If Mike decided to stop after the first hurdle, he would never have gotten to where he is today! The hurdles define who he was, is and can be on his entrepreneurial journey.
Michael McDonnell is a serial entrepreneur and podcast host who has his own personal brand. He is a high-performance mindset coach for mission and impact-driven entrepreneurs. His podcast is called “Business on the Beach” and he’s also moving into the health and wellness industry.
He started out on his journey at sixteen, but the adversity and struggle had been with him since he was born; he has cystic fibrosis [CF] and diabetes. If you’re not sure what they are, CF is a degenerative genetic disease and affects mostly the lungs and digestive system (but it attacks the whole body), and diabetes is a condition that means his liver doesn’t produce enough insulin to comfortably handle the food he eats. Therefore, he has to watch his diet and inject insulin.
Every day, Mike has a medical routine to appear “normal.” He has his set performance routines to keep himself in peak condition to run his businesses.
Self-belief, self-value and self-worth have been a struggle for him for as long as he can remember. Nevertheless, he keeps going to this day because of a few things that spur him on.
It’s About Service
There was no getting around the fact that he would do more for someone else than for himself. Early on it was all about service to others and making a difference. Thus, leaving the world a better place than when he found it became his motivation.
He would start the only way he knew how to at the time, with sports. Tennis was the first sport Michael got good at to the point where someone else would say, “have you ever thought about being a coach?” Naturally, he said yes, and felt the joy of seeing the whites in children’s’ eyes light up when he helped them. He was hooked instantly.
Then, as he got more self-aware and active, he found that some people did struggle to lose weight and keep healthy. Following this realization, Michael decided to take on personal training as a second business venture. Again, following his desire to help people.
The Moment That Changed Everything
Michael was diagnosed with diabetes in his twenties. The reason this struck hard for Michael was because he “finally” felt he overcame his CF by using exercise, diet, and sport to maintain his health and help others do the same.
What we’ve not mentioned yet is that he did have a friend that had CF and diabetes before him who passed away not long before he was then diagnosed. According to Mike, it’s very hard to quite explain the feeling of knowing someone who dies with the conditions that you’re subsequently diagnosed with. It was a mixture of mortality motivation, “I guess this is it for me too then” frustration, “Just when I thought I got the hang of this, this happens,” and realizing that he really doesn’t know how long he has left. Michael then realized he had to make his time on this planet truly count.
Don’t Act Like You Get Another Shot
This happens a lot with people like Mike. It all seems too easy to just stop, quit, give up because you’re one of a select few that are doing what you’re not “supposed” to be doing. People with health conditions aren’t “supposed” to be able to run businesses, speak and travel.
But with the right tools and habits, he was able to change his mindset into someone that simply won’t quit. “What else are you going to do?” is a question he asks himself a lot when things get tough. He doesn’t want to get a job, he doesn’t want to stay still and get content, bored, or fed up with the way his life is. Striving is a big part of feeling like you’re actually living. There is proof that the only people that are truly happy happen to get there by striving and achieving what they really want.
Life and business are journeys we all are lucky enough to go through. When you realize that a journey involves steps, a direction, and movement in that direction, things like motivation, inspiration, and the desire for more will come easy to you if you seek a reason that’s larger than yourself.
