Sascha Gallardo – March 30, 2021
In Two Disabled Dudes podcast episode number 138, Ben shared inspiring lessons he learned from having an AVM stroke, coping with the loneliness and fear during recovery, and making the most out of life.
The episode, titled We Only Have One Life to Live, started with Ben sharing his top 5 favorite books which were grouped into two themes such as overcoming challenges and path to success.
The first batch includes the books that have helped through the most difficult period of his life such as Man’s Search for Meaning by Victor Frankl, The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho, and Unlimited Power by Anthony Robbins. The second batch, on the other hand, were the two most influential books for him as he was building a company. They were Built to Last by Jim Collins and Jerry Porras and Atomic Habits by James Clear.
Ben then briefly shared how his rare disease journey started when he had a near fatal AVM stroke in 2006. Then the loneliness and anxiety that he’s been through while recovering from surgery prompted him to create a community for AVM survivors. This eventually led him and his friend Scott Orn to co-founding Ben’s Friends.
Sean Baumstark, one of the podcast hosts, asked Ben if he found himself approaching life differently during the two most difficult years of his life where he was vulnerable to having another stroke.
For Ben, those two years were transformative for him and his family. It made him realize that we all would die eventually and what matters is what we do with the time that we have.
Ben said that because of this realization, he was able to let go of all the emotional baggage.
“There’s a book called Not caring what other people think is a superpower. That is fantastic because I really don’t care. I almost died. I don’t care what people think of me. It gave me a tremendous ability to take on these crazy risks,” shared Ben.
To learn more about what Ben shared in the podcast, listen to the episode here.