In this episode, Jeannette speaks to Mark Ormrod MBE, a Royal Marines veteran, who became a triple amputee when an improvised explosive device exploded while he was on foot patrol. Despite that, he recovered to the point where he now leads a full and active life and is a true inspiration to so many. Mark competed in 2 Invictus Games, winning 4 gold, 4 silver, and 3 bronze medals. Today, he is an inspirational speaker, podcaster, property investor and author who has also spent 10 years working in the charity sector.
Mark explains how he managed to fight his way back to fitness after being told by one doctor he would never walk again. He shares some of the many lessons he learned. Including how this experience has shaped his life and enabled him to achieve so much since being injured. Including how it has helped him to succeed in business and his personal life.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
- Mark was the first triple amputee in the UK since WWI so there was no roadmap for his recovery.
- Having someone who has been through something before you provide guidance makes the world of difference.
- When you see someone else do what others say is impossible, you know you can do the same and it motivates you.
- To get back to walking Mark had to carry on even when he was in pain and bleeding.
- Incremental gains still get you there - 1% is still progress.
- If you have something big to achieve, you need to break it down into smaller realistic goals to get there.
- Tragedy can open doors for you and provide opportunities, but it is up to you to take the next step and take advantage of them.
- There are tons of ways to make a good living, especially online.
- Have the right mindset and just take action.
- Don´t overcomplicate things.
- It's amazing what a good cry can achieve, it really can purge everything out of you.
- If you are at rock bottom you have to set a goal and work towards it.
- When you get things back on track after tragedy, stay humble and find ways to give back.
- Don’t be afraid to push yourself out of your comfort zone.
BEST MOMENTS
‘If there´s something that you want to accomplish the fastest and easiest way to do it is to find someone who´s already accomplished it.’
‘In less than a year, I went from a guy telling me I´m going to be in a wheelchair to not even owning one. ´
‘Incremental gains – 1% is still progress.’
‘The resources are there if you want to go out and do something.’
VALUABLE RESOURCES
Brave, Bold, Brilliant podcast series
ABOUT THE GUEST
In the early hours of Christmas Eve 2007, Royal Marines Commando Mark Ormrod was out on a routine foot patrol in the Helmand Province of Afghanistan when he stepped on and triggered an Improvised Explosive Device. Thanks to the swift action of the men around him and the intervention of the Medical Emergency Response Team he was airlifted via helicopter to an emergency field hospital in a desperate attempt to try and save his life. An innovative and dangerous procedure carried out onboard a Chinook helicopter en route to the hospital did save his life. He woke up three days later in the UK in Selly Oak Hospital, Birmingham: Both legs amputated above the knee and his right arm amputated above the elbow. He was the UK’s first triple amputee to survive the Afghanistan conflict.
During his recovery the doctors told him that he’d never walk again and that he should prepare himself for the rest of his life in a wheelchair.
Now it would have been understandable for Mark to bitterly withdraw in a state of anger and depression and to resign himself to live life on the sidelines. It would have been easy for him to cash in his disability pension and whittle away the days, forever regretting the decision to join the Marines and to deploy to Afghanistan, but he didn’t. To the contrary he used his set back as a springboard for growth and reinvention.
Today, Mark Ormrod is an internationally acclaimed motivational speaker, a peak performance coach, and the author of the award winning auto-biography Man Down. He is a source of daily inspiration for the thousands of people who follow him on Social Media. He has three children, a beautiful wife and an insatiable lust for life. He is a relentless charitable fund-raiser and a daredevil who has performed stunts that many able bodied athletes would find daunting. He has not used a wheel chair since June 9th 2009 and he jokes about the fact that children call him Iron-Man because of his high-tech prosthetics legs. As well as a peak performance coach he is a mentor and a role model to other amputees and an ambassador for the Royal Marines Association. His sense of humour is only equalled by his sense of wonder, love for learning and love for life.
Mark Ormrod turned his personal tragedy into an on going story of personal success and he is now committed to helping others who may have suffered setbacks or feel they are not yet achieving their maximum potential to take charge of their lives, unleash their personal power and live a life with #NoLimits
CONTACT METHOD
https://www.markormrod.com/
linkedin.com/in/mark-ormrod-mbe-44609121
[email protected]
ABOUT THE HOST
Jeannette Linfoot is a highly regarded senior executive, property investor, board advisor, and business mentor with over 25 years of global professional business experience across the travel, leisure, hospitality, and property sectors. Having bought, ran, and sold businesses all over the world, Jeannette now has a portfolio of her own businesses and also advises and mentors other business leaders to drive forward their strategies as well as their own personal development.
Jeannette is a down-to-earth leader, a passionate champion for diversity & inclusion, and a huge advocate of nurturing talent so every person can unleash their full potential and live their dreams.
CONTACT METHOD
https://www.jeannettelinfootassociates.com/
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PODCAST DESCRIPTION
Jeannette Linfoot talks to incredible people about their experiences of being Brave, Bold & Brilliant, which have allowed them to unleash their full potential in business, their careers, and life in general. From the boardroom tables of ‘big’ international business to the dining room tables of entrepreneurial start-ups, how to overcome challenges, embrace opportunities and take risks, whilst staying ‘true’ to yourself is the order of the day.
Travel, Bold, Brilliant, business, growth, scale, marketing, investment, investing, entrepreneurship, coach, consultant, mindset, six figures, seven figures, travel, industry, ROI, B2B, inspirational: https://linktr.ee/JLinfoot
