Marko Cheseto tells his story of being a promising young track and field star who lost his legs in the dark Alaska winter, and how this lead to a life of unimagined success. Join Laura Gassner Otting as she hosts this episode of LGOtv with special guest, Marko Cheseto – Double Amputee, Marathon Runner, World Record Holder.
Timestamps
2:00 – That moment when someone handed Marko a business card
3:00 – “A website, a link, and online. In 2008, those were words that I didn’t even know what they meant…On line is where we dried our clothes.”
5:45 – “I was just a college athlete in Kenya…running because I loved it.”
9:10 – “I think I have a pretty good idea of how snow falls. It’s an accumulation of cold in the morning. The morning dew…piles up and in six months you have snow on the ground.”
13:20 – “I went home that evening…he had hanged himself.”
16:05 – “Nothing stuck with me like his last phone call.”
18:10 – “I had to accept it was depression and that I needed medical help.”
22:15 – “Where have you been for three days?”
24:45 – “They say, ‘We have to amputate your feet.’”
27:31 – “I said, ‘I can still move my toes.’ They said, ‘Oh we forgot to tell you this part, ‘That is how you will feel for the rest of your life.’”
32:40 – “I trusted the process, pushed myself. Starting training again…And I started running again.”
35:19 – I feel like you broke a lot of hearts.
36:35 – “I think there’s nothing called low-points in life. There’s no such thing.”
38:20 – “I can embrace it or let it define who I am. I chose to embrace it.”
43:00 – “There is nothing called wrong or right choice. It’s the consequences of those choices.”
46:42 – “Happiness is a skill.”
51:23 – “I don’t have sleepless nights, knowing what is going on around the world. I get sleepless nights not knowing what is out there.”
56:02 – “You can’t just fantasize on things you want to do in life. You have to practically put it into practice.”
58:35 – How do you manage the expectation that the paraathlete world has on you now?
Links
https://www.facebook.com/marathonmarko
https://www.instagram.com/marathonmarko
https://www.facebook.com/marathonmarko/
Washington Post Best Selling Author and Motivational Keynote Speaker, Laura Gassner Otting, inspires people to push past the doubt and indecision that keep great ideas in limbo because her presentations make listeners think bigger and accept greater challenges that reach beyond their limited scope of belief.
She delivers strategic thinking, well-honed wisdom, and perspective generated by decades of navigating change across the start-up, nonprofit, political, as well as philanthropic landscapes. Laura dares listeners to find their voice, and generate the confidence needed to tackle larger-than-life challenges. She leads them to seek new ways of leading, managing, and mentoring others.
