Then from birth to the age of 40 you keep getting a second chance at life. I have a friend who has lived this bizarre experience.
“You should be dead” is a phrase doctors have repeatedly told him.
The Aussie redneck refuses to fall down and die. The bastard keeps getting back up and his story will inspire the hell out of you.
A hello turns into 6 throat tumors
Michael is a mate. I always love hearing from him.
When I first saw his story I was inspired by it. The guy had the balls to get up in front of 10,000+ people and tell his tale. Some smart person recorded the speech.
I found it on Facebook and shared the video on LinkedIn. Tens of millions of people saw it. It changed my life and his. That’s how we became friends.
Our friendship is weird. I like to stay in touch, but there’s always this sheer horror that when I reach out he may not be there anymore. When I spoke to him 7 days ago I got a reply I never like to get.
6 tumors found mate
That’s all the message began with. As usual my heart sank. One of the most inspirational guys I’ve ever met was facing death again.
A life full of bad luck
At 11 months old, Michael got diagnosed with an incurable cancer of the central nervous system. It came with a 96% death rate.
His mother put him into a program for a new experimental drug. Within 30 days 20 out of the 25 kids were dead. She’d sit there in the hospital and watch the body bags get taken out.
Despite this, his mother chose to keep him on the drug.
It took several years of chemo for the cancer to go away. He could go on being a kid now.
But not for long…
At 12 years old he had his first heart attack. Normally only old people get those. He made it through.
At 18 he left Australia to go to America and play baseball. While he slid into second base he blacked out.
Another heart attack.
His sports career ended abruptly. Another dream dead. When he got home to Australia all he wanted to do was die. Somehow he lived.
In 2018 the doctors found four tumors in his throat. His wife cried until no more tears could come out and her body had to make more.
“Tomorrow is not guaranteed. You need to slow down.”
… the doctor told him.
In under a year his wife got pregnant.
They were so happy. Finally they could put all these health scares behind them. One night her back started to ache. They got it checked out. She was 2cm dilated. They airlifted her to the hospital.
Warning, warning, emergency, emergency.
Doctor: “Your baby boy has 4 days to live. Do your best. Then say goodbye.”
Michael finally found out what it was like to be his mother. He wasn’t the one in the hospital bed this time. But he wished to god he was. That brings us to 2022.
6 more tumors in his throat. Another chance to beat death and be the cat that lived 9 lives. And he freaking loves it.
How I feel about possibly losing this great man
I’ve seen Michael tell his story in front of a massive audience.
It’s hard to put into words. The whole way through there are twists and turns. You think there’s going to be a happy ending. But there isn’t. Ever. It seems cruel. The whole way through he cries along with the audience.
He relives this story every time he tells it in one of his motivational speeches he does for some of the biggest companies in the world.
When he told me about this latest episode it hit me hard. I feel like there’s no one else in the world like him. Most people wouldn’t be able to function in light of this kind of news. Yet he does.
His previous career goal was to become a rich banker — that’s how we bonded. Then he figured out it’s all bullsh*t. Now he doesn’t give a crap about living the Wall Street life.
There’s something about his story. It hits me on every level. There’s no challenge I can ever face that compares. There’s no way I could ever cheat death as many times as him. I already had a near-miss with cancer in 2015.
Although like Michael, something strange happened. After I came out the other side from the dangerous experience, all my fear was gone.
I was no longer afraid anymore.
It’s as if a near-death encounter wakes us the hell up from the nightmare many people live.
What this all means for you
Michael goes to hospital on the 15th of next month.
In the meantime, he gave me some great advice you can use.
He said when times are tough stay busy doing something you love. For him that’s giving motivational speeches. For me it’s writing. For you it might be something else.
The next tip he gave me was to leave a legacy. Don’t play it small. Your life can inspire the lives of others, no matter what you’ve achieved. Find a way to do that — or die trying.
The last thing he told me was to do it all for your family.
They make the sacrifices worthwhile. They give you a reason to live. It’s hard to be down when they depend on you for love. With my daughter about to be born, this advice hit me like a brick in the face.
So let me finish with this. Michael … mate … those six tumors in your throat don’t stand a chance. Go beat the crap out of them for us.
