“Sing the song that only you can sing, write the book that only you can write, build the product that only you can build… live the life that only you can live.”
Don’t Wait to Live: Turning Pain into a Teacher with Stefanie Schaffer (Episode #98)
Making an amazing hand out of the cards you’ve been dealt can seem impossible. But today’s guest – Stefanie Schaffer – has mastered the process and shares insights we can all put in practice tomorrow. The “bad hand” she was dealt, was very bad: losing both her legs in a tour boat accident while on a family vacation at age 22. But, in just 4 years, she has recovered from one setback after another, and managed her responses with so much clarity that she has recently found herself modeling for Kim Kardashian’s company, traveling, writing a book, and finding perspectives…
This interview is a Part 2 to a remarkable conversation Stef and I had just two years into her journey. And I have to tell you that even today, when I look back on that conversation, I still get goosebumps. She made comments that seemed almost otherworldly in their wisdom and foresight.
Resources Mentioned:
- Stafanie’s first podcast with Goodness Exchange – Finding New Roads While Redefining Yourself with Stefanie Schaffer
- Good Thing, Bad Thing, Who Knows? Silencing the Mental Chatter with Dr. Srikumar Rao (Episode #05)
Connect with Stefanie Schaffer:
- Website – https://www.stefanieschaffer.com
- Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/stefanieschafferrr/
- Stefanie’s Book (amazon) – Without Any Warning: Casualties of a Caribbean Vacation
[00:00 – 04:30] Opening Segment
- Live better lives with the cards that we’re dealt.
[04:30 – 10:10]
- Stef’s story and what she has been up to in the past years.
- Stef’s Bahamian vacation when she had her accident that changed her life.
[10:11 – 14:00]
- The kindness of strangers.
- Stef’s mother’s love for her daughter.
[14:01 – 18:00]
- Being kinder than the moment calls for.
[18:01 – 20:40]
- You learn to look at the bigger picture and you get better at it.
- Choosing to work everyday to get stronger instead of wallowing in self-pity.
[20:41 – 24:30]
- Modeling for the Kim Kardashian SKIMS line.
- Inclusivity in the fashion world.
[24:31 – 29:50]
- Talking to people with disabilities like they’re human.
- Putting everything through the lens of intention.
- Uncomfortable conversations are a learning process.
[29:51 – 36:00]
- Not labeling things good thing or bad thing and just letting time evolve.
- Time and memories are the most precious thing.
[36:01 – 40:50]
- It is still a great world, it just depends on what you look for and surround yourself with.
- Surround yourself with people who believe in you.
[40:51 – 41:55]
- Just do what you can do.
- It might be everything they need in that moment.
[41:56 – 45:00]
- Random choices and how they make outcomes.
[45:01 – 47:55]
- Being an observer.
- Choosing to give your attention to your gains and not your losses.
[47:55 – 53:50]
- Everyone has a story.
- Forgiving is the strongest thing that you can do.
[53:51 – 55:17] Closing Segment
