Want more articles like this one?
You're in luck! We've got a weekly newsletter that's filled with goodness!

Wrap up each week on a positive note with our Today in Goodness newsletter featuring our top content from the week, goodness on the horizon, and good news from around the world. 

Name
This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Wrap up each week on a positive note with our Today in Goodness newsletter featuring our top content from the week, goodness on the horizon, and good news from around the world. 

Name
This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.
View Collection

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:

Connect with Stefanie Schaffer:

[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

Join for as little as $3 per month

As a Member, you get instant access to unlimited good news, fresh ideas, and positive perspectives. Don't miss out on full access to articles, podcasts, videos, and curated playlists of our content, as well as our weekly newsletter, and access to our mobile app!

Become a Member

More ways to connect to the goodness!

Articles

Over 500 articles that give you a positive perspective on the state of the world.

piled stones

Collections

Explore playlists of our best content curated by themes like personal growth, conservation success, business, creatures great and small, future-changing innovation, and more!

Follow Us

Positive news for curious people.

There is a wave of goodness and progress well underway, all around the world.