Anticipating and Overcoming Adversity - A Way of Life Toward Purpose in Service to Others

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There are some people that make their
work just another thing they have to do,

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and there are those that make their
work something that they want to do.

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Welcome to Working on Purpose with your
host Elise Cortes. In our program,

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we provide guidance and inspiration from those
people who have found deeper meaning and

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personal connection to their work life.
It's beyond nine to five. It's working

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on purpose. Now Here is your
host, Elise Cortes. Welcome back to

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Working on Purpose. Thanks for tuning
in again this week. I'm your host,

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Elise Cortes, joining you from Dallas, Texas. If you've been tuning

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in for a while, you know
this show is all about helping people more

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meaningfully and productively connect with their work
and equipping organizations do the same for their

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employees. It was originally inspired by
the meeting and work research up and conducting

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over the last fifteen years, and
it now complements the work that I do

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it Insignium, a global management consulting
firm. Let me thank my media partner's

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sponsor first jobbing dot com. They
are the leading locally focused job board in

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the nation and are dedicated to helping
employers find quality talent in their own backyard

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and giving jobs control over their search
and they can find work close to home.

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Great partnership. Thank you. Last
week, if you missed the show,

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you can always catch the recorded podcast, we were on the air with

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Principal Evan rob of Johnson Williams Middle
School in Berryville, Virginia. We talked

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about his passion, his passion to
cultivate a growth mindset among his students and

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faculty, his perspective that we've talked
to ourselves as a nation into being bad

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at math and what we can do
about that, and his use of social

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media to engage students and parents,
among many other topics. Was a great

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conversation with us. This week is
Staff Sergeant Jason Morgan, who was a

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motivational speaker and best selling author of
a book called A Dog Called Hope,

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a wounded warrior and his service dog
who saved him. Jason shares with audiences

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his own remarkable journey from the Special
Forces to living as a wounded veteran,

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a Paralympic athlete, and a national
speaker. Also his own inspiring message based

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on his story to help people navigate
back from adversity. We'll be talking about

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his own story of serving in the
military and becoming disabled, and what he's

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learned from that experience, his perspective
on adversity and the importance of service in

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our communities. Jason joins us today
from Dallas. Welcome to the show.

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Thank you, Thank you for having
me. This is going to be a

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lovely conversation. I appreciate that we
were connected. I think it was by

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Lauren Yates, and I so appreciate
that she sent me to you, because

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when I went to go look at
your website and see what you've been up

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to and hear and read about your
story, I knew I had to have

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you on the show. So glad
to have you to get us started.

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If you don't mind, I know
a little something about it because we've talked

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already in the phone. But for
the benefit of our listeners, would you

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introduce yourself and just maybe start with
a little bit of a sketch of your

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military career. Sure, Jason Morgan, I and listen. Into United States

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Air Force when I was twenty years
old, and my job in the Air

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Force as a combat meteorologist. On
top of my job was actually called the

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unicorns because there's only seventy of us
to do our job in the military,

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so we're quite few called the grave
raise, but our job was to provide

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combat weather combat support for special operations
either on or behind enemy lines. So

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basically, if they social forces,
the glom Bros I've worked with, or

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other special operations when they had missions, the first thing I do is that

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we contact us to give them all
the weather data so they can successfully do

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their mission. Which it might seem
not much, but when you have you

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know, lives depending on it and
billion dollar assets is such as helicopters and

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stuff, that it's a very challenging
job. And I did that for almost

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ten years until I was injured in
nineteen ninety nine. And now I'm,

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you know, a single dad with
three boys that I've raised on my own

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and the help with the help of
the awesome service dog named Reu. Wow.

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Wow, so many things I'm going
to ask you about all of that.

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So, but before we do that, just I think everybody wants to

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better understand what happened? What what
what happened that you became disabled? Well

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it was in Actually I just celebrated
a couple of weeks become my aten year

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anniversary. Call it my my lived
day. The day that I had my

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injury, I was in South America
and I'm a Columbia Ecuador board working with

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the one SUCCEI night Stock from the
maybe Blackhawk down it's also the helicopter units

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that got beIN Lauden recently and they
do special operations, and we were down

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there. We were training me.
We were training the Ecuadorian special forces how

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to combat the drug cartel group down
there called the FARC, which is it's

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like an archatic except it's in South
America and it's an army rebel group and

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they they get a lot of their
money from from drugs obviously, and also

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kidnap engineers from the UK and US
that are working down there, down the

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air brands, and so it's a
really bad group. And so our job

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down there was to train the special
forces there. The local special forces had

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to fight, and so in order
to do that, we had to go

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on missions with them. And it
was actually on one of those missions,

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are just finishing up. They're in
an suv undercover, as we always were,

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and I'm not sure exactly what happened. It's still quite sketchy, but

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basically our driver was trying to avoid
a very dangerous situation. I was in

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the backseat providing security, and he
sped up to try to make it around

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a corner and didn't make the corner
since I was out of the back seat.

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I was in the back seat with
my weapon, trying to help out

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with that situation. When the vehicle
started flipping down our beam. I flipped

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out of the vehicle and then it
flipped over the top of me and crushed

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my back, and I guess to
make a matter of worse, it left

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me face down on the water and
unable to move with a broken back.

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I was very fortunate that American missionary
that was working in the area, he

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saw the vehicle at the bottom of
the ravine, and when I talked to

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him later, he said that the
only way he found me is that he

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saw the vehicle. He wasn't sure
if it was a fresh accent or not,

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and so him and his buddies that
he was with, they were skirting

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down the mountain side and that's the
way they found me. And he said

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almost tripped over me because I was
covered in mud and buried in the water.

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That's the only way he found me. And then it brought me to

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safety, and that was you know, I shouldn't have made it. In

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fact, I wasn't. I was
barely breathing. I have trying to go

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into this a little bit, but
i'll make it short. Before I was

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barely breathing. And he tried to
use their cell phones and other people who

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stopped to try to call for an
ambulance, and none of the cell phones

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worked. But because he worked for
a Christian radio station called Voice and Andyes,

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he used his short way radio to
contact an ambulance in the in the

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US embassy where to Vegas. And
they said that it's going to be about

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three hours for the ambulance out there. And he said, well, this

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guy didn't have three hours because as
a you know, he didn't know at

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the time, but I had one
collapse long and the other one who was

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about eighty percent full of water.
Plus we are fourteen thousand feet. So

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he decided to load me in his
van and the other injured guy and meet

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the ambulance halfway. And as soon
as I met the ambulance, I quit

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breathing. So actually I went into
I arrested and didn't wake up. So

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about two months later, back in
the US from a coma oh, my

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gosh, Jason, I'm sitting here
with goosebumps listening to that story. I

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know you've told that story many many
times, and audiences like to hear you

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tell that story. I wanted you
to tell it because I think it really

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sets us up for some of the
conversation we're going to have around adversity.

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You are incredibly uniquely situated to talk
about overcoming adversity. I think it's amazing

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that you didn't drown. I mean, the fact that you can't move,

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you've got it broken back, and
you're emerged face down in water. It's

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it is a miracle that you didn't
drown as well. I mean, it's

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just it's crazy, absolutely, and
just thinking this that was in good shaping

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and special operations, so that that
and so probably saved my life. And

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the work that the doctors did over
the next two months, and dark dit

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listed tie during the two months.
So I'm I'm very fortunate to be here

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well. And and so what I
find fascinating about that is I almost researched

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this for my PC dissertation. But
the idea of just you know, perseverance

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and being being able to persevere through
you know, things that most people would

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level most people is relliant fascinating to
me. I guess I would like to

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ask you where where do you think
that strength came from for you? Why?

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Why do you think you could persevere
and did persevere? Well, I

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think that's a good question. I
think a lot of that had to do

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with my training and special operations.
You know, to do a job that

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only you know, less than one
percent of the guys make it through challenging

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itself. You have to do things
kind of above and beyond what you think

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you're capable of doing. It's always
it's like always a fight, always doing

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stuff that you did, your mind
telling you that you can't do. And

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I think that really had a lot
to do with it. Although I was

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always kind of I always kind of
like that, I like to sewing things

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that I did, but I think
it might really really helped out and make

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a big difference. Well. One
of the one of the many reasons I

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wanted to have you on the show
is I think we can all learn something

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from you about the way that you
navigate adversity, and certainly when I think

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about how this relates to the world
of work, right, every single day,

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people find themselves in adverse situations that
they have to navigate through that either

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make them or break them. And
so part of what right so part of

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what makes your story also interesting is
you get through that whole experience that you

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just described. And then I know
when you and I spoke on the phone,

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you know, sometime later in your
life, you'd spent six months reading

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for the Marine Corps Marathon when yet
another tragedy struck you. Will you tell

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us what happened then and how you
handled it? Sure, And you know,

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fortunately that was many years later after
I was injured. I don't think

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that's something that I play would have
made it through during the first part of

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my injuries, just trying to you
know, the first few years that I

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was just trying to get by as
I spent I believe they out of my

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first seven years, I spent three
and a half years in the hospital.

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So it was always, you know, going through that. But so I

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was training for the Marine Corps Marathon
and it's I told my buddies, you

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know, when I was twenty nine
when I was injured, and for my

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twenty ninth birthday, for your thirtieth
birthday, supposed to run thirty miles in

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the in the unit that I was
in, so Ill gave me a kind

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of a hard time, like,
yeah, you just got to hurt.

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Soe after thirty one miles and it
told me. I said, well,

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and I turned for Down'm doing a
marathon. And I really thought I wouldn't

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believe it. I thought that,
you know, after being injured for fifteen

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years at that time, that I
think it was ten years after my injury,

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that they have a cure for prossis, or I'd just be able to

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do it. Well, forty came
and gone and never happened, and I

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started doing sing this thing I did, and then a great organization came up

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to me and said, hey,
we saw some of your media clips about

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your success in the Military Paralympics and
we want a sponsor to do the Marine

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Corps marathon. And I thought about
that that I'll post my buddies, I'll

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do this marathon. I'm like,
I'm great. I love to I knew

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I needed all five months to train
for this, and you know it's one

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thing, you know, to use
your lester on sas going two miles,

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but now I'm just using my arms
and a much smaller muscles. So I

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I guess now about two months to
go before the marathon. I remember that

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I started off like as a medium
search size. By the time I finished,

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I was an extra large. That's
just the kind of bulk and training

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you have to do to do.
You want to the marathon from up a

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racing chair, which a lot of
people do it, from hand cycle,

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which is a lot of user I
didn't do it. I wanted to do

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it from a racing chair. You
actually pushed just with your arms. And

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so in the middle of my training, I had a blister on my heel

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and then all of a sudden it
got like really bad, and I decided

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to go to the mercey and to
get it checked out, and they said

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that, you know, I have
a bad infection in my pill from a

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blister. Apparently the bone was infected. So, you know, I was

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trying to figure out what that meant, and the only thing I could think

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about was a marathon. He said, well, it's not a big deal,

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and they said, we'll just scrape
off the infected bone, we'll put

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a skin flap over. It'd be
good to go in three days. I

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said, good, because I have
a marathon coming up, and you know,

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less than two months away, and
it's very very important to me,

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and it's something that I really not
want to do, but I really I

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felt like I really needed to do. And he said no, I probably

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says, we'll get your an emori. I come back in three days from

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near my eyes red and and we'll
get you, you know, scheduled,

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and get the same done son get
back training again. Well, when I

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came back in three days, the
surgeon came up to me and no waiting

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for him, and he says,
you know, there's no easy way to

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put this, but the bone has
been infected. It's a lot worse than

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we thought it spread. And my
strong recommendation to use to amputate your leg.

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Those words just kind of hit me
something I wasn't expecting at all.

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And I was there actually with my
service dog, and and he said,

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or we can probably treat it might
take up to a year, and we

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still not build to save your legs. So he said, I'll leave you

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for a few minutes and then I'll
come back. And remember I left,

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I was just kind of staring at
my dog, and my dog is he

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knows me. It's almost like we
can he eat each other. We spend

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twenty four to seven with each other. He actually got up on my lap

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and kind of looking at me,
and this might sound strange, but kind

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of looked at me. He's like, you know what, buddy, we

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can do this. And so the
doctor came back in and you know,

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and I felt like I had choices
there. It's like, there, I

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could you know, the dreams that
I've always done. I don't think anyone

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would ever second guest knowing that I'm
having to have my leg amputated right before

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the marathon. Well, we can
get this leg amputating, I can still

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dude, that figure that would really
help my healing. And that's all I

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said, Well, that's going to
schedule this schedule as soon as possible because

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I want to do this marathon.
And he first kind of told me that

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it's a very good possibility and I'm
not gonna do but do it. He

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says, it's a very extensive surgery. You know, you'll be in the

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hospital for a couple of weeks,
Jean ditches, You're not gonna be able

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to really move around a lot.
But I said, medically, would I'd

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be able to? And he said, you know, I think so,

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and that's all I needed to hear. So we went had the surgery done.

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It was a lot of time than
I thought. I remember when they

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first redid the bandage. Actually I
put a blanket where my leg was.

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I had an apucated just glow the
knee and put a blanket there just so

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I didn't have to deal with it
or see it. But a couple of

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days later, when they had to
change the bandage on saw it. It's

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kind of broke down. I guess
the reality of having part of your body

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taken from you hit me a lot
harder than I thought it would, even

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knowing that I'm already a paraplegic and
paralyzed from the waist down. And I

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was just like, well and I
like to think about I just want to

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get back in the gym and start
training, And so the doctors I ended

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up staying for a week instead of
two weeks. I out the hospital a

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lot quicker. The prosthetic guys made
a special brace from my leg that covered

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my leg with the stitches so I
could wouldn't hurt it any or getting type

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infection, and I was back in
two days after my got out of the

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hospital ten days after my surgery back
in the surgery training, and I found

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out that I lost a lot,
I mean, spending that much time in

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the hospital and having extensive surgery like
that, I was nowhere near at the

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shape that I was in when I
started my training again. And I'm like,

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I know I can all day.
I'm going to do this. And

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so we're first scheduled, it looks
like we're in to seven a little for

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some minute miles and knew that wasn't
gonna happen, and but me and my

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teammates we lettered up, my trainers, we learned up and went to Washington,

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d C. Being this marathon,
and I found out that Hurricane Sandy

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was expected to hit a day after
the marathon. So it America and they're

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expecting forty five miles on winds.
It really makes it hard to push because

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my hands the friction, they slighed
really bad. I was just like,

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oh my god, you're just gonna
make this as hard on me as you

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can. But you know, the
harder things is the better of the reward.

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And I remember that I was pushing
through there and it was some of

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my mile times I went back and
looked at it were almost twelve minutes that

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and then that was the pom against
the wind, and some of the times

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were less than four minutes, so
in marathon to say the least. And

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you know, I remember when I
was about on my mark or twenty two,

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I was my gloves were breaking down. I was really struggling, and

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the people that were typical in fallity
and random and inspiring me the rest of

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the way, and I remember crossing
that finish line is one of the greatest

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things that I ever did. And
I felt like then it's like, you

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know what I made it. It's
like, you know, I've gone through

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adversity four and it's really hit me. But this was probably the worst I've

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gone through since my entry, and
I was still able to do this and

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to fulfill my dream. I kind
of felt like that this was kind of

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my proving point that I don't think
there's anything out there that could really set

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me back anymore, like like what
first happened when I first got injured and

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I even had to be lifted off
of my racing chair and put on a

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car for the next three hours.
That ike my back on me because I

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could even move, you know,
even from the my back, which was

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gone and I was aching so bad. But you know, that's time I'll

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never forget. It's It's definitely a
high point in my life. Wow,

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Jason, perfect time for us to
cut for a quick break. That was

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an amazing story. I'm gonna probably
ask you to see if you can call

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back in because you're you're breaking You're
breaking up quite a bit there, but

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we'll take a quick break here.
I'm your host, Alis Cortez. We've

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been on the air with Staff Sergeant
Jason Morgan, who is a motivational speaker

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and best selling author of A dog
called Hope, a wounded warrior and the

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service dog who saved him. Recently, Hey has been an ardent spokesperson for

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the training of service dogs to enhance
the lives of individuals with disabilities through his

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association with Canine Companions for Independence.
He joins it today from Dallas, Texas.

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We'll talk more after the break about
how we can overcome adversity, among

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other things as well, and and
what's happening in the lives of vets.

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Stay with us, It's your world, Motivate, Change, Succeed, Voice

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00:18:52.799 --> 00:19:02.519
America Empowerment dot Com. At least
Court is a speaker and engagement and development

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00:19:02.599 --> 00:19:07.319
catalyst. She designs and delivers professional
development, leadership and engagement workshops and can

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bring her expertise to your organization.
She will help ignite meaningful development within your

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00:19:12.240 --> 00:19:18.400
workforce that will increase employee engagement,
performance and retention. To learn more or

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00:19:18.440 --> 00:19:22.119
to invite Elise to speak to your
organization, please visit her at www dot

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00:19:22.240 --> 00:19:27.160
Elise Coortes dot com. She would
welcome the opportunity to help get your employees

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00:19:27.440 --> 00:19:33.920
working on purpose. Follow us on
Twitter for more great ideas at Voice America

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00:19:33.960 --> 00:19:47.359
Empowerment. This is Working on Purpose
with Elise Cortes. To reach our program

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00:19:47.400 --> 00:19:51.599
today, please call in to one
triple eight three four six nine one four

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You may also send an email to
Eleise ali Se at Elisportes dot com.

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00:20:03.720 --> 00:20:07.160
Now back to working on Purpose.
Thanks for staying with us, and

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welcome back to working on Purpose.
If you're just joining us. My guest

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is Staff Sergeant Jason Morgan, who
is a motivational speaker and best selling author.

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He served in the Air Force as
part of the tenth Combat Weather Squadron,

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completed Air Force Weather School before joining
the Elite Special Operations Aviation Regiment,

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a unit within the Green Berets,
as a combat meteorologist. After his injury,

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he participated in the Warrior Games,
a competition for wounded and injured service

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members and veterans. I'm your host, Elise Cortes. Before the break,

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we were talking about some of those
situations in terms of how he got his

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injury and then of course when he
had his leg amputated. For this next

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segment here, I want to talk
about veterans and also your perspective on overcoming

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adversity. Jason. So, first, for our listeners who don't know much

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about this, I found this quite
fascinating. You told me on the phone

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that a problem we face as a
nation is that twenty two veterans commit suicide

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each day. So help us understand
what's striving these frightening figures, what's going

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on for these people? You know, I wish I could, you know,

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And that's something I'm trying to understand
more. Is But yeah, when

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when someone first told me that,
I thought it was a mistake. I

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thought it you know, there's no
way that could be. But you know,

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even myself, I've gone too far
from any Far too many funerals after

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you know, people when they're out
of conflict from you know, taking their

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own life and it's it's tragic and
it just has to win. So I've

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been trying to looking that more.
You know, I'm not exactly sure,

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but I think a lot of these
guys that I've talked to that really go

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into a lot of depression that a
lot of them they felt like they lost

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their purpose in life. That all
have they known is the military, and

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they they loved it, and they
felt like that they had a purpose there,

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a job that you can't find anywhere
else. And I think when they

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go through a severe significant injury like
mine, that they just kind of feel

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like they just they lose hope and
they lose purpose. I think that's a

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lot of things. And the other
thing, obviously is you know PTSD,

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which I have in a small amount, so I can't relate to some of

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these guys. But some of the
things that go through I just don't think

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they can overcome them. They just
the resources aren't there or they haven't been

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able to find the resources to overcome
it, and it seems like to them

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they're hurting so bad on the inside
that it's their only option. Wow,

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well, this might be a good
time to talk about Well, you've identified

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it as the importance of finding resources. Obviously you've been able to do that,

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but can you comment on how you
manage to find them for yourself and

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how do you recommend other vets look
to find resources even everyday people that are

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out in the workplace. How would
you recommend that? Well, you know,

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for me, it's just you know, I've been in cheering out for

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eighteen years, so basically mine came
over just by actively searching and just over

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time and learning. But you know
there's a lot, you know, there's

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there's ways to do that much quicker. That's why you know, I started

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my foundation too. But I think
the biggest thing is for people just not

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be afraid to ask for help.
I mean, people don't want admit they're

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going through tough times and stuff,
and we all go through it, some

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more than others, but they all
affect us the same. And I think

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the best thing is to reach out
to others and find answers is people that

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have been there, done it.
Unless I think the best person that you

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can learn from, in my opinion, m hm, that makes a lot

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of sense to me. And you
know, I think I think this goes

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back to something that I talk about
frequently on the show and in another conversations,

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just the importance of having a coach
or somebody else in your life who

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can give you a tother perspective or
say what about this? Or have you

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checked into this, or just someone
to bounce things off of. I would

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think would be incredibly helpful as well. Absolutely, And I don't think we

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need to be scared when we see
our friends that we feel that they're hurting,

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to not be scared to go up
to them and tell them, hey,

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you know, I'm here for you, what do you need and almost

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be a little persistent too. I
think that that makes a different as well

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as I had people and family and
friends to that for me as well.

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Now, you said something back before
about this notion of some of these vets

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losing purpose, and you told me
that through all your setbacks that we've been

358
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talking about on this show, that
you found your own purpose through all your

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adversity and now love to inspire others
to persevere through their own setbacks. Will

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you say more about that. That's
quite an interesting thing that you've been able

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to do to juxtapose or find two
very distinct ways of addressing purpose for yourself.

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Oh sure, And I think I
want to use antos that there's a

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term that I don't think it's chused
very often and something that I don't really

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like to admit, but there's a
term called the professional wounded warrior. And

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that's a guy that when we go. I do a lot of events for

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veterans and help out a lot of
intervetterance because I have a lot to offer,

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and I see some of these same
guys at the same places of all

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these different events. It's like,
what can you give me? What can

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you do for me? And those
are the guys that aren't getting better.

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I tell them, I said,
you know what, if you want to

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get better, and why don't you
find one of these organizations that you really

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like and get plugged in and start
working with them and do that to help

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others. Because that's what I found
out was my gave me purpose and what

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gave me identy identity back in life, is that I'm using my struggles and

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stuff to help others and make a
difference in others, you know, other

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people's lives. I think that's the
biggest thing you could do is to get

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back. That's where you're going to
find more meaning, I think than anything

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I've ever done well. And certainly
another reason I wanted to have you on

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the show, of course, Jason, is that you know, what's the

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name of the show, working on
purpose, and that's a double on Tendra.

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That means that for people who are
trying to find a way to work

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toward a more purposeful place in their
lives, that's one. The other piece

383
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is just doing it very intentionally,
is what I mean by that. So

384
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one of the things that I also
thought was interesting that kind of relates to

385
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some reading that I've done lately is
Angela Duckworth wrote a book called Grit,

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The Power of Passion and Perseverance.
And my guest is a few of the

387
00:26:00.880 --> 00:26:02.960
listeners who are listening to the show
probably have picked up on it, or

388
00:26:02.960 --> 00:26:06.359
maybe I already read it. But
but I connect this idea to what I

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think is your position of overcoming adversity. I mean, she talks about on

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the short really that we're actually you
said something about sometimes life is not going

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00:26:15.720 --> 00:26:18.039
to get better when you're down,
And so I think in general and certainly

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00:26:18.039 --> 00:26:21.759
in the world of work. Wrapping
our heads around this idea and trying to

393
00:26:21.759 --> 00:26:25.240
figure out how to deal with it
is critical to mental health and really ultimate

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success. And so she's all about
perseverance and passion and that grit piece of

395
00:26:30.240 --> 00:26:33.720
it. And I relate that to
how you talk about overcoming adversity. Do

396
00:26:33.799 --> 00:26:37.839
you see it the same way or
differently? Yeah? Absolutely? And I

397
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think the people that say you know, people say well, it can't get

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any worse. I think if you
have that attitude and really feel that way,

399
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it's going to get worse. I
think that's something that you know is

400
00:26:51.880 --> 00:26:56.039
for me, and you've talked about
you know the past. Thing is you

401
00:26:56.079 --> 00:27:00.079
know is that for me? Which
helps me is that I almost you almost

402
00:27:00.160 --> 00:27:04.559
did expect adversity, and and if
you know it's coming, you'll be better

403
00:27:04.599 --> 00:27:08.960
prepared for it and learn from it
and find a way to move on.

404
00:27:11.680 --> 00:27:15.160
I think that's the best way.
It's something you have to work at.

405
00:27:15.279 --> 00:27:18.319
It's not going to get any better
if you're just hanging around and just thinking

406
00:27:18.680 --> 00:27:22.799
it can't get any worse. It's
something you really have to to look at

407
00:27:23.079 --> 00:27:26.599
and strategy and strategize to think,
how am I going to make my life

408
00:27:26.599 --> 00:27:30.839
better, or how am I going
to make this situation better and start working

409
00:27:30.880 --> 00:27:33.440
on it. I think that's really
the only way it's going to get better

410
00:27:33.440 --> 00:27:37.799
or your best chances. Yeah,
you're a mental You're a mental. The

411
00:27:37.839 --> 00:27:44.119
health of a mental mindset is it's
so crucial. I completely embrace that whole

412
00:27:44.160 --> 00:27:48.200
idea, Jason completely. Why do
you think that many of us fall prey

413
00:27:48.240 --> 00:27:55.039
to giving into adversity though? Why
don't we charge back? I don't know.

414
00:27:55.079 --> 00:27:57.799
I was never a person just to
kind of give into my situation.

415
00:27:59.200 --> 00:28:02.799
I did it first, and you
know, after I got injured, I

416
00:28:02.839 --> 00:28:07.440
spent a year in the hospital and
came back as a single dad and had

417
00:28:07.480 --> 00:28:11.200
to raise three people, three boys. They were very young at the time,

418
00:28:12.319 --> 00:28:15.799
and I just thought, wow,
this is just instead of looking as

419
00:28:15.839 --> 00:28:18.759
like, you know, what was
me. I think that's what a lot

420
00:28:18.759 --> 00:28:22.400
of people do is I think they
just kind of, you know, this

421
00:28:22.440 --> 00:28:26.759
is horrible, and they just kind
of feel sorry for themselves. And I

422
00:28:26.799 --> 00:28:30.359
think the way I looked at is
like, in a way I found the

423
00:28:32.160 --> 00:28:34.000
good and my wife leaving. I
know that was really hard to do,

424
00:28:34.440 --> 00:28:37.720
as I could barely take care of
myself, much less three boys. But

425
00:28:37.759 --> 00:28:41.519
that's what gave me the motivation to
get better. It's like, I got

426
00:28:41.559 --> 00:28:44.240
to get better. I got to
get healthy because I have three boys that

427
00:28:44.279 --> 00:28:47.599
are counting on me, you know, that need me as a father to

428
00:28:47.680 --> 00:28:52.039
raise them. I'm not gonna I
can't use my wheelchairs, and my prowess

429
00:28:52.039 --> 00:28:55.319
is saying why I couldn't raise my
boys. So for me, I just

430
00:28:55.400 --> 00:29:00.799
kind of look the other way.
I tried to find motivating, motivational factors

431
00:29:00.839 --> 00:29:03.799
and look at the good side of
things instead of just feeling sorry for myself,

432
00:29:03.839 --> 00:29:08.240
which is unfortunately what a lot of
people do. They kind of fall

433
00:29:08.279 --> 00:29:15.160
into to pray of adversity and feel
like they can't get past it. Wow.

434
00:29:15.240 --> 00:29:18.559
Okay, so I heard one thing
in particular that I want to call

435
00:29:18.640 --> 00:29:21.319
out, and that is Jason.
That sounds to me like one of the

436
00:29:21.359 --> 00:29:26.759
things that you did was you cast
your eye to a higher plane than your

437
00:29:26.799 --> 00:29:30.799
own circumstance. Right. So,
sometimes when we look beyond our own immediate

438
00:29:30.839 --> 00:29:33.799
needs, I've heard people say that, you know, they can do amazing

439
00:29:33.839 --> 00:29:37.519
things because they're no longer focused on
themselves. So I focused on the good

440
00:29:37.640 --> 00:29:41.599
or something that's bigger or more important, or more powerful or has more meaning

441
00:29:41.880 --> 00:29:45.240
than just their own immediate lives.
That's kind of what I heard you say.

442
00:29:45.319 --> 00:29:47.880
Is that right? It is you
said it's so much better. So

443
00:29:47.880 --> 00:29:51.720
I'm going to take notes Frore and
you're saying that the kind of yeah,

444
00:29:51.759 --> 00:29:55.920
absolutely, when you you know,
there's always I'm easily when I'm in the

445
00:29:56.000 --> 00:30:00.039
room, I'm usually the worst office. I deal with significant pain, and

446
00:30:00.160 --> 00:30:04.440
I sometimes go days without sleeping,
and and it's really easy for me to

447
00:30:04.920 --> 00:30:08.200
feel sord for myself. But sometimes, you know, when I work with

448
00:30:08.240 --> 00:30:11.359
these other foundations, I see guys
that are so much worse than me,

449
00:30:11.440 --> 00:30:15.240
and I see quadraproligiic to like you
know, Jason, I'd get anything to

450
00:30:15.240 --> 00:30:19.160
abilit to use my arms like you
do or anything like that. And yes,

451
00:30:19.200 --> 00:30:22.640
when you when you put your focus
on other people and you're not only

452
00:30:22.680 --> 00:30:26.000
helping them, right, but it
takes your your focus away from themselves,

453
00:30:26.519 --> 00:30:30.559
as you so Elcholy put it.
But yes, absolutely, thank you,

454
00:30:30.640 --> 00:30:33.680
Jason. Well, let me address
something speaking of what you just said about

455
00:30:33.720 --> 00:30:37.920
your own condition there. And I
think I'm asking this question for my own

456
00:30:37.960 --> 00:30:42.000
benefit and that from my listeners as
well. I hear your your breathing is

457
00:30:42.079 --> 00:30:45.799
labored. I mean it sounds like
you're you've got something happening there, are

458
00:30:45.839 --> 00:30:48.960
you? Is you? Are you
dealing with something in the way that you're

459
00:30:48.000 --> 00:30:52.480
breathing. Yeah, I have right
now gone through a lot of pain,

460
00:30:52.640 --> 00:30:56.000
so it pretty much takes my breath
away. It's like someone seventy with a

461
00:30:56.079 --> 00:31:02.440
nice pick too. That's what I'm
going to bear with you here and get

462
00:31:02.440 --> 00:31:03.880
through it. It at a choice. I mean, it happens all the

463
00:31:03.920 --> 00:31:07.200
time. So I wanted to call
that out. I didn't know what the

464
00:31:07.240 --> 00:31:11.240
answer was going to be to that
question, but I again that even further

465
00:31:11.319 --> 00:31:17.359
situates that you are uniquely qualified to
talk about overcoming adversity and just charging through.

466
00:31:17.480 --> 00:31:19.880
So the next thing I want to
ask you is if you have any

467
00:31:19.960 --> 00:31:25.000
suggestions or or ideas or maybe you
do this in your talks on how people

468
00:31:25.000 --> 00:31:30.400
can develop their muscle to better handle
or even confront adversity. I think it's

469
00:31:30.519 --> 00:31:33.640
a combination for a lot of things. You know I've said before is one

470
00:31:33.640 --> 00:31:37.319
thing is to expect it, you
know, and as they say it,

471
00:31:37.720 --> 00:31:41.960
you know, prepare for the worst, but expect the best or something like

472
00:31:41.000 --> 00:31:45.599
that. But you know, if
you're prepared for adversity, if you know

473
00:31:45.680 --> 00:31:48.880
that it's probably going to happen.
Then when it happens, it's not so

474
00:31:48.039 --> 00:31:52.160
bad. And then you know,
and then when it does come, instead

475
00:31:52.200 --> 00:31:55.119
of you know, getting down about
it, figure out a way, you

476
00:31:55.160 --> 00:31:57.880
know, what can I do to
change my situation? Some Unfortunately, sometimes

477
00:31:57.920 --> 00:32:01.839
there's nothing you can do but just
have a positive outlook. But that's good

478
00:32:01.920 --> 00:32:06.640
enough in itself. But sometimes there
are things that you can do, and

479
00:32:06.680 --> 00:32:13.079
so you know, definitely, you
know, expect it and prepare yourself and

480
00:32:13.359 --> 00:32:16.279
learn from it. And usually you
know, when you go through adversity,

481
00:32:16.640 --> 00:32:21.880
know and try to be positive about
it that you're going to come out more

482
00:32:21.880 --> 00:32:24.720
on top than you were before.
So expect better results if you do go

483
00:32:24.799 --> 00:32:30.200
through aversity. Mm hmmm. Do
you have a perspective or anything you that

484
00:32:30.279 --> 00:32:32.920
you can share with us about how
to really work on your mind? I

485
00:32:32.960 --> 00:32:38.039
mean you clearly have an I would
consider it an extraordinary ability to address or

486
00:32:38.400 --> 00:32:44.039
not control maybe, but just stay
in a very healthy place in terms of

487
00:32:44.079 --> 00:32:47.079
your mindset. Well, I think
a lot really helped me was that,

488
00:32:47.839 --> 00:32:51.279
you know, getting back in shape
again when I did that in marathon,

489
00:32:51.359 --> 00:32:54.559
and getting back in shape to have
your your to be healthy in general.

490
00:32:54.599 --> 00:33:00.480
I think it's going to help you
have a healthy mind and out to set

491
00:33:00.000 --> 00:33:05.720
affected me. A big way is
to is to be healthy, and you

492
00:33:05.759 --> 00:33:07.359
know, I don't sleep very well, so I try to get sleep and

493
00:33:08.119 --> 00:33:12.880
eat right. I think that plays
a big, big part of it.

494
00:33:13.480 --> 00:33:16.359
And you know, but the biggest
thing that's really helped me I've used to

495
00:33:16.359 --> 00:33:21.519
help others is just find an organization
that you're good at or that you like

496
00:33:21.599 --> 00:33:27.240
and get involved and work on helping
other people. I think mine done.

497
00:33:27.880 --> 00:33:30.519
You know, it does several things
for you. It gets you to and

498
00:33:30.640 --> 00:33:32.559
you don't do it because you want
to feel good. You do it to

499
00:33:32.559 --> 00:33:37.119
help others. But helping others makes
me always feel good knowing that I'm using

500
00:33:37.160 --> 00:33:43.079
what I've learned and the things I've
gone through to help others overcome similar situations.

501
00:33:43.400 --> 00:33:45.799
I think those are probably the two
things that's helped me the most.

502
00:33:46.119 --> 00:33:50.640
I completely concur with those things,
and I do them both myself. So

503
00:33:50.640 --> 00:33:53.000
I'm encouraged to hear that. I
work out six days a week and I

504
00:33:53.079 --> 00:33:58.839
do a fair amount of community service, and it really does change your perspective

505
00:33:58.880 --> 00:34:02.440
on your own circumstances when you're focused
on somebody else and from a healthy vantage

506
00:34:02.440 --> 00:34:07.119
point. I love what you said
there, and it makes me also wonder

507
00:34:07.159 --> 00:34:10.159
when you when you talk to audiences, I'm curious. I mean, I

508
00:34:10.159 --> 00:34:13.360
got to guess that part of what
you tried to impart is what you just

509
00:34:13.400 --> 00:34:16.119
said there. But what is it
that you are really trying to impart through

510
00:34:16.119 --> 00:34:20.960
your book or through your speaking that
you think that you really want to get

511
00:34:21.000 --> 00:34:25.239
across the audiences when you speak to
them, Well, I hope that they

512
00:34:25.239 --> 00:34:29.519
get from it. It's like nothing
is too difficult for you to overcome,

513
00:34:30.360 --> 00:34:35.280
and you know that it's like I
bounce back on I'd hit with diversity again

514
00:34:35.320 --> 00:34:38.320
and try to bounce back and get
hit again. That you know that you

515
00:34:38.360 --> 00:34:43.039
can get through it if you have
the right tools and everything in place,

516
00:34:43.079 --> 00:34:49.800
that you can get through this and
and even overcoming adversity or not. What

517
00:34:49.920 --> 00:34:53.480
makes this country so great, I
think is is that the Americans who they

518
00:34:53.599 --> 00:34:59.760
volunteer and they help other people and
like for me to go snow skiing after

519
00:34:59.760 --> 00:35:06.239
I was whelchair, took four volunteers
for every participant to snowsky and you know

520
00:35:06.320 --> 00:35:09.000
that's huge, and that's I think
that's what makes this country so great is

521
00:35:09.000 --> 00:35:15.280
that there's so many people out there
helping and helping not disabled veterans that you

522
00:35:15.320 --> 00:35:17.000
know. People always thank me for
my service, but I always tell him

523
00:35:17.000 --> 00:35:22.000
that it's you that makes this country
worth fighting for. I'm just still blessed

524
00:35:22.039 --> 00:35:27.239
to live in such a great country. Wow, that is an incredible way

525
00:35:27.320 --> 00:35:31.000
to send us into a break,
Jason. That is such a humble perspective

526
00:35:31.039 --> 00:35:34.840
to have from someone like you.
I'm so glad to have you with me.

527
00:35:35.440 --> 00:35:37.880
I'm Alice Cortez, your host.
We've been on the air with Staff

528
00:35:37.920 --> 00:35:40.559
Sergeant Jason Morgan, who is a
motivational speaker and best selling author of A

529
00:35:40.599 --> 00:35:45.519
dog called Hope, a wounded warrior
and the service dog who saved him.

530
00:35:45.039 --> 00:35:49.239
Recently, he has been an ardent
spokesperson for the training of service dogs to

531
00:35:49.360 --> 00:35:53.159
enhance the lives of individuals with disabilities
through his association with Canine Companions for Independence.

532
00:35:53.519 --> 00:35:57.400
He joins us today from Dallas,
Texas. After the break, we'll

533
00:35:57.440 --> 00:36:00.440
talk more about his notion of service
and giving actual community, among other things.

534
00:36:00.519 --> 00:36:19.079
Stay with us, It's your world, Motivate, Change, Succeed,

535
00:36:19.599 --> 00:36:28.639
Voice America Empowerment dot Com. Alise
Cortes is a speaker and engagement and development

536
00:36:28.719 --> 00:36:34.440
catalyst. She designs and delivers professional
development, leadership and engagement workshops and can

537
00:36:34.480 --> 00:36:38.320
bring her expertise to your organization.
She will help ignite meaningful development within your

538
00:36:38.360 --> 00:36:44.519
workforce that will increase employee engagement,
performance and retention. To learn more or

539
00:36:44.559 --> 00:36:49.280
to invite Elise to speak to your
organization, please visit her at www dot

540
00:36:49.360 --> 00:36:53.920
Elisecortes dot com. She would welcome
the opportunity to help get your employees working

541
00:36:54.039 --> 00:37:01.039
on purpose. Follow us on Twitter
for more great ideas at Voice America Empowerments.

542
00:37:07.920 --> 00:37:13.840
This is Working on Purpose with Elise
Cortes. To reach our program today,

543
00:37:13.880 --> 00:37:17.239
please call in to one triple eight
three four six nine one four one.

544
00:37:17.360 --> 00:37:22.360
Again, that's one triple eight three
four six nine one four one.

545
00:37:22.559 --> 00:37:29.679
You may also send an email to
Elise Alise at Elise Coortes dot com.

546
00:37:29.840 --> 00:37:35.760
Now back to working on Purpose.
Thanks for staying with us, and welcome

547
00:37:35.800 --> 00:37:37.519
back to working on Purpose. If
you're just tuning in. My guest is

548
00:37:37.559 --> 00:37:42.199
staff Stargant Jason Morgan, who is
a motivational speaker and best selling author.

549
00:37:42.519 --> 00:37:45.000
He served in the Air Force as
part of the tenth Combat Weather Squadron,

550
00:37:45.280 --> 00:37:50.800
completed Air Force Weather School before joining
the Elite Special Operations Aviation Regiment, a

551
00:37:50.880 --> 00:37:53.960
unit within the Green Berets as a
combat meteorologist. After his injury, he

552
00:37:54.000 --> 00:37:59.000
participated in the Warrior Games, a
competition for wounded and injured service members and

553
00:37:59.079 --> 00:38:01.760
veterans, with talking a bit about
this experience that he's had. I'm your

554
00:38:01.800 --> 00:38:07.320
host, Alice Cortes. So for
this last final segment here, Jason,

555
00:38:07.360 --> 00:38:10.199
I wanted to focus really on this
notion of service and giving back to the

556
00:38:10.199 --> 00:38:14.719
community. I know that's really important
to you and what your the message that

557
00:38:14.760 --> 00:38:17.559
you impart to listeners. And you
told me that you've learned a lot about

558
00:38:17.599 --> 00:38:21.880
service from your dog rou So first, how was it that you and ru

559
00:38:22.000 --> 00:38:25.440
came to be a pair? Well, Rue was my second service dog,

560
00:38:25.480 --> 00:38:31.639
and actually the book is about my
first service dog, Nepaul, And unfortunately

561
00:38:31.639 --> 00:38:35.719
when the author flew in from London
to write the story, was the time

562
00:38:35.800 --> 00:38:39.880
that my and Nepaul passed away.
And now I got this incredible dog,

563
00:38:42.000 --> 00:38:45.440
mean Ruin. I got her from
ken Acatania's for Independence. I went out

564
00:38:45.480 --> 00:38:47.800
to California and got her and stay
out there for a couple of weeks and

565
00:38:47.840 --> 00:38:52.239
work with several dogs, and they
pair you with the best dog based on

566
00:38:52.280 --> 00:38:58.039
the dog simperment and your own personality, and they do an extremely great job

567
00:38:58.079 --> 00:39:02.079
of matching it with the perfect And
she is she is my buddy, my

568
00:39:02.159 --> 00:39:08.280
best friend. Oh my gosh,
that's so lovely. I'm that just really

569
00:39:08.639 --> 00:39:12.320
that that just really touches me to
hear you talk about her that way.

570
00:39:13.760 --> 00:39:16.400
That's about my favorite, doesn't So
yeah, okay, good? So all

571
00:39:16.519 --> 00:39:22.239
right, Well tell us about Rue
and how she teaches you about service.

572
00:39:22.679 --> 00:39:27.599
Well, you know, Rue is, she's is she was bred to serve

573
00:39:27.840 --> 00:39:31.800
and you know, to be a
service dog, and she does. She

574
00:39:31.880 --> 00:39:36.599
knows like over fifty commands. But
a lot of things she does real quick

575
00:39:36.639 --> 00:39:38.480
is she can turn LFE sunches on
and off. She can open it closed

576
00:39:38.480 --> 00:39:44.079
doors for me, will she can
pull my wheelchair, shet my clothes,

577
00:39:44.119 --> 00:39:45.599
eye a dryer. She can't follow
me up, but we're working on that,

578
00:39:45.960 --> 00:39:51.000
on that, but it probably did
it pretty soon. But there's a

579
00:39:51.079 --> 00:39:53.360
number of different tasks that she does
gets me dates. It's probably my favorite

580
00:39:53.360 --> 00:39:58.400
one. When you take this beautiful
dog into a place that dogs aren't typically

581
00:39:58.480 --> 00:40:01.320
allowed. It does help that way. But but you know, having her

582
00:40:01.920 --> 00:40:05.719
serve and do things for me,
I learned a lot from that and that

583
00:40:06.400 --> 00:40:08.519
so like if I drop something like
my keys, I don't have to give

584
00:40:08.519 --> 00:40:13.159
her the command she cannot or sometimes
she waits, but when I drop it,

585
00:40:13.559 --> 00:40:15.599
she like looks down at my keys
and looks at me, and her

586
00:40:15.679 --> 00:40:19.960
chel just starts wagging, like she
gets so excited. And I learned that

587
00:40:20.119 --> 00:40:22.000
like she loves to serve, she
loves to do that. She likes for

588
00:40:22.039 --> 00:40:25.360
me to to do something where she
can help me. And I'm like,

589
00:40:27.079 --> 00:40:30.440
you know, that's something I could
really learn from. And you know,

590
00:40:30.599 --> 00:40:34.519
I thought about that. I thought
that, you know, i'd be speaking

591
00:40:34.519 --> 00:40:37.079
to a lot of audience, some
of them that you know, like Lions

592
00:40:37.079 --> 00:40:39.760
clubs and stuff were that's all they
do is community service. But I tell

593
00:40:39.800 --> 00:40:43.519
her, I said, probably the
most qualified person to talk about service in

594
00:40:43.559 --> 00:40:46.159
this room is my dark room.
But I also tell them that probably the

595
00:40:46.199 --> 00:40:50.639
happiest person in this room is my
dog room. And that just made me

596
00:40:50.679 --> 00:40:53.079
think that, you know, to
serve with a smile on your face.

597
00:40:53.119 --> 00:40:57.559
And she loves to serve. And
I really learned from that that we should

598
00:40:57.920 --> 00:41:00.679
serve and help others. And you
know, we had to tell that it

599
00:41:00.760 --> 00:41:05.559
wh just like hers does and I
thought that was pretty significant. M M.

600
00:41:07.800 --> 00:41:09.840
Well, that certainly does. You
do. You have a tremendous teacher

601
00:41:09.880 --> 00:41:15.239
there in your best friend, and
I really admire and applaud that. And

602
00:41:15.280 --> 00:41:16.599
again, it touches me to hear
you talk about her the way that you

603
00:41:16.639 --> 00:41:21.320
do. It's and I also as
you as you heard me giggle, I

604
00:41:21.360 --> 00:41:22.639
got a big kick out of the
fact that she helps you get dates too.

605
00:41:22.679 --> 00:41:27.239
I think that's great. Yeah,
when you I'll help you get so

606
00:41:27.400 --> 00:41:31.119
I'll take it. I know we
all need help in that deprevemently never you

607
00:41:31.159 --> 00:41:35.239
know, there's never a stranger,
and you know, it's just really neat

608
00:41:35.280 --> 00:41:37.079
and that really always puts me in
a good mood when I taker places,

609
00:41:37.199 --> 00:41:40.719
let's say I'm having a lot of
pain or fled down. Well, people

610
00:41:40.760 --> 00:41:45.559
come up and they see your dog
and they just get all excited. And

611
00:41:45.559 --> 00:41:47.559
it's like when there's when you're around
other people and they're in a good mood,

612
00:41:47.920 --> 00:41:51.000
it's going to put you in a
good mood too. So it's just

613
00:41:51.519 --> 00:41:54.280
it's endless the things that she does
for me, both physically and mentally.

614
00:41:54.920 --> 00:42:00.599
M wonderful, delightful. Yeah,
Well, speaking of what she does,

615
00:42:00.599 --> 00:42:01.719
I want to talk about some of
the things that you do for others.

616
00:42:01.920 --> 00:42:07.639
I know that you work with wounded
veterans and disabled kids, and I'm curious

617
00:42:07.679 --> 00:42:12.000
as to what that work means to
you. What do you get out of

618
00:42:12.000 --> 00:42:17.360
doing that kind of work. Well, that's everything to me. It's when

619
00:42:17.400 --> 00:42:22.760
I started doing work like that to
help our veterans and give the disabilities.

620
00:42:22.559 --> 00:42:27.519
That's what gave me purpose in life
again. It gave me the strength to

621
00:42:28.400 --> 00:42:31.320
move on. Knowing that you're making
a difference in someone else's life is huge,

622
00:42:31.400 --> 00:42:36.039
absolutely huge. There's really probably no
words that I could I could tell

623
00:42:36.079 --> 00:42:40.800
you on this radio show, but
it's huge. Well, I think that

624
00:42:40.880 --> 00:42:45.239
most people from what I could tell
Jason and the research that I've done for

625
00:42:45.239 --> 00:42:49.360
the last fifteen years and investing in
help people experience meaning in their work and

626
00:42:49.360 --> 00:42:51.760
what does their work mean to who
they are as human being, in other

627
00:42:51.800 --> 00:42:55.519
words, their identity. What that
inquiry has taught me is that most people

628
00:42:55.559 --> 00:42:59.639
really do want to make a difference. They want to know that their lives

629
00:42:59.679 --> 00:43:04.599
have made a difference to other people, that they're being here mattered and even

630
00:43:04.679 --> 00:43:07.679
beyond, you know, whatever spiritual
connection they have, there's that connection,

631
00:43:07.760 --> 00:43:12.239
but just knowing that Hey, I
made a difference is a pretty powerful motivational

632
00:43:12.280 --> 00:43:15.559
force for I think most people.
And the reason that I like to do

633
00:43:15.599 --> 00:43:17.719
the show among others is that many
people say that some of the guests help

634
00:43:17.760 --> 00:43:22.440
them find or get closer to finding
a purpose for themselves through their work that

635
00:43:22.599 --> 00:43:25.760
makes them want to get up in
the morning. So I do understand what

636
00:43:25.800 --> 00:43:30.360
you're saying, and I really appreciate
just the simplicity of what you just said

637
00:43:30.400 --> 00:43:35.760
about why it matters to you.
Yes, I mean you know when when

638
00:43:35.760 --> 00:43:37.840
I passed away and you have your
bulogy, it's I think the biggest complenty

639
00:43:37.840 --> 00:43:43.000
you get someone was about how they
touched others or how they made a difference

640
00:43:43.000 --> 00:43:47.079
in other people's lives. I think
that's the biggest compliment you could give to

641
00:43:47.119 --> 00:43:53.559
somebody. Mm hmm, yeah,
I agree. Well, we're coming close

642
00:43:53.599 --> 00:43:55.639
to the edge at the end of
the show here, and I want to

643
00:43:55.639 --> 00:44:00.480
be sure and talk about about the
book here. So the book it is

644
00:44:00.519 --> 00:44:06.199
called A dog called Hope, a
wounded warrior and a service dog who saved

645
00:44:06.239 --> 00:44:09.800
him. So I know that it's
out in seven different countries already, which

646
00:44:09.840 --> 00:44:14.800
is amazing to me. So I
want to understand first how did the book

647
00:44:14.880 --> 00:44:17.440
come about to be? Because I
know that somebody wrote the book for you

648
00:44:19.280 --> 00:44:23.800
and what does it mean to you? Well, at first, I the

649
00:44:23.800 --> 00:44:28.119
way this all came about was that
it was my first dog that I had

650
00:44:28.119 --> 00:44:31.559
in a pall and him and I
were on the National Geographic channel called Amazing

651
00:44:31.599 --> 00:44:36.159
Dogs. Oh wait, I should
probably clarify that my dog was on the

652
00:44:36.239 --> 00:44:39.320
National Geographic I was just there,
just kind of helping them in his handler,

653
00:44:39.400 --> 00:44:45.159
But it's always about the dog and
have a service. Anyway, it

654
00:44:45.280 --> 00:44:51.679
aired in London and was green author
named Damian Lewis saw the story and it

655
00:44:51.840 --> 00:44:55.360
was a small book written about those
segments of stories called Amazing Dogs. And

656
00:44:55.400 --> 00:45:00.599
then he contacted me and told me, you know, I am a writer

657
00:45:00.679 --> 00:45:04.840
and I've written several books similar to
this, and he's a best selling author.

658
00:45:04.920 --> 00:45:07.039
And he sent me some of his
books and I read them and thought,

659
00:45:07.039 --> 00:45:09.920
if there's anyone to write, my
book would beat him. And six

660
00:45:09.960 --> 00:45:15.960
months later he flew down to Texas
from London to start writing the book.

661
00:45:15.000 --> 00:45:19.400
And it took a couple of sessions
like that where he came down and spent

662
00:45:19.440 --> 00:45:22.920
three or four weeks with me,
and we spent almost twenty four to seven,

663
00:45:22.360 --> 00:45:24.880
you know, going over the book, and he would go back home

664
00:45:24.880 --> 00:45:28.800
and then fill in the blanks and
come back. We'd check it, and

665
00:45:28.840 --> 00:45:34.159
I guess it took close to about
a year, and it's pretty amazing.

666
00:45:34.519 --> 00:45:36.880
When he first contacted me and said
he wanted to write my story, I

667
00:45:36.920 --> 00:45:39.320
told him, I said, you
know, it's probably you know, it's

668
00:45:39.360 --> 00:45:43.639
great for twenty minutes for me or
forty minutes when I speak audiences and stuff,

669
00:45:43.639 --> 00:45:45.119
but I think for a novel.
I told him, I thought you

670
00:45:45.159 --> 00:45:51.119
were really wasting your time. There's
just not enough information here. And I'm

671
00:45:51.119 --> 00:45:54.760
glad he didn't listen to me.
It's already become a bestseller and just very

672
00:45:54.760 --> 00:46:00.760
well written. It was tough being
written too. I actually, at first

673
00:46:00.800 --> 00:46:05.880
I almost regretted telling all my secrets, and not like military secrets, but

674
00:46:06.679 --> 00:46:08.920
stuff that was really upsetting to me
that I didn't discuss with anyone, that

675
00:46:08.960 --> 00:46:13.400
even my family members didn't even know. And but he had a good way

676
00:46:13.400 --> 00:46:15.119
of getting that out. I mean, he said, look, Jason,

677
00:46:15.840 --> 00:46:17.559
you know, we got to make
this real. So admit the high points

678
00:46:17.559 --> 00:46:20.920
seem high, then the low's got
to be low, you know, And

679
00:46:21.440 --> 00:46:23.679
so as we've got to make it
real and truthful, and that's the way

680
00:46:23.679 --> 00:46:29.159
it needs to be. And I
listened to him, and as difficult as

681
00:46:29.199 --> 00:46:32.960
it was, up ended up writing
a great book. I'm very proud of

682
00:46:32.960 --> 00:46:38.840
it. I'm wondering, Jason,
is that what lost your speaking career or

683
00:46:38.880 --> 00:46:43.880
were you already speaking at that point. I was already speaking a little bit,

684
00:46:43.880 --> 00:46:49.119
But it sure has helped it out
quite a bit. Yeah, I've

685
00:46:49.119 --> 00:46:51.880
already. You know, At first, I thought that, you know,

686
00:46:51.920 --> 00:46:55.360
the book would kind of give me
more credibility as a as a speaker,

687
00:46:57.199 --> 00:47:00.599
and it would help my motivational speaking. But actually, to turn the way

688
00:47:00.599 --> 00:47:02.599
around, it seems like now that
I'm now speaking, you know, for

689
00:47:02.760 --> 00:47:07.199
my book, because there's so much
in there, and I take lessons learned

690
00:47:07.239 --> 00:47:12.119
and and and things that I like
for people to learn from me that I

691
00:47:12.159 --> 00:47:15.639
went through that now kind of my
career is really based on my book instead

692
00:47:15.639 --> 00:47:20.320
of I thought it was gonna be
the other way round. M I really

693
00:47:20.360 --> 00:47:24.159
appreciate what you've said about the fact
that you've got you've you've you've buried your

694
00:47:24.159 --> 00:47:28.360
soul out in this book and it's
it's the good, bad, and the

695
00:47:28.440 --> 00:47:30.559
ugly, and you've you've it's all
there in print for everybody to read.

696
00:47:30.639 --> 00:47:36.400
And that has got to be a
whole new level of living to know that

697
00:47:36.440 --> 00:47:40.519
people know these things about yours,
about you? Is it? It is?

698
00:47:40.559 --> 00:47:43.760
And it's not, you know,
And it's not just about me,

699
00:47:43.880 --> 00:47:47.039
there's it's about the puppy raises that
raised Nepoll and no, he was a

700
00:47:47.039 --> 00:47:52.760
paraplegic. Gem was that that raised
Nepoll And it's about him raising a Paul

701
00:47:52.800 --> 00:47:57.480
and having to give him up.
And then it's also my my family's in

702
00:47:57.519 --> 00:47:59.519
there too, Is that when I
went into a coma for two months,

703
00:47:59.519 --> 00:48:00.920
I'd know, I, yeah,
what went on? And my mom end

704
00:48:01.000 --> 00:48:04.960
up making a lot of notes And
that's a big part of the story too.

705
00:48:05.000 --> 00:48:07.880
So it's not just from from my
perspective, but it's from other people

706
00:48:08.800 --> 00:48:14.320
others as well. So it's it's
pretty fascinating to get different perspectives on the

707
00:48:14.480 --> 00:48:17.840
on the same story. Do you
hear from readers at all? Do you

708
00:48:17.880 --> 00:48:22.000
ever hear from readers who get something
from your book and reach out to you?

709
00:48:22.000 --> 00:48:27.440
You know, all the time.
I on my Facebook and on my

710
00:48:27.599 --> 00:48:30.599
website, I hear for people all
the time. And at first I told

711
00:48:30.639 --> 00:48:34.760
you I had some actual regret writing
the story. When I was in London

712
00:48:34.800 --> 00:48:37.960
on our book tour, a guy
on a bike that was riding down We're

713
00:48:38.079 --> 00:48:42.320
right in the middle of London,
and he stopped and he said, I

714
00:48:42.320 --> 00:48:45.039
guess he was following me on Facebook, so he just read my book or

715
00:48:45.039 --> 00:48:47.280
following me on my website and he
stopped, thinkings, is that roof from

716
00:48:47.280 --> 00:48:51.079
a dog called Hope? And I
was like, I couldn't believe this guy

717
00:48:51.119 --> 00:48:53.679
recognized you from my book. And
there's pictures in the book as well,

718
00:48:53.920 --> 00:48:59.320
because I don't do books without pictures, so I'm just kidding. But so

719
00:48:59.639 --> 00:49:00.960
it was I heard that having this. Of course he didn't remember my name.

720
00:49:01.000 --> 00:49:04.320
You remember his name because I can't
remember your name, but I know

721
00:49:04.519 --> 00:49:07.199
his name, and like, yeah, of course, but you know when

722
00:49:07.199 --> 00:49:09.800
he started talking to me and i't
in a while, I was I cares

723
00:49:09.800 --> 00:49:15.360
a stranger that knows everything about what
I've done and my deep the secrets that

724
00:49:15.440 --> 00:49:19.159
I don't even didn't even tell my
close family members. And I had a

725
00:49:19.159 --> 00:49:22.360
little bit of regret. But then
when I got home and after the book

726
00:49:22.400 --> 00:49:25.599
was launched, I get messages every
day about how my story really inspired them

727
00:49:25.599 --> 00:49:29.920
and helped them overcome a lot of
things in their lives that they were dealing

728
00:49:29.960 --> 00:49:31.519
with, and you know, I
had to realize, like, it's not

729
00:49:31.559 --> 00:49:36.199
about me. This book was about
to help others. And then it made

730
00:49:36.239 --> 00:49:38.480
it all worth it. As tough
as it was, it was definitely worth

731
00:49:38.480 --> 00:49:42.920
it. No regrets. Now,
I'm so glad to hear it. I

732
00:49:42.920 --> 00:49:45.800
saw a lot of foods back and
I write to I respond to every single

733
00:49:45.840 --> 00:49:51.440
person that reaches out to me as
well. Well I hope you get a

734
00:49:51.440 --> 00:49:53.159
few people who reach out to after
the show as well. So here we

735
00:49:53.199 --> 00:49:55.920
are at the close already, Jason. It goes by so fast, and

736
00:49:55.920 --> 00:49:59.760
I always like to give my guests
the last word, if you will,

737
00:50:00.079 --> 00:50:04.119
remembering that this program is all about
helping people more meaningfully and productively connect with

738
00:50:04.159 --> 00:50:07.519
the work, and helping organizations do
the same for their employees. What would

739
00:50:07.559 --> 00:50:13.159
you like to leave our listeners with
in maybe thirty seconds? Sure? Well,

740
00:50:13.400 --> 00:50:16.920
you know, the biggest thing is
to expect adversity and use that as

741
00:50:16.960 --> 00:50:21.119
an asset. When I was in
the combat neurologist, we use the weather

742
00:50:21.159 --> 00:50:23.199
good and bad as an asset,
So you know, I think you can

743
00:50:23.280 --> 00:50:27.079
use that as an asset. You
can learn from it. You go out

744
00:50:27.079 --> 00:50:30.440
there and find resources and find tools
like I found Nepal and where, which

745
00:50:30.440 --> 00:50:35.360
has helped me tremendously. And it's
something you've got to work at. Life's

746
00:50:35.360 --> 00:50:37.760
just not going to get better.
And I think lastly is that you just

747
00:50:37.760 --> 00:50:42.920
need to keep yourself in good mental
and physical condition which will really help you

748
00:50:42.960 --> 00:50:47.119
think better and stay on your feet, so to speak, and to overcome

749
00:50:47.159 --> 00:50:53.239
the situations that it arise because they
will happen. Great way to close the

750
00:50:53.280 --> 00:50:57.519
show, Jason, I so appreciate
having you on the show. Staff,

751
00:50:57.559 --> 00:51:00.199
Sergeant Jason Morgan, thank you for
joining us today. How is my pleasure?

752
00:51:00.239 --> 00:51:04.639
Really enjoyed it? If you want
to learn more about Jason and the

753
00:51:04.639 --> 00:51:12.679
work he does, visit his website. It's www SSgt Jasonmorgan dot com again

754
00:51:13.480 --> 00:51:19.639
www dot s Sgtjasonmorgan dot com.
Join us next week when we talk with

755
00:51:19.679 --> 00:51:22.960
Mary Shores, who is the author
of Conscious Communications, You're a step by

756
00:51:22.000 --> 00:51:25.159
step guide to harnessing the power of
your words to change your mind, your

757
00:51:25.199 --> 00:51:29.800
choices, and your life. We'll
be talking about the neuroscience behind words and

758
00:51:29.840 --> 00:51:32.519
her perspective on cleansing or clogging ourselves
and our diets, at work, and

759
00:51:32.559 --> 00:51:36.280
really everything we do in life,
among other things. See you next week.

760
00:51:36.440 --> 00:51:37.760
Remember that works at least one third
of our life, So let's work

761
00:51:37.800 --> 00:51:47.599
on Purpose. We hope you've enjoyed
this week's program. Be sure to tune

762
00:51:47.639 --> 00:51:52.280
into Working on Purpose, featuring your
host, Elise Cortes, every Wednesday at

763
00:51:52.320 --> 00:51:58.079
six pm Eastern Time, three pm
Pacific time on the Voice America Empowerment Channel.

764
00:51:58.480 --> 00:52:09.519
This week, find your life's papists
at work. H