My Introductions to Stillness Was a Coma
Today, we dive into an inspiring conversation with Nick Prefontaine, a remarkable individual who transformed a life-threatening snowboarding accident at 14 into a powerful motivational journey.
Nick was told he might never walk, talk, or eat again after his accident, but he defied the odds and not only walked out of the hospital but went on to run out.
Throughout this episode, we explore Nick's STEP system—support, trust, energy, and persistence—which he developed to guide himself and others through trauma and recovery.
His story is not just about overcoming physical challenges; it’s about harnessing the strength within to inspire others facing their own battles. Join us as we reflect on resilience, the importance of community, and the relentless pursuit of goals, no matter the obstacles.
The conversation with Nick Prefontaine is a powerful exploration of overcoming adversity and finding purpose after a traumatic event. Nick's story begins with a harrowing snowboarding accident that left him in a coma, but what follows is a journey of determination, healing, and empowerment.
He shares how the initial prognosis from doctors was bleak, with little hope for a full recovery. Yet, against all odds, Nick not only regained his ability to walk and talk but also discovered a passion for helping others through his experiences.
This episode dives into the STEP system he developed, which serves as a roadmap for individuals facing their own battles. The system emphasizes community support, self-trust, energy management, and relentless persistence.
Nick's candid sharing of his struggles and triumphs offers invaluable lessons on resilience and the importance of a positive mindset. His message resonates beyond trauma survivors; it's a call to everyone to embrace their journey, take actionable steps towards their goals, and recognize the warrior spirit within themselves.
Nick's insights inspire us to rethink our approach to challenges and empower us to take the first step towards our own recovery and growth.
Takeaways:
- Nick Prefontaine shares how a snowboarding accident at 14 led to his coma, but he fought through it and ultimately ran out of the hospital, demonstrating the power of perseverance.
- The STEP system developed by Nick emphasizes the importance of support, trust, energy, and persistence as essential components for overcoming life's challenges and achieving recovery.
- Nick emphasizes that comparing oneself to who they were before a trauma is unproductive; instead, focus on becoming better than who you were yesterday.
- Through his journey, Nick learned that maintaining a positive environment and surrounding oneself with affirmations can significantly impact recovery and personal growth.
- The podcast discusses how Nick became a top motivational speaker after his recovery, sharing his experiences to inspire others facing similar challenges.
- The conversation highlights the idea that having a warrior spirit means never stopping and always pushing forward, regardless of the obstacles faced.
You can connect with Nick on his website at: www.nickprefontaine.com
& his social platforms at:
FB: https://www.facebook.com/nick.prefontaine.7
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nickprefontaine/
Real Estate: smartrealestatecoach.com/masterclass
The music in this video is copyrighted and used with permission from Raquel & The Joshua 1:8 project © 2025 All Rights Reserved. All rights to the music are owned by Raquel & The Joshua 1:8 project © 2025 All Rights Reserved. You can contact Raquel at https://YourGPSForSuccess.Net
Transcript
I've walked through fire with shadows on my heels Scars turned to stories that taught me to feel lost in the silence found in the flame now wear my battle cry without shame this isn't the end it's where I begin A soul that remembers the fire within welcome.
Speaker B:Back to another episode of A Warrior Spirit brought to you by Praxis33.
Speaker B:I'm your host, Darrol Snow.
Speaker B:Let's dive in.
Speaker B:Hey.
Speaker B:Welcome back.
Speaker B:And with me today is my guest, Nick Prefontaine.
Speaker B:Nick was named top motivational speaker by yahoo.
Speaker B: Finance in: Speaker B:But before then, when Nick was 14, he suffered a traumatic life threatening snowboarding accident and he was put in a coma.
Speaker B:Nick's parents were told that he would never walk, talk, or eat again on his own, and he did.
Speaker B:And he set a personal goal for not only walking out of that hospital, but running out of that hospital.
Speaker B:He does a lot of speaking around the world.
Speaker B:It helps those who are suffering from brain injuries.
Speaker B:And he has a transformational story that I'm just happy he's here sharing today.
Speaker B:Nick, thank you for joining me, Darrell.
Speaker C:I'm looking forward to our chat.
Speaker C:This will be fun.
Speaker B:Let me get you actually on screen.
Speaker B:You'd think I'd never done this before.
Speaker B:I appreciate you coming out.
Speaker B:Where did you grow up?
Speaker C:Perfect way to lead into the story.
Speaker C:I grew up in Shoesbury, Mass.
Speaker C:I was born in Worcester, Massachusetts, and I grew up right next door in Shoesbury, Mass.
Speaker C:And actually, Daryl, when I was in eighth grade, my whole story kind of began for lack of a better term.
Speaker C:So I can remember that it was ski club and we had all got released just a little bit early.
Speaker C:And that was always a big deal.
Speaker C:I was in eighth grade.
Speaker C:I was 14 years old.
Speaker C:So that was big deal.
Speaker C:My buddies and I, my friends and I had all brought our snowboard gear onto the bus to get ready so we wouldn't miss a precious moment once we got to the mountain.
Speaker C:So we got to the mountain.
Speaker C:When the rest of the class went inside to get ready, we hit the chairlift.
Speaker C:We were ready to go.
Speaker C:So we headed right for the chairlift.
Speaker C:And then on the way up, we noticed that it was very icy because it had been raining earlier in the day.
Speaker C:So people were wiping out everywhere.
Speaker C:And that, that didn't really stop us particularly.
Speaker C:Yeah, exactly, exactly.
Speaker C:So it actually went right over the terrain park where all of the jumps were.
Speaker C:And I knew, Daryl, as soon as I saw it that I had to go off the biggest jump in the terrain park.
Speaker C:So I got to the top buckled in my snowboard, took a breath of that crisp winter air and confidently charged towards that jump with all my speed.
Speaker C:And going into the jump, I caught the edge of my snowboard.
Speaker C:And that's the last thing that I remember.
Speaker B:So how long had you been a snowboarder before then?
Speaker B:Because it's pretty common up in that area to ski and snowboard and all that stuff.
Speaker C:Yeah, it was several years before that I knew what I was doing.
Speaker C:It wasn't my friends, and I wasn't our first go around, so to speak.
Speaker C:So definitely was confident on a snowboard.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:I chuckle because I grew up in the Midwest and, you know, it flashes me back to.
Speaker B:I went skiing and I didn't know what black diamond meant at the time.
Speaker B:And I.
Speaker B:And I went accidentally down a black diamond run and it curved at.
Speaker B:Towards the end into the bunny hill, which for those who are non skiers, mean where the beginners should be.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker B:And so when I came speeding down at a.
Speaker B:At a clip that I couldn't control around this corner, there was someone who was basically standing still right in the way, and I didn't want to hit them, so I kind of went out wide.
Speaker B:Well, the snow stopped and the field started.
Speaker B:And that's not a good combination on skis going quickly.
Speaker B:So I went head over heels and.
Speaker B:And when I woke up, there was a snow patrol guy standing over me and he's like, are you okay?
Speaker B:And I'm like, well, if I could breathe, I would be.
Speaker B:And fortunately, all I did was, you know, hit my head and black out.
Speaker B:But yours was much more severe.
Speaker B:What, what caused.
Speaker B:Now you had pro.
Speaker B:Have you been on that jump before?
Speaker B:Had you done this jump several times?
Speaker C:Yeah, yeah, several, several times.
Speaker C:I was just.
Speaker C:I. I wanted to hit it with a lot of speed, and I went off head and caught the edge of my stoneboard going up.
Speaker C:So I was forced to go off the jump off balance, and that was the last thing that I remember.
Speaker C:And they wanted to Daryl bring a helicopter to the mountain to rush me to the hospital, and they couldn't because it was too windy, so they had to send in an ambulance.
Speaker C:And out of all the paramedics in the area, there was only one who could intubate on the spot.
Speaker C:And I needed that to be able to breathe.
Speaker C:And he was one of the paramedics that showed up to the mountain that day.
Speaker C:So it's always easy for me to remember this in retelling it because there were three things.
Speaker C:That was the first thing, the second I Learned that although I wasn't wearing a helmet, the pair of goggles that I had on, snowboarding goggles, like skiing snowboard goggles, were very thick with a lot of padding.
Speaker C:So I never would have fathomed that I would need them to brace my fall.
Speaker C:But I learned that not only did they brace my fall, the initial impact, but as I continue to roll down the mountain, it continued to hit my head.
Speaker C:The experts and eyewitness accounts and everyone told, told me that with each fall, to cushion each flow between my head and the ice, the goggles moved to do that.
Speaker C:The third.
Speaker C:The third thing, once I got to the hospital, I mean, I was out for the count, unable to communicate with anyone.
Speaker C:They said that based on the impact alone, I probably would have been out seven or 10 days.
Speaker C:But they had to partially induce me into a coma because they were worried that if I woke up and panicked, the swelling, my brain, which was already high, would increase and I would.
Speaker C:I would die.
Speaker C:So that's why they had to partially induce me into a coma.
Speaker C:And I.
Speaker C:In my room in the icu, I was.
Speaker C:I was out as can be.
Speaker C:And the doctors came into my room because the only people who are allowed in my room at that time were my parents.
Speaker C:And it.
Speaker C:The doctors came into my room, they figured, oh, he's in his coma.
Speaker C:He just.
Speaker C:He can't hear what we're saying.
Speaker C:They started to share the not so positive news.
Speaker C:Not so positive news.
Speaker C:Not so positive news.
Speaker C:As I'm sure you can imagine, when you're in an acute.
Speaker C:Anyone that's been an acute or traumatic injury, they can't paint a rosy picture for liability reasons.
Speaker C:So they started to share this right in front of me.
Speaker C:Daryl.
Speaker C:And my mom stopped them.
Speaker C:She said, no, no, not in front of him.
Speaker C:Because she understood that even though I was in a coma, I was still taking in information.
Speaker C:So she made the doctors step outside the room, and then once they were there, that's when they told my parents that I probably wasn't going to be able to walk, talk, or eat on my own ever again.
Speaker C:And even if I was able to come out of my coma, they weren't sure how long I was going to be in the coma.
Speaker C:Even if I was able to come out, there was a good chance that I probably wouldn't.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker C:Being in some pretty rough shape.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:With that kind of head injury and, you know, it's definitely a God moment to have your goggles not only stay on your head, but move from side to side because, you know, without it it probably would have been deadly.
Speaker B:Did you, other than the brain swell, did you break any other parts of your body?
Speaker C:No, I drank a lot of milk.
Speaker C:I love cereal.
Speaker C:Growing up, I didn't, didn't break a bone.
Speaker C:My shoulder was, my left shoulder was like, was up to here.
Speaker C:My head was out to here, but I didn't break anything.
Speaker C:No.
Speaker B:Wow.
Speaker B:Yeah, that's.
Speaker B:That's incredible.
Speaker B:Even with.
Speaker B:Because anyone who's been on the slopes and they know the speed involved, that kind of impact usually means broken bones as well as, you know, the head injury.
Speaker B:So you definitely, you know, your angels were watching over you that day for sure.
Speaker B:How long were you in your coma?
Speaker C:For sure?
Speaker C:I was in it.
Speaker C:I was in the coma for three weeks.
Speaker C:I really don't remember a month because remember, it was a partially induced coma.
Speaker C:And it was right around that time that I got transported to a rehab hospital in Boston about a month after my accident.
Speaker C:And that's where my journey began.
Speaker C:That's where my kind of my memories start and I vaguely start to remember things and it starts to come back for me.
Speaker C:And it was right around that time when I got transported to the rehab hospital that I started to unknowingly use a system to not only make a full recovery, but run out of the hospital.
Speaker C:And that's a STEP system.
Speaker C:That's what I teach in my one on one work with clients.
Speaker C:The STEP video series, which is the only product I have right now, and also in my keynotes, which I give to a lot of brain injury associations and other organizations that support individuals that are going through trauma.
Speaker C:So STEP is an acronym and what I can do for everyone is just give you a 10,000 foot view.
Speaker C:And then at the end, if anyone's interested, I can let you know how you can download it for free.
Speaker C:So STEP stands for support.
Speaker C:So support.
Speaker C:Make sure that you have the support of your family and friends right from the beginning.
Speaker C:And this is going to have you falling back on relationships that you build prior to your setback.
Speaker C:T is trust.
Speaker C:So trust that once you take your first step, your next steps always going to be available to you.
Speaker C:And this also starts with trusting that voice that we all have inside of ourselves and you have to follow it.
Speaker C:So the way I always like to illustrate this is it was, it was kind of.
Speaker C:It was right around the time, about a month after my accident when I was transported to the rehab hospital.
Speaker C:I. I was in a wheelchair and I still couldn't really talk at all.
Speaker C:So I overheard my parents talking with my team of Doctors and therapists, and they were saying, okay, what do we need to do to make sure Nick makes a full recovery?
Speaker C:I heard in the back of my head, you're going to run out of the hospital.
Speaker C:So then I was able to communicate that to the rest of the team.
Speaker C:And running out of the hospital be became our common goal that we were working towards each day and each week.
Speaker C:So back to the acronym.
Speaker C:E is energy.
Speaker C:So maintaining your energy allows your body's natural ability to be able to heal itself.
Speaker C:Medication has the potential to get in the way of that.
Speaker C:So obviously within reason here that that first sign in the hospital after my accident cost a quarter of a million dollars.
Speaker C:However, if it wasn't for modern medicine, I wouldn't be here today.
Speaker C:And there's a use, a time and a place for everything.
Speaker C:So a month after my accident, when I came out of the ICU was the time that we needed to allow the body to heal itself.
Speaker C:And P is the last ladder of the step system.
Speaker C:P is persistence.
Speaker C:So once you've taken your first step, keep getting up every day and taking your next step, no matter how small.
Speaker C:And by continuing to move forward every day, you are building an unstoppable momentum.
Speaker C:So if you fast forward less than 60 days later, I realized my goal of running out of the hospital.
Speaker C:And I mean after running out of the hospital, it wasn't like my work was done, Darrell.
Speaker C:I had to continue to go to outpatient therapy for another six months along with being tutored all summer long five days a week to continue on to high school with the rest of my classmates.
Speaker B:Were you, were you raised in a faith based environment?
Speaker B:Your, your family, spiritual or religious in, in prior to this?
Speaker B:Because I'm sure there was a lot of prayers during this.
Speaker C:Yeah, oh yeah, there was.
Speaker C:The, the town that I was in, Shrewsbury made these shirts and it was pray for pre.
Speaker C:So I'm sure I got a lot of, I had a lot of prayers and everything like that.
Speaker C:I can't say, I mean I'm, I'm Christian.
Speaker C:I was, I was baptized Protestant.
Speaker C:I think I can probably count on one hand the number of times I went to church, like major holidays and things like that.
Speaker C:So definitely, you know, baptized and everything.
Speaker C:So definitely like a believer, I guess you could say.
Speaker C:But we didn't really have a big, don't really have a very religious upbringing, if that, if that makes sense.
Speaker C:Which is really, is really interesting now because within, and frankly, I think it's because of this whole journey that I've been on within the Past probably call it two, two and a half years I've been, I've been like reading the Bible every day, followed by reading affirmations and everything like that.
Speaker C:So that's kind of, that's kind of, that's kind, I'll get to it later in my story that, that's kind of right along the lines of following that voice in the back of your head.
Speaker C:Because now it led me to what I'm doing today with my work with common goal and helping individuals tell my story from stage and helping individuals that are going through trauma health challenge, life challenge, crisis, get to the other side and thrive with the rest of their lives.
Speaker C:Daryl I really believe that as long as I'm listening to that voice, God's going to take care of me.
Speaker B:Absolutely.
Speaker B:And so the reason I ask that question is because people who have listened to my show hear me say this all the time.
Speaker B:I find more connection with God in nature and sitting on a beach watching the ocean than I do in any pew that I've ever sat in.
Speaker B:But the connection with God and the spirituality is what helps get through those hard times.
Speaker B:So I'm just curious, as a 14 year old, obviously fearless young man, you know, like, I'm just going to go for it.
Speaker B:What, what instilled that non quitting attitude when you couldn't speak and you couldn't walk, but you knew, I'm getting out of here, I'm doing this.
Speaker B:Like, where did that come from?
Speaker B:What, what was your spark?
Speaker C:So I would say it was how I was raised, my family and how I was brought up.
Speaker C:So the, the step system, Darrell, is really just a, I shouldn't say just.
Speaker C:But the step system is how, how I was raised the system to tackle any obstacle, get through it and be able to thrive with the rest of my life.
Speaker C:That, that's how I was raised.
Speaker C:So now, and actually let me, let me jump back, let me jump back into my story, this, this whole thing will make sense at the end.
Speaker C:So I think like after I overcame certain things later in life, I was like, all right, I have something here.
Speaker C:I need to be, I need to be sharing this with the world.
Speaker C:So that, that's really what I' after, after finishing rehab and everything, it's, it's kind of, it's kind of a little surreal to me that only 18 months later I got my start in real estate and that was door knocking, pre foreclosure doors or homeowners that have received the notice of default letter from the bank, meaning that they had missed several payments on their loan and the bank still hadn't foreclosed on the house.
Speaker C:So I would get a list of these.
Speaker C:I was only 16, I would get a list of these and I would go and knock on their door if they weren't home.
Speaker C:I left a leave behind and everything.
Speaker C:And I, I did that throughout the rest of my high school and actually we own several properties in that community, in that city for years after I graduated from high school.
Speaker C:So I know to me it was, it was successful because my job was to set meanings for our investor, one of our investors to meet with them about potentially buying their home.
Speaker C:And it took until a few years ago, a mentor saying to me that wait a minute, only 18 months later, after being in a coma and finishing your rehab from your snowboarding accident, you were knocking on pre foreclosure doors.
Speaker C:And I was like, I was like, oh, I never really looked at it that way because when you're younger time is compressed.
Speaker C:So like 6 months or 12 months, 18 months seems like a lifetime.
Speaker C:However, it's really not that much time and the older I get, I'm really starting to see that it's not really that much time.
Speaker C:So after, after high school I got my real estate license, started helping buyers, starting to get my real estate license and I got it was helping buyers and sellers.
Speaker C: dad came to me at the end of: Speaker C:He was buying homes creatively as an investor at the time without using his credit or signing personally on loans, without using any of his money or getting big investor down payments.
Speaker C:And then he was starting to get all these properties and he needed help with putting them on the rent to own market.
Speaker C:It's different than listing it conventionally as a realtor and putting it on the market.
Speaker C:So he came to me, asked me he was going to hire someone to do that and he was like, I'd rather have someone I know and trust me to do that.
Speaker C:So he asked me, I came around to the idea, then I that turned into oh shoot, now we need someone to handle all the buyer calls and the buyer inquiries.
Speaker C:So I started doing that and just, just to keep it real simple like kind of a 10,000 foot view.
Speaker C:And I'm still involved in, in, in our family real estate business and buying and selling real estate.
Speaker C:Now we do it all over the country as well with our, with associates that we have.
Speaker C:So some of the ways that we will buy is with a lease purchase, basically a delayed cash sale.
Speaker C:Another one is if there's no debt on the property, we'll actually close on it and make principal only payments to the seller.
Speaker C:A third way to keep it simple is if there's an existing loan, we can actually close on it, subject to that existing loan.
Speaker C:However we're buying it, we're always selling it on the rent to own market.
Speaker C:And there's only roughly still to this day, and it's getting even worse.
Speaker C:There's probably only 18 of the market who can walk into a bank and get a loan.
Speaker C:So we market to that other, the bigger 80% of the market.
Speaker C:Not saying that's they're all great in there.
Speaker C:However, there's a large portion that they make great incomes.
Speaker C:They make plenty of money and they have money saved for the down payment.
Speaker C:They just, for whatever reason, Darrell can't walk into a bank and get a loan today.
Speaker C:So that's the rental market that we're serving.
Speaker C:We're helping those buyers get into a home and get them on the path to homeownership.
Speaker C:So I started doing that more and more.
Speaker C: And In January of: Speaker C:So I let it go, enjoying my dad full time.
Speaker C:Now, here's where it kind of loops back to my story.
Speaker C:So ever since I've got out of high school, I've always had this voice in the back of my head that's been saying to me, yeah, okay, great, Nick.
Speaker C:But what you really need to be doing is telling your story from stage and helping trauma or life challenge or health challenge survivors or accident victims to get through their, their trauma challenge and thrive with the rest of their lives.
Speaker C:So that voice has always been there.
Speaker C: And in: Speaker C:Probably once or twice a year, we hold events.
Speaker C:And I've always had the opportunity to tell my story from stage.
Speaker C:And I always thought, oh, okay, I'm scratching that itch.
Speaker C:I'm listening to that voice in the back of my head.
Speaker C:Well, a little bit.
Speaker C:Not 100% it.
Speaker C:So anytime I would, I would speak at one of our events, that voice would get quieter and I would think, oh, okay, I'm telling my story from stage.
Speaker C:I'm listening to that voice.
Speaker C:Well, then it just kept getting louder and louder.
Speaker C: of our events in September of: Speaker C:However, if you're ever looking to kind of fine tune your message and bring it to another level, I can introduce you to a few coaches and mentors that have helped me along the way.
Speaker C:So up until this point, that voice just kept getting louder and louder and I, I wasn't ready yet, Daryl, because I was actually going through a voice challenge, which I don't, I don't know is if we have time to get into that today, but maybe if you'll have me back in eight months or 12 months or whatever, we can talk about that.
Speaker C:But it basically, it basically sounded like it was like really hard to get the words out.
Speaker C:That's how it sound.
Speaker C:It didn't feel like that, but that's how it sounded.
Speaker C:So I wasn't ready yet.
Speaker C: In September of: Speaker C: And In May of: Speaker C:She said, okay, I'll introduce you to my mentor, one of my mentors, Trisha Brook.
Speaker C: ll with Trisha this in May of: Speaker C:I shared with her what I was looking to do.
Speaker C:And I said, do you think that's possible?
Speaker C:She said, yes, you should do the speaker salon.
Speaker C:I said, what's a speaker salon?
Speaker C:She said, you commute to New York City for six weeks in a row and you get to work every Wednesday from 10 to 2.
Speaker C:And you get to work with me on stage with up to 10 to 15 other speakers in that window, the 10 to 2 window on stage at the Triad Theater.
Speaker C:And you get to work on crafting a 10 to 15 minute talk.
Speaker C:And on the final week, you perform for event planners, TEDx planners, podcast hosts, other kinds of events, people that are looking to book speakers for their stage.
Speaker C:So she said, that's 25,000.
Speaker C:I said, I was able to get that together.
Speaker C:And I said, yes.
Speaker C:And then during the speaker salon, Darrell, she, Trisha pitched the idea of what it would look like to work with her one on one.
Speaker C:And let me just paint this picture.
Speaker C: en that woman saw me speak in: Speaker C:And so it was interesting because Trisha said that she specializes in working with speakers to help them build out their speaker platform.
Speaker C:During the speaker salon, she pitched that idea to me.
Speaker C:I didn't even know what that was.
Speaker C:I had no idea.
Speaker C:However, now I know what it is because I've done the work with her.
Speaker C:So she said, that's 75,000.
Speaker C:I said, wait a tick.
Speaker C:I don't have that underneath my mattress.
Speaker C:However, give me a week and I'll figure it out.
Speaker C:So I went and applied for financing and six days later I wired her the money.
Speaker C:And Tricia was the one that helped pull the step system out of me, Darrell.
Speaker C:And also I was able to write several of my talks.
Speaker C:I now have 50 and 60 minute keynotes that I give for brain injury associations all over the country and other organizations that support individuals that are going through trauma.
Speaker C:So I really couldn't be happier that I made that decision.
Speaker B:Invested in yourself and your future.
Speaker B:Is this one of the, is this one of the corporate events?
Speaker B:I like this because it's very Bostonian.
Speaker B:Are you wicked smart?
Speaker B:My wife is from, you know, she grew up in Boston, so I love that Bostonian aspect of it.
Speaker B:But was this one of your corporate events that you got after joining that or was this still part of your real estate stuff?
Speaker B:You were still training?
Speaker C:That was a lot.
Speaker C:Yeah, that was last year.
Speaker C:That was last September at our qls and that was, that was one of my favorite talks that I've now I've done several times, which is my introduction to Stillness was a Coma.
Speaker C:And it's only a six and a half minute talk, but it's.
Speaker C:Yeah, it's very powerful.
Speaker B:That is a great title.
Speaker B:My, My Introduction to Stillness was a Coma.
Speaker B:That's so awesome.
Speaker B:What has been, other than speaking and helping others through this, what has been your biggest takeaway from this traumatic event that happened to you?
Speaker C:Biggest takeaway from this?
Speaker C:I couldn't imagine my life without it.
Speaker C:So I get asked the question that if you were to go back to the day before your accident and you would have the option not to do it, what would you do?
Speaker C:I wouldn't do anything different.
Speaker C:And saying that is.
Speaker C:My mom has got the same question and she goes, yeah, I, I would not do it.
Speaker C:I, I sign up not to do that every day of the week.
Speaker C:However, I wouldn't, I wouldn't not do it.
Speaker C:I would go through it again because of how many people I've helped by sharing my story and the step system.
Speaker B:Would you get asked this question a lot as well?
Speaker B:I'm sure.
Speaker B:What do you, or if you've ever.
Speaker B:What, what do you see your life would have been had you not gone off that, that ski jump.
Speaker B:What would it, what would, what was the trajectory of your life prior to your accident?
Speaker B:Where were you headed?
Speaker C:I was, I was going 10,000 miles an hour.
Speaker C:I was going 10,000 miles an Hour.
Speaker C:And I think not in a bad way.
Speaker C:I mean, what 14 year old isn't so I Was I was involved in all these kinds of organized activities.
Speaker C:I was really into premier soccer at that point.
Speaker C:And it's interesting that I had actually taken that season.
Speaker C:That was the first season that I took off from doing soccer that fall season.
Speaker C:And that was the fall before my snowboarding accident because I, I just wanted to be a kid, be and hang out my friends and skateboard and again, just be a kid and not, not be.
Speaker C:So like you have to be every moment of every day is scheduled.
Speaker C:So I was involved in that.
Speaker C:I was really into snowboarding and I was in a skateboarding just because I couldn't snowboard.
Speaker C:And I don't know that.
Speaker C:That's a great question because I don't, I, I don't really know.
Speaker C:I don't really know.
Speaker C:And I feel that it's interesting that you said that and I got here because the person before my accident and who I am now, I almost look at as two different people.
Speaker C:And I feel like there are people like accident survivors or any kind of challenge survivors.
Speaker C:They'll, they'll always compare themselves against what they were before their tragedy, before their accident or illness or whatever.
Speaker C:And I tell them, you, you can't do that because that's so unfair to your present self and all the progress that you've made.
Speaker C:You should only be comparing yourself against who you were yesterday and just try to be better a little bit every day.
Speaker C:And the reason that I, it's taken me, it's taken me years to come around to this and I wasn't for a few years right after the accident.
Speaker C:I was, I, I 100, I was the same person.
Speaker C:However, I, I don't know how long, how many years ago it was, but.
Speaker C:Daryl, I heard the.
Speaker C:I saw a video of me before my accident and how fast and high strung I was like, I mean, I was 14 years old.
Speaker C:However, I saw like I heard myself and I was just like, oh no, that's a different person.
Speaker C:That's a different person than who I am today.
Speaker C:And I think anyone that has any kind of an injury, an illness or an accident that compares themselves to who they were before that is, and thus beating themselves up over not being there, the goal isn't to get back to there.
Speaker C:The goal is to be better than you were yesterday.
Speaker C:That's the most important thing.
Speaker B:And that's a, that's a, that's a distinction that not many make on their own or get to on their own because it is human nature to want our old self back.
Speaker B:Not realizing that our new self has just as much or more to offer than our old self ever did.
Speaker B:So that's definitely a, that's a, that's a light years beyond your age for wisdom.
Speaker B:And it's something that I think it's important not only for trauma hood trauma survivors to assess, but anybody who is trying to compare their old life to their new life from whatever they came from, whether it be, you know, addiction or trauma, you know, physically or mentally or emotionally transforming into the new person.
Speaker B:It's supposed to be a new person.
Speaker B:It's supposed to be better.
Speaker B:So I think that's a really great distinction.
Speaker B:I'm going to bring up this elements for you.
Speaker B: You went from: Speaker B:And then you also are part of a book writing the new rules of real estate investing and your goals organization.
Speaker B:Can you kind of elaborate on each one of these little elements for a minute or so?
Speaker C:Sure.
Speaker C:So the new rules.
Speaker C:I'll touch on the new rules of real estate investing first.
Speaker C:So all of our books and really now I've been involved with four of our books that we, that were bestsellers on, on the real estate front.
Speaker C:I've been involved in the writing like even though I'm not the main author, I've been involved in the writing and the rewriting and the editing and everything like that.
Speaker C:That particular one is 24 leading experts.
Speaker C:So we're biased that we, we think that our niche in real estate is the terms niche.
Speaker C:The rent owned terms niche buying, home buying and selling homes creatively is the best one.
Speaker C:However we realize it's not a great fit for everyone.
Speaker C:So in this book we interview 24 leading experts that talk about and drill down and go into their niche.
Speaker C:So that, that's a really important thing to mention.
Speaker C: hen with the yahoo finance in: Speaker C: And then in: Speaker C:Finance and I, that's when I started to really intensely working with Trisha.
Speaker C:And that's, that's when really, that's when really the work started to build out everything.
Speaker C: that that's really started in: Speaker B:And the goal logo.
Speaker C:What logo?
Speaker C:I'm sorry?
Speaker B:You see the goals.
Speaker B:Your logo from your organization with the two soccer players in the heart.
Speaker C:Yeah, that's not.
Speaker C:That's not mine.
Speaker B:It came off your page, huh?
Speaker C:Well, yeah, I don't know.
Speaker C:My website.
Speaker C:My website is just my name, nick.prefontaine.com.
Speaker C:there.
Speaker C:There are a few common goal organizations out there, so you might.
Speaker C:You might have stag that from there.
Speaker B:I'm sorry, I thought that I was grabbing that right from your common goal.
Speaker C:No, it's all right.
Speaker C:We'll remove it.
Speaker C:Nice picture, though.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:If it's not yours, we'll remove it.
Speaker B:I. Yeah, I thought I was grabbing it straight from your page.
Speaker B:I apologize.
Speaker C:No, that's all right.
Speaker B:So explain Common goal.
Speaker B:Your version, because you mentioned it earlier.
Speaker C:Yeah, Common goal.
Speaker C:So the name, really, that's where it comes from, is.
Speaker C:In my accident, we had to get everyone focused on the common goal.
Speaker C:And we were meeting with them.
Speaker C:So we were meeting with all my doctors, therapists, nurses, weekly.
Speaker C:My parents would have weekly meetings with them.
Speaker C:And as I said, before I could talk, I overheard them saying, what do we need to do to make sure Nick makes a full recovery?
Speaker C:And I heard in my head, you're going to run out of the hospital.
Speaker C:So then I was able to.
Speaker C:I was able to communicate that to the rest of the team, and that became the common goal that we were working towards.
Speaker C:So that's.
Speaker C:That's where the whole name comes from.
Speaker C:And we really work with people to help them develop what their common goal is for them.
Speaker C:Everyone's different in their situation, but that's where the whole name comes from.
Speaker C:And that's all the work that I'm doing with, like the speaking for brain injury associations and other organizations that support individuals that are going through trauma.
Speaker B:When you were coming out of your coma and you couldn't speak, first off, how did you communicate with your family and the doctors?
Speaker B:And secondly, were you ever scared?
Speaker C:So it was just something else I didn't mention to you earlier when you.
Speaker C:When you talked.
Speaker C:So when you were saying, I thought of it and then I forgot it.
Speaker C:How I communicated at first was just eye contact.
Speaker C:Believe it or not, eye contact meant blinking.
Speaker C:Blink two times for no or two times for yes, one for no.
Speaker C:Just simple like that.
Speaker C:And then that progressed to mouthing words, and then that progressed to a whisper.
Speaker C:And then I was able to get my voice back.
Speaker C:Obviously, I'm able to speak no problem now.
Speaker C:And that voice issue has.
Speaker C:Has worked its way out of my system.
Speaker C:So I Know, I no longer have an issue with my voice as far as, like, my family and everything.
Speaker C:I.
Speaker C:Because I didn't.
Speaker C:All that noise of, oh, you know, he's probably not going to be able to walk.
Speaker C:Taka eating it.
Speaker C:That was shielded from me.
Speaker C:So I didn't know any better.
Speaker C:I didn't know any better.
Speaker C:I just thought, okay, something happened to me.
Speaker C:Obviously, this isn't ideal, but something happened to me.
Speaker C:I just have to keep working every day to get better.
Speaker C:So it just.
Speaker C:It didn't occur to me that there was an alternative because none of that information was told to me.
Speaker C:So it was just, do what's in front of you every day.
Speaker C:And my parents had affirmations all around my room.
Speaker C:Like, I would look, this is even before I could walk.
Speaker C:So with each step I take, I'm getting closer and closer to my goal.
Speaker C:And then with.
Speaker C:With each exercise and each day, I'm.
Speaker C:I'm getting stronger and stronger.
Speaker C:So, like, everywhere I would look, there would be these messages on my hospital room walls, and I couldn't get away from it if I tried.
Speaker C:So that was just.
Speaker C:That was just the environment that I was raised in.
Speaker C:And then my parents luckily had the foresight to kind of shield me from.
Speaker C:First from the prognosis and then to surround me with positivity and affirmation.
Speaker C:So there was never the only moment of doubt.
Speaker C:I would say, so this is.
Speaker C:This is important to share.
Speaker C:I was this a day early on in my recovery at the rehab hospital.
Speaker C:I would start my day and I had physical, occupational and speech therapy.
Speaker C:After which you broke for lunch.
Speaker C:And it was at one of these lunches in my hospital room when a moment of doubt crept in.
Speaker C:I was looking over my situation and why I was in a wheelchair.
Speaker C:I just couldn't figure it out.
Speaker C:I can remember turning to my mom and asking, am I ever going to be able to walk again?
Speaker C:She said, of course you are.
Speaker C:That's what we're doing here, so you can get everything back and we can go home.
Speaker C:So that allowed me to continue to take my next step.
Speaker C:And looking back on, I think that's the only moment of doubt I had, however, my support at the time.
Speaker C:My mom let me know, like, no, that's.
Speaker C:That's what we're doing.
Speaker C:And that then it was back then I was back on track.
Speaker C:Like, oh, okay, all right, great, let's keep going.
Speaker C:But I think that's important to mention.
Speaker B:Absolutely, it is, because I think if.
Speaker B:If your parents had, and I'm sure in the quiet of their own time away from the situation.
Speaker B:They had their own fears and doubts and whatever, but they never let that bleed into your sphere of consciousness.
Speaker B:And so it was strength that you fed off of to keep going.
Speaker B:But when you're locked in your own brain and you're aware of your surroundings and you cannot communicate it, what, what was that like for you at those moments?
Speaker B:Because you, you couldn't be all positive every moment.
Speaker C:So what was that like in those moments?
Speaker C:I remember, I mean the, to go back to your earlier question, the coming out of the coma, was I, was I there a moment where I was so scared or didn't know what was happening?
Speaker C:I would say no because I just thought my simple 14 year old brain, oh, okay, something happened.
Speaker C:I just have to do what's in front of me every day.
Speaker C:And that's really what I did.
Speaker B:What gap of time did you lose because you don't remember the actual accident?
Speaker B:So where does your memory stop and start for your, for your event?
Speaker C:So I, I share this, that I remember in retelling it, I say that I remember.
Speaker C:This is interesting.
Speaker C:I remember up to the jump and then from that point to the beginning of, for the next month is gone.
Speaker C:I don't remember now that being said, I don't know, I can't say for sure.
Speaker C:Daryl, if that's just me piecing together my mind, piecing together what people have told me, what I've heard over the years over and over, however I will.
Speaker C:And as I started sharing this, this just came up.
Speaker C:So I worked with a coach for maybe three and a half or four years and I'm no longer working with her.
Speaker C:I think my last session with her was in January, I want to say.
Speaker C:But we did, we did some pretty deep work.
Speaker C:It was like energy work.
Speaker C:So she led me through a meditation where I went on the.
Speaker C:And this is deep, I know, but I was on the chairlift that day in my accident and I looked down at the jump and I was like, I was like, there was no doubt in my mind.
Speaker C:I was definitely hitting that.
Speaker C:And I went through that meditation and the excitement of getting off and buckling in and going, riding down the mountain towards that jump, I went through that meditation.
Speaker C:I think I, I relate more to that meditation than I do saying, yeah, I consciously remember going through that because it was the same sort of feeling.
Speaker C:It was the same sort of feeling where when I was on a chairlift, I looked down at the jump.
Speaker C:I oh no, I'm definitely doing that.
Speaker C:It was the same sort of feeling with working With Trisha.
Speaker C:And there was no doubt in my mind.
Speaker C:Like I didn't have to consult anyone or ask anyone.
Speaker C:It was, this is, oh yeah, this is what I'm doing.
Speaker C:Like it was again, this is going deep.
Speaker C:But it was almost in my soul.
Speaker C:It was like, yes, that, like right down to my soul.
Speaker C:This, this is, this is what I need to do.
Speaker B:I think that's, I mean it's a part of, how do I say this?
Speaker B:It's a part of our consciousness to know like when we're excited about something or we see something in front of us, we just know with every fiber of our being that's mine.
Speaker B:And I'm going to, you know, I'm gonna, that's what I'm doing.
Speaker B:And it doesn't matter if it's, you know, a 14 year old going over a ski jump or 10 year old me jumping our bikes off of ramps, you know, there's, we just know there's a go for it and we're gonna do it.
Speaker B:What I would like to ask you, Nick, you've come an extremely long way from that 14 year old boy and you said they're two different people.
Speaker B:Who's the Nick today that people don't know that you haven't shared from your stage?
Speaker C:God, Such a good question.
Speaker B:I'm allowed one per show.
Speaker C:Such a good question.
Speaker C:Who's the person?
Speaker C:Yeah, this, I don't know.
Speaker C:This is just bubbling up.
Speaker C:This is just bubbling up for me.
Speaker C:So there are so many, there are so many public figures out there who will say, oh no, I'm an introvert.
Speaker C:And I really don't, I really don't like talking to people or I, I like to be by myself and, and do my quiet time all the time.
Speaker C:I don't like crowds, I don't like going out.
Speaker C:I'm, I'm an extrovert.
Speaker C:I, I love being with people.
Speaker C:Like, I'm not going to pretend I'm an introvert.
Speaker C:I would say I'm an extrovert.
Speaker C:I love, love being with people, helping people, that kind of thing.
Speaker C:Now that being said, I still, I go through my meditation and my, I do meditation, qigong for 30 to 45 minutes a day and I have my morning routine of journaling, reading the Bible, everything like that.
Speaker C:So I have my time in the morning to kind of set me up for the day.
Speaker C:However, that, that would be it.
Speaker C:I'm an extrovert.
Speaker C:I would say I. Yeah, yeah.
Speaker B:Because some people, you know, when we speak from the stage and we have, you know, those Things that we're trying to portray.
Speaker B:Sometimes who that is on the stage isn't the same as who it is off the stage.
Speaker B:So it's kind of nice to know that you're.
Speaker B:You're the same guy, both on person.
Speaker C:Same person, on and off.
Speaker C:I can't get enough, and I need to.
Speaker C:I need to make sure that I'm taking care of my energy so I don't get fried, I guess you could say.
Speaker C:So part of the way I do take care of my energy as I get tweena.
Speaker C:And it's a form of body work.
Speaker C:You can look it up, but it's tui space na.
Speaker C:And I get that once every five weeks, which I just had on Wednesday.
Speaker C:And then I get myofascial release, which is a craniosacral.
Speaker C:That.
Speaker C:That type of work.
Speaker C:That.
Speaker C:That's a massage.
Speaker C:Craniosacral massage, myofascial release.
Speaker C:I get both of those once every five weeks to help keep my energy high.
Speaker C:So I'm able to impact and affect the most amount of people possible.
Speaker C:And I think without doing that and taking care of my energy, I'd be lost, because that's what enables me to be extroverted, like, be on stage, be here with you today, share my story and my message and to hopefully help more people.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:My wife's a Reiki master, and she's an energy healer, so I'm.
Speaker B:You're talking my language when you talk about all those.
Speaker C:I. I can't let this opportunity slip.
Speaker C:Then, while I was in the coma, my parents had someone come in and perform Reiki on me.
Speaker B:I love it.
Speaker B:Yeah, Energy is powerful, and our, you know, our.
Speaker B:Our energy and our mind and it's all intertwined.
Speaker B:And, you know, the attitude of this is where I'm going, and this is what I'm supposed to be doing, helps propel you into the, you know, person who is able to eat, walk, talk, do all the things you.
Speaker B:You can do without it, you know, my dad was in a coma for three months when he was 18 years old, and he was told he'd never walk again.
Speaker B:And he basically told the doctors, f you, and he walked.
Speaker B:You know, now, granted, he walked with a limp, but he still walked for the rest of his life.
Speaker B:So attitude is everything, and energy is a big part of that.
Speaker B:I think your message is important for people, not only just trauma survivors, but I think it transports to all of us.
Speaker B:The step program that you developed or have pulled out of you, I think is vital for everybody.
Speaker B:But what is the main message that you try to give when you're speaking?
Speaker B:What do you want people to walk away with other than learning the step program?
Speaker B:What do you want them to know about themselves or who they are?
Speaker B:And what do you want your message mainly to be?
Speaker C:I would say start.
Speaker C:I would say start with a baby step because there are, there are so many people.
Speaker C:I'm not one of them, but I know from the people that I've worked with.
Speaker C:There are so many people out there that are challenged and they are stuck and they don't know where to turn and they see all the work that they have left to do and they get overwhelmed by that.
Speaker C:The best cure to that is to take a baby step towards where you want to go.
Speaker C:And once you take your first step, your next steps always going to be available to you.
Speaker B:I love that.
Speaker B:And I'm going to ask you the one last question that I ask all my guests.
Speaker B:What does a warrior spirit or having a warrior spirit mean to Nick Prefontaine?
Speaker C:So before I answer that, the, the I only, we only cover, believe it or not, like a 10,000 foot view of the step system.
Speaker C:So if you go to nickprefontaine.com step you can download the entire step system for free today and learn all about support, trust, energy and persistence.
Speaker C:And then if any bit of my story, the real estate aspect intrigued you and you want to learn more about how we buy and sell creatively, you can go to our website and get registered for a free master's class.
Speaker C:That's smartrealestatecoach.com masters class.
Speaker C:And you can get, you'll get registered or you can get registered for a free master's class.
Speaker C:That's going to teach you all about how we buy and sell homes on terms we like to call it without using our credit or money.
Speaker C:And if by the end of that it is a good fit for you because it's not a good fit for everyone, if it's for you, you'll be able to take your first step there.
Speaker C:What does a warrior mean to me?
Speaker C:Did I get that right?
Speaker B:Warrior spirit or having a warrior spirit?
Speaker C:Warrior spirit.
Speaker C:Never ever stopping, always keep going.
Speaker B:I think you've embodied that your entire life and I'm just thankful that you chose today to come share with me and my audiences and you know, many blessings and definitely there's a lot more to your story we can touch upon and I'd love to have you back at another time to, you know, go a little deeper and, and maybe go into that spiritual side that you, you know, didn't touch on today.
Speaker C:The I would love to we can talk about that and also my voice issue and how it all intertwined.
Speaker C:So yeah, I'm looking forward to that.
Speaker C:I can't wait.
Speaker C:I love.
Speaker B:Well, thank you for joining me.
Speaker B:And if you'd like to connect with Nick, you can do so at his website, Nick prefontaine.com and on his social platforms, Facebook, LinkedIn and also that real estate website that he mentioned, smartrealestatecoach.com masterclass I just want to thank you guys for joining us today on this edition of A Warrior Spirit.
Speaker B:We're now not only on the major platforms but on Wednesday evenings at 8 Eastern on Roku via the Prospera TV app.
Speaker B:But wherever you find us, be sure to like or subscribe so you can catch all the episodes.
Speaker B:And as always, the journey is sacred.
Speaker B:The warrior is you.
Speaker B:So remember, be inspired, be empowered and embrace the warrior within.
Speaker B:Sa.
