Marcus Aurelius Anderson: Turning Adversity Into A Gift
“If you really want to know what you really want to do with your life, ask yourself if you woke tomorrow paralyzed from the neck down what you have wished you accomplished with your time.”
— MARCUS AURELIUS ANDERSON
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Marcus Aurelius Anderson is the bestselling author of "The Gift of Adversity," International Keynote Speaker, TEDx Speaker, Host of the #1 New and Noteworthy "Epic Achiever" Podcast, and Mindset Coach to CEO's, Leaders, and Entrepreneurs.
While preparing to deploy with the U.S. Army, Marcus suffered a severe spinal injury that left him paralyzed from the neck down. In an instant, he went from preparing for war on the battlefield to war within his own body and mind.
After dying on the operating table twice, the surgeons saved his life but told him he'd never walk again.
Having no other option, Marcus started doing some brutally honest soul searching, looking for the lesson to be learned from his injury. Once he started seeing his Adversity as a gift instead of a curse, something miraculous began to happen...
Marcus now speaks, writes, and coaches others to overcome their own Adversities to actualize their personal definition of success and fulfill their definition of success.
Highlights from this conversation:
Being worthy of the name Marcus Aurelius
The power of mindset and seeking to execute because motivation is the simple part execution where people fall short.
The Power of a Crucible and turning Adversity into a gift
Don't cherry-pick your gratitude or love
The facets of leadership not talked about
Connect with Marcus Below:
Website: Marcus Anderson
Instagram: @marcusaureliusanderson
Twitter: @the1realmarcus
Podcast: Conscious Millionaire Epic Achiever with host Marcus Aurelius Anderson
The Gift of Adversity | Marcus Aurelius Andersen | TEDxCoMo
Show Notes:
[00:05:04] Introduction And Marcus' Background
[00:06:14] Ric Elias - Podcast with Peter Attia and TED Talk
[00:07:09] Being Baked into Martial Art, Zen, Taoism, Buddhism, and Stoicism
[00:09:15] The Gravity of Marcus Aurelius and Being Worthy Of It
[00:11:21] The First Fork - Chiropractor aka The Witch Doctor
[00:13:50] Limited Capacity To Prioritize
[00:15:14] Why Marcus Choose to Join the Military
[00:24:04] "There is no way out but through." - Robert Frost
[00:24:57] Being Older and Joining the Military and Coping With The Stress
[00:26:02] How People Looked At Marcus In Boot Camp
[00:27:17] Tenth Mountain Division
[00:29:21] Marcus' Philosophy
[00:30:17] Most People Don't Execute: This is why Gary Vee gives you is secret to success.
[00:31:44] The People Who We Idolize Today All Started With Nothing
[00:32:15] Be 1% Percent Better Everyday
[00:33:14] Back to Deployment Training Upstate New York
[00:35:53] Waking Up And Realizing He Can't Move
[00:37:00] Getting Prepped For Surgery
[00:39:03] Hearing That He May Not Walk Again
[00:40:10] Waking Up After Surgery
[00:42:04] Coming to Terms With Being Paralyzed
[00:42:32] Anger and Lashing Out
[00:44:01] Turning Back to Philosophy and Rejecting It At First
[00:44:48] Soul Searching Begins
[00:45:05] Memento Mori
[00:45:52] What Would Hope To Accomplish?
[00:46:37] The Power of Gratitude
[00:49:02] Finding Something To Be Grateful For
[00:51:07] Getting the First Feeling Back
[00:52:15] Start with What Pisses You Off
[00:53:10] Between Stimulus and Response
"Between stimulus and response, there is a gap. And within that gap, there is everything" - Viktor Frankl
[00:55:09] What Was The Internal Dialogue Like?
[00:55:40] Don't Over Sharpen The Blade
"If you continually sharpen the blade, it goes dull." - Taoist Proverb
[00:57:00] You Need To Have Multiple Gears As A Leader
[00:58:44] Your Job As A Leader
[00:59:16] Don't Fall Into The Tips And Tricks Trap
[01:00:30] Continue to Grow
[01:03:01] Cross Pollination of Ideas and Intellectual Enclaves
[01:04:34] Humble Beginnings
[01:05:29] Putting Yourself Out There
[01:07:30] Training the Body Also Trains The Mind
[01:09:16] You Have To Be Before You Become
[01:10:36] Renaissance Man and Samurai
[01:12:00] Favorite Or Most Gifted Books
War of Art by Steven Pressfield
Thick Face, Black Heart by Chin-Ning Chu
[01:15:54] Advice For A College-Aged Person
[01:18:54] What Are You Searching For
