S2E4: Crush Your Goals and Reach Peak Performance with Rodney Flowers

We all have changes and obstacles to overcome. Today we talk with Rodney Flowers, who will guide us though his journey of being paralyzed on the football field and the golden pearls he learned on his journey to overcome the opposition created by his accident. It was a game changer for him, and we will talk about what we can do to turn our own obstacles into game changers for our life.

Guest Bio

Rodney Flowers is a best-selling author, speaker, entrepreneur, thought leader and resilience trainer. Flowers leverages his unique life experience and business acumen to help individuals, teams and companies cultivate resilience, crush their goals, and achieve peak performance.

The game changer mindset was born in 1993 when Flowers was a star football player determined to reach the NFL. But one night, a bad tackle left him paralyzed from the neck down. Doctors told Flowers he’d never walk again. But Flowers rejected the prognosis. He pursued his goal to walk again relentlessly. Failure was not an option.  Today, Flowers is no longer wheelchair bound.  Since his traumatic injury, Flowers graduated college, earned his MBA, and enjoyed a productive career with the U.S. Department of Defense.  Through his Game Changer Mentality resilience training program, Flowers teaches others how to develop the mindset that conquers any obstacle, to overcome limiting beliefs and achieve personal and professional goals. He combines expertise and charisma to encourage audiences to take courageous action and change the game altogether.

Social media links for Rodney Flowers:

Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/RodneyFlowersfans/
Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/gamechangermentalitylife/
LinkedIn –  https://www.linkedin.com/in/rodneyflowers/
YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3EEOHWkZ-6ySBDmaybITZg
Twitter – https://twitter.com/RodneyFlowers22
Website – https://rodneyflowers.com/

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Transcript

Dr. Allen Lycka
I am Dr. Allen Lycka welcome to the Secrets of Living a Fantastic Life show where we will be discussing the important aspects of your life. We hope to inspire you to live the best life you can. Get out of your comfort zone and explore the awesome world around you, break through your barriers, take inspired action.  Use the difficulties in your life to achieve the best version of you. Now, we’ve got Rodney Flowers, who is a best-selling author, a speaker, an entrepreneur, a thought leader and a Resilience Trainer. Mr. Flowers leverages his unique life experience and business acumen to help individuals, teams and companies cultivate resilience, crush their goals, and achieve peak performance.  The Game Changer Mindset was born in 1993, when Mr. Flowers was a star, football player, determent to reach the NFL. But one night, a bad tackle left him paralyzed from the neck down. Doctors told, Mr. Flowers, he’d never walk again but Flowers rejected that prognosis.  He pursued his goal to walk again, relentlessly. Failure was not an option.  Today, Mr. Flowers is no longer wheelchair bound. Since his traumatic injury, Mr. Flowers graduated college earned an MBA and has enjoyed a productive career with the United States Department of Defense through his game Changer Mentality Resilience Training Program.
Mr. Flowers teaches others how to develop that mindset that conquers any obstacle to overcome limiting beliefs and achieve personal and professional goals.  He combines expertise and charisma to encourage audiences to take courageous action and change the game altogether. Find out more at www.RodneyFlowers.com but even more I want you to meet him and talk to him in person. Mr. Flowers, it is an honor and a privilege for you to be on my show today.
R Flowers
Hey, Dr. Lycka…, thank you so much for having me. It’s a pleasure and a privilege to be here with you.
Dr. Allen Lycka
Wow, you know, it is for me too. I can’t believe we are together.  I’ve wanted to get together for so long. As I said, you know, I have been on your show, but you have not been on mine. I get the privilege of being with you and talking to you today. How are things going?
R Flowers
Well? They’re just like what you teach. They’re fantastic.
Dr. Allen Lycka
No.  And that is the word I want.
R Flowers
Everybody.
Dr. Allen Lycka
To take away.  And one thing I also tell everybody, it’s not what happens to you – It’s what you do with what happens and you live and breathe and have that with you every day of your life. You know, you, believe that you live, that, you personify that.
R Flowers
Absolutely. And I feel like there’s no alternative to that particular philosophy, I mean, that is the game changer.
Dr. Allen Lycka
Yes, especially now.
R Flowers
Sum up the game change. And that’s really what it is, because, know, things happen to all of us, you know?  If it is 10%, what happens to you, and 90%, how you respond to it?
Dr. Allen Lycka
So are you and I are twins in some way, because you know we have a lot in common. I’ve watched your videos. I’ve watched your show. And so on.
You’ve had a life-changing event.  I’ve had a life-changing event. Mine was a little bit different. I was diagnosed as ALS Lou Gehrig’s disease, given six months to love live. I just had a weak right leg and eventually I got a weak right arm so it came on slowly for me. Your life changing event was sudden. It was cataclysmic.  It was, you know, it was such a traumatic event, but twin you overcame it. Your persistence yeah.
R Flowers
Dr. Lycka, we all have. I call it a proverbial wheelchair in our lives.
We all are dealing with something and if you’re not dealing with something, you just came out of something, are you getting ready to go into something and so my just so happened to be a football accident that included, you know, a paralysis, a spinal cord injury, and a diagnosis that I was going to stay there for the rest of my life. Yours may be COVID 19, it could have been Lou Gehrig’s disease. It can be whatever it is. But in my mind, is all just opposition. It’s just shows up in different colors and flavors.
Dr. Allen Lycka
I see one other way. I see either you’re a victor or your a victim.
You know, that’s the way I said.
R Flowers
Well, you…
Dr. Allen Lycka
Get to be a victor. Not a victim. Yeah.
R Flowers
Well, it’s because I realized what was really happening.
A lot of people think they’re going to go through life, and nothing is going to happen to them.  Like, I think it’s naïve to think that, hey, I can have this life, and it’s just move. Yeah, I don’t face any problems or challenges.
You know it, you know? There’s, it’s just good all the time, and that’s just ridiculous. Because the reality is there are going to be some challenges. There are going to be some obstacles and so, what I realized that, you know, I was making a story about what happened to me, I was making it be, because it doesn’t typically happen to people you don’t see, you know, a lot of people being paralyzed hurt on the football field. And so, I just said, you know, it’s this opposition. I created a perception and a story for myself that this is the resistance that’s showing up here in my life. And my goal is to overcome that opposition. I’m not going to allow that opposition and that resistance to keep me from scoring. And so, we all, in my opinion if you are living, you are out here on the field of adversity is going to happen.
You know, you can be either a player in the game or you can be a spectator.
Either way, you’re gonna face resistance so I decided to play it again.
That’s not.
Dr. Allen Lycka
When you say that – I just want to delve a little further, so we can explore a bit. You know, there’s, you know, as I say, a victim is something that happens to them, and not only are they of the victim, they start to live a victim’s life.  They start saying, poor pity me.  They start to act in funny ways. You know, You’re not that way. You weren’t that guy.
Were you ever that guy?
R Flowers
Yeah, I was, just to be completely transparent. Yeah, was that way for about a year and some change, I hated the world, and everyone in it. And that was just based on the story that I was telling myself.
Dr. Allen Lycka
How did you get in this position?
R Flowers
Change the story – change the story. Opportunity, is in the midst of resistance and opposition. Ok? And so that’s the opportunity to grow to disrupt like COVID-19, let’s just talk about that as a current event right now.
It has been devastating and has hurt a lot of people. A lot of people. Yeah, yeah.
Dr. Allen Lycka
Yeah, yeah, Yeah.
R Flowers
However, now, you can either say, Hey, this is awful and let that be the story for the rest of our lives or we can say, Yes, this is awful and there’s something good about it. What is it that I can take from it?
What is it that I can do to overcome this? What is it about this particular situation that could potentially make me a better player? Make me a better person. Make me a better entrepreneur. Make me a better server a whoever, whatever that I am. Maybe there’s something here like debt detour that you have to take, right? You can’t go that way in anymore.
Like maybe it’s time for you to consider something different. And so, that’s what happened to me. I realized that there was something different for me.
Dr. Allen Lycka
Let me go through a little bit when I went through my event, I went through anger for awhile. I was angry, I was So angry. Did you go through anger?
R Flowers
Yeah, I did, I went through anger. But I loved it. Here’s why.
Because see, we can do some things with that. Energy, OK, yeah, OK to get angry, lot of people, you know, they get frustrated, they get mad and I’m like, yeah, I get it, it sucks, I know it sucks. But there’s something you can do with that energy so what I did was I started channeling that energy. You know, I started using that as my fuel to get better, I was so angry at the situation, but being angry, and not do anything about it kept me in the same place. It’s kinda like spinning my wheels. But I got angry to the point where I got so angry and I was willing to take a certain type of action.  Mass action.
Dr. Allen Lycka
Ok, let me tell you, well, how else I reacted for awhile. I went through denial. I went through, denial believe me. That happened to me.
Did you deny things for awhile?
R Flowers
Well, I denied the fact that, you know, I could get better for awhile. I denied the fact that, they’re still life for me. I denied my success, I felt woe is me. That was the level of denial. Yeah – I did that, But I had to wake up and see that, you know, hey, if you’re going to change anything, stop being dependent on the doctors. They can’t, help you, you can’t depend on your mom, you can, you have to depend on you, yet depend on it in a part of you, that spiritual side of you, you gotta develop a greater spiritual relationship. So all of that denial went away after I started doing those types of things, and I think when we are in denial is, because we’re telling ourselves a story, and believing it, and so we have to change that story.
Dr. Allen Lycka
Yes, sir, yes or no? Not the other thing I did for a while, something that happened to me, as I bargained and I said, God please don’t let this happen. I’ll do anything if you don’t let this happen and did you bargain at all?
Did you go through that phase?
R Flowers
Yeah, I was 15 years, oh man, I was scratching any anything that I thought it was going to help increase the chances of walking. You gotta get or ease the emotional pain that I was in. I told God I will be a preacher I will be this, I’ll be all of those things, if you take this thing away from me, and it was because I was at a place, and so I was desperate and, you know, yeah, you know.
Dr. Allen Lycka
The thing I like about you Rodney is you can analyze this, you can tell people how it is and you can express it. You know, that’s a really rare talent, you know? I’ve got to go through one other thing that I went through, and that was depression. Depression was when everything was black and gloomy, it paralyzed me. I wanted to stay in bed all day. I look up at the sky like I wouldn’t do anything. I couldn’t see anything. I almost lost hope. It was so bad. What about you? Did you go through that black, dark awful place?
R Flowers
I’ve been in a dark place before, I wanted to kill myself, you know, there’s a story in my book Get Up I Can’t, I Will, I Did, here’s how, we’re, you know, I was in a moment where this is how it was, close by my house and I was in an electric wheelchair and I drove my electric wheelchair, to a particular highway and it was a little curve where you know, cars can’t see around this curve and so if you are not careful if there’s something in the street by the time you go through the curve you’re not gonna be able to stop to avoid it. And I knew if I drove my wheelchair out there, one of those 18 wheelers, that passes frequently wouldn’t have the time to stop. And I was so depressed and so just fed up with life, disappointed with my situation.
I didn’t even like who I was, and I wanted to get it over with. And so…..
Dr. Allen Lycka
What stopped you? What stopped you from doing that ugly awful thing, I want our audience to understand.
R Flowers
It was two things. The first thing was, what if they hit me and didn’t kill me, I thought about that, because what was the reason why I was so angry is because of the condition that I was in. And I say, no. This could happen if, for some reason, I might survive, and if I do, I’m going to be a worse condition than I’m already in, and then I probably won’t have the ability to go out and do what I’m trying to do right now, so I better make sure I succeeded at this. And then, the second thing was the fact that I’m not winning if I do. If I take my life, then, the situation has defeated me.
Yeah.  It has.
Dr. Allen Lycka
But you never accepted your situation. You never adopted that victim mentality.
R Flowers
That’s right.
Dr. Allen Lycka
What’s different about you, Mr. Rodney Flowers than everybody else? How come I want people to understand.
R Flowers
I don’t think anything is different from me.  I don’t think I’m different than anyone else.  I just think that when this situation came up for me, at a certain point in time in my life, I made a choice. We all have choices to make. Know, going back to what we talked about earlier, hey, like this, 2%, what happens to you, 90%, how you respond. And so I just, I got to a point in my life where I made a decision that Hey, I’m going to be successful. I’m going to walk, again, I’m going to turn my life around or die trying, and that was the commitment that I made and I couldn’t accept anything less.
So in making that commitment, there were some things that happened.
Um, the first thing was I wasn’t going to identify with what my label was.
Ok, so even though doctors were saying I’m disabled, I’m handicapped I didn’t identify like, Yeah, you can call me that but I’m not that And I can justify it because, you know, you look up the word handicap and it means powerless. No, I’m not powerless. I have a lot of power. Right, and so you look at me, you see my physical limitations and so you’re going to label me.
But you asked that’s, that’s to your own detriment, because you’re labeling me, it’s like, judge a book by its cover. You, haven’t you open up the box and see the gift inside for you? No effort a world, and so, I knew, even though society was labeled me this way, that’s not who I was, and I was OK with that, who I identify with, and I wanted more of that. And so, I continuously identify with being powerful.
Dr. Allen Lycka
Ok. I was just going to interject for a minute. You know, I’ve got to make a parallel with my life a little bit again. You know, my doctor said, I had ALS Lou Gehrig’s disease and he said get your affairs in order – you have six months to live. Did your doctor really say something like that to you?
R Flowers
Something? They told my parents that they need to hear from me to be in a wheelchair for the rest of my life. So there were accommodations, and changes we needed to make from our house, that, in their mind, what, are permanent. Permanent changes in a seed, you know what, my life, you know, I started to explain what my life was going to be, be, like, 10, 15, 20 years down the road. I’ve never accepted that. Ever, Ever! I wanted to create what my life was going to be.
Dr. Allen Lycka
Are you telling me, Rodney that doctors are sometimes wrong? I was never wrong…
R Flowers
Yeah. All right. Ok, here’s how I feel about, you want to know how I feel about doctors. I tell you, and this is a medical doctor, people with PHDs, all of that, right? They are nice. They have limitations too ok. Yeah, they know what they know up to, what they know, up to their experience. And so, I was, let’s talk, I was coaching a lady last night, and as she was talking to me about her diagnosis and then, you know, the doctors would tell her, Hey, I’m not gonna be able to see you anymore. I’m going to be blind up out of my peripheral for the rest of my life. And I said, listen, when the doctor hasn’t experienced anyone who has succeeded beyond what they have experienced and I can’t give you any advice or knowledge about anything beyond that because they told me, they said, after your injury, if there’s going to be any return, you can expect it within two years. After two years, you can expect slight return maybe between 2 and 5 years. After five years, you can’t don’t expect any return. Well I started walking 18 years after my accident.
Dr. Allen Lycka
Yeah, Yeah. Yeah, I hear you.
R Flowers
I Hear you, So I never had any experience beyond five years until me, and so now I’m done. I’m the game changer. I’m the difference maker. Yeah.
Dr. Allen Lycka
Go, go grab the years such a, you know, this is that. You know you’re the game changer, and you really are the game changer, I want everybody to realize that, but, you know, I’m going to go back.
Doctors are limited by knowledge. Because knowledge is that everybody doesn’t know the same thing. They don’t have to say it’s like, they don’t have it all. The internet has helped us a lot because we got a lot more knowledge now, but we didn’t have that then.
R Flowers
Dr. Lycka …, here’s my position on this lesson. Come to the point in time, where, listen, the doctor’s knowledge stops and then the spiritual, universal knowledge starts period.  Because after I stopped to rely on and what did not – Like, when they took me as far as they can take me, then it was left up to me in the universe, me and god me, in my spirituality. Proceed.
The body is going to keep trying to heal itself beyond what the doctor’s expectations. Just because they haven’t seen it happen, doesn’t mean it’s not going to happen is I think doctors need to be very careful and what they say to people, about how far, they’re gonna go, how much time they have to live. Because it’s all based on past experiences, OK? But don’t judge me based on past experience. You gotta just, based on the character, who I am.
Dr Allen Lycka
Yeah, doctors cannot tell you exactly how you’re going to be. They can’t tell you how the audience is going to take it. They can only base it on stuff that they know. And that’s based randomly on some statistics, That, they got some understanding, but they can only understand what they know. They don’t understand, what, they don’t know.
R Flowers
And they don’t teach, you know, self-awareness, they don’t teach self healing, they don’t teach visualization, they don’t teach, self taught. They don’t teach, you know, know, how the body can heal itself, they teach. All they going to do is try to give you a pill or some kind of a medication to kinda you know help you, but there is power beyond that we are co-creators with the universe. We have the ability to visualize. We have the ability to transmute ideas from the, the outer rim into the physical rim. This is what we have the ability to do, right, and so, this is one of the reasons why I’m grateful for my accident, because it raised, my awareness, it taught me, for sure, about myself, that I just didn’t know.
Dr. Allen Lycka
You know, I can’t agree with you more my friend. I’m just joshing a bit and just joking with you a bit and trying to get something. But, you know, I can tell a lot – I could see Rodney he could see me. So, we got this, this pattern going on and I tell you Rodney is the most exceptional person on the planet.
He has so much. And yet he’s so humble and so amazing. It’s awe inspiring.
It is one of those rare, unique, amazing individuals and I’m trying to get the most of this moment. For our audience, really to understand everything and really do everything, you know. I tried to get everything out of it. I’ve seen Rodney on the stage, I’ve seen him in videos I’ve seen it all. All I can say, is, Wow, man, this guy has so much, so much going on. I said, I can’t believe that he’s just – wow, a fantastic guy. I want to know more, tell me more Rodney.
R Flowers
Well, you know, I appreciate all the accolades, but the reason why I do what I do, is, because I want to be an example to people. Plus, when I got into this business of writing books it wasn’t for fame, fortune or money. What I seen is that people had dreams and then they would not pursue those dreams, because right out the gate, they didn’t think that it could happen for them.
It was OK for Michael Jordan’s and the Bill Gates and now the successful people in the world but when it comes to see themselves in that place – that was just a lack of belief, a lack of belief that it could really happen for them.
And I’ve been in that place where you want, something to happen for you and the doctors, are saying, it’s not possible, no one around who can give you the tools that you need to make it possible – You kinda gotta go inward and find the faith and the belief, to make that thing happen for yourself and develop that spirituality, you know, with God, in a universe or whomever, whatever you call it, to get to, That space of, of, of having it. And….
Dr. Allen Lycka
It happened.
R Flowers
What happened to me in my life and I want to show people first of all – I don’t care who you are, what you go through is possible for you. It can happen. Well, yeah.
Dr. Allen Lycka
And I think when you are that example, you live that example, you breathe that example. How did you get to believe that? How did you get to be that person that does it?
R Flowers
Well, so, like I was telling someone last night, you know, to believe it had nothing to lose to me, nothing but everything, to gain. So, the alternative to me was, either believe it, or if you don’t believe it, here, this is, this is your state. And I know where you gonna be 10 years. If you don’t believe you, don’t try. But, if you believe, even if you don’t make it, you won’t be here. Like, there’s going to be some level of improvement. Even if it’s just a little bit, it’s just, it’s probably better than where you are right now. So, that may believe in it’s, doable for me. It was just kind of a no-brainer type of thing, like why not, because the alternate wherever you are right now, whatever you’re dealing with you feel like you, don’t, you know, you can’t get, you feel like your faith is low, but why not, I believe, you have everything to gain. Because even if you don’t like, I tell people like, you know reach for the moon man, and even if you don’t make it, at least you will be among the stars you’ll be in a place that’s better than where you are right now, and that’s worth believing in. Get five years. If you can be five steps beyond where you are right now, then that’s great. That’s something to celebrate. That’s progress. And that’s what we all want. If we can experience progress, I feel like when you can put one foot in front of the other and experience, some level of change, some degree of improvement. That gives me the warm and fuzzy and the belief to take another step. If I’m alive, why not? I’m always thinking progress, a thumbs up, and I’m alive and I’m breathing.  Why not try to better myself? Why not try to get to the next level? Because the alternative is to stay where I am and that is miserable for me, and I want change. So, I’m going to do everything. I’m going to sit in my life, or my environment, my thought process, the things that I’d take in, and what I eat, what I do, to make it all conducive.
Dr. Allen Lycka
You listening to this everybody, I want you to read this, all of it, because those are all important things, are all things that have to go on in your life. Listen, listen to Rodney. Listen, breathe this. Take this guy in and understand what he’s given then take it with you Rodney.
Continue, please…
R Flowers
Where do you want to go with this Dr. Lycka.  I’m having a good time.
Dr. Allen Lycka
I’m having one of the best times of my life that I know you are too, amazing.
Ok let’s talk a bit. Ok, I want to go down the pathway of some of your wisdom. I want to go down how you got some of that wisdom and what you would like to teach these people today.
R Flowers
Well, it’s all about managing mindset to me, right. Wherever you are, like when let you know in life, you’re going to get hit. And so, it’s the mindset after the hit the hit – It’s just inevitable. We are going to get hit, but we all don’t get it back.
Dr. Allen Lycka
Boy, were you hit, you were hit. Oh, my God, were you hit.
R Flowers
Oh yeah, so what’s the difference is not physicality as much strength. It’s not any of those things. Mindset is the ability to manage the mindset. Right? So, one of the first steps to resilience one of the first steps of getting back up, is self regulation. You gotta regulate yourself with your emotions and how you feel about what just happened.
Dr. Allen Lycka
One, quick question Rodney. Can mindset be taught and learned?
R Flowers
Absolutely. Yeah, resilience can be taught and learned.
Dr. Allen Lycka
Ok, that’s what I wanted people to know, that it’s not something that you either have or don’t. It’s not something you give. This is something that can be learned.
R Flowers
Yet. Here’s the thing, here’s the thing. See the field of adversities is the greatest teachers. You gotta play the game. If you want to get better, if you want to learn how to progress, you gotta get in the game. See, some people are so afraid of getting hit that they can never learn how to get up.
In order to learn how to get up, you gotta get in the game and kinda feel what it feels like, some people are so afraid that the first hit is going to kill them, this is going to take me out, and that’s not, that’s just the story been telling yourself, And it’s unfamiliar to me.
Dr. Allen Lycka
So, the trauma you had, has determined who you are, and the beliefs you have right now, That terrible, awful hit, that almost knocked you off the planet, almost caused you to be paralyzed for life. That determines the Rodney flowers. That is how.
R Flowers
We’re all shaped by our experiences.
Dr. Allen Lycka
Oh, yes, and yet, you could learn from those experiences or learn from those who experience.
R Flowers
Exactly, exactly. Life gives us those experiences to really think challenges and not see whatever’s going up in your life is therefore the reason. The universe makes no mistakes. Everything, you know, we praise all the things that are good but then when things get bad, we, we feel like, you know, there’s no space for that, but there is a place for those things, and if you have the right mindset, you can reap harvest from those things. Sometimes it’s better to lose in the wind because there’s a learning experience behind it. Right? That’s why we want to play against the best why you want to go against the best? Because that’s going to cause you to expand your strategy. You gotta learn more about yourself when you are under pressure – stress never killed anybody. Is not being able to recover from stress. You need some stress in your life, to challenge you to, to stretch you, to expand your thinking, OK? But then you gotta go and recover, obviously. Right? You don’t want that 100% of the time, but there are, and we don’t have challenge and opposition 100% of the time. It just feels like that when it shows up, because we want it to go away and it seems like it’s lasting forever but we are in the wrong mindset and we’re built that way. We need to be in the harvest mindset. Have our perceptions change about what’s happening, not to us, but for us, and experience, all that there is to gain from this experience that’s going to help us grow, but we’re too busy complaining and bickering about it. That we never get into that space, to harvest Everything. We’re not out there pulling out the goodness in the fruit from the experiences because we’re too busy, feeling bad and frustrated. But you have to change your mindset in order to realize that, Hey, this is an opportunity to grow this opportunity to pivot. This is an opportunity to see ourselves, Well, where are we weak? What type of strategies do we need to change? How can we change the game plan, right? And if you have that mindset, you always looking for good, out of every situation, you’ll find it. And you won’t have time to bicker and complain or feel bad or victimized by the situation because you’re looking for the leg up. You’re looking for that thing That’s going to help level up in that situation.
Dr. Allen Lycka
Oh, for sure, for sure. And, you know, we only have 10 minutes left Rodney, you know, we’ve been going for 30 minutes already and, you know, it seemed like it was a second that went by in a second for me. It was just so fast and so beautiful and wonderful. It really is an experience to be with mister Rodney flowers on this stage. It truly is a wonderful experience capturing and sharing them with you guys. I learn about myself because he’s got so much to teach me and I want to say something, you know, teaching my teachers have been some of the most amazing people. They’ve helped me become who I am, and I think teachers are very important.
Who were some of your best teachers?
R Flowers
Oh Wow! Bob Proctor, Adam Markao  Pastor Washington. My mom and dad, my sister, was a great teacher. Uh! Gosh! Peggy McCall. Man. And the list goes on Les Brown. Dr. Myles Munroe, Dr. TD Jakes.
Dr. Allen Lycka
And I’m going to ask you if you had to choose 1, 1 only who would have been that person or persons that took you to where you are.
R Flowers
I can’t. That’s not fair.
Dr. Allen Lycka
I know that’s a terrible question, but that’s what people ask me on the stage.
R Flowers
If I had to pick one it would be God.
Dr. Allen Lycka
Yeah, Yeah, yeah. Yeah, man, my friend, you know, for me, if I had to boil it down to one, that’s the only one that I have, I know. And that’s the one that’s done, everything for me you know? I didn’t always believe it; I didn’t always feel it. I lost touch with God for awhile. When I was in that dark, deep, ugly place, but, you know, he still was there, he carried me, He brought me to where I am, and I gotta say that out loud to everybody. So, everybody understands that too.
R Flowers
That’s, that’s a critical element. Because I want to be, you know, I’ve given a lot, and I do come across very strong and aggressive, and I sometimes like, do I realize that it’s tough? This hasn’t been easy. I can speak with conviction and strongly about it now, having gone through that process, but it was very difficult. And one of the things that helped me get through those difficult times was believing in a higher power. Believe in that there was something greater than me that existed out there that I can’t control – things that were beyond my control.
Dr. Allen Lycka
You know what Rodney, I want people to know how to get in touch with you, just in case we break up again, I want to do it quickly, just in case we have problems, again, how can they, get in touch with you, if they need to want to?
R Flowers
Well, we broke up, so, I just want to, I want to just really convey this message right here, and that, you know, for people that are listening, it’s hard. I realize it is hard, coming across very strong and confident with a lot of conviction, because I’ve gone through this thing and I’m very passionate about it. I want people to understand that one of the things that helped me get over, that those difficult moments, was God believing in a higher power – I think that is necessary. Wherever you are, it’s believed that there’s a higher power that has control, over the things that you don’t have control over it, and they, they love you, and they are working in your favor. And so, that belief in those things kept me going and kept me going with, you know, things weren’t working out as quite as fast as I wanted them to, you know it was difficult and frustrating. I was failing over and over and it seemed like I was never going to get there but believe in in the higher power that that mustard seed of faith just kept me going. And that’s what I do. If I could leave one thing to people for people today, is sometimes you just gotta keep going. Even though it seems like the end of the tunnel was so far away, just getting upbeat. If you just, if you can just take one step today, just get up and take that one step. I feel good about taking that one step.
Dr. Allen Lycka
You are, either you’re giving everybody a message that they need, they need to follow. I believe your message. I know your message and I would like to just get everybody the opportunity to get in touch with you.
R Flowers
Sure you can e-mail me at  rodney@rodneyflowers.com.  You will also go to our website.  Lots of information out there on how to contact me at www.RodneyFlowers.com and I’m on social media. If you just Google Rodney Flowers on all the social media platforms, not hard to find.
Dr. Allen Lycka
Think though there’s this guy although he seems to be a giant although he’s a caged, tiger and although he’s got more energy than Zeus. He is amazing and yet he’s so approachable and so humble. It’s absolutely amazing.
Now, I’m going to ask one final question before I get off the show here Rodney. How do you live a fantastic life?
R Flowers
I show up every day on the field of adversity ready to tackle today, ready to get through the opposition. Score, and win. That’s how I do it.  I don’t run from my obstacles I don’t run from my challenges I face them. And that’s what makes life fantastic for me.
Dr. Allen Lycka
Ladies and gentlemen, I give you Mr. Rodney Flowers, a one-of-a-kind unique amazing humble God loving individuals that owes his existence to God, has found God and finds it an experience for every bit he recommends it for everybody. I do, as well my friend. Ok, my friend, bye for now.
R Flowers
Thank you.  Thank you for having me.