When I was born, the doctors told my parents
that I would be dead within the first 24 hours of my life.
35 years later, all those doctors are dead
and I am the only doctor that remains.
Never believe a prediction that doesn’t empower you.
If you believe predictions that do not empower you,
you will wither away and die,
either physically die or your spirit will die
as you just walk around the world like a carcass that is just following the masses.
The moment you feel sorry for yourself, you’re totally completely frozen in potential.
I’ve been looked at and treated my whole life as if I am not able.
I have had to rise above and show people
that the only disability is one’s refusal to adapt.
And what does adaption look like?
I think it looks like celebration.
It is a belief in yourself that you bring value to the human race,
no matter what your current condition,
title,
or stature is.
Because if I believe that I am disabled,
I would be shy,
I would be insecure,
I would be afraid,
I would act like I need your help.
And the rest of humanity would be OK with that.
But I choose something else.
I was born to rid this world of insecurity.
Because when a human being is insecure, they do stupid stuff.
When we feel like we’re not enough, we chase external validation
and external objects to try to tell us we’re enough.
I’ve found that every human being just wants to be loved,
even if they’re tough,
even if they’re scary,
even if they’re viscous.
You get them in the right position at the right time, they’ll tell you the truth.
They just want to be loved.
Do you know who they want the love from the most?
They want to be able to look in the mirror and love themselves.
And if you can figure that out, then you’re going somewhere.
The real prison - it's not surrounded by barbed wire or electrical fences.
The real prisons do not have guards.
The real prison’s up here.
And we all got it.
We all have a mind that chatters,
so often won’t stop chattering.
I’ve met so many people that are so extremely successful and famous
that are in prison,
because they’re stuck in their minds,
bullying themselves, pitying themselves.
True freedom is dropping down out of that mind.
And what my wife has taught me is drop into your hearts,
into mastering this beating thing that is more than just sending blood to the extremities.
It’s sending emotional possibilities,
infinite possibilities of choice in our behavior, in our life, in our attitude.
Whether you’re sleeping on a prison cot
or in a mansion,
whether you have food in your belly
or you don’t know when your next meal is coming,
when you love yourself,
when you learn to master your emotions,
then and only then are you free.
Thank you Sean for your life's work.
May your message continue to inspire us all.
In loving memory, Sean Stephenson (1979 - 2019)