From Near Death to Being Truly Alive With Danny Bader
Prepare to be inspired, motivated, and empowered to conquer any obstacle that comes your way. Remember, you have the power within you to create an extraordinary life! Today, Adam sits down with Danny Bader, the best-selling author of Back to Life and the host of the Back to Life podcast. Danny’s life took a transformative turn after an extraordinary near-death experience. Prepare to be inspired by his remarkable journey from the depths of despair to a life of immense vitality and purpose.
Here are some power takeaways from today’s conversation:
- Danny’s near-death experience
- Surviving tragedy and moving forward with resilience
- The five principles of the jackrabbit
- Developing a vision that can save your life
- Practicing visualization to achieve your goals
- Connecting with God and finding peace
- The difference between just living and being truly alive
Episode Highlights:
[03:47] A Near-Death Experience
Danny had a near-death experience when he was almost 29 years old, working on a roofing job, and being electrocuted, resulting in his death and revival through CPR, during which he felt a sense of calm, communicated with a divine energy, and made the choice to return after thinking about his mother and girlfriend, ultimately helping his friend until paramedics arrived, but leaving mysterious holes in his feet and a discrepancy in his friend’s recollection of the incident.
[12:04] Don’t Life Like It’s Guaranteed
Life is fragile and not guaranteed. We take for granted the simple bodily functions that keep us alive like our heartbeat and breathing. But as Danny’s experience shows, our lives can change in an instant. We should live with more awareness, presence and appreciation for the gift of life. Don’t waste time on things that don’t matter. Focus on what truly fulfills you. Lead with love in all you do. Love is the greatest energy we have and the foundation for truly being alive. Marcus Aurelius, considered the last virtuous emperor of Rome, shared a quote that struck a chord: “You could leave this life right now. Let that determine what you do and think and say.” It reminds us that life is a precious gift, not something to fear, but rather to embrace and empower ourselves in the present moment.
[32:31] The Five Principles of the Jackrabbit (JCKRBBT)
The Five Principles of the Jackrabbit (JCKRBBT) that Danny developed to help him move from despair to fulfillment are:
- Develop vision – Having a clear vision for where you want to go is important. Visualize your goals and future to motivate yourself to take action.
- Be still – Stillness and quieting the mind allows your spirit to settle and reconnect with God or spirituality.
- Know thyself – This means understanding your values, mindset and spiritual connection. Are you living in line with your values? Do you have useful thoughts? Are you connected to something greater?
- Seek support – Seek support from others and also be supportive. Community and loved ones are important sources of strength.
- Evolve – Have a learner’s mindset. Be curious and open to growth and change. Trust that life is a journey.
These principles help create fulfillment in life through goals achievement and resilience through difficult times. They encourage action, spirituality, community and an open mind.
Resources Mentioned:
Back to Life: The Path of Resilience
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loves the greatest energy we have you know for ourselves and for one another and that’s that’s what broughtme back so the message I take is well that’s it man we’ve got to Lead With Love0:06to the best of our ability and then you know fill in the blanks on life you know work make money you know do all those0:12other things it’s all good it’s not uh it’s not so much what you do it’s how you do it right0:19hello everyone and welcome to the flow over fear podcast where it is our mission to help you to rise above fear0:25and realize your ultimate potential in leadership and life I’m your host Adam0:33Hill and it is my goal to share with you the human side of high performance my0:39guests share their experience with fear anxiety struggle Challenge and most0:44importantly despite all of it how they Rose above it to achieve incredible0:50results so if you’re ready to rise up let’s get started0:55hey everyone welcome to flowover fear thank you so much for being here as we have a great show today and we’re gonna1:01have a great great conversation with my guest you know a few people actually experience the shift in perspective that1:07comes from a near-death experience and my next guest today has had his life1:13transformed by one such experience and it was the beginning of a journey of helping people to go from just living to1:19being fully alive uh Danny Bader is the best selling author of back to life the1:27host of The Back to Life podcast in a highly sought after speaker teaching people to invest in themselves develop1:33vision and leverage useful thoughts to build momentum in the midst of monotony he has become a trusted voice for such1:40organizations as Marriott lincolnfinancial Comcast Merck and many many many others I had the chance to1:47personally hear him speak recently and his story and message resonated deeply with me and I wanted to have him on this1:54show to talk about a story and share some of his Jackrabbit principles with us and we’ll get into that and talk a2:00little bit about what that what that means uh so we’ll learn all about that and I want to thank you for being here2:06Danny thanks so much for being here I appreciate it yeah it’s my pleasure Adam thanks I was uh certainly happy to cross2:11paths with you as well it’s cool when Kindred Spirits connect like that definitely well that’s that’s the thrill2:17of kind of being in in this in this industry I don’t know if you feel this way but like with with you know being a2:22speaker talking on stage you get to experience other speakers as well and learn a lot in the process so yes won a2:28few professions so so I’d love to and and what I heard in your story when you were on stage was was incredible you2:34know you you were uh uh you you had this near-death experience where you know you almost didn’t know that you were you you2:40had lost your life I’d love to kind of dig into that a bit and maybe talk a little bit about2:48about who you were before the accident and how you transformed2:53yeah great so I I had the tragic accident my buddy and I when I was almost 29 so 30 years ago and um I was2:58kind of drifting in life I graduated college and I lived in Colorado ski Town Aspen for a little while and I had a3:08girlfriend on again off again and I I just didn’t know that I wanted to commit so I certainly was in kind of a state of flux in my life and3:15one day at the end of the day I was working for two brothers who had a roofing company and me and one of the brothers were3:23lowering a metal ladder and we thought we were clear of the electric lines as it turned out we weren’t we hit them by3:29probably about less than two inches was the margin of error and it had an awful3:34lot of electricity in it about seven or eight thousand volts and that came down and went into both of our bodies and it3:40killed both of us I was dead according to an eyewitness there that worked CPR the other brother3:46um probably you know six seven eight minutes he he said somewhere in that range you were dead3:53um and then I came back to life you know my friend didn’t so he was 36 with three kids4:00you know Mary just beautiful man husband father son brother just great dude4:05so um as soon as the electricity hit me I had this absolute calm and peace4:11because as if I knew I was dying and and I knew I was dead I didn’t have any any anger any fear or anything like that and4:17I saw the other brother coming down the ladder on the roof so the one brother with me that got hit with the4:24electricity I didn’t see him I saw the other brother coming down because he heard the ladder hit the you4:30know it popped when it hit the wire and I remember yelling to him get your brother get your brother4:36and then my my soul Spirit consciousness you know I’m not tied to any label I4:42have my label for it and and the listeners might have their others but there’s an energy inside of us that4:48really makes us go that’s what I believe you have your heart and your brain and your lungs4:54and they’re they’re kind of you know the engine of this body you need them and then there’s that fourth energy that4:59Divine energy in the best way for me to describe it is it left I felt myself leaving my body5:05and I was joined with um you know my source of this I call it5:11God again people may call it something else and it was very hard to write about in5:16the book because I was trying to describe in our English language and experience that is not describable in5:21our English language so my editor said just you know keep going we’ll get it right and I I corresponded I had a5:28communication with this source and I didn’t want to come back I had a choice to stay or come back and I didn’t5:35necessarily want to come back and because it was more beautiful than than what I’d ever experienced here yeah5:41and I said cosmically I guess in thoughts or whatever what about my mom and what5:48about my girlfriend Lisa at the time and as soon as I expressed that I was right I was back in my body I just I was back5:54in my body it was like somebody plugged me in again and then I heard Stu the one brother working on his brother6:00so I crawled up next to him and he said how are you here and I said I don’t know what you’re talking about but I’ll help6:07so I started doing mouth to mouth Stewie was doing chest compressions and then the paramedics and the police got there6:12and they cleared us away and I looked pretty good you know they didn’t know that I had been dead and back6:18and I went and sat against the fence Adam my feet were killing me I looked down and I had little holes in my work6:25boots so I took them off I had holes in my white socks with black around there and then I had holes in my feet four6:30holes two in each foot on each side and there was no blood6:38so the interesting thing and I use that term interesting because it’s the only one I can kind of think of Stu comes6:43over to me then and is like you know what the what happened and I said I guess we hit the wire and he said yeah6:49you did I heard it and I said I know I saw you coming down the ladder I was yelling to you to get your brother and6:54he said what and I said I was yelling to you to get your brother and he said now he said you didn’t say anything he said7:00I came to you first you know you were laying on your side I rolled you over your eyes are all rolled back foam on your mouth you know you were dead I7:06tried CPR for a few minutes and then I I you know I just said to myself we killed Dan you know Dan’s dead so that’s when7:13he went and called ran across the street and called for help you know no cell phones back in 927:19really right right so that’s the uh that’s the the quick version that’s that I mean it’s it’s a story7:24that a lot of people don’t don’t experience of course and a lot of people don’t hear about and I know there’s a lot of questions that that would come7:32from that but but you know just just thinking about that and and and you know kind of the tragedy that that happens7:38amidst that um I you know I I wonder kind of what7:45what was that first experience of of you know you had this jolt of electricity go through and I say that lightly because7:50yeah I mean that’s I can’t imagine I stuck my finger on a light switch yesterday and got shocked and it was you7:57know enough to set me back but it’s like getting 7 000 volts is incredible how uh8:03um when you say that you have the choice to come back what is that what does that8:08look like I mean I know it’s hard to explain and I guess terrestrial ways but but yeah what does that look like yeah8:13it really was that that innate knowing and it was it was far beyond how we know in this life yeah and you know certainly8:20when I came back we’ll get into that Journey because that was the that was the most difficult part moving through8:28that um when I came back though I started to read more about near-death experiences and I would certainly speak with people8:33who had them and see if there were similarities and a lot said that they had that choice to stay or go and I mean8:39and that’s the best way to describe it really for us to understand and though I’m pretty much convinced that when I8:47expressed love for my mom and my wife my girlfriend then my wife now yeah that’s what put me back so what I take away8:54from that right why why I’d offer this to the audience is for me it’s love9:01‘s the greatest energy we have you know for ourselves and for one another and that’s that’s what brought9:07me back so the message I take is well that’s it man yeah we’ve got to Lead With Love9:14to the best of our ability and then you know fill in the blanks on life you know work make money you know do all those9:19other things that’s all good it’s not uh it’s not so much what you do it’s how you do it right right right and what is9:26what does love look like to you like how does how does having had that perspective and that shift yeah how do9:32we experience and show love in this world that that would almost be like Divine love that you’re talking about9:38yeah that’s it that’s it I think I think for me it is um just a connection to9:44that something bigger to God and to know that that is love and that we all have9:49it in US so to lead with love is to have that connection you know one of the things I work on all the time because I’m9:55certainly not perfect and is to just really see the the Divine10:01spark in everybody right if somebody cuts me off in traffic if somebody’s rude to me in a restaurant10:07whatever it just really look and say man in there is that same energy that’s in10:14me and we’re all kind of connected on this yeah you know yeah yeah that’s so yeah and and how has your perspective10:19changed from before like so so when you before you had this accident uh what was10:28the shift and was it immediate did it take some time did you go through some uh some emotional challenges after that10:33yeah yeah it took some time brother yeah it was not immediate you know I had a really easy life up until that I’m one10:39of eight children my mom and dad are still alive you know we had the the crap that every family has to deal with yeah10:47but for the most part we were very cohesive group we had a strong faith you know my mom and dad instilled a strong10:53faith in us and you know I played Sports and and I went to high school and I went to10:58college and you know I got grades and everything was pretty easy and then it’s not right you know so I11:04think my perspective shifted over time and while the accident was a foundation11:11for that there was a lot of other events in life that continue to happen you know when I got married and then you know11:17marriage is difficult so you go through some struggles there then you begin to lose some people you know I lost a couple people younger11:22and then you know I’ve lost some people now in our 50s and early 60s yeah so I think it really secures for me that this11:29beautiful life in this journey that we’re on is not guaranteed and you know that’s11:36kind of the message right right right you breathe about 23 000 times a day and11:43your heart beats about a hundred thousand times a day and those bodily functions are automatic11:49they’re not guaranteed and that’s pretty much the core message that I offer people is don’t live like they’re11:55guaranteed because I have before and every now again I slip into it do not live like this life is guaranteed yeah12:02and that shouldn’t be a morbid thought you know yeah for like a motivational speaker you know you people go well12:10you’re off to a hell of a start I’m really motivated right now thinking about death sure sure that should be the12:16empowering thought yeah that should that should make you very aware and very present to to how you’re living and what12:21you are creating you know and how you’re loving yeah well it’s consistent with a lot of kind of the the the social media12:28things that you do I know you do your one one minute wisdom every day on on social media that uh two minutes or so12:35yeah right um yeah it draws people in uh yeah and12:41but and and a lot of that’s based on stoicism which kind of goes along that philosophy that that you know it’s kind12:48of breaking apart the the the the the the expect patients so to speak the12:53expectations that we need to have a good life or or that something needs to fall into place and just really appreciating12:59the now um is is that how you kind of gain that Foundation of that the the idea of13:05digging into the stoic philosophy yeah you know I think as I after the accident and I kind of always had the13:10foundation I was always curious about life and I was never really driven by material things13:17you know growing up and I guess still not not so much I mean you got to make money you know for your family and13:23retirement and kids and those things right um but as I as I read you know I read an13:28awful lot of books like you and as I read and I came across Ryan holiday who started that daily stoic and I started13:33to kind of dig into some of their thoughts the stoic philosophers well and again they’re not perfect their their13:40thoughts though we’re very consistent with mine you know Marcus Aurelius who they say was the last good emperor of13:46Rome right before all all kind of the band and first game right he has a great quote that I love he said you could13:52leave this life right now let that determine what you do and think and say13:57yeah so it’s that it’s that notion of man this is really a gift so you shouldn’t think you know oh I could14:03die right now the other side of that is right now as a gift14:10that’s the side that should be empowering yeah yeah yeah it’s it’s14:15um that’s kind of what I’ve found too is a lot of that a lot of that philosophy is I mean the root of all the personal14:21development that we’re we do right now is just in a different language different messages and so that’s why I love that that stuff and I love what you14:28post every day and by the way the book is called back to life and and so the14:36book that that you uh that you wrote is is you know it’s your story but it’s14:41based on the perspective of a different person uh so you’ve you kind of shared it in that way can you talk a little bit14:47about that on what you sure yeah yeah back to life was the first one I wrote It’s called The Path of resilience and14:52when I started to write it I started to write it in first person you know years ago I always thought about it it’s like the accident was 92 so this is like the15:00early 2000s you know almost 15 years afterwards and I really struggled with writing the story15:07true in real person because you know I’m thinking wow I’m writing a story about a15:14tragedy where my buddy died you know and then I was talking to a writing coach and she said well why don’t you just15:20make up characters and base it on what happened to you and and just weave that into a story yeah15:27and and I said well but then it wouldn’t be true and she said well parts of it would be true and if anybody said what15:33part’s true you just tell them it’s not as if you’re deceiving them and I had this breakthrough and I sat down I made up this guy Jake15:39and Jake is me and the first line of the book is why is there no blood and he’s15:45looking right into the hole in his foot and his left foot and it’s you know big hole but there’s no blood because it was all cauterized and as soon as I I did15:51that it kind of gave me permission to say okay I can I can base all this and kind of expand upon it and get my15:58lessons out you know through story which is what I like to do yeah yeah and16:05that’s uh it’s it’s a really powerful way of telling it I listened to I guess the first version of the audiobook that16:10was that had a different name but um but the uh but back to life if and that’s16:17available on Amazon and all that kind of good stuff too and yeah find out there yeah the first version was back from16:23Heaven’s front porch yeah and we could talk real quick about it so I got the rights back I had a small publisher that16:28helped me with that and then we we parted uh you know parted ways and everything was fine great people because16:33I I was starting to build the brand of back to life so I got the rights back and new cover16:40new title and I actually wrote a last chapter too the last time in back from Heaven’s16:46front porch the first version of the book Jake’s still 28 when you leave him yeah he he’s home and then in back to16:52life I wrote a chapter uh of his 50th birthday party oh that kind of fills in16:59a lot of blanks of different characters and all that’s awesome yeah I mean and it’s so well written too so I just wanna17:04yeah I mean it’s it’s a great great storytelling and that’s what I love is is the storytelling especially around17:12this you know potentially tragic event and you know and and the aftermath the17:18things that you don’t think about which a lot of us don’t you know have a chance to think about um I mean you you not only thank you for17:24that I got my editor I’m not Hemingway man I just kind of put it out there and17:31then I got a good editor so if anybody’s thinking about writing a book and they have all these fears right floating over17:36fear don’t be scared get it down and then there’s really a cool editor that can help you yeah yeah the editors are17:41great I agree with that having written my book there was a mess and like six edits later it was you know it was17:48something that was that was great um right but uh yeah so I I I love the17:55story and and I mean just kind of dealing with the tragedy of not just losing your own life but then you know losing the life of your friend and and18:00kind of seeing that seeing that Dynamic how did that I mean how did that make18:07you think a lot of these questions I guess that we have about death come from18:13the place of of the world and I guess it’s hard to a hard for a lot of us to18:18imagine that the grief stays here a lot of times it seems like how18:24um uh how did you originally think of I and I I uh how did you really think the18:29death of your friend you know how did that affect you as far as did you feel like you having been given the choice18:36did you feel like he didn’t choose to come back did you feel like there was something there how did that resonate18:42with you well initially we were in Two there were two positions to lower this ladder yeah one one guy was standing on18:48the ground behind the ladder between the ladder and the house and he would push it up straight and then the other guy would kind of walk it out because it was18:55a 28 foot ladder but you couldn’t collapse it it was all one length because it had the motor on it and I was19:02in the position where he was and you know he was doing something at the end of the day and I said I’m gonna19:08get a drink of water so I moved from that when I came back he was there and that was the position that19:14you know I think you know the intensity of the shock was was more yeah whereas19:21it hit me and went into me and blew me off you know he was more grounded to it so I had a lot I had a lot of guilt you19:28know it should have been me sure and same thing here I am 28 right trying to figure out life not married no kids19:35right and he’s 36 married three kids so for me it just didn’t make sense and that’s where you know my faith in God I19:40I threw it out in the trash can for a couple of months for sure sure because I just I didn’t believe that could happen19:46yeah so um you know in terms of in terms of death I I don’t want to die anytime19:53soon I enjoy my life I love my family you know if somebody came and put a gun19:58at me I’m gonna fight for my life and that said I’m not I’m not really scared to die you know like I said I would you20:04know if somebody threatens you you’re gonna you know fear is going to show up and you’re gonna fight him but haven’t experienced what I20:12experienced and having been with some people as they pass most recently my beautiful20:17brother-in-law last May so coming up on a year um that’s why I always tell folks man20:22don’t be afraid it is the experience that I had is is beautiful and there’s no pain and20:27there’s no uh-uh it’s uh yeah it’s it’s a pretty cool next20:35chapter yeah I mean it’s fascinating it kind of gets to the the root of of not20:40understanding I guess on the worldly plane too maybe we’re just trapped in our brains but20:46yeah you know you’re going through this this chaotic experience of not only dying yourself but you know seeing this20:52chaos existing around you and it’s discrete and you describe it as a beautiful experience what what a is20:59there any way that you can put into words what what about it was so beautiful yeah well the beautiful experience was21:06because I was no longer in that tragedy of the world I was no longer in that stress and anger and fear of the world21:11where where Stu was running around trying to figure out what happened to both of us and then when I came back we21:17were you know I was removed from that and I I mean the the beautiful is the21:23word I use it was just it was a union you know yeah21:29um I remember one uh doctor in the in the hospital described my experience as loc loss of21:34consciousness and I I said you know he was just this young resident kind of arrogant dude and21:41uh I said no man I’ve been knocked out before I’ve I’ve blacked out by drinking21:50uh trust me this was not a loss of concerts I called uoc Union of21:55Consciousness oh wow yeah because you know a lot of times people refer to God and as Consciousness right the universe22:01and Consciousness yeah so it was just the energy of of me going back together right back you know one time I described22:07it to a person I said you ever see like remember in like chemistry class we have mercury and you’d have a lot of mercury and then you’d have that one little drop22:14of mercury over here and then when it joins with the other one it just it’s no longer that drop it’s part of it yeah22:20and that that’s kind of what it was like man that’s powerful yeah that’s that’s what it was like yeah so and when you so22:25when you came back did did did that sense of of Love of of peace and22:32everything you’re feeling did it go away and were you immediately just kind of brought it back into chaos no I did not bring it back with me I think I did I22:39think I did and it was like in the in the that it was like if you know you’ve ever had a jacket on and there’s like a22:46hidden Pocket and you find it later and you find it that’s what it was no when I came back man I was just lost and22:52stressed and um you know Rock Bottom despair hopelessness regret you know all those22:59things just trying to figure it out I was in one hospital for just a quick visit and then they choppered me23:07to another one where I was for 10 days and I get out my friends you know he’s buried funerals over wow and I I’m like23:13you know I remember when I didn’t want to go to his grave for a little while then I finally went with my mom23:20and I’ll always remember it’s just me and her man and I just fell on my knees sobbing as soon as I got there you know23:26she just knelt down and hugged me I was just like what uh yeah you know yeah and you and you said you talked to23:33other people who’d had similar near-death experiences was that kind of your way of healing through it or how23:39did you get from that point of Despair to where you’re at now oh yeah that’s a23:46great question Adam and um no it certainly did not happen right away it23:52took some time you know when I came back I was just full of anger and regret and fear and uncertainty and and blaming23:57myself um for what had happened I was in one hospital for a brief period of time then24:04they flew me to another one and um yeah it took some time for sure I I24:10think the pivotal moment you know from the book is I went to the Outer Banks of North Carolina about three or four24:16months after the accident and I was drinking a whole lot and you know doing things that I shouldn’t be24:22doing that just trying to make me feel better and yeah they make you feel better in the moment but you wake up with a new hangover in the same problem24:28sure it doesn’t solve anything and I was in the Outer Banks and I was very close24:36to um taking my own life and the way that I had planned it was I was going to buy a24:41hose drive my Jeep onto the beach because I love the beach and put the hose in the tailpipe and through the24:46window and just you know leave the engine running and I went into a hardware store one day to buy a little24:52hardware store down there in the Outer Banks Kill Devil Hills and I’m looking at hoses in this little woman walks by24:58and I believe she was an angel I never saw her again don’t even remember what she said she was like 80 years old you25:04know bright blue eyes bright big white teeth smile real suntan wrinkled skin like this this little beach lady and she25:09just said something it kind of snapped me out of it and so I went I did the next I didn’t buy the hose but I did the25:18next best thing and I went out and got drunk and I’m walking back to my hotel room my motel room and I see a phone booth and I25:24go in call my mom collect and she says to me when are you coming home we can’t wait to see you and I don’t know why man25:31but something clicked right there and and I said I gotta get through this a25:37little voice in my head said I wonder what it’s going to be like when I get better yeah and that to me was always25:42that that pivotal moment of of kind of rock bottom where I said all right I’m not I got I gotta get through this and25:48it took some time and for me the way that that I did is I focused on the25:55future I I focused as much as I could I’d slip back but I’d focus on moving through26:01this I let everybody who loves me back in and I started going back to church and26:07having a faith and praying and and they were kind of the three things hold a26:13vision of moving through this let your people love and support you and believe in something bigger yeah so the love of26:18your community community comes up a lot on this show in terms of of your of your network of people that that help you26:25through it yeah uh do you remember what the uh 80 year old woman said to you yeah you don’t remember yeah it was26:31powerful it was powerful enough though don’t even remember it man she just kind26:39of yeah one of those things yeah and you mentioned um the faith that you know you26:45started getting back into church and things like that how has your faith changed I mean and your perception of26:50God uh what is uh uh you know what what does that look like today26:56well you know when I grow when you grow up Catholic with eight kids you know you think God’s up there sitting on a chair27:02and you know if you steal your sister’s Oreo cookies you’re gonna burn in hell right27:07um and I get that mine mine has shifted that I believe God’s everywhere yeah God27:13is in all of us and it’s you know it’s a God is a tremendous source of support27:19the ultimate source of support so my relationship with God comes first27:26and then you know then I’ve got my family my wife my kids my friends and other people yeah but for me it’s that27:31energy of love that that we’re all here we’re in this together and at some point that energy that that27:37came into us at conception is going to go back to its source yeah27:44and that’s when we’ll determine what heaven is you know I didn’t experience Street pays27:49of streets pays of gold or you know I didn’t see any departed relatives now maybe I had maybe I had further to go I27:56kind of felt like I did yeah that’s that’s why I called it back from Heaven’s front porch the first time because I felt like I was just getting28:02there um yeah that’s kind of how my faith is now you know I just believe in in Jesus and28:08his teachings and um you know he was the human version of that love we all have it in us he was28:14it yeah so I just worked to live you know as best I can like he lived28:22that’s fantastic yeah they come up short every day that’s the beauty of coming28:27back to life every day right every day you come back to life you open your eyes and you you know your heart’s beating28:33and you’re breathing you say okay let’s let’s get after it let’s do better than I did yesterday yeah and how um how do28:39we how do we better connect with God then I I’ve had these fear experiences in my life uh you know where you just28:45get caught up and everything and you know I’m I I believe in God too I I you28:51know go to church but there are just times where I just don’t feel that connection yeah how do we maintain that28:57yeah you have to work on it really yeah you really do and it’s it’s for me it’s29:03prayer it’s journaling sometimes I’ll listen to um Christian music in the morning29:08um you know sometimes it’s Christian contemporary rock or whatever it’s not Catholic hymns right and um those things29:14will work I did some volunteer work I’ve been thinking of doing some for a long time I used to do some and I got away from it and I went last week some29:20buddies of mine that go to this um house down in Philadelphia in a really bad part where there you know you’re just29:27dealing with homeless and alcoholics and addicts and I just went for about three hours and helped make breakfast and serve 20029:33people I was scooping out oatmeal and man when you look into the eyes of these people29:40hmm you know it was pretty powerful for me and I certainly felt the spirit at work you know yeah yeah so I think29:45there’s a lot of ways but you have to make your relationship with God or however you interpret that you’ve gotta29:53you gotta do the work man in life you know you that’s one of the things I talk about you you have to do the work30:00and the work is you know when I talk about my back to life principles five principles right Jackrabbit yeah but but30:07the back to life principles is really what they are develop Vision seek support know thyself evolve and be still30:13so through my journey I said hmm and I didn’t invent these I just put my spin on them they’ve been around forever30:20I I just said all right what when I I went to a coaching school and I had to make a model of five very valuable30:26principles and I thought all right what what did I do that took me from you know30:31the brink of self-destruction back to you know engaged in life and and fully Alive yeah and I just distilled it down30:37and said these are the things that I’ve come to understand that are really important for us yeah and can you share30:44those again that those five principles of the jackrabbit sure yeah so it’s developed Vision so you always want to30:49see where you’re going um be still because I believe the spirit lives in Stillness and I believe our30:54thoughts can settle yeah um know thyself which is all around your values for me31:00it’s three things knowing yourself is it’s a onion right you could peel that thing back if anyone who you are you31:05know if you’re a parent with your communication style if you’re a leader what’s your style towards fostering Innovation for me it’s three things what31:12are your values and are you living into them what’s your mindset to what what’s the31:20little voice or voices in your head telling you and are they useful thoughts right I have an acronym Hut hold useful31:25thoughts yeah and then the third one is your connection with God spirit31:32so know yourself in those three areas values mindset and connection to Spirit31:37and then seek support and be support to other people and the last one is to evolve just to be curious have the31:43learner’s mindset and just trust that it’s just a journey this this human life is31:50a beautiful Journey and um it’s all going to be okay it is you know yeah yeah well that’s uh that’s31:56powerful and and uh and and one of the things you touched on there too when32:03when you were talking about kind of getting that connection with God was does that element of service serving in your community or how we serve I’ve32:08always heard that a lot too is is that if we can get out of our own heads and we stop thinking in here and we can get32:14out and just serve I think that’s where the greater connection comes from and if we learn I think yeah people like Jesus32:21uh whether you know it’s the Son of God or a philosopher he he uh you know32:28that’s that’s what he lived yeah um yes yes and you can that’s a great point you32:33can serve every day Adam right you don’t have to go to a formal volunteer environment it’s great if you can or if32:39you do you can just you know so service is really just leading with love so how32:45can you lead with love when you go out to Home Depot to pick up light bulbs or how can you lead with love where you32:50know you go into a a restaurant that’s that’s really jamming and you know service is taking a little bit longer32:55than you would expect yeah yeah you know they even love exudes some patience and33:02maybe over tip a little bit you know this waiter waitress is you know in all likelihood they’re grinding away in life33:07yeah so there’s a lot of opportunities for us to lead with love it doesn’t have to be formal service33:13yeah as someone who is a former bartender slash server I didn’t tell you the value and the appreciation of being33:20over tipped it’s just you you make someone not just because of the money but because you’re just telling that person look you’re doing great in this33:27life you’re just doing yeah I mean so yeah that’s powerful um and so why why Jackrabbit I know you33:34kind of you brought up the concept of the jackrabbit in the book too I believed and so what’s a uh what is the33:40where does that come from and why are there no vowels yeah yeah yeah Jackrabbit so Jackrabbit is is kind of33:46what I call the model although revolving away from that we’ll call it back to life principles because it kind of brings everything together yeah um but33:53the jackrabbit of all the animals has in the animal kingdom when I was searching vision’s really important for me right34:00that’s what saved my life when I said I wonder what it’s going to be like when I get better when I visualized getting34:05better moving through this and the jackrabbit has really good Vision because its eyes are back on its head34:10and very high up yeah so it has a full awareness of its a whole environment which is what’s so needed for us as34:16people and uh no vows just because I thought it looked cooler on a t-shirt with no baths you know it does yeah34:23that’s for sure yeah well that’s a no that’s that’s great and and you kind of34:29talked about the vision part and and it’s pretty profound that you say it saved your life what is that importance34:34there what did how did you learn about that well it was really in reflection because34:42yeah you know I walked out of that phone booth and I was at as as as desperate as a human being could be and when I34:47started to have that vision of all right let me see myself going home let me see myself going to get more treatment let34:54me see myself um that’s it and then as I studied more gosh you look at any entrepreneurs any35:00athletes so many people use that principle of visualization yeah you know35:08imagining what seeing something before you do it and I just think it’s such a powerful principle that that the common35:13person I don’t mean this in a bad way you know those of us that aren’t entrepreneurs you know we we’re not35:20using that I would say 95 of the people I deal with don’t practice visualization35:26and it’s a very powerful concept yeah yeah yeah do you have any uh uh advice35:32on how to practice that that visualization or any yeah well there’s35:38there’s two really good ways one is just to sit close your eyes mentally rehearse whatever you’re going into35:43so if you’ve got to give a talk or a presentation see yourself doing that if you’ve got to run a race if you got to35:49hit a golf shot see it feel it watch the ball land where you want watch it roll so play it out in your head first and35:54then an exercise that I do that’s very well received that I’ve done gosh for I36:01don’t tens of thousands of people is pick a point in time usually a year from36:06now and go out to that point and then look back36:11and ask yourself if I had a really really good year in all those areas of my life my health36:16my wealth my career my finances my spirituality my fun my travel if I had a36:23really good 12 months and I had to tell somebody what happened what would that36:29be so if you’re sitting having a cup of coffee or a beer with somebody they say how was your year and you go it’s great36:35and they say why what would you say yeah so what I do then is get them to write that out as if it already happened36:40and then my Approach is put it as an all-day event on Friday in your calendar36:47and begin to read why am I getting my butt out of bed this is the big picture36:52because now you’re into a little bit of opposition with life see life doesn’t want that I don’t think yeah life life36:57wants you busy stressed out and overwhelmed so if you don’t have any guide that says37:04no no life this is really why I’m getting my butt out of bed if you don’t have it then we just get37:09busy life wins and we get to the end of the year somebody says how was your year you go out it’s okay but I couldn’t find the37:14time to and then you start naming all those things that you should be looking at every week yeah yeah you know yeah37:20that that’s a powerful perspective because it’s a powerful distinction too because a lot of times when we think37:26about the future we think of and shoulds we like think I should do this I should do that right or man this this thing is37:33coming up and I don’t know but we often don’t be in we’re often not intentional about actually looking at where we want37:39to be at that time yeah and kind of visualizing it I think that’s a really really great exercise on on how we can37:45how we can do that yeah so thanks for sharing it yeah I think it’s really powerful I’d encourage people to check37:51that out and when you write it in past tense here’s the thing that it does too our brain is wired for completion when37:57something comes onto our radar that we need to do scientists call it open loop right and we love closing the loop we38:03love marking things off our to-do list yeah so it’s the same way here I mean there’s a lot of people out listening38:10right now that probably have done something that was not on their list they go write it just so they can put a line through it sure because they feel38:15they feel better right the dopamine and everything’s released so if you write your year as if it already happened38:21before it does and you really stay focused on it more of it will because38:29now you’re reading the story of your life and you’re going wait a minute this has not happened yet so now you’re going okay what I need to do so it gets back38:35to that powerful concept of action yeah yeah without action we’re done so you just don’t sit there and think about38:41your year and everything happens yeah that’s your that’s your driver that’s your inspiration that’s your compass and38:47then action is what’s going to help you yeah work through it so what what are we38:52getting um and this may be a big question but what are we getting wrong you know having had this perspective of seeing38:58the end of life and having you know come back from that and knowing what’s you know having some perspective on what’s39:04beyond what what are we getting wrong what do we need to change about our own lives yeah it’s good I don’t know that39:09we’re getting anything wrong yeah I would just offer people be more Curious you know listen read observe39:15and just understand again just come back you know if you wake up in the morning and you you know you put your hand on39:26your heartbeat and feel it and realize that that thing’s going to beat 35 million times this year for you and39:32that’s not guaranteed so get clear get your ass out of bed and39:40say okay this is how I’m this is what I’m going to create and this is how I’m going to do it39:45all right this this is how I’m gonna do it yeah yeah because it’s really not it’s not about who you are39:51we all have our roles right moms dads entrepreneurs millionaires whatever it’s it’s not who I always say move that39:57W so if you take the W from who and move it to the back it’s how40:05move your W yes go out and be in all those roles hit your goals make money40:11buy cool houses all that’s great and I would pay attention to how yeah are you40:16doing that what are the values what words would people use to describe you that’s what I think is important that’s40:22that’s great great advice and yeah be more Curious and40:30um is is that just kind of stepping out of your uh out of your body for a moment or40:36out of your mind and just asking questions instead of getting frustrated yeah I think so yeah yeah it’s just40:42looking and sometimes you ask questions of people and sometimes you just ask questions maybe about them to yourself40:50yeah you know when you know when you grow up with eight kids Irish Catholic40:57you know I I some beliefs are formed that I don’t want to serve me anymore41:02you know what I mean there’s certain beliefs that are formed there’s certain stereotypes that you you have about41:09people and and I’ve you know as I’ve gotten older 30s 40s 50s on the doorstep41:14of 60. you know I don’t want them anymore so you so you have to be curious41:19you know if somebody comes in and they’re all tattooed up and they got you know the big gauges in their ears and41:25all like I I don’t understand that and who cares if I understand it or41:31not that’s them and somewhere that’s that’s them and that’s who they are and that’s that’s41:37you know that’s it’s all right so I I just want to then get to I just want to see Divine spark and get to their soul and say hey man41:42what’s going on you know versus let let House people are you know push you back yeah you know yeah I love it as long as41:48there’s good energy as long as there’s good energy man that’s what I want yeah you said if the server is if the41:56restaurant’s busy and the server is a knucklehead with a negative attitude I’ll try to shift them around a little42:02bit but if that’s their game I’m out yeah you know and I won’t over tip them yeah but if they go hey man you know42:08we’re really busy tonight and it’s going to take longer and I wish I could get it out quicker for you I’m gonna do the best I can so I appreciate your patience42:15and there are 10 that’s what I want yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah no absolutely I mean it’s it’s the spirit and I love42:23that perspective of of looking into the soul not just not just outward appearances I mean the whole cliche of42:30not judging a book by its cover okay yeah there’s a soul in every single one of us I mean there’s our energy or42:36whatever it may be and you know you’ve seen that on a deeper level and um and42:42and that’s that’s powerful advice and this is this has been huge um and what would so just you know kind42:47of one of the last questions I would have is I know there’s a lot of people that maybe experience grief or pain of42:55the loss of somebody else somebody may have passed away in their own lives what would you say to someone who might be43:02experiencing that grief yeah number one and and you know we’re43:09going through it as I said now my brother-in-law passed and it’ll be a month coming up and I lost a couple guys43:14last year um for me number one they’re okay43:20their their energy their soul their Spirit you know and for me you know if43:25they lived a good life they’re okay so I’m not I’m not worried43:31about them at all you know it’s it’s all of us and then the other thing is I talk to them all43:37the time all the time I visit I visit their graves43:42you know and and Bruce died today in the accident and then his brother Stu who who did CPR on me and43:48Stu live for gosh 20 some years after the accident he and I would always get together you know we live in Philly so43:55we grab a beer and a Cheesesteak he passed six years ago and then my brother-in-law and they’re all three in44:01the same Cemetery so it’s I it’s great man I go up there sometimes I take a chair sometimes I don’t I’ll just sit on44:07the grass but you know I’ll stop in see Stu then I see Bruce and I see Bobby and I feel better because I can feel44:13them yeah you know Adam I offer people a lot of times when they’re going through losing somebody I’ll just offer them44:20there’s a fine line between here and there44:27a very very fine line and their energy and their Spirit while they’re gone in the physical sense I believe their44:32energy and their spirit and their soul is still very much available to us yeah and is a is a wonderful source of44:39support now you may have answered this already in one of the earlier questions but I44:46wanted to ask in a different way so maybe the listeners could could hear it too but uh is there any way that we can44:51experience heaven on Earth or then that that sense of peace on Earth44:57yeah I think just lead with love lead with love you know what I mean when when I when you look into the eyes of another45:04person whether it’s a newborn baby it’s an old person dying45:10you know it’s a homeless person on the street when you look and you can get that connection and you both know45:15yeah I think that’s that’s it that’s a great life lesson to kind of45:23uh to uh to to put a nice bow on this episode this has been great and a great45:29perspective on a topic that we haven’t you know that we don’t talk about a lot but um and the final thing I’ll I’ll ask45:35you to uh is is how uh what is what is the difference I mean is that is that45:42the difference is is love really the difference between just living and being Fully Alive or is there something more45:48I think that’s the foundation for it um and by living it’s just for me it’s45:54just going through the motions you know you wake up you’re going through life you’re going through the motions you’re not appreciating the value of it you’re46:00not appreciating the the gift The Fragile nature of it being Fully Alive for me comes down to two things it’s46:07it’s really coming down to fulfillment which means am I getting out of life what I want yeah am I focused on it and46:14getting it and that’s in all areas right that’s relationships it’s love it’s and you don’t necessarily have to have it46:22but are you moving towards it that’s fulfillment and then the other one is resilience46:28when the tough times and the struggles hit how do I develop that energy of resilience to move through it yeah and46:33I’ve come to understand that those five principles the back to life principles they create fulfillment and resilience46:40hmm that’s that’s huge that’s powerful and I love that uh that idea of fulfillment46:47because really if we’re going to look back on our lives when we’re on our deathbed or whatever that may look back or we’re looking or we’re even Beyond it46:54we’re looking back on this life that we’ve experienced are we fulfilled did we did and fulfillment does come from47:00from growing from pushing beyond our comfort zones yeah and that takes kind of leaning into leaning into fear it47:07really sounds like what you’re saying today we don’t we don’t really have a lot to fear Beyond this life no no no no47:13I always I always say if I’m if I’m gifted with Consciousness while I take my last47:21breath I’m gonna try to add a little smile on it I love that well thank you thank you so47:27so much Danny and your book is Back to Life you’ve also got a number of other books uh I met Jesus for a middle of the47:33light uh yeah taking the taking the out of the show it looks like I actually47:40say the or yeah yeah you can I couldn’t put it on the cover of a book because my mom said I couldn’t of course47:45you said yeah so I had to put the asterisks in there yeah that’s seven short stories for navigating life’s challenges nice so all of my writings47:51and podcasts and certainly I appreciate being on with you because we’re like I said we’re kind of Kindred Spirits yeah47:58it’s all coming back to you know how can we support people in creating those two things fulfillment being Fully Alive and48:03and moving through the tough times trusting that that you’ll get through them well the back to life uh podcast is48:10also a wonderful podcast I’m a fan uh thank you I’ve really enjoyed those episodes and um and yeah where can48:16people find you yeah great so the best place to go is the website dannybayter.com and then48:23they can check out the podcast is there the books are there and if you know if they’re in an organization and they want48:30to talk about maybe bringing me in for a keynote or a workshop or something we could discuss that as well yeah they can48:35just email me through the website that’s great yeah and yeah thank you like I said at the beginning I had a chance to48:41see you speak you’re an amazing speaker and and took a lot of notes it’s a it’s48:47a powerful message you have to share and a lot of a lot of great lessons for it for any organization so reach out to48:53Danny find them at dannybayter.com Danny thank you so much for being here and having the willingness to share your48:59message uh it’s my pleasure Adam you’re doing great work keep it up brother thank you sir talk to you soon peace hey49:04everyone Thanks for tuning in to the flow over fear podcast if you’d like to learn more about getting into flow and49:11learn the foundations of flow I have a free video series on my website at49:18www.adamclifford Hill dot com called the foundations of flow feel free to go49:23there and download it and start your journey to Rising above fear and achieving greater flow in your life if49:29you like this episode and I’m guessing you did if you stuck around for this long then please do me a favor and hit49:36the Subscribe button and you will receive notifications when I have new interviews new Recaps and new trainings49:42that pop up on YouTube thanks again for joining us49:48English (auto-generated)
