The day I met THE REAL Indiana Jones by Stefanie Hartman
John’s number one goal was to explore the world’s largest River, the 4,220 mile Nile. He saw the Nile as the most important river on Earth, which he had read as a child as having perhaps the greatest influence on the development of civilization for over six thousand years, in the areas of astronomy, architecture, religion and agriculture. He did indeed become the first man to explore the entire length of the world’s longest river, the Nile – and on a kayak yet! The Nile begins in Lake Victoria, a lake so vast it is 200 miles long and 170 miles wide, it is half the size of Switzerland! The Nile then travels through Uganda, Sudan, Egypt, and ultimately flows into the beautiful blue Mediterranean. A trip so dangerous that local experts begged him not to go and from which they never thought he would return. He encountered thunderstorms, violent rapids, was charged by man-eating crocodiles, bone crushing groups of hippos, elephants who picked up his scent and even water pirates who wanted him as a meal. Somehow he out-paddled or out maneuvered each challenge.
John has looked death right in the eye with over 42 (to date) life threatening experiences. He survived plane crashes, earthquakes, three rounds with quicksand, almost drowned twice, and had an appendicitis attack 200 miles from the nearest health care facility. He was even bitten by a diamondback rattlesnake and lived!
You may think that John has a death wish, but when I met him I realized the opposite it true. He draws his strength from family, close friends and personal spiritual beliefs. Most of all he has a deep appreciation and dominant love of life itself. His parents believed the reason he overcame so many challenges was because he simply had an unfulfilled destiny to follow and would overcome every obstacle until his “mission” was fulfilled.
When John was diagnosed with Cancer in 1983 he felt this was perhaps the biggest blow for him. He was given a one-in-ten chance of living more than five years. He was hit hard emotionally, became depressed and immediately wanted to retreat “to his cave”. But soon those close to him reminded him how many pessimists he himself had met over the years that had told him “You’ll never be able do it. It’s quite impossible you know!” And if he had listened to them before, he would never have achieved so many of his life goals and had some of the greatest experiences of his life. He remembered when he was crossing the Nile, he contracted malaria, four other infections and tape worm, all seriously crippling his ability to go forward, making him tired, ill, weak and lacking food. At those times he wanted nothing more than to retreat into his sleeping bag, but always resisted that dangerous temptation and got back on the river, struggling at first but getting stronger as each hour passed, eventually paddling twenty or more miles between daybreak and nightfall. He vowed that he would survive Cancer with the same determination. He refused to let disease dominate his life, he got up when he felt ill and continued to live his life, he didn’t listen to any pessimists, he researched and read as many books as he could on how other people had survived this illness, he rejected his own negative thoughts and immediately replaced them with positive expectations. He surrounded himself with people he cared about and simply made this a new life goal and resolved to never give up (no matter what) on reaching it. If you have to ask if John overcame Cancer, you don’t know John.
Here’s some of what I learned from John that day:
1. From that day forward I said good-bye to the pessimists in my life who were slowly dragging me down and realized how important choosing the right life partner, close friends and mentors are. What goals or experiences are you missing out on because you have too many nay-sayers around you and not enough strong friends and mentors?
2. It’s never too late to make your own life list, to start fresh if need be and reinvent yourself from scratch.
3. Our mind and our body are stronger than we sometimes give them credit for. To remind myself to keep going even when I am afraid or “don’t feel like it” and soon I feel energized or overcome my fears.
4. Life is a precious gift and not opening it is beyond unforgivable. John simply chooses to ‘go for it’. I learned how incredibly powerful and life changing those decisions can be.
5. Stop making excuses for why things can’t be done. For one, I don’t want a membership into the pessimist club but secondly John was not a rich man, nor did he have super human strength. He didn’t have access to books or knowledge that we don’t. He wasn’t a lone explorer with nothing to risk but himself, he has a loving wife and five children. He simply made a decision and took action. He prepared for things as best he could before hand then he trusted himself to figure out the rest. There’s a saying that a client of mine sent me after we succeeded at a marketing campaign despite nay-sayers. It said “Those who say it can’t be done should get out of the way of those who are doing it.”
6. Each adventure, each rewarding experience, each step you take in exploring where your life can go makes you stronger, makes you more confident, and shows you its possible. You need to ‘do’ first in order to ‘know’ second, its never the other way around. Waiting until you’re ‘sure’ or you know it’s the right thing is futile. Now I don’t wait for my doubts to come up or my fears to subside or for me to ‘know’ the answer. I plan my life, I make the best possible choices I can and I surprise myself each step of the way with every success I have. I’m even surprised at how much each ‘mistake’ gave me a valuable life nugget who’s knowledge saved me even more from a potential future disaster or experience.
7. I learned how important it is to value your own life journey and to recognize that each of us is on one, whether we are aware of it or not. I follow John’s advice to have more patience with myself and other people. To resolve conflict and to mend conflicts. I also resolve to align myself with good people and have the courage to sever ties with any one who is constantly negative, doesn’t see the gift of life or who makes me feel demeaned in their presence. I will make a point of aligning myself with ‘teachers’, people who see the world differently than myself or who have knowledge that I don’t, who can open me up to another area of life that I never knew existed and who can guide me through it and yet let me lead my own way. These people show up in everyone’s life, the trick is – do you always notice them?
Through the graciousness of John and his wife Carol inviting me into their home without having met me before hand, I learned that my goals and the things I want to happen in my life may not really be as far away or as insurmountable as I sometimes make them out to be. Sometimes all you need is the courage to take that chance, make that phone call or take a tiny step and you’re there before you know it.
It is time for you to have your own private ”wish list”, which will turn into a “to do list”, then finally into a ”list of accomplishments”! Begin today!
Resources:
“The Survivor” written by John Goddard, published by Health Communications, Inc.
Sitting down with John Goddard himself.
Considered one of America’s most influential entrepreneurial mentors to help you get clients, skyrocket sales, and become famous in your niche or field, Stefanie Hartman, is known as “The Expert’s Expert”. CEO of Centaur Strategies, she founded the entrepreneur’s “Millionaires-in-Training Mentorship Program” that literally teaches you how to re-invent yourself, become a published expert and create a six-to-seven-figure annual income from selling information you already have! Learn the “behind-the-scenes’ marketing, business & profit secrets from the marketing expert to the guru’s. www.mitprogram.com www.PrivateJVClub.com
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Stephanie, I enjoyed this story,updating me on John Goddard since my husband and I met him and heard him speak a couple of times. I hadn’t realized he had had cancer. We have read his book about his Nile adventure and must get “The Survivor.” We have the list he handed out and often refer to it…and mention this man to others who are struggling to realize their dreams. Thanks for sharing.