A Wounded Warrior's Story, With Army Ranger Sergeant First Class Ryan Davis
Just three years ago, in the dark of night on a battlefield in a foreign land, Army Ranger Sergeant First Class Ryan Davis was hanging on to life by the very slimmest of threads.
The tale of heroism, selfless love and courage, and perseverance in the midst of profound physical, emotional, and psychological suffering that unfolded on and after that battlefield incident is nothing short of mindblowing. It's the stuff for which Medals of Honor are awarded. In fact, Medal of Honor petitions have been submitted for individuals involved in Ryan's rescue. It's the stuff out of which new battlefield protocols and medical interventions are developed. In fact, new protocols and interventions have been developed as a result of lessons learned. And it's the stuff on which Hollywood blockbusters and award-winning documentaries are based.
In short, it's the kind of story for which I have absolutely no frame of reference, and neither do most of you, I would imagine.
Ryan was pushed to the extremes of human experience and lived to tell the tale. And tell the tale he does--in this episode, for you and me.
It would be easy to spend an entire episode and then-some on the battlefield incident itself and the harrowing ups and downs of his recovery from it. But I did my best to manage my curiosity about those chapters of Ryan's story so that we could also explore what Ryan has learned on the extreme frontiers of human experience that we can integrate into our lives now--before a crisis hits or Mortality makes a surprise appearance. Because those who venture to the outer limits of human experience and return have knowledge that the rest of us need.
Today, in some of the most fundamental ways, 10-year Army Ranger veteran Ryan Davis is literally and figuratively a new man. Precisely how will become clearer as you listen to our conversation.
As you listen, though, don't fail to look for how Ryan's Story has insight that you can put into Action in your own life. Insight + Action = Transformation. Don't overlook the Transformation potential available to you in Ryan's harrowing tale--as different from your own Story as it may be.
Because no matter how different the specific circumstances of each of our Stories may be, we are all caught up in the same Big Story of humans trying to find their way through Life on Planet Earth. That's where Ryan's story and your story converge.
Tune in to the full episode for the whole story and all of Ryan’s hard-won wisdom for your life.
Highlights from This Episode
Ryan shares a blow-by-blow account of the battlefield encounter that changes his life forever
Ryan shares the two moments that turned the tide in his recovery.
Ryan shows us how the body follows the mind–for better or for worse. The choice is yours.
Ryan explains how to use our pain to propel us forward in life.
How to transform your minutes into “moments”
Separating your job from your Purpose
What Ryan knows because of his experience that the rest of us need to know
What’s most important to Ryan now
Redeeming Ryan’s Suffering In Your Own Life
"We've stared this in the eye and we've cried at it and we've screamed at it and we've fought with it and we do not fold to it."
Ryan said this in reference to how he and his son have responded to Ryan's new reality. This, my friends, is sometimes what it takes to keep moving forward in life. Resolve. Grit. An unwillingness to give in or give up, no matter what life throws at us. An unwavering determination to keep going. The spirit of a warrior.
Among many, many things, this sticks with me from Ryan's story. I want to embody and exhibit the spirit of a warrior in life--battered and bruised but undefeated to the end, triumphant in death.
What sticks with you? How will Ryan's Story change your Story for the better? Search your heart, be honest, and be specific.
Let Ryan's suffering be redeemed in the fruit that it produces in your life.
May Ryan's sacrifice be redeemed in all of our lives.
Remember: You ARE going to die. But you're not dead yet. So get after it!
The Graveyard Group: Win on the Battlefield of Your Mind and Die With No Regrets
Don't wait to encounter your Mortality until you have to. By then, it's too late to change anything. There's no do-over.
In The Graveyard Group, you intentionally confront the reality of your Mortality to tap into its incomparable power to motivate you to give what matters most the attention it deserves NOW. You do this with the help of your own personal, confidential board of advisors. Along the way, you overcome obstacles, mend relationships, make dreams a reality, become the person you were made to be, and live the life you were made to live with guts, gusto, and abandon. In short, you fulfill your destiny and set the stage to die with no regrets.
New groups for men and women are forming now.
I’m so glad you tuned in today. Don’t forget to follow this show, and I’ll see you next time on Andrew Petty is Dying.
Let’s Connect
I can help you win on the battlefield of your mind so you win on the battlefield of Life. Find me on Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn, visit my website, or email me.
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Welcome! I invite you to browse the archive of past interviews with fascinating people and short, topical solo episodes--all designed to equip you with the mindset and the means to become the person you were made to be and live the life you were made to live with guts, gusto, and abandon. We flip the script by inviting our ancient foe, Death, to become an unlikely ally in our heroic journey to leave it all out on the field of life. Turns out, Mortality might just be the best motivator available--blasting us out of our ambivalence and complacency and toward the fullness of our potential.