0 (2s):
Boom, shake the room, Fire Nation. JLD here and welcome to Entrepreneurs On Fire brought to you by the HubSpot Podcast Network with great shows like my first million today, we're pulling a timeless EOFire classic episode from the archives, and we'll be breaking down how to become defiant in every sense of the word to drop these value bombs. I have brought Janine THE MACHINE Shepherd into EOFire studios. Janine Shepherd has gone through so many obstacles in her life. And one thing she's learned through all of it is to be defiant. We'll be talking about her book Defiant: A Broken Body is Not a Broken Person. And we'll also be talking about how to love even the challenging moments in life.

0 (43s):
How fear is just part of life and that there's an incredible power and sharing our stories. And of course, much more Fire Nation. As soon as we get back from thanking our sponsors, the amount of fake ingredients we consume every single day should be a concern. And the people at Uprising Food are here to help. Right now, Uprising Food is offering Fire Nation $10 off the starter bundle. That includes two superfood cubes and a four-pack of freedom chips. Just visit UprisingFood.com/EOF to order yours today. Chances are you're no stranger to high deductible health insurance plans. Why is it that there seems to be no good options. Introducing CrowdHealth, visit JoinCrowdHealth.com and enter code fire at sign up for a special offer.

0 (1m 28s):
That's JoinCrowdHealth.com/fit promo code fire CrowdHealth is not health insurance. It's a community powered alternative terms and conditions may apply. Janine. What does it mean to be defiant?

1 (1m 41s):
Well, I think I was born defiant. I think we all are. And I, I like to tell people that the defiant human spirit is not something that you have. It's something that you are, you know, I say we have this light inside of us, our pilot light, that's always burning and we often, you know, spot it in someone else. And we think that they have it, but we don't. But you know, if you spot it, you'd got it. We've all got it. We're all the defiant human spirit.

0 (2m 8s):
You get to where you're at today, because I have seen the YouTube videos. I've read your story. I knew that you had to come on and chat with our listeners. And I think a lot of them don't maybe know the full details of, of what you've been through. You know, they know my story by now. You know, I was in Iraq for 13 months, I've done some things that, you know, definitely shaped who I am, but you've had some experiences have really shaped who you are. So can you kind of walk us through that?

1 (2m 33s):
Well, I've had a pretty remarkable life and, you know, for a lot of those people that might know my story now, you know, I'd been an athlete. I was actually a cross cross-country skier training for the 1988 winter Olympics in Calgary. I was on a training bike ride with my teammates and I was run over by a truck. And I would have to say without the hat, that that's a moment that, that changed my life. I actually died at the scene of the accident. I was revived obviously, or what I say to people actually is that I'd, I'd left my body. I actually have no recollection of that day of the accident and spent 10 days drifting between what I would say, two dimensions.

1 (3m 20s):
I was given the choice, whether I would come back to my body or not. I actually, as, as, as you know, came back to my body, but it was a very interesting experience. And one that I actually don't often talk about because it took me a long time to even try to understand it, but I suffered extensive and life-threatening injuries. I actually broke my neck and my back in seven places, I broke five ribs on my left side, my collarbone, my right arm bones in my feet, head injuries, internal injuries. In fact, I lost about five liters of blood, which is all someone my size would actually hold. I was airlifted from the scene of the accident to a large spawner, a unit in Sydney. They didn't think I'd even make, you know, would survive the helicopter flight.

1 (4m 3s):
And I was taken to intensive care. I spent actually six months in that spinal ward and I left in a wheelchair. And the life that I knew it was was gone,

0 (4m 17s):
You said really impacted me. And I've heard this in a few different areas, both in some videos and throughout your book is, you know, you made the choice to come back. Like, have you ever, maybe taken that a step further and ask yourself why you chose to come back?

1 (4m 32s):
That's a really interesting question. Thank you for asking him that, you know, I say that everybody life is about choices. And for me, it's really clear that I made that choice to come back to my body and we've all made that choice to be in this body. And some of, some of us realize that some of us don't and what was interesting to me is that I was, you know, I wasn't alone on this journey when I left my body. And I was given some insight into what my life would be like if I did come back to my body, which was coming back to a body that was broken and could no longer serve me, obviously as an athlete, what, you know, I, I remember clearly thinking, well, I don't want to go back to that body.

1 (5m 13s):
You know, why would I go back to that body? And even though I knew that it would be a different life, a life with disability, I made that choice, which is really fascinating to me because, you know, I knew that it was going to be a very challenging and a very painful and a difficult life, but I made that choice anyway. And what I take from that is that there is a gift in the challenges. That's why we're here. You know, it's, it's, it's the, it's the tough times that really bring the gifts,

0 (5m 43s):
Fire Nation. We all have our reasons as to why we're not living the lives that we want to be living. You know, we all have our reasons as to why we maybe haven't achieved the level of success that we want to achieve. Like, we all have our reasons, you know, my challenge to you today to just really examine those reasons. And are they real reasons? You know, I mean, I love really keeping life in perspective. It's not always easy. And I slip out of it all the time, but when I find myself slipping out of it for too long of a period of time, I'm able to kind of shake myself loose a little bit and say, JLD like, think of yourself back in Iraq, when you're getting shot at IETS are exploding around you. Your friends are literally getting killed. And it's just an incredibly sad, devastating scenario for a 23, 24 year old male to be going through.

0 (6m 29s):
And it was just such a tough time in my life. And so, you know, as the fact that my g-mail is kind of laggy right now, is that comparing to that, or, you know, a reason because I'm scared to go and speak publicly from stage, like, you know, how am I, how, how has the perception of what's holding me back to the real reality that some of you have experienced in your lives that Jenny's experiences in her life that I've experienced in my lives. And can you really examine that deep and maybe challenge yourself and say, you know what, let's keep things in perspective. And I promise you as a human being, you will not be able to do it all the time ever. And I'm sure Janine, you probably find yourself like every now and then you're like, man, I got to keep things in perspective here.

1 (7m 10s):
I love that with perspective as a pilot, of course we haven't spoken about that yet, but it's all about perspective. And, you know, I always say that, you know, paint, you life can be no breathtakingly, wondrous and painfully cruel at the same time. And it's, it's, it's not about, you know, having it all. It's about loving it all. And it's those really challenging times that bring incredible gifts, gifts of compassion and love and connection. And that's what it's all about. Well,

0 (7m 39s):
As I was sharing with you before you hit the record button, you know, you were very kind and generous. You sent me your book and I'm looking at it right now. I'm holding it right now. And I'm just looking at the cover, which is, you know, a great picture of yourself and you're smiling and there's just so much life and energy and vibrancy in your eyes. And then below that it's defiance, a broken body is not a broken person. And that's, you know, one of the themes we're going to be talking about today, Fire Nation, because you know, no matter what you've done in life, whether it's physically or emotionally, if you've been broken on any level, you know, you're not a broken person. Like you can still rise above that and make things happen. And one thing that I actually underlined while I was getting ready for this interview was your phrase, love the Hills, love the Hills.

0 (8m 26s):
I didn't get that at first. But when you went into a little bit more in depth about how to turn obstacles into opportunities, I said, this is something I really want Janine to talk to Fire Nation about. So let's talk about love the Hills.

1 (8m 37s):
You know, I love that catchphrase and people email me all the time and to tell me that, you know, I'm now loving the Hills and you know, what are the Hills? They're the challenges. Usually the things that we don't like in life. So I developed that mindset as a very young athlete. And what I discovered is that when I went out training, there were always Hills, right? And they didn't just make me physically strong, but they made me mentally tough. But what I discovered about the Hills is that nobody else liked them. And that was my edge, right? As an athlete. And of course it's an edge as an entrepreneur also because, you know, if you're willing to take on adversity, you're going to stand out because people don't like it, people turn from people, turn from the things that scare them.

1 (9m 23s):
And, you know, I say the magic happens on the other side of the hill. And that's what we're here for

0 (9m 30s):
All of that for so many different ways, because Fire Nation think about the times where you've really succeeded. You can really go back and identify that time that you were willing to do something that other people weren't willing to do or didn't want to do. And for some reason you just loved doing it. And I also Janine took that phrase very literally because I live here down where I live down here in Puerto Rico. And I live in this community where right outside our gates, we have this incredible running path and there's this hill that is brutal. And it goes up to the very peak, the highest point in my community called Palmas Del Mar and the Hills called submarine hill. And the reason why they phrased it data's cause back in world war II, the U S army came and they built a platform on the top of the highest point, which was at this point.

0 (10m 17s):
And that platform was meant for these soldiers to keep a lookout for German U boats that were literally in the port of Puerto Rico, because it's one of the first islands you come to when you're coming across the Atlantic to destroy some of the allied shipping, et cetera. So they, they built this summary and hill platform and it's just has so much history out there. And it's crazy to think. And to picture back in the forties, these soldiers were up there, like literally looking out for German U-boats. And so I love challenging myself and taking that hill, you know, literally every single day, I can usually it's four to five days a week and it is such a brutal rod. And I have other friends that just are not willing to do that.

0 (10m 59s):
And you know, they are just like, Hey, I just can't do it. It's too steep of a hill, but I love the steepness of it. Cause then when I'm standing at the top of that platform, that sense of accomplishment, I'm looking out and saying, man, this was the same hike slash run that all these soldiers would take all these years ago. And I would look out to the Atlantic and like picture the German submarines out there. And I just is such this sense of history and accomplishment just mixed and mingled in together. So what's your version of the Hills Fire Nation, whether it's figuratively or literally, or it's a combination of both. So if you ever make it out here to Puerto Rico, Janine, I'm going to take you up submarine hill.

1 (11m 37s):
I would love that. And JLD, you know, from what you've been through in your life, there is joy in the overcoming rice, you know, you get there and you, it's just this incredible sense of, Hey, you know, I did it. And you know, I just say to people just, just towards the things that you fear take them on, because that is where the joy comes from.

0 (11m 59s):
I think a lot of people spend their days and they're just like, how can I make the world a better place? And they're running around at a million miles an hour. They're not sleeping. Well, they're not eating well, they're not exercising well they're but they're just they're meeting. Well, they want to do well in the world. But something that you say that I love, and again, I want to kind of move more deeper into this is if we want to build a better world, you have to build a better you. So if you're listening to this Fire Nation, if you really want to make the impact that you're claiming you want to make, it's not just the external, it's the internal you need to fix first. So to build a better world, build a better you and Janine, those are your words. So can you expound on that a little bit?

1 (12m 38s):
Well, I think, you know, firstly, I want to say that, you know, for a lot of us, we take life too seriously, you know, and it's, you know, this it's such a short time, like enjoy it. It, you know, it's take it too seriously. You, you know, you cloud the experience, but one of the things I've found, you know, from people that I mentor or coach, or just come across your share their stories with me is that we often, you know, we look outside of ourselves, we measure our sense of self-worth and our level, level of success on what other people are doing. We're so worried about the externals that we're not living authentically in a, and we each have what I call a sacred contract, things that we need to work on personally. And when we really concentrate on that, I mean, that's how we add value to ourselves.

1 (13m 23s):
And ultimately that's how we add value

0 (13m 25s):
To the world. So Janine, you were just talking about that comparison fallacy and I'd be kind of curious in your feedback from this, because this is something that I really been applying to my life and really been trying to harp to Fire Nation. My listeners here of the show. Probably not enough though. So I'm really glad you brought it up because I do feel like there's such a comparison problem here. You know, we all are scrolling Instagram every single day and we're seeing other people's perfect lives, but guess what? They're not perfect lives. They're a perfect moment within that day, that person, you know, is conjuring up for that moment. And then believe me, they're going back to the screaming kids and the pooping dog and fill in the blank and you know, you're living life just like we are. So we have this comparison fallacy, like there's a lot of people that are being like, wow, look at what Janine's done.

0 (14m 8s):
Like if I could just be like, get to her level, I'd be the happiest person in the world. But look at that game never ends when you start it, because now like, what am I supposed to be like, like, am I supposed to say, well, I'm not Richard Branson because I don't have an island and a janitor. I'm not mark Cuban. Cause I don't own, you know, a professional basketball team. Like when does the comparison stop? And the answer is it doesn't when you start it. So I'm a big believer in the phrase, compare and despair because you will always despair Fire Nation when you're comparing yourself to anybody except one person. And in my opinion, you need that one person that you're allowed to compare yourself to is you yesterday. And if you're winning that comparison, if you're just a little bit better than you yesterday, from anything, whether you're, you ate a little bit more healthy, you exercise a little bit, you did something positive for your business, then you're winning at life.

0 (15m 0s):
So only compare yourself to you yesterday. And what are you kind of finding Janine in this kind of compare and despair world that we live in?

1 (15m 7s):
Look, I think you're exactly right there. JLD, I mean, we live in a world, you know, we're always you, everyone's looking at Instagram, you know, where, you know, let's face it, it's sort of smoke and mirrors really. And I think we have to take everything with a grain of salt. We just, I think the greatest value we can add is just to be real with all of our posts, with the things that we're doing and to also practice self-compassion because, you know, as I said, you know, it's not about having it all. It's loving it all. And we're all gonna, we're going to have times when we're on fire, we're going to have times when we're, you know, really struggling. And I think we need to remind ourselves that we're human beings, that we have these periods and to practice self compassion with ourselves. When we think that we're not measuring up, of course we are.

1 (15m 49s):
But if we continue to measure ourselves against other people will always feel that way.

0 (15m 53s):
The genuine be real, be compassionate, just kinda summing up a few of the things that you need. Just talked about Fire Nation. So real, so true. And you know, something that you mentioned about briefly that is also kind of the next thing we're going to talk about, which is loosening your grip in life. And I get people all the time when I'm being interviewed on other shows, they always like to ask the question, you know, John, what would you say to the 18 year old John? Like what would you say to that person? And honestly, my answer 100% of the time is I would say to that, John chill out, relax because we have this problem, you know, we're 18 years old and we think, oh my goodness, our life is starting number 22 years old, we're think, oh my God, like, what am I doing in my life?

0 (16m 36s):
Then we turned 30. We're like, what am I doing with my life? I'm 30 and then 40 and 50. It's like, it never stops. But Fire Nation just as life is really fast. It's also a really long and chill out. Enjoy the moment, realize that if you're just doing the right things, the little things, right. Every single day, that's going to add it to something. Awesome. So Janine kind of talk a little bit about that, about loosening your grip in life.

1 (17m 1s):
JLD I really think that that's what life is about. You know, it's about letting go and loosening our grip and I'll, you know, I'll give you an example. I mean, you know, when I got home from hospital and I was in a wheelchair, a plaster body cast attached to a catheter bottle, you know, they didn't think I'd walk that. I mean, it was just the life was, I knew it was over and I, you know, I got pretty depressed and there were days when I didn't want to get out of bed and days when I just didn't get out of bed. And I remember thinking, well, you know, the life that, that I'd planned, the life that I'd worked so hard for was over. And there was this seminal moment where I remember I actually pulled myself onto the, you know, the floor in my bedroom.

1 (17m 43s):
And I remember crying out into the darkness and it was like, you know, it was simple. It went like this, you know, God, either you show me a way out of this or show me your way through it. And I let go. And that was the moment that changed my life when I was able to let go of the way I thought my life was supposed to look, you know, I was supposed to be going to the Olympics. I was an elite athlete. It was the letting go that really opened my eyes to another way of not just doing, but being in the world. And of course that was the moment then that my mind was opened and I started to look for, okay, so now what, and that's when the airplane flew overhead.

1 (18m 25s):
When I was sitting outside of my wheelchair and I remember looking up and thinking, okay, if I can't walk, then maybe I can fly. But it wasn't until I let go of how I thought my life was supposed to be, that my mind was open to that possibility

0 (18m 38s):
Fire Nation. I know I told you a little bit about Janine's story in the intro and you know, we're touching upon a few of the things here during the interview, but I mean, this is just a story you have to read. It's, it's incredible. It's inspiring on just another level. And this is one of those times Janine that I really wished that we were doing a video interview because I want to show you like the goosebumps that literally broke out all over all my body. When you mentioned that time about how you reached that point of actually just letting go. And if we find niche, you can just get to that point. If you can just give yourself permission to just relax and just let go. And just, you know, don't put all of this unnecessary pressure on your shoulders as really one of the things that's holding you back, that's really your anchor.

0 (19m 22s):
It's such a, such an amazing feeling. And again, like a lot of people are like, oh, that gave me goosebumps. And like, yeah, whatever that literally gave me goosebumps. And I want to be able to show it via video, but I can't. So just, you're going to have to know that I'm being real Fire Nation.

1 (19m 36s):
Yeah. I, you know, as I say, JLD, you know, sometimes we've just got to get out of our own way and you know, life has other plans for us and, and, you know, get out of the way and, and be open to possibilities.

0 (19m 50s):
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0 (21m 60s):
So Janine we're back in, I want to talk a little bit about getting clear on your mission. You know, Simon Sinek was really big about, you know, finding your why and what is your why and all these different things. So we've heard this and, and, you know, I think some people have taken it seriously, but I really want to want to take your perspective from this. Like, what does it mean to you to get clear on your mission and how can our listeners really learn from what you've experienced throughout your life?

1 (22m 28s):
Well, I think there are a couple of questions that are probably on everybody's mind, which is who am I and why am I here? And I think for me being at home after my accident, you know, I had those questions, you know, what, what was this for? Why did I come back to my body? What is my life about who am I? And when I found flying, it gave me this incredible passion to want to get out of bed every day to learn, to walk again. And, you know, I think that, you know, when we find our why, when we get clear on why we're here and that's a personal thing, I think to me, I always say that life, you know, it's, we all bring meaning by the things we do to life and it's different for everybody.

1 (23m 13s):
And I think when you have that reason to get out of bed, when you have that passion, it just makes life joyful. And people ask all the time, but how do I find that? How do I find my way? I'm, I'm, you know, I'm lost, I'm, I'm struggling. And I say, well, what are the things that you daydream about? What are the things that make you come alive? I call that my heart song, you know, and a clue to that is to look at the things that are our strengths. So, you know, it's, it's unique to everybody. And the only way to find it is to go out and try things.

0 (23m 52s):
Who am I, why am I here? And Fire Nation, something that, again, Janine just mentioned, I think is so important. What do you daydream about? Like, when's the last time you found yourself just going to lean it back in a chair, your thoughts are just drifting, wandering, stop yourself. What are you, what are you daydreaming about right there? And I just love that phrase. He used as well, like what makes you come alive? And that I put like in parenthesis here, as I'm taking notes, heart, heart song, like, what is your heart song? Because to me Fire Nation, it's almost like when you find that thing, you're going to get what that word means. Heartsong cause your, your heart's literally going to sing with joy, with excitement, with fire, because it's going to make you come alive.

0 (24m 33s):
So what is your heart song? So these are all very incredibly deep, but important and reflective questions. And I mean, Janine, this is something that I think is really important to talk with Fire Nation about, you didn't know that flying was going to be this massive release and unbelievable opportunity for you until you knew you knew it. You know, like it happened like the plane flew overhead. You're like, what, what does that exactly. And then we can talk about that a little bit more in a second here, but I wanted to preface that by saying Fire Nation. It's okay. If right now you don't have that. Cause Janine didn't have it until she did. I didn't have that until I did. It happens when we give ourselves the space to allow this heart song to find out.

0 (25m 16s):
So kind of talk us through that point for Eugenia. How did you get there?

1 (25m 19s):
Well, when I looked up and saw that plane, it was, you know, it was the craziest thing. I remember I said to my mom, you know, I mom got learned to fly and she thought it was crazy. I mean, I'm in a wheelchair plus to 40 cars to attach to a catheter bottle. So for that, for, for people listening, I mean, they probably don't realize I'm actually a walking paraplegic and people find that, that they, they find that difficult to understand what do you mean by that? But we can cover that later. So the first time that I went flying, I mean, I had no idea where this was going to lead. All I knew was that I had to try it. I had to go out there and, and get into an airplane. And at that stage I couldn't even move my legs. I, and by the way, I have no feeling from the waist down still in my, you know, my low, the lower part of my body.

1 (26m 4s):
So the first time that they carried me into that flying school, everybody thought I was crazy, completely nuts. And they took me down to the tarmac. They lifted me into that, this little tiny airplane with a flying instructor next to me and a friend in the back. And they took off. And I remember it was the most incredible sense of joy. I mean, it was crazy. You could not think of anything further from lying, paralyzed in a spinal ward to flying an airplane. And of course I couldn't use my legs. I couldn't control the aircraft, but the flying instructor, let me use my hands and let me fly for the first time. And it was just, it was incredible.

1 (26m 44s):
It was magic. There's something magical about flying. Of course it's a great metaphor for life. And I knew then I, you know, that I was going to be a pilot. And of course I, I thought, you know, how am I going to pass a medical? But you know, I'll worry about that later. And of course, you know, I went home and that was it. You know, the, the fire was lit and I was, I had a reason to get out of bed every morning. And at that point, you know, I, I started getting out of my wheelchair and pushing my wheelchair, taking these little shuffling steps. And people used to say, well, aren't, you meant to be sitting in the chair. And I was like, well, how am I going to learn to walk? And, you know, people used to carry me around and, you know, gradually time passed.

1 (27m 27s):
My mum used to help me lie on the ground. And I remember at one point I could just lift my legs, maybe about an inch off the ground. And I got my training diary out. Of course, I had to be able to see the progress I was making. And I would write that down. And eventually I, I went for my medical and that was quite an interesting experience, which I've written about. I can tell you, and I did eventually pass. And, and so that was the moment that, you know, flying took over my life and, you know, it was, it, it was an incredible experience. I was out at this flying school, of course, where all these young guys that, you know, wanted to be Quantis pilots.

1 (28m 8s):
And then there was me, you know, I, I way there was nothing left in me. I was just, you know, bag of bones, really, you know, with a plaster body cast and a bag of, and a pair of overalls that my mum had bought me. Cause that's the only thing I could put over this cast. And I had my bag of medications. I had to learn to use a catheter. I had my catheters with me and, and my funny walk and there was learning to fly and it was challenging. I can tell you,

0 (28m 34s):
Yeah, man, I mean, Fire Nation. I want to go back to this again, what reasons? And I say reasons instead of excuses, cause I don't want to come down too hard on everybody, but like what reasons are you using that is, you know, for you not moving forward as reasons why you're not trying X or Y or Z, because you know, your life is so busy or you don't know how to do acts or, you know, you're scared to, to, to do Y like we all are going through it as part of being a human being, we've all to break through these barriers. And when you see somebody like Janine, who's broken through such a massive barrier and done it so many times on so many different levels. And, you know, refuse to give up from day one refused to give up from day a thousand and just keep striving forward.

0 (29m 19s):
I hope it gives you the same kind of inspiration that is giving to me of somethings that I've not been doing and holding back on for, you know, what now in comparison seems frankly, pretty silly and something Janine that again, I I've, I've underlined really a few cool things here because I think you just have a way with words. I love how you put life is not about having it all, but loving it all because we live in this world where, you know, we see the cars and the houses and the rings and the watches, and we're like, I want everything. You know, we live in this consumer culture where everything is so materialistic and you know, it's good to have things as good to reward yourself. And if something is really going to make you happy by purchasing it, like, I'm not saying don't do those things, but it's not about having it all.

0 (30m 5s):
It's about loving it all. So what did you mean by that phrase?

1 (30m 10s):
Incredible. We talk about, I talk about the whole catastrophe, you know, Zorba the Greek says, and I'll tell you a story that I shared with people yesterday. And it was, I was speaking in a small luncheon in country, new south Wales many, many years ago. And I was signing books. And at the end of the queue was a lady who said, he explained to me that her young daughter was, you know, wanted to meet me. And she w she was just sort of shuffling along this young girl. And I found out that she'd, she'd been an athlete. She'd also had an accident which had left her with a S you know, a disability. And one of those things was that she now had to use a catheter, which is what I've had to live with since my accident.

1 (30m 52s):
And so I said to this young girl, so how are you coping? How are you coping with this? And she looked at me and her face just lit up. And she goes, I love my catheter. I was like taken aback. I was like, really? And I said, tell me more. And she said, well, since my accident, I'm now working with children with disabilities. And my catheter is the bridge that connects me to them and their disabilities. And it was this, you know, sort of aha moment. And I realized, wow. I mean, you know, I took so much from that. She gave me this new perspective where I said, wow, isn't it incredible that, you know, she actually said she loves her catheter. How many people would say that?

1 (31m 32s):
And I realized that, you know, it's about loving everything, you know, even the challenging moments in life, because there's a gift in everything.

0 (31m 40s):
It gets in everything, Fire Nation. I mean, if we don't have the challenging moments in life, then the moments that are great, I mean, are they really great because you have nothing but great moments. And I mean, you need that comparison and contrast, you know, you need that. It's so important. So just embrace it all because what else is there? What else is there? And, you know, Janine, as we kind of start to finish or finish strong with this chat that we have here, you know, again, I want to come back to this word defiant, because this is the word that you chose to as a title for your book to define you as an individual. And I did again, the phrase you are not your body, but the defiant human spirits.

0 (32m 20s):
I mean, foundation, if you really, if you really just understand that, like you're not your body, your body is your body. And you know, a lot of people spend their lives like hating this thing about their body, that thing about their body, this or that, whenever it can be like, I wish I was taller. I do, you know, I'm five, 10. I would love to be six foot two. You know, I, I wish a few things for sure. And I'm sure we all do, but you're not your body Fire Nation. You're the defiant human spirit. And then your quick phrase here, if you spot it, you got it. Just love all these little things. So bring this all together for us. Talk to us about your book defiance, you know how you are not your body, but that defiant human spirits. And I just can't wait to hear what you have to say.

1 (33m 0s):
Well, I, you know, I would say I would sum that up by saying we are spiritual beings, having a human experience, not the other way around. And you know, when you recognize that this is something that you've got inside of you, this is, I say, there's, we've got this pilot light. It never goes out. And unlike anything that we can lose in life, you know, we can lose a job. We can lose finances, we can lose a partner. We can lose a house. This defiant human spirit is steadfast. You never lose it

0 (33m 30s):
Janine. So Janine may like Fire Nation is full of fear. You know, we're full of doubt. We have the imposter syndrome. I mean, we're human beings. This is what it is to be a human being. I mean, it's just innate within all of us. And that's why I love the tenor phrases that you have. Like, you know, we're spiritual beings having a human experience, not the other way around. So what would you say to me, what would you say to our listeners who have these fears who have these doubts, who have these imposter syndrome type feelings of, you know, who am I to do X or Y or Z? You know, I'm not Janine, I haven't been through what she's been through or, you know, fill in the blank for what, whoever they might be thinking about.

0 (34m 11s):
What would you say to us

1 (34m 13s):
Not to, you know, I always say to people, if I could give people one, one piece of advice, it would be love the Hills. Are you willing to turn towards the things that you fear? And can you love them? Because the magic happens on the other side of the hill, but you have to be willing to give it a go. If you never have a go, you'll never ever know,

0 (34m 38s):
Oh man, I see. She just keeps coming up with these Fire Nation. So do you see how she did that though? She completed the loop. She closed the loop. We started with loving the Hills. We're finishing with loving the Hills. Now, Janine, I'm not all the way through your book, but as I'm sharing with you before the interview, and then during with you Fire Nation, you know, I've underlined that I've highlighted and I've booked marks and pages because there's just so many great concepts throughout. So I'm excited to, to finish this, to finish strong here, but talk to us just for a minute about your book defiant. Like why'd you write it and who is the book for

1 (35m 14s):
The book is for anyone that's going through challenges in life, which you know, is all of us really? So in Australia, my story is very well known. I've written five books in Australia, and my first book was actually made into a movie. And JLD you'll know when you read my book, it's not just about the accident. I've had so many other challenges in life, you know, that I've had to really get up and start all over again and reinvent myself. I've had to do it many, many times. And what I've learned from that is that fear, firstly is just a part of life. And you know, I've, I, I'm not afraid of being afraid anymore. I'm not afraid of fear anymore because I'm so intimate with it that I understand that when I feel that fear, it means ha you know, I'm learning, I'm growing.

1 (36m 1s):
I'm challenging myself. And as I said, as we talked about before, that's where the joy comes from. It comes from the overcoming. And so I wrote this book because I had another setback in life, which was, you know, my, you know, I got married. I had that broke down. I had a financial crisis and I got to the point in my life where I thought, well, what next? And I remember I'd given my Ted talk and I was receiving a lot of messages from people around the world. I remember this one particular email I got, I opened my computer and it was from a man in India. And he said to me, you know, I've seen your talk. He said, I have suffered a serious illness for 19 years.

1 (36m 42s):
It was so bad. I'm considering suicide. He said, I saw your talk today. And my life starts now. He said, pray for me. And I remember just sitting there and thinking there's such incredible power in sharing our stories that I realized, then why I came back to my body. That was my moment of thinking, you know, realizing why I'm here. And I remember closing my computer and thinking, well, I'm just going to move. I did it again. I mean, I, I gave the last few things I had away and I packed a bag and moved to America and started all over again.

0 (37m 19s):
Thinking about just one person, reaching out to you and sharing something like that. The impact that you could have just on one person's life and take that as a challenge, take that as an obligation to share your story, to share who you are, because it will happen if you break out and you challenge yourself and you love those Hills. So Janine, what's the best way that we can connect with you.

1 (37m 44s):
People can connect with me on my Facebook page and Instagram and Twitter, and also janine@janineshepherd.com. I love hearing from people. I love hearing their stories. And, you know, as you said, JLD share your story. Someone needs to hear it. One more thing JLD that I'd love to offer to everybody that's listening is I have a free download called the question method. And this is a, a tool that people can use to reframe their lives and find a new perspective. So if they want to go to my Facebook page, they can download that. The question method

0 (38m 23s):
Nation janine@janineshepherd.com, shoot her an email. Let her know if this meant anything to you. If you were moved by in any way, shape or form, because she spends her life working her little booty off to make things happen to change lives. And I know that just like me, she loves hearing from people who she has impacted. So janine@janineshepherd.com and Fire Nation, you're the average of the five people you spend the most time with. And guess what? You've been hanging out with JS and JLD today. So keep up the heat and head over to EOFire.com. If you just type a Janine, that's J A N I N E, and our search bar, her show notes page is going to pop up with everything that we've been talking about today.

0 (39m 11s):
These are the best show notes in the business. So everything that we talked about will be there waiting for you. And of course, head directly over to wherever you'd like to buy books and check out defiance. A broken body is not a broken person. Janine, thank you for sharing your journey with Fire Nation today, for that we salute you and we'll catch you on the flip side. Thank you. It's been a pleasure Fire Nation. I hope you enjoyed our chat with Janine the machine shepherd. And if you haven't yet check out my brand new daily podcast, the daily refresh, it is a short three to four minutes daily podcast, where I share a quote to inspire your mind, some unique gratitude to warm your soul in guided breathing, to energize your body.

0 (39m 59s):
And I'm telling you Fire Nation. If you start with the daily refresh, you are setting yourself up for success as part of my morning routine, as part of why I crush it. And I want you to implement this into your life, to see if it can benefit you as much as it's benefited me, the daily refresh.com. You can subscribe there on your favorite podcast app and also check it out in Alexa, flash briefings and put it there. So when you say Alexa, flash briefing, it's boom, rocking out your morning routine. I'll catch you there Fire Nation, or I'll catch you on the flip side. The amount of fake ingredients we consume every single day should be a concern. And the people that uprising food are here to help right now, uprising is offering Fire Nation $10 off the starter bundle.

0 (40m 45s):
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