142: Chatting with Terry Tucker about the Lessons Life Taught Him

He has reinvented himself frequently over his career. After he graduated from college at The Citadel (where he played NCAA Division I basketball), he was employed in the Marketing Department at the corporate headquarters of Wendy’s International in Dublin, Ohio. From there, he worked in hospital administration for Riverside Methodist Hospital in Columbus, Ohio. After getting married and moving to California for his wife's job, he became the Customer Service Manager for an academic publishing company in Santa Barbara. After their daughter was born and they moved to Cincinnati, Ohio, he became a police officer with the Cincinnati Police Department, where he was a SWAT Hostage Negotiator. Following a family relocation to Texas, he started a school security consulting business and coached high school girls basketball in Houston. Each time he took on a new job, he had to develop new skills and faced different challenges. There was always a significant learning curve with every new position.

But his greatest challenge began in early 2012 when he was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer called Acral Lentiginous Melanoma, which presented on the bottom of his foot. By the time the melanoma was detected, it had metastasized to a lymph node in his groin. His cancer is so rare (only about 6,500 people are diagnosed with this form of malignancy in the U.S. each year). One thing he learned during all his pain and suffering is that you have two choices. You can succumb to the debilitating discomfort and misery, or you can learn to embrace it and use it to make you a stronger and better human being. He chose the latter.

There were times he felt so poorly and was in so much agony that he prayed to die. Each day was a struggle to use his mind to override his body's apathy and distress.

He realizes pain and discomfort can beat you to your knees and keep you there if you let it. But he also came to appreciate that I could use my hurting and anguish to make me stronger and more resolute.

He was no better at dealing with pain and discomfort than the next person. But every day, he found a way to survive, with the knowledge that he would need to do it again the following morning.

He recently wrote a book, entitled Sustainable Excellence, Ten Principles to Leading Your Uncommon and Extraordinary Life, to help people find and live their uncommon and extraordinary life. The ten principles outlined in the book will provide the bedrock necessary to form the foundation of unshakable beliefs and dedicated behaviors to reinforce your attitude, no matter how much pain you must endure or how many obstacles you must overcome. His hope is that people who read the book will lead a life of significance, as well as a life of success.

Unfortunately, his cancer experience hasn't ended with his conquering the disease. The melanoma that had plagued him  for over six years returned in 2017. But he refused to be a victim of this malignancy. He vowed to continue his fight. He knew the only way cancer could win is if he gave up or gave in to the disease, or it killed him.

Motivational Check Website: https://www.motivationalcheck.com/

Twitter: https://mobile.twitter.com/terrytucker2012

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/terry-tucker-9b5605179/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/motivationalcheck 

Terry's Book Sustainable Excellence https://amzn.to/2OHcPCN

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