Life & Limb - A monthly podcast about Living Well with Limb Loss

[00:00:04] Jeff Tiessen: Welcome to Life and Limb, a podcast from Thrive magazine all about living well with limb loss and limb difference. I'm Jeff Tiessen, publisher of Thrive magazine and your podcast host. Let's get right to it by introducing our guest today, Kevin Rempel. Kevin fought for years to rebuild his physical and mental health. Not only did he learn to walk again after a motocross accident that resulted in a spinal cord injury, but he has walked across countless stages, sharing his message, his story, and encouraging others.

A member of Canada's Paralympic sledge hockey team, a bronze medalist at the Sochi Paralympic Games in Russia in 2014, and returning home from the games, Kevin was continually referred to as a hero by many who knew him and knew about his journey. People wanted to understand his mindset, and from that, his The Hero Mindset was born with a mission to help others recognize how they, too, can adopt a mindset to become a hero in their own story. Kevin, I am so excited to have you with us today. How are you?

[00:01:15] Kevin Rempel: I'm doing awesome, dude. And you know firsthand that I am stoked anytime I get to hang out with you and chat about disability life. So I'm fired up for this.

[00:01:22] Jeff Tiessen: That's terrific. What's going on? What's new with you?

[00:01:27] Kevin Rempel: I mean, I'm still definitely hitting the stages, delivering keynotes, but something that I'm super excited about recently is I've now began coaching people as well. So in addition to keynotes, I have a group coaching program called the Hero Tribe and help individuals, whether they do or do not have a disability, to shape and cultivate their own rock solid hero mindset. So, for example, others that have lost a limb, acquired spinal cord injuries, or just navigating serious change, whether they're, moving across or to another country, or just going through some challenges about career or entrepreneurship, and I like helping people navigate change.

[00:02:09] Jeff Tiessen: That's really cool. So is that kind of a one and done, or would someone be part of a group over a period of time, or both? How does that work?

[00:02:20] Kevin Rempel: Yeah, I'm looking to work with people that are ready and excited to commit to a year. That's where I experienced the biggest change in my life, was when my first coach that I hired said, hey, Kev, we could work together for three months, but if you want to see that lasting change, I'm asking you to step forward, to commit to yourself, that you're in this for the long haul, to really experience that transformation. So I'm taking the same approach, and it's a year commitment to work together. We can get together on just the Saturday calls at the Pathfinder membership level, or if you want to join up to the second tier, the Warrior level, we'll connect on Saturdays, plus bi-weekly accountability calls every other Wednesday.

Pathfinder has accountability calls as well, but it's just once a month, not bi-weekly. And if someone was super eager to go all in, then at the third tier, the highest level is what's called the Sage membership. And that's where we'll do everything within the Pathfinder and Warrior level. So, Saturday calls, bi-weekly accountability calls, but we'll also meet once a month, one on one, to really dial in what you need to accelerate your growth in your life, your career, and in your mindset.

[00:03:27] Jeff Tiessen: Wow. That's fantastic.

That's a lot of coaching. It leads me to my first question. We're both Paralympic athletes, different eras, mind you. And we got to know each other in our adult lives and became friends in our adult lives. And I know you as that professional coach and that really dedicated person to his own career and his own health. But what I don't know about you is what you were like as a teenager. What were you like as a teenager?

[00:04:03] Kevin Rempel: Jeff, I'm excited you're asking this question. I just got off a couple other podcasts that are talking about those early childhood years that usually do get skipped over. So to give you some context. Yeah. When I was a kid, elementary school life, I lived a simple life. My family was considered middle class. We were not rich, we weren't poor. We paid the bills kind of deal and lived a very modest life. And in elementary school, I didn't have the best elementary school life. I do feel like I was bullied, but I don't consider myself, my identity, that I was bullied. In school, though, I don't remember it being great because there was one or two kids that always picked on me, and it's like I didn't really have many friends. So I was very excited to leave elementary school, to get into high school.

In high school, things would change a lot because I had a lot more confidence in who I was. And there was a brand new fresh start with an entirely new community of people, friends in the school to build relationships with. And high school was a lot better. So I feel like I had started to find my confidence, who I was, myself, identity, which was BMX and motocross. And I found that I also gained a little bit, like, not a lot, but a little bit of popularity. I at least had people kind of looking to me, you know, Kev's doing something cool. Maybe we ought to hang out with Kev, or what's Kev up to? And so, high school was a lot better.

I still feel like I lived a pretty modest life. I didn't get into too much trouble. It was pretty juvenile, silly things that I did. But overall, it was pretty chill through elementary school and high school. It wasn't until, like, late teens when life started to get kind of crazy.

[00:05:44] Jeff Tiessen: Your injury, was that as a teenager or a young adult?

[00:05:48] Kevin Rempel: I had my spinal cord injury, breaking my back on my motocross bike when I was 23 years old.

[00:05:54] Jeff Tiessen: In competition. Right?

[00:05:56] Kevin Rempel: Putting on a stunt show. Yeah. I'd actually raced dirt bikes when I was in my teens for two years, and I broke my leg two years in a row. I technically broke my left leg three years in a row. I got hit by a car when I was 16.

Then I broke my leg on my dirt bike when I was 17, and then I broke my leg again when I was 18 on my dirt bike. So I did try racing, but I was not cut out to race, say.

[00:06:25] Jeff Tiessen: Par for the course, but, yeah, maybe a bad pun. I want to talk more about your disability because it is limb difference in a different kind of way. But let's jump to the hero mindset that I referred to in your intro. So, I’ll ask you to define that and what it can mean for amputees, people living with limb difference when it comes to being what I really like, how you say, the hero of your own story. So what is the hero mindset?

00:06:57] Kevin Rempel: The hero mindset was created and identified after I came home from the Paralympics, after having competed for four years with Team Canada and achieving a bronze medal with the team. I came home and everyone called me a hero after learning, seeing what I've gone through, learning how to walk again, overcoming paralysis, making Team Canada excelling in high performance sport, getting through depression as well. I've been suicidal, and I speak openly about that. People wanted to know, how did you do it?

And they called me a hero. But I literally got frustrated thinking that I'm not a hero, I'm just Kevin.

So I started to recognize that if people saw me as a hero and they want to understand my mindset now, along with my story, I can teach them what I today call the hero mindset.

The hero mindset is all about just focusing on small things that make a big difference to help you, too, become a hero in your own story.

What are some examples of the small things that make a big difference? Just to kind of cut to the chase on some examples. Working out regularly, making sure you're eating proper food. Disciplining yourself to go to bed on time. The three pillars of self care, nutrition, sleep and exercise. Making sure that you take time to establish some goals. Practice positive habits, have a vision. And these are the small things that I did. I had a vision board at the end of my bed when I was learning how to walk again. When I wanted to make Team Canada. Team Canada, I took a photo off of Google, went to Walmart to print the photo, and then to the dollar store to buy Bristol board and glue sticks to cut and paste in my apartment, and put this on my wall at the end of my bed. So every morning I would wake up and every night before bed, it would be the first thing and the last thing I would think about.

Now, if anyone wants to ask, Kevin, how did you do it? How did you learn how to walk again? How'd you make Team Canada? How did you become an entrepreneur? How'd you become a keynote speaker? That's one of the simple things I did that any one of us can do. But the question is, do you do that?

[00:08:59] Jeff Tiessen: So how do people know? That always seems hard getting out of the gates, or for me, a track athlete, the starting blocks as the metaphor. Even those all seemingly small things, if you put them together it could present as overwhelming to some. What's your advice? Where would I start?

[00:09:22] Kevin Rempel: So where do you start in terms of something as simple as creating a vision board? You go on Google.

Everyone has, I would say most of the world, can all say we have access to Google. Take some time to write down on a piece of paper. What are the top five or ten things you want to have, be, do, or have in your life? Write them down on paper. Then go on Google and find five or ten images to represent that. Like one image for each of those one things. And then, as I said, go to Walmart. Or you can even use a program for free, such as Canva, to create a digital version and make it the desktop screen saver or for your phone. That's one way to create a vision. That's very simple in terms of your fitness and nutrition.

You don't have to go to the gym and crush it. You just may need to go outside for a walk. Or if you're unable to do that, can you lay on the ground and do some sit ups? Can you do ten push ups. Just ten. That's a win. We can all start with something small like that. And in terms of nutrition, when I was depressed and suicidal, I needed to turn things around.

I talk with a lot of energy, Jeff, and I don't want anyone listening or watching to say, Kevin, it's easy. You look like you're doing so great. I've been in that dark place where it seemed like there's no way out.

And when I was in that dark place, the first thing I said to myself is, can I go buy an apple?

Because I knew that I was feeding my body with junk food, sugar, pizza, beer, chips. And it's like I have to eat three times a day. If I at least pick the apple and not the chips when the foods in the house, I'm either going to starve or I'm going to eat the apple.

We can all start with an apple. We can all start with going for a walk, and we can all start with Google. Those are all three very simple things that any one of us can do.

[00:11:09] Jeff Tiessen: That old adage, about a thousand-mile journey starts with the first step. Yours started with an apple. I like that. I want to ask you more about your disability, but while we're talking about that messaging, I would presume that these are the kind of messages you bring to corporate stages. And I'm really interested to know what resonates most with the people who you speak to. What do they come up to you afterward and say… Kevin, this made a difference for me. Or, man, I can relate to this. What do you often hear as commonalities after your presentations?

[00:11:45] Kevin Rempel: What people most often comment about is that they can relate to just going through a difficult time. And admittedly, Jeff, honestly, like I say, there are sometimes that I think my enthusiasm might be a detriment for my message to get across to some.

I spent so many years to grow and move beyond those difficult times that when I think about my mindset, I don't want my mindset to continually go back to the tough times because I want to continue to maintain a rock solid mindset that I've cultivated.

At the same time, it's like, that's why I have to keep bringing up that, yes, I've been depressed. Yes, I've been suicidal. Yes, I've cried myself to sleep. And even today, with my disability, I still experience chronic pain, fatigue, muscle spasms, nerve pain, bowel and bladder issues.

There's not a second that goes by that I'm not uncomfortable.

What people resonate with are the challenges. But what I also know what people are seeking is the belief that they can get through it as well. And so, I don't want to get up and share my story. And for people to feel like it's so cliche that if I can do it, you can do it, too. But I do want people to see that nothing I've done is particularly special.

We can all grab a pen and a piece of paper and start to write down our goals or journal our negative thoughts. We can all, when we're at the grocery store or the convenience store, make a better choice about what food or beverage we fuel our body with. We can all choose to follow the Kardashians online or an influencer that has a positive message. We actually want to feed into our mind where we actually have possibilities, rather than we're never going to be enough.

That's the kind of conversation that I care most about having with any audience members. I believe that they relate to the struggle, and what they're all looking for is the belief that they can get through their own struggle as well.

[00:14:01] Jeff Tiessen: They can do it as well. Yeah. I remember you telling me that times you don't go too deep into your past, because it is a very unique story, too, that we'll talk a little bit about with your dad having a disability as well. And as you talked about the suicidal thoughts and people wanted to hear that. And where you've been. That's kind of the capital, the currency, the authenticity, the lived experience, the legitimacy, maybe, in how you got to here. So I guess you balance that then?

[00:14:40] Kevin Rempel: On stage and in my messaging?

[00:14:43] Jeff Tiessen: How do you manage that?

[00:14:46] Kevin Rempel: So, Jeff, honestly, I'm going through the process right now, and I'm still 14 years into the keynote speaking, working on my keynote with my speaking coach, Jane. We were talking about it when we start out as a speaker, you're super raw, rough, and you have no structure, and you work to bring in that structure so you're a little bit more polished. But then it's like I kept polishing it so much and getting beyond that rough kind of presentation that now it's become so polished that it may be unrelatable, and I got to bring it back to the middle.

So the truth is that, yes, at times I need to remind myself of that.

I don't like saying the words, tone it down, because I don't want the audience to feel like, again, that I'm untouchable or that I'm not like them. But I also want to show up authentically that what I, as an example, love to show people is that you don't have to live in the past forever and you don't have to hold on to those old feelings or emotions. And as an example, living with a disability, I don't have to identify as being disabled. I can just say I have a disability, but I am not disabled. Those are two totally different statements, right?

[00:16:02] Jeff Tiessen: Absolutely.

[00:16:04] Kevin Rempel: When I share my story, it's not like talking about depression as an example or being suicidal. It's like I compare it to a sprained ankle. It's like you'll say, either I have a sprained ankle at the moment or I had a sprained ankle, but with depression, it's like I am depressed or I live with depression. Do I live with a sprained ankle? No, I had a sprained ankle and it's gone. And for me personally, I believe that those statements, those beliefs, that we carry about the situation we've experienced, whether it's acquiring a disability or living with a disability or depression, it doesn't need to live with us forever in terms of, that's our identity.

[00:16:47] Jeff Tiessen: No, I got it. I really like that comment about disability. Like you said, living with one or are you disabled? Language matters, right. It impacts, or it influences attitudes, beliefs, behaviours, too. Absolutely.

I want to talk more about your disability, and you had alluded to some of the things that I know about you, the fatigue, the cramping. Those are things that most wouldn't know about you. So listener warning. Listener discretion advised. I'm going to say something really ableist, and I know it. And we hear this from other people. Kevin, you don't look disabled. Total ableist comment. But you're an incomplete paraplegic. You walk across stages. Like I said, you're an athlete. Your disability isn't visible, and some are, and many aren't really obvious to everyone. So what are these assumptions that people make about you knowing that you have a disability, or not, that aren't in line or congruent with what you manage every day, like pain and cramping and long car rides, you've told me. Long flights are difficult. So talk about that a little bit. What people don't see.

[00:18:17] Kevin Rempel: Yeah, I don't particularly myself have, let's say, comments from ableism, though I know many people who have disabilities have experience that, and some of them are definitely shocking.

But I'll give you an example. Yes. Under the surface, I struggle tremendously on a daily basis.

Being in my vehicle is painful, let alone sitting on a flight. I actually dislike flying because of how much physical pain it creates being stuck and fixed in one position on, especially a hard seat.

So I now travel with a cushion to sit on in the plane, even in business class, because I'm just trying to reduce the pain as much as possible.

Every single day of my life, I have bowel and bladder issues, where I don't need to go into the specifics, but it's like, it's difficult, it's uncomfortable. It's sometimes painful to do that. And so if my nutrition is not on point, I know every single meal I eat is going to make that process, going to the bathroom, either easier or more difficult.

And so, if I don't have the right amount of vegetables or, as an example, if I have too much protein, it's going to be a bad day. It's going to be an awful time and experience and, yeah, chronic pain. It's like I've had some challenges with one particular friendship that I feel like I'm treated as if there's nothing wrong, because I do walk around as if there's nothing wrong, but it's like I don't have the energy to move around the house, to grab things quickly or to go on a super long hike or to be as active as I want to. And that's resulted in some friction and a friendship.

Yeah, it's challenging.

As you can tell, I have a pretty positive attitude to just kind of roll with it and make the best of it. And I don't talk about it very much, but it’s practically the same as being in a wheelchair if I was in a wheelchair. Every day, people are, like, wow, you must have it tough. I'm like, yeah, that's the same life.

[00:20:33] Jeff Tiessen: Your day is very much thought out, planned in terms of daily lifestyle or living activities, in terms of eating and sitting. And I know you're standing now for this interview. So you wake up problem solving, I guess, is maybe a way to explain it. Would that be right?

[00:20:59] Kevin Rempel: That's 100% right. I was just chatting with our friend recently about his newly acquired life with his disability, and I said, you need to start looking at yourself as a problem solver. He has a background in entrepreneurship. And I said, as an entrepreneur, you solve problems every single day. Right? He's like, yeah, of course. I'm like, you need to take the same approach now to living with a disability. We're constantly solving problems… what's the easiest path for me to get from point a to point b without being in more pain than necessary.

How am I going to get to this event and make sure I got the proper nutrition so that with my medication, I can take everything on time and I'm going to eat at the right time of the day so that my digestion is proper, so that I don't feel like garbage. So the next day, when I need to perform on stage or whatever I need to do, I have the energy to do that.

We're forced, constantly living with a disability to figure things out, to be proactive rather than reactive, because we can't afford to be reactive.

And so I think that's one of the biggest mindset shifts that I love, helping people with who may have acquired or live with a disability, meaning that you can't let your disability own you.

You need to own your disability.

It's going to dictate a lot about how you need to behave, but you can't be reactive to that. You have to be proactive. You have to decide, this is how I'm going to live with my disability. There will be times and moments where it flares up on me. There will be moments where my spasticity is so extreme or the nerve pain is so extreme, I can't sit at my computer desk anymore. I have to get up and move or I have to go work out. I can't sit still any longer. And so in those moments, yes, the disability wins, but I'm not going to allow it to control me because I'm going to go do something with it.

[00:22:59] Jeff Tiessen: Yeah, got it.

I wanted to ask you a question, great segue… a question about what you've learned about yourself as a person with a disability. And that's why I wanted to start with as a teenager. That was kind of the baseline. And you as a young adult had your injury, your spinal cord injury. And I think I'm hearing in what you're saying, some of the things you have learned about yourself, that mindset shift. Are there other things? And of course, we learn about ourselves all through our life and especially probably through our 20s, but are there other things that you can tie specifically to disability? Maybe not even yours, but others who you've observed with a different lens since your injury who have been real learning tools for you as you've moved through life?

[00:23:49] Kevin Rempel: Can you give me an example? What do you mean? About things I can tie to my disability?

[00:23:53] Jeff Tiessen: Yeah. So you talked about this mindset shift and not letting a disability own you.

You own it, if I got that right.

And that could be anything in life, a bad boss, other challenges. So, is this something that disability has helped you with, I guess, translate or transfer to other aspects of your life, things that your disability has taught you?

[00:24:25] Kevin Rempel: Yeah. So, here's something that comes to mind for me, Jeff. I think, look, there's such a vast array of disabilities, disabilities and challenges, cognitive, physical, mental, emotional. This is not a blanket statement that it can apply to necessarily every single person, but what I do believe to be true for the majority of people who have a disability, is that there are a lot of people who will view it as a disadvantage, and I believe it can completely be an advantage. Meaning there are so many opportunities in this world for people that have the courage to speak up, to lean into sharing their challenges that are going through our world now, especially in North America which has became more focused on diversity, equity, and inclusion than ever before. There are so many employers, individuals who need people and are looking for people to speak up and speak about their shared and lived experiences. And if you want to create a business around that, you can do that. I just literally, yesterday, I forget the name of this toy. It was called bumped. I think it's called bumped. I've seen online. It popped up, I think, on my Instagram, through Spinal Cord Injury Ontario, that there's now someone who's created a sex toy specifically for people with disabilities. And I'm like, oh, my God. That makes so much sense. If you want to be an entrepreneur, what could you do in a disabled community that's a very niche market, but you could use your experience with disability to create a product, a service, a message that can actually help people. Instead of saying, oh, there's nothing for me out there. There are people that want to support people like you. It's just a matter of finding the confidence to step up because you have a unique gift, talent, or message that can actually help other people. Unless you actually step up and share that, you're going to feel like, oh, I'm a victim to my disability. You're going to say, hey, I'm going to use this and create an opportunity.

And that's where the challenge lies. We all have that, but it's a question of whether you're going to take on that challenge.

[00:26:30] Jeff Tiessen: Yes, it doesn't have to just to be about entrepreneurship, but being your own advocate, right, or finding someone that can be that advocate for you in school, at work, in the community, I think that's a really important message that you share.

Yeah, I agree. Just taking voice.

[00:26:52] Kevin Rempel: Maybe you're a voice in the community. Maybe you start a petition, maybe you just, again, break things down into small steps. I agree with you, Jeff. Not everyone needs to or should be an entrepreneur. But in Toronto and Ontario, Luke Anderson from Stopgap Foundation.

He helps local small businesses build wooden ramps so that their storefronts become accessible. If all you did was connect with one small business owner in your hometown and had a conversation about getting a small wooden ramp built so that a wheelchair or power chair can get inside, and that's the one thing you decided to do that's making a difference, and that's something simple. You don't need to start a whole business, but just by speaking your voice and having that conversation, you now, like you say, Jeff, become that advocate, and you can literally help make change. Maybe you're not changing the entire world, but you change the world for someone through your local community just by having that one.

[00:27:52] Jeff Tiessen: Yeah. Yeah. Like a ramp for a flower shop or any kind of retail shop.

If you don't want to be involved in getting that ramp, maybe that's not your responsibility, but sharing that with the store owner that this is what's needed for me to be your customer. Because I think that understanding is not as prevalent as you and I in the disability community expect it to be or even think it is. There's that education need as well.

Those of us who have voices or those who can speak for us, important roles we can play in making a difference.

[00:28:35] Kevin Rempel: I think one of the things that's so amazing about what you do and through the education you provide and what so many people are now becoming more aware of is that accessibility is not just for people with the typical or visible disabilities, such as an amputee or being in a wheelchair. The seniors, the mothers who are pushing strollers, the everyday individual who, again, may have sprained their ankle. When you're trying to walk into a store and if you got steps and you have a sprained ankle, or if you got a stroller, to have that ramp and a wheelchair button to open the door makes all the difference.

Carrying groceries for the people that can't afford a vehicle, that are trying to take the bus, and they're carrying, like, four or six bags of groceries to have a button to push and a ramp to go down instead of multiple steps and trying to twist a lever, that makes all the difference. It's not just for people who have disabilities. Accessibility and inclusion is for every single person. It's going to make everybody's life easier, right?

[00:29:30] Jeff Tiessen: I mean, for me, a double arm amputee, lever door handles as opposed to round knobs, this is the greatest invention ever.

Obviously, the lever was not invented for the two dozen or so double arm amps in Canada. We're a pretty small group, but again, it works beautifully for me, but obviously for so many others, too. I want to just talk briefly about your background and I know you're open about it. That your dad sustained a spinal cord injury as well, was a paraplegic, and chose a different path than you and very unfortunately chose to take his own life.

Again, you chose a different path, which comes with courage in the true sense of the word, and fortitude.

Where'd that come from for you?

[00:30:29] Kevin Rempel: I found tremendous motivation of how I did not want to be. As an example, when my dad acquired his spinal cord injury after he fell from the tree and was paralyzed, he became very negative, cynical, pessimistic, and angry and bitter about his injury.

I don't want to paint a negative picture about my dad; he was still a great dad. And he did try, though. He struggled. And there were a lot of moments where I felt like he didn't or would not accept personal responsibility. Kept blaming the tree, saying the same three things. The branch shouldn't have broke. It's not my fault, and that it's not fair.

And so how I experienced dad navigating his injury for the four years before I had my injury, and seeing the toll that it took on our family and friends and how that took my dad into a spiral of a negative mindset, it painted a picture for me about what that path looked like. If you make those decisions about how you view and treat your situation.

And so, I learned that I wanted to do the opposite.

I didn't even know what the opposite necessarily looked like. I had to still take things one day, one step at a time. But I already knew what this other path looked like, and I didn't want that. So I said to myself, let's just do the opposite and see how that turns out, because it's got to be better than this scenario.

[00:31:58] Jeff Tiessen: Wow. Yeah.

And we're blessed for that, for having you with us and moving the yardsticks, moving the chains for our community and for so many, be it the corporate community where you speak or the disability community that you lead. So thanks for sharing that. That is personal stuff. Absolutely.

Listen, last thought.

Key ingredients. We're going to talk about key ingredients to a good day for you. And you talked about some of the things earlier about nutrition and movement, but what else could you share? Very generally for our listeners and watchers, the essentials to having a good day?

[00:32:47] Kevin Rempel: I'm going to circle back to it, Jeff. I think without question in my life, in my experience, not just for myself, but for everyone, three pillars we all should be focusing on first are nutrition, sleep, and, that's the foundation of self care and well being. If you're not rested, if you're not fueled with energy, and if you're not feeling a little bit nimble, you're going to be lethargic, and that's going to screw up everything else in your day. So that would be the place to start.

In addition to that, I personally believe tremendously in feeding your mind as much as you feed your body. So, do something simple, such as just reading ten pages of a nonfiction book, listen to a positive podcast when you're watching YouTube instead of watching silly videos, watch something that's informative. And I personally believe that self improvement is never ending and a fantastic and fun journey that not everyone has to become obsessed with it. But I'll give you another example. So you could watch Netflix for sheer entertainment, or you could subscribe to Masterclass.

Masterclass is the Netflix of education in my eyes. So you can watch extremely informative programming in a Netflix style consumption for essentially the same price. And one is pure entertainment for the most part, and the other one is informative education.

And so, back to the last question we just talked about one of the quotes that I'll never forget and love from Jim Rohn, a former speaker who's since passed away. When it comes to making choices and choosing these different paths, Jim said it's called the magic and the mystery.

The magic is that everybody can, but the mystery is that not everybody will.

We can all choose a different path. We can all choose to think differently. But the mystery is that why don't we all do that? Why do some of us pick the left road and some of us pick the right road?

It's the magic and the mystery, but it's also the beauty and the opportunity. And so that's a couple of examples of the information you consume, whether that's a video on Masterclass or a podcast or the book that you read, or, like I said, you don't have to crush workouts. Sometimes just getting outside for ten minutes to grab fresh air is the thing that will change the day for me. It does. Going for a walk, calling a friend, instead of sitting home alone, isolated. If you're dealing with some depression, you can pick up the phone. I know you want people to call you, but do you answer the phone when they call and do you reach out when you need help?

Those are simple things that we can all focus on.

[00:35:26] Jeff Tiessen: Yeah, they sure are. Great golden nuggets. Great recipe.

Kevin, with that, thank you. This has been terrific.

Thank you for sharing some really personal stuff in your life and how you manage it and what you share with others. And I think it's really good lessons that we can look to as we try and thrive with limb loss, limb difference, as amputees, as we call ourselves too. So, for folks who want to get in touch with you, I will just hand it back to you. What’s the best place to find you for your coaching, or messaging to reach you to say hi? How do we do that?

[00:36:14] Kevin Rempel: Yeah, if someone would like to learn more, I’ve got free resources available and if you are interested in working together in the group coaching program, the Hero Tribe, the best place to go, number one is Instagram. Look up at Kevin Rempel. Kevin is K-E-V-I-N-R-E-M-P-E-L. You can send me a DM there. Love to have a chat or visit kevinrempel.com. You can see and learn more about my keynote speaking and the coaching program. Either way, let's just have a chat, and see if there's a fit and we'd love to help you.

[00:36:46] Jeff Tiessen: Terrific. So, Kevin, again, thank you. To our listeners and our viewers, this has been Life and Limb. Again, I thank Kevin for joining us today. You can read about others who are thriving with limb loss and limb difference and plenty more at thrivemag.ca. And until next time, live well.