In life you will be offered many invitations; however, it's vital to learn which one's to accept and deny. Who knows, your next gold medal moment could be on the other side of your latest "yes". In this week's conversation with Jeff and Lisa, you'll be inspired by Jeff's story of choosing to be powerful over pitiful, learning to say "I'm okay", and having the willingness to have a sense of humor - regardless of the situations life throws you into.
Bio: Jeff Glasbrenner’s opportunity in life came on July 30th, 1980 at the age of 8 years old. On that day, Jeff was involved in a traumatic farming accident, leaving him a below the knee amputee. Most would call this a tragedy, but Jeff says it was his greatest opportunity. He chose to embrace this unique opportunity and has continually excelled at Wheelchair basketball, triathlons, mountaineering, and being a husband and dedicated father to his two children wheelchair basketball, Jeff holds a National Championship scoring record with 63 points and 27 rebounds in one game. He has played in Europe Professionally for three years (Madrid, Spain and Rome, Italy). Jeff is a three-time Paralympian (2000 Bronze medal, 2004 and 2008 games) and a two-time World Champion (Gold Medal).
In Triathlons, Jeff has competed in 25 ironman races (2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike and 26.2 mile run). In 2010, to celebrate losing his leg 30 years ago at the age of eight, raced in eight ironman races in months. In 2013, Jeff became the first physically challenged athlete to race and finish the Norseman Xtreme triathlon in Norway. This race is the most difficult triathlon in the world. In 2014, Jeff was also the first challenged athlete to race and finish Celtman Xtreme triathlon in Scotland. In January, Jeff became the second amputee to summit Mount Aconcagua at 22, 842 feet.
Jeff’s opportunity has allowed him to travel to 49 different countries and meet amazing people. With hard work, belief in himself and continued support, Jeff has taken this opportunity and risen to a world class level in sports. Jeff has proven that his motto in life works…work hard and everything else will follow. His motivational public speaking and his positive attitude continue to inspire people all over the world.
Summited Mount Everest May 19th (29,035ft.), Mt. Aconcagua (22,842ft), Mt. Vinson (16,050ft), Ski to the South Pole, Mt. Kosciuszko (7,310ft), Mt. Kilimanjaro (19,341ft), MT Elbrus (18,510ft)
Next Challenge: The remaining 7 Summits and skiing to the North Pole
Jeff's Something Extra: Adaptability to change. How can you adapt to change? There is no one recipe that will work for every employee or person on your team. You have to be able to read the situation and understand that we are all different. If we are adaptable, we will get much more out of our employees, and even ourselves.
Links and Mentions:
www.teamglas.com
A Step Ahead
Credits:
- Lisa Nichols, Host
- Scott Crosby, Executive Producer
- Daniel Williams, Recording Engineer