Brink of Greatness | America Out Loud News

When things go bad, it is often difficult to know you've reached the lowest point of the plummet. Sometimes you have to brace yourself for what comes next...

Lisa Williams

Lisa Williams was at the lowest point of her life - so she thought. She was in the hospital surrounded by family as they disconnected the defibrillator from her dad. The silence in the room quickly filled with sobs of tears. It was at that moment Lisa heard a voice yell out “Stop Crying he will hear you Lisa."

Shocked at first that her stepmom would call her out at this very personal moment. And why her; when the entire room was emotional?

She immediately went from sorrow to deep despair.

Guilt consumed her. She felt the hospital was incompetent during the twelve days her dad spent in the hospital. As a daughter and clinical administrator, Lisa wanted to help her dad but was told to do nothing. This was against everything she believed. Dad’s death and the guilt of not acting, sent Lisa into a deep depression.

Isolation. PTSD. Even a divorce. Everything was changing and not for the better.

Depression affects more than 16 million men and women (almost 6.7 percent of the adult population) and 3.1 million adolescents.

Feelings of sadness, hopelessness, loss of interest, anger, frustration, or other negative emotions like irritability can last for weeks or years and interfere with every aspect of life.

She found an apartment and moved out, taking only her clothes; no furniture, sleeping on the floor, eating very little. Going to work and helping others is what kept Lisa busy. After work, the anxiety and grieving were unbearable. Isolated. Despair. Guilt. Sorrow. Depression had consumed her.

It was early August when Lisa received a message from her sister with the news that she had received a special box containing something from her dad.

A week later, Lisa opened the box that would change everything.

The story continues on the Brink of Greatness Podcast...

The Next Leap Forward

A traumatic event, a troubled childhood, an unexpected setback, your health; the list can be quite extensive. Turning adversity in your life into a winning formula… is the mark of a winner!

Never lose OPTIMISM in the heat of the moment. The pivotal point of what you're going through will require an unbridled concentration and flow of positive energy. The percentage of a positive outcome diminishes greatly with every negative thought. The power and importance of a positive mindset should never be doubted.

You will never cross the finish line if PERSEVERANCE is not front and center in your actions. Even under great adversity, the survivor pushes forward. A battle worth winning is a battle worth fighting for. Expect distractions and dissension along the journey, but don’t let these obstacles discourage your final outcome.

The ENDURANCE factor can never be overstated. Ones ability to withstand setbacks and recover from fatigue or trauma will provide an incredible advantage over the trauma or crisis. Go into it knowing that you’ll give 110%. To endure is to outlast and outsmart the enemy of negative thinking and turn it into positive energy.

Optimism, Perseverance, and Endurance are the keys to not just surviving, but thriving!

Lisa’s purpose in life is to help others. "If I can help someone, I have reason to live." Her motto: I could be you and you could be me. Throughout the ordeal she would keep notes and write poems. She is working on publishing her first book of poems. Each chapter is based on the next step to overcoming the struggle...

Let The Moment Pass

Let the moment pass,

and allow the moment

to pass by you,

to pass through you,

to pass the moment

to you.

by Lisa Williams

“We’ve been fighting this battle to get ahead of this infection to stop the spread, we hate to tell you, the outcome is not good,” explained the doctors.

Jim McCay

The news was anything but good. This was not the December holiday surprise Jim McCay was expecting. How could a small misstep one evening, at the end of a beautiful day out boating with friends turn into this...?

“If we don’t eliminate the infection, you will not be alive in 3 months,”

“My brain just turned off, and my wife said, I went totally white…” explained Jim.

To eliminate the infection, the doc was now talking about removing part of Jim's leg. The exact words used were "to get the best outcome possible" we will need to remove from the knee down. And still there would be no guarantees that this would stop the spread of this vicious infection.

The surgery to amputate Jim's leg from the knee down was now set for the first week of January.

As it turned out, the hospital was mobilized for a big accident the exact day of the scheduled surgery. The surgeon would not be available. This was anything but smooth sailing. There would be more surgeries and more drama ahead, but the one thing that was smooth sailing - was Jim's commitment to his family to get through these rough seas.

More than five months since that dreadful day, and finally, Jim was on his way home. A home that Jim would need to adjust to all over again.

The Next Leap Forward

For Jim, it would not be the next leap forward, but the next step forward that mattered most. August would be a big month for his goal of taking that first step.

Jim would need to learn to walk all over again, this time it would be with the assistance of a prosthetic leg. There would be the physical therapy, and then an occupational therapist, so he could learn to drive a car with his new leg. The challenges would be many.

Ironically, when the accident took place in early October 2017, Jim was in the planning stages of launching a talk radio news program as a show producer and on-air talent. The show launched at the end of October as planned and Jim was right there to launch it.

He was there the first week, the second week, the tenth week, the twentieth week, and every week thereafter. Fact is, Jim never missed a beat. So while he was in hospitals, surgeries, therapy centers, God knows what - he had set a goal to be part of this project and was determined to see it through.

It is all about having the right mindset. The right attitude to be able to laugh back at life.

Jim McCay is a Brink Thinker and a man who loves life. His perseverance was and is remarkable. He never wavered.

We know firsthand here at America Out Loud, because Jim was instrumental in the launch and success of VIEWPOINT THIS SUNDAY.

My 4 Steps to Overcoming Adversity

1 - Stop living in yesterday’s world. You can’t change what has happened already, you can only learn from it. Focus on today and tomorrow, not yesterday.

2 - Surround yourself with positive, forward-thinking people. It is key to carefully select the people you associate with. Great relationships are not accidental, they happen when you give more than you take.

3 - There is a solution to every problem. Focus more on the solution and keep the problem the size of a mole hill. Everyone has their share of sad stories, it’s just some people choose to focus on the solution and not so much the problem.

4 - Don’t put the tough decisions off because you don’t want to face the music. They will just linger on your mind and continue to distract you from the real priorities. Face your problems with speed and integrity.

'One who gains strength by overcoming obstacles possesses the only strength which can overcome adversity.'Albert Schweitzer

A life of trauma and tragedy transformed into a warrior against sexual abuse and violence; a beacon for truth, hope and knowledge. Dr. Gregory Williams is a most unusual man. Most anyone would run and hide from the sheer embarrassment of a tortured childhood - from the hands of a father completely out-of-control.

He remembers seeing the front cover of the famous Sears catalog at just four years old as a pivotal moment in time. This was the first remembrance of being sexually abused by his dad.

The abuse was a daily occurrence. There were even times his father would bring friends in to take-part in the rape. As he explains in our 'brink talk,' his dad wasn't the only family member to violate young Gregory.

It went on for twelve more years, until at the age of seventeen, he finally found the courage to tell his dad to STOP.

Dr. Gregory Williams

He would keep this to himself for the next 35 years, never whispering a word to a single soul.

While at a presentation in 2015, he unexpectedly told the audience “You know, I was abused as a kid.”

No sooner did the words leave his mouth; when the self-doubt began. “Nobody’s going to like me, nobody’s going to care about me, everybody’s going to shun me, nobody’s going to talk to me anymore, my family is going to alienate me," thought Williams, "I’ll be totally alone.”

The complete opposite happened as people started lining-up to talk to him about their own experiences and hidden-truths.

The Next Leap Forward

Approximately 20 percent of girls (1 in 5) and 8 percent of boys (1 in 12.5) will be sexually abused before their 18th birthday. 95 percent of sexually abused children will be abused by someone they know and trust.

Dr. Gregory Williams is now on a mission of a lifetime. A message of healing and restoration after abuse.

Dr. Williams shares life-changing lessons learned from his years of abuse along with insight to survivors who are dealing with their own inner pain and doubts. He teaches survivors the keys to overcoming past abuses, traumatic events, and major setbacks.

His story will inspire you and help you discover the secret to conquering your own personal darkness and begin turning your negative into a positive!

MORE BRINK STORIES

For Further Insight:

Website: https://shatteredbythedarkness.com/

Dr. Gregory Williams has written a book that chronicles his lifelong journey of child abuse and its aftermath. Dr. Gregory unveils the horrors of what happened to him throughout his entire childhood. His book recounts the sexual exploitation he endured at the hands of his own father.

Book: Shattered By The Darkness: Putting the Pieces Back Together After Child Abuse

He was on a mission in one of the most hostile areas on the planet, in Southern Afghanistan; a place also known as "The Devils Playground". He knew something wasn't quite right. He blamed himself for the death of the enemy. He questioned his decisions of leadership that placed him in the wrong spot at the wrong time.

Timothy Payne was about to go through a 'life transformation' that was both dramatic and purposeful at the same time.

In a flash, an instant; a moment in time he will never forget, a hidden improvised explosive device (IED) flashed beneath him - changing his life forever.

As he describes it, "I was walking, looking at the ground and it went off, it was the biggest like red, white and debris flying at me like thousands of miles per hour... my left leg blew up like a firecracker, and my right leg was gone right below the shin, and I'm laying there looking at my arm blown wide-open... trying to figure out, like how bad am I?"

He wouldn't know the answer to that question for a couple of weeks, until the moment he awoke from a coma. Timothy Payne had lost both his legs and severely injured his left hand. 120 surgeries and 100 blood transfusions. He spent 1½ years recovering at Walter Reed Medical Center.

“I made a deal with God to spare me instead of killing me for killing the bad guys,” Payne said. “Why don’t you just take my legs instead of taking my life? And the next day, I got blown up, died and came back. Now, I’m just trying to stay motivated and be an inspiration to other soldiers.”

The Next Leap Forward

The battle was not over. In fact, it was just beginning.

He wanted to die. He even tried to self-induce a heart attack with Adderall.

“I was suffering from depression. I was suicidal. I had all these different issues and kept it all to myself,” Payne said.

"My road to recovery began the first day I started swimming

I was getting in shape. My cardiovascular activity skyrocketed

Healing with Inspiration (Swimming, Wheel Chair Marathons, Discus)

1st year of recovery started in pool

Only me and the water. You get lost in your thoughts.

5 Laps, 10, 15, 20 and now 100 laps

It is just me and the pool

Now it is me, God and the pool

I must do this to be the best example to my soldiers

My team can’t see me fail

I had to work the body first then the mind and spirit

It has been the most amazing journey that I couldn’t have imagined"

For Further Insight:

Website: http://www.chosenleadership.com/

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

Book: CHOSEN

Andy had just finished volunteering with a group of guys to build a home for the show, ABC’s Extreme Makeover Home Edition. He had been working with groups like Habitat for Humanity and Extreme Makeover when he asked himself the question:

"Why aren't we doing this for our own military families?"

He and his buddies decided to try and build one house to see how it would go. The outpouring of support from the community was an unbelievable moment for them. The feeling you get from doing something big, the pride in seeing it come together, but mostly the enthusiasm from everyone involved in the project made Andy Ladner realize, that this was just the start...

"When we finished that first house, and delivered the keys, we were watching helicopters fly away and two of us were sitting on the back of a truck," when Andy realized "There has to be more than this, we've been doing disaster relief for years, along with food and toys, we need to make this into a legal organization because it's more than just one home."

Andy Ladner is one of those guys who sees a problem and he wants to fix it.

He has volunteers from every US Military Branch, Military Spouses, Military BRATS, ROTC, Patriotic Citizens, Foreign Allied Military, and a Parachute and Rappel Team involved in the multitude of activities they're involved in.

To give you a glimpse at some of the incredible areas they're making a difference:

Operation Coming Home provides custom Hero Homes for troops that have been injured in combat operations. Toys For Lil’ Troops provides toys to the children of deployed or low-income troops. Rescue Ruck provides food for US Military & First Responder Veteran families in need. Rescue Me Across America provides aid to US Military & First Responder Veteran families.

The Next Leap Forward

The sacrifice and commitment of the men and women who serve and who give so much of themselves and their families should be honored. Homelessness and suicide among our Veterans is the shame of the nation.

Resources are always needed, donations are vital, and the support and enthusiasm from all Americans are key.

Listen to the full story on the podcast of how Andy Ladner and Company are making a huge difference in the lives of so many...

For Further Insight:

Website: http://myusvc.com/

Email: [email protected]

In many ways, John's life was all mapped out; at least in his mind it was. An excellent student; good grades, athlete, good attitude, even perfect attendance in school.

The kids in school were always trying to get John high by offering him drugs. He managed to stay clear of drugs despite the peer pressure that permeated the air at junior high school.

Yet, the drugs were all around him. In fact, this part of Ohio has a bit of a reputation for addiction, drug dealing and the kinds of crime that typically come with a devil's playground.

"I was that guy who said, I would never touch drugs, I'm going to play in the NBA," says John. He was a big sports fanatic, playing baseball, basketball, football, he even ran track.

All of that changed one day when a group of guys; the summer before his sophomore year met at a friends house. There were about fifteen kids from around the neighborhood just hanging out, passing around weed while talking about sports and the summer break.

As the joint was being passed from hand-to-hand, one of the neighborhood guys who John did not know very well, passed the joint to him not knowing that he didn't smoke. John shook his head no that he didn't want any, at the same time his buddy said "Give it to me, he don't smoke."

That was the turning point; what John did next would change his life forever!

As he explains it "My ego was like, give it here," he goes on to explain "I gotta be tough like everyone else." John explained further that he felt they were looking down on him.

He took the joint, in what would become the first hit of many. It started with weed, and then it went into pain pills, narcotics, OxyContin; it became a $300 to $500 a day addiction. John Evans was out of control. As he says, "I would “steal, lie, rob, anything to get high.”

At 14 years old, John Evans found himself in a place he never thought he'd be - he was a drug addict. "Some people have an addictive personality; I'm just one of those people," explains John.

Things got worse. John was arrested for leaving the scene of an accident. No license. No insurance. A series of blunders with missing court appearances and related drug problems and John was sentenced to eight years in prison. After serving more than six of those years in prison; and eighteen months at an adult workshop; it was time to take his life back.

The Next Leap Forward

It was about after a year in prison when John received a letter in the mail addressed to Santa Claus from his 9 year old daughter. The letter was intercepted from her mother and sent onward to John. The letter said "All I want for Christmas is my dad."

"That was my moment of truth; clarity," explained John, "that's the moment I stepped back and said, what are you doing?"

John Evans is now helping as many people as he possibly can through the power of social media. He has formed a group called RAW ADDICTION.

Every Saturday night at 9pm EST the group meets via Facebook, a live video feed for one hour. John refers to this as his version of Saturday Night Live. They have counselors who are available to help. They will help get people into detox recovery centers. Some people will ask questions; others will send direct message after the segment has concluded.

The goal is to build awareness to the drug epidemic. They provide the how and why, in what's behind drug addiction. People call in from all around the globe.

There are big goals to open up centers and to assist those folks who need it the most. He is working on making it a 501c3. Raw Addiction groups are planting seeds to educate and bring awareness to the dangers of drugs.

Listen to the full story on podcast of John Evans and his journey from middle school as a good student with aspirations of being a professional sports player to a drug addict; the accident; becoming a prisoner; the letter, and the changes he has made in his life to now becoming the Founder of a group of professionals who want to chan...