Summary: Stephen Sutton is the authority on winning against all odds. He is thriving and smiling even though the cards are heavily stacked against him. He canceled his lifetime membership to the "victim club" and did a complete 360 on how he lives his life. Stephen, for all intents and purposes had a normal childhood. He was involved in sports, loved drumming and wanted to become a doctor. At 15 he was struck by cancer which lead to surgery and chemo. His doctors thought the cancer was in remission when they found a lump behind his leg. Stephen did the whole surgery and treatment thing one more time and went into remission again. The cancer returned a third time and its at this point the doctors delivered the news, diagnosing Stephens disease as incurable. While listening to Stephens story, I lost count of how many times he had surgery and went into treatment. He has no idea how much longer he has to live especially since he has not taken the initiative to ask his doctors this question. Honestly, would you want to know? Here is a video of Stephen telling his story in great detail. Despite everything he has gone through with his disease, he is still thriving and smiling more than ever. Stephen learned early on after his diagnosis, a positive attitude leads to positive outcomes. He doesn't feel sorry for himself or his circumstances and doesn't expect you pity. Instead of measuring time in terms of life, he measures time by his achievements. He measures time by how much he is making a difference, which is a way more valuable and better way to measure time. Here is what Jason Manford, a British Comedian had to say about Stephens point of view on measuring time. A little over a year ago Stephen compiled a wish list of 46 things he wanted to do and so far has completed the following: Set a world record for drumming Hosted a charity dinner Trending on Twitter Became a public speaker Went crowd surfing Got a tattoo Went skydiving Played the drum in front of a large crowd of 90,000 people and a TV audience of 200 million The real question is do you have to rely on tragedy to remind you to have a good time? Heck no... As Stephen says, "Life is for living". Use this time you have in your bank account as positively and productively as possible. Stephen now raises money to help make teens more comfortable when going through cancer treatment. He has raised over 316 million sterling pound to date. His biggest lesson is, its not the cancer that defines who he is, its how he reacts to the cancer. This lesson is applicable to any area of your life. Bad things are going to happen, crap happens in life which is a reality we cannot avoid. Its how we react to the crap that counts. Stephen has won many awards for being an inspiration and motivation to teens and people around the world. However, all the awards don't matter to Stephen. What matters to him is his ability to give back, his ability to be a contribution to the world. The best way to help yourself is to help others. He views his first diagnosis of cancer as a good thing. It gave him a huge kick in the backside and taught him not to take anything for granted in life. Stephen is on a mission to motivate others who have more time than him to make a difference in the world. What can you do today to make a difference in someone else life? Love Peace and Bliss Alecia You can find Stephens Fund Raising Page Check out Stephens Story here
