” Without resilience, anything gained is easily taken away. You can’t really be successful in the long-term without some degree of resilience.”

Imagine a scenario where you were trapped beneath a one-ton boulder while climbing a mountain and lose both legs as a result. Would you go back to climb mountains again? The answer for most people would likely be an outright “No”.

That was exactly what happened to Warren Macdonald on one fateful day back in April 1997 in a freak rock fall. And yet, unlike most people, Macdonald went right back to climbing just ten months after that accident that saw the amputation of both his legs at mid-thigh, using a modified wheelchair and the seat of his pants! Warren, an Australian native, has one of the most inspirational survival stories to share about the accident on North Queensland’s (Australia) Hinchinbrook Island and his amazing feats that came after.

Among his other achievements include becoming the first double above-knee amputee to reach the summit of Africa’s tallest peak, Mt Kilimanjaro (19,222ft) in 2003. Later that same year, in a spectacular effort requiring more than 2,800 pull-ups over 4 days, he climbed America’s tallest cliff face, El Capitan. Warren is also the only above knee amputee to make an ascent of Canada’s landmark frozen waterfall, the 600 ft “Weeping Wall” in Alberta.

Warren’s bestselling first book, ‘A Test of Will’, is the subject of the “Trapped under a Boulder” episode of the Discovery Channel series “I Shouldn’t Be Alive”. He has also appeared on Larry King Live, The Oprah Winfrey Show, and The Hour with George Stroumboulopoulos.

His remarkable story makes a compelling argument that challenges in life are meant to be overcomed. Warren spoke to us about where this resilience comes from and what drives him forward.

EARLY LIFE

Tell us more about your family background and share with us what it was like growing up.

I grew up in the suburbs of Melbourne, Australia, the oldest of 4 children. We were left to roam freely as kids, which helped all of us develop a great sense of adventure. Growing up, the stuntman Evel Knevel was my hero, and I spent most of my childhood jumping over things (including my siblings) on my bicycle.

How did your upbringing shape the person you are today?

We grew up resilient. We had to make-do with what we had, which also made us adaptable and resourceful; both traits that hold a person in good stead in times of hardship and crisis.

PASSION

Where did your passion for mountain climbing come from?

Our family did a lot of camping when we were younger, so an appreciation for the outdoors was there from a young age. At age 19, I undertook an Outward Bound style course, which was really aimed at taking a person outside of their comfort zone, and (hopefully), showing them that they are stronger than they think.

That week shaped the rest of my life, in that I discovered that I could be outside, with very little in the way of resources, and still be okay. No running water, no electricity; no roof over my head. That feeling evolved into wanting to push myself further, which led naturally to mountains and other wild places.

How did you survive being trapped beneath that one-ton boulder at North Queensland’s (Australia) in April 1997 and what went through your mind during and right after being rescued?

Whilst trapped, I had to draw on everything I’d experienced from life thus far. I’d spent years seeking discomfort, straying further and further from the well worn path. I’d travelled to Africa to test myself in a less domesticated environment, and all of those experiences bolstered me during the time I was trapped.

Once I was rescued, my task was to hang in there, to survive, and then to recover as best I could. As I gained small parts of my life back, I wanted more.

What were the major challenges you faced and hard decisions you had to make, after that accident and how did you overcome them?

As with anyone, most of the challenges were psychological. Sure, I had major physical challenges, but I also had to overcome how people looked at me now; how I looked at myself. At resetting limitations, ignoring limitations set by others, etc.

I also had to approach things one step at a time. It’s easy to become overwhelmed when the challenges are so huge and daunting. I learnt to break things down into manageable bite sized pieces, or steps, and tackle them bit by bit…

Ten months after that accident, you climbed Tasmania’s Cradle Mountain using a modified wheelchair. Not to mention, you embarked on subsequent mountain climbing expeditions. What’s the driving force behind that decision to continue pursuing this path and were you not traumatized by fear?

I wasnt so much traumatized by fear, but driven by a desire to reclaim my life, the life I’d once taken for granted. It was incredibly important to spend time outside, in nature, and whilst in the very beginning I thought that was something I’d lost, it was incredibly important for me to get it back.

ACHIEVEMENTS

Which achievements are you most proud of and why?

One of the achievements I’m still most proud of happened before my accident, and that is standing up to defend the logging of old growth forests in Tasmania. Another, which is connected to the first, was climbing Federation Peak over the course of 28 days.

One of the main reasons I did that was to show that we need to keep our wild places wild, and that we don’t need excessive roads to access these places. We can visit them on our own terms, and if a guy with no legs can do that, so can you.

Share with us some experiences that you think played a significant role in your success?

Having the support of friends and family in what at times seemed like crazy endeavours. They were always there for me and helped immensely. A desire to keep going, to keep moving forward, despite hardship and pain. A desire to open the way for others with disabilities. There are now at least 7 or 8 double above knee amputees who have climbed Mt Kilimanjaro, including the first woman Many Hovarth back in May this year.

What do you think are the key ingredients to your success?

Authenticity. Adaptability. Resilience.

What lies ahead in terms of your goals and ambitions?

I have a kayak trip that is still on my list in south west Tasmania.

PERSONAL (LIFE)

How does a typical day look like to you now?

This morning I swam across the lake with friends. It is a 2km swim and we do it 4 times a week.

Mornings are usually spent trading and investing, and working on upcoming presentations.

Afternoons I will typically hand cycle or do some other form of activity.
I like to cook also so prep usually starts some time in the afternoon.

What is your life motto if any?

Never give up.

To you, what are the most important things in life?

Health and happiness. Without those, you don’t have much else.

What do you do when you find yourself feeling down on certain days?

Exercise is a great way to raise your spirits, as is mediation. Those two things were my greatest allies during covid. I describe meditation as a great way to tame your thoughts and to stop fear taking hold. It’s also a great way to get in sync with reality, and out of denial.

Who are the role models and influences in your life?

My dad has been a great influence in that he gave us that connection to the outdoors by taking us outside so often when we were kids. And my Mum for being there for me in everything I’ve done.

The former leader of the Australian Green party, Bob Brown has been a great role model for me, as has Elon Musk for his grand vision for the human race.

What are some things that many people don’t know about you?

I’m a huge heavy metal fan.

Why do you do what you do? (What drives you everyday)

We get one life. We best make the most of it.

VIEWPOINTS

Has your perspective about life and living changed before vs after after losing your legs? If yes, how so?

Before the accident I was certainly less driven. THe accident taught me that life is short, and that if we want something, we best start making it happen.

In your opinion, why is resilience so important and how does it shape a person’s success?

Without resilience, anything gained is easily taken away. You can’t really be successful, at least in the long term, without some degree of resilience.

How can people build up their resilience in simple ways?

Resilience is like a muscle. If you don’t work on building it, it atrophies and dies away.
It is not something that can be learnt, but rather needs to be practiced. You build it by doing anything that challenges you, either physically or mentally, ideally both.

When you lift weights, you’re telling your body you can do hard things. When you cycle up a steep hill and don’t stop, you’re telling your body, not to mention your mind and spirit, that you can do hard things, that you can endure and not quit.

This concept transfers over into other areas of your life. The way I describe resilience is akin to a bank account. You make deposits, preferably daily, so that when the time comes to make a withdrawal, you have an adequate amount in your account.

Like a bank account, when the time comes for that withdrawal, you only have what you have.

No less, no more.

The post Let No Rock Stand In The Way – Warren Macdonald appeared first on My Story Lounge.

“Here’s the truth. Being a positive, effervescent, inspired human being is hard work. But it’s not half as exhausting as being miserable.”

“Doctor of Happiness” is a title Andy Cope doesn’t take lightly. After all, his thesis was twelve years in the making before he finally completed his PhD at Loughborough University, UK, majoring in positive psychology.

More broadly, Cope describes himself as a qualified teacher, author, happiness expert and learning junkie. He set up a training company in 2005. ‘Art of Brilliance Ltd’ to deliver a wide range of positive psychology and wellbeing programmes to businesses and schools around the world. His flagship programme, ‘The Art of Being Brilliant’ became a best-selling book in 2012.

Subsequently, he has penned other books like ‘Be Brilliant Everyday’ and ‘The Art of Being a Brilliant Teenager’, which helps individuals tackle the topic on how to become happier, more motivated and positive.

On the heels of the success of his wellbeing programmes and bestselling books, he has also worked with large organisations like DHL, Kelloggs, Hewlett Packard, Astra Zeneca, Lego, L’Oreal, Nationwide and UEFA, among others.

In times of rising depression and an epidemic of ‘busyness’, he challenges all of us to discover joy and happiness in each of our lives despite what goes on around us. We caught up with Cope to find out what it means to be truly happy and the secrets to happiness.

EARLY LIFE

Tell us more about your family background and share with us on what it was like growing up. 

I was born in England but my childhood was spent in Ghana, West Africa. My dad got a job as an engineer in the Ashanti gold mines so we moved there when I was four. After Africa we moved to Saudi Arabia, then back home when I was a teenager

At 16 I’d had enough of school so I left and got a job as a welder. That was the kick up the backside I needed! After learning how tough the real world was, I returned to college and flourished.

My university girlfriend became my wife. We have been married for nearly 30 years with a grown up daughter and son.

How did your upbringing shape the person you are today? 

We were (and still are) a very stable family unit. I think the Ghana experience gave me a love of adventure and travel. For example, our honeymoon was a year-long backpacking trip that took place across 16 countries.

How would you sum up your childhood?

Wonderful. If you’re reading this, thanks mum, dad and little sis.

JOURNEY

How and why did you decide to become a qualified teacher and author. More importantly, why the focus on kids and positive psychology? 

Like most people, I struggled with the ‘what do you want to be when you grow up?’ question. I drifted through a few jobs, including teaching. My lucky break came when I chanced upon adult education and started to deliver sessions on the brand new subject of ‘Positive Psychology’. This flipped my approach, and subsequently my life.

Whereas traditional psychology had always studied what was wrong with people (phobias, disorders, anxiety, depression, etc), I now started to look at what’s right with people (happiness, energy, gratitude, purpose, etc)

This led to a PhD in ‘Wellbeing and Human Flourishing’, a new career and umpteen books. I’m particularly keen to bring the science of happiness and flourishing to teenagers and children, hence I’ve written ‘The Art of Being a Brilliant Teenager’ and ‘Diary of a Brilliant Kid’. May as well get them into positive habits early on!

Along the way, what were some hard decisions you faced and challenges you had to overcome? 

Walking away from a perfectly good career in academia to ‘do my own thing’ was a huge gamble. Anyone who’s ever set up their own business will know what I mean! You start with no customers, no salary, no pension… just a dream!

But the biggest challenge was actually my PhD. I took it on at a time in my life when I was starting a business and had two young children. It was tough on my wife. I’d never have become a ‘Dr of Happiness’ without her unwavering support and the sheer hard work that she put into keeping the family fed, watered and happy.

Share with us some experiences/stories that you think are significant to your journey so far.

Here’s a 100% true story that I recount in my new book ‘The Happiness Revolution’. This was a significant learning experience for me…

It had been my most hectic working year ever and I found myself in a bizarre situation of flying to Australia to do a keynote. As ridiculous as it sounds, the plan was to land in Melbourne, do my thing, and fly back to the UK the same night.

I had a 4-hour stopover at Changi Airport in Singapore and rather than wait in departures, I noticed there was a ‘butterfly garden’, so I went there. It’s an amazing place! I found a bench and made myself comfy.

It was the most ‘un-airporty’ scene. I was sitting under a tree, listening to the waterfall and watching the butterflies. A short while later a bunch of school kids came into the enclosure, aged about 6, causing a disturbance of the peace.

The children took one look at the butterflies and set about chasing them; jumping, running, whooping with glee. We’re in an indoor bubble. It’s pretty warm. The kids are soon drenched in sweat as they continue to leap and grab at the butterflies. None of them caught a thing.

Except for one child. It took me a while to notice but one of the kids was standing in the corner of the atrium, totally still. And this child was covered in butterflies.

Which got me thinking about happiness. I was just like those kids who were running, leaping and chasing after the butterflies. I was exhausting myself. I was in hot-pursuit of happiness but never actually catching up with it. Maybe I should take a leaf out of that child’s book and slow down. Maybe if I learned to be still, be at peace and in the moment, then happiness might finally catch-up with me.

ACHIEVEMENTS

Which achievements/milestones are you most proud of? 

Little did I know that my 21st birthday would turn out to be the most important day of my life. While celebrating with my mates, I also met Lou (who later became my wife).

My kids came along in 1995 and 1998 respectively. I’m super-proud of who they have become and what they’re doing with their lives.

Art of Brilliance Ltd began in 2005. It started out as me and has now grown to a team of 25. We’re a bit like The A-Team; an odd assortment of wellbeing mavericks who want to make a difference

We set up ‘Brilliant Schools’ in 2016. Our main training business is not-for-profit so we plough money into Brill Schools. The aim is to get wellbeing, resilience, happiness (etc) embedded in the next generation.

In summary, we are an exporter of happiness. Our flagship keynote/webinar, The Art of Being Brilliant’, has received rave reviews worldwide. We’ve delivered training in 22 countries

As a business, we’ve survived the financial crash of 2008 and the 2020 pandemic. In fact, we’ve not only survived, we’ve become more creative in how we operate, taking our webinars and workshops to the next level and growing as a business.

I’m super-proud of all of that.

What do you think are the key ingredients to your success, as an author and trainer? 

My #1 attributes are hard work and determination. I have also been blessed with some huge dollops of luck along the way.

I suspect that success has come my way because I’ve got good at being me. I’m not trying to be fancy, clever or fake – what you see is what you get. This also applies to my success as an author. I’m not a fan of big words or heavy academia, so I ‘translate’ all that nonsense into simple, do-able principles.

Basically, for me it’s always about trying to bring a light touch to a heavy subject.

You have worked with kids, teachers and corporations among other entities. What are some successful case studies you could share?

Our approach is always to help customers (whether it’s businesses, schools or individuals) embed positivity into their lives. My research into Positive Psychology has given me insights into how human beings can live their best lives. I like to think that the PhD gives me some academic credibility, but more importantly our success comes from translating the research into everyday language.

I’m proud to say that we have hundreds of success stories. Our workshops, webinars and keynotes genuinely make a huge difference to people’s lives. One of our clients whom we have helped to transform their workplace, is currently rated as the number one best place to work in the UK.

I’m also thrilled that we have a growing band of ‘Outstandingly Happy Schools’ who’ve used our programmes to bring wellbeing into classrooms, staff rooms and their communities.

PERSONAL (LIFE)

To you, what are the most important things in life? 

Family time is at the top of my list. I’ve also become a collector of experiences. I have got off the materialist treadmill. My happiness isn’t linked to buying more stuff, it’s about appreciating the things I already have and enjoying experiences with the people I love.

What’s worth mentioning on your bucket list that you have not done? 

In 2019, I took a sabbatical and spent 3 months travelling in India. I bought a motorcycle and went north, into the Himalayas. Every day was an amazing adventure.

I attempted a particularly challenging route called the Rohtang Pass. I got so close to completing the route but fell off my motorbike at 6,000 feet and in the end, I never got to the top. That mountain pass remains unticked on my bucket list! I will return to India and complete the Rohtang Pass as soon as I can.

Why do you do what you do? (What drives you everyday)

There’s a huge difference between a job, career and calling.

A job – is when you’re doing it for the money. It’ll feel like a chore.

A career – is more rewarding. Your employer will invest in you. There might be a career path to follow. But salary is still important.

A calling – is when you love what you do. This is when work doesn’t feel like work and although they’re paying you, the truth is that you’d probably do it for free.

For me and my company Art of Brilliance, it feels more of a calling than anything else. Me and my team are a merry band of mavericks who share a passion for wellbeing and happiness. I am out delivering training every single day and writing books by night. I absolutely love what I do!

Who are the role models and influences in your life? 

That’s a really good question. I’ve never really thought about it. I guess I’m influenced (impressed) by people who dare to be different, who follow their dreams and who battle on, against the odds

What are some things that many people don’t know about you? 

I support a rubbish football team called ‘Derby County’.

In addition to my Positive Psychology work, I also wrote a series of best-selling books for kids.

My ‘Spy Dog’ series has sold a million copies worldwide.

I’m currently working on a writing project with Bear Grylls.

What are some life lessons you will take to your grave? 

Be a nice human being, even to other human beings who aren’t so nice.

My 7-word mantra is: ‘do it better than you have to’.

Be a good friend’ – to yourself.

Live an interesting life. No one wants to talk to an old person with no stories to tell.

No one’s perfect, but everyone can be awesome.

Hard work and effort will always take you farther than talent.

What are you most passionate about in life and why?  

I’m passionate about life itself! The average lifespan is 4000 weeks. If you’re not careful, life can speed by in a blur.

That’s why I’m focused on living it well, and helping others upgrade to their own ‘best possible self’.

VIEWPOINTS

In your personal opinion, what is the essence of happiness? 

What does it mean to be truly happy in its most fundamental terms? Happiness takes many forms.

There’s a continuum of happiness from ‘wild elation’ at one end to ‘quiet contentment’ at the other. I think permanent ‘wild elation’ would be exhausting so, for me, true happiness takes the form of quiet contentment.

Being happy – in this moment – with who you are and what you have

How do you think schools and the education system can better incorporate positive psychology into their curriculum? 

Having studied happy people for over 20 years, I can assure you that they’re not feeling amazing by accident. They’re feeling amazing because they deploy a whole bunch of strategies that allow them to feel amazing. Therefore, happiness and flourishing are learned behaviours.

The smallest change that would have the biggest difference in the education system – is to put ‘wellbeing’ on the curriculum. If children, teens and teachers knew how to take care of their happiness and wellbeing, they would be in a much better position to deal with whatever life throws at them (Plot spoiler: life will throw A LOT at you!)

For someone who is chronically pessimistic or depressed, getting to feeling true joy and happiness can be quite a leap. What small steps do you suggest such a person takes to move in the right direction? 

For me, it’s about small attitudinal choices that we make moment-to-moment. You can’t control what’s going on around you (the world can be brutal, unfair and unforgiving) but you can learn to take better control of your reactions. Gratitude, purpose and creating strong personal relationships, are all crucial to raising your ‘wellbeing standard’.

If you’re on meds or in therapy, I think you should continue to access professional help. The majority don’t need medication or therapy, they just need some gentle reminders about how to shine in a world that seems hell bent on knocking the passion out of them.

The post ‘Doctor Of Happiness’ – Andy Cope appeared first on My Story Lounge.