Comeback Stories

Latest Episodes:

Carson Daly’s Comeback Story - Bringing Mental Health Out Of The Shadows Jul 29, 2021

Show notes

Carson Daly, known for his charisma and energy on stage and on the mic, shares how he struggled with anxiety and panic attacks, and how he almost ended up hiding away from the world completely. Find out why Carson is so passionate about bringing mental health into the national conversation, why it’s so important to find someone you trust to talk to if you suffer from depression and anxiety, and how gratitude and meditation allow you to take life one day at a time.

Carson grew up with fond memories in Southern California. He lost his father when he was young but his mother remarried and he became part of another family. Carson’s parents are a big part of how he thinks and feels like he does now.
When his father died, Carson wasn’t old enough to really recognize it as pain at the time. The pain was dispersed later in his life.
Carson’s earliest real teacher was his fifth grade teacher, Mr. Simons. He was the first non-parent person to make a real impact in his life and was always looking for deeper, teachable moments. Carson’s mom was also a big source of life lessons for Carson growing up. He got a balance of confidence from his mother and practicality from his stepfather.
Carson wanted to be a professional golfer when he was younger. He was actually good friends with Tiger Woods in high school. He tried to go pro but it didn’t pan out for him.
Carson got connected with radio in his early 20’s and, being dedicated, he rose the ranks very quickly.
Only in the last few years did Carson realize that he struggled for decades with depression and anxiety. There were multiple times where he would have panic attacks and think he was going to die without understanding what the real problem was.
For Carson, anxiety was not a clinical term growing up. He believed that for a long time until he was educated enough to know how wrong that was.
The best day for a lot of people with mental health scenarios is the day they get diagnosed. When Carson was finally diagnosed with panic disorder, it was a major turning point in his life and a great awakening.
Society has a perception of people on television and in sports. Carson is working towards making it more acceptable to talk about your struggles.
Carson chose cognitive therapy as his treatment instead of opting for a pharmaceutical solution. One of the first things his therapist wanted him to do was hyperventilate and trigger a panic attack to help him understand the threat that his body was perceiving.
At Carson’s lowest point, he was on the verge of agoraphobia. The danger of panic attacks is that you may begin to avoid situations that could initiate those attacks, which gradually compresses your world until you're stuck in bed and hiding away from everything.
Carson put in a lot of work in therapy to push through that fear around triggering panic attacks. The only way to get through them was to go through them.
The breakthrough moment for Carson happened on the Today Show and it happened organically. After another guest shared his mental health journey, Carson said he had dealt with essentially the same struggle. Now Carson owns the mental health space on MSNBC.
Carson now uses his platform and voice to highlight mental health issues and other people who are helping bring the conversation to the rest of the world.
Carson’s willingness to share his experience came from doing the 12 Step work in recovery meetings. Knowing that he had the power to impact and help somebody else motivates him to have that conversation and share his story with whomever wants to hear it.
Suffering in silence is never the way. We can’t live life alone.
If Carson could send his past self a short message, it would be something along the lines of “things will get better, even if you don’t believe it.”
If you know what’s holding you back but don’t know the next steps, talk to someone. If you can get into therapy, do it, but if that’s not an option, find someone you trust and just start an honest conversation. You will feel much better and it will allow you to explore your courage and ability to talk in other venues. Talking is the key.
Feeling grateful is vital. Carson now practices gratitude everyday and that helped counteract a lot of the ailments that he suffered from.
If you’re meditating, focus your mind on something around you and, when your mind strays, bring it back. Each time you do, you grow stronger in your awareness. One of the best ways to begin is by downloading a meditation app like Calm.
Starting your day with meditation instead of picking up your phone is game changing. Meditation can integrate with your daily practice of surrendering and letting go. This practice allows you to be free from yourself and step into your power.
Taking life one day at a time has allowed Carson to pull back his perspective and stick to his journey and the positive trend in his life. No one day or one moment is as big or as bad as it may seem.
Carson’s comeback shoutout goes to God and his first therapist that diagnosed him.

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Your Anointing Is In Your Authenticity Jul 26, 2021

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Your Anointing Is In Your Authenticity - words from Darren Waller

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Drew Robinson’s Comeback Story - Surviving Suicide and Finding Life on the Other Side Jul 22, 2021

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Drew Robinson shares his incredible story of struggling with depression and surviving a suicide attempt, and how the experience of living through it opened his eyes to how much he would have missed out on and what life really has to offer. Learn why Drew’s focus on perfection created a vicious negative feedback loop in his life and how he’s learned to let go of his ego and live life one day at a time.

Growing up for Drew was fast paced. He was constantly outside and constantly getting into trouble, with baseball being a major focus throughout his life.
Drew was the kind of kid who wore his heart on his sleeve all the time. He was emotional about setbacks and always tried to follow in his brother’s footsteps but felt like he always fell short.
We all have an image of perfection in our minds when we’re growing up, and chasing the illusion of perfection leads to the constant sense of being less than you could be. For Drew, this felt like every mistake he made meant he was a bad person and failing at life.
Living a life like that can be extremely painful. Drew sought distractions to make himself feel better, at least temporarily, but they didn't do anything to really improve the situation.
There is so much room for comparison in life and professional sports. Drew felt like a lesser player when he compared himself to other baseball players and this led to feeling like a lesser person. It’s a recipe for a negative emotional balance.
Drew is grateful to have survived his suicide attempt and come out of it with a different mindset. The moment he woke up, he started asking how he could use his experience in a positive way.
Drew’s first real teacher was his high school baseball coach. He still speaks to him on a regular basis because it’s not common to find a person that cares about you as a person first, and what you do second.
Leading up to Drew’s suicide attempt, he called off his wedding and questioned every decision he was making. He was worried about being done with baseball after being an athlete for his entire life and he started questioning whether life was worth the effort.
He started planning out his suicide very methodically, even writing out the things he wanted to say in his suicide note. He had a number of opportunities to reach out to people that cared about him but unfortunately, he didn’t risk that kind of connection.
On April 16, Drew shot himself in the head and survived. Over the next 20 hours, he realized that he wanted to live and regards that moment as a beautiful experience within terrible circumstances.
When Drew shot himself, he killed his ego. Having a near death experience revealed how important the little things in life are. It made Drew realize that there was so much more to life than baseball.
His relationship with baseball has completely changed. He’s still trying to improve his skill set but he’s trying to find the sweet spot between his profession and the rest of his life.
The middle ground is the holy ground. We are all trying to find our center and it’s important to have the tools and techniques like meditation and journaling to do that.
In the same way that one negative thought can turn into suicidal thoughts and then actual planning, one positive thought can manifest some incredibly positive things as well.
Drew had to stop the narrative that he wasn’t quite good enough in the various areas of his life in order to begin telling his comeback story. Dropping the expectation of perfection was the beginning of accepting the process of failure and growth.
Drew is grateful just to be alive now and recognizes how much he would have missed had his suicide attempt been successful.
Drew didn’t have self-love and that led to him always spinning things around to be about him in pursuit of that feeling of value. The lack of self-love prevented Drew from accepting the love from other people in his life.
Filling yourself up allows you to pour things onto other people; whether that’s love or encouragement, it comes from believing in yourself first.
Once you start caring about yourself, you will be surprised how quickly it affects the people around you.
Being able to receive something from others is one of the most beautiful things that Drew has ever experienced.
In terms of non-negotiables, Drew meditates and journals every day. He also focuses on having real, meaningful conversations with the people in his life instead of just the surface things. He’s deepend his relationships more in the past year than his entire prior life.
If Drew could have a conversation with his younger self, he would tell him that worrying about things going wrong isn’t going to help things go right, right now. He would ask himself to be more present.
If you don’t know where to start, begin by talking about it with someone. Inside his own head, Drew’s thoughts seemed so logical, and figured out but had he spoken to someone else, he would have realized what he was missing.
Drew’s comeback story shoutout goes to Diana, his psychiatrist, and his family. They have stepped up and supported Drew throughout everything that’s happened and he realizes he’s very lucky to have that kind of support system.

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Know Your Values Jul 19, 2021

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Donny talks about the importance of knowing your core values, and how they will influence every decision in your life, including your career, relationships, goals, and your life’s purposes.

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Richard Maraj’s Comeback Story - Finding Gratitude and Love After a Life-Changing Car Accident Jul 15, 2021

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Richard Maraj shares his story of how he escaped a downward slide into depression after suffering a spinal cord injury that left him paralyzed and unable to walk again, and how he discovered his passion for spreading a message of spirituality, gratefulness, love, and joy.

Growing up for Richard was fabulous. As one of the youngest of 10 siblings, he always had someone to play with and he excelled in sports at school. It wasn’t until the day after he graduated from high school did things change where he was paralyzed in a car accident.
The accident seemed to end everything in Richard’s life and he was devastated, leading to further depression. When he went to University to learn kinesiology he felt even more isolated and he began using marijuana and alcohol to numb the pain. It was at university where Richard saw another injured person using crutches instead of a wheelchair.
He began using crutches himself but it was an arduous experience and involved a lot of pain and difficulty, but learning how to use crutches and being able to move without a wheelchair forced Richard to push through and gave him the drive and belief that he could do anything.
Sometimes people come into your life and they can be the uniting force and catalyst that allows you to believe in yourself.
Richard’s mom was his first real teacher. She gave him the support that allowed him to figure out the crutches and always guided him towards taking the time to do things well.
Find what ignites your passion. Your talents and abilities are not always attached to your job, but you should find the gift you have that you were meant to share.
Live the slash. You can be more than just your profession.
Richard was encouraged by his brother to join Toastmasters, and before he knew it Richard was competing in the World Championship of public speaking. This opened him up to speaking gigs and helped spread a message of motivation, which eventually evolved into a ministry of spirituality, forgiveness, and wellbeing.
When Richard stopped believing that his life was hopeless, it opened up his life and what was possible for him. Our own self-worth is the most influential aspect of how much love and joy we receive.
Almost everybody has a belief around what they are capable of. We need to be more flexible and willing to see what’s possible.
Gratitude is the foundation for Richard’s life. You have to be grateful for what you have today because if you can’t, you will never be able to be grateful for the things you have when you make it. An attitude of gratitude opens yourself to solutions and joy.
Forgiveness is the other pillar of Richard’s life. Forgiveness and letting go is one of the hardest things that humans can do. When you hold bitter resentment and hatred in your heart, there is no room for love or joy. Forgiveness frees you from the past and lets you move beyond the pain.
Our perspective on the world affects how we see everything, which is why a growth mindset is so important. A fixed mindset only sees obstacles and failure.
For anything that happens to you, there are three things that can come of it: it can make you worse, leave you unchanged, or it can improve you and take you to greater heights.
If a situation looks hopeless, ask the question “what can I learn from this?”.
Curiosity is what opens up relationships and creates more intimacy and depth.
If Richard could send a short message to his past self, it would be to keep being himself and live his most authentic life. Richard has realized that the more comfortable he has been with himself the more effective he’s been as a speaker and spreading his message.
Connect with someone who has the mindset of success. Find role models and ask them questions if you can.
Richard’s comeback story shoutout goes to his mom and brother, as well as the person who comforted him after his car accident and kept him safe until the ambulance arrived.

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Expectations Jul 12, 2021

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Sure, we want things to go a certain way ...

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Nick Santonastasso’s Comeback Story - The Unshakeable Mindset Jul 08, 2021

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Nick Santonastasso delivers some inspiring wisdom learned from 25 years of adversity. Being born with no legs and one arm gave Nick a choice in life. He could resent the hand that he was dealt, or he could choose to live life to its fullest and turn that obstacle into a launchpad for success, growth, and learning. Nick shares the mindset and beliefs that allow him to crush it every single day and how your story of adversity is the foundation for your success if you choose it to be.

Growing up was incredibly challenging for Nick. One of the biggest advantages he received early on was his parents focusing on the 30% chance of him surviving and not the 70% chance of him dying. What you focus on you get more of, and Nick pulled through to continue to take on the obstacles in front of him.
Nick’s parents gave him as many opportunities to figure things out for himself as much as possible. Early on, Nick developed an empowering relationship with failure and rejection, and became solution-oriented above all.
Focus 10% of your energy on the problem, analyze it, feel it, and then commit the rest of your energy to the solution because what you focus on you get more of.
You need to realize that who you are is built over time and you need to put in the work every day.
Focus = Emotion = Action = Results. What is wrong in your life will always be there to focus on, but on the flip side what is right is always there too and you get to choose.
In middle and high school, Nick was looking for the secret sauce which was confidence. Confidence is a skill that you hone and practice, and is following through on your promises.
How many times have you made a promise to yourself that you broke? Every time you do that you diminish your self integrity and your word and your relationship with yourself. One broken promise can lead to a downward spiral.
Confidence and self-worth is the foundation to your success, because you will never make more than you think you are worth, in all areas of your life.
When something negative happens to us, we have the choice of stacking thoughts either negatively or positively. For Nick, an early experience of pain from bullying led to him choosing to break through the pain and choosing the positive path.
Your brain is a problem solving machine and if you ask it a question it’s going to give you an answer. Negative, disempowering questions like “why me?” will give you disempowering answers. Great leaders don’t give you answers, they lead you to the right answers by asking the right questions.
What are you willing to sacrifice for your dream? What are the limiting beliefs that you need to cut out that are not serving you? Who are the people in your life that you need to cut out that are no longer serving you?
Love your family and friends, but choose your peer group. If you spend time with people with low standards, it’s only a matter of time before you lower your own standards.
Change is hard because our brain is always trying to bring us back to our old identity. We are in a constant battle with our old self that is trying to sabotage our growth.
Nick recalls an event when he was on an airplane and how he chose to look at the situation in a positive light. Reframing is a technique that you can use to find the empowering meaning from a negative event.
One of the most painful moments in Nick’s adult life was when his brother overdosed. Nick had to rise up and be there for his father. He learned that he can’t control everything in his life, that things will happen and they can either sink you or you can learn from it.
Your adversity sculpted you. Your adversity is a blessing that enables your ability to cultivate a more powerful character.
Nick has a daily practice that he uses to maintain his unshakeable mindset. Two of his non-negotiables are drinking a gallon of water and 45 mins of movement.
Most people have a dirt road to happiness and a highway to hell. Most people design the rules of their life to make it hard to feel successful. You are in charge of your rules.
Gratitude is the most powerful emotion because it outweighs all the negative emotions. You can be grateful for the things that you have, but you can also be grateful for things that haven’t happened yet, and doing so pulls it toward you. This is why visualization and meditation can be so powerful.
Avoiding your phone in the morning is a simple way to keep the ball in your court instead of giving your power away to the world.
If Nick could offer a piece of advice to his younger self it would be to stay the course. Most people aren’t persistent enough to get the results they want. Also, seek validation from within and take your power back. The only opinion that matters is your own.
Comparison is the thief of joy. Only compare yourself to the next greater version of yourself.
If you know you need to change but don’t know where to start, begin by consuming great content. Your mind is a garden, and if you don’t tend your garden weeds will grow. Find someone who has the mindset and lifestyle you want and model them. Be conscious of the people that you are learning from.
Always have your goals and ambitions at the top of your mind and always share them with people because you never know who is going to open the next door for you.
Nick’s comeback shoutout goes to his brother and his business partner. Sometimes it takes a person from a different walk of life to see a gift in you that you may not see for yourself.

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How Free Do You Want To Be? Jul 05, 2021

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Happy Fourth of July!

In this episode, Donny talks about the power of “Freedom” and the tips and practices to find more freedom in your mind and in your life.

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Anahata Ananda’s Comeback Story - Shamangelic Healing Jul 01, 2021

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Anahata Ananda shares her story of pain, discovery, and transformation. Learn how Anahata found Shamanic healing as a path towards recovery from a childhood poisoned by her hate of her father, and how shadow work and addressing that pain unlocked her ability to forgive, love, and reach her true potential, and help other people do the same thing.

Anahata Ananda is the founder of Sedona’s Shamangelic Healing, she blends the compassion and tenderness of an Angel and the wisdom and strength of a Shaman to guide profound journeys of core healing and spiritual awakening.
As a Certified High-Performance Coach, Shamanic Healer, and Soul Guide, Anahata has guided thousands of individuals through core life shifts, helping them to turn their life around and create the life of their dreams. Anahata masterfully creates a safe and loving space for inward transformational journeys that empower individuals to release their fears, open their hearts and reclaim their power.
Growing up, Anahata's childhood was bittersweet. She spent a lot of time outdoors exploring but at home it was scary. She lived in fear of her father and his volatile anger, and no one in the family really acknowledged it.
One of her earliest memories of pain was when her father spanked her when she was really young for doing something she didn’t realize was an issue. This experience planted a seed of hate for her father which made the rest of her childhood challenging.
That hate closed a part of her heart. Anytime you feel a wound of any kind where someone hurts us, a part of us shuts down and our inner child begins to withdraw, which is what happened to Anahata.
This kind of experience creates a lot of confusion around relationships in life. Anahata started drinking and smoking at a young age because that’s what she saw adults in her life doing.
Most of us with any kind of wounds are overcompensating because we usually don’t have the tools to deal with the pain. We are taught to ignore and sedate things, and anything you stuff down is going to have unintended consequences.
When one piece of your life doesn’t feel right and hasn’t healed, it’s going to attract situations where it can be resolved. Sometimes the inner healing work can take decades.
Our biggest wounds and insecurities will become our greatest superpowers later on.
It’s easy to love the people that love us back, but it’s the people that have harmed us the most is where the test of real love is going to happen. For Anahata, her father was her greatest teacher because if it wasn’t for her relationship with him she never would know or understand what forgiveness is.
The cost of not wanting to forgive led to a lot of addiction, denial, and chaos in her life. It wasn’t until Anahata started exploring Shamanic work and examining her shadow did she let out her feelings of sadness and rage.
Darren and Donny recently did some Shamanic breathwork with Anahata. During that session, Darren reconnected with his fifteen-year-old self and recognized the pain he felt then.
We feel the moment when we start to self-abandon, especially when surrounded by money and power. Having a commitment to yourself allows you to know when that’s happening and how to stay on the path you’ve chosen.
Anahata brought a lot of cracks in her foundation to the relationship with her husband. They managed for a while, but once the twins arrived, those cracks widened. You need the tools of conscious communication, clear agreements, and boundaries for a healthy relationship.
Her hardest point of adversity was when she divorced her husband and had to let go of the family unit that she held so dear. She could tell that staying in the relationship would be more chaotic than the alternative.
When you’re on your personal development journey, you find a willingness to look at your part in the wound. You can’t get to forgiveness if you’re still angry and hurt.
There is a parenting gap for all of us between what we needed and what we received. You need to go back to the inner child and bring them home.
The journey of reclamation begins when you go back and look at all the places you should have said no. On the journey, you start to see the correlations between the unconscious choices you made in the past and the pain you were dealing with.
Along the way, you learn how to communicate, set clear boundaries, how to do self-care and love again, and eventually learn how to forgive.
You can’t bypass the core wound. If you do, your subconscious still continues to make decisions from that place.
If you feel a tension in your relationship or something that doesn’t feel right, there is something that wants your attention and needs to be addressed. Personal development helps you get better at identifying those things and avoiding real chaos.
Having a coach and mentor to point out what you’re doing from an outside perspective is very valuable. There may be an underlying lesson in an experience that you are too close to see. Being coachable is one of the greatest qualities someone can have if they want to keep elevating.
It’s also important to have people around you that want you to shine and want to be the best versions of themselves. You may have to let go of certain social circles if they aren’t working towards that kind of improvement.
Personal development and coaching is not using what you did or did not get as a child as an excuse to hijack the rest of your life. It’s about taking ownership and staying in the work.
It’s our responsibility to improve on what we have been given.
Most people want to avoid pain and conflict, but that is what leads to self-abandonment. You don’t want that stagnated version of yourself making decisions for you and you do that by becoming good at saying no.
As you grow, the cracks in your foundation will be tested. As things in your life level up, your weaknesses will be amplified. Listen to your inner dialogue and you will become aware of where those cracks are, which will point you in the right direction on fixing those issues.
Anahata is grateful for the people in her life and the people in her tribe. Because of the work that Anahata put in on herself, she now also has great adult relationships with her children as well.
If Anahata could send a message back to her younger self it would be “follow your heart. You’re enough. Be you and do it your way. Play and laugh along the way, and live life for yourself first.”
If you know what’s holding you back but don’t know what to do about it, follow the people that are getting the results that you want. Once you know the path, start taking the steps and pay attention to whether it’s the journey you really want to be on.
Anahata’s comeback story shoutout goes to the first Shamanic healer that helped her with her shadow work, but she also wants to recognize the different people that have appeared in her life at the right moment to teach her something, including her father.