****Please forgive any and all transcription errors as this was transcribed by Otter.ai.****

John Register 0:00

Hi, this is John register and you're listening to a sharks perspective

[intro music]

Kenneth Kinney 0:20

Welcome back and thank you for joining A Shark's Perspective.

Kenneth Kinney 0:23

I am Kenneth Kinney, but friends call me "Shark". I'm a keynote speaker, strategist, host, and your Chief Shark Officer.

Kenneth Kinney 0:30

Imagine if you will, that you were doing what you're doing, being elite at what you do, but a misstep and an injury causes you to make a choice that will change your life forever. It would not be an easy choice for anyone to give up a limb, but especially not if you're making that choice. As an elite athlete and one of the fastest people in the world who has the choice of keeping a leg and using a walker or amputating that limb and using a prestigious it's a new reality for what your new normal mindset would be. Real world dangerous concerns or those that are simply manifested unnecessarily can cause many to stop moving forward. So the question is, how do you hurdle adversity and amputate fear?

Kenneth Kinney 1:11

John Register is a combat Army veteran, a four time track and field All American. A two time Olympic Trials qualifier a long jump silver medalist in the Paralympic Games, the founder of the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee Paralympic military sport program, a two time TEDx speaker and a homemade waffle lover.

Kenneth Kinney 1:30

And on this episode, we'll discuss being a world class athlete having to make a choice of amputation; facing fear and hurling adversity, how leaders can deal with fear and make better choices, helping veterans who go through similar circumstances; some woo pig sooee; serving the country and Desert Shield and Desert Storm; setting a leg on the stage during a keynote real world affairs versus those we manifest snakes and spiders, the Olympics and Paralympics 40 minutes of hell with Nolan, Corliss, and Scottie; Popeyes and Bojangles; and a lot lot more.

Kenneth Kinney 2:00

So let's tune into a world class athlete and a world class guy with a fearless shark on this episode of aA Shark's Perspective.

Kenneth Kinney 2:12

John, welcome to A Shark's Perspective. If you would tell us a little bit about your background and your journey today.

John Register 2:18

So hey Shark. Thanks for having me on. I love speaking to you your audience and yeah, so my background really is a riches to rags to riches story archetype. And so what does that mean? I was a world class hurdler. I ran for the University of Arkansas go pigs. I know you're out there in Memphis, Tennessee,

Kenneth Kinney 2:37

but you know Wait, wait, hold on. Hold on. I got something for you. I got some for you here

Kenneth Kinney 2:44

(music)

John Register 2:44

hey go home. Exactly. Hit that line hit that line. Keep yelling whooping

Kenneth Kinney 2:56

Suey, but I'll at least.

John Register 3:01

So I ran. I was a four time all American at the University of Arkansas. I graduated with a degree in communications, radio, television programming and production and had a job box offer actually in Mississippi, but I set out Track and Field wasn't out of my blood out. So I wound up going into the military because they had a world class athlete program the United States Army and I made that program allows a soldier athlete to train for two three years prior to an Olympic Games as long as the national governing body of the sport says that you are you know bonafide candidate for trying to make the Olympic team on the way to that training operation doesn't show that a storm came up and I served for six months in the Gulf War about almost six months in the Gulf War as a combat Army veteran. So I'm a combat group came back in. When I got back to training, the high hurdles I was training on the Olympic Games for I no longer could run adequately. I just had lost the speed. So my coach had me switch to the 400 meter hurdles. One time around the track, over 35 over 10 hurdles spaced 35 minutes apart. And I found my race it was it was like this, this I was made for this race. And I should have known it because I was in the high school. I won the 300 meter hurdles state title. So I started running and I wound up getting at the 1992 Olympic trials in New Orleans and wound up being 17th. In those trials. They take the top three than the United States because everybody makes the Olympic standard. You don't get invited to the Olympic trials United States unless you met the Olympic standard. So I went in was stationed in Germany, cut down my military career. I took a I was boarded for Officer Candidate School by a group of officers. I was ready for Officer Candidate School and I came back to to do kind of end up my tree I can feel tried to get make a team and then goes straight to Fort Benning school for girls and boys. And loved it life was great until May 17 1994, where I miss stepped one of those hurdles, I landed awkwardly dislocating my left knee, severed the art behind the kneecap. And then seven days later, I had to make the tough decision of whether to either to keep my leg and use a walker or wheelchair for the rest of my life or amputate the leg and use a prosthesis for the rest of my life. So that's kind of where the the turn happened. And it's, you know,

Kenneth Kinney 5:33

at the time when you landed that it was beyond just an injury or did what at what point did it sink in that this is life changing?

John Register 5:43

Well, I knew at the time that it was definitely life changing. I was not going to be going to the Olympic Games anytime soon. Because my leg was looking like, like, like an elbow looks? Oh, no, it was it was, it was there was a bad injury. Later, I heard the doctors talking that the artery behind the kneecap had been blocked for a long period of time, so no blood was reaching the lower portion of my leg. So hence for that's the are therefore what was happening was because my leg was beginning to die from the foot upward. That's when they went out to clean out all all that stuff out of there, and I was gonna be left with a us pretty much useless leg before underneath my underneath my knee. So when I was thinking about all those things, and after I did make this system pretty quick, because it was just so painful. But, you know, I woke up from that the surgery and more pain than I realized, and I want a wound up really going kind of going down a downward spiral for a few hours, and, you know, kind of questioning my identity, who am I now? You know, what is my dinner? Where's my wife gonna stick around? And my, my son's gonna see me as his father, do I still have a job in the military? Can I support my family, Matt, my Olympic dreams are over. And all those things were hitting me, you know, Shark so vividly and viscerally in that one moment in time. And I think that's where we all get there, if we might not be running hurdles, but we're running some type of hurdle in our life. And maybe we had a misstep, you know, and then we can't get our brains wrapped around how we actually move forward. And it was my wife, Alice, who arrested all of it. She says, we're gonna get through this together. It's just our new normal. And when she said that she baseline my entire existence, to be able to undergird me with those words. And I was now free to begin thinking about things. Because in my head, one of my fears was, as I said earlier is is she's going to still stay around. But that's not on her that's on me. The real question I'm asking is not as you're going to leave is asking myself, Am I still desirable? Do people still like me? Do I still belong? And if we don't get to that question, shark and all for all of us, we will tear stuff up to get there. Because underneath Maslow's hierarchy of needs, food, shelter, clothing, all those things, we have to have belonging. If we don't feel we belong, we will fight tooth and nail to belong. And so that's what I began to really work on. So I swam for physical therapy, using that new normal mindset. And 27 months later, I found myself so fast in the water, I was moving like a shark. I wound up making a fluke and I'm making the Paralympic swim team and competed in in Atlanta, Georgia as a paralympic swimmer. And Paralympic Games. For those out there don't know are not the Special Olympics. It's Paralympics Games are the parallel games, the Olympic Games. So you have the Olympic Games that happen in Atlanta, Paralympic games come about 1410 to 14 days afterward. So athletes running and jumping with artificial limbs as I gotta get one of those things made. And lo and behold, four years later, I go to Sydney, Australia, place fifth and the 100 meters fifth and 20 meters. And October 23 2000. On my mother's birthday. I win the silver medal in the long jump. And it's, it's incredible, right? It's like, that's where I say that's the richest rags to riches. But when we get to the richest part, there's, I think there's another step that we all have to do. And that is, who are you going to share this experience with? Who needs to hear this message to actually elevate them? And so for me, it was beginning I started building the Paralympic military sport program for the United States Olympic Committee, which use sports as a tool for rehabilitation. For those soldiers who were wounded, ill injured in battle or outside of battle theater outside of theater. And so I would visit those bedsides at Walter Reed at Brooke Army Medical Center, and it's at the Navy's naval center out there in San Diego Balboa Park and in Doing so offering to say, Hey, I know that you're hurt and you're here. But the what we can do is offer you a sporting outlet that is totally adaptable to what you would like to do. And there was some resistance to that because you know, people feel regret

John Register 10:22

moving forward as walking in, well, some of these folks aren't going to, they're not going to walk or two legs like like this because both legs are gone. So getting them to sit in a wheelchair or on the ground to play sitting volleyball was quite a challenge. Once they got down their game was on first time they hit that ball and spiked it on the floor. They're talking trash to the net. So we can change our perspective, we just have to have the perspective. And that in the environment that's shifting, you know, being shown to us, and then we, we bring my analogies bring oxygen into our environments, and we don't, don't freak out.

Kenneth Kinney 10:57

And so other than the silver medal, you also won, believe us nine gold medals in the Armed Services competition and two World Military championships, you really should start trying to set your goals a bit higher than you really under achieving it. It looks like John, you're you just haven't. It's it trickles high enough.

John Register 11:13

When you look at my family, you know, I didn't realize how amazing of a family I was entering. Because I'm a kid, right? I'm a kid, I'm just playing on the street and play my cousins. I'm on the youngest because my mom and dad were the youngest siblings of the families. So when the young cousin and you know, here's my my uncle, who was in charge of all the platform speakers on the March on Washington, you know, what? And you know, he's, I'm like, What's that? What's that office he's in right there. He's he's in the signing of this this law, this civil rights law. He's there in the, in the room with the President. So it's crazy, right? So we, and I don't know this because I'm, I'm a little tag I'm nine years old, that you know, not not at that point, I would like three then make two. But the, but later on, when we're having these conversations around the table, some unknown begins, begins to seep in on what I do now as a professional speaker. Because we were not able to have a conversation or Converse at the dinner table for Thanksgiving. Unless we could argue the other side of a point. So, so we were being groomed and trained for this stuff, unbeknownst to me,

Kenneth Kinney 12:37

which of your relatives was with Medgar Evers?

John Register 12:41

Gloucester, Gloucester current, that same one, same one.

Kenneth Kinney 12:44

Let's proceed Medgar Evers alive, Impressive, impressive background.

John Register 12:48

It's amazing.

Kenneth Kinney 12:50

So when you think about what you were going through, especially in that relationship with your wife, I mean, she sounds like an amazing woman.

John Register 13:01

You saw she was Brahmin sandwich. Yeah, exactly.

Kenneth Kinney 13:03

However, for a lot of people, they don't have that. And so, you know, I think a lot of times when we think about that message, not enough of us know, to lean on, who cares for us? Where do you sort of think you might have been had she not been there for you?

John Register 13:20

Well, I think there have been another person there. Because, you know, as you know, the great Jim Rohn said, right, you're kind of the sum of the five people that you hang around. And so who are you hanging around my question? So if you don't have somebody that might be a spouse, who's the other people that are in your world that lift you up, that will never allow you to fail? I have I have a picture on the track when I was on the track injured that day, and I show it twice during my presentations. If I'm doing that presentation, I'll show it twice. And the first time it's like the paint is the pain picture. The freakout picture, everybody sees the leg and the disc combined. They're like, oh, people throwing up some people gotta leave, right? Because they just can't take it. But I I caution folks, right I, I say I'm going to show you this, you're going to freak out. Because it looks bad. It's you know, so but then I saw it again at the end of the presentation. And instead of it being a painful picture, it is everyone that's around me, I want them to see. Because when I can't support myself, who's supporting me? When I win, who's lifting me up? I couldn't lift myself up on the gurney, to get to into the ambulance. They're all lifting me. And they're and who's carrying you when you can't carry? Sometimes as leaders, we think we have to have all the answers and we have none of them. So how then do we what team have we built around us? Because we might have the best story as a leader. But we don't have the answers for it. And I say to leaders, this is exactly why you hired who you hired. Because you want them to think in the areas that that are going to cover your six cover your backs. Right. But what did we do most a lot of companies do during the pandemic, they wanted to protect the bottom line. And they got rid of the very people who they said were the very ones to help them get through the crisis. Because we want to keep the revenue. how that worked out?

Kenneth Kinney 15:16

Exactly.

John Register 15:17

Right. So that's, that's what we have to, I think, as leaders that your questions point is right on target. And so I'd ask Who is it, and if you don't have them, you got to go find them. That's the action step you need to take right now is find those five individuals I got, I got three or four right now, that last one, but I got thrown out three or four, I need to get another one that will hold me accountable. One of the things, one of the things that freaks people out of what I do, I don't care whether it's executives, CEOs levels, or, you know, attorneys that are working for Deloitte, right, or down to the kids. And in high school. This is the freak outline that I say in my prayers all the time. For the action step I say. Now, you've heard a lot about what we share today, I know that you have one thought that is in your mind of what you want to get done. It's a big idea. So you can't do the whole big idea at one time. So what you're going to do, I invite you to just write down, but what's one step you can do toward that idea, what's just one step, just write that down on a piece of paper, one step. Now, once you've written that idea down, I want you to, I want you to and that step down, I want you to make movement towards that, just that one step by 10 o'clock tomorrow morning. And then I'll say, who's gonna hold you accountable for that, and I'm gonna hold myself accountable. No, you're not gonna hold yourself accountable. You're going to find an accountability partner. And instead of texting them, instead of emailing them, or sending them some type of love note on your cell phone device, you're going to pick up the cell phone, call them at 10 o'clock tomorrow morning. And I want you to I invite you then to share, what's the one step that you move forward? Now they're backing up? Because we don't want to be held accountable?

Kenneth Kinney 17:06

And many also don't know they work as phones.

John Register 17:12

Some know some someone's do. But yes, it's Steve Job. Would you say the computer the computer in your pocket? Right? In your pocket? So yeah, and I think that's that's it right. We have to in order to progress and move we there's needs to be movement to it. Yeah, I mean, you would you can't have a dream. Or you can't have you can't accomplish a dream without it without having one.

Kenneth Kinney 17:46

You often talk about hurling adversity and amputating fear, because of what happened to you. What does fear mean to you?

John Register 17:55

Here means there is a story, a narrative that you have told yourself where I've told myself about a future state that has not yet been realized. And we told ourselves the negative story. So if I can tell myself the negative story, I asked him to rewrite it and tell myself a positive story about the exact same thing that's coming up. How many people out there have ever had to made a mistake, John, made a mistake. And now I gotta go, beat to the fire and go talk to my boss about the mistake they're made to get called in on carpet. So in that moment, I'm telling myself the story of what my boss might be about to say to me, in this meeting, that really hasn't taken place. But I get all this anxiety, and all what's what's going to happen, I'm going to lose my job, all the stories I began to talk about on this negative cycle. I can arrest that by being fourth, right? And fourth, frontal, here's how I'm going to, you know, stop all this fear. It hasn't happened yet. We have not we have not crossed that line yet. And maybe the boss is gonna go through like the by Ken Blanchard the one minute reprimand. And, you know, acknowledge that we have done, you know, praise and now that we've done and then, you know, get us back on track again, because I don't know about you, we all make mistakes. Right? And if I'm always if I'm, if I'm the person that's always about to hone in on that one mistake, that's more about me than about the person's growth. Because if you allow the mistake, guess who's not gonna and you give grace Guess who's not gonna make the mistake again, or generally right. So that's, I think, is how we begin to effectively teach leaders on what they can do to elevate the conversation. So that's, that's my conversation. issue around a little bit around fear. And I think we're, we have, we have a fear of a couple different things. And it's really the fear is about the courageous commitment to the vision that you know, you need to do. And you don't make the commitment, because somebody else other people, were believing for you what you could or could not do, was based upon what they thought they could or cannot do it, they were in your situation, or society, society said, says that you are, you're not supposed to elevate you're not supposed to achieve, we're gonna, we're gonna hold you back. Because you're supposed to be this in society. caste systems work like that a lot. And, and so we, we believe the rhetoric. And so we don't, we don't move to the vision that we have and commit to it, because of these other things that are holding us back, which are not real. They're just other people's opinions about who they're trying to say that you are. And so when the quote I have, my quote is, when our, when our truth outweighs our fear, will commit to a courageous life will commit to courageous acts, will commit. And so then that's and that's hard. It's, that's the hurdle. That's the hurdle. And my coach, Remy, cord, chimney, Ukrainian, he, he coached me very well in the hurdles. But you know what he never did sharp. He never ran one for me, never ran the race for me. That was on me. And so if you're thinking somebody else is going to do this for you, you know, I'm about to do a coaching a speaker class right now. And that's the one thing I see all the other spirit coaches out there doing that, God bless them and a lot of stuff. I ain't doing it for you. It's not my job. My job is give you the tools and the resources ready for you to launch and move. But you got to do it, I'm not getting you one engagement, I'm gonna tell you what to go by them. But that you got us you got to shoot it. You got to kill it?

Kenneth Kinney 22:16

Well, one of the questions I have, and especially with what you've gone through with an amazing life story, as well, and thank you for your service. Sincerely, thank you for what you did in Desert Shield and Desert Storm. But when you talk to business leaders today about fear, what commonly comes up with them? The reason I asked the question this way is that what you've been through are like life changing fears that are real world fears, the fear that you were in somewhere like Iraq and worried about getting shot on the other side with with a rifle pointing in your direction, you had a fear of losing your leg. And you did. I mean, these are really tough things to go through. And I think, and I don't mean to make the sound generational because it's not. But when you think of what we've gone through, especially with the pandemic, people have self manifested a lot of fears that evolved too much time on social media, making them paranoid, and then whether or not their internet was going to stay stable for their Netflix subscription that was going to go up for $1. And it seems like unfortunately, that a lot of the fears and this is something that I help work with people, I'm going to take people on Shark dives, that is the difference between what they think is in their head, and what is actually happening when a shark comes up and approaches you and swims past and what you've gone through is a lot more real world tough than what a lot of people will ever go through that they manifest in their minds.

John Register 23:37

I think that's a that's a challenge, right? There's a challenge as the Inspirational Speaker Now I'll under Can I can unpack inspiration versus motivation and in my mind, but the in the in the in the in the CEO, the executive suite, we're all human. So we have these tendencies and it goes back like I said, with Maslow, Maslow right underneath that is belonging. And one of the things that we have is, am I adequate? This is this environment just shifted. And if I'm not, when people see me as incompetent, it goes back to that ego again. Will I be found out all these days that we got to self sabotage or speak on. And again, that's the story of the scenario that we're telling ourselves. Because we want to be like that social media person that's out there that nothing goes wrong in their life. Every picture is airbrushed and photoshopped and everything that everybody's Great. Now, I want you, we can't keep telling that story. Because it's not real. It's not real. We all have things that we've been through and that one of the toughest jobs I have as a speaker and I was really kind of upset with the person that introduced me the last time is to begin to land the plane and close that gap. Because I realized as a silver medalist people put me on a pedestal. And I said, Well, I'm never gonna win a silver medal. So how do you how do you talk to teams? Right? So that's because that was an individual thing. I got to be able to close that gap and show them. And so in my speaker introduction, I do it for a couple of reasons. That helps close the gap because I begin to talk about things that are common to all of us. And the last line is, and homemade waffle lover, please welcome gentlemen. So, so we have common out, I play the cello, I got to tell in the background here. And it's when she doesn't do it, and she wants me to do all that stuff. Now looks like I'm bragging. The other thing that has to happen shark is, you know, we're talking about this whole, this whole shift of environment is think about how I have to build a business as an African American man, in the speaker profession. All my audiences are primarily 90% or more white America. So I have to cut through all that noise of what they're seeing as me. And then when I talk to my you know, my beautiful friends who are in the NSA community, then I say, Okay, could you have built your business? On an audience that looks like me? All your life? You know, could would you be as successful? And it's not for them to answer to It's a framework of mind to shift. And so here's why I can do it. Because every one of my teachers that came, I came through, you know, grade school, middle school, high school, junior high school, college, most of the more white individuals. Were all you could you was yours all pretty much black or Hispanic individuals all the way through. So this is the conversations, so I don't have seven seconds to win the audience over, I gotta get them before I even arrive. And that's how I think, because it's not about me, it's about how do I serve that client with this information and cut through that noise so they can hear the message. So that's, that's the, that's the depth that we have to go as professional communicators, to really understand how we show up an audience. It's not a race thing. It's just a, it's a thing about what's in people's heads that they need to we need to get rid of, or or separate them from so that they can hear the message more clear. Clearly,

Kenneth Kinney 27:34

by the way, this a trivia question, do you know what two fears that we are born with? Only two fears that we are innately born with? You can use this one of your keynotes. Babies are born with the fear of loud sounds and falling, scientifically proven, true story, loud sounds and bawling, loud. So everything else we bring onto ourselves. None of it is to your point is it's fear of the future something happening?

John Register 28:04

I'm not sure I had a fear of falling because my mother never got on a roller coaster. So

Kenneth Kinney 28:08

there you go. Well, another one of the audiences that you speak to and help, what is your message to veterans? How do you help them overcome a lot of what they go through? It's not through necessarily through the same circumstances, but you've been there where they are, and you've also lost a limb and go through the everyday real world struggles that they go through.

John Register 28:30

So there's, that's a spouse expand on the question. One message is, it takes time. That's one message that give yourself the space because once you make the commitment, once something, once you made the decision that you had to get out of service, you got to, you're not going to go back into theater, or you're going to go back, there's a transition moment that happens is transition. And once you've done it, you know you made a commit because you're your backs against the wall now. And you have to move forward. So you have to unlearn, relearn at to learn what you need to know next. So give the space and grace for for that. The second one is always surround yourself with a network. That's a network that will not allow you to fail, who's on your who's on your team. We talked about it a little earlier, who is there on your team. Because you need that when you win there because they're gonna be tough days. And even if you don't, didn't have one, if you even weren't injured in the military, but you were in the military and you're getting out you're separating, there is a camaraderie around these. These people that you served with, and that you went through these kind of were battle scar battle tested with and that's not You're not going to find that as readily on the outside. So remember that you have a network of these folks that are were there, but try to find that that's a similar network when you are when you're out there Switching gears switching hats to because I do help athletes and military service members tell their journey stories better. So there's something that's very different about that, because a lot of veterans will say, Well, I was blown up in Iraq or Afghanistan, I lost my leg, I lost my arm. And so and now I want to be a speaker to motivate people. And I say great. wants you in the part of the community. There are 1500 amputees with that exact same story. What makes you different? Go. Right. So that's the and I just did it too, was I was just very honored to be one of Ellen's producers reached out and have me coach a young lady, that's a double leg amputee, same question. As I want her to, I wanted to come speak to the national amputee coalition. You know, to try your story out with, you know, 1100 other amputees, they got the exact same story, how are you different? What makes you tick? And then why should I care about your story. So these are, if you want to be a speaker, you have to be again to understand, you know, that I had to find out very painfully, it's not just about a great story, it's about the experience that you can create, that begins to amalgamate all of all of the folks together that are in that room. And so, you know, going back to your question, how I begin to relay the message for the military service member in that specific thing is, is let's, let's see what you've learned from that story. And then for the, again, the other hat is, when I'm walking to hospital beds, bedside bedside, it's sort of get you make sure your team is intact. If you don't have the team, you got to find the team, because it's gonna get, it's gonna get harder before it gets better. And then folks are gonna say, you know, this, one thing I've prepped them with is, you know, that the thank you for your service. You know, you just said, You just said it. Right. And so that's, that's an honorable thing. However, I don't I don't know if people really understand what thank you for your service actually means. Because we think it means you know, thanks for protecting our country, which is right. But remember, the oath that I took to protect the country starts with, I state your name, right? And then it goes in and says, swear to protect the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic. That's what you're thanking me for. And so if you do not believe that whatever's going on in our country, and we have domestic terrorism here that we need to be fending off, don't thank me for my service, because that's a part of it. And then I'll ask them, you know, when's the last time read the Constitution? So but I don't know what's going

Kenneth Kinney 33:04

on that would require people thinking beyond a hashtag and a headline, you know, I mean, that's

John Register 33:11

it's, I'd said on a radio shows in Iowa, right? I was I was, somebody called in and I said, well tell you one last I read the Constitution. And they like, Oh, my God is like maybe high school. So why don't you get it back out? You can get on the phone. I got in my mind. Every once in a while I'm on the planet is I just take it out. So radiant. How many articles do we have? What were the amendments? All those things, you just read it right? And then you don't have to worry about somebody trying to dictate to you love to write what you're supposed to believe you can read it for yourself.

Kenneth Kinney 33:39

Outside of the five people that you know your inner circle, who are the people that inspire you, every time I talk to you I'm inspired honestly, that's why we're so excited to have you on I love your story. I love the way you present yourself. But I'm curious with those kind of people who inspires you?

John Register 33:56

Yeah, yeah, that's great. Well, definitely my wife my family for sure. I mean, whenever I am thinking about presenting they're always in my head some space right? Even if I had I've even had conference professionals come up to me and say you have your your you're sitting at the table and you got your family picture or your wife sometimes it blows my wife picture on their on your on your phone and you're coming out your phone, but your iPad just kind of said yeah, I always take them with me, you know? So that's, that's that's one. The second is not this in no particular order. Is my faith in God when I mean God, I mean Christ and so this is this is the reason for that is it's not a religion thing with me. It is a lifestyle thing with me. And so I had a business mazing business coach, her name was pat on Rico's I was doing I was doing the veterans entrepreneurship course. I keep my flag with me. Here, they gave that I won the veteran, the Entrepreneurship Award, and I keep it close by. It's a nice award, I like it. And it's, it reminds me of the work that it takes to build a business, right? And so she says, to the whole class, what's the most important thing that you need to focus on a business? And we're also marketing, sales, contacts, resources, and you know, cash flow, she said, Now, she says, The most important thing in your business, is how you're going to wrap it up? How you going to pose the business? How are you going to let it go? How are you going to close the doors? It's like, dang, that is a deep frickin question. Because it takes into account that you you built the business, you're already successful. And now you're just saying, Okay, I've made the revenue that I wanted to make. So get you think about what's the revenue numbers are all these things to the the end state? And then, about six months later, I'm thinking about that question still. And it came into my mind. What, what's that question for the end of your life. And as I and I didn't, I thought about that for for a few days, and I came up with, I want my god to say, Well done, my good and faithful servant, enter noun to the joy of my rest. How am I going to do that? I'm gonna seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all things shall be added to me how I'm going to do that. I want to build upon the foundation that no one else can lay upon, which is Christ. And I want to build not with wood, hay and stubble, as Caribbean says, But gold, silver and precious stones, because those are refined when they're, they're trapped by the fire. And so every single thing I want to do shark is to elevate humanity, it's to begin to offer that in such a way that it elevates people's lives. If I'm doing something and comes out my mouth to tear somebody down. That cannot be the way to operate. My words must elevate and create and give life into that's why I call myself an inspirational speaker, not a motivational speaker. Because a motivational speaker is kind of like you get shocked, right? So you you don't have life again, and you got to get light back into boom, you got to get to that shock. Or it's like you're going into you ever drove a stick shift car? Yeah, in the in the the battery goes out, and you got to start the car jumping and rolling down the hill. Yeah, the clutch, right. That's why I use both examples, because some people don't even know what that does. But if the if the alternate is not charging that battery, you got to do it again. And that's a motivational speaker needed. absolutely needed. Right? When you got to shock somebody back to life, boom, you got to gotta get the inspirational speaker comes from the inspiration comes from the Latin word in Spiro, which means to breathe life into. And that's what I want to do. I want to breathe life into whatever audience I'm talking to, so that they don't need to be shocked over and over again, they just got it and they can move to whatever direction that they need to do those individuals I went to, to talk to at the hospital, I don't need to see them again. Because their life is moving now. And so that's how I want to show up. And I believe that's you know, that's the real portion of, of Christianity or faith, we're going to talk that's what we want to be doing and pouring into people anything that's taken away from it. That doesn't come from life.

Kenneth Kinney 38:30

Well, first thing I'll say is Amen. And then I'm going to make the artists transition ever from Amen. John has this of all my guests who've been on the show you're not going to see a lot of them in Colorado Springs. But what is your favorite kind of shark and why?

John Register 38:48

reef shark? I like you know, I've seen a few snorkeling when I've been in in Hawaii and and and I just I like the the calmness in the kind of the lower the lower water I mean, I've even though it's not terrorize them, but But I freak out when I see him you know, I'm snorkeling or something. I'll see one. But I know that they're just in their element. And I'm in I'm in I'm in I'm in their element. Because I'm not supposed to be I'm not supposed to be there. Right. But but they are so yeah, like the reef sharks.

Kenneth Kinney 39:28

Jaws ruined it for everybody. That manifested fear for people like me to explain for the rest of my life. But, John, it's a special time of the show. Are you ready for the five most interesting and important questions that you're going to be asked today? Let's roll. All right, number one. This is a good question. That will make sense. Edie Moses, or Tricia Zorn. Oh, yeah, one of the greatest Olympians and one of the greatest parallel below and you went From track and field to swimming you do did you guys man do my homework? That's unfair?

John Register 40:07

They're both the greatest. They're both the greatest.

Kenneth Kinney 40:10

How do you pick pick one that meant more to you in your life? That's,

John Register 40:14

I mean, okay, so here's

Kenneth Kinney 40:16

that's which one inspired you more?

John Register 40:19

So let me tell you the story. Why? Because Edwin Moses said you're on the same trajectory I was on when I was trying to make the Olympic team. He was a validator of me doing what I was doing. Trisha Zorn is like the greatest decorated Paralympian ever, and is most one of the most humblest people you'll ever meet. I mean, and she is just one of those individuals that Jesus often doing her school teaching thing. Totally, you know, she's a She's blind, but he's one of the most metals of anyone and just as a humble creature. So it's it's hard, I guess, you know, I think with the hurling adversity, I'll go with Edwin Moses, just just from the standpoint of him getting it understanding and then trying to figure out how the accident happened. But, but also offering an elevating the the hurdle community because that hurdle community is a tight knit bond, at least when I was running.

Kenneth Kinney 41:21

Alright, number two, it's a good answer to number two. This one's this one's a little bit easier. fear of spiders or fear of snakes, snakes, no hesitation whatsoever on that one. They don't have to think about Trisha and Edie in response to that one,

John Register 41:35

I respect both. I we got a little snakes out in the front yard here and stuff and, and I let him stay there. I don't I don't bother him, you know, because we don't have any more field mice in our garage.

Kenneth Kinney 41:48

Yeah, that's true. All right. Number three hurdles are the long jump, because you started in hurdles, but you won medals in the long jump. Yep, hurdles.

John Register 41:58

hurdles is hurdles are in that, you know, when I was starting to do the speech, I was trying to mix metaphors between hurdles and long jump and it just doesn't work. There is one thing that's consistent with them, and that's the penultimate step, but an ultimate step is a step before the jump. And so penultimate step, you're trying to convert energy into long jump to spring in with the hurdles, it's to spring into or to drop to drive into the hurdle to lift the knee up. But I've always been fascinated with the hurdle race because it's, to me, it feels a little bit like other people explain golf. I don't play golf. That you never can perfect the race.

Kenneth Kinney 42:36

Well, hurdles took your left leg, however, it would have taken probably both hips. Because I remember the amount of soreness I felt. It's Charlie played football, martial arts hurdles. It was it was tough on my body. So

John Register 42:51

I can still stretch because of the hurdles. Yeah, I bet to have good stretch. Yeah.

Kenneth Kinney 42:55

Alright, number four. This is a very important question that's near and dear to me, because I was pulling for him in both the Duke and UNLV days, but we're going back to 40 minutes of hell, the Arkansas Razorback team, the basketball reason, Corliss Williamson or Scotty Thurman

John Register 43:13

Orleans because he's a kid. And I'm okay. Okay.

Kenneth Kinney 43:18

He was a six foot five center. Absolutely, yeah, to the Sacramento Kings and played well, but he was like, a foot shorter than he should be. And it was like Shaq without the height. Yep. Cool. It's got he didn't make a heck of a half court shots got his God has made the NC Scott has given back to the school right now. Sons, they're, you know, they're doing fantastic. Absolutely. Alright, number five. And the most important question that you're going to be asked today and having lived in Arkansas, you'll appreciate this that much more. This gets or cornbread. This gets no hesitation.

John Register 43:53

Well, there's a hesitation. But But, but I'm thinking about the stories, right. And so that I'm thinking about stories. So when I was coming back from our drive on the pig Trail, which is for those that don't know, you would get on before you get to 7171 picked her up. You come out of Alma and not home. I'm sorry. Going back north, you come out of Conway and then through what's what's that? What's that town in between the big town Russellville, I think it is Russellville, Arkansas, Seville so Russellville, so you come to Russellville, and you gotta make the make the right turn up the pig trail. There used to be like a little Popeyes chicken that was there. And I wouldn't get any chicken. I would just get six biscuits and some honey.

Kenneth Kinney 44:36

This is so funny. If you're not from Arkansas, most people that listen to this show are not they don't understand it. But I just talked about that. And Bojangles Popeyes and Bojangles biscuits some of the best in the planet. But anyway, you're just guessing. Yeah, that's true. That's true. John, where can people find out more about you hear more about your inspiring story? Look at you for an upcoming keynote and more.

John Register 45:00

So the best the lowest the best place, the fastest place is the website, which is John registered.com, common spelling johnregister.com. And then I'm going to give another one that's a little bit harder to put together. But you can put in the show notes, but that gives you everything. And that's my link tree. And so if you're familiar with Link tree, Li n k, T R, dot E, Link TR dot E, and then put the slash there, and then do John F register. And that gets you to everything, all my social media contacts and stuff. We're trying to build up the Instagram page. So follow me on Instagram, that's for sure. So go to linktree and find that out.

Kenneth Kinney 45:45

All right, John, thank you so much for being with us today on A Shark's Perspective.

John Register 45:48

Thank you. Thank you Shark.

Kenneth Kinney 45:54

So that was my conversation with John register, a combat Army veteran, a four time track and field All American. A two time Olympic Trials qualifier, a long jump silver medalist in the Paralympic Games, the founder of the United States Olympic and Paralympic committees Paralympic military sport program, a two time TEDx speaker at a homemade waffle lover. Let's take a look at three key takeaways from my conversation with him.

Kenneth Kinney 46:18

First, what would you decide if he had to make a choice on something like losing your leg due to an injury? Odds are infinitesimally small digital ever have to make that decision. But the odds are higher that you'll have to make a decision that feels just that big one that can affect not just you, but the people around you. What would that new normal look like for you? The point is, I hope that the fear and anxiety you feel is never a hurdle that you feel is too high.

Kenneth Kinney 46:43

Second, who's got your six important questions you have to ask about your friends, your family, those that love support and push you. It's important to for leaders of companies who should more often identify that group and lean into those choices more. John said that sometimes we think that we as leaders have to have all the answers when we have none of them. And then we have to figure out who to lean on, especially those we hired to do the jobs. And a lot of leaders don't do that. And in the process, they destroy trust. The relationship is different, obviously. But trust in your judgment with those that you chose to hire. Odds are if you lean in, and you've treated them right, they'll be there to catch and support you.

Kenneth Kinney 47:21

Third, just wanted to reiterate a quote of his that I've heard him say it's one of my favorites. John says, When our truth outweighs our fear, we will commit to a courageous life. Love that.

Kenneth Kinney 47:32

Got a question, send me an email to Kenneth at a shark's perspective.com.

Kenneth Kinney 47:37

Thank you again for the privilege of your time, and I'm so thankful to everyone who listens.

Kenneth Kinney 47:41

Please consider writing a review and let me know your thoughts in the show.

Kenneth Kinney 47:44

I don't preach but for me to my faith helps me live without fear.

Kenneth Kinney 47:48

I will simply close out with the words from the book of music, Swedish House Mafia, don't you worry, Don't You Worry Child. See, Heaven's gonna plan for you. Time to jump in the water down. Join us on the next episode of A Shark's Perspective.

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