Story – We talk about David’s background, his work in writing, his most recent book and the long research that contributed to the book, and some of the monumental experiences he’s had throughout his life.
15 Stories – David interviewed lots of people who survived different aspects of the impacts of cancer and chose fifteen of the most inspiring stories for his book. David shares with us some of the key learnings from that experience of exploring how a cancer diagnosis impacts people’s lives.
Uncertainty and Fear – Cancer isn’t an illness that’s very predictive. It can pop up in our life unexpectedly and turn our lives upside down. And that can be extremely scary. David shares his thoughts on how this element of fear associated with cancer affects our emotional wellbeing and how to push through this fear.
Friends and Family – A common occurrence among people who go through cancer is their tendency of friends and loved ones walking away and disappearing. It’s not necessarily because they don’t care but because they don’t know how to talk about and what to say. We talk about the role communication plays in the lives of cancer survivors.
Overcoming Destructive Habits – Before becoming an athlete, David was a smoker and had problems with losing weight. We talk about the motivation behind the decision to take control of his life and becoming what he wanted to become and what he had to do to accomplish his goal.
Contact David Richman
LinkedIn:
Website: david-richman.com
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/davidrichman
David’s Books:
Cycle of Lives (100% of proceeds from this book goes to charities that help people who are going through cancer)
amazon.com/Cycle-Lives-Peoples-Stories-Emotional-ebook/dp/B08KBYPVJV/
Winning in the Middle of the Pack
amazon.com/Winning-Middle-Pack-Realizing-Business-ebook/dp/B00L1ISEIK/
Bobbi's Takeaways
I hope that you found both inspiration and a ton of insight and that interview. Here are my three insights for thriving.
We tend to retreat when we encounter something that we fear. Ironically, when we retreat, we miss the opportunity to break through it, and potentially either connect with others, or connect more deeply with ourselves.
I thought that the Dominic’s story was very compelling. And how he told David that his whole life had been afraid of dying. And that was what led him to play small. I thought it was a really powerful reframing when he and David arrived at the realization that maybe he wasn’t afraid of dying. Maybe he was afraid of living. Once he made that shift. Things opened up for him. But as I was listening to David recount that story, it made me think about how many people are truly afraid of living with putting themselves out there going for what they want of being true to themselves. We only get one shot at this. Let’s make it count.
Quoting David, excuses are stupid. We will never get a day back that we surrender to an excuse.
