Adam Greenberg: Episode 31

Transcript

[0:00:31] Charlie Hoehn: You’re listening to Author Hour, enlightening conversations about books with the authors who wrote them. I’m Charlie Hoehn.

[0:00:46] MALE: Yeah, Adam Greenberg, the youngster stepping in called up the same time Matt Murtin was, he’s making his major league debut here. He gets to face Delos Santos in the 9th inning… My goodness. Let’s hope he’s okay. Boy, that was absolutely nowhere for him to go on that fast ball. Here he is making his major league debut, he’s trying to stay in there against a left hander and this fastball just takes off. Someday, someone will ask him, in your major league debut, who did you get a hit off of? And he’ll say, “Delos Santos hit me right? In the helmet”. And it’s good to see that he’s up. Yeah, he is. He probably wants to stay in the game but they’re just not going to allow it because when you’re hit in the head, you don’t know.

[0:02:01] Charlie Hoehn: This is the playback of Adam Greenberg’s first major league at bat. He steps into the box, in his Chicago cubs uniform, then on the first pitch, something unexpected happens. The announcers are in shock, the pitcher hit Adam square in the back of the head with a 92 mile an hour fast ball. Put Adam’s major league career on hold. In this episode, Adam talks about what happens when your life comes to a grinding halt? And how you can preservere through those challenges. Now, here is our conversation with Adam Greenberg. Alright, Adam, if you had to pick a meal or a drink to couple with your book, what would you pick?

[0:02:58] Adam Greenberg: I would pick my home made buffalo wings because that’s just my favorite food and growing up, to that book with this just, you got to eat them with one hand, so not to mess up the pages on the book.

[0:03:10] Charlie Hoehn: Yeah. Do you have any secret ingredients you throw in to the buffalo wings?

[0:03:16] Adam Greenberg: Absolutely. I can’t say otherwise they won’t be a secret anymore. No, they’re delicious.

[0:03:23] Charlie Hoehn: Awesome, if you have to pick a soundtrack for your book, what would be the main song?

[0:03:28] Adam Greenberg: I wouldn’t necessarily have a main song. I would, for me, I’m very big into just like calming music, whether it be classical or just something relaxing. I don’t have to have a specific artist or anything like that. Just something that kind of puts me in a calm state of mind.

[0:03:44] Charlie Hoehn: What was the last song you listened to that put you in that state?

[0:03:49] Adam Greenberg: Once again, I’m the worst person with music because I grew up not being a real music buff. Probably why I would turn on classical because I can’t pick out words of songs when I hear t hem. I just hear the sound so it’s literally just like, MPR radio local classical station or something like that.

[0:04:10] Charlie Hoehn: I would love to see a movie where the soundtrack was an MPR station playing in the background. Alright. If you had to, or if you were able to kind of pick the book that came with your book? Like Amazon recommended reading. If you liked blank, you’ll love Get Up? What would you put in the blank?

[0:04:34] Adam Greenberg: I would put The Slight Edge by Jeff Olsen. I think the reason is, it’s just, it’s so much in line with the daily decisions and choices that we make. It’s such in alignment with the whole message of basically getting up, the art of perseverance just little things over time that you have to kind of make decisions about, in going one way or the other. I think that would be the one that comes to mind most.

[0:04:59] Charlie Hoehn: Alright, let’s get to the interview. Adam, take me to the moment after you got hit by a baseball that ended your career?

[0:05:14] Adam Greenberg: Well, I never liked to hear the term ended my career, I just like to hear the term kind of changed the path.

[0:05:21] Charlie Hoehn: You’re right, let me back it up. Adam, take me to the moment that altered your baseball career forever when you got hit by that first pitch?

[0:05:35] Adam Greenberg: Okay, well, it was Sunday night baseball, it was ESPN, it was a nationally televised game and it was my dream come true. I had worked my entire life to get to that moment and I was going to have that moment start the rest of my baseball career at that major league level. The instant that I was hit in the back of the head with a 92 mile an hour fast ball, my eyes rolled into the back of my head and I said two words three times, “stay alive, stay alive, stay alive.” When I finally – my eyes came back and I looked back and I saw the catcher standing over my body saying, ‘Stay down, you’re going to be okay.” That calm in his voice allowed me to know that my life was no longer in jeopardy. But the moment that everything kind of started to really change was when they came over, the training staff came over, and they started asking a couple of questions. The basic standard you get when you get hit in the head with a 92 mile an hour fast ball. They’re going to ask, “Hey, how many fingers am I holding up?” Then I had to follow their finger. But the last question that they asked was one that I’ll never forget and I know they won’t either. The question was, “Where were you two days ago?” And my answer was simply, “I was in the minor leagues and I’m not going back.” That was the moment that obviously what I thought was “I’m going to be fine and nothing’s going to really change,” to an odyssey of just struggles, highs and lows and an incredible journey that I didn’t know was in front of me.

[0:06:59] Charlie Hoehn: Wow. Right before that happened, when you got into the batter’s box, what was this feeling that you were experiencing? It was your first major league game, I’m sure your family and your friends were all rivetted, watching the TV or at the stadium. What were the moments leading up to it?

[0:07:22] Adam Greenberg: It’s a feeling, it’s almost impossible to describe, it was all the many years of overcoming obstacles. I mean, there’s only 750 guys in the major leagues at any one time. Of the millions and millions of people that play and have that as their goal and that their dream to step into the batter’s box of a major league game. I mean, you can imagine, being one of those guys, especially me, five foot eight and three quarters, white Jewish from Gilford Connecticut. The odds were not necessarily in my favor to begin with, let alone not the physical attributes to be a major leaguer. But when I finally got that call and it was finally my day, it was like at one level I was the happiest human being on the planet at that moment. Because it was like, this is real, I did it, I accomplished it. On the other hand, it was a calming, “I’m supposed to be here, I’m ready for this opportunity and I’m excited.” But not that my god, it’s overwhelming excitement, it was just… It was that calm that came over me that I was just like, “This is my time.”

[0:08:26] Charlie Hoehn: Then it was over just like that or temporarily over. What happened after in the days and weeks and months after, what was your recovery like?

[0:08:39] Adam Greenberg: The ensuing days was ridiculous headaches, nausea, light was – anytime I’d walk outside – very light sensitive. I would black out, my eyes would shift uncontrollably side to side, I would –

[0:08:54] Charlie Hoehn: What did they diagnose you with? A severe concussion or?

[0:08:58] Adam Greenberg: Right off the bat, they just said, “It’s a concussion.” When I would describe the additional symptoms, which I’d never had a concussion before, so I never really was able to think anything other than, “It must be a post-concussion issue.” It took 17 doctors to basically finally diagnose me with benign proximal positional vertigo which lasted for two and a half years. Additionally, I had short term memory issues, focus issues. I had some vision problems in terms of how my eyes were coming together, working together and that took about two and a half years, with therapy mind you. It was literally just a whole plethora of issues and symptoms that I needed to self-medicate, self-manipulate to kind of help realign the crystals in my inner ear to correct the vertigo. It was just such a trying challenging time because I went so long being misdiagnosed, yeah, I had the concussion but misdiagnosed from the other symptoms and as a young kid, wanting to play major league baseball, being asked, “Are you okay? You look fine.” That was where the struggles – really starting, questioning myself, “Am I really okay? Am I ever going to be normal? Am I ever going to play at the level that I wanted and was at before?”

[0:10:17] Charlie Hoehn: Take us to the moment where it really dawned on you – I’d imagine that “Hey, I might be out for a really long time.”

[0:10:27] Adam Greenberg: It was – I came back 21 days after my injury and I rushed back and they said, “If you’re symptom free for 72 hours, you can get back on the field.” I knew what brought on my symptoms. I put the neck brace on for 72 hours, I sat in a reclining chair, slept in that chair and for 72 hours, the only thing I did was stand up to go to the bathroom very cautiously. Once I got rid of those “symptoms” at that time, I went on the field and I played my first game. The next morning when I woke up, I rolled over in bed and my eyes shifted uncontrollably. Left with a migraine, ended up back in the hospital. I’d say it was that day, when I was in the hospital and I was really going, “My god, is this what I’m going to have to live with for the rest of my life?” Well, I wasn’t married at the time and no children. It was really, my teammates. I’m one of five children so I had my parents and my brothers and sisters that I would be able to call in and talk to. Truth be told, it was a very lonely time because while there was the support, there was also – everyone else had those internal questions of, “Is he okay? Is he going to be okay?” I talked to a therapist even and the therapist was not helpful. It actually made it worse for me because it was hey, you just got to suck it up and do it.

[0:11:48] Charlie Hoehn: Gosh.

[0:11:50] Adam Greenberg: It’s like, hmm.

[0:11:52] Charlie Hoehn: That’s horrible advice.

[0:11:54] Adam Greenberg: I want nothing more than to be on the field. This is not a “poor me” because not to mention, I was not even on the major league roster at that time. I got taken off when I played my first minor league games so I wasn’t collecting a major league salary, I wasn’t collecting service pays. I had no reason to kind of fake those symptoms so I think that was a really tough challenging time even for those friends and supporters around me. They didn’t go away but to offer much assistance was challenging except just a calming voice of, “You’re going to get through this.”

[0:12:29] Charlie Hoehn: Yeah, you got a proper diagnosis finally after talking to 17 doctors and getting checked. What happened then? Were you able to have a clear road map to recovery? What did you do with that answer?

[0:12:45] Adam Greenberg: Yeah, I think that was the most important thing in my mind. I wanted major league baseball, I wanted to play. Any of these obstacles that I was facing, as much fear as I may have had, I knew in my heart and I felt it and I believed it, I was going to overcome it. It was just a matter of time, it was just a matter of till somebody let me know what more I could do. As soon as that information came, as soon as I was given the proper diagnosis, it was a very freeing feeling because at least, I then had something I could put my finger on. And then be able to, as I talked about a little bit earlier, do the physical manipulation to help correct that. There was two things that were going on. One, I had the vertigo which when I say physical manipulation, it’s called the Epley maneuver so I would literally put myself into the state of vertigo and by physical body positioning, realign the crystals back to, in my inner ear where they’re supposed to be. Very uncomfortable and not fun. Highly recommend it if you have the symptoms but just don’t be angry at me when it’s not fun going through. That was something I had to do in the earlier stages anywhere from five to 10 times a day. If I was in a game, I would have to go into the clubhouse and do it to myself on a training table but it was freeing because I had, like you said, the roadmap. I had something I could physically do to, no matter how long it was going to take, to really get better. I started that process of healing. Then the other one was the vision issues that I was struggling with and fortunately I was introduced to a vision training doctor who is an ophthalmologist in Chicago, Dr. Barry Syler. He has a visual training program for basically people like me who have had brain injuries or just looking to help correct their vision and their short and long-term memory. It’s 3D glasses and a really cool program. When I did it for the first time, I have the glasses on and I was supposed to put a triangle and a rectangle, just drag the triangle and just put it in a rectangle. Where I thought it was right in the center of the rectangle, when I took the glasses off, I was 13 steps away from that rectangle. I wasn’t even close. It was those types of things that was like “Wow, this is fantastic,” because I can now do something to improve. So the same thing, I did the vision training, visual edge performance trainer, every single day with the assistance of my protocol and my regiment by Dr. Syler. But those were the two keys for me to know that okay, I knew I would get better, now, I had the tools, now it’s up to me to work continuously no matter what I was feeling or how it was going. Just to continue down that path of ultimate healing.

[0:15:42] Charlie Hoehn: Take us to the moment where you really feel you had a breakthrough. Or was it even one moment? I’d imagine, since your book’s subtitle is, The Art of Perseverance, it was tons of moments of sticking with it?

[0:15:58] Adam Greenberg: Yeah, you just said it. I don’t think it’s ever one thing. I think one of the things that we all look for and hope for is that big break. That big thing that happens. That “Aha” moment and truth be told, it’s happening all the time. When you continue to put yourself out there and you continue to persevere and no matter what is in front of you and what you’re facing, you literally are given that gift of, you’re asking for it, you’re pushing for it and it’s around you. It’s what do you do with that? The examples that I just gave, well, I found out the Epley maneuver was an amazing thing for me. That’s an “Aha” moment. The vision training doctor that gives me the – the vision training program that I can do on the road, I can do in my hotel room, that’s a gift. Every time I got knocked down, whether it was a surgery or a new team that signed me or words of encouragement from people when I’m doing poorly or when I’m doing well. Those are the little things and in the ability to persevere, you have to pull on all of those things around you to continue to push yourself in a positive direction. Because the “Aha” moment truly, if somebody looks, which is why I wrote the book, “Well, you got hit in the head and then seven years later, you got called up and you made it back to the big leagues and you had your bat, yay.” Well, if you cut out the seven years of the struggles and the ups and the downs and you just look at it from the periphery, you’re like, “Okay, that’s a good story.” That doesn’t connect with people, so the purpose of the book is to say, there will always be challenges that we face, there will always be obstacles. The greater the goal that you have, guess what? The more obstacles you’re going to have. They come in all shapes and sizes and what do you do when each one of those are presented in front of you, it is ultimately what leads to success but it’s not necessarily, because I use myself, the success that you expected it to be. Success is in the journey and success is when I got there, back in 2012, number one, I struck out and number two I didn’t stay there. But it’s what you do when you’re presented with each new challenge and each new thing in front of you.

[0:18:10] Charlie Hoehn: I want to play a little devil’s advocate Adam. Let’s say I’m a reader of Get Up, I read your book, I think to myself, you know, “Adam had the strong motivation to keep going, to persevere. He had worked his whole life to get into the major leagues. It was cut short by a fluke, by an accident and he wanted to get back.” There’s every ounce of your energy before that, had been directed at this one goal right? Most people can’t say that for themselves in their own life. Let’s say, I’m dealing with something that has cut my own goals short. How do I find the motivation to continue persevering if that goal isn’t so grandiose or so meaningful to me personally but it is something that I did care about? If I don’t have this strong inner will to get back on track, what do you say to me?

[0:19:15] Adam Greenberg: It’s actually easy, it’s an easy thing because every single person, there’s two things that we all have, we’re born with the ability to persevere, otherwise we wouldn’t be a civilization. I mean, we’ve made it quite some time. Every person is born with the ability to persevere. Inherent in every person is the want and desire to be happy which is actually now, you can get a degree in happiness. That’s been actually proven.

[0:19:43] Charlie Hoehn: I bet that degree helps you get a job, right?

[0:19:46] Adam Greenberg: It does, because at the end of the day, the happier the people, the harder the work, the more good things end up coming about. At the end of the day, it doesn’t have to be a grandiose thing like the major leagues. Every day, we all have two choices, those choices are, feel sorry for ourselves and just stay and go nowhere. Or, pickup and go with – the clock’s going to keep ticking, go with time and do something positive. Small little goals, baby steps to go in the more small success you have, the happier you’ll be, the more positive people will start to become around you and the greater life you will have. It doesn’t have to be a specific, big, “Oh my god, that’s going to be a life changing life altering thing to so many people.” It can be small, little things because inherent in everyone, when you are a happier person, you live longer, you have better relationships, the quality of your life is better and truthfully, at that point, you are able to have a better impact on society and those around you. I always also look at other people. If I don’t have something that is like, I can pinpoint right now, I look at someone else and the people around me and I say, “Well what can I do to help somebody get up? What can I do?” In that process, you’re also able to kind of find yourself a little bit more. Selflessly giving yourself to someone else and that’s what humanity and civilization is, once again, why we’ll be able to evolve the way we have because it’s not just selfish of “What am I going to do for me?” It’s, “I’ve got to do those little things for me but I also have to be there for other people.” Those would be the things. Perseverance is in all of us but you have to work at it. You have to want to just move in a positive direction in life and ultimately, that happiness piece is a really important piece.

[0:21:38] Charlie Hoehn: Did the injury you dealt with contribute to any mood swings? I mean, it sounds like, you were fortunate in that regard that you were able to maintain your positivity, right?

[0:21:53] Adam Greenberg: For the most part and I want to make sure that that’s obviously clear as well and that it is in the book. I got down, I’m a human being, you get knocked down and you’re told “Hey, just suck it up, you’ll be okay.” I had to file bankruptcy because I gave everything in my world to the game of baseball and the pursuit of trying to get back. I got released by multiples of teams. I was released the last day where all of my bags were shipped off to Arkansas and I’m in Arizona with no clothes and no money. I mean, I can keep going and that’s the stuff in the book.

[0:22:26] Charlie Hoehn: Please do, this is the important thing to talk about because it’s easy to latch on to the simplistic narrative that you know, like you said, if you see those two moments, you think, that’s a nice little neat story. I want to hear as well about the emotional difficulties that you had to persevere through.

[0:22:50] Adam Greenberg: Okay, alright. I’m going to give you three examples to start and then I’ll kind of dive a little bit deeper.

[0:22:56] Charlie Hoehn: Great.

[0:22:56] Adam Greenberg: My life has been filled with unbelievable, amazing set of circumstances that just for me personally is priceless. Now, I’ll give those three. One, I got called up to the major leagues with the Chicago Cubs in July of 2005, dream come true. The second dream come true, I got to relive that moment in 2012, getting called up the last day of the season with the Miami Marlins and got to face the side award winning knuckle baller on national television and get to announce it on The Today’s Show with Matt Lauer. The third is…

[0:23:32] Charlie Hoehn: Who was the knuckle baller by the way?

[0:23:34] Adam Greenberg: RA Dicky.

[0:23:35] Charlie Hoehn: Okay.

[0:23:37] Adam Greenberg: Then the third huge moment in my life was, just a week ago where I went to Chicago, Wrigley field, and I got to throw out the first pitch of the game, July 7th, 2017. Which was 12 years to the date that I got called up back in 2005. Not my actual at bat but the date that I got called up that my life changed forever. Now, I gave those three examples of “My god, that’s so cool, that’s amazing.” But I want to tell you, the first one with the Cubs, everyone knows. I was hit in the back of the head with a 90 mile an hour fast ball, the happiest, best thing in my entire life at the exact same instant, I’m struck with a devastating blow. Almost the worst thing that could possibly happen, I mean, the worst thing would have been, I would not have woken up. Really challenging thing that I had to go through and it sent a whole bunch of things that what we just talked about, the bankruptcy, the releases and the downtimes. In 2012, I got that opportunity to play for the Marlins and get my major league at bat, I struck out but I got a standing ovation. Few people in the world can say they got a standing ovation after they struck out. They’re not cheering the pitcher, they’re cheering me for getting back. It was the most unbelievable feeling because everyone was inspired and it wasn’t about me. It was about the opportunity for second chances, what perseverance really can do and how everyone can play a part and have that impact their lives. That’s amazing, well, as soon as I got home, days later, my wife who has an identical twin sister, her twin sister went into the hospital, she was suffering and battling lung cancer, she went into the hospital and for the next 55 days, I basically was with my wife and her family and we lived in the hospital and she passed away on December 9th of 2012. That’s pretty life altering as well. Then, the third. I finally get a “Cool, this is going to be great.” I’m going to go throw on the pitch at a Cubs game, the date is so awesome, it’s amazing, it coincides with 12 years to the date that I got called up, it was a sold out game, it was a Friday afternoon, it was just – it was priceless. I was there with my son, he was 18 months old, he’s on the field, he’s got a little bat, I’m on the pitcher’s mound, it was like, it’s storybook. It’s something I’ll get to cherish forever. I go into the stands and about 45 minutes later, I get a phone call, sorry, I’m getting a little emotional, hold on. I apologize. See, I’m human. I got a phone call and my best friend’s son was missing who I grew up with, who is 10 years old, who I trained with every day, he has a nine, 10 and an 11-year-old sons. The 10-year-old was missing and 20 minutes after that, I got a phone call that they found him, he had drowned and… sorry. So instead of enjoying that day, sorry, this one’s fresh. So instead of enjoying the day, I had to go to the airport and fly home. The point of the story, what I’m trying to say is, life is going to be challenging even in the greatest times. But, what we do with that is really the most important. Because, it’s all for not and we can just feel bad and feel sorry and then stop eating and stop drinking and stop going to the bathroom and stop taking care of people and stop taking care of ourselves. That doesn’t help anyone. In situations like these, like the one that I was trying to talk about. I mean, I look at what tragedy is, what sadness really is and then I pull inspiration from those people. I pull inspiration from my wife who lost her best friend, lost her twin sister and I’ve seen the depths of dark and sadness and have had to be there to help her. Vice versa, she’s had to be there to help me out and I watched my friend who is so fresh just lost his son, he and his wife and they say, “This is the new normal. It’s a hole that they’re always going to have but they said, they have their two other boys and what are the choices?” Just to dig a grave and jump in themselves? That doesn’t help anyone. It’s really an understanding of appreciation of life, what we’ve been given. We’ve been given a gift and really just to make the most of it. Understanding inside my book is just my way to connect with people to say, my story is no more special or more unique. It’s a little bit unique in a sense but I didn’t go over in war and give my life. I haven’t fought for this country and laid down for anyone. But I want to connect the best that I can. I’ve been given a gift and that gift is life and a platform to be able to affect people in a positive way. As a human, I’ve gone down and I’ve been down but I got myself up and I’ve been helped up. My mission and my goal is to be there to help and support and literally help get people up.

[0:29:33] Charlie Hoehn: Thank you for sharing those stories Adam. What would you tell somebody today who may be listening to this who is hard or dark place? What would you tell them about the art of perseverance?

[0:29:52] Adam Greenberg: You’ve got to work at it and you’ve got to set little goals, achievable goals that will help you in the slightest way. It’s okay to be fearful of anything. Fearful of failure, fearful of a diagnosis, fearful of what tomorrow is going to bring but at the end of the day, the gift that we have is in the moment. So enjoy and appreciate the moment that we have, no matter how dark or grim it is and look at the outlook as being positive. As being bright. But you have to work at it. You can’t just sit there and say, “Poor me”, it’s okay for a little bit but you have to work. That’s why once again, that the title is The Art of Perseverance because you do. You have to continue to work at it and that means reading inspirational books, not just mine, listening to –

[0:31:01] Charlie Hoehn: What books do you recommend?

[0:31:03] Adam Greenberg: I’m looking at a whole bunch right now in front of me. I’ve got Thinking Grow Rich, I’ve got How Successful People Think, I have Raving Fans, Highly Effective People, How to Win Friends and Influence People, Switch on Your Brain. Then I have nutritional books about how to help yourself nutritionally to help clear your mind. A lot of people are depressed because of the toxins that are in our bodies. It’s really listening to the Tony Robins of the world. The people that have overcome obstacles in their own life who can be a positive influence and podcasters are so abundant. Just starting to get that mentality. That’s one of the things with The Slight Edge. What I love is if you are running out of time and you’re just too crazy and you are not giving yourself enough time, well wake up a little bit earlier and give yourself 10 pages of a good book. It’s really that simple and that sets the stage for the rest of your day. It started off right with a positive, eat breakfast, read 10 pages of a good book or listen to 10 minutes of an inspirational podcast and switch your brain on to that positive happy place. Not saying all your problems go away but it starts the process for you. But you have to be consistent with it.

[0:32:44] Charlie Hoehn: Author Hour is sponsored by Book in a Box. For anyone who has a great idea for a book but doesn’t have the time or patience to sit down and type it out, Book in a Box has created a new way to help you painlessly publish your book. Instead of sitting at a computer and typing for a year, hoping everything works out, Book in a Box takes you through a structured interview process that gets your ideas out of your head and into a book in just a few months. To learn more, head over to bookinabox.com and fill out the form at the bottom of the page. Don’t let another year go by where you put off writing your book. I totally agree with that. A really good friend of mine actually, he got in a horrible car accident years ago and prior to that accident he felt like he was on top of the world in his industry. He was finally making a ton of money and doing all the things that he wanted to be doing. The next time he woke up, he had lost use of his dominant arm. He was in the hospital and a few weeks later, he was a quarter of a million dollars in debt because he didn’t have health insurance. And he made not only a full recovery but he’s gone on to do even better for himself but he said the same thing you did which is, he realized he couldn’t rely on his own thoughts to get him out of his mental rut that he knew he was going to keep sinking further and further into. He just felt like totally slapped in the face by life and so he just saturated his mind with more positive thinking. So he would just read as much as possible. He would listen to audio books and he said it saved his life. It got him out of the hospital and he made a full recovery.

[0:34:55] Adam Greenberg: Yeah, that’s inspiring and the truth is when we go through stuff it’s so easy to not ask for help or think that we don’t need it. We think we can do it by ourselves and that’s the most important thing that is in my book is, it wasn’t just me. I wish I had a lot of this knowledge before where I would have done a lot more reading and I’ll be honest, this is about books. I was never a big reader. I never liked to read really and the reason because I didn’t have a target. I didn’t have a book or a segmentation of books that I really wanted to read. Now understanding what turns me on, what gets me going is that motivational, business, health and nutrition and it’s all out there and there’s so many people that have dedicated their life to a specific industry and gone through struggles and whatnot and they’ve put it out there for people. You asked in the beginning is, Amazon makes it easy. You read a book and you like it, it gives you suggestions and you just keep going down that path so it’s nice.

[0:36:13] Charlie Hoehn: So if the core lesson of the book is, it’s not just me or it’s not just an individual who perseveres, it’s everybody. Helping them, how do we ask for help? We can’t just wait for a physical injury, sometimes we need help but we’re afraid to ask for it. How do we do it?

[0:36:36] Adam Greenberg: That’s a really good question because the truth is, it comes down to self-esteem. I think part of self-esteem, you’re able to get from what we just talked about. From other people’s stories and other people’s journeys and hearing how they were able to overcome it to ultimately give yourself and by setting those little goals that you’re achieving, you are accumulating positive self-esteem. So when it comes time to ask, you’re okay with it. Because at the end of the day that’s the only reason we don’t ask, we’re too proud or our self-esteem gets in the way. Either one is okay but both can be worked on and sometimes the too proud thing comes into well, you do just have to hit rock bottom. But what we’re talking about is, how do you avoid that? That’s where diving in and listening to other people going. I’ll give another example, there are happiness clubs throughout the country. So go join the happiness club for free and go listen to free speakers that lived this lifestyle.

[0:37:40] Charlie Hoehn: Have you been to a happiness club?

[0:37:40] Adam Greenberg: I actually have and I am going to be speaking at one locally in October.

[0:37:47] Charlie Hoehn: Cool, so tell us more about it. How do we go to a happiness club, what’s that like and how do we find out more about that?

[0:37:55] Adam Greenberg: So to be honest, I would just Google it. Google happiness clubs in your area and it was really cool. There was probably a 120 people, it was at a local library and there were a couple of guest speakers. They usually do it once a month and it was just cool to be around that type of environment of people seeking just a happier lifestyle and it’s just really cool. There are so many tools out there, I mean so many books. If you think about its saying the same thing maybe a little bit differently. So all the message is like eating healthy, most of the information is pretty much the same. It’s just applying it, hearing it over and over and having more and more people around you, taking part of it to make it more cultural versus you are doing it alone. You are on an island.

[0:38:49] Charlie Hoehn: Yes, that is a 100% true. The more you can get information from different sources, the more normal it’s going to seem and the more it’s just going to become a part of you. That’s really good. Adam tell me about your readers, what has their response been to get up or what has been the response when you’ve given talks on this topic? I’d imagine you have given many, many speeches over the years. What have been some of the transformations of the people who’ve gotten a lot of your stories?

[0:39:32] Adam Greenberg: Well I think it is interesting because the audience that I have spoken in front of is so diverse. From little league to elementary kids to juvenile detention centers, the Better Business Bureau, to synagogues, religious organizations, I spoke for Sale sForce, a company in Chicago, Hireology. I am given the range of people young to old and the response has really just been people are inspired. People feel re-energized, they feel motivated and they feel like they have a value and a purpose. That’s inspiring for me because it’s not me patting myself in the back, it’s me going, “Well my journey, what I went through is going to put that type of feeling in a human being,” there’s no greater feeling. Getting into a couple of specifics though, there was a kid, he’s actually in the book. He was struck in the head with a pitch almost the same time that I was. He’s much younger than I was and his father was trying to get me to sign a ball for him or a hat and I heard what he was going through. When it was relayed, the kid lives in Pennsylvania and I’m in Connecticut. So I had no connection with him, no anything but when I heard what he was going through I reached out to him. I called him, I said “Give me his number” and I called him and we established a friendship. A relationship one at which because I could relate to what he was going through, I just continued to put the message into him. He will improve, he will get better. Just keeping a positive attitude, keeping a good outlook no matter how dark and grim things get because it was getting really bad. In the book it says, and this is from his parents and his words, he was ready to commit suicide. Had I not connected with him and we not established that connection and having him understand what I went through and was able to overcome, he might not be on this earth. Well that, whatever I went through have this kid, his name is Jared Schwartz, have an opportunity to live out a life and one that’s really fun and successful right now. He’s a tremendous drummer, he’s an amazing kid and a great person. He would not have been on this earth. That alone, that’s worth every struggle I ever went through to be able to impact a child like that. Another story was a kid who came up after a speaking engagement who I believe is 16 or 17 years old now. So in 2012, he was 12 years old or what have you and he was lying in a hospital bed when my story on the Today’s Show came on the TV. He had an impalement with a metal rod in his – I don’t want to say his eye but through his brain.

[0:42:20] Charlie Hoehn: Oh my gosh that’s like through his gauge.

[0:42:22] Adam Greenberg: Yeah, sorry to get graphic but it’s just the truth. I didn’t know who this kid was until he came up to me five years later and told me his story. I still would never know but he said when he saw my story he believed he was going to get better. He was going to overcome whatever challenges he was faced and he wanted to badly to be able to be a college basketball player. He wanted a scholarship and when he came up and talked to me, he waited until everyone left. And he said, “I just wanted to let you know…” and he told me his story, he told me what happened and he told me that that was what kept him motivated in therapy and he shook my hand and he said, “Thank you because next year I’m going to college and I got a basketball scholarship” and it was like, “Holy cow!” Those two kids – and that’s why in the book I talk about those that you have connected with or those you don’t know you’ve connected with they’re a part of your team. And that team is impacting people in a positive way. You don’t have to know who they are but you put that aura and you put that attitude out there you can change lives. Then I think I’ll give two more examples, one is a wonderful woman and friend. She has two young boys, I teach them hitting lessons and it’s just a nice relationship. I’ve known them for a couple of years but she read my book thinking she was reading it for her boys. And she was reading it actually on a drive up, they had many hours driving up to a baseball tournament and she called me after and she said, “I thought I was reading it for my boys but oh my god, I got so much from it. I can’t believe what you went through. It put my entire life into perspective. Thank you so much” and it’s like, “Okay.” Like that’s awesome because she’s a sports person through her kids but she doesn’t care about sports per say and I think that’s the motivating piece for me. I say it right in the preface or in the intro it’s like, “This is not about a baseball book. This is not about a baseball story. This is a life story” and of course, it has to be baseball theme because that’s what it’s about but I never wanted that to turn anyone away. So having even opportunities to speak to you when people can hear it who may not be sports fans. They can go, “You know what though? I want to give this book a shot because the gamut of people that I’ve been able to connect with is just awesome”. And I’ll give you the last example. I said I was going to give you two, the last one was the first speech I gave after my one hat bat in 2012. I spoke at a synagogue in New York City and it was the owner of the Marlins, his synagogue and he said, “Hey the rabbi is going to call you. He’s going to offer you money. You have to accept it and you have to do the speech.” So I was like, “Okay”. So I did this speech, after there was a kid giving a Bar Mitzvah and he gave this unbelievable speech. The kid is 13 years old and I’m going, “I got to follow this kid?” and I stood up there and I said, “I wrote this speech out last night. What I wanted to go through, he hit every one of my points. I can’t do anything except speak from my heart” and threw that away and just talk. I think I spoke for 45 minutes to an hour and at the end, I was walking around and I had so many different people coming up to me and thanking me and saying it was so inspiring. But the best ones were these two old women and I say old, they were 85 plus and they came up to me and they said, “If we knew that Jewish baseball player was going to be coming and speaking today, we would have stayed home” and I looked at them and I’m like, “Oh boy” and then they go, “But boy are we glad we came. Thank you so much” and at that point, I was like, “Oh boy” that felt so good. I mean each one, each story that I have told you it has a certain place in my heart and that one was just like, I never would have expected that. I am giving you that to understand this book, hopefully it’s for everyone and really can touch people in ways that they may or may not have ever thought just by listening to some of the things that I’ve gone through.

[0:46:34] Charlie Hoehn: I love it. So Adam, what is a piece of advice you would give to somebody who’s thinking of writing their own book? You were corded by publishers wanting you to write this book and then a friend of yours finally encouraged you to sit down and write it. Now that you’ve been through the process, what would you tell to aspiring authors?

[0:46:59] Adam Greenberg: Stay true to yourself and true to your message whatever it is you’re looking to get across. That could be a fantasy, that could be an autobiography, that can be an inspirational book, it can be a book on business – stay true to yourself and your belief of what message you want to get across. As you know, there are editors and all sorts of things that get involved which is all great, great things but at the end of the day make sure you keep that sense of trueness to you because it’s your work. Regardless of the success you want to feel empowered by what you put out there and that’s where I can say for me nothing is sensationalized, nothing is glorified. I feel 1,000% happy and confident with what I put out there. So that’s the feeling that everyone that is aspiring to be an author, a writer is to just make sure that they stay true to that. It doesn’t mean that things aren’t going to change and you’re not going to get good advice and so I want to make that very clear. It’s not your way or the highway but it’s when you are getting that information, when you are getting that feedback, just make sure that you stay true to what it was that you were trying to accomplish, utilizing the experts and those around you.

[0:48:13] Charlie Hoehn: And I have one last question for you. Now I am going to change what I usually ask. Usually I ask how can our listeners connect with you and follow you but I am going to change this, you inspired me to do this, what is a dream for you and your book and how can our listeners help you with that dream?

[0:48:36] Adam Greenberg: A dream for me and my book, there’s a couple of things. People to read it, take control of their own life by setting goals, by understanding that good things are going to happen with continuing to push through the obstacles that get in your way. Then truly, use the book as a gift. Use it for yourself and then pass it around. Yes, tell somebody to go buy it, great but use it to share it, to share my story, to share their own stories as they are going through their journey and be open to it. You brought that up, be open to ask for help and be open and willing to have an impact on your life and others and that’s the gift for me it’s not how many copies can I sell, it’s how many people this book can affect. Whether it’s being read or using and taking the keys to perseverance and these stories of overcoming obstacles, into their own life to put themselves in a better happier state of mind.

[0:49:43] Charlie Hoehn: Very nice. I’m going to make a suggestion here. So for anybody who’s listening, if you want to win a copy of Adam’s book go to authorhour.co, go to Adam’s episode, Adam Greenberg’s episode Get Up and scroll to the bottom and leave a comment about a story of perseverance. Some goal that you set for yourself and accomplished and persevered and we’ll pick our favorite story of perseverance and we’ll send you a copy of Adam’s book. Does that sound good Adam?

[0:50:16] Adam Greenberg: Yes, that’s amazing and I can’t wait to read all of those. That would be awesome.

[0:50:21] Charlie Hoehn: Excellent. Alright, well we’ll do that and this has been great. Thank you so much for being with us and talking and sharing your story Adam, this has been really nice.

[0:50:32] Adam Greenberg: Oh this was awesome. I’m grateful for the opportunity. As I said, if this is part of my life’s purpose, I’m totally happy and love every second of it. So I am just grateful for you giving me the opportunity to chat with you today.

[0:50:43] Charlie Hoehn: Many thanks to Adam Greenberg for being on the show. You can win a copy of Adam’s book, Get Up: The Art of Perseverance, by leaving a comment at the bottom of this episode’s post on authorhour.co. Tell us about a time that you persevered and we’ll pick our favorite story. Thanks again for listening to Author Hour, enlightening conversations about book with the authors who wrote them. We’ll see you next time.