"Standing at death's door changed me forever."
-- Christian Griffith, Founder, Live for a Living
Suffering through Survival Run Nicaragua on Isle de Ometepe, a volcanic island in Nicaragua.
It's October 29, 2015, and I'm uncomfortably awaiting the season 6 premiere of Animal Planet's MONSTERS INSIDE ME. The show was telling the story of "Arthur," the little amoeba that entered my body, ate through the walls of my intestines, set up shop on my liver, and tried to kill me.
➤ WATCH THE MONSTERS INSIDE ME EPISODE
The amoeba was called Entamoeba Histolytica. Stands for "Tissue eating amoeba." You can click the link and read really scary, geeky science stuff, or you can trust me when I tell you that it was eating me, killing me, and rapidly growing inside of me.
"This was the largest liver abscess I have ever seen in my career," said Dr. Blass, Infectious Disease, Emory St. Joesph's Hospital.
I thought I was going to die.
Like, real death. Everything goes black, death. The real thing.
That's all it took.
"Dude, you almost &*^%* Died!"
It's always been a reality I just never accepted; and while that was great for my athletic comeback and seemingly medical miracle stories, it was not good for me. As the effects of the physical damage faded away through personal diligence and training, so did the mental and emotional awakening that I'd hoped would spark real change..
It never actually faded away, just pushed down. Neglected, sorta.
It took me seeing myself on national television, crying, and telling myself, back to myself, "Dude, you almost &*^%* died!"
I had been kicking around the idea of serious change for a long time before finally committing on October 29, 2015, but I was always scared to pull the trigger. Always seeking that "right time," until I realized the right time is when you make it the right time.
I quit my 9-5 job two days later.
I've decided to LIVE FOR A LIVING.
