Nov. 11, 2025

When Work Becomes a Death March: One Leader’s Wake-Up Call

When Work Becomes a Death March: One Leader’s Wake-Up Call
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In today’s hustle-obsessed culture, overwork is often glorified as loyalty. For Roderick Jefferson, that mindset nearly cost him everything. After a devastating health collapse, he was forced to face the consequences of relentless drive. Now, he shares how faith, family, friends, and fun helped him recover—and why real success begins when you stop running yourself into the ground. His journey reminds us that the greatest success is not in how hard we work, but how fully we live.

Working on Purpose is broadcast live Tuesdays at 6PM ET and Music on W4CY Radio (www.w4cy.com) part of Talk 4 Radio (www.talk4radio.com) on the Talk 4 Media Network (www.talk4media.com). Working on Purpose is viewed on Talk 4 TV (www.talk4tv.com).

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WEBVTT

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The topics and opinions express in the following show are

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solely those of the hosts and their guests, and not

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be directed to those show hosts. Thank you for choosing

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W FOURCY Radio.

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What's working on Purpose? Anyway? Each week we ponder the

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answer to this question. People ache for meaning and purpose

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at work, to contribute their talents passionately and know their

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lives really matter. They crave being part of an organization

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that inspires them and helps them grow into realizing their

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highest potential. Business can be such a force for good

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in the world, elevating humanity. In our program, we provide

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guidance and inspiration to help usher in this world we

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all want working on Purpose. Now here's your host, doctor

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Elise Cortes.

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Welcome back to the Working and Purpose program, which had

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been brought to you with passionate pride since February of

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twenty fifteen. Thanks for tuning again this week. Great to

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have you. I'm your host, doctor Elise core Tes. If

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we've not met before and you don't know me, I'm

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a workforce advisor, organizational psychologist, management consultant, logotherapists, speaker and author.

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My team and I at Gusto Now help companies to

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unlive it and fortify their operations by stoking their passion,

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meaning and purpose of the team to align with your

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organizational aspirations. We do this by helping companies build a

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high performance culture, inspirational leadership, and nurturing managers who meaningfully

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connect with their team members and coach them to develop

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more skills and contribute their highest performance. You can learn

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more about us on how we can work together at

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Gusto dashnow dot com and my personal site on Leiscortes

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dot com. Getting In today's program, we have Roderick Jefferson,

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an internationally recognized keynote a transformational speaker. He's given keynote

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presentations nationally and in fourteen countries and understands the power

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of sharing real life strategies that work. Roderick frequently presents

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at industry events and is the author of sales Enable

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at three point zero, the Blueprint to Sales Enable It, Excellence,

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the sales Enable at three point zero workbook, and lastly

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Stroke of Success, how climbing the light of success may

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be detrimental to your life. We'll be talking about his

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obsession with climbing to success and how it ultimately culminated

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in him dying and coming back with a new Lisa

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on life and a message to fortify it. He joined

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it today from the San Francisco Bay area. Roderick, welcome

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to working on Purpose.

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But Julius, thank you for having me. I'm absolutely honor.

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I'm delighted as well, and we have much to share

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and talk about here, right, And what I wanted to

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start with just because it was a delightful way when

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you and I first met and we were having a

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phone conversation to get acquainted. You told me the story

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that earlier in your life that you were set out

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to be a pro athlete, and I think you even

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had a contract from a team, but then you met

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this woman and things changed. Maybe you should start with

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that story.

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This woman, you know, I think that's how I'm going

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to start referring to her. Oh no, you're going to

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get me in trouble until she kills me.

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Yeah, it was to get me in trouble.

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You know. It was an interesting story. I had played

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basketball all the way through college and I was about

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two weeks away from leaving. I had a contract down

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in Nicosia, in Cyprus, Greece to go and do what

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I had loved since I was, you know, six years old.

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And I met her and life change right away. It's

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one of those things where you just know when it's

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the right person. And I to say I was smitten

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was probably an understatement, which is the first time ever

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that I had actually felt this way, and so I

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was like, this is the one. Absolutely. So she got

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a chance to meet my mom. My mom said I agree.

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So that cleared things up on that side. But you know,

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we met. I said I'm going to leave, why don't

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you come with me? And she said, no, that's not

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gonna happen. I've known you for two three weeks. There's

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no way I'm gonna go over there. I don't know

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what's gonna happen to my passport, I don't know what's

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gonna happen to me. And I said, fine, then I'll

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figure it out. What she didn't know is I actually

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went after that conversation, I called my agent and I

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tore up my contract. Now, remember I want to get

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to the point of being a pro. Being a pro

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was kind of optional at that point. I knew that

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I wasn't going to the NBA, so it would be

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cool money and I give a chance to go around

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the world and those kind of things. But when I

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told her, here's the answer that she gave me, you're stupid.

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I thought this was just a fling. It was like,

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oh great, I just gave up my entire future for this,

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and you know, I have not regretted it for a day.

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We have two beautiful children and a beautiful granddaughter now,

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and that was literally thirty five years ago, and we

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are still going strong. And I got to believe that

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after everything this woman's been through with me, she's got

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to be about a quarter of an inch away from

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Satan did right now.

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Such a beautiful story, and there's hope for all of

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us out there that still want to find our partner.

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So thank you for scaring that.

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Well.

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Now fast forward here. If we were to just kind

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of even just roll over your resume, we would find

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all kinds of really interesting, well recognized company names that

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they're that you've had executive leadership roles with. So just

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sort of trace for us, just to give us a

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bit of a tour of this big career that you've

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enjoyed here.

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Thank you for that. You know it was, it's been amazing.

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Disneyland fairy Tale of a ride, it really has. I

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started out at at and T my first i'll call

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it big boy job, and I was an inside salesperson,

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you know, a BDR SDR as they're called now, and

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I did well, got promoted to executive, went to President's

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club a couple of times, then got promoted to sales

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leader and I quickly said no, thank you. First of all,

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I don't want to be responsible for other people in

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their push. And I've also heard that sales leaders actually

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make less than the people that are selling. That's not

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what I was about to sign up for. So I

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actually met with my VP of sales and I said,

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what if I could do two things. One, take some

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of the basic rudimentary templates that I created and help

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people to get onboarded faster and start hitting quota. And

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the other piece is what if I could you've had

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so many people that were eligible for President's Club that

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you didn't have enough budget, And he said, a new job.

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So I took on my first new job immediately because

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I wanted to stay close to sales, but I didn't

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want to have a quota that I know that now

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the entire branch became my quota because I became the

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branch trainer from onboarding through continuing education. From there, like

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I said, it just shot up like a rocket. I

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went to I've run enablement at siebel eBay, HP, Oracle, Salesforce,

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MARKETO and a number of others, and I started, as

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I said, as a BDR. By the time I finished

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my corporate run, I was a senior vice president. But

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at that point I realized that I was kind of

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the leader of leaders, and I couldn't literally look myself

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in the face and say that I was a practitioner anymore.

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So I started my own company about eight years ago,

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taking on kind of the things that I was doing,

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which was something called sales enablement, which was kind of

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think about training on steroids. And that worked for a

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few years, and then a buddy of mine called and said, Hey,

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I've got this SVP slot. You could probably do it

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with your eyes closed. It's a nice salary. Plus we

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get a chance to put the band back together. I

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went out and did it. Little did I know that

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that was going to be the beginning of this is

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the first time I've actually heard it called a death march,

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and I never looked at it that way, But in hindsight,

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that's exactly what I was signing up for.

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Yeah, as I was writing this for the description of

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the podcast and the title, I was like, I think

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this is what we really need to refer to this

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as so, listeners and viewers, you were in for a

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ride here as he shares his story here, But let's

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talk about how things began to unravel. I don't know

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where you want to start with bec there's a couple

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of junctures in the story here that are important to say.

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I think I'll start where I was living a great life,

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flying around on corporate jets and corporate helicopters, and I'm

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staying in the La Monte Carlo Casino. I'm riding around

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in cars at the ground Prey in south of France,

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and something changed. I'd come back, I'd taken a new

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job and I was in so I lived in the

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San Francisco area. I was down in Los Angeles, and

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we're getting ready for a sales kickoff, doing the usuals,

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walking the property, tasting all the food, checking out all

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the rooms, making sure that it was set up. And

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it felt like a regular day until it wasn't. So

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we went to dinner like every other night, had dinner,

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had a couple of cocktails, and I got really tired,

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but tired on a level that I'd even know existed,

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to the point to where I literally woke up with

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my head down on the table and people staring at

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me like are you okay? They looked at me like

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I had a narcolepsy. I had just fallen asleep, And

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I'll say that in jest, like I'd fallen asleep in

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the middle of a sentence, which is about what happened.

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I said, Okay, I'm tired. I'm gonna go back to

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my room. I'm gonna get some sleep because tomorrow we've

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got a lot of things going on. And then I

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fly home later in the afternoon. Fast forward next morning.

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I wake up. Every day that I'm out on the road,

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my wife and I jump on and we sink up.

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What's going on? How are the kids? How are you?

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What's going on with there? What's your schedule? Like? What

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I heard was the words similar to what you hear

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now inside of my head. With her, she heard gibberish

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and that I could hear fear in her voice. And

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she said, let's jump on face on FaceTime. I need

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to see your face. But she didn't tell me why.

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She said, I just want to see your face. I

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was like, okay, fine, let's jump on face time. She

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walked me through, thankfully, stroke protocol because a friend of

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hers had had one previously, and she had had a

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small tia also a minor stroke years back, and it

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was essentially, what's what's your name? What's your middle name?

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I'm like, oh, I don't know. I should probably know

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that you know. And this was only I dare I say?

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All of this happened four years ago. This wasn't something

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twenty years ago.

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And so she says count to ten, fine, one to

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eighty seven, twelve, forty six thirteen, say you're for me, babe,

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And I said, come on, seriously, ab XLQTWC why And

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she said, babe, I need you to call and I

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had one of the directors on my team. She said,

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I need you to call Tim Carlson because you're having

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a stroke. Now fast forward. We get to the emergency room.

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They do a battery of tests, they check on me,

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and now I'm stuttering uncontrollably, something called apheenia. Medically, I

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can't get words out. We were there for ninety minutes

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two hours max. They released me. Why I do not

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know to this day. The worst part is it turns

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out that there is a clot buster, if you will,

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of medication that they could have given me to break

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up the clot that created the stroke. Problem was and

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this was miracle number one. I had my sleep my

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stroke while I was asleep. Ninety eight percent of sleep

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stroke victims never wake up. That is why it is

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called the silent killer. So we fast forward to that.

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We're at the airport, flying back to a bad move.

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As it turns out, I land in Oakland. My wife

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is there. They meet me. I'm in a wheelchair. Now

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she's really worried that something's seriously wrong. And I don't

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remember the first three days in the hospital at all.

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So this is all based on information from my wife.

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She takes me to our local hospital here in Walnut Creek.

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The first thing they say to her is the main

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is a miracle because between cabin pressure, altitude and midstroke,

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he should be dead right now. So my turns out

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my stroke was unusual. Although I was a high profile athlete,

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I had been, excuse me, diagnosed with something called hypertrophic cardiomyopathy,

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which is and in large heart. So essentially, I've got

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a really big heart, one of the worst kind. Because

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of all the athletics, I had an excess layer of

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muscle around my heart, so I didn't have any blockage

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or anything of that sort. But what happens is the

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average heart squeezes at about sixty five to seventy five

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percent on average. When you get down to twenty percent,

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cardiac arrest hits and you die. When they really excuse me,

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when they wheeled me into the emergency room, I was

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at twenty two percent heart function. It only gave me

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a two percent chance to live well, and that's the

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good part. So I'm there in the hospital for about

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two weeks at this point, and I'm having a tough

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time breathing. On a particular day. Now, bear in mind

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four years ago, let's think about this. It's COVID, so

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no one can come visit me other than my wife.

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I'm in the ICU, so I really don't want her

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there because we've got the sickest of the sick people.

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And so I said, you know, just kind of come

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when you can. That meant every day for her, of course, right.

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But my kids couldn't come see me. My family couldn't

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see me. So it was a lot of face timing.

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But I stopped doing FaceTime because the less that I

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used my words and the sicker I got, I got

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weakness in my tongue. So it was a difficult time

264
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swallowing more or less trying to speak. So one night

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I hear flash, I see flash of the lights. I

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hear code blue, code blue, and it's my room, and

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I'm like, I know, I'm not feeling good. I think

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I was this bad. And then suddenly I'm watching the machine.

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It went from beep beep, beep beep to beep I'm flatlined. Now,

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for those that are curious about indies and near death experiences,

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now I did not see a white light, but what

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I did see some of the most vibrant origes and blues, greens,

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and grays inside that room. Because I floated up to

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the corner of the room. I'm looking down on the

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doctors and nurses. They're sucking out fluids, they're doing chest

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compression on me, and I'm thinking, is this how it

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all ends? This is it? There's no trumpets, there's no music,

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no harps, nothing. I looked to my left and I

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see my mom. That's the lady that's up over my

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left shoulder right now for those watching. And I'm just

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as stunned as you are probably right now you're in

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this piece. And I said, okay, Mama, fine, I've done

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everything I'm supposed to do. I'm ready to get home.

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I'm done. And she looks at me and she says,

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and I remember the words like it was yesterday. She said, no, baby,

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I was sent to tell you you have a new

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purpose in life. And she explained to me what I

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was supposed to do. And I'll talk about that in

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a bit, but here's what you're supposed to do. And

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I said, okay, fine, let's go. She said, no, you're

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going back because there's still things for you to do.

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Now I look to my left, she's gone. I get

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sucked back into my body. Now I'm lying flat on

294
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my back. I'm looking up at the doctors. I also

295
00:16:16.919 --> 00:16:21.080
should notice that at this point I've got snowblindness, which

296
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means it's bright all the time, like there's a light

297
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in my eyes, so I have no concept of day

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and night. My entire left side, my arm, and my

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leg are paralyzed. It's the point to where they're not moving,

300
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They're just kind of hanging. And now I feel the

301
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most excruciating pain in my chest because they're doing these

302
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chess compressions, and I feel like my sternum's about to snap.

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And then I hear the two words that nobody ever

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wants one word, I'm sorry that no one ever wants

305
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to hear. Clear. I was like, no, no, no, please, no,

306
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this cannot happen. I've seen enough TV now I know

307
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this is not going to be good. I think, God,

308
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he is on my right side, because remember my left

309
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side is now paralyzed. I hear him rubbing the paddles

310
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and he's starting to come down to hit me with

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the electricity.

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I go from beep to beep, beep, beep, and I

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grab his hand and now they're all running around and

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the ert which is the emergency response team comes into

315
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the room and takes over, and they start taking me

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through a bunch of different battery of tests as well.

317
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But I will say this, while I was out, it's

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kind of like when you go to the dentists and

319
00:17:35.880 --> 00:17:39.400
you get twilight. You can hear all of the muffles

320
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on top, but I couldn't tell what they were saying.

321
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But when I came back, it was very clear and

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I could feel literally the power of my we'll call

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it my soul being snatched back into my body. And

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after that is now in the hard work began because

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now I've got physical therapy, I've got speech therapy, I've

326
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got occupational therapy. I got to learn how to walk again,

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start all over, do all the things that come natural

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to us. I'll see this doctor least. The one thing

329
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that it may sound crazy, but the one thing that

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really caught my attention when I finally was out of

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the hospital was I realized just how far my couch

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is from the bathroom.

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On that note, let's take our first break because I

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want our listeners and viewers just to really take in

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the amazing story that you just shared before we go

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on and talk about what it took to move away

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from that hospital bend that brought you back to life.

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I'm your host, doctor Relis Cortez, who went an air

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with Roderick Jefferson and internationally recognized keynote and transformational speaker.

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We've been talking a bit about his life changing story

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and the details of it. After the way, we're going

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to learn a bit about his recovery, what that entailed,

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and where his recovery has taken him to today.

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We'll be right back.

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Doctor Elise Cortes is a management consultant specializing in meaning

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and purpose. An inspirational speaker and author. She helps companies

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visioneer for greater purpose among stakeholders and develop purpose inspired

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leadership and meaning imfuse cultures that elevate fulfillment, performance, and

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commitment within the workforce. To learn more, or to invite

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a lease to speak to your organization, please visit her

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00:19:31.079 --> 00:19:34.319
at elisecortes dot com. Let's talk about how to get

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your employees working on purpose. This is working on purpose

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with doctor Elise Cortes. To reach our program today or

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to open a conversation with Elise, send an email to

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00:19:49.400 --> 00:19:54.920
Alise A Lisee at Elisecortes dot com. Now back to

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Working on Purpose.

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Thanks for staying with us and welcome back to Working

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on Purpose. I'm your host, doctor Elise Cortes, as I

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00:20:05.759 --> 00:20:08.079
am dedicated to help them create a world or organizations

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thrive because they're people thrive and are lit by inspiration.

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Leaders that help them find you contribute their greatness. And

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we do business at Betters the World. I keep researching

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and writing my own books. So one of my ladies

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came out called The Great Revitalization, How activating meaning and

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purpose can radically in liven your business. And I wrote

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it to help leaders understand today's very diverse and discerning workforce.

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What do they want to be able to perform their best?

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And stay with you?

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And then I provide you twenty two best practices to

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equip you to create that in your leadership and your culture.

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You can find my books on Amazon or mypersonal site

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at Leiscorretes dot com. If you are just now joining us.

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My guest is Stroke of Success, How climbing the ladder

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of success may be detriult to your life, the author

375
00:20:48.440 --> 00:20:51.759
of which is Roderick Jefferson. Okay, so you left us

376
00:20:51.759 --> 00:20:54.599
hanging talking about what was like to be now awake

377
00:20:55.319 --> 00:20:59.119
and back breathing in your heart, beating on that hospital bed,

378
00:21:01.039 --> 00:21:04.160
journey forward from what recovery looks like there Now, I

379
00:21:04.200 --> 00:21:05.599
know there's a couple of things that happened along the

380
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way as well.

381
00:21:07.960 --> 00:21:11.279
There was, And one of the interesting things is and

382
00:21:11.319 --> 00:21:14.799
then I said earlier that I had a strong case

383
00:21:14.920 --> 00:21:18.480
of aphasia, or as we commonly know it as stuttering.

384
00:21:19.519 --> 00:21:23.960
I found that the oddest way of talking to one

385
00:21:23.960 --> 00:21:26.319
of my family members, and I couldn't get words out,

386
00:21:26.359 --> 00:21:28.839
and it just started to frustrating me to the point

387
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to where literally for about two weeks, I stopped talking.

388
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I just kind of I pointed and I grunted a lot,

389
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until my wife and her infinite wisdom said, if you

390
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don't start using your words, you will lose them. And

391
00:21:40.720 --> 00:21:44.920
so something came on one of the commercials that I

392
00:21:44.960 --> 00:21:49.119
started singing with it, and I realized, when I sing,

393
00:21:50.559 --> 00:21:54.519
I don't have a stutter. Now, I'm not going to

394
00:21:54.559 --> 00:21:58.240
make a promise that the singing was good or even

395
00:21:58.319 --> 00:22:03.079
remotely close to something that resembled good, because it was horrible, right,

396
00:22:03.400 --> 00:22:07.119
But what I had is a new way of communicating

397
00:22:07.200 --> 00:22:11.200
because my stroke actually happened dead center in the middle

398
00:22:11.240 --> 00:22:14.519
of my speed center. Yes, for a person that gets

399
00:22:14.519 --> 00:22:17.799
paid to talk, I couldn't die off. And what I

400
00:22:17.880 --> 00:22:21.599
found out is the emotional center is directly next to

401
00:22:22.039 --> 00:22:26.000
the speed center, which meant every time someone would ask

402
00:22:26.039 --> 00:22:28.279
me a question, how are you doing? How are how

403
00:22:28.319 --> 00:22:30.920
are you doing? Bouncing back tell me the story of

404
00:22:30.960 --> 00:22:33.680
the stroke, I'd sing it for them, but then I'd

405
00:22:33.720 --> 00:22:37.880
instantly break into tears. Now I have no problem sharing

406
00:22:37.880 --> 00:22:41.359
and showing emotion, but I never was that level of

407
00:22:41.720 --> 00:22:48.519
emotion filled because the brain had swollen. So now my

408
00:22:48.759 --> 00:22:53.519
speech center was it next to it was overlapping my

409
00:22:53.599 --> 00:22:57.079
emotional center. So that was something that was new to me.

410
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So and the second piece was I just started singing

411
00:22:59.680 --> 00:23:01.720
all the time and I would have conversations and I

412
00:23:01.839 --> 00:23:04.119
just found it to be added. So I asked my neurolators.

413
00:23:04.160 --> 00:23:07.079
He says, oh, it happens all the time because it's

414
00:23:07.119 --> 00:23:10.279
too completely different parts of the brain that you're using

415
00:23:10.759 --> 00:23:12.920
for these So and I thought, oh, this is cool.

416
00:23:13.079 --> 00:23:15.279
I bet you've never seen this. He's going, yeah, that's

417
00:23:15.400 --> 00:23:17.920
pretty odd, pretty basic. What else can you show me

418
00:23:17.920 --> 00:23:23.200
that you can do kind of thing. The other piece

419
00:23:23.440 --> 00:23:26.480
was and I said earlier that my mom had given

420
00:23:26.559 --> 00:23:29.480
me my new and I'll call it marching orders of

421
00:23:29.519 --> 00:23:34.559
where I was going to go. And my new focus

422
00:23:35.480 --> 00:23:39.759
is what I call my fore f's of pillars, and

423
00:23:40.119 --> 00:23:46.480
that is faith, family, friends, and fun. Now the foundation

424
00:23:46.640 --> 00:23:50.880
of that and my anchor being faith. Because I've learned

425
00:23:50.880 --> 00:23:53.039
and I grew up and I should probably share it

426
00:23:53.079 --> 00:23:56.960
with your audience that my dad was a minister before

427
00:23:56.960 --> 00:24:00.640
he passed, so I grew up as a PK a preacher. Yep.

428
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That means I was good and bad on both sides

429
00:24:02.720 --> 00:24:05.359
of the street. And I had both sides of stories

430
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that I couldn't tell anybody. So what I found out

431
00:24:10.799 --> 00:24:13.000
is it was a new definition of faith. It was

432
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less about blindly believing what you're told, and it was

433
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more about radical trusts. Because it was the first time

434
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that and I remember when I was younger, my mom

435
00:24:26.319 --> 00:24:29.039
used to say that two things. One faith is never

436
00:24:29.160 --> 00:24:31.400
tested in good times, and I didn't understand what that

437
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meant until I went through this piece. And the second

438
00:24:35.920 --> 00:24:45.359
thing I realized is faith definition changes because we assume, oh, okay,

439
00:24:45.480 --> 00:24:48.680
maybe nobody's promised tomorrow. Well how about that when you

440
00:24:48.720 --> 00:24:52.000
don't have it tomorrow, you think that you can make

441
00:24:52.079 --> 00:24:55.000
your body respond to whatever you wanted to do until

442
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you can't. And so this whole thing was all about trust,

443
00:25:00.640 --> 00:25:05.400
and I had to say, God, it's yours. All I'm

444
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going to do is listen and let you lead, and

445
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I'm going to follow. So it was about trusting that

446
00:25:13.640 --> 00:25:16.160
the struggle I was going on was not just shaping me,

447
00:25:18.039 --> 00:25:22.279
but it was changing me completely. Now it's believing that

448
00:25:22.599 --> 00:25:26.720
people have lost I've lost her still somehow with me

449
00:25:26.880 --> 00:25:30.039
because my mom showed that. And I don't mean just

450
00:25:30.079 --> 00:25:33.519
in a dream that seems impossible, but I started to

451
00:25:33.559 --> 00:25:37.839
relate that to real life. What am I going? How

452
00:25:37.880 --> 00:25:41.640
am I going to walk again? I had to literally think,

453
00:25:42.240 --> 00:25:44.559
bend your knees, put one foot in front of you,

454
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move the next one, shift your weight, turn your shoulders,

455
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and things that, just as children, we naturally do until,

456
00:25:53.599 --> 00:25:57.240
like I said, you can't. And then I realized that

457
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there were other people that were watching what was going on.

458
00:26:01.599 --> 00:26:05.640
I was in a number of support groups, and my

459
00:26:06.839 --> 00:26:10.640
recovery started to accelerate to the point to where I

460
00:26:10.720 --> 00:26:16.039
actually started to have survivors guilt because I'd be on

461
00:26:16.039 --> 00:26:20.599
one of the groups and soon said it's been ten days,

462
00:26:21.160 --> 00:26:23.799
and I just walked across the street, across the room,

463
00:26:24.200 --> 00:26:26.319
or I can use a real spoon again, and I'd

464
00:26:26.359 --> 00:26:29.680
be like, man, I got a keynote coming up in

465
00:26:29.759 --> 00:26:36.160
San Diego. I'm not tell these people that. I also

466
00:26:36.440 --> 00:26:41.960
realized that, just like everything else, you can't compare yourself.

467
00:26:42.079 --> 00:26:46.880
Your chapter twelve, maybe their chapter fifty right, or my

468
00:26:47.039 --> 00:26:50.480
chapter two, maybe their chapter thirty seven. And I was

469
00:26:50.559 --> 00:26:54.599
going to Stanford University and I had about eleven neurologists

470
00:26:54.640 --> 00:26:57.359
that were poking and prodding me because they had never

471
00:26:57.400 --> 00:27:01.039
seen anybody bounce back as far as fast as I

472
00:27:01.119 --> 00:27:05.880
had before. And to me, it was all I knew

473
00:27:06.039 --> 00:27:10.319
as an athlete, as an executive, as a salesperson, and

474
00:27:10.359 --> 00:27:12.759
I don't say this when an ego. I expected to win.

475
00:27:13.839 --> 00:27:16.359
And I think that's what helped me fight back from this.

476
00:27:16.880 --> 00:27:20.759
In that stage that I was in was I realized

477
00:27:21.039 --> 00:27:26.559
that I hated losing more than I loved winning, and

478
00:27:26.640 --> 00:27:28.839
I was not going to let this thing beat me

479
00:27:29.559 --> 00:27:34.920
because it became a U versus me situation. I also

480
00:27:35.119 --> 00:27:39.640
realized that what it meant when people say no one

481
00:27:39.720 --> 00:27:45.480
is an island. Remember I'm home, but I'm not back

482
00:27:46.400 --> 00:27:51.240
if you will. And so I still need help moving around.

483
00:27:51.599 --> 00:27:57.759
The paralysis has not completely come back. And so it

484
00:27:57.799 --> 00:28:00.920
wasn't like, you know, people were feeding me, but they

485
00:28:00.920 --> 00:28:06.720
were feeding my soul. And I realized how important the

486
00:28:06.759 --> 00:28:10.279
smallest thing mattered. I started to put words together with

487
00:28:11.079 --> 00:28:17.799
my use of my visual and auditory exercises, and then

488
00:28:17.839 --> 00:28:21.559
they'd start to turn into a sentence. They were cheering,

489
00:28:21.599 --> 00:28:25.319
like I won the Super Bowl, right, I could take

490
00:28:25.359 --> 00:28:27.119
the first time. I remember the first time I went out,

491
00:28:27.160 --> 00:28:29.279
and the whole family was terrified, trust me. So is

492
00:28:29.359 --> 00:28:32.119
that the first time I got to drive my car

493
00:28:33.039 --> 00:28:37.119
after this stroke. I didn't know if I'd be coming

494
00:28:37.160 --> 00:28:39.880
back home or you know, I'd be going back to

495
00:28:39.920 --> 00:28:45.000
the emergency room a kid. And also you realize the

496
00:28:45.039 --> 00:28:49.440
definition of love changes. Families think that we love each

497
00:28:49.480 --> 00:28:53.119
other because we're DNA and we just have to love

498
00:28:53.160 --> 00:28:57.519
each other, well, not necessarily, and you realize the difference

499
00:28:57.559 --> 00:29:01.000
between like and love love each other doesn't mean we

500
00:29:01.119 --> 00:29:04.960
like each other all the time. We literally got to

501
00:29:05.000 --> 00:29:08.839
becoming and we refer to ourselves as Team Jefferson, and

502
00:29:09.160 --> 00:29:11.640
our family model has always been with Jefferson's we don't

503
00:29:11.680 --> 00:29:17.759
quit no matter what. It's that last part that really

504
00:29:18.480 --> 00:29:24.359
stuck with me right, because I will say this, I

505
00:29:24.400 --> 00:29:28.119
started to wonder if I'd ever get back completely because

506
00:29:28.160 --> 00:29:30.880
most of us see someone and they have and again

507
00:29:30.920 --> 00:29:33.559
I try not to compare, but when we see, we

508
00:29:33.680 --> 00:29:36.319
hear someone had a stroke. I listened to it, and

509
00:29:36.319 --> 00:29:39.279
I think, stroke, stroke, They're not going to get back.

510
00:29:39.319 --> 00:29:42.759
The arm is pinned against the body, they're dragging the

511
00:29:42.880 --> 00:29:45.519
legs behind it. That wasn't the case for me. I

512
00:29:45.559 --> 00:29:48.359
was actually I wasn't stuttering, but I was starting to

513
00:29:48.440 --> 00:29:55.759
talk again, slowly, right until one day we were watching

514
00:29:55.799 --> 00:29:58.839
I remember we were watching a college football game and

515
00:30:00.200 --> 00:30:02.880
it was a day before my son's birthday coming up,

516
00:30:04.079 --> 00:30:07.599
and he had gone to go get his car washed.

517
00:30:08.000 --> 00:30:12.000
So that left my wife, my daughter, and myself here

518
00:30:12.039 --> 00:30:15.359
at the house. And I felt this sharp pain in

519
00:30:15.400 --> 00:30:18.920
my head. It felt like somebody was drilling nails into

520
00:30:18.960 --> 00:30:24.359
my head, and I I mean, just excruciating me. I

521
00:30:24.480 --> 00:30:28.079
look up at them and they're like, Dad, are you're okay?

522
00:30:28.079 --> 00:30:31.480
What's going on? What happened? And I said, I'm not

523
00:30:31.519 --> 00:30:35.279
sure what happened, but I feel like myself again. With

524
00:30:35.559 --> 00:30:39.759
this voice that you hear today, now, you would think

525
00:30:39.759 --> 00:30:41.960
everybody would be so excited. Oh my God, Dad can

526
00:30:42.000 --> 00:30:42.480
talk again.

527
00:30:42.480 --> 00:30:42.559
No.

528
00:30:42.759 --> 00:30:44.319
First thing my wife said was get your shoes on.

529
00:30:44.400 --> 00:30:46.680
We're going back to the emergency. She thought that maybe

530
00:30:46.720 --> 00:30:49.160
I had an aneurysm that had burst, or something in

531
00:30:49.160 --> 00:30:53.480
my brain that was temporary. We went to the emergency room,

532
00:30:53.839 --> 00:30:58.119
take me back and red mrict. The doctors come in

533
00:30:58.200 --> 00:31:03.000
and they take my original films. They put it up

534
00:31:03.000 --> 00:31:05.240
and they take the films from that date on top

535
00:31:05.279 --> 00:31:10.400
of each other, and they were mirror images. So physologically,

536
00:31:10.559 --> 00:31:13.400
nothing had changed my brain. They couldn't explain why suddenly

537
00:31:13.400 --> 00:31:16.559
I could talk when I couldn't, you know, just an

538
00:31:16.559 --> 00:31:20.559
hour ago. I didn't care. I'm like, it's working. But

539
00:31:21.559 --> 00:31:25.200
that wasn't enough. So back to the death march that

540
00:31:25.240 --> 00:31:28.359
we were talking about. Crazy me. What do I do? Oh,

541
00:31:28.440 --> 00:31:33.319
I'm fine. I go back to work as an executive

542
00:31:35.240 --> 00:31:37.359
with a high level of stress that I have become

543
00:31:37.400 --> 00:31:39.599
accustomed to working at. And I'll call it the red

544
00:31:39.720 --> 00:31:42.359
line of stress. Like I'm sure some of you out

545
00:31:42.359 --> 00:31:50.519
there can relate to. The problem is I wasn't as

546
00:31:50.559 --> 00:31:54.119
healed as I thought I was. And guess what happened?

547
00:31:54.559 --> 00:32:00.599
Oh no, not again, yes again, that I'd had a

548
00:32:00.640 --> 00:32:04.599
second stroke. I started stuttering, again. My head was killing me.

549
00:32:04.640 --> 00:32:09.440
I was feeling numbness in my limbs. Right back to

550
00:32:09.519 --> 00:32:13.640
the same hospital, literally two rooms away from where I

551
00:32:13.680 --> 00:32:22.079
was before. And at that point, and I know you

552
00:32:22.079 --> 00:32:24.880
can believe what you choose to for me, God said,

553
00:32:25.720 --> 00:32:30.680
you don't get a third time. Now. You either are

554
00:32:30.720 --> 00:32:34.640
going to make a change now or I'm going to

555
00:32:34.720 --> 00:32:38.039
take you out, because clearly you're not smart enough to

556
00:32:38.079 --> 00:32:42.960
handle this by yourself. I stayed in the hospital a bit.

557
00:32:43.240 --> 00:32:45.960
I went through the same regimen and routine that I

558
00:32:46.000 --> 00:32:49.200
went to before, but this time I came home a

559
00:32:49.319 --> 00:32:55.200
very different man. I was ready, I was prepared, and

560
00:32:55.279 --> 00:32:58.799
I knew that how I continue doing things the way

561
00:32:58.799 --> 00:33:00.880
I was going to or I was planning to, and

562
00:33:01.000 --> 00:33:08.799
haid continue doing My cardiologist said, now I had my stroke.

563
00:33:09.599 --> 00:33:14.480
We call my stroke adversary October twenty eighth, just a

564
00:33:14.519 --> 00:33:18.759
couple of weeks ago, four years ago. And so you

565
00:33:18.839 --> 00:33:22.079
know that we're all pushing towards Thanksgiving here in the US.

566
00:33:22.839 --> 00:33:27.880
And then shortly after that Christmas, my cardialogier said, had

567
00:33:27.920 --> 00:33:30.720
I not had my stroke, I would have never made

568
00:33:30.759 --> 00:33:33.079
it to Christmas, may not have made it to Thanksgiving.

569
00:33:33.799 --> 00:33:35.359
So I look at it now and I think that

570
00:33:36.160 --> 00:33:40.440
the best thing that ever happened to me physically. Of

571
00:33:40.480 --> 00:33:42.759
course there's family and kids in all those things, but

572
00:33:42.799 --> 00:33:46.319
physically the best thing that's ever happened to me because

573
00:33:46.359 --> 00:33:49.839
I had a stroke, I died and they brought me back.

574
00:33:51.880 --> 00:33:55.279
Oh my goodness. Let's grab our last break on that one,

575
00:33:55.319 --> 00:33:58.000
so people can just chew on that. After the break,

576
00:33:58.000 --> 00:33:59.880
I want to talk about where we are, where's the

577
00:34:00.079 --> 00:34:02.640
direction next? Where did what did Mama tell us? And

578
00:34:03.000 --> 00:34:05.319
where how we play in the game of life after

579
00:34:05.839 --> 00:34:08.920
this this juncture. I'm Alice Cortes, your host, who've been

580
00:34:09.000 --> 00:34:12.440
on the air with Roderick Jefferson, an internationally recognized keynote

581
00:34:12.480 --> 00:34:15.199
and transformational speaker. We'll be right back to talk about

582
00:34:15.239 --> 00:34:26.719
his direction from here.

583
00:34:32.480 --> 00:34:36.079
Doctor Elise Cortez is a management consultant specializing in meaning

584
00:34:36.119 --> 00:34:39.920
and purpose. An inspirational speaker and author. She helps companies

585
00:34:40.039 --> 00:34:43.800
visioneer for greater purpose among stakeholders and develop purpose inspired

586
00:34:43.880 --> 00:34:47.880
leadership and meaning infused cultures that elevate fulfillment, performance, and

587
00:34:47.920 --> 00:34:51.159
commitment within the workforce. To learn more or to invite

588
00:34:51.159 --> 00:34:54.159
Elise to speak to your organization, please visit her at

589
00:34:54.159 --> 00:34:57.400
Eliscortes dot com. Let's talk about how to get your

590
00:34:57.440 --> 00:35:06.239
employees working on purpose. This is Working on Purpose with

591
00:35:06.360 --> 00:35:09.559
doctor Elise Cortes. To reach our program today or to

592
00:35:09.599 --> 00:35:12.679
open a conversation with Elise, send an email to Alise

593
00:35:13.000 --> 00:35:18.320
A Lise at Elisecortes dot com. Now back to working

594
00:35:18.400 --> 00:35:19.079
on Purpose.

595
00:35:24.199 --> 00:35:25.920
Thanks for staying with us, and welcome back to working

596
00:35:26.000 --> 00:35:28.880
on Purpose. I'm your host, doctor release Cortes. As you

597
00:35:28.920 --> 00:35:31.039
know by now, this program is dedicated to empowering and

598
00:35:31.079 --> 00:35:33.800
inspiring you along your journey toialize more of your potential.

599
00:35:33.840 --> 00:35:35.039
If you want to learn more about how we can

600
00:35:35.039 --> 00:35:37.480
work together and learn about the gusta Now Academy for

601
00:35:37.559 --> 00:35:40.639
leaders and individuals on various journeys alike, make your way

602
00:35:40.679 --> 00:35:43.280
to gusto dashnow dot com and then navigate to the

603
00:35:43.320 --> 00:35:46.280
training tap. You can find more information there if you

604
00:35:46.320 --> 00:35:49.519
are just now joining us. My guest is Roderick Jefferson,

605
00:35:49.559 --> 00:35:52.599
who is the author of Stroke of Success. How claiming

606
00:35:52.679 --> 00:35:55.840
the ladder of success may be detrimental to your life,

607
00:35:56.280 --> 00:35:59.599
So listener, Inquiring minds want to know what did mama

608
00:35:59.639 --> 00:36:01.199
tell you were going to be doing?

609
00:36:01.280 --> 00:36:07.480
Next? Great question, she said, A couple of things. First,

610
00:36:07.599 --> 00:36:12.960
is I need you to make sure that you're looking

611
00:36:13.000 --> 00:36:17.800
out for, in her words, the invisible people. And I

612
00:36:17.840 --> 00:36:23.079
think during COVID we called them what we call them again. Hmmm,

613
00:36:23.199 --> 00:36:26.360
I'm gonna just flash sorry, but these are the folks

614
00:36:26.400 --> 00:36:29.880
that are your waiters and waitresses. These are the people

615
00:36:29.960 --> 00:36:30.960
that are.

616
00:36:32.559 --> 00:36:35.920
The essential people's essential yea, absolutely, thank you.

617
00:36:36.679 --> 00:36:41.159
These are flight attendants, the people at the gate, all

618
00:36:41.199 --> 00:36:46.000
the people that you only notice when something's wrong. And

619
00:36:46.079 --> 00:36:48.920
she said, your job is to make sure that every

620
00:36:48.960 --> 00:36:52.000
one of them that you come in contact with, you

621
00:36:52.079 --> 00:36:54.400
give them at least one smile today that they would

622
00:36:54.400 --> 00:36:57.320
not have gotten they not come in contact with you.

623
00:36:59.079 --> 00:37:04.280
That's the this easy thing. The other piece was you

624
00:37:04.360 --> 00:37:06.679
need to go out and tell everybody that will listen

625
00:37:08.559 --> 00:37:11.199
about what happened to you, in hopes that it never

626
00:37:11.280 --> 00:37:17.440
happened to anyone else, and also giving them an opportunity

627
00:37:17.840 --> 00:37:19.480
to do what I wish I would have done. And

628
00:37:19.519 --> 00:37:25.000
that was Remember I said, my new four pillars were faith, family, friends,

629
00:37:25.039 --> 00:37:28.559
and fun. That was the other piece. You need to

630
00:37:28.559 --> 00:37:33.000
start enjoying lime. You're working all way too hard, son.

631
00:37:33.760 --> 00:37:37.559
I remember, right before my stroke, I was talking to

632
00:37:37.599 --> 00:37:40.719
my daughter and she said, Dad, you've done so much.

633
00:37:40.760 --> 00:37:43.920
You mentor people, you help out in the community, you

634
00:37:44.000 --> 00:37:48.800
give back, you volunteer, You've flown around the world. What

635
00:37:48.840 --> 00:37:50.800
do you do just for you? What do you do

636
00:37:50.960 --> 00:37:53.920
for fun? I looked at her and I said, what

637
00:37:54.039 --> 00:37:58.199
is this fun you speak of? Child? And it was

638
00:37:58.199 --> 00:38:00.679
a half joke, but at the time I realized I

639
00:38:00.760 --> 00:38:04.199
really didn't do anything for me. Please, I implore you

640
00:38:04.239 --> 00:38:08.280
that's watching and listening to this, don't be me. You

641
00:38:08.320 --> 00:38:11.760
know we were when we were small, fun was just

642
00:38:11.800 --> 00:38:14.400
a part of what we did. But it feels like

643
00:38:14.440 --> 00:38:17.239
the older we get when we get this mass that

644
00:38:17.280 --> 00:38:21.159
we put on because there's expectations of I've got a title,

645
00:38:21.440 --> 00:38:24.360
or I'm with a company, or I've got a degree,

646
00:38:24.440 --> 00:38:27.679
and I'm supposed to be fill in the blank according

647
00:38:27.719 --> 00:38:30.039
to who are they? I've been trying to figure this

648
00:38:30.079 --> 00:38:33.039
out for a long time, doctor lees, who exactly are they?

649
00:38:33.440 --> 00:38:36.079
And clearly they are not having any fun? So I

650
00:38:36.079 --> 00:38:40.280
don't want to be a part of them anymore. Every

651
00:38:40.400 --> 00:38:43.239
day I write up my top four things on my

652
00:38:43.320 --> 00:38:46.719
whiteboard that I'm going to do professionally before I turn

653
00:38:46.800 --> 00:38:52.159
off my laptop. My fourth one is always one personal

654
00:38:52.199 --> 00:38:55.280
thing just for me, and I just completely changed my

655
00:38:55.360 --> 00:38:59.320
approach doesn't mean I work hard. I don't work nearly

656
00:38:59.320 --> 00:39:01.199
as hard as I use. You're not going to find

657
00:39:01.199 --> 00:39:03.199
me in here at ten o'clock at night still going.

658
00:39:03.559 --> 00:39:05.159
You're not going to find me here at five o'clock

659
00:39:05.159 --> 00:39:08.480
in the morning going. Because someone said something the other

660
00:39:08.559 --> 00:39:11.519
day that really caught my attention. I have never seen

661
00:39:11.559 --> 00:39:19.760
a hearse whether a U haul connected to it. I

662
00:39:19.800 --> 00:39:21.719
had to stop for a second after I laughed, like

663
00:39:21.800 --> 00:39:25.639
you didn't win. You might be onto something. I used

664
00:39:25.679 --> 00:39:29.760
to get upset with my team over in Europe, like

665
00:39:29.800 --> 00:39:32.719
when you guys ever work, it's always a banker's holiday somewhere.

666
00:39:33.320 --> 00:39:36.440
I think they might be onto something. I really do.

667
00:39:36.800 --> 00:39:40.159
I think here we have this badge of courage of

668
00:39:40.239 --> 00:39:44.159
I put in sixty hours, I worked, and I did this,

669
00:39:44.199 --> 00:39:46.639
and I'm on this committee and my name is on this.

670
00:39:48.440 --> 00:39:51.559
When you die, does it really matter? No from someone

671
00:39:51.599 --> 00:39:54.400
that has died. I had someone else ask me something

672
00:39:54.400 --> 00:39:57.960
the other day that stopped me in my tracks. If

673
00:39:58.039 --> 00:40:01.000
you are doing something and you're the only person that

674
00:40:01.039 --> 00:40:03.960
can be counted on to do it, is it really

675
00:40:03.960 --> 00:40:09.679
that serious and that important? It really isn't. So take

676
00:40:09.760 --> 00:40:15.679
your time and enjoy life. Because it's not a video game.

677
00:40:16.239 --> 00:40:19.880
You don't get a do over, you don't get to restart,

678
00:40:20.840 --> 00:40:24.239
and so the other to honor my mom and to

679
00:40:24.239 --> 00:40:26.400
get this word out. As I said earlier, I'm a

680
00:40:26.480 --> 00:40:31.639
keynote speaker. I've spoken in fourteen fifteen countries. Now, I

681
00:40:31.719 --> 00:40:37.760
was talking about driving revenue, driving productivity, leveraging AI. Those

682
00:40:37.800 --> 00:40:41.519
things are secondary to me. Now Now Stroke of success

683
00:40:41.599 --> 00:40:47.440
is my new signature. KEW. Why is that? Because it's

684
00:40:47.639 --> 00:40:53.800
about kind of highlighting that grit, that tenacity, that determination,

685
00:40:55.000 --> 00:40:58.159
and all of that minus self care is a really

686
00:40:58.159 --> 00:41:03.000
bad imbalance and a concoction for an early death. My

687
00:41:03.079 --> 00:41:06.400
goal now is to try and inspire positivity and promoting

688
00:41:06.880 --> 00:41:10.480
I'll say, a shift towards working to live rather than

689
00:41:10.639 --> 00:41:13.559
living to the work like I was doing. If I

690
00:41:13.599 --> 00:41:17.280
can impact and influence and inspire just one person to

691
00:41:17.320 --> 00:41:23.800
prioritize mental health, emotional and physical well being and not

692
00:41:23.920 --> 00:41:25.400
have to fight through the things that I had to

693
00:41:25.440 --> 00:41:30.719
recover from, you know what, mission accomplished Because we don't

694
00:41:30.760 --> 00:41:35.840
get enough emphasis on self care. And now everyone has

695
00:41:35.880 --> 00:41:40.360
their definition of self care. My definition has changed. Self

696
00:41:40.400 --> 00:41:42.880
care for me is not about just going to the

697
00:41:42.920 --> 00:41:47.039
gym and going to get a massage. It's about thinking

698
00:41:47.079 --> 00:41:50.440
about how this is going to impact everybody around me.

699
00:41:51.360 --> 00:41:57.239
It's about thinking about my nineteen month old granddaughter and

700
00:41:57.280 --> 00:41:59.719
the legacy in her. And I want to be able

701
00:41:59.760 --> 00:42:03.079
to have memories that once I'm gone. She remembers that

702
00:42:04.320 --> 00:42:07.559
I was talking to my wife not too long ago.

703
00:42:07.599 --> 00:42:10.000
And it may sound a little more bit, but hear

704
00:42:10.039 --> 00:42:12.840
me on is that there's a method to my madness. Here,

705
00:42:14.000 --> 00:42:17.159
I said, when I do die and it's all over

706
00:42:17.239 --> 00:42:20.599
with at my funeral, first of a lie, I don't

707
00:42:20.639 --> 00:42:23.519
want it to be. I want you to have a party,

708
00:42:23.840 --> 00:42:27.440
have a good time, and really celebrate, just like we

709
00:42:27.480 --> 00:42:31.480
do down in Louisanna, where I'm from. We have a party,

710
00:42:32.400 --> 00:42:35.079
We have Marty Grass every time somebody dies, and I

711
00:42:35.079 --> 00:42:37.400
think that's the way it should be. I said here,

712
00:42:37.599 --> 00:42:41.800
I have one rule. No one can talk about any

713
00:42:41.800 --> 00:42:45.079
of my keynotes, any podcast I was on, any job

714
00:42:45.119 --> 00:42:47.800
that I worked at, any award or accolade that I

715
00:42:47.840 --> 00:42:51.840
ever won. They're only allowed to talk about how I

716
00:42:51.920 --> 00:42:55.239
made them feel once I was in their presence and

717
00:42:55.280 --> 00:42:58.199
when I walked away from them, and what part of

718
00:42:58.280 --> 00:43:03.760
me I left them with. Miss just accomplished.

719
00:43:04.280 --> 00:43:06.079
That is so beautiful. In fact, by the way, I

720
00:43:06.079 --> 00:43:09.679
would be amissrotic if I didn't tell you and celebrate

721
00:43:09.679 --> 00:43:12.000
with you how beautifully written your book is. It's just

722
00:43:12.199 --> 00:43:15.239
so beautiful. It just draws you in and you're just

723
00:43:15.400 --> 00:43:17.599
in there, all nestled in it. It's beautiful. In fact,

724
00:43:17.639 --> 00:43:19.960
I want to read a short little passage that really

725
00:43:19.960 --> 00:43:22.159
spoke to me. It's quite different than what you were

726
00:43:22.159 --> 00:43:25.000
just talking about, but still a big part of your message.

727
00:43:25.559 --> 00:43:28.280
It reads like this, you say, I've learned that life's

728
00:43:28.360 --> 00:43:31.400
obstacles are often our greatest teachers. They don't come to

729
00:43:31.440 --> 00:43:33.920
break us. They come to reveal who we truly are.

730
00:43:34.239 --> 00:43:36.440
They strip away everything we thought we needed to be

731
00:43:36.440 --> 00:43:38.960
happy and show us that what we truly need to

732
00:43:39.000 --> 00:43:42.159
be whole. They teach us about our resilience, our capacity

733
00:43:42.239 --> 00:43:44.679
for love, and our ability to find meaning even in

734
00:43:44.719 --> 00:43:48.159
the midst of suffering. It really speaks to me.

735
00:43:48.960 --> 00:43:52.000
Thank you, thank you so much. If I might ask

736
00:43:52.079 --> 00:43:54.159
what was it about that the.

737
00:43:54.239 --> 00:43:58.199
Graduate, Well, I've certainly navigated my own suffering. I haven't

738
00:43:58.480 --> 00:44:01.920
died and been resurrected and come back to life, but

739
00:44:03.280 --> 00:44:06.480
I you know, I've certainly navigated some some tough stuff

740
00:44:06.559 --> 00:44:12.679
that has definitely catalyzed learning and transformation in me to

741
00:44:12.719 --> 00:44:15.480
the to the to the tune that I literally have

742
00:44:15.559 --> 00:44:19.719
become so much more competent and able to be attuned

743
00:44:19.960 --> 00:44:22.840
to other people, to how they're feeling, to what they're thinking,

744
00:44:22.960 --> 00:44:25.679
helping them find their words and to express them. And

745
00:44:25.719 --> 00:44:27.400
that has only come through the suffering.

746
00:44:29.039 --> 00:44:31.519
I don't smile for your suffering. I smile because you

747
00:44:31.719 --> 00:44:34.719
just made my soul smile. And the fact that it

748
00:44:34.800 --> 00:44:38.880
is now through that difficult time, it has made you

749
00:44:39.039 --> 00:44:44.480
far more empathetic others and what they're going through, which

750
00:44:44.519 --> 00:44:48.880
says to me that you have learned or continue to learn,

751
00:44:49.360 --> 00:44:53.760
to take those setbacks in life and turn them into

752
00:44:53.800 --> 00:45:04.119
stepping stones and turn them into I'll say, the universe

753
00:45:04.199 --> 00:45:06.440
has a way of being one of our best teachers

754
00:45:06.840 --> 00:45:11.719
if we'll just listen right. A lot of times we're

755
00:45:11.760 --> 00:45:16.719
so focused on moving so fast that we try and

756
00:45:16.840 --> 00:45:19.280
drive and I'll say, drive the bus of life, if

757
00:45:19.320 --> 00:45:22.239
you will. And I've realized every time I try and

758
00:45:22.360 --> 00:45:25.039
drive that bus, I hit a tree or a wall

759
00:45:26.400 --> 00:45:33.360
because I'm trying to moult multitask, and quite honestly, multitasking

760
00:45:33.360 --> 00:45:37.599
doesn't actually exist because you're not focused on anything. You're

761
00:45:37.639 --> 00:45:41.639
just kind of randomly taking bits and pieces. But if

762
00:45:41.679 --> 00:45:46.039
you would take your your moment, if you will, and

763
00:45:46.159 --> 00:45:49.760
just sit in that passenger side of life, it's amazing

764
00:45:49.840 --> 00:45:54.960
how beautiful the view is. It takes a person that

765
00:45:55.119 --> 00:45:57.920
is willing to take their hands off the steering wheel

766
00:45:57.960 --> 00:46:03.119
and say I don't need to control everything. I don't

767
00:46:03.239 --> 00:46:06.159
need to be in control all the time. And I

768
00:46:06.159 --> 00:46:08.679
know it's tough because I've got a eight plus plus

769
00:46:08.679 --> 00:46:11.800
plus plus plus personality as well that didn't go away

770
00:46:11.800 --> 00:46:14.599
with the stroke. But what I've learned to do is

771
00:46:14.639 --> 00:46:19.239
to temper that. And I've also learned to shift priorities.

772
00:46:20.119 --> 00:46:22.960
I missed my daughter's eighth grade graduation because I was

773
00:46:23.000 --> 00:46:26.400
in Paris, a great place to be, not by yourself.

774
00:46:26.920 --> 00:46:31.559
I missed my son's football games, that's dance competitions. My wife,

775
00:46:31.719 --> 00:46:33.800
for the longest, felt like she was a single mom.

776
00:46:35.840 --> 00:46:39.480
I had made myself believe that my role as a

777
00:46:39.599 --> 00:46:42.119
man is to provide and protect, and I revel in

778
00:46:42.199 --> 00:46:45.960
that a bit too much because I believed it so

779
00:46:46.039 --> 00:46:49.039
much that I let my ego drive it. Yeah, I

780
00:46:49.119 --> 00:46:51.400
was providing for them. It didn't suck that I was

781
00:46:51.440 --> 00:46:55.079
on corporate jets and helicopters and eating well and you know,

782
00:46:55.280 --> 00:47:00.400
playing Black Jacket the monitor Carlo Casino until I got

783
00:47:00.400 --> 00:47:01.880
back to my room when I'm by myself and I'm

784
00:47:01.880 --> 00:47:08.480
crying myself to sleep. Everything that glitters ain't gold. And

785
00:47:08.639 --> 00:47:11.159
just because you can does not mean you should. You

786
00:47:11.239 --> 00:47:13.920
gotta figure out. I've got my fore f faith, family,

787
00:47:14.320 --> 00:47:17.360
friends and fun. That may not work for you, but

788
00:47:17.480 --> 00:47:23.760
you should have something a personal mantra. And maybe it's

789
00:47:23.760 --> 00:47:27.760
something that only you know of what your priorities are.

790
00:47:28.199 --> 00:47:30.880
Because the moment you take your eyes off of your

791
00:47:31.000 --> 00:47:36.760
why really ugly horrible things happen. You may never have

792
00:47:36.840 --> 00:47:39.159
a stroke, but what I'm about to say may actually

793
00:47:39.159 --> 00:47:45.000
shock you. According to the American Stroke Society, every human

794
00:47:45.320 --> 00:47:48.480
over the age of twenty five, one out of four

795
00:47:49.559 --> 00:47:52.920
will incur a stroke in their life. Well, the one

796
00:47:52.920 --> 00:47:56.280
that took me down was my second. I didn't even

797
00:47:56.360 --> 00:47:58.920
realize I had had a stroke previously. Maybe it felt

798
00:47:58.920 --> 00:48:00.679
like a migraine. Maybe it just felt like I was

799
00:48:00.719 --> 00:48:04.039
tired because I was working hard. Let me rejigger what

800
00:48:04.079 --> 00:48:06.840
I just said. You may never and I pray to

801
00:48:07.000 --> 00:48:10.400
God that you never have a stroke. But doctor Lisa,

802
00:48:10.400 --> 00:48:13.679
as you said, and I'll kind of prayer phrase life

803
00:48:13.719 --> 00:48:16.679
is life and for all of us, we're all going

804
00:48:16.719 --> 00:48:17.679
through something.

805
00:48:18.000 --> 00:48:22.119
Yeah, so true. Such a beautiful way to finish, Roderick.

806
00:48:22.199 --> 00:48:24.239
What a beautiful So. I am so grateful to know you.

807
00:48:24.679 --> 00:48:27.440
I loved your book, and I appreciate so much of

808
00:48:27.559 --> 00:48:29.880
coming on my podcast to share this beautiful message in

809
00:48:29.880 --> 00:48:33.199
your new way forward. In say twenty seconds, would you

810
00:48:33.280 --> 00:48:35.199
let to leave lisers with anything.

811
00:48:34.920 --> 00:48:42.599
Else, I'll leave you with this, learn how to build

812
00:48:42.719 --> 00:48:47.639
balance in your life before your life takes over and

813
00:48:47.719 --> 00:48:49.400
takes all the balance away from you.

814
00:48:50.719 --> 00:48:54.639
Powerful Roderick. So beautiful listeners and viewers, you are going

815
00:48:54.719 --> 00:48:57.320
to want to learn more about Roderick Jefferson, his books,

816
00:48:57.360 --> 00:49:01.320
his speaking. So I would direct you first strutted this website.

817
00:49:01.360 --> 00:49:03.679
It's Roderick Jefferson dot com. I'll spell it for you

818
00:49:03.679 --> 00:49:05.280
in just a second. But you've got all kinds of

819
00:49:05.360 --> 00:49:08.840
resources available to you on that site. So Roderick is

820
00:49:09.039 --> 00:49:12.679
R O D E R I C K Jefferson standard

821
00:49:12.760 --> 00:49:15.440
spelling j E F F E R S O N

822
00:49:15.760 --> 00:49:19.039
Roderick Jefferson dot com. Last week, if you missed the

823
00:49:19.079 --> 00:49:21.440
live show, you can always catch it via recorded podcast.

824
00:49:21.719 --> 00:49:24.000
We are on air with doctor Jamie Goffe, the founder

825
00:49:24.000 --> 00:49:27.119
of The Empathic Leader, where she specializes in helping leaders

826
00:49:27.199 --> 00:49:30.920
unlock their full potential through executive coaching, insight for workshops,

827
00:49:31.000 --> 00:49:34.000
and thought provoking keynotes. We talked about her new book,

828
00:49:34.079 --> 00:49:36.679
The Secure Leader, Discover the Hidden Forces that shape your

829
00:49:36.760 --> 00:49:39.920
leadership story and how to change them. We dove into

830
00:49:39.920 --> 00:49:42.840
her research and expertise and relational attachment styles and how

831
00:49:42.880 --> 00:49:45.800
they manifest in leadership effectiveness. Next week will be on

832
00:49:45.880 --> 00:49:48.960
a with Cecily Mack talking about her new book Undimmed,

833
00:49:49.199 --> 00:49:53.199
the Eight Awarenesses for Freedom from unwanted habits. See you then, together,

834
00:49:53.320 --> 00:49:56.159
let's lean in and learn how to create destination workplaces

835
00:49:56.280 --> 00:49:59.199
where people thrive grow to their higher potential, all while

836
00:49:59.239 --> 00:50:01.559
doing business and ways. What better's the world? Let's work

837
00:50:01.559 --> 00:50:02.119
on Purpose.

838
00:50:05.320 --> 00:50:07.960
We hope you've enjoyed this week's program. Be sure to

839
00:50:08.000 --> 00:50:11.079
tune into Working on Purpose featuring your host, doctor Elise

840
00:50:11.119 --> 00:50:15.000
Cortes each week on W four CY. Together, we'll create

841
00:50:15.039 --> 00:50:19.719
a world where business operates conscientiously, leadership inspires and passion performance,

842
00:50:19.840 --> 00:50:22.599
and employees are fulfilled in work that provides the meaning

843
00:50:22.639 --> 00:50:26.440
and purpose they crave. See you there, Let's work on purpose,