Being Grateful In the Face of Adversity | with Humberto Gurmilan
Learn how Humberto overcame an unforeseen tragedy and became a successful, award-winning producer, author, and speaker by simply learning how to be grateful for what he had.
Rewiring Your Brain to Be Happier | with Shane Burcaw
About Episode
As of this week’s episode I have now recorded over 130 interviews with people all over the planet in many different industries with their own unique stories. But with all due respect to every single person I’ve ever interviewed, I can confidently say that talking today with Shane Burcaw was one of the highlights of my life. Rarely do you come across a human being that radiates such positivity, clarity, and confidence. If you don’t walk away from this interview feeling like you can overcome more than you thought you could, and if you don’t feel like you have a clear set of tools to make yourself happier without having to change the circumstances in your life at all, I recommend getting your ears checked because clearly you weren’t listening closely enough.
Shane Burcaw is a co-founder of Laughing At My Nightmare, Inc., an organization dedicated to teaching people how humor can help them overcome their challenges, while also providing vital equipment to people living with muscular dystrophy. Shane is an award-winning author, Emmy-winning producer, and writer of a blog with over 600,000 followers. His nonprofit is responsible for over $60,000 in equipment provided to people living with muscular dystrophy. Shane and his business partner, Sarah, travel the country sharing the powerful idea that a positive mindset and a sense of humor can help anyone effectively overcome their challenges!
And in case I haven’t mentioned it yet, Shane has lived with spinal muscular atrophy since shortly after birth and he’s quadriplegic. For those that don’t know what this means, we’ll talk about it more in today’s episode, but in short…Shane has little to no control of any of his four limbs and he has never walked.
For my listeners that know my history, it’s probably no surprise that I’m so excited about having Shane on my show because I dedicated eight years of my life directing and producing the documentary film GO FAR: The Christopher Rush Story (narrated by Mark Hamill) about the first quadriplegic to become a certified scuba diver who was also one of the national poster children for the Muscular Dystrophy Association alongside Jerry Lewis back in the days of the Labor Day telethons. Christopher was not only the subject of this documentary, but he was also one of my closest friends who stood next to me at my wedding which unfortunately was the last time I saw him alive. But chatting today with Shane brought back so many memories of conversations I used to have with Christopher.
If you’d like to learn more about my documentary you can visit gofarmovie.com, and you can also rent it for .99 cents right now on itunes, just go to gofarmovie.com to learn more. With over 250 5-star ratings, I promise you’ll get your money’s worth, and hopefully more.
Episode Highlights
- The power of a willful mindset in the face of adversity
- “Everybody has a disability”
- How Shane uses humor to overcome difficult circumstances
- Enabling yourself to realize when you are creating your own obstacles
- Shane’s successful and occasionally unsuccessful athletic stories
- Processing hurtful media portrayals of physically handicapped individuals
- Recognizing when you have the power to improve your own situations
- Accepting circumstances you can’t control, so they don’t end up controlling you
- Learning to ask yourself, “Is this going to matter in ten years?”
- “Why not spend time loving as much as we can and exploring our passions? It’s a hell of a better time to try and do good in the world.”
- You don’t have to feel guilty for not saving the world.
- What one thing made you smile today? When you are mindful of your joy, it will show up everywhere.
About Guest
Shane Burcaw is a co-founder of Laughing At My Nightmare, Inc., an organization dedicated to teaching people how humor can help them overcome their challenges, while also providing vital equipment to people living with muscular dystrophy. Shane is an award-winning author, Emmy-winning producer, and writer of a blog with over 600,000 followers. His nonprofit is responsible for over $60,000 in equipment provided to people living with muscular dystrophy. Shane and his business partner, Sarah, travel the country sharing the powerful idea that a positive mindset and a sense of humor can help anyone effectively overcome their challenges!
Episode Credits
This episode was edited by Curtis Fritsch, and the show notes were prepared and published by Jakin Rintelman. Special thanks to Krystle Penhall and Sarah Furie for helping to spread the love!
The original music in the opening and closing of the show is courtesy of Joe Trapanese (who is quite possibly one of the most talented composers on the face of the planet).
Recommended Next Episodes
Finding Strength On the Road to Disability | with Chris Anselmo
The subject matter of disabilities, especially muscular dystrophy, is a subject matter near and dear to my heart. I'm very excited to share my interview with Chris Anselmo, a writer living with an adult-onset form of muscular dystrophy because his story and his outlook will inspire you to face the adversity in your life with a more positive outlook.