Brink of Greatness | America Out Loud News

“I was going to redefine what was possible, I was no longer going to be defined as the burn kid,” Shay Eskew explained.

The story begins on October 4, 1982 when Shay was just eight years old, and his friend Jeff, was 7. Shay's mom had asked him to go across the street to warn their neighbor that they had an aggressive yellow jackets nest in the yard. The previous day, it had swarmed his entire bicycle. He walked across the street and knocked on the door. Their dad wasn’t home, but the fifteen-year-old daughter was. Shay proceeded to tell her about the aggressive yellow jackets nest. As they walked down the driveway to look at the hole in the ground, you could see the yellow jackets flying in and out of the nest. The young lady then asked if Shay and his friend could help get rid of them? To which Shay responded yes. As they were watching the yellow jackets 10 to 15 feet away, she grabbed a match and threw it down in the hole and nothing happened. She then instantaneously grabbed a cup of gasoline, and threw it at the hole. It splashed on the right side of Shay's body and his friend, Jeff, on the left side. She struck the match. In an instance, they were engulfed in flames.

In Shay Eskew's words: "Originally, I was burned on 35% of my body, but I had a lot of infections set in. My ear became badly infected, so they had to amputate my right ear. They had to take skin grafts from my legs to use for my shoulder and back. When they harvested skin from my thighs, the dug to deep so it was like 3RD Degree burns. So, they had to take skin off the back of my legs to fix the front of my legs. It has been a series of setbacks and challenges, but they told me that I would never be able to play competitive sports again.

My right arm was severely melted to my side. It took me three years to lift my arm over my head. It took three years to hold my head up straight. During that time, I wore a custom orthotic brace for my face, neck and my side. A pressure fitted garment suit that went from my ankle to neck to my wrists. I wore all the braces and suit for three years.

I had to learn to write left handed to complete the 3rd and 4th grade. I played baseball once I got out of the hospital. The only way to throw to first base was to throw side-arm. My dad was the coach, so he put me at second base, so I had the shortest distance to throw to first base. I was always thinking, what would it take to be normal again." 

The story continues on the Brink of Greatness Podcast…

The Next Leap Forward

The story of Shay Eskew is one for the ages friends. As you listen to his journey, you'll be both intrigued and inspired. You will find yourself standing and cheering him on as he takes all of us to task on what it takes to thrive no matter the circumstances! We are all faced with adversity on some level in our daily lives. It is part of being human and a societal condition of mankind. Society will not always be your friend, and at times will be your enemy. You must learn to rise above.

Most of us will face hardship both personally and professionally. What seems to shape a person is not so much the type of crisis but rather how it is handled.

How is it that some people seem to weather the storms better than others? How do some stay optimistic and productive after a setback? Whatever your reference point, know that it is within your power to not only neutralize the consequences, but craft the outcome to your advantage.

Here are my 7 tips on how to embrace adversity and make it an advantage in your life:

Society will not always be your friend, and at times will be your enemy. Learn to rise above.

Being at the wrong place at the wrong time can destroy everything you’ve worked for. Your discernment is vital.

Stay centered no matter the distractions around you. Much of your daily intake will not aide you in accomplishing your goals.

The advancement of communications in society today will both distract you and aide you. Know when to shut the noise out.

When you’re called odd, different or weird; consider it a blessing. Allow your own children to be who they are.

Medication should be the last resort, not the first. Those around you will take the easy way out. Resist.

Society creates and accepts followers. Leaders will be scrutinized and judged. Leaders are few. Followers are many.

Take the next leap forward friends, I'm cheering you on!

Malcolm Out Loud

For Further Insight:

Website: http://www.shayeskew.com/

Buy the Book: https://shop.americaoutloud.com/content/what-fire-ignited-how-lifes-worst-helped-me-achieve-my-best

How do you unsee what you've seen? Impossible really. The lasting impact of war on our veterans has a traumatic affect on every aspect of their lives; for the duration of their lives.

Consider that our veterans are waiting months and even years for basic health care. The VA Appeals process takes minimum 2-5 years; in the mean time many of these veterans die while waiting. Veterans are living paycheck to paycheck. Many are disabled, have PTSD, and suicidal tendencies. The suicide rate among our veterans is an absolute crisis! Homelessness amongst veterans is at a record pace. "They have slipped through the cracks. Our government has done a very poor job of taking care of them," explains Gretchen Smith, Founder of the Code of Vets.

That would explain why PTSD, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, is destroying lives at record numbers.

When Danny E. Smiley, US Army Airborne Infantry Sgt., returned home from war, he revealed something profound when he said, “Part of my humanity stayed in the jungle”.

Sgt. Smiley's story is one for the ages. It is a story of sacrifice, courage, grace and humility.

Gretchen Smith

Growing up, Gretchen Smith and her two brothers were able to see firsthand the destruction that war had on their dad. They would each confirm their dad's sentiments on losing part of himself in the jungle of war!

"Vietnam veterans were asked to keep their experiences quiet. I believe it damaged my dad on a very deep level," expressed Gretchen. 

Empowered with this knowledge and the current plight of far too many veterans, Gretchen Smith said enough is enough! It is time for action, and with that she founded the Code of Vets. The Code of Vets supports and values brave veterans! They are bringing awareness and seeking practical solutions to the day to day struggles and issues of our veteran community, with a mission to be a powerful voice speaking for the rights of veterans with honor, dignity and respect.

The story of Sgt. Danny E. Smiley takes a big u-turn when a shoe, and then another shoe arrive in his life. Smiley accomplished incredible feats in his short 57 years. Yet, the trauma of war took its toll on the man. From the brink of devastation and war, to the brink of success for veterans, Gretchen Smith is a Brink Thinker who is on the frontlines of the veteran community.

The story continues on the Brink of Greatness Podcast…

The Next Leap Forward

As a people, we often get lost in the myriad of details and distractions of the day-to-day grind. We find ourselves challenged with stress and events that may never happen - yet we internalize the problem and get lost in the weeds.

The attention and execution of those details make all the difference. As Gretchen Smith says, "We focus on one Veteran at a time". 

That is the singular difference on why some achieve what others believe is unachievable. It is to focus on the details. One detail at a time. Excellence is the culmination of details executed. We salute Sgt. Danny E. Smiley, and Code of Vets Founder, Brink Thinker, Gretchen Smith.

MORE ON THE BRINK OF GREATNESS HERE

For Further Details:

Website: http://www.codeofvets.com/

Follow on Twitter: https://twitter.com/codeofvets

DONATE: https://www.paypal.me/codeofvets

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She is full of energy, sharp, organized; she manages the teams, writes the grants, plans the cleanup, does the research. He is a bit quiet, unless he has something to say... has a steady hand, tactical in nature. He runs and maintains the equipment, he is the Vessel Captain.

Meet Chloe and James.

Together they make one incredible team.

A highly spirited couple on a mission of a lifetime. They each recognize the plight of our oceans in their current state, and they're not happy with what they see. Their concern for the future health of our oceans and our planet are clear once you spend a few minutes with them.

In 2014 they co-founded Ocean Legacy Foundation. In four years, they've collected 120k pounds of plastic and marine waste - they recycle almost everything they collect - an estimated 90% of debris is reused.

The story continues on the Brink of Greatness Podcast…

The Next Leap Forward

Chloe and James are not only energized, but they've energized teams of people from around the globe who are also passion about the earth that we live in. This is not a political thing, it's not a democrat, or a republican thing. It's not a rich or a poor thing. It is a human thing.

It Starts

With a Plastic Bag

It only takes one person

To destroy a habitat

A Life

Full of garbage

Are you

that person

who litters?

Not thinking of where it

would go...

For Further Insight:

Website: https://oceanlegacy.ca/

Follow on twitter: https://twitter.com/OceanLegacy_ca

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/oceanlegacy

“If you want true joy, you’ve got to stop looking at yourself,” says Luke Mickelson. 

Mickelson knew something was missing in his life. It was time to get off the sofa and figure it out.

Back in 2012, it came to the attention of Mickelson through his Church, that some kids in the community were sleeping on the floor. He felt compelled to help the family out. Instead of buying a bed for the kids, he decided to take on the project of making the bed. So Mickelson and his own family, and church volunteers built the bed from lumber he picked up at the local store, and donated the bunk bed to the family.

"This little girl had a nest of clothes, it looked like a little bird's nest. And that's what she slept on, that's what her bed was," Mickelson said. "When we delivered the bed, she hugged it and just couldn't let go."

"That first project, we built 11 bunk beds in my garage," he said. "The next year, we did 15. Then it doubled every year. In 2017, we built 612 bunk beds." That feeling of changing a life, of giving back - changed everything. That is in fact what was missing.

The story of 'Sleep in Heavenly Peace' will inspire you, and move you to action in your own life.

The story continues on the Brink of Greatness Podcast…

The Next Leap Forward

He was asked in a CNN interview how he was making ends meet; since he had quit his job and was not taking salary from the not-for-profit.

"I quit my job of 18 years because I wanted to do this full-time, or at least as much as I possibly could, because I knew the need was big. It just came to a point where I could see that my passion really is helping these kids. It was gratifying to see my kids and my family be involved with it and help them learn the value of service, but also seeing everybody else feel and see that joy from helping kids get off the floor. It's contagious," said Mickelson. "I was very fortunate to have another company offer me a job. Granted, I took a huge pay cut, but it helps me get by and helps me do what I need to do with Sleep in Heavenly Peace. They're very understanding of what my passion is."

"I found that the need I have isn't financial," he said. "The need I have is seeing the joy on kids' faces, knowing that I can make a difference."

For Further Insight:

Website: https://www.shpbeds.org/

Follow on Twitter: https://twitter.com/ShpBeds

“If you want true joy, you’ve got to stop looking at yourself,” says Luke Mickelson.

Mickelson knew something was missing in his life. It was time to get off the sofa and figure it out.

Back in 2012, it came to the attention of Mickelson through his Church, that some kids in the community were sleeping on the floor. He felt compelled to help the family out. Instead of buying a bed for the kids, he decided to take on the project of making the bed. So Mickelson and his own family, and church volunteers built the bed from lumber he picked up at the local store, and donated the bunk bed to the family.

“This little girl had a nest of clothes, it looked like a little bird’s nest. And that’s what she slept on, that’s what her bed was,” Mickelson said. “When we delivered the bed, she hugged it and just couldn’t let go.”

“That first project, we built 11 bunk beds in my garage,” he said. “The next year, we did 15. Then it doubled every year. In 2017, we built 612 bunk beds.” That feeling of changing a life, of giving back – changed everything. That is in fact what was missing.

The story of ‘Sleep in Heavenly Peace’ will inspire you, and move you to action in your own life.

The story continues on the Brink of Greatness Podcast…

The Next Leap Forward

He was asked in a CNN interview how he was making ends meet; since he had quit his job and was not taking salary from the not-for-profit.

“I quit my job of 18 years because I wanted to do this full-time, or at least as much as I possibly could, because I knew the need was big. It just came to a point where I could see that my passion really is helping these kids. It was gratifying to see my kids and my family be involved with it and help them learn the value of service, but also seeing everybody else feel and see that joy from helping kids get off the floor. It’s contagious,” said Mickelson. “I was very fortunate to have another company offer me a job. Granted, I took a huge pay cut, but it helps me get by and helps me do what I need to do with Sleep in Heavenly Peace. They’re very understanding of what my passion is.”

“I found that the need I have isn’t financial,” he said. “The need I have is seeing the joy on kidas’ faces, knowing that I can make a difference.”

Brink Notes:

Website: https://www.shpbeds.org/

Follow on Twitter: https://twitter.com/ShpBeds

At the time, it seemed a pretty lofty goal; to climb out of the hospital bed and crawl eight feet to the bathroom. A simple task by most standards, but not when you have life-ending cancer.

Compare that moment to being just eight feet from the summit of Mount Everest. In contrast, the eight feet to the bathroom was probably more difficult when your body is not up to the task.

It's all relative now, isn't it?

At just thirteen years old, Sean Swarner was diagnosed with stage IV Hodgkin's Lymphoma and given weeks to live.

At sixteen years old, Sean was diagnosed again with cancer, this time it was Askin's sarcoma, one of the deadliest forms of cancer, and was given fourteen days to live.

Sean Swarner Battling Cancer

"Located in the lining of my right lung, just under the ribs. It was bad enough that the same day they aspirated it to perform a biopsy, and they decided they had to crack my chest open and take out the tumor," said Sean. "When I awoke I was told I had a 6 percent chance of survival and was given 14 days to live."

"The crazy part is the two cancers are unrelated,' says Sean. "As far as I know I am the only person to ever be diagnosed with both cancers." The even crazier part is that Sean Swarner does not follow protocol or rules of life or death for that matter!

Sean redefined Impossible by becoming the only person in history to climb the highest mountain on every continent, trek to the South & North Poles, and complete the Hawaii Ironman - all with one lung.

“Every morning I wake up I tell myself this is the best day ever.  I believe it. I mean, looking back at my life, how could I not?”

Sean Swarner is a living lunatic, I mean legend. An incredibly uplifting talk you'll enjoy the first time and every time you listen...

The story continues on the Brink of Greatness Podcast…

Sean Swarner at the North Pole

The Next Leap Forward

“THE HUMAN CONDITION CAN SUSTAIN ITSELF FOR ROUGHLY THREE DAYS WITHOUT WATER, BUT NO HUMAN ALIVE CAN LIVE FOR MORE THAN 30 SECONDS WITHOUT HOPE.”

Every year, Sean gives a cancer survivor hope – as a guide and positive companion to climb Mount Kilimanjaro. “Taking people up Kilimanjaro, I see a transformation, it gives them the tools to say, ‘Hey if I can conquer that mountain, I can do anything.” Swarner shines a light for other cancer survivors through his foundation, the Cancer Climber Association.

I first wrote about Sean Swarner a few years back when I first started blogging about some of the coolest people on the planet. That first story on the Brink of Greatness is entitled, Sean Swarner Goes From Cancer to Seven Summits.

The Book: Keep Climbing: How I Beat Cancer and Reached the Top of the World

For Further Insight:

Website: http://seanswarner.com/

Foundation: http://cancerclimber.org/home.php

Follow on Twitter: https://twitter.com/SeanSwarner

There are far too many cities and towns struggling with homelessness, with no easy answers on how to fix the problem. It is a growing crisis largely being ignored by local municipalities and government as a whole.

As an example, in the state of Georgia, the Department of Housing and Urban Development reports that well over 10,000 people find themselves in a homeless situation.

Jacque Hawk

Jacque Hawk, and his son Erin, decided it was time to do something about the growing homeless situation in their own community of Augusta-Richmond County, Georgia, where hundreds of people are living on the streets without any kind of assistance or emergency shelter.

"Many of them are suffering from mental or physical illnesses, and they are hungry, scared, hurting and alone," said Hawk.

It was the fall of 2016, when Erin suggested to his father that they help the homeless in the community. By walking the streets and visiting these people they could not only see their pain, but feel their pain. They decided to do something about it.

They started a social media campaign to put the word out that they needed supplies for these folks. Jacque says, "We started collecting clothes and winter blankets and toiletries, whatever the homeless needed and handing them out.”

However as soon as they were seeing success, it all came to a screeching halt as city officials were taking the same items that they were busy delivering to folks - and they were throwing their life-necessities in the trash.

Jacque was outraged!

But not without the means to strike back. And so he did.

You see, Jacque Hawk is an attorney in the community. He knows a thing or two about litigation. So using his experience he threatened to sue the City and Sheriff's department, and anyone else who messed with his plan to help the homeless.

Jacque asked each one of the homeless to help him so he can in turn help them. “I gave the homeless notepads and pens and said, you write their car numbers, their badges, you write their names, and you give it all to me,”

“And I put it all over Facebook, on my website; and then I get a call from Chief Patrick Clayton of the Richmond County Sheriff’s Office - can we talk about this?”

What happens next will surprise you.

The story continues on the Brink of Greatness Podcast…

The Next Leap Forward

Together they have formed the Augusta Homeless Initiative, which is a task force that consists of several individuals from Augusta’s Housing and Community Development Department, The Salvation Army, United Way, Family Promise of Augusta and several other local organizations.

The goal is to create a long term Transition Center to assist many of these folks to get on their feet and to secure a job, “A transition center is somewhere that the homeless can get basic fundamental health care,” Hawk said. “It is somewhere they can take a shower. Somewhere they can go to get out of the weather and somewhere they can lay their heads at night.”

Just think of the impact this man and his son have made and continue to make in the lives of these people. Jacque Hawk is a Brink Thinker with an incredible heart and the passion and commitment to put action in the place of empty words and promises.

For Further Insight:

Website: https://www.thehawkfirm.com/

Follow on Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheHawkFirm

"What if this woman who was beaten by her boyfriend and put in ICU for 3 days was your mother? Well guess what? She is my mother,her name is Cathy. I watched my mother get beat on and belittled my whole childhood. Every man I saw her with after she and my father divorced when I was 3, abused her. It finally stopped when she committed suicide because her husband made her feel like she wasn't worth enough to live in this world."

Just three weeks before her high school graduation, Shayna Qualls had lost her mother for good this time. At just 17 years old, it had a numbing affect on her. "I spent my early adulthood just trying to find myself and trying to manage life without the love of my mother, says Shayna.

It was when domestic violence struck her family again eight years after the death of her mom - her sister Kayla was violently murdered by her former boyfriend’s father - it was then she realized it was time to take action. 

"I was basically numb from losing my mother and when my sister died it brought up all the emotions I should have been feeling with the grieving process of my mom, so I basically went through my mother’s grieving process at the same time as I did with my sister, so that is what ignited such a fire inside me."

Her story continues on the Brink of Greatness Podcast…

The Next Leap Forward

Shayna Qualls

“I knew then it was time to do something,” Shayna said. “It was time to take a stand and fight back. I wasn’t going to allow domestic violence to take from my life any longer."

"In 2014 ... it started as an online ministry. I shared my mother’s story and it went viral ... I had over 3 million views which brought about 20k followers from all over the world to the Facebook page. We’ve provided 100s of clients supportive listening, words of encouragement, prayed with them and given them a place to share their stories to inspire others to break free. In February of this year we received 501c3 status, so we are launching our first Campaign to help victims/survivors in Tennessee in December."

Shayna Qualls is a Brink Thinker on a mission to help as many people as she can escape from the dangers of domestic violence.

For Further Insight:

Website: https://wingsofcourage.org/

Email Address: [email protected]

Facebook: www.facebook.com/wingsofcourageministries 

The Mission: DONATE to the Wings of Courage

The birth of a child is one of life's greatest experiences; the emotional and lasting impact has consequences that will last a lifetime and beyond.

When that birth becomes compromised with a life-threatening birth defect, your world is immediately forced into a tailspin of unimaginable emotions.

This is a story of two lives on two different paths that would come together with a shared goal and vision of helping countless families not just survive, but thrive in some of the most challenging circumstances.

They met under the most unusual circumstances while attending a National Congenital Heart Defects fundraising event in the fall of 2015, a meeting that would change their world forever.

The first path, Leslee and Jason Schneider, their daughter Lexi was born with a rare heart condition; Hypoplastic left heart syndrome. Without surgery soon after birth, the condition would be fatal.

They were given three options: abort the baby, let it develop within its natural life span or take surgical measures to address the defect. They chose to fight for the survival of their daughter. It would be a journey of hope, persistence and faith that would test them like never before.

The other path, Brittany and Brady Griffith had just minutes as they rushed into the operating room to hold their newborn son Liam. He was born with Transposition of the Great Arteries (TGA), Double Outlet Right Ventricle (DORV), Ventricular septal defect (VSD) and Pulmonary Stenosis.

21 hours old after enduring open heart surgery, Liam's life was cut short. Brittany explains the driving principle of Romans 5:3-5 changed everything for her. "We rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us."

Their story continues on the Brink of Greatness Podcast…

The Next Leap Forward

Life has a way of connecting like-minded people with a common goal. As you will discover, the work that Leslee and Brittany and their families are doing is remarkable. They have turned their tragedy into their life’s purpose.

The Lexiam Heart Foundation was founded in February 2018, to encourage and help other families affected by Congenital Heart Defects (CHDs). Their goal is to comfort and provide support to children and their families that have been impacted by CHDs.

DONATE TO LEXIAM HERE TO MAKE AN IMPACT

For Further Insight:

Website: http://lexiamheartfoundation.org/

Follow on Twitter: https://twitter.com/lexiamheart

"I cannot be called brave and courageous until I do the hardest thing, which is to acknowledge publicly that I am a survivor of sexual human trafficking."

And with that, Norma Bastidas changed everything.

Growing up in the community of Sinaloa, Mexico; violence, sexual abuse and human trafficking are a way of life, as the cartels run the streets. On any given day, young girls and boys are picked up by the cartels and violated - in a way that no child should ever experience. 

Norma was sexually abused so many times throughout her childhood - that she lost count. She was kidnapped from a sidewalk in Mexico City, forced into the backseat of a car at the age of 18, and found herself hostage in a prostitution ring.

Saved only by the grace of a man, or as Norma references him, 'her angel', she was able to escape the bondages of this human trafficking ring, only to find herself caught up in another prostitution sex trafficking ring, this time in Japan.

Norma was forced back into the sex industry and worked as a high-paid escort without access to her passport. Her captors put massive debts on her life, forcing her to work to payoff these debts.

“One night I was attacked and almost murdered, and when I reported the crime to the police, it was never investigated. I was told that the attack was ‘due to my lifestyle,’ and nobody was ever held accountable. For the longest time I lived a life of self-loathing."

Norma never gave up. She did get her passport back. She also pursued a degree in Japanese literature. Moved to Canada with a man she had married. Had two children.

“The path to healing was confusing and messy. For a long time, I was told it was my fault that those things happened, even by people close to me, so it’s difficult to heal when all you feel is silenced and shamed. It wasn’t until I was 32, divorced, and became a single parent in Canada that things started to change," explains Norma.

There were now two predominate questions on Norma's mind. ‘Am I happy with how my life is going?’ or ‘Is there anything I need to do to improve my current situation?’

Her story continues on the Brink of Greatness Podcast…

The Next Leap Forward

Norma Bastidas

Her goal was to swim, bike and run more than 3,700 miles in 65 days across Mexico and the United States. Norma didn't want to just break the record, she wanted to shatter the record, so instead of 26 miles of swimming, she wanted to swim 122 miles.

“I was so determined to break the cycle of abuse that I took a journey of self-awareness and to self-love. Training and racing are the places that I turn to when I want to tap into that place where I am not distracted by the world, just nature and me trying to figure out a solution to a challenge," says Norma.

In May,2014, single mom, survivor and ultra-athleteNorma Bastidas broke the Guinness World Record for Longest Triathlon after swimming, biking and running 3,762 miles (6,054 km) from Cancún, MX to Washington, D.C. This challenge surpassed anything ever accomplished in human history. Norma’s not only a Guinness World Record holder. On July 11, 2009, she became the fastest and fiercest female in history by running 7 of the planet’s most unforgiving environments on all 7 continents in 7 months. Norma trekked through the thick jungles of Brazil and the driest deserts in the world, all in support of the blind and visually impaired.

Norma Bastidas is a Brink Thinker. Her life mantra:

“You are not your circumstances. Your current situation is where you are, not who you are. It might be a long journey, but if you keep persisting, you will get to the place you deserve to be."