Nov. 1, 2024

Overcoming Trauma with Nick Prefontaine: The STEP System

Overcoming Trauma with Nick Prefontaine: The STEP System
Real Men Feel with Andy Grant
Overcoming Trauma with Nick Prefontaine: The STEP System

Harnessing Limitless Potential After Trauma with Nick Prefontaine

Real Men Feel host Andy Grant chats with Nick Prefontaine, a three-time bestselling author, top motivational speaker, and CEO of Common Goal. Nick shares his harrowing story of surviving a life-threatening snowboarding accident at age 14 and overcoming massive odds to walk, talk, and eat again.

He discusses his STEP system (Support, Trust, Energy, Persistence) that he used to recover and now teaches others to navigate trauma and life challenges. Nick emphasizes the importance of having support, maintaining personal energy, and trusting the process. He also reflects on the societal perception of trauma survivors and the resilience required to keep moving forward.

Tune in to discover inspiring insights, practical advice, and a free download of Nick's S.T.E.P. system.

00:00 Welcome to Real Men Feel
00:20 Introducing Nick Prefontaine
00:33 Nick's Traumatic Snowboarding Accident
08:30 The STEP System for Overcoming Trauma
18:03 Nick's Journey to Motivational Speaking
24:50 The Importance of Support and Taking Action
37:09 Nick's Reflections and Final Thoughts
40:48 Conclusion and Resources

"You don't have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step." Martin Luther King Jr.

Links
Nick's STEP System -- https://nickprefontaine.com/step
Follow Nick on LinkedIN -- https://www.linkedin.com/in/nickprefontaine/
and Facebook -- https://www.facebook.com/nick.prefontaine.7

Connect with Andy and the Real Men Feel Podcast:
Interested in a Clarity Call with Andy? - visit https://theandygrant.com/talk
Instagram | @realmenfeelshow & @theandygrant
Personal Website | https://theandygrant.com for coaching, healing, and book info!
Podcast Website | http://realmenfeel.org for all things podcast-related!
RMF Facebook Group | http://realmenfeel.org/group
YouTube | https://youtube.com/realmenfeel

#RealMenFeel ep 326

1
00:00:00,040 --> 00:00:01,440
Hello and welcome to Real Men
Feel.

2
00:00:01,800 --> 00:00:04,400
I'm your host, author, coach and
healer, Andy Grant.

3
00:00:04,880 --> 00:00:07,640
Please visit theandygrant.com to
learn more about me.

4
00:00:08,400 --> 00:00:11,520
Real Men Feel exists to remind
men that they are human beings

5
00:00:11,520 --> 00:00:14,920
and have the right to experience
and express all of their

6
00:00:14,920 --> 00:00:17,480
emotions.
We have conversations that most

7
00:00:17,480 --> 00:00:19,760
men are not having, but that all
men can benefit from.

8
00:00:20,480 --> 00:00:22,400
My guest today is Nick
Prefontaine.

9
00:00:22,800 --> 00:00:25,080
Nick is a three times best
selling author and was named a

10
00:00:25,080 --> 00:00:28,280
top motivational speaker of 2022
in Yahoo Finance.

11
00:00:28,680 --> 00:00:31,360
He's also the founder and CEO of
Common Goal.

12
00:00:31,960 --> 00:00:35,200
At age 14, Nick suffered a life
threatening snowboarding

13
00:00:35,200 --> 00:00:37,200
accident.
His parents were told he

14
00:00:37,200 --> 00:00:40,640
probably wouldn't ever walk,
talk or eat again on his own.

15
00:00:41,360 --> 00:00:44,720
Today, he helps people make it
through any trauma, crisis or

16
00:00:44,720 --> 00:00:48,280
life challenge using the very
system that he lived to get out

17
00:00:48,280 --> 00:00:51,360
of that hospital.
On the other side of trauma is

18
00:00:51,360 --> 00:00:54,600
our limitless potential.
Nick and I discuss the problems

19
00:00:54,600 --> 00:00:57,800
people have when facing major
life challenges and the simple

20
00:00:57,800 --> 00:01:00,520
ways to navigate them.
Nick shares the benefits of

21
00:01:00,520 --> 00:01:03,480
being open to alternative
therapies and caring for your

22
00:01:03,480 --> 00:01:06,120
personal energy.
Stay to the end and you can

23
00:01:06,120 --> 00:01:09,600
download a free e-book of Nick's
step system and discover if he

24
00:01:09,600 --> 00:01:12,000
returned to snowboarding.
Let's do it.

25
00:01:13,440 --> 00:01:15,080
Hello Nick, and welcome to Real
Men Field.

26
00:01:16,360 --> 00:01:19,200
Hi, Andy.
I'm very excited to be here.

27
00:01:19,400 --> 00:01:22,720
Nick, you helped lots of trauma
survivors not merely survive,

28
00:01:22,720 --> 00:01:25,560
but to thrive.
And I know that all kicked off

29
00:01:25,560 --> 00:01:27,600
with your own traumatic
accident.

30
00:01:27,600 --> 00:01:29,640
So why don't we start there and
tell me?

31
00:01:29,680 --> 00:01:31,760
Tell me your story.
Sure.

32
00:01:31,760 --> 00:01:36,320
So my, my story begins.
And I know we're in a similar

33
00:01:36,320 --> 00:01:40,320
area, so usually I refer to the
mountain, but I, I can, I can

34
00:01:40,320 --> 00:01:45,080
like be more specific here.
So I grew up in Shrewsbury in

35
00:01:45,080 --> 00:01:49,400
Massachusetts, and I was
actually at Ski club with my

36
00:01:49,400 --> 00:01:51,960
friends and it was always
exciting.

37
00:01:51,960 --> 00:01:55,360
Ski Club day was always really
exciting because we got released

38
00:01:55,360 --> 00:01:59,120
a little bit early and anyone
that's that remembers leaving a

39
00:01:59,120 --> 00:02:02,520
little bit of school, When you
get released even a little bit

40
00:02:02,520 --> 00:02:04,480
early, it's always a very big
deal.

41
00:02:04,480 --> 00:02:10,199
So we got released a little bit
early and we headed to Ski Club

42
00:02:10,639 --> 00:02:14,040
and that was at Wachusett
Mountain right there in

43
00:02:14,040 --> 00:02:16,160
Princeton.
So on the way to the mountain,

44
00:02:16,160 --> 00:02:20,520
my friends and I had all brought
our snowboard gear onto the bus

45
00:02:20,520 --> 00:02:24,480
to get ready so we wouldn't miss
a precious moment once we got to

46
00:02:24,480 --> 00:02:27,000
the mountain.
And we got to the mountain,

47
00:02:27,320 --> 00:02:30,120
headed right for the top.
When the rest of the class went

48
00:02:30,120 --> 00:02:32,400
inside to get ready, we were all
ready to go.

49
00:02:32,400 --> 00:02:34,240
We didn't want to waste any time
there.

50
00:02:34,240 --> 00:02:38,360
So on the way up on the chair
lift and we noticed that it was

51
00:02:38,360 --> 00:02:41,760
very icy because it had been
raining early in the day.

52
00:02:42,520 --> 00:02:44,440
People were wiping out
everywhere.

53
00:02:44,440 --> 00:02:47,080
However, that didn't, that
really didn't phase us.

54
00:02:47,080 --> 00:02:51,840
We were, we were ready to go And
actually the chair left went

55
00:02:51,840 --> 00:02:55,200
right over the terrain park
where all of the jumps were.

56
00:02:55,840 --> 00:02:59,320
And I knew as soon as I saw it
that I had to go off the biggest

57
00:02:59,320 --> 00:03:02,840
shop in the terrain park.
It wasn't, wasn't even a moment

58
00:03:02,840 --> 00:03:05,800
of thinking, oh, should I,
should I, should I not do it?

59
00:03:06,320 --> 00:03:09,360
Or should I do it like I was
definitely that was what I was

60
00:03:09,360 --> 00:03:12,120
doing.
So got to the top, sparkled in

61
00:03:12,120 --> 00:03:15,840
my snowboard, took a breath of
that crisp wizard air, and

62
00:03:15,840 --> 00:03:19,640
confidently charged towards that
jump with all my speed and going

63
00:03:19,640 --> 00:03:23,280
up to the jump, I caught the
edge of my snowboard and that's

64
00:03:23,280 --> 00:03:27,840
the last thing that I remember.
So I was told that I landed over

65
00:03:27,840 --> 00:03:31,440
my head.
I wasn't wearing a helmet, and

66
00:03:31,440 --> 00:03:36,440
there were three things that
really enabled me to be able to

67
00:03:36,880 --> 00:03:40,840
do the work that I'm doing today
and share this story with you

68
00:03:40,840 --> 00:03:43,880
and your listeners.
And that was although I wasn't

69
00:03:43,880 --> 00:03:48,320
wearing a helmet, the pair of
goggles that I had on

70
00:03:48,600 --> 00:03:52,560
snowboarding goggles were very
thick with a lot of padding.

71
00:03:53,240 --> 00:03:57,640
So later I learned that not only
did they brace my fall as I

72
00:03:57,640 --> 00:04:00,520
continued to roll down the
mountain, they continued to hit

73
00:04:00,520 --> 00:04:03,600
my head.
My goggles mysteriously moved to

74
00:04:03,600 --> 00:04:08,480
cushion each blow.
So really the goggles part of

75
00:04:08,480 --> 00:04:11,960
which saved my life.
Secondly, they wanted to bring a

76
00:04:11,960 --> 00:04:14,960
helicopter to the mountain to
rush me to the hospital.

77
00:04:15,520 --> 00:04:17,640
They couldn't because it was too
windy.

78
00:04:17,640 --> 00:04:21,240
So they had to send in an
ambulance and out of all the

79
00:04:21,240 --> 00:04:25,640
paramedics in the area, there
was only one who could intubate

80
00:04:25,640 --> 00:04:29,240
on the spot and I needed that to
be able to breathe.

81
00:04:29,240 --> 00:04:32,960
And lucky for me, another
another thing breaking the right

82
00:04:32,960 --> 00:04:34,840
way for me.
I believe everything happens for

83
00:04:34,840 --> 00:04:37,280
reason.
He was one of the paramedics

84
00:04:37,280 --> 00:04:41,560
that showed up to the mountain
that day and really they're

85
00:04:41,680 --> 00:04:43,240
there.
As I was alluding to.

86
00:04:43,240 --> 00:04:46,440
There are several things that I
still can't explain because of

87
00:04:46,440 --> 00:04:50,720
the accident, and now I know one
of them is the reason why I'm

88
00:04:50,960 --> 00:04:53,720
able to be with you today and to
tell this story.

89
00:04:54,440 --> 00:04:58,760
So after that, the third thing
that happened when I was resting

90
00:04:58,760 --> 00:05:03,000
in a coma in the intensive care
unit, unable to communicate with

91
00:05:03,000 --> 00:05:05,280
anyone.
The only people who were allowed

92
00:05:05,280 --> 00:05:11,400
in my room were my parents.
And it was so important early on

93
00:05:11,400 --> 00:05:16,680
because even though I was out,
out in a coma, the doctors

94
00:05:16,680 --> 00:05:21,160
wanted to share the information
of like my prognosis.

95
00:05:21,160 --> 00:05:24,320
And I'm sure you can imagine,
especially at the beginning of a

96
00:05:24,320 --> 00:05:28,320
traumatic injury, the news is
not so positive, not so

97
00:05:28,320 --> 00:05:31,880
positive, not so positive.
So they, the doctors, no fault

98
00:05:31,880 --> 00:05:33,520
of their own.
They were just doing their job.

99
00:05:33,960 --> 00:05:37,880
Went to share the news with my
parents right in front of me.

100
00:05:38,400 --> 00:05:40,320
They figured out he said, well,
call me, he can't hear.

101
00:05:40,320 --> 00:05:44,520
My mom stopped them and she said
no, no, not in front of him,

102
00:05:45,160 --> 00:05:48,440
because she understood that even
though I was in a coma, I was

103
00:05:48,440 --> 00:05:52,280
still taking in information.
So she made the doctor step

104
00:05:52,280 --> 00:05:55,960
outside the room and once they
were there, that's where they

105
00:05:55,960 --> 00:06:00,160
shared that I was in a
snowboarding accident and they

106
00:06:00,160 --> 00:06:03,560
had to partially induce me into
a coma because I already had

107
00:06:03,560 --> 00:06:06,960
swelling in my brain.
They were worried that if I woke

108
00:06:06,960 --> 00:06:09,840
up and panicked, the swelling
would increase and I would have

109
00:06:09,840 --> 00:06:12,000
died.
So they had to induce me into a

110
00:06:12,000 --> 00:06:14,480
coma.
And they said to my parents that

111
00:06:14,480 --> 00:06:18,560
we're not sure how long he's
going to be in and even if he

112
00:06:18,560 --> 00:06:22,600
comes out, he's probably not
going to be able to walk, talk

113
00:06:23,440 --> 00:06:29,000
or eat on his own ever again.
And what what my parents said

114
00:06:29,000 --> 00:06:32,160
was very important.
They thank the doc, they took

115
00:06:32,160 --> 00:06:34,240
the information, thank the
doctors.

116
00:06:34,840 --> 00:06:38,640
And then because none of this
influenced my subconscious mind,

117
00:06:38,720 --> 00:06:41,600
it didn't get through to me.
I just treated it like any other

118
00:06:41,600 --> 00:06:44,440
situation.
So I was in a coma for three

119
00:06:44,440 --> 00:06:46,840
weeks.
I really don't remember a month

120
00:06:46,840 --> 00:06:48,880
because it was a partially
induced coma.

121
00:06:49,320 --> 00:06:52,400
And a month after my accident I
was transported to a rehab

122
00:06:52,400 --> 00:06:57,760
Hospital in Boston.
And once I got my wits about me,

123
00:06:57,760 --> 00:07:01,960
I guess you could say I it just
allowed me to treat it like any

124
00:07:01,960 --> 00:07:04,840
other situation.
So this is no different than any

125
00:07:04,840 --> 00:07:07,680
other challenge that I faced up
to this point in my life.

126
00:07:08,200 --> 00:07:11,480
I got up, did the best that I
could, and it kept getting

127
00:07:11,480 --> 00:07:15,400
better every day.
And was at this point that I

128
00:07:15,440 --> 00:07:21,680
unknowingly started to use a
system to not only make a full

129
00:07:21,680 --> 00:07:24,120
recovery, but run on the
hospital.

130
00:07:24,680 --> 00:07:28,040
So I overheard my parents
talking with the doctors and

131
00:07:28,640 --> 00:07:29,880
they would meet with them every
week.

132
00:07:29,880 --> 00:07:32,160
And they said, all right, what
do we have to do to make sure

133
00:07:32,160 --> 00:07:36,640
Nick makes a full recovery?
Even though I couldn't talk, I

134
00:07:36,640 --> 00:07:40,000
heard a voice in the back of my
head that said, no, you're going

135
00:07:40,000 --> 00:07:43,720
to run out of the hospital.
So that running out of the

136
00:07:43,720 --> 00:07:47,040
hospital and he became our
common goal.

137
00:07:47,040 --> 00:07:50,600
I was able to communicate that
to my parents and the rest of my

138
00:07:50,600 --> 00:07:55,120
team.
But it was at that time that I

139
00:07:55,120 --> 00:07:58,480
started and I'll, I'll come back
to the boys in the back of my

140
00:07:58,480 --> 00:08:02,760
head because it's, it led me to
what I'm doing today, really.

141
00:08:02,760 --> 00:08:07,120
I unknowingly started to utilize
a system to not only make a full

142
00:08:07,120 --> 00:08:08,840
recovery, but run out of the
hospital.

143
00:08:08,840 --> 00:08:11,880
That's a STEP system.
STEP is an acronym.

144
00:08:11,880 --> 00:08:15,720
It stands for support.
Make sure you have the support

145
00:08:15,720 --> 00:08:18,640
of your family and friends right
from the beginning.

146
00:08:19,120 --> 00:08:21,760
This is going to have you
falling back on relationships

147
00:08:21,760 --> 00:08:23,800
that you built prior to your set
back.

148
00:08:24,480 --> 00:08:27,400
T is trust.
Trust that once you take your

149
00:08:27,400 --> 00:08:30,680
first step, your next step is
always going to be available to

150
00:08:30,680 --> 00:08:32,200
you.
Follow it.

151
00:08:32,720 --> 00:08:36,840
And then E is energy.
Maintaining your energy allows

152
00:08:36,840 --> 00:08:40,880
your body's natural ability to
be able to heal itself, and

153
00:08:40,880 --> 00:08:44,680
medication has the potential to
get in the way of that.

154
00:08:45,160 --> 00:08:48,920
So after, after coming out of
after coming in my coma and

155
00:08:48,920 --> 00:08:52,800
being transported to the rehab
hospital, my parents knew that

156
00:08:52,800 --> 00:08:56,000
they wanted to get me off of the
medication as soon as possible

157
00:08:56,440 --> 00:08:59,840
because they knew of the body's
natural ability to be able to

158
00:08:59,840 --> 00:09:02,760
heal itself.
And it was so important that I

159
00:09:02,760 --> 00:09:05,800
had an advocate that was part of
my that's part of support.

160
00:09:05,800 --> 00:09:09,800
What I talk about in step, my
ebook, my free ebook that I'll,

161
00:09:09,880 --> 00:09:12,080
I'll give you a listen as a way
they can download that in the

162
00:09:12,080 --> 00:09:15,680
end.
But I talk about it's important

163
00:09:15,680 --> 00:09:19,240
to have an advocate because
without an advocate, they would

164
00:09:20,200 --> 00:09:23,320
just to illustrate this.
So after being transported to

165
00:09:23,320 --> 00:09:28,400
the rehab hospital, I still
wasn't cleared to walk and I got

166
00:09:28,400 --> 00:09:30,560
up in the middle of the night
and I had to use the bathroom.

167
00:09:31,160 --> 00:09:37,320
I, I would always have either my
dad or my grandfather and uncle

168
00:09:37,320 --> 00:09:41,120
stay with me at night and I
leaned over, I forget who it

169
00:09:41,120 --> 00:09:43,960
was, I think it was my
grandfather and leaned over my

170
00:09:43,960 --> 00:09:45,800
bed.
I tried to get their attention.

171
00:09:45,800 --> 00:09:49,640
I couldn't.
So I had to hobble my way to the

172
00:09:49,640 --> 00:09:53,720
bathroom and I nothing happened.
It was fine.

173
00:09:53,720 --> 00:09:56,360
But then the hospital found out
the next day and they freaked

174
00:09:56,360 --> 00:09:59,600
out and they said, Oh, we're
going to give him this one CC

175
00:09:59,600 --> 00:10:02,600
the of that medication, that
many CCS of the subtle

176
00:10:02,600 --> 00:10:07,120
medication, and that should
really calm him down on so he's

177
00:10:07,120 --> 00:10:12,280
ready to go to sleep.
And my mom said, no, you're not.

178
00:10:13,200 --> 00:10:15,520
Just ask him not to do that
again.

179
00:10:16,240 --> 00:10:19,280
Will ever respect all the people
that that work in the hospitals.

180
00:10:19,280 --> 00:10:23,560
And I'm I'm like, I'm thankful
that I was able to have that

181
00:10:23,560 --> 00:10:25,960
care.
However, if I didn't ever have

182
00:10:25,960 --> 00:10:29,920
get there, they would have just
drugged me to to make their jobs

183
00:10:29,920 --> 00:10:31,000
easier.
Right.

184
00:10:31,200 --> 00:10:34,000
Yeah, every, every aspect of you
didn't need treatment, though

185
00:10:34,000 --> 00:10:35,640
they were attempting to give it
some.

186
00:10:36,080 --> 00:10:40,160
Yeah, exactly.
And then P is persistence.

187
00:10:40,160 --> 00:10:43,840
So persistence, once you take
your first step, keep getting up

188
00:10:43,840 --> 00:10:47,480
every day and taking your next
step, no matter how small.

189
00:10:47,840 --> 00:10:50,200
And by continuing to move
forward every day, you are

190
00:10:50,200 --> 00:10:52,520
building an unstoppable
momentum.

191
00:10:53,160 --> 00:10:57,120
So if you Fast forward a little
bit less than 60 days later

192
00:10:57,120 --> 00:11:00,680
after being transferred to the
rehab hospital, I was able to

193
00:11:00,680 --> 00:11:03,120
realize my goal and run out of
the hospital.

194
00:11:04,200 --> 00:11:07,400
And that wasn't an end.
That was that was really a

195
00:11:07,400 --> 00:11:13,160
beginning for me, if anything.
And that's really how I look,

196
00:11:13,160 --> 00:11:15,880
how I look in my life now as
well.

197
00:11:17,000 --> 00:11:20,640
I had to be tutored all summer
long, five days a week in order

198
00:11:20,640 --> 00:11:24,440
to continue on to high school
with the rest of my classmates,

199
00:11:24,800 --> 00:11:30,760
along with getting outpatient
therapy for another six months.

200
00:11:30,760 --> 00:11:34,600
So I wasn't done.
Like I said, it was just the

201
00:11:34,600 --> 00:11:36,680
beginning, if you will.
So.

202
00:11:36,680 --> 00:11:38,280
So this happened when you were
in high school.

203
00:11:38,280 --> 00:11:40,920
So what was your exact age
during when the accident

204
00:11:40,920 --> 00:11:43,800
happened to you?
I was 14 so I was in 8th grade.

205
00:11:44,200 --> 00:11:47,320
Wow.
And it it sound your parents

206
00:11:47,320 --> 00:11:51,200
sound amazing to have navigated
this, you know, with you and for

207
00:11:51,200 --> 00:11:55,080
you were they always just
positive, optimistic people?

208
00:11:55,080 --> 00:11:57,560
Yes, they were.
Yeah, I grew up in a very.

209
00:11:57,560 --> 00:12:02,760
So this whole, this whole step
system that I didn't even

210
00:12:02,760 --> 00:12:06,280
discover it until later in life,
like like recently over the last

211
00:12:06,280 --> 00:12:09,040
several years.
This whole, where this whole

212
00:12:09,040 --> 00:12:12,600
came from is just the way that
I've always approached any kind

213
00:12:12,600 --> 00:12:15,200
of challenge in any kind of
situation in my life.

214
00:12:16,680 --> 00:12:22,400
And I had a mentor that was able
to pull this out of me, if you

215
00:12:22,400 --> 00:12:25,800
will, and be able be able to
share it with everyone.

216
00:12:25,800 --> 00:12:29,840
And that's that's what I'm doing
now and keynotes and went along

217
00:12:29,840 --> 00:12:31,800
work with people.
Yeah, that's awesome.

218
00:12:31,840 --> 00:12:34,600
And you know, we had talked
previously and I grew up in

219
00:12:34,600 --> 00:12:36,640
Leominster, MA, you grew up in
Shrewsbury.

220
00:12:36,840 --> 00:12:40,920
And I, I kind of, I was guessing
that this incident happened at

221
00:12:40,920 --> 00:12:42,960
Wachusett.
And and I recently moved.

222
00:12:42,960 --> 00:12:45,680
I'm now in Gardner, Mass, and I
am less than 10 minutes from

223
00:12:45,680 --> 00:12:47,040
Wachusett.
Oh wow.

224
00:12:47,520 --> 00:12:50,560
The only place I've ever
attempted to snowboard was at

225
00:12:50,560 --> 00:12:53,920
Mamachusett as well.
And I could only turn right, my

226
00:12:53,920 --> 00:12:56,320
wife could only turn left.
And we kept slamming into each

227
00:12:56,320 --> 00:12:58,600
other.
And so that was my one attempt.

228
00:12:58,600 --> 00:13:04,040
But yeah, your story is amazing.
And you know, I find that, you

229
00:13:04,040 --> 00:13:07,400
know, amazing upbeat people that
take control of their lives like

230
00:13:07,400 --> 00:13:10,240
you, you, you do live by a
system.

231
00:13:10,240 --> 00:13:12,440
You do have this, this guidance,
you have this divine

232
00:13:12,600 --> 00:13:15,480
intervention always happening
and you kind of take it for

233
00:13:15,480 --> 00:13:17,320
granted or just like this is
everybody lives.

234
00:13:17,320 --> 00:13:20,040
And it's not till someone helps
pull it out of you that you

235
00:13:20,040 --> 00:13:22,600
realize, oh, here are these
steps literally for you, the

236
00:13:22,600 --> 00:13:26,280
step system that can help
anybody else that isn't as aware

237
00:13:26,560 --> 00:13:30,080
of of the best ways to navigate
and and control their own lives.

238
00:13:30,120 --> 00:13:34,920
My heart swells with admiration
for you in your again ability

239
00:13:34,920 --> 00:13:37,600
not just to survive, but to
thrive and then to share.

240
00:13:38,720 --> 00:13:41,400
Thank you.
Yeah, it was, it was quite the,

241
00:13:41,400 --> 00:13:44,480
it was quite a journey.
And it really it was, it was.

242
00:13:44,480 --> 00:13:48,440
It took me because that was
something that happened when I

243
00:13:48,440 --> 00:13:49,440
was younger.
I was like, yeah.

244
00:13:50,280 --> 00:13:54,040
What A couple of things to
highlight what you said, that

245
00:13:54,440 --> 00:13:56,120
you just feel like everyone does
this.

246
00:13:56,120 --> 00:14:01,320
So I talked, talked to like
several people later in life and

247
00:14:01,320 --> 00:14:05,680
I'm like, I don't know, I just,
I just got up and did the best I

248
00:14:05,680 --> 00:14:07,520
could and I kept getting better
every day.

249
00:14:07,520 --> 00:14:10,240
And I was like, anyone would do
the same.

250
00:14:10,720 --> 00:14:14,520
And like, I'm not abnormal.
And everyone looks at me and

251
00:14:14,520 --> 00:14:17,840
they're like, no, Nick, that's
not normal.

252
00:14:18,360 --> 00:14:21,280
Like a lot of a lot of people
would would have given up.

253
00:14:21,920 --> 00:14:26,400
And it took me later, like a
little later on in life to

254
00:14:26,400 --> 00:14:30,960
really realize, OK, I have
something here that I have to be

255
00:14:31,000 --> 00:14:35,640
sharing, like sharing my story
and sharing with individuals

256
00:14:35,640 --> 00:14:38,280
across the world that are going
through life challenge, crisis

257
00:14:38,280 --> 00:14:41,800
or trauma themselves and to help
them thrive with the rest of

258
00:14:41,800 --> 00:14:46,680
their lives.
So if you, it's amazing to me

259
00:14:46,680 --> 00:14:49,920
that only 18 months later, I got
my start.

260
00:14:50,080 --> 00:14:53,200
And you know, when you're
younger, when you're a kid, time

261
00:14:53,200 --> 00:14:57,280
is compressed.
So something like six months, 12

262
00:14:57,280 --> 00:14:59,960
months, 18 months seems like a
lifetime away.

263
00:15:01,400 --> 00:15:03,840
However, 18 months is not that
long.

264
00:15:04,240 --> 00:15:07,560
It's really not that long.
So only 18 months after

265
00:15:07,560 --> 00:15:12,200
finishing rehab, I got my start
in real estate and I was door

266
00:15:12,200 --> 00:15:16,640
knocking, free foreclosure doors
or homeowners that have received

267
00:15:16,640 --> 00:15:20,200
a notice to default letter from
the bank, meaning they missed

268
00:15:20,200 --> 00:15:23,640
several payments all the way up
to 11:50 and the bank still

269
00:15:23,640 --> 00:15:28,520
hadn't foreclosed on their home.
So I would go to the cities

270
00:15:28,520 --> 00:15:30,720
where because I had to go to
school during the week, I was

271
00:15:30,720 --> 00:15:35,360
only 16, I would go to cities
where I could be most efficient

272
00:15:35,440 --> 00:15:37,960
and hit the most amount of doors
in a day.

273
00:15:38,480 --> 00:15:43,560
And it's really it took that
mentor that pulled the step

274
00:15:43,560 --> 00:15:45,920
system on me to reflect back to
me.

275
00:15:45,920 --> 00:15:49,840
She said, well, wait a minute,
you only 18 months after

276
00:15:49,840 --> 00:15:53,200
finishing your rehab from being
in a coma on your snowboarding

277
00:15:53,200 --> 00:15:57,520
accident, you're you're going
into not so great areas of

278
00:15:57,520 --> 00:16:01,840
cities and knocking on knocking
on doors of distrust salads.

279
00:16:01,840 --> 00:16:06,120
And I was like, Oh yeah, that's
that.

280
00:16:06,120 --> 00:16:09,240
That is kind of like that is
kind of a big deal.

281
00:16:09,240 --> 00:16:13,240
And she said, well, I think
going door to door like that was

282
00:16:13,360 --> 00:16:17,400
part of your recovery, going
door to door and helping people

283
00:16:17,400 --> 00:16:19,440
out of their unfortunate
situation.

284
00:16:19,960 --> 00:16:23,960
So after graduating high school,
I started starting to get my

285
00:16:23,960 --> 00:16:27,720
real estate license.
And when I was 19, I, I got my

286
00:16:27,720 --> 00:16:31,600
real estate license and then was
working as a realtor helping

287
00:16:31,600 --> 00:16:34,960
buyers and sellers.
And then I actually ended up

288
00:16:34,960 --> 00:16:40,200
letting my real estate license
go in January of 2016 to help my

289
00:16:40,200 --> 00:16:45,920
dad to join my dad full time as
an investor, helping, helping

290
00:16:45,920 --> 00:16:50,000
him with the properties that he
was getting under contract to

291
00:16:50,200 --> 00:16:53,520
find buyers for those properties
and put them into a house and

292
00:16:53,520 --> 00:16:56,240
everything like that.
And Andy, all throughout my

293
00:16:56,240 --> 00:17:01,800
life, I've always had this voice
in the back of my head that's

294
00:17:01,800 --> 00:17:04,480
always been saying to me,
regardless if it's door

295
00:17:04,480 --> 00:17:08,880
knocking, say any kind of sales
as a real estate agent, it's

296
00:17:08,880 --> 00:17:12,520
always saying, yeah, OK, that's
great.

297
00:17:13,079 --> 00:17:15,160
I'm glad you're like living your
life and everything.

298
00:17:15,200 --> 00:17:19,839
But what you really need to be
doing is telling your story from

299
00:17:19,839 --> 00:17:23,800
stage and helping trauma
survivors thrive with the rest

300
00:17:23,800 --> 00:17:26,720
of their lives.
And that voice has always been

301
00:17:26,720 --> 00:17:29,520
there.
And then with my dad's, with my

302
00:17:29,520 --> 00:17:33,920
dad's company and now a company
that I'm partners in as well,

303
00:17:33,920 --> 00:17:36,640
Smart Real Estate Coach, one of
the one of the companies that

304
00:17:36,640 --> 00:17:40,880
I'm partners in.
I've had the opportunity since

305
00:17:40,880 --> 00:17:44,800
2016 to get on stage and tell my
story.

306
00:17:45,000 --> 00:17:49,600
And it's really allowed me to
scratch that itch, if you will,

307
00:17:49,880 --> 00:17:52,640
and be be able to speak and tell
my story.

308
00:17:52,960 --> 00:17:56,560
So I could rationalize with
myself that, OK, I'm doing it

309
00:17:56,600 --> 00:17:58,840
like I'm telling my story from
stage.

310
00:17:59,640 --> 00:18:03,280
However, there was this woman
that approached me after one of

311
00:18:03,280 --> 00:18:08,080
our events a little over five
years ago in 2019 before COVID.

312
00:18:09,080 --> 00:18:13,520
And she said to me, I'm not
trying to steal you from your

313
00:18:13,520 --> 00:18:16,920
family company.
But if you're ever looking to

314
00:18:16,920 --> 00:18:21,320
fine tune your message and to
bring it to another level so

315
00:18:21,320 --> 00:18:25,040
that it has maximum impact, I
can introduce you to a few

316
00:18:25,040 --> 00:18:28,840
coaches and mentors that have
helped me out on my path.

317
00:18:29,440 --> 00:18:33,960
And I always on our card.
I still wasn't ready.

318
00:18:33,960 --> 00:18:39,560
I, I was still going through a
voice challenge and in 2012 I

319
00:18:39,560 --> 00:18:43,960
developed a voice challenge and
I was looking everywhere and I

320
00:18:43,960 --> 00:18:45,720
couldn't figure out what was
wrong with me.

321
00:18:46,240 --> 00:18:49,840
And I finally wound up in a
voice specialist office in

322
00:18:49,840 --> 00:18:54,320
August of 2013.
And that was in Boston.

323
00:18:54,400 --> 00:18:57,840
And I guess they're only 35 of
these specialists and the whole

324
00:18:57,840 --> 00:19:00,160
continent.
And one of them was right in

325
00:19:00,160 --> 00:19:04,120
Boston, a 2 hour drive for me.
So I went into his office after

326
00:19:04,800 --> 00:19:08,640
stressing out and building it up
like such a big deal in my head

327
00:19:08,640 --> 00:19:11,840
for a year.
And I sat down and this guy

328
00:19:11,840 --> 00:19:13,680
walked in the room and heard me
speak.

329
00:19:13,680 --> 00:19:17,120
And right away nonchalantly
goes, oh, that.

330
00:19:17,560 --> 00:19:18,840
Yeah, we deal with that all the
time.

331
00:19:19,880 --> 00:19:23,640
Go get scheduled for a Botox
injection in a couple weeks.

332
00:19:23,640 --> 00:19:25,880
And I was like, my mouth was on
the floor.

333
00:19:26,240 --> 00:19:31,520
I was like, I'm I'm soul hook,
line and sinker and I started

334
00:19:31,520 --> 00:19:36,400
getting Botox injections along
with their higher level voice

335
00:19:36,880 --> 00:19:41,600
speech pathologist and I had to
get that for seven years.

336
00:19:41,640 --> 00:19:46,440
So in combination with
developing the issue in 2019 and

337
00:19:46,440 --> 00:19:50,120
getting the treatments, the
Botox injections into my vocal

338
00:19:50,120 --> 00:19:53,720
folds, I had to deal with that
for eight years.

339
00:19:54,200 --> 00:19:59,600
And my last one, my, my last
treatment was February 13th of

340
00:19:59,600 --> 00:20:03,920
2020.
So obviously that has worked its

341
00:20:03,920 --> 00:20:07,360
way out of my system now
however.

342
00:20:08,280 --> 00:20:10,800
It was the intersection.
There's so many like

343
00:20:10,800 --> 00:20:13,720
intersections of the story
because when that woman

344
00:20:13,720 --> 00:20:18,000
approached me, Sharon Spano, she
approached me after hearing me

345
00:20:18,000 --> 00:20:20,440
tell my story.
I was still tight, like you

346
00:20:20,440 --> 00:20:22,600
could hear it.
I was still like, it was almost

347
00:20:22,600 --> 00:20:24,400
like it was hard to get the
words out.

348
00:20:24,720 --> 00:20:28,000
She approached me anyway and
shared, gave me her card and

349
00:20:28,000 --> 00:20:30,240
shit and the information.
So I still wasn't ready.

350
00:20:30,640 --> 00:20:34,560
However, a little over a year
and a half later, after I had

351
00:20:34,560 --> 00:20:39,480
this voice issue fully out of my
system, I reached out to her and

352
00:20:39,480 --> 00:20:43,680
I said, OK, I'm ready.
And she introduced me to her

353
00:20:44,160 --> 00:20:47,840
mentor, one of her mentors who's
become my mentor.

354
00:20:48,280 --> 00:20:54,360
And ever since I call in May of
2021, there, Andy has been no

355
00:20:54,360 --> 00:20:59,040
voice in the back of my head.
So what that's evidence to me is

356
00:20:59,040 --> 00:21:02,400
that I'm doing exactly what I
was put on this earth to do.

357
00:21:03,240 --> 00:21:05,840
Right, There's, there's that
inner wisdom, that guidance.

358
00:21:05,840 --> 00:21:07,960
You're not being course
corrected anymore cause 'cause

359
00:21:07,960 --> 00:21:09,320
you're doing it.
Yeah, you're on the path.

360
00:21:09,800 --> 00:21:10,480
Yeah.
Beautiful.

361
00:21:10,920 --> 00:21:14,280
And when we first talked
briefly, you said something that

362
00:21:14,280 --> 00:21:18,520
that stuck with me that, that
you saw that trauma survivors

363
00:21:18,520 --> 00:21:21,920
are shunned by society.
Can can you expand on that?

364
00:21:22,000 --> 00:21:30,440
I think still to this day, if I
see like any kind of a any kind

365
00:21:30,440 --> 00:21:35,160
of a disabled person or like
anyone dealing with it, like

366
00:21:35,160 --> 00:21:38,760
walking with a, with a challenge
like I can, I can tell has a

367
00:21:38,760 --> 00:21:45,200
challenge or someone who's going
through an issue and is not just

368
00:21:45,200 --> 00:21:47,560
like everyone out like, Oh yeah,
everything's great.

369
00:21:48,240 --> 00:21:50,920
I actually commend them for
that.

370
00:21:51,000 --> 00:21:56,080
And I, I say good for good for
that person to, to be out to, to

371
00:21:56,080 --> 00:21:59,800
be like continuing to take their
next step in life.

372
00:21:59,800 --> 00:22:06,040
And I, I think what society does
is it's, it shuns people that,

373
00:22:06,160 --> 00:22:10,120
that have any kind of a
traumatic event that that was

374
00:22:10,120 --> 00:22:13,200
what we were talking about
briefly before, before I had

375
00:22:13,200 --> 00:22:18,840
this opportunity to be here.
So I really, I mean, I believe

376
00:22:18,840 --> 00:22:20,480
that in my.
Heart, I think you nailed it.

377
00:22:20,520 --> 00:22:24,520
And yeah, so it's the the the
notion of general society sees

378
00:22:24,520 --> 00:22:29,520
someone struggling through some
traumatic injury or accident and

379
00:22:30,040 --> 00:22:33,920
you know, at best ignores them,
might might mock them, might not

380
00:22:33,920 --> 00:22:36,440
assist them.
And but you see them, and you

381
00:22:36,440 --> 00:22:39,160
will you applaud them.
Absolutely.

382
00:22:39,160 --> 00:22:43,000
And and you know what, it's kind
of coming back to me too.

383
00:22:43,000 --> 00:22:45,400
We can go, we can go in a little
bit more depth here.

384
00:22:45,400 --> 00:22:50,320
So there are so many people that
haven't, that haven't had that

385
00:22:50,560 --> 00:22:53,960
opportunity to go through a
traumatic event, a life

386
00:22:53,960 --> 00:22:57,720
challenge or crisis or anything.
And they say, oh, that's so sad.

387
00:22:57,720 --> 00:23:01,120
Look at that.
I say the opposite.

388
00:23:01,920 --> 00:23:05,480
I was like, look, look at that.
They're they're out.

389
00:23:05,640 --> 00:23:09,560
They're, they're not, they're
not being held down by this.

390
00:23:10,000 --> 00:23:12,240
They're, they're continuing to
move forward in life.

391
00:23:12,240 --> 00:23:14,720
They're not letting, they're not
letting their traumatic

392
00:23:15,040 --> 00:23:18,640
experience, their life challenge
or crisis hold them back from

393
00:23:18,640 --> 00:23:22,560
living their best life.
Yep, and you know one thing I I

394
00:23:22,640 --> 00:23:26,080
that's that sticks with me too,
from the step system of support,

395
00:23:26,240 --> 00:23:31,640
trust, energy and persistence.
Everything except support is is

396
00:23:31,640 --> 00:23:34,280
up to you.
So it really seems that that,

397
00:23:34,800 --> 00:23:38,640
you know, perhaps reclaiming
ownership of your life is such a

398
00:23:38,640 --> 00:23:40,560
powerful aspect of all those
steps.

399
00:23:40,560 --> 00:23:42,200
Is is does does that make sense
to you?

400
00:23:43,320 --> 00:23:46,080
Absolutely.
And it does make sense.

401
00:23:46,080 --> 00:23:48,320
And just to provide a little
color to this.

402
00:23:48,320 --> 00:23:52,760
So something that I go into
detail within step and we only

403
00:23:52,760 --> 00:23:56,840
had I only had a the opportunity
to show like a 10,000 foot view

404
00:23:56,840 --> 00:24:00,280
of it.
Something that I go into detail

405
00:24:00,280 --> 00:24:04,800
within there is support is
something that's that's within

406
00:24:04,800 --> 00:24:09,960
your control 100% because a lot
of people and this comes up,

407
00:24:10,480 --> 00:24:13,320
this comes up like every
interview or every other every

408
00:24:13,400 --> 00:24:17,080
other interview I talk about it,
people say, oh, well, you know,

409
00:24:17,680 --> 00:24:22,560
lucky for you, you had family.
I don't have family now.

410
00:24:22,560 --> 00:24:26,720
One of the things I talk about
within step is your support

411
00:24:26,720 --> 00:24:28,760
doesn't necessarily have to be
your failed.

412
00:24:29,200 --> 00:24:32,480
It can be a close friend that
you share everything with.

413
00:24:32,480 --> 00:24:35,520
It could be a neighbor or not
really above.

414
00:24:35,640 --> 00:24:39,360
It can be just someone always
checking on you and always

415
00:24:39,360 --> 00:24:41,600
wondering if there's anything
that they can do.

416
00:24:41,800 --> 00:24:45,280
However, you're you're closed
off to it.

417
00:24:45,320 --> 00:24:48,680
You're ignorant to it because
you have this in your mind that

418
00:24:48,680 --> 00:24:52,160
it can only be failing.
Support can come from

419
00:24:52,240 --> 00:24:56,120
everywhere, everywhere,
everywhere in society.

420
00:24:57,160 --> 00:25:01,000
In, in one of your talks, I saw
you speak about kind of the, the

421
00:25:01,000 --> 00:25:04,840
dangers of overwhelm that can
lead to people kind of giving

422
00:25:04,840 --> 00:25:07,400
up, giving in fall into that,
that victimhood sort of thing.

423
00:25:08,480 --> 00:25:12,120
Do you do you find that there's
a root source for for overwhelm

424
00:25:12,120 --> 00:25:17,840
today?
I think that it's very easy to

425
00:25:17,840 --> 00:25:22,000
be overwhelmed when you look at
anything, especially at the

426
00:25:22,000 --> 00:25:25,240
start of a start, at the start
of anything.

427
00:25:26,080 --> 00:25:29,960
So you can call it life
challenge, crisis, or trauma, or

428
00:25:30,280 --> 00:25:35,200
you can call it a starting a new
business, or in your case,

429
00:25:35,200 --> 00:25:39,200
moving, doing, moving to a new
house.

430
00:25:39,440 --> 00:25:44,160
You can think to yourself, Oh my
God, that's so overwhelming

431
00:25:44,160 --> 00:25:47,000
because I have to do this, this,
this, this, this.

432
00:25:47,400 --> 00:25:51,160
However, the the best thing,
yeah, overwhelm is it, it's

433
00:25:51,160 --> 00:25:52,720
everywhere.
It's it's around us.

434
00:25:53,040 --> 00:25:57,600
However, the best thing that you
can do to cure that is to take

435
00:25:57,600 --> 00:25:59,840
action.
Just take your next step.

436
00:26:00,240 --> 00:26:02,760
Just take one step.
And it doesn't even have to be a

437
00:26:02,760 --> 00:26:06,120
big step.
However, just by taking that one

438
00:26:06,120 --> 00:26:08,920
step, your next step's always
going to be available to you.

439
00:26:10,360 --> 00:26:15,920
So you must have had doubts,
some brief point, you know,

440
00:26:16,160 --> 00:26:18,080
waking up, just finding yourself
in the hospital.

441
00:26:18,600 --> 00:26:21,080
But so did did you ever have
doubts and did they have

442
00:26:21,080 --> 00:26:23,920
developed into longer periods of
of, you know, victimhood or

443
00:26:23,920 --> 00:26:28,880
depression?
Of course I had doubts.

444
00:26:29,280 --> 00:26:31,560
I mean, come on.
Yeah, Everyone, people.

445
00:26:31,560 --> 00:26:34,880
People hear my story and they
think, oh, yeah, OK, you got an

446
00:26:34,880 --> 00:26:37,000
accent, You're in a cold and you
ran out of the hospital.

447
00:26:37,000 --> 00:26:38,560
Good for you.
Must be nice.

448
00:26:39,720 --> 00:26:44,480
But of course, I had doubts.
There was there was a point and

449
00:26:44,480 --> 00:26:48,680
there are there are a few points
both within my snowboarding and

450
00:26:48,680 --> 00:26:50,680
then with my voice issue that I
had doubts.

451
00:26:51,160 --> 00:26:56,560
And because I had an advocate
with me at all times, I was able

452
00:26:56,560 --> 00:26:59,920
to keep moving forward.
So my mom who was doing me every

453
00:26:59,920 --> 00:27:03,640
day, going to every therapy and
doctor's appointment with me, I

454
00:27:03,640 --> 00:27:06,880
was in between therapies and I
would have double sessions of

455
00:27:06,880 --> 00:27:10,680
physical occupation on speech
therapy, after which you broke

456
00:27:10,680 --> 00:27:12,960
for lunch.
So is that one of these lunches

457
00:27:13,040 --> 00:27:16,800
in my hospital room where I was
in a wheelchair just looking

458
00:27:16,800 --> 00:27:24,000
over my situation and I just
couldn't figure it out for

459
00:27:24,000 --> 00:27:26,880
whatever reason.
I remember turning to my mom and

460
00:27:26,880 --> 00:27:31,040
asking, am I ever going to be
able to walk again?

461
00:27:32,520 --> 00:27:35,480
She didn't even hesitate.
She said, of course you are.

462
00:27:35,480 --> 00:27:37,640
That's what we're doing here,
seeing get everything back and

463
00:27:37,640 --> 00:27:42,720
me and go home step.
So what this allowed me to do

464
00:27:42,840 --> 00:27:48,160
was that moment of doubt that I
had was to keep moving forward.

465
00:27:48,280 --> 00:27:51,800
And that was the only from my
snowboarding accident.

466
00:27:51,840 --> 00:27:54,280
That was the only moment of
doubt that I can really

467
00:27:54,280 --> 00:27:57,000
remember.
And it was during my going

468
00:27:57,000 --> 00:28:01,040
through my voice challenge
because it was, I think I'm more

469
00:28:01,040 --> 00:28:04,080
proud of that Andy, because it
was eight years that I had to

470
00:28:04,080 --> 00:28:09,200
deal with that.
And once I, once I, once I got

471
00:28:09,200 --> 00:28:12,000
through it, I was like, all
right, I, I have something here

472
00:28:12,440 --> 00:28:14,680
because I've used this twice
during my life.

473
00:28:14,680 --> 00:28:17,280
So I, I really have to be
sharing this with everyone.

474
00:28:17,280 --> 00:28:21,320
But it was really in the
beginning of that.

475
00:28:21,360 --> 00:28:26,080
And I was always looking for and
reflecting and looking, reading

476
00:28:26,080 --> 00:28:29,120
my journals from 10 years ago
because that's, that's a thing

477
00:28:29,120 --> 00:28:31,800
that I do just to see where I
was and what I was dealing with.

478
00:28:32,520 --> 00:28:39,400
So I, I was having a hard time.
I was looking for, OK, every

479
00:28:39,400 --> 00:28:41,440
Botox treatment, this is going
to be it.

480
00:28:41,800 --> 00:28:44,760
This is going to be the thing
that is going to fix everything.

481
00:28:44,760 --> 00:28:49,920
I'm going to be fine.
And I just had that the wrong

482
00:28:49,920 --> 00:28:55,000
mindset at the beginning.
And I can remember on one of my

483
00:28:55,000 --> 00:28:57,920
trips to Boston with my mom,
because she would always go with

484
00:28:57,920 --> 00:29:02,520
me to be my supporting and be
there and like take notes and

485
00:29:02,560 --> 00:29:05,040
because you have a lot of stuff
going on in your head.

486
00:29:05,840 --> 00:29:10,880
And I, I said to her, while, you
know, the, the therapist

487
00:29:10,880 --> 00:29:13,480
wouldn't, couldn't tell me the
answer I was looking for.

488
00:29:13,480 --> 00:29:16,360
I, I like kept asking, kept
asking, kept asking.

489
00:29:16,960 --> 00:29:20,840
And she said, no, you, you just
have to look at it from the

490
00:29:20,840 --> 00:29:26,280
mindset of I'm going to keep
doing this and I'm going to keep

491
00:29:26,280 --> 00:29:30,240
getting better every day.
And as long as you keep

492
00:29:30,240 --> 00:29:34,320
improving, which I believe my
voice is still improving to this

493
00:29:34,320 --> 00:29:38,680
day, as long as you keep
improving, there's there's

494
00:29:38,680 --> 00:29:41,160
nothing that you're doing wrong
necessarily.

495
00:29:42,200 --> 00:29:45,360
As as long as you keep moving
forward and keep getting better,

496
00:29:46,640 --> 00:29:48,440
there's really nothing that can
stop you.

497
00:29:49,080 --> 00:29:51,880
Yeah, it reminds me of AI.
Think it's a Wayne Dyard quote,

498
00:29:51,880 --> 00:29:54,160
but the only, the only person
you should compare yourself with

499
00:29:54,240 --> 00:29:55,840
is you.
Yesterday.

500
00:29:56,400 --> 00:29:58,600
Yeah.
So I I know you've gone on to do

501
00:29:58,600 --> 00:30:01,160
a number of half marathons and
10 KS.

502
00:30:01,800 --> 00:30:04,920
Did you ever tour, return to
skiing or snowboarding?

503
00:30:05,800 --> 00:30:10,680
Yeah, yes, I have.
And I actually think it was to,

504
00:30:10,880 --> 00:30:15,800
I don't know.
I, I mean, I, right after my

505
00:30:15,800 --> 00:30:19,520
accident, I said, I said, I
convinced my parents said, Oh,

506
00:30:19,520 --> 00:30:22,960
no, I, I'm not going to, because
I was a snowboarding instructor

507
00:30:22,960 --> 00:30:28,120
before the accident at Ward
Hill, a much smaller hill, not a

508
00:30:28,120 --> 00:30:30,520
mountain, but I was a
snowboarding instructor.

509
00:30:30,520 --> 00:30:33,880
So I convinced them that, oh,
it's a good idea for me to like

510
00:30:33,880 --> 00:30:37,040
be around snowboarding and, and
to help and everything like

511
00:30:37,040 --> 00:30:39,200
that.
Well, temptation proved to be

512
00:30:39,200 --> 00:30:44,200
too much and I ended up stealing
my friends or borrowing, let's

513
00:30:44,200 --> 00:30:46,600
put it that way.
My friend snowboys and sneaky or

514
00:30:46,600 --> 00:30:50,240
run in here or there.
And up until that point, my

515
00:30:50,240 --> 00:30:53,800
friends are like, Oh no, Nick
can't snowboard on.

516
00:30:53,800 --> 00:30:56,360
He can't do it.
If not, if he does, he's going

517
00:30:56,360 --> 00:30:59,360
to hurt himself.
Once they saw that I could do

518
00:30:59,360 --> 00:31:01,200
it, they're like, oh, Nick's
back.

519
00:31:01,880 --> 00:31:09,520
However, my mom found out and I
came home one night and, and

520
00:31:09,520 --> 00:31:14,040
from being at the mountain and
she was in tears, crying.

521
00:31:14,040 --> 00:31:17,560
And once I saw that I was like,
no, I, I, I can't do that.

522
00:31:17,560 --> 00:31:20,840
I, I just can't do that.
Talk about your heart and

523
00:31:20,840 --> 00:31:23,840
nothing.
But I was just like, I can't, I

524
00:31:23,840 --> 00:31:25,720
can't do that.
So that was that was the last

525
00:31:25,720 --> 00:31:28,960
time that I had the last time
that I did that.

526
00:31:29,760 --> 00:31:32,000
Well, it's great that it it's
not your own.

527
00:31:32,840 --> 00:31:35,400
It wasn't your fear keeping you
from doing it.

528
00:31:35,400 --> 00:31:38,640
It was your choice after.
After you've proven to yourself

529
00:31:38,640 --> 00:31:40,040
that you could do it.
But then you chose.

530
00:31:40,040 --> 00:31:42,160
You chose not to run, as
Seinfeld would say.

531
00:31:43,320 --> 00:31:46,760
Yeah, I love that show and she's
so happy.

532
00:31:47,440 --> 00:31:50,440
What happens to someone that's
going through some trying,

533
00:31:50,440 --> 00:31:53,880
challenging times, doesn't have
the support or doesn't doesn't

534
00:31:53,880 --> 00:31:56,160
believe they have the support
might be the better way to say

535
00:31:56,160 --> 00:31:58,080
that.
But what happens to someone who

536
00:31:58,080 --> 00:32:00,560
doesn't believe they have
control of their own life?

537
00:32:01,200 --> 00:32:03,000
This is what we were talking
about earlier.

538
00:32:03,000 --> 00:32:09,720
So I think it's very easy for
those people to shut down, to be

539
00:32:09,720 --> 00:32:13,720
overwhelmed and to feel like no
one, no one's there to help them

540
00:32:13,720 --> 00:32:17,000
and support them because they've
closed themselves off and they

541
00:32:17,000 --> 00:32:21,760
put themselves in this box that
my support only can come from my

542
00:32:21,760 --> 00:32:25,080
family.
However, it can come from

543
00:32:25,080 --> 00:32:28,360
anywhere.
They shut down to that and they

544
00:32:28,360 --> 00:32:31,120
go within, they go inside of
themselves.

545
00:32:31,120 --> 00:32:35,520
And that that's really the the
hardest thing for people is

546
00:32:35,520 --> 00:32:38,880
because when that happens, they
become stuck.

547
00:32:38,880 --> 00:32:44,200
So the best way to get out of
that is to look, look outside of

548
00:32:44,200 --> 00:32:47,800
yourself and look who's willing
to help you, who is your

549
00:32:47,800 --> 00:32:52,960
support, and then just take that
step and just continue moving

550
00:32:52,960 --> 00:32:55,160
forward and continue taking your
next step.

551
00:32:55,440 --> 00:33:01,400
Is there always a next step?
Of course, yes, that, that's,

552
00:33:01,440 --> 00:33:05,640
that's literally what I found.
And actually, if we have time, I

553
00:33:05,640 --> 00:33:06,960
can talk about this a little
bit.

554
00:33:06,960 --> 00:33:10,880
So after three years, after my
accident, three years after

555
00:33:10,880 --> 00:33:14,680
running out of the hospital, I
started seeing a naturopathic

556
00:33:14,680 --> 00:33:20,480
Dr. to rid my body of all the
toxins and I went to him

557
00:33:20,480 --> 00:33:23,480
consistently.
I would it was all based on your

558
00:33:23,480 --> 00:33:25,440
blood type.
He was a naturopathic Doctor Who

559
00:33:25,440 --> 00:33:26,640
was all based on your blood
type.

560
00:33:27,280 --> 00:33:31,240
I would take supplements, I
would get a specific diet based

561
00:33:31,240 --> 00:33:33,840
on my blood type.
And along with getting all of

562
00:33:33,840 --> 00:33:39,720
these treatments, so foot bath,
hyperbaric chamber, colonic

563
00:33:39,720 --> 00:33:43,920
acupuncture, fango therapy, like
all those, I would go and drive

564
00:33:43,920 --> 00:33:46,960
an hour, an hour and 20 minutes
and get those every two to three

565
00:33:46,960 --> 00:33:50,440
weeks.
I can remember in early 2009, I

566
00:33:50,440 --> 00:33:54,400
was sitting for review with one
of those doctors and they were

567
00:33:54,400 --> 00:33:58,200
saying to me, you've done such a
great job with sticking with the

568
00:33:58,200 --> 00:34:01,080
programs, sticking with the
diet, and more.

569
00:34:01,120 --> 00:34:04,520
Most importantly, getting all
these treatments to rid your

570
00:34:04,520 --> 00:34:08,000
body of all the toxins.
There's not much we can do for

571
00:34:08,000 --> 00:34:10,120
you.
You can continue to come here

572
00:34:10,120 --> 00:34:15,480
for maintenance, however, kind
of like the end of the line, so

573
00:34:15,480 --> 00:34:17,520
to speak.
It was right around that time

574
00:34:18,159 --> 00:34:21,800
that I was introduced to Doctor
Ming.

575
00:34:21,800 --> 00:34:26,360
Wu and Ming worked on me right
at the dinner.

576
00:34:26,360 --> 00:34:32,000
He gave me Tweena right at the
dinner that I had with him in

577
00:34:32,000 --> 00:34:36,560
March 2009 in Boston.
And as soon as I had him work on

578
00:34:36,560 --> 00:34:39,840
me a little bit, I was hooked.
I just saw him last week.

579
00:34:39,840 --> 00:34:43,120
I still see him weekly, a
monthly.

580
00:34:43,120 --> 00:34:46,840
Excuse me, I still see him
monthly for to keep my energy

581
00:34:46,840 --> 00:34:49,639
and truth from able to impact
and affect the most certain

582
00:34:49,639 --> 00:34:53,639
people possible.
Long, long way of answering

583
00:34:53,639 --> 00:34:56,600
that.
Once you're at the end of your

584
00:34:56,600 --> 00:34:59,560
step, your next step is always
going to be available to you.

585
00:34:59,600 --> 00:35:02,600
Yes.
Nick is Does anything stand out

586
00:35:02,600 --> 00:35:04,800
as one thing that you wish more
men knew?

587
00:35:06,360 --> 00:35:10,720
It's been a journey.
It's been a journey for myself

588
00:35:11,480 --> 00:35:18,640
with to be to be in touch, I
guess you could say with my

589
00:35:18,640 --> 00:35:24,240
emotions and it's OK.
It's OK to to feel.

590
00:35:24,240 --> 00:35:29,200
And I've done I've done so, so
much work one-on-one with a

591
00:35:29,200 --> 00:35:31,840
coach.
I I've had the same like a

592
00:35:31,840 --> 00:35:36,040
different coach.
I really, I really refer to her

593
00:35:36,040 --> 00:35:40,760
as more my energy coach.
I've just done so much work with

594
00:35:40,760 --> 00:35:45,360
her for the past gosh, coming up
on five years.

595
00:35:45,360 --> 00:35:47,720
So next month it'll be five
years.

596
00:35:48,600 --> 00:35:51,720
I've done so much work with her
and without her.

597
00:35:51,920 --> 00:35:56,840
I really cool.
Who could say I I'd be here

598
00:35:56,840 --> 00:35:59,880
today?
And that's because I've gotten

599
00:35:59,880 --> 00:36:05,280
vulnerable with myself and I've
gone really deep on like all

600
00:36:05,280 --> 00:36:07,960
these little things, all these
little issues in that from my

601
00:36:07,960 --> 00:36:11,000
past, like my childhood and
everything like that.

602
00:36:11,000 --> 00:36:17,400
But without doing that, I feel
like I wouldn't really been

603
00:36:17,400 --> 00:36:20,600
eliminating myself.
And you mentioned being proud

604
00:36:20,600 --> 00:36:23,920
earlier, so I want to ask right
now, in this moment, what stands

605
00:36:23,920 --> 00:36:25,880
out as as the thing you're most
proud of?

606
00:36:29,000 --> 00:36:34,600
I'm doing exactly what I was put
on this earth to do that that's

607
00:36:34,600 --> 00:36:39,000
what I feel I'm I'm really
living in alignment with

608
00:36:39,240 --> 00:36:43,280
wouldn't lie purpose.
Awesome and as a coach, working

609
00:36:43,280 --> 00:36:46,320
people added that that out of
alignment that people that think

610
00:36:46,320 --> 00:36:51,160
they have no purpose is just
such a destroyer of life.

611
00:36:51,640 --> 00:36:55,560
So I, I, you know, I love that
you're putting your experience

612
00:36:55,560 --> 00:36:58,360
into service.
I I find time and time again

613
00:36:58,360 --> 00:37:01,960
with so many guests I talked to
that that anyone committed to

614
00:37:01,960 --> 00:37:05,240
service that that that continues
your own healing as well.

615
00:37:06,440 --> 00:37:07,760
Yeah, absolutely.
Yeah.

616
00:37:08,240 --> 00:37:12,960
Cool, I buy helping more people
and and every and I was talking

617
00:37:12,960 --> 00:37:16,320
to you that I don't know why
I've been on I've done

618
00:37:16,320 --> 00:37:19,760
interviews before and everything
and one of your comments to me

619
00:37:19,760 --> 00:37:23,520
was, well, I don't want this to
just be like a kind of a cookie

620
00:37:23,520 --> 00:37:28,320
cutter interview.
And what's amazing to me is

621
00:37:28,320 --> 00:37:32,720
every time I share my story, it
always depending on the audience

622
00:37:32,800 --> 00:37:36,480
and depending on the show, it
always comes out a little bit

623
00:37:36,480 --> 00:37:41,880
differently.
And I'm, I'm trusting that the

624
00:37:41,880 --> 00:37:47,080
reason for that is because
that's exactly what that host,

625
00:37:47,080 --> 00:37:49,880
that show in that audience
needed to hear in that moment.

626
00:37:50,680 --> 00:37:54,360
I firmly believe that, you know,
life happens for us and the

627
00:37:54,360 --> 00:37:57,920
universe is on our side and that
you have had you've experienced

628
00:37:57,920 --> 00:38:01,840
countless miracles, divine
intervention, you know, things

629
00:38:01,840 --> 00:38:05,400
to make sure that you follow
your path, that you serve your

630
00:38:05,400 --> 00:38:09,560
calling and you're doing it.
And you know, that leads to, in

631
00:38:09,560 --> 00:38:13,000
my experience, leads to a much
more joyful life is you're

632
00:38:13,000 --> 00:38:15,400
finding that to be true.
Yes, absolutely.

633
00:38:16,080 --> 00:38:18,480
Awesome, awesome, Nick.
So I, you know, I love

634
00:38:18,480 --> 00:38:21,720
everything you shared and the
step system and I really

635
00:38:21,720 --> 00:38:23,520
appreciate the simplicity of
that.

636
00:38:24,000 --> 00:38:27,280
I, I find that so many people,
it's almost like the ego wants,

637
00:38:27,280 --> 00:38:29,320
it wants them to be a difficult
case.

638
00:38:29,440 --> 00:38:32,080
So they won't try the simple
things, but the simple things

639
00:38:32,280 --> 00:38:34,560
have the most benefit I find
time and time again.

640
00:38:35,360 --> 00:38:38,600
Absolutely.
And really, Andy, what we're

641
00:38:38,600 --> 00:38:42,600
able to cover today is just,
it's just a 10,000 worth view of

642
00:38:42,600 --> 00:38:46,680
the step system.
However, if you or your, your

643
00:38:46,680 --> 00:38:49,840
listeners want to want to
download the whole steps sister

644
00:38:49,840 --> 00:38:54,680
for free, then go to
nickprefontain.com/step.

645
00:38:55,160 --> 00:38:59,600
And that's going to cheat some
all about support, trust, energy

646
00:38:59,600 --> 00:39:02,320
and persistence.
And it's also going to help them

647
00:39:02,320 --> 00:39:05,280
take that first step today.
Because I realized one of the

648
00:39:05,280 --> 00:39:09,400
things that we talked about is
people feel almost like trapped

649
00:39:09,400 --> 00:39:13,560
or stuck buy overwhelm.
And that's a great first stop

650
00:39:13,560 --> 00:39:16,160
for anyone in that position.
Awesome, awesome.

651
00:39:16,160 --> 00:39:17,760
So yeah, we'll definitely
include that link in the show

652
00:39:17,760 --> 00:39:21,640
notes and at realmanfield.org.
Is there any other best ways to

653
00:39:21,640 --> 00:39:24,400
to keep track, to learn more
about you, to follow you on on

654
00:39:24,400 --> 00:39:28,200
socials?
I am on LinkedIn and and also

655
00:39:28,200 --> 00:39:31,080
Facebook at this time.
Yeah, but that's where I'm on

656
00:39:31,080 --> 00:39:32,080
all.
Right.

657
00:39:32,080 --> 00:39:33,400
Great.
We'll have links for those as

658
00:39:33,400 --> 00:39:35,760
well.
Nick, I really appreciate you

659
00:39:35,760 --> 00:39:37,120
taking the time to talk to us
today.

660
00:39:37,360 --> 00:39:41,320
I I love everything that you
were doing, your personal story,

661
00:39:41,320 --> 00:39:42,880
your, your attitude, your
energy.

662
00:39:44,400 --> 00:39:47,040
It's good and it's infectious.
Oh, thank you.

663
00:39:47,760 --> 00:39:49,560
Right back at.
Unity cool.

664
00:39:50,040 --> 00:39:53,760
So thank you listeners viewers
for joining joining Nick and I

665
00:39:53,760 --> 00:39:55,480
today.
Wherever you're discovering real

666
00:39:55,480 --> 00:39:58,400
men feel please give a like a
follow share this episode with

667
00:39:58,400 --> 00:40:01,440
someone that would have it would
make a big impact for you can

668
00:40:01,440 --> 00:40:04,200
always reach out to me at
realmenfeel@gmail.com.

669
00:40:04,520 --> 00:40:06,920
Visit Real Men Feel that org for
the blog post for all the links

670
00:40:06,920 --> 00:40:09,280
and tools and references
mentioned in this episode.

671
00:40:09,600 --> 00:40:12,000
And until next time, be good to
yourself.

Nick Prefontaine Profile Photo

Coach / Speaker

Imagine being told your son is probably not going to be able to walk, talk or eat on his own ever again. Take a moment to sit with that. What would you do? Nick teaches the same system that he used to not only walk but run out of the hospital less than 90 days after his accident. The S.T.E.P. system. The STEP system will help you make it through to the other side of your trauma, life challenge or crisis so you can thrive with the rest of your life. Once you master this system there will be no limit to what you can accomplish and overcome in your life.