Everyone faces trials, challenges and tribulations in life, it's up to us to not only survive these trying experiences but to thrive and learn from them.
Nietzsche once said "That which does not kill us makes us Stronger"
Might I add by saying " MINDSET determines if something kills us or not " !
Life's most challenging moments are the greatest teachers, mine began on the worst day of my life in April of 2002. I was on active duty for the US Army in Monterey California, my wife and I woke up to the passing of our 9 yr old son. He had just left this world early on a Tuesday morning after a 7 year long battle with brain cancer. The next day we boarded a plane with our 2 remaining sons who were 7 and 3 yrs at the time, headed back to Salt Lake City Utah for the funeral, when my wife went into labor, we then proceeded from the Airport to the Hospital for her to give birth to our 4th son early Thursday morning. Friday was the funeral for our oldest, as my wife miraculously attended with our youngest newborn in her arms...
Our oldest son was first diagnosed with a stage 4 brain tumor the size of a lemon which had spread down the spinal column at age 2.
An emergency hole had to be drilled into his head to relieve the pressure , he was then life flighted along with my wife and our 2nd son who was then only 7 months old, to the nearest Children's Hospital in Salt Lake City about 300 miles away.
12 hour Brain Surgery # 1, followed by 6 months of nasty, nauseating Chemo. A pic line called a Broviac was surgically implanted into his chest, we had to administer daily shots to help bolster his immune system, change the Broviac bandage weekly, all were extremely painful for him, not to mention still recovering from the surgery, then came Radiation therapy but he took it like the Greatest Gladiator who had ever fought in the Colosseum!
The Dr's with all the PHD's, MD's, Oncologists gave him a 5% to live to the age of 5 and no hope. I came from a background in sports, Martial Arts, Health and Fitness, my Dad taught me the basics of technique but more importantly he showed me how to have Heart, how to never give up, how to just keep going even when we were having a losing season or 2, to keep at it as long as it takes, how to keep improving myself, he let me fail and lose games over and over again so that I would learn and earn everything in life, we never got participation trophies. He encouraged me to keep training and eventually we won a championship in little league, multiple Gold medals and 5th place in state wrestling, A state Championship in Soccer...so I did NOT accept the odds of my sons life given to me by the Medical Profession, my Warrior Mindset kicked in, I dove deep into the world of Alternative Medicine, Chinese Healing Arts of herbal medicine, Acupuncture, Chi-Gong and of course spent a great deal of time on my knees in prayer and fasting asking God for guidance.
Our son was cancer free for 5 years then the brain tumor came back in the same place, brain surgery #2 , Chemo therapy #2, less than a year later brain tumor/surgery #3.
8 months later #4. Finally my wife and fasted and prayed together as to what would we do next if there is a 5th one, we came to the painful conclusion that it would have to take its course, within a few months #5 came and he held on as long as he could in hospice care in our home until April of that year.
He made it to age 9 almost twice as long as the Drs predicted.
The Grief and stress caused by 7 yrs of fighting cancer took its toll on my health and 6 months later I was diagnosed with stage 3 Colon cancer followed by surgery and chemo. I had lost my son, my career and my health all within 6 months...
If ever I needed that Warrior Mindset now was the time! Laying there in the VA hospital recovering from surgery was yet another devastating blow, however I knew deep down that I could easily give up, roll over and die but Failure is NOT an OPTION ! All the past lessons I had learned about maintaining a Positive Mindset, Never Giving up, Pressing Forward no matter what came roaring into my mind like Apollo Creed giving Rocky that "Eye of the Tiger" speech!
So it began, that became my motto, I adapted the Rocky Mindset, the "Bruce Lee-Enter The Dragon" Intensity, the Schwarzenegger-Mr Olympia "Terminator" Determination, the Rambo-esque unstoppable fighting force into every fiber of my being, (also started playing the drums and making music again, the power of music was an integral part of my recovery as well.) 
In Chinese Martial Arts the most powerful symbols are the Tiger and the Dragon. Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu has leverage, Muay Thai Kickboxing has 8 powerful weapons, the Wrestler has takedown power, quickness and agility, just as the UFC created the Ultimate Fighter combining all styles. So I took the very best qualities of my Action Movie Heroes, Martial Arts philosophies, Chinese Healing Arts, my Faith in God, fused it all together re-creating and tapping into my Higher Self as Maximus the Warrior! A slight nod to Russel Crowe in the Movie Gladiator ;)
Aha its time for a comeback of epic proportions! As soon as I finished chemo on 8-31-2003, applying everything I had learned I began transforming my mind and body for the next 7 months gaining 14 lbs of lean muscle, Bench press up from 90 to 245 lbs, added 260 lbs to my 1 rep leg press, lost 7 lbs of body fat at 5-8%, see the before and after pix.
My son is my "Why" he's why I do this. If your why isn't big enough to make you cry then you need a new one...
I then decided to get Certified as a Fitness Trainer, Muay Thai Fitness Instructor, MMA Strength/Conditioning Coach, study Muay Thai, Gracie Jiu-Jitsu, NLP, Chinese Healing Arts and become a Motivational Artist helping others achieve greatness along the way...
I was cancer free for 21 years. 
Then it came back in June of 2023. UUUGGGH!!
I never thought in a million years this would ever happen again. I thought I had all the answers. Workouts: check, Martial Arts: check, Near ( 95%) Vegetarian diet: check, eating Clean: check, Supplements/Herbs: check, Intermittent Fasting: check, Max Warrior Mindset: check or so I thought....
Once again laying in the recovery room in the hospital after another surgery almost in the same spot I began deep self reflection and the road to recovery.
When all else failed I turned to my tried and true source of Inspiration: Fasting and Prayer, which is in a sense deep meditation by disconnecting from the physical and tuning into the spiritual. By the Grace of God He answered me like a ton of Bricks and impressed upon me 3 things to implement that I was NOT doing!
1-Daily Meditation
2-Get Grounded
3-Eat Beef!
Ok I could easily accept the 1st 2 but "EAT BEEF" !?!? Really !? How can this be? I had been led to believe by the Main stream Medical profession, my Oncologist, The Media, The Health & Fitness Industry, that Beef was the Enemy, Red Meat was the Killer, the Cause of Heart Disease, cancer and most all other diseases!!!
So I thought well if my Creator is telling me this He must be onto something!! I better give it a try and not just do it but to Conquer it!
I started the Carnivore Diet on Oct-24-23, began walking outside on the grass barefoot, laying on the cement porch in the backyard feeling as though massive current of electricity was pouring into my body and soul ! 
I also added Beef Organs to my diet. I discovered them at my local butcher shop: Brain, Liver, Heart, Pancreas, Kidney, Adrenal Gland, Testicles, Thymus, etc, (suddenly remembering that years ago I had taken Liver tablets and some Glandulars with great results as they were a part of Chinese Medicine) I was dehydrating them, crushing into powders, putting in capsules although experiencing fantastic results it turned out to be a huge mess, very time consuming and eventually had to stop due to the powder becoming contaminated. Looking into trying Beef Organs in capsule form from a reputable company that are as good as the homemade version. Found one here!
I immediately felt a dramatic change taking place, more energy, strength, endurance, better more restful sleep, better digestion, mental clarity, focus, less anxiety, less time asleep. I still have a ways to go as I still experience a myriad of PTSD symptoms although to a lesser degree, they remain a great hindrance to daily life.
Started playing the drums again ! Bringing an added layer of joy into my being!
Meditating almost daily!
Getting Grounded, I found is possible not only by going barefoot outside ( in the Sunshine) but just by visualizing being connected like roots of a tree to the center of the Earth at its core does the trick, so if you live or work in a high rise building you can still plug into Natures Free energy source and Get Grounded!
Started a Youtube Channel "Max Warrior Motivation" dedicated to self improvement.
Currently living in Sunny Southern Utah with my Wonder Woman Wife of 33 years, 1 Dog and 1 Cat, writing a book/Self Improvement Course about all the Strategies I've used to overcome Life's Tragedies. Sharing my story online wherever I can, many thanks to Greg at The Fittest Ever for inviting me to write this article!!
My goal is to transform 100-Million ppl, looking for Speaking events, I would Love to Speak to your group, employees, customers, or Health Minded Individuals contact Max at maximumwarrior1111@gmail.com
Get Better, Stronger Faster
Sincerely your
Martial Arts, Motivational Artist
Maximus,
out!
Fitness Trainer
MMA Strength Coach
Muay Thai Fitness Instructor
Veteran
2 x cancer Survivor
