Rob Konrad: Conversations

After years of physical and mental abuse in a chaotic and violent home, being bullied at the almost 40 schools he went to in his youth (due to the constant relocations of his drug-addicted parents), and battles with depression and self-harm, Aaron Stark reached a point where he could no longer take it.

He decided to get a gun and do the unspeakable - take revenge on a world that seemingly had forgotten him.

Luckily, before the unspeakable could happen, Aaron was saved by simple acts of kindness - by a colleague who understood that Aaron needed emotional help and support more than anything else.

Aaron left his abusive home, got his life back on track, and how he shares his story of hope and transformation with the world.

His TEDx talk, "I almost was a school shooter", has been watched over 8 Million times, he is now a mental health and anti-gun activist, husband and proud father of 4.

In this deeply personal and emotional conversation we talk about bullying, what goes on in the mind of someone willing to take his life and those of others along with him, what we can do to prevent school shootings in the future - and much more....

Join the conversation now!

For a video of our conversation, more background info about Aaron, show notes, a full transcript of our conversation and links to your favorite podcast players to listen to the episode on the go, visit:

https://www.robkonrad.com/podcast/conversations/015-aaron-stark

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The first time Jamie Pool died, he was wearing a suit.

That suit turned out to be the difference between his cardiac arrest going unnoticed by passers-by, and him getting medical help that would save his life. Jamie suffers from a heart condition called hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, an often undetectable, but fairly widespread, genetic disease that causes unpredictable cardiac arrests.

Today Jamie copes with his illness through the use of a subcutaneous device called an implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) - essentially a defibrillator machine that is permanently attached to his heart. But over the last decade, Jamie experienced dying nine times - four of which happened on consecutive Thursdays!

In this episode of Rob Konrad: Conversations, Jamie talks to Rob about near-death experiences, his thoughts on the afterlife, coincidences that feel supernatural, and having astonishingly good luck. He tells Rob what it feels like to die, and how he finds meaning in life without religious belief, and without being able to plan a future with any certainty.

Listen to the episode - and join the conversation now!

Watch the video of the conversation, read the show notes and the full transcript here:

https://www.robkonrad.com/podcast/conversations/006-jamie-poole/

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When Jessica Cox was born without both arms, her parents didn’t grieve. In fact, her father has never shed a single tear over his daughter’s life-altering disability. Instead, Jessica’s parents challenged her to be great.

And that’s exactly what she did. Jessica is the world’s first, and only, licensed pilot without arms who flies unmodified airplanes with her feet.

She is a motivational speaker who has inspired hundreds of thousands of people to overcome their own challenges and to find positivity and strength through their struggles.

In addition to all that, she is a Taekwondo black belt, has received a personal blessing from the Pope, a scuba diver and a parachuter.

In this uplifting episode of “Rob Konrad: Conversations”, Jessica tells Rob all about how she came to see her physical limitations as an opportunity to bring hope to others. You’ll discover how she cultivates fearlessness and uses her T.H.I.N.K principle to tackle seemingly impossible challenges. She’ll also answer a burning question many people are dying to ask her: if she could choose to have arms, would she want them?

Watch the video of the conversation, read the show notes and the full transcript here:

https://www.robkonrad.com/podcast/conversations/005-jessica-cox/

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When she was 14 years old, Shannon Martinez was raped at a party by two men who took advantage of the fact that she was intoxicated.

Overwhelmed with self-hate and anger, her life spiraled downwards - and she joined a violent right-wing extremist organization, where she would channel her rage and emotions against anyone who was "different".

Luckily, after several years in this supremacist organization, she was saved by a family who took her in and helped her to deal with her trauma - and showed her that there is a perspective for her beyond violence.

Now a mother of seven children, she is passionate about building empowered families and communities and believes that we all have the power to enact profound and fundamental change in our lives.

Shannon Martinez is now developing community resource platforms aimed at inoculating individuals against violence-based lifestyles and ideologies.

She has worked in at-risk communities teaching and developing dynamic resiliency skills, for school systems, nonprofits, and community organizations and has participated in programs organizations such as the UN Office of Counter Terrorism, the National Counterterrorism Center, Hedayah, The Center for the Prevention of Radicalization Leading to Violence, UN Women, and the National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine.

Her story has been featured globally, including: The TODAY Show, NBC's "Left Field," the Atlanta Journal Constitution, the Associated Press, the Washington Post, Marie Claire magazine, Quartz, Al Jazeera America, and Georgia Public Broadcasting’s “On Second Thought" program.

She has been a commentator on such news outlets as HLN, CNN, Canada One and BBC radio.

Shannon Martinez has also assisted in training law enforcement officers, building programs for educators, and collaborating with tech companies like Google and Twitter.

Watch the video of our conversation, get the show notes and full transcript here:

https://www.robkonrad.com/podcast/conversations/017-shannon-martinez

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What drives extraordinary people?

That’s the one question that I’ve always been fascinated with.

• What drives outstanding athletes, adventurers, artists and entertainers?
• What drives exceptional scientists, great thinkers, those who give up their own comfort to help others, and those who dare to be different?
• What drives people who were affected by tragedy, illness, disability and violence, but who manage to not only survive, but to thrive and to inspire?

What makes these people go further than most? What makes them push through the struggles and pain along the way?

I’m Rob Konrad from Switzerland, and I always wished I had a chance to ask these fascinating people about their personal stories, and ask them all the big and small questions.

So that’s exactly what I decided to do, and over the last months, I’ve spent hundreds of hours talking to people who shape this world through their actions and their thoughts; or who inspire us by overcoming their obstacles or traumas.

They all have one thing in common: they are making an incredible impact on this world, and we all can learn and grow from their examples, to make an impact ourselves.

Because I believe that’s what we all share: deep inside, we all strive to make an impact on our lives and the lives around us. But what we often lack is the inspiration or encouragement to believe that we can create change, whether that’s in our private life or within our organization.

Now, you can meet these extraordinary people for yourself and be inspired – because every week I’m gonna share one of my conversations with you.

I ask the questions you wish you could ask – which are often very personal, sometimes difficult, sometimes provoking.

And you’ll hear about how they developed the courage and commitment to pursue their dreams or to help others. You’ll learn all about what got them to where they are today – their successes, but also their setbacks and challenges, completely unfiltered.

I believe this is an incredible opportunity for all of us – to learn, to grow and impact lives.

On May 1st, 2019 I’m officially going to launch “Rob Konrad: Conversations with extraordinary people”, there are dozens of episodes produced and waiting, and more are coming every week.

So make sure to subscribe on this page so I can inform you when I launch the first 10 episodes, and send you some exclusive content that won’t be published anywhere else.

I look forward for you to join me on this journey, and join the conversation – NOW!

http://www.RobKonrad.com

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