Are you living an extraordinary life? Or are you living a life trapped within your fears and insecurities? My guest this week, Terry Tucker, shares with us how we can find our purpose and live with passion.
(Full audio below)
Extraordinary living through adversity
Welcome to the Invincible Success podcast which helps you amplify your sales, leadership, speaking, and life!
Though most of us deal with adversity in our lives, my guest this week has dealt with more than most. Terry Tucker has faced injury, loss, and multiple bouts of cancer. Through it all, he has remained a champion for living your most extraordinary life.
Terry shares with us both his struggles and the lessons those struggles have taught him. The conversation is open, vulnerable, and amazingly powerful. Anyone looking to live a life of importance will get so much from this episode.
Terry’s Bio (In his own words):
I have reinvented myself frequently over my professional career. After I graduated from college at The Citadel (where I played NCAA Division I basketball), I was employed in the Marketing Department at the corporate headquarters of Wendy’s International in Dublin, Ohio. From there, I worked in hospital administration for Riverside Methodist Hospital in Columbus, Ohio. After getting married and moving to California for my wife’s job, I became the Customer Service Manager for an academic publishing company in Santa Barbara.
I became a police officer with the Cincinnati Police Department, where I was a SWAT Hostage Negotiator. Following a family relocation to Texas, I started a school security consulting business and coached high school basketball in Houston. Each time I took on a new job, I had to develop new skills and faced different challenges. There was always a significant learning curve with every new position.
But my greatest challenge began in early 2012 when I was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer called, Acral Lentiginous Melanoma that presented on the bottom of my foot. By the time the melanoma was detected, it had metastasized to a lymph node in my groin. Because my cancer is so rare (only about 6,500 people are diagnosed with this form of cancer in the U.S. each year), I was treated at the world-renowned MD Anderson Cancer Center. I had two surgeries to remove the cancer, and after I healed, I was put on a weekly injection of the drug, Interferon, to help keep the disease at bay.
Terry’s Extraordinary Life is Challenged
Unfortunately, my cancer experience hasn’t ended with me conquering my disease. The melanoma that had plagued me for over six years returned in 2017, and my only treatment option was the amputation of most of my left foot in 2018. The cancer reemerged again in 2019, requiring multiple operations. In February of 2020, a tumor in my ankle fractured my tibia. Unfortunately, my only remedy was the amputation of my left leg above the knee. Recently, my surgeon advised that more than likely, I won’t be here 36 months from now.
But I refused to be a victim of this malignancy. Vowing to continue my fight, I knew the only way cancer could win is if I gave up or gave in to the disease, or it killed me.
I chose the title, Motivational Check, for a simple reason. When I was a recruit in the Cincinnati Police Academy, it was a phrase any of our classmates could shout if they needed encouragement, motivation, or support. The response from the class was to answer with a loud “84,” signifying our Recruit Class number and letting the person needing the reassurance know that we were all there for him or her.
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Mark Steel is an Inspiring Sales and Leadership Keynote Speaker and a Presentation Skills coach. In addition, Mark is a TEDx speaker, podcast host, and the founder of Peak Potential, LLC.
With over 20 years of professional speaking experience, Mark is dynamic, engaging, informative, and fun. Sales, leadership, and team-building audiences rave about Mark’s ‘Invincible Success’ keynotes and programs. As a coach, Mark works with executives and professionals to ensure that when they speak, their message is resonating with the intended audience while moving them to act.
Visit Mark’s Speaking Topics page to learn more about how you can “Sell with Confidence, Lead with Purpose, and Speak with Impact.” Also watch for Mark’s forthcoming book, “Invincible Success: How to Amplify your Sales, Leadership, Speaking, and Life!”
Mark is a married father of two living outside Chicago, Il and he is an avid rock climber. #ClimbOn #InvincibleSuccess